Rebecca Bradley called gay people 'degenerates,' 'queers' in college newspaper columns

Bradley immediately apologized for the content of her writings.

"I was writing as a very young student, upset about the outcome of that presidential election and I am frankly embarrassed at the content and tone of what I wrote those many years ago," Bradley said in a statement. "To those offended by comments I made as a young college student, I apologize, and assure you that those comments are not reflective of my worldview. These comments have nothing to do with who I am as a person or a jurist, and they have nothing to do with the issues facing the voters of this state."

The columns were published one year before Bradley graduated from Marquette University. One of the columns specifically addressed the election of President Bill Clinton in November 1992. Two others were written before that, in February 1992.

Bradley opponents argue that although the columns are more than 20 years old, they are relevant in the 2016 election because they call into question whether she could rule fairly on any case involving the LGBT community.

"One will be better off contracting AIDS than developing cancer, because those afflicted with the politically-correct disease will be getting all of the funding," Bradley wrote in the November column about Clinton's election. "How sad that the lives of degenerate drug addicts and queers are valued more than the innocent victims of more prevalent ailments."

Bradley argued in another column, referencing HIV and AIDS, that the "homosexuals and drug addicts who do essentially kill themselves and others through their own behavior deservedly receive none of my sympathy." 

"As a gay man and a survivor living with HIV for 12 years now, I have to say that I find Rebecca Bradley’s comments shocking, disturbing and quite frankly, demeaning, not just to me as a member of the LGBT community and as a survivor, but it makes me question whether she can be truly unbiased and truly fair in judging matters regarding my community," said Scott Foval, regional political coordinator for the liberal People for the American Way.

Jenni Dye, research director for One Wisconsin Now, said the U.S. Supreme Court decision legalizing same-sex marriage is only the beginning of a series of legal battles that will involve the LGBT community, ranging from family law to transgender issues.

One Wisconsin Now executive director Scot Ross argued the columns are relevant because Bradley has declined in many cases to state opinions on specific issues, leaving writings like these as the only insight into her approach.

Ross said the columns reveal a "deep-seated hatred and contempt" through "hateful and venomous attacks" on gay people and those living with HIV.

In other columns provided by OWN, Bradley called homosexuality an "abnormal sexual preference" and said that homosexual sex kills.

"We have now elected a tree-hugging, baby-killing, pot-smoking, flag-burning, queer-loving, bull-spouting '60s radical socialist adulterer to the highest office in our nation," Bradley wrote of Clinton's election. "Doesn't it make you proud to be an American? We've just had an election which proves the majority of voters are either totally stupid or entirely evil." 

Gov. Scott Walker appointed Bradley to the Milwaukee County Circuit Court in 2012 and the 1st District Court of Appeals last May. She was re-elected to the circuit court in 2013.

Walker appointed Bradley to the Supreme Court in October, after the death of Justice N. Patrick Crooks. She faces a challenge from Appeals Court Judge JoAnne Kloppenburg, who lost a close race in 2011 to Justice David Prosser. 

A spokeswoman for the governor said neither he nor his office was aware of the columns before appointing Bradley to any of those positions.

Kloppenburg argued there is "no statute of limitations on hate."

"Rebecca Bradley’s comments are as abhorrent and disturbing today as they were in 1992 as people were dying in huge numbers from AIDS. Her career since that time includes being appointed three times to three judgeships in three years by Scott Walker who is against gay rights. Rebecca Bradley’s alliance with conservative causes and Scott Walker speaks louder than any apology she tries to make," Kloppenburg said in a statement.

Foval said Monday that the columns demonstrate poor vetting on Walker's part, arguing they should have disqualified her.

"Justice Bradley appropriately made it clear today that a column written in college does not reflect her views as a Supreme Court Justice, a court of appeals judge, a circuit court judge or as an attorney," Walker said in a statement.

Bradley called the release of the columns a "blatant mudslinging campaign to distract the people from the issues at hand."

"This election is about diametrically opposed judicial philosophies. I have run a positive campaign focused on the rule of law and strict adherence to the U.S. and Wisconsin Constitutions. I am proud of the twenty plus years of experience I bring to this race, including my time as a Judge on the Milwaukee children’s court, the appellate court, and Supreme Court. I will work for the people of this state to ensure that justice is served and upheld on the state’s highest court," Bradley said.