Virginia’s First Openly Gay Judge Sworn In

In a major defeat for The Family Foundation, a viciously anti-gay affiliate of Focus on the Family and the hate group FRC, the 2013 session of the Virginia General Assembly confirmed Tracy Thorne-Begland as a judge on the Richmond General District Court.  The Family Foundation rolled out all of its typical forms of character assassination propaganda and anti-gay lies, yet enough Republicans decided to vote for Thorne-Begland to confirm him apparently in part to avoid Virginia's worldwide media crucifixion.  Yesterday, Thorne-Begland was sworn in.  WTVR TV-6 has details.  Here are highlights:

Tracy Thorne-Begland is now a General District Court Judge and will hold court in Richmond.
The historic end to a long and controversial journey was felt beyond the four walls of Richmond’s City Hall.

The road leading to the landmark day was not always been a smooth one. Last May, the House of Delegates voted against Thorne-Begland’s nomination after some voiced concern over possible activism from the bench. Delegate Bob Marshall tried to have Thorne-Begland’s named removed from a list of proposed District Court judicial appointments lasy year.  “I don’t even think it’s proper to put his name forward because of his behavior,” said Marshall, who called Thorne-Begland “a homosexual activist,” in a press release.

But almost one month after lawmakers voted against Thorne-Begland serving as a General District Court judge in 2012, the Richmond Circuit Court appointed him to serve an interim position last June.

However, he met with lawmakers to answer questions again this January. Those questions did not surround his sexual orientation, but rather his service in the Navy and concerns by lawmakers over “activism.”  “Some say you lied on your application to be in the military because it asks if you are gay,” St. Delegate David B. Albo, Chair of the Courts and Justice Committee, asked Thorne-Begland.  “In 1988 and 1989 when I was going through the process of joining the military I didn’t know I was gay,” Thorne-Begland said.

Thorne-Begland said the history-making moment would not be possible without the help of his sponsor in the House of Delegates, Manoli Loupassi R-Richmond.  “So the fact that his sexual orientation has nothing to do with it,” Loupassi said. “If you’re black or Latino or whatever. It doesn’t matter. Can you do the job? Are you qualified for the job? If you’re qualified and you can do the job then you’ll you should be able to get the job, too.”

Richmond’s newest judge thanked his partner of 20 years and two children for their support amid applause.

Kudos to Tracy and all of those who fought hard to win this confirmation.   As for Del. Bob Marshall, he continues to be an embarrassment to  Virginia and might better consider moving to Iran so that he can experience a theocratic government first hand.

Virginia House of Delegates Elects Tracy Thorne-Begland to Richmond Judgeshi

UPDATED: Shortly after I posted this blog earlier today, the Virginia Senate likewise voted to appoint Tracy Thorne-Begland to a six year judicial appointment.  Twenty-eight members of the Senate voted to confirm the appointment while 12 Senators who either were fearful of the the wrath of The Family Foundation or who as Christofascists themselves walked out and refused to vote.   Needless to say The Family Foundation (which has no problem with activist religious extremists on the bench) is NOT happy.  Here are highlights from the Virginian Pilot: 
 

Minutes later, he won approval in the Virginia Senate, where 28 senators voted for him and 12 Republicans opted not to vote -- they left their seats instead.

The House vote is a reversal of the outcome after a past-midnight debate last May when questions about his sexual orientation, political activism and military service derailed his candidacy.

Not everyone was pleased, however.  Del. Bob Marshall, R-Prince William County, said Republicans who voted for Thorne-Begland abandoned "a significant portion of the social issues platform."
He suggested party activists and donors would remember their votes.

And days before the vote, the socially conservative Virginia Family Foundation in a letter to legislators warned that giving Thorne-Begland a six-year term on a local court now could lead to a later appointment to a higher court where he could "use that position to act as an activist judge."

 Frankly, here in Virginia there are few better arguments as to why one would not want to have anything to do with Christianity than Bob Marshall and The Family Foundation.  Hate and bigotry against gays, blacks, immigrants, and the less fortunate are their principal hallmarks.

