Crosstalk: March 31, 2016

Mat Staver is the Founder and chairman of Liberty Counsel, an international nonprofit litigation, education and policy organization dedicated to advancing religious freedom, the sanctity of life and the family. He has authored hundreds of publications, including 11 books, most of which focus on constitutional law, including his two most recent books, Eternal Vigilance: Knowing and Protecting Your Religious Freedom, and Same-Sex Marriage: Putting Every Household at Risk. Antonin Scalia passed away February 13, 2016. Republicans in the U.S. Senate said they would not consider any proposed replacement put forward by President Obama. But now Merrick Garland has been put forward as the nominee, it appears that that resistance to interviewing and voting whether to confirm him is diminishing. Mat Staver points out that the Garland is not even close to the position of Justice Scalia which was based strictly on the Constitution. Scalia was often critical of the opinions of the other justices. But this nominee would likely join them in their opinions, making a big difference in the outcome of numerous cases in the future. In fact, the record of Merrick Garland shows he takes stands against the Second Amendment, has spoken to abortion providers like Planned Parenthood and shown his support for abortion—positions that are the exact opposite of those held by Antonin Scalia. Without the ninth justice, some recent decision have ended in a 4-4 split on the Supreme Court, which means that the case reverts to the decision handed down by next highest court. The Senate is not obligated to actually consider and confirm every nominee present to them. They can—and in the past did so on many occasion—choose to ignore a nomination. The Constitution says a nominee cannot become a justice without the Senate's confirmation, but it does not say the Senate must confirm, or even consider every nominee. Republican Senators are under attack by Democrats and other liberals who claim they are shirking their duty. Even their mail has a large majority urging them to to ahead and consider the nomination. Mat Staver says it is vital that citizens also bombard the Senators, especially those on the Judiciary Committee, giving their views. In fact, despite charges that not moving on the Supreme Court nomination process will doom Republican senators up for re-election, Mat believes just the opposite is true. In fact, he says, the court should be representative of all Americans, but it instead represents Ivy League professionals rather than the common man, and all the current justices are either Roman Catholic or Jewish—not one protestant, liberal or conservative is included. Claims that Senate resolve to block the nomination is breaking down may be exaggerated--spread by the media and liberal attack groups. Also discussed was the North Carolina law just signed by the governor which bans anti-discrimination ordinances in the state. Again, there has been a firestorm of criticism from liberals and LGBT organizations—with moves to boycott North Carolina by everyone from New York Governor Cuomo, to the NBA!