Anti-gay writings take center stage in Wisconsin court race

(AP) — A tight Wisconsin Supreme Court race erupted this week when a liberal advocacy group brought to light 1992 opinion pieces that Justice Rebecca Bradley wrote as a Marquette University student in which she expressed strong views on topics including homosexuality, AIDS, abortion and date rape.

Bradley was appointed to the state's highest court by Republican Gov. Scott Walker in October and is running against state Appeals Court Judge JoAnne Kloppenburg for a full 10-year term on the high court.

Bradley has repeatedly apologized for some of the things she wrote in those college newspaper columns, saying her views have changed over the nearly quarter-century since.

In a column and letters to the editor, Bradley referred to homosexuals as "queers" and "degenerates" and wrote that homosexual and drug addicted AIDS victims "basically commit suicide through their behavior" and deservedly don't receive her sympathy.

In another column attacking feminism, Bradley wrote that writer and critic Camille Paglia "legitimately suggested that women play a role in date rape."