Virginia GOP blocks openly gay judicial nominee
Tracy Thorne-Beglan is seen in a Dec. 28, 2005, photo. / AP Photo
(CBS/AP) RICHMOND, Va. - The Virginia House of Delegates, voting in Tuesday's wee morning hours, has blocked an openly gay Richmond prosecutor from appointment to a general district judgeship in the city.
Tracy Thorne-Begland received 33 yes votes, 31 no votes - all from Republicans - and 10 abstentions in his bid to become what gay-rights advocates contend would be Virginia's first openly gay jurist.
A minimum of 51 votes in the 100-member House is required for election.
Thorne-Begland was the only candidate among scores of nominees to general district, circuit and juvenile and domestic relations judgeships not approved in the overwhelmingly GOP-ruled House.
Among his fiercest critics was Del. Robert G. Marshall, an outspokenly anti-gay Republican from Prince William who is among four candidates seeking the GOP's U.S. Senate nomination in next month's primary.
"I don't even think it's proper to put his name forward because of his behavior," said Marshall, according to CBS affiliate WTVR in Richmond. Marshall called Thorne-Begland "a homosexual activist," in a press release.
Richmond Commonwealth's Attorney Michael N. Herring said today that Virginia lawmakers who scuttled the judicial nomination did so without any justification that he was unqualified for the bench, according to the Richmond Times-Dispatch.
"It's hard to think about what happened in the General Assembly and not conclude that it's a form of bigotry," Herring said.
Thorne-Begland had at least some support in the GOP in Virginia, including from Republican Governor Bob McDonnell, who said: "All I can tell you is what I've always said about judges and that is that these ought to be merit based selections solely based on a persons, skill ability, fairness, judicial temperament. Issues of race, sex, sexual-orientation, wealth, none of those things should be factors in whether or not you put somebody on the bench."
The Washington Post reports Thorne-Begland is "a top state prosecutor in Richmond with a decade of courtroom experience...who has prosecuted dozens of homicides and other major felonies, runs one of the biggest commonwealth's attorney's offices in Virginia."
The court to which he was nominated "consists mainly of traffic violations, minor crimes and run-of-the-mill civil disputes over contracts and late rent payments," according to the Post
In a statement released in the Richmond Times-Dispatch, Thorne-Begland said: "I would like to thank my sponsors, Senator Donald McEachin, and Delegates Jennifer McClellan and Manoli Loupassi and my family for their support. I look forward to continuing to serve the citizens of the city of Richmond and the great commonwealth of Virginia."
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I don't forget that Jesus also met with tax collectors and prostitutes, outcasts and lepers......however, he did say, go and sin no more.....take no more taxes than required.....I'm not sure if he would say to gays, go forth and keep sinning....provided you believe being gay is a sin, which I doubt it is, since it's not any person's fault being who they are.....however, lascivious and promiscuous behavior is the sin.....just like being straight and sleeping around is as well.
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I'm starting to wonder whether this opposition to same sex marriage stems from the thought that you aren't supposed to have sex unless you are married. If these people get married, and stay true to their spouses - they no longer have a reason to call them "Immoral". They no longer have a reason to judge them.
I see a lot of the same exact words too! LOL!
How in the world that translates in some people's minds to giving them total license to judge and belittle others is beyond me!
Are you afraid he'll go easier on good looking men?
Ok. But how would that be any different than a heterosexual man being swayed by a woman in a mini-skirt?
An immoral person, is someone who thinks its okay to go out murdering, stealing, hurting people, without a second thought!
It is NOT immoral to love someone, opposite sex or same sex!
Right?
Right?
THEN LET THEM GET MARRIED!!!!!!!!!!!!!
DUH!!!!
A person's sexual orientation has nothing to do with their ability to judge the law. You could equally argue that a heterosexual should be disqualified from judging a gay person.
This is a matter of status not performance. In all likelihood, this gentleman would be a fairer judge than you would be, since you clearly are anti-gay. He was a successful prosecutor for the state. Is there anything in his record that would disqualify him from being a judge? I think not. And I know that you have no clue.
As to adultery, no. They would have to disqualify most married people then. And there is nothing to suggest that a person who has an extra-marital affair cannot be a fair judge. Status is irrelevant. Do you think the American born daughter of a Jewish Hispanic immigrant cannot be a fair judge? How far do you carry your bigotry?
And how do you know what values a gay man holds? How do you know they are the same as those of the next gay man? You don't. You stereotype and you apply your bigoted sense of righteousness to presume the worst without a whit of knowledge. You probably felt that gays should not be in the military, too. Guess what. They have been for centuries, millennia even. And they have been judges too. You never noticed because they apply the law the same way that other judges do.
and....I haven't studied the case sufficiently to agree with the VA legislators.....so on the surface, typically gayness shouldn't be a disqualification for employment.....but I don't speak for VA, Viriginians do.....and they elected those reps.
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One other issue that makes this so wrong is that a vocal group of GOP are acting out their beliefs but not acting according to the views of majority of the States' population. If the majority believe that gay should have the right to civil partnerships then I highly doubt they would have a problem with a gay judicial nominee.
"By a 20 percentage point margin - 55 to 35 percent - Virginia adults think it should be legal for gay and lesbian couples to adopt a child in the state."