William H. Pryor

• Holds extremist positions on abortion, civil rights, and religion and has used the office of attorney general to promote his conservative social agenda, specifically his belief that the Christian religion and government should work hand in hand.

• At an Alabama "Save the Commandments" rally in 1997, Pryor said, "God has chosen, through his son Jesus Christ, this time and this place for all Christians...to save our country and save our courts."

• Pryor has argued against a woman's right to chose in case after case and has said that the Supreme Court's decision in Roe v. Wade was "the worst abomination in the history of constitutional law."

• He has filed numerous amicus briefs in an attempt to restrict federal civil rights protections. In Lawrence v. Texas, he argued in favor of upholding sodomy laws, arguing that if a constitutional right protects "the choice of one's partner ... (then it) must logically extend to activities like prostitution, adultery, necrophilia, bestiality, possession of child pornography, and even incest and pedophilia."

• Filed an amicus brief on behalf of Alabama in United States v. Morrison challenging the constitutionality of a provision of the Violence Against Women Act, the federal initiative designed to address and eliminate domestic violence and sexual assault and provide funding for rape prevention and education. He argued that this federal expansion in civil rights protections was a breech in "state's rights," and therefore unconstitutional.

• Asserted in a Congressional testimony that the Supreme Court should cut back on the protections of the Age Discrimination in Employment act, the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Family and Medical Leave Act, and the Clean Water act. Pryor called the enforcement of these rights overstepping federal authority and undermining state's rights.

• Representing Alabama, Pryor persuaded a 5-4 majority of the Supreme Court in Alexander v. Sandoval that individuals cannot sue to enforce regulations under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 that prohibits recipients of federal funds from engaging in conduct that has the effect of discriminating based on race or national origin. This demonstrated his hostility towards claims of environmental justice, and with Pryor stating his unequivocal position that "environmental racism claims should fail generally."

• As Alabama Attorney General, he urged in a Congressional testimony to consider eliminating a key provision of the Voting Rights Act, which protects the right to vote for African-Americans, by calling it an "affront to federalism and an expansive burden that has far outlived its usefulness."

• Supported a Colorado voter initiative, Amendment 2 of 1992, prohibiting local governments from enacting laws to protect gays and lesbians from discrimination based on sexual orientation. Pryor joined on an amicus brief supporting the Colorado initiative in Romer v. Evans. His reasoning was that "we don't need to be finding new rights in our Constitution [because] we've done enough of that in recent years."

• A member of the Federalist Society, an ultra-conservative legal organization.

• Close to 200 political, religious and legal organizations oppose Pryor's nomination.

Sources: Alliance for Justice, Human Rights Campaign, Washington Post, Justice for All, Forward

last updated 2/20/04