In the Democrats’ endless war on religion, some party leaders have bashed a judicial nominee who’s a member of the Knights of Columbus (KOC), a Catholic organization.
Brian C. Buescher is an Omaha-based lawyer who was nominated by President Trump to become a judge on the United States District Court for the District of Nebraska. Senators Kamala Harris (D-CA) and Mazie Hirono (D-HI) expressed concerns about his membership in the KOC in a recent hearing.
“Senators also asked whether belonging to the Catholic charitable organization could prevent judges from hearing cases ‘fairly and impartially,'” the Catholic News Agency (CNA) reported this week.
In written questions sent to Buescher by committee members Dec. 5, Sen. Hirono stated that “the Knights of Columbus has taken a number of extreme positions. For example, it was reportedly one of the top contributors to California’s Proposition 8 campaign to ban same-sex marriage.”
Hirono then asked Buescher if he would quit the group if he was confirmed “to avoid any appearance of bias.”
“The Knights of Columbus does not have the authority to take personal political positions on behalf of all of its approximately two million members,” Buescher responded.
“If confirmed, I will apply all provisions of the Code of Conduct for United States Judges regarding recusal and disqualification,” he said.
Harris, who is preparing a run for president in 2020, called the Knights of Columbus “an all-male society” and asked Buescher if he was was aware that the group was”anti-abortion and anti-gay marriage when he joined,” CNA reported. “The California senator also referenced Supreme Knight Carl A. Anderson’s statement that abortion amounted to ‘the killing of the innocent on a massive scale’ and asked Buescher if he agreed with the statement.”
Religious leaders hit back against what they deemed religious bigotry.
“This isn’t just about the Knights of Columbus or Catholics, this is an ongoing attack from the extremist left of the Democratic Party to silence people of faith and run them out of engaging in public service based on their religious beliefs,” Penny Nance, the president of Concerned Women for America, a Christian women’s activist group, said in a written statement, according to Fox News.
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) also defended Buescher.
“Hopefully, in the eyes of Democrats you are not disqualified to a be a judge because of your religious affiliations and beliefs. The Knights of Columbus are a Catholic charitable organization who have genuinely held beliefs about marriage & abortion,” he wrote on Twitter.
“Will not tolerate disqualifying judicial nominees because of charitable works and personal religious opinions,” Graham added.
And the office of Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT) said, “Alarming questions from Senate Democrats, showing they are getting more and more comfortable with imposing religious tests on Federal judicial nominees.”
“Kathleen Blomquist, a spokeswoman for the Knights of Columbus, blasted the questions by Hirono and Harris as a throwback to past anti-Catholic rhetoric,” Fox reported.
“Our country’s sad history of anti-Catholic bigotry contributed to the founding of the Knights of Columbus, and we are proud of the many Catholics who overcame this hurdle to contribute so greatly to our country,” she told the CNA.
Despite the pointed questions of the nominee and the implications of the interrogations, Knights of Columbus Senior Vice President Kevin Shinkle said the organization has valued the backing it’s received.
“The Knights of Columbus is grateful for the support of so many people who recognize our charitable efforts and understand that mainstream religious beliefs shouldn’t disqualify anyone from serving their country,” Shinkle said in a statement to Fox News.