U.S. Senate Unanimously Confirms Gay Judge; Mark Obenshain Walked Out Rather Than Vote for Gay

Obenshain with certifiable loon "Bishop" Jackson, the GOP Lt. Governor nominee

Watching Mark Obenshain's disingenuous campaign ads is enough to make me vomit.  Obenshain claims to be mainstream and conveniently fails to mention his support for a "personhood" amendment to Virginia's constitution that would make a fertilized egg a full citizen from the moment of conception - even though so many are naturally spontaneously miscarried.  Similarly, he fails to mention his goal to send women to jail for a year if they miscarried and failed to notify local police officials within 24 hours - seemingly so that the police could investigate to insure that the woman had done nothing to somehow induce the miscarriage.  And then there's his virulent homophobia.  When Tracy Thorne-Begland's confirmation for a District Court judgeship went before the Virginia General Assembly, Obenshain walked out of the Virginia Senate rather than vote for a gay person.  The extremism of this action was underscored today when the U. S. Senate unanimously approved Todd Hughes’ nomination to be a judge on the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals on a 98-0 vote.    Blue Virginia sums up Obenshain's glaring anti-gay bigotry:

Another day, yet another example of how far out of the mainstream Republican Attorney General nominee Mark "Criminalize Miscarriages" Obenshain is, even by the standards of hard-core conservatives. First, check this out:

On Tuesday, the Senate confirmed Todd Hughes' nomination to be a judge on the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals on a 98-0 vote, making him the first out gay federal appellate judge in the nation's history.

Among those 98 Senators voting "yea" on the nomination of an openly gay judge were: Rand Paul, Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio, James Inhofe, Mitch McConnell, and assorted other ultra conservatives. 

Now, contrast that with what happened when an openly gay judge was up for a confirmation vote in the Virginia State Senate. That's right, Mark Obenshain walked out of the Virginia Senate, rather than sully himself by voting on the nomination of a gay judge. In other words, when it comes to LGBT equality, Mark Obenshain is so far out of the mainstream that he wouldn't even do what Ted Cruz, Rand Paul, Marco Rubio, James Inhofe, and Mitch McConnell were capable of doing earlier today - voting on an openly gay judge's nomination, and even (gasp!) voting "yea!" It says a great deal, none of it good, about Mark Obenshain.

And one needs to remember that Obenshain voted in 2011 to allow discrimination against gay and lesbian employees in Commonwealth of Virginia departments and agencies.  In 2011, Obenshain also voted against letting state Virginia government workers share health benefits with their same-sex partners. 

On election day, those who care about women's rights and gay rights need to make sure they go out and vote for Mark Herring for Attorney General.  We do NOT need or want Mark Obenshain in the AG's office.  The prospect of Obenshain as Attorney General is nothing short of scary.