WASHINGTON -- A conservative group in Virginia said yesterday that it would oppose the confirmation of John G. Roberts Jr. as a Supreme Court justice because of his work in the reversal of a Colorado referendum result on gays.
The stance by the group, Public Advocate of the United States, which describes itself as a pro-family organization, puts it in opposition to conservative groups that have endorsed Roberts. A number of liberal groups oppose President Bush's nominee.
''The move comes as a result of Roberts' support for the radical homosexual lobby in the 1996 Supreme Court case Romer v. Evans, which overturned a pro-family law passed by the citizens of Colorado in an appalling act of judicial activism," the group said.
In a news release, it said it plans a press conference for today in front of the Supreme Court.
The group's president, Eugene Delgaudio, said last week that if ''Judge Roberts did provide advice on how to overturn this pro-family measure overwhelmingly supported by the people of Colorado, then Public Advocate calls on President Bush to withdraw his nomination of Judge Roberts immediately."
Messages seeking comment from Delgaudio were not immediately returned yesterday.
Delgaudio has assailed administration views in the past. Last year, Vice President Dick Cheney said of gay marriage: ''Freedom means freedom for everyone."
Delgaudio said: '' 'Freedom' is not embracing perversion."
The Colorado gay rights case involved an amendment approved by voters in 1992 that would have barred regulations protecting gays from discrimination by landlords, employers, or public agencies such as school districts.
Gay rights groups sued, and the measure was declared unconstitutional in a 6-3 ruling by the US Supreme Court in 1996.
Roberts's role in the case included helping to develop a strategy and firing tough questions at a mock court session at Jean Dubofsky, a former Colorado Supreme Court justice who argued the case for gay-rights plaintiffs.
Several other conservative groups, including the Traditional Values Coalition and Focus on the Family Action, an arm of the conservative Christian ministry Focus on the Family, based in Colorado Springs, are supporting Roberts.
Several groups also have taken stands on Roberts's candidacy.
NARAL Pro Choice America plans to start running television ads opposing Roberts today, and other abortion-rights groups, including the National Organization for Women, the National Abortion Federation, and the Feminist Majority, have announced their opposition to Roberts.
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