Reduction to the absurd

Legal challenges to laws limiting rights for same-sex couples will come before the U.S. Supreme Court in the coming months. During a lecture at Princeton University, Justice Antonin Scalia was asked why he equated homosexuality with bestiality and murder. Here is his response:

"It's a form of argument that I thought you would have known, which is called the `reduction to the absurd,'" Scalia told Hosie of San Francisco during the question-and-answer period. "If we cannot have moral feelings against homosexuality, can we have it against murder? Can we have it against other things?"

Scalia said he is not equating sodomy with murder but drawing a parallel between the bans on both.

Then he deadpanned: "I'm surprised you aren't persuaded."

Not all of Scalia's moral feelings come from scripture. Here is a nice bon mot from Deuteronomy 16:19.

Do not pervert justice or show partiality. Do not accept a bribe, for a bribe blinds the eyes of the wise and twists the words of the righteous.

If we cannot have feelings on judges that fail to respect conflicts of interest, then we should not have feelings on murder. I am not equating unethical conduct with murder but just trying to draw a parallel.

Judges that favor the rich and powerful at the expense of the poor and powerless have always been a thorn in God's side. Love of money is the root of all sorts of evil. Right, Justice Scalia?