ORIGINAL POST: In what can only be described as a pleasant surprise, by a vote of 66 to 28 with one abstention, the Virginia House of Delegates elected openly gay Tracy Thorne-Begland to a six year term on the Richmond General District Court bench.  Early indications are that he should sail through approval in the Virginia Senate.  One can only imagine the conniptions and spraying spittle engulfing the offices of The Family Foundation - a hate group in all but official certification by SPLC - which had vigorously opposed Thorne-Begland's election and which demonizes LGBT Virginians whenever possible.  Here are details from the Richmond-Times Dispatch:

The Virginia House of Delegates today elected Tracy Thorne-Begland, the state’s first openly gay judge, to a full six-year term as a Richmond General District Court judge
Thorne-Begland, a former Naval aviator, received 66 votes in his favor and 28 votes against. There was one abstention.

A majority of the House and Senate must approve nominations for a judge to be elected. The vote in the Republican-dominated House is Thorne-Begland's toughest challenge.

Last year social conservatives questioned whether he would be an advocate on gay issues from the bench. Some lawmakers with military backgrounds balked at Thorne-Begland's decision in 1992 to publicly come out in opposition to the now-defunct policy against gays serving in the armed forces.

The judges of the Richmond Circuit Court exercised their prerogative to appoint Thorne-Begland to the vacant Manchester General District Court post, where he has served since July, handling criminal and traffic cases south of the James River.

Gov. Bob McDonnell had expressed support for Thorne's re-nomination.

Despite this surprise rebellion against The Family Foundation's dictates, it is safe to bet that the Virginia GOP will block other LGBT friendly bills pending in the General Assembly.  A rooster of the house vote is set out below.  It is noteworthy that locally Delegates Stolle and Pogge voted against appointment.

Roanoke Times Editorial: Confirm Thorne-Begland

Yesterday the House of Delegates Courts of Justice Committee certified the judicial candidacy of openly gay Tracy Thorne-Begland (pictured above).  His nomination now heads to the full House of Delegates for a vote, where it failed last May, receiving only 33 of the necessary 51 votes necessary for election.  The nomination has placed the Virginia GOP in a bit of a bind: do members defy the hate merchants at Family Foundation or do they defy the most powerful law firms in Virginia and in the process give Virginia another black eye in the arena of world opinion.  I'm keeping my fingers crossed and hoping that The Family Foundation will experience a rare defeat at the hands of the typically tawdry whore like members of the GOP delegation who routinely prostitute themselves to the vile theocrats and religious extremists at The Family Foundation.  Meanwhile the Roanoke Times has an editorial urging the legislators to do the right thing and vote for confirmation.  Here are editorial highlights:

The House of Delegates is wasting no time finishing one of its touchier agenda items. In an unusually rapid scheduling move, the chamber could vote today on confirmation of a gay judicial nominee it rejected less than a year ago. By confirming Tracy Thorne-Begland, delegates could erase an embarrassing stain from the commonwealth's reputation.

In the waning hours of last year's session, Thorne-Begland, a respected prosecutor, did not receive enough votes for confirmation. The voting took place after 1 a.m. with one-third of the chamber either absent or abstaining. Locally, only Del. Joseph Yost of Blacksburg was there and voted "Yea."
Opponents rejected him because he is gay. They trotted out some lame excuses, but their real intent was never a mystery.

History need not repeat itself. By all accounts, Thorne-Begland has done a fine job adjudicating cases since his appointment.

The fact that the House Courts of Justice subcommittee tabled a bill to prevent judges from filling vacancies with someone the legislature had already rejected offers some hope. It was an unsubtle jab at Thorne-Begland and his judicial backers.

Sexual orientation has nothing to do with a judge's qualifications to serve on the bench. A straight nominee with Thorne-Begland's experience would have cruised to overwhelming confirmation last year. Thorne-Begland deserves no less this year.

If Virginia is going to move forward and embrace the future, the power ofThe Family Foundation needs to be broken and legislators need to cease pandering to those who offer nothing but hate, bigotry and division as their stock in trade.

