Reply #4: In effect they were. How else could you know they're heterosexual?

[Kurt_and_Hunter]

You have walked into a familiar bog.

They were not asked by the senate only because they advertise their orientations continually so no questions were needed, not because they have a right top privacy as to whether they are married, have kids, are a woman, etc..

Seriously, think it through. If the Senate somehow did not know and could not discover if a nominee were a parent would nobody ask?

Does a nominee have a right to hide whether she is married? Of course not. It's a matter of public record. So what courtesy are we extending Kagan to say that because she might be something "bad" we ought be gracious enough not to ask.

Does Justice Roberts wear a wedding ring? Yes. What does it signify?

How many children does Scalia have? Why do I know that? Did someone intrude into his life to discover that?

Hetero culture takes itself so much for granted that many do not realize that sex, sexuality, orientation, hetero life-style are not a discreet secret. They are everywhere and everything.

But if there were a SCOTUS nominee where nobody knew if the nominee was a man or a woman and the nominee showed up to the confirmation hearing with a bag over his/her head then yes, the Senate would indeed ask a lot of questions.