Fair Wisconsin Statement on Hate Speech by Justice Rebecca Bradley

Recently, two letters to the editor and a column written for student newspaper, The Marquette Tribune, by then-college student State Supreme Court Justice Rebecca Bradley in 1992 have been discovered.  These writings reveal extremely bigoted and homophobic views about people living with HIV/AIDS and the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community.

Today, Fair Wisconsin Executive Director Megin McDonell issued the following statement on State Supreme Court Justice Rebecca Bradley’s comments related to people living with HIV/AIDS and the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community:

The comments made by Rebecca Bradley in college are hate speech, plain and simple. These sentiments are vile and disgusting, and not excusable at any age. Her statement of apology merely expresses regret that the columns were unearthed, and offers no evidence of any change in her personal views, other than perhaps a realization that much of the world no longer shares these views.

Recently, her defenders have posted a photo online of Justice Bradley at a March 2013 Fair Wisconsin fundraising event as evidence of her support for the LGBT community. Attending one election-season fundraiser while a candidate is not enough to convince me that Justice Bradley has experienced such a radical transformation in her views about the LGBT community and people living with HIV/AIDS.