 

Virginia GOP’s War on Moderates (and Women and Minorities)

As the Virginia General Assembly prepares to convene tomorrow, all indications are that the Virginia GOP will continue its war against women, moderates, minorities, and, of course gays during the coming session.  Despite the GOP's disastrous showing in the 2012 elections, the Kool-Aid drinkers and Christofascists believe that even more extremism is the recipe for better results.  One can only hope that they set the stage for a strong defeat for the GOP come November.  The Washington Post looks at the continued extremism in the GOP.  Here are editorial excerpts:

LAST YEAR, REPUBLICANS in Richmond did their utmost to drive the state’s independent and swing voters into the Democratic column. Witness their mean-spirited, provocative and extremist stances to mandate transvaginal ultrasounds; make voting more difficult for minorities, youths and others who may lack photo IDs; oppose a highly qualified judicial nominee who is gay; loosen the state’s already lax gun laws; and mandate drug testing for welfare recipients.

Some of those measures were enacted, some were defeated and others were watered down. All helped brand the GOP as the party of intemperance, alienating moderate voters, particularly in Northern Virginia, which accounted for a third of the state’s ballots. As Gov. Robert F. McDonnell (R) has noted, that region’s overwhelmingly pro-Democratic tilt turned Virginia blue in 2012.

Now, as state lawmakers again convene in the capital for a 45-day legislative session, the question is whether Republicans, who control the General Assembly, have learned anything from the election. Early indications are they have not.

Once again, Republicans are gearing up to tighten restrictions on voting, this time by offering bills that would narrow the forms of ID required to vote. Once again, they are submitting a variety of anti-abortion and anti-contraception legislation. Once again, they will propose laws seeking to stigmatize the least fortunate Virginians, who are disproportionately African American and Hispanic, by forcing them to undergo humiliating drug tests if they receive welfare subsidies. Once again, even after the massacre in Connecticut, they are primed to spike sensible gun-control initiatives while pushing measures to allow more guns around schools and college campuses.

All of this is light years away from the core issues that moderate and swing voters, particularly in Northern Virginia, care about. Critically, those voters want Richmond to fix the state’s transportation funding mess, which has been allowed to fester for more than two decades. Virginia needs at least $1 billion more in annual ongoing revenue to maintain and improve its badly overburdened system of roads, rails and bridges; without it, the state will run out of construction money four years from now.

The sad reality is that the Virginia GOP takes its marching orders from the Christofascists at The Family Foundation - which has ties to the hate group, Family Research Council - and Tea Party lunatics.  It is safe to say we will witness all kinds of batshitery during the coming legislative session.

GOP and Christofascists Continue Effort to Terrorize Judiciary

Iowa religious extremists who would fit in well with the Taliban together with their political prostitutes in the Republican Party are continuing their efforts to terrorize and intimidate Iowa's judiciary as part of their effort to undermine the United States Constitution and enshrine their hate and ignorance based religious dogmas on all Iowans.   These people truly ought to move to Iran or Saudi Arabia or the hinterland of Pakistan's northwest regions where the self-styled godly folk openly kill and terrorize those who don't subscribe to their religious beliefs.  The mind set is truly the same.  But back to Iowa.  The latest target of the Christofascist lynch mob mentality is Iowa Supreme Court Justice David Wiggins who was part of the Court that unanimously struck Iowa's ban against same sex marriage.  As the Des Moines Register reports, the foul forces of the far right are seeking to remove Wiggins from the Court in this November's elections.  Iowa GOP Chairman A.J. Spiker (pictured at left - and who probably secretly yearns for some hot man on man action from the looks of him) is leading the charge.  I find the effort frightening and like something one would expect in either an Islamic extremist nation or in Nazi Germany.   These people are a clear and present danger to constitutional government in this nation.  Here are story highlights:

The Republican Party of Iowa’s chairman is pushing for the ouster of one of the authors of a court decision that legalized same-sex marriage in Iowa.  Gay marriage instantly became a political hot button in Iowa after the ruling three years ago, but there has been little urgency behind the issue this year.

Chairman A.J. Spiker, in a statement emailed across Iowa this morning, called for Iowans to vote against Iowa Supreme Court Justice David Wiggins to “help end the bullying of activist judges once and for all.”  The Nov. 6 general election ballots will ask whether Wiggins should retain his seat on the bench. He is the fourth justice to come up for a retention vote since the court’s unanimous ruling in spring 2009. The first three justices, Marsha Ternus, David Baker and Michael Streit, were ousted by Iowa voters in fall 2010.

Several factors have taken some of the shine off the issue, including the passage of time, according to Iowa political insiders.  Iowans have been targeted with an avalanche of political advertising this summer, but marriage isn’t one of the messages they’re being bombarded with via TV commercials.

The three previous justices thought it was unseemly to campaign for themselves, but Wiggins appears more willing to advocate for his own retention.

Conservatives have unsuccessfully pushed for the Iowa Legislature to allow the public to vote on a state constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage. A majority of Iowans oppose such a ban, a Des Moines Register Iowa Poll in February found.

One can only hope that the effort to remove Wiggins is unsuccessful.  As for Spiker, maybe if he goes to some really dark gay bar and finds someone really, really intoxicated, then he might have a chance to deal with the underlying cause of his homophobia.

Washington Post Slams Del. Bob Marshall

Few individuals in Virginia bear as much hatred and animus towards LGBT individuals that Del. Bob Marshall who is increasingly a huge embarrassment to not only his apparently delusional district that keeps reelecting him but to the entire Commonwealth of Virginia.  Marshall is increasingly akin to George Wallace in the 1960's on desegregation when it comes to not only to gay rights but to treating LGBT Virginians as fully human.  The man wraps himself in religious piety yet represents a one man advertisement for why would would not want to be known as a Christian.  Indeed, Marshall is an affront to common decency not to mention even a semblance of respect for the U.S. Constitution's promise of religious freedom for all citizens, not just flaming bigots and hate merchants such as Marshall.  In an editorial, the Washington Post rightly rips Marshall a new one.  Here are highlights:

WHATEVER FIG leaves Virginia Republican lawmakers grasped for, it was old-fashioned bigotry that led them to block the nomination last month of Tracy Thorne-Begland to a judgeship on Richmond General District Court. Mr. Thorne-Begland, a highly regarded prosecutor and a former fighter pilot, is also gay, and that last fact was enough for all but a handful of the 67 GOP members in the House of Delegates to oppose his nomination or to sit on their hands. 

 The outcome was a disgrace for Virginia, which has no openly gay judges. But to the state’s credit, its judicial, legal and political establishments aren’t solely in the hands of homophobic legislators. .  .  .  .  the Richmond Circuit Court stepped in last week and appointed him to fill a vacancy on the district court on an interim basis.   Bravo for the higher court. And hurrah for the leaders of Richmond’s five biggest law firms, who publicly endorsed Mr. Thorne-Begland’s candidacy, saying “he would be an outstanding jurist.” 

Unfortunately, that’s not the end of it. The appointment ends in February, when the General Assembly will be in session. And Mr. Thorne-Begland’s opponents have already sworn to deep-six his nomination if it comes before them again. Among the most vocal is Del. Robert G. Marshall (R-Prince William), who branded Mr. Thorne-Begland “an aggressive activist” for the “pro-homosexual agenda” and said last year that gay men and lesbians are “intrinsically disordered.”

What was truly disordered was Mr. Marshall’s remark last month that Mr. Thorne-Begland would be biased if he were to preside from the bench over a case involving “a barroom fight between a homosexual and a heterosexual.” He expressed no similar concern about the possibility of bias by heterosexual judges in such cases.

The outcome of the debate over Mr. Thorne-Begland will say a lot about the commonwealth — whether it remains in thrall to bigots or is ready to face a future in which there is no place for discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.

Gay Hating Bob Marshall is Throwing a Fit Over Thorne-Begland Appointment

One thing that can always be depended upon with House of Delegates member Bob Marshall is that he will repeatedly reveal what a truly foul and hate filled man is is in fact.  And his hatred for LGBT Virginians is near pathological.  The man has openly said that he'd be happy to drive all gays from Virginia.  And now that the Richmond Circuit Court judges have played an end run around Marshall's and heinous bigots at The Family Foundation, the spittle is flying fast and furiously from Marshall's lips.  The reality is that Marshall is quickly becoming utterly outside the main stream even in the delusional Republican Party of Virginia - his 5% showing in this past week's GOP primary is telling.  Now he's lashing out at Bob "Taliban Bob" McDonnell for his approval of the Circuit Court end run - which I believe is part of McDonnell's desperate attempt to appear to be less extreme - and the few fellow members of the GOP who aren't knuckle dragging Neanderthals.  WTVR-TV looks at Marshall's conniption fit and thinly veiled threats aimed at the judges who placed qualifications over religious based hatred.  Here are highlights:

RICHMOND, Va. (WTVR) – One day after Virginia Delegate Bob Marshall questioned whether fellow Republican delegate Manoli Loupassi backed openly-gay Richmond prosecutor Tracy Thorne-Begland for a judgeship because Thorne-Begland donated to Loupassi’s campaign, the Richmond lawmaker dismissed Del. Marshall’s accusation.

“Bob got five percent this week,” Del. Loupassi (R – Richmond) said in reference to Del. Marshall’s showing during the Virginia primary in which Del. Marshall (R – Prince William) lost his bid to be the Republican candidate for Virginia’s U.S. Senate seat. “He’s had a bad week. I forgive him.”

During a phone interview with CBS 6 Thursday, Del. Marshall said he planned to sponsor a bill forbidding lawmakers from sponsoring or voting for a judicial candidates if that candidate had given money to the lawmaker in the previous five years.

Last month Del. Marshall organized state lawmakers to reject Thorne-Begland’s judicial nomination. Del. Marshall argued Thorne-Begland’s history as a gay rights activist made him unfit to be a judge. Thursday, the Richmond Circuit Court circumvented lawmakers and appointed Thorne-Begland to an interim seat on the bench. 

“We appointed the judges who appointed him. So they are calling into question our own judgment. That is not smart, on the part of these circuit court judges,” said Del. Marshall in a phone interview with CBS 6. “To place someone on the board like that who, when he was offered an opportunity to rebut a presumption that he wasn’t committing a felony, under the uniform code of military justice, declined to do so, is a disgrace.”

During the phone interview, Del. Marshall also questioned whether it was proper for Del. Loupassi, who practices law in Richmond, to potentially argue a case before Thorne-Begland given the pair’s financial and political relationship.

“I am a practicing attorney. I win some and I lose some,” Del. Loupassi said. “The reason why you’re losing and the reason why you’re winning is because the judges are making determinations not based upon the lawyer whose in front of them, but based upon the facts that they hear.”  Del. Loupassi said Thorne-Begland would have an opportunity to remove himself from a case should be feel uncomfortable.

And as noted, Marshall is really peeved with Bob McDonnell.  Here are highlights from the Richmond-Times Dispatch on Marshall's spittle flecked comments about McDonnell:

Del. Robert G. Marshall, R-Prince William said Friday that Gov. Bob McDonnell's support for what Marshall called the "end run" appointment of Tracy Thorne-Begland to a Richmond judgeship "encourages judicial usurpation" of a power that the state constitution gives to legislators.

Tucker Martin, a spokesman for McDonnell, said Thursday: "The governor believes Mr. Thorne-Begland is well-qualified to serve on the bench. He congratulates him on the appointment."

On Friday, Marshall released to the media an email he had sent the governor.  "Your support of this judicial appointment by circuit judges means you hold the appointed judiciary to be a branch of Virginia's government superior to the branch elected by the people, the General Assembly," Marshall wrote.

"We can and do differ over the alleged qualifications of this nominee. And I note that your endorsement of the nominee considerably relaxes the standards as to what constitutes disqualifying factors for judicial appointments. I and others are stunned by your open embrace of the judicial activists on the Richmond Circuit Court who have effectively usurped a constitutional power belonging to the General Assembly by selecting a nominee after he was rejected by the assembly."

Marshall is a mean and vicious man.  To those who have met him in person and say he can be charming, my response is this:  So could Adolph Hitler when he wanted to be.  Marshall's hatred towards gays is nearly as pathological as Hitler's hatred towards Jews.  He's dangerous and needs to be voted out of office.  Likewise the The Family Foundation's campaign to threaten and intimidate legislators needs to be ended. 

Richmond Circuit Court Judges Defy Bob Marshall and The Family Foundation

In an amazing turn of events after the Christofascists at The Family Foundation and the mentally deranged and homophobic Del. Bob Marshall torpedoed his appointment to the Richmond District Court Bench, Tracy Thorne-Begland (pictured at left) has been appointed by the Richmond Circuit Court judges to fill a District Court vacancy.  The Circuit Court judges move follows an unusual move by five Richmond based mega law firms - a veritable who's who in the Virginia legal world - that jointly signed a letter addressed to the Circuit Court judges urging them to appoint Thorne-Begland and decrying the bigotry that was evidenced by his treatment by the Virginia House of Delegates.  Hopefully this turn of events will embolden other businesses and corporations to send a strong message that they - and many of us regular citizens - are over the Family Foundation dictating state laws and policy.  Victoria Cobb and her coven of haters at The Family Foundation need to be sent slinking back into the political wilderness or whatever dark swamps or nether regions that they crawled out from.  They are an embarrassment to Virginia and they need to step into the 21st century.  Here are highlights from the Richmond Times-Dispatch:

The Richmond Circuit Court has appointed Richmond prosecutor Tracy Thorne-Begland to fill the judicial vacancy created when the House of Delegates rejected his nomination to the Richmond General District Court bench last month.  He is the first openly gay judge in Virginia.

The appointment is a vindication of sorts for Thorne-Begland and his supporters, who felt his rejection by the GOP-controlled House of Delegates last month was primarily motivated by the fact that he is openly gay.

It is also a bold move for the judges of the Richmond Circuit Court, who know his interim appointment to the bench could face political opposition when it comes up for review next year in the legislature.  The judges did not act in a vaccuum, however.

The May 15 vote in the House sparked a measure of outrage in the legal community, as well as among local elected officials, Democrats, moderate Republicans and a number of organizations representing civil liberties and gay rights.

Earlier this week, five of Richmond's most prominent private attorneys, representing politically influential law firms, sent a letter to the Richmond Circuit Court expressing support for Thorne-Begland. And on Wednesday, an internal Republican memo surfaced that rebutted opposition leveled by several Republicans with military backgrounds over Thorne-Begland's military record as a Naval flight offcer.

The memo, written by Del. Richard L. Morris, R-Isle of Wight -- a 22-year Navy veteran and military law attorney -- argued that Thorne-Begland had not violated military law or his oath in publicly stating his opposition to the military's policy against gays in the armed forces.

Tracy Thorne-Begland has released a statement about his appointment as a general district court judge.

"I am humbled by the Circuit Court's decision," said Thorne-Begland, who serves as Richmond's chief deputy commonwealth's attorney under Commonwealth's Attorney Michael N. Herring.

Thorne-Begland's appointment to the 13th Judicial District in the Manchester Courthouse takes effect July 1.

"I look forward to serving the citizens of the city of Richmond as a jurist, and over the coming months, I hope that my service provides comfort to all Virginians that I remain committed to the faithful application of the laws and Constitutions of Virginia and the United States of America."

 

Tucker Martin, a spokesman for Gov. Bob McDonnell, said:  "The governor believes Mr. Thorne-Begland is well-qualified to serve on the bench. He congratulates him on the appointment."

It is ironic that Victoria Cobb - head Christofascist at The Family Foundation made this remark about the Circuit Court judges' rebuke of her organization's rank bigotry:

"As a member of the court, he now has the responsibility to uphold the Constitution, not apply his own personal, political agenda or viewpoint," said Victoria Cobb, president of the Christian conservative group, The Family Foundation.  "Because of our efforts, he will be watched very closely in the coming years, particularly if he is elevated to any higher court in the future." Cobb said she hoped the "incident" would prompt deeper scrutiny of future judicial candidates.

The Family Foundation and Ms. Cobb do not give a rat's ass for the Constitution and the law.  It is ALL about their personal agenda of turning Virginia into a theocracy governed by the Christianist equivalent of Sharia law.  Ms. Cobb and The Family Foundation represent one of the most insidious forces of evil and threats to constitutional government in the Commonwealth.  It's safe to assume that if her lips are moving, she's lying.

Leaders of Richmond's Largest Law Firms Back Thorne-Begland Judgeship

Having just received a humiliating rebuke - or that's how anyone rational would see it - in his lunatic U.S. Senate nomination bid, Bob Marshall now has the power players in the Richmond legal community pushing the City's Circuit Court judges to do what the General Assembly would not: appoint an openly gay man to the bench.   In the legal world, these are not just local league firms.  No, they are large international law firms with hundreds of attorneys with credentials of the type Marshall could only dream about.  One can only hope that this may be the beginning of large powerful Virginia based law firms and corporations sending a message to the Virginia General Assembly - and the Virginia GOP in particular - that the crazy religious based extremism needs to cease.  It's bad for business and is making Virginia less competitive in the world economy.  Here are highlights from the Washington Post: 

Leaders of Richmond’s five largest law firms are urging the city’s Circuit Court judges to do what the General Assembly would not: appoint an openly gay man to the bench.  The General Assembly in May blocked the appointment of Tracy Thorne-Begland, a veteran Richmond prosecutor, to a relatively low-level District Court judgeship. 

“He’s a bright guy, he’s fair-minded; people that deal with the commonwealth’s attorney’s office think he’s a real leader there,” said former Virginia attorney general Richard Cullen, one of five lawyers who sent a letter to circuit judges Tuesday on Thorne-Begland’s behalf. “I think it’s fair to say we want this to be based on the merits. And based on the merits, Tracy will be an outstanding judge. Nobody disagrees with that.”

The letter was very brief: “We understand that the Court is considering appointing Tracy Thorne-Begland to the District Court for the City of Richmond. We believe he would be an outstanding jurist and support his appointment.”

Along with Cullen, who is chairman of McGuireWoods, it was signed by James V. Meath, chairman of Williams Mullen and a former president of the Virginia Bar Association; Thurston R. Moore, chairman emeritus of Hunton & Williams; John S. West, managing partner of Troutman Sanders’s Richmond office; and Thomas M. Wolf of LeClairRyan, former governor Timothy M. Kaine’s onetime law partner.

Opposition to Thorne-Begland’s appointment was led by the Family Foundation of Virginia and Del. Robert G. Marshall (R-Prince William). 

University of Richmond law professor Carl Tobias said the letter could help. “Having the pillars of the legal establishment strongly urge the Richmond circuit judges to appoint [Thorne-Begland] because he is highly qualified is valuable,” he said via e-mail. Tobias added that what’s up in the air is whether the General Assembly would appoint Thorne-Begland permanently after having an opportunity to assess him during an interim term.

But Marshall, who ran in Tuesday’s primary for U.S. Senate but was defeated by George Allen, was not swayed.  “This is the Republican establishment that can’t take a message,” he said. “This is unbelievable arrogance. We went through this process, the House of Delegates said ‘no,’ we have the authority to do that. We found him wanting in judicial temperament. If they don’t like the outcome, they should run for delegate.”

Perhaps what these firms need to do is find a good candidate to challenge Marshall in 2013 and bankroll Marshall's opponent and get Marshall out of the General Assembly.  He's an embarrassment to Virginia not to mention common decency.   These forms also need to be more aggressive in sending a message to the larger Virginia GOP that religious extremism needs to end.

Bob McDonnell Lies and Claims Never to Have Opposed Gay Judges

In his apparent quest to be Mitt Romney's VP nominee, Bob "Governor Ultrasound" McDonnell is trying to rewrite history and conveniently forget his past statements and video taped interviews.  McDonnell's claim is that he has never opposed the appointment of gays to the judiciary.  Having followed McDonnell's role in the lynch mob like crucifixion of former Circuit Court Judge Verbena Askew, there's only one word that describes McDonnell who earned the nickname "Taliban Bob" during the obscene treatment of Askew: LIAR.  McDonnell's claims are diametrically opposed to what actually happened and what is recorded in numerous local media accounts.  Here are highlights from a Washington Post story where McDonnell fabricates a new version of history:

Bob McDonnell would like you to know that he has not, in fact, evolved on gay judges.  Earlier this month, just before Virginia’s General Assembly rejected a gay judicial nominee, the Republican governor said that homosexuality should not disqualify someone from serving as a judge. He reiterated that stance on a radio program Tuesday and said that’s always been his position.

What about in 2003, host Mark Segraves asked. Back then, while leading a successful effort to unseat a lesbian Circuit Court judge, then-delegate McDonnell questioned whether someone who had engaged in oral or anal sex could serve as a judge because that behavior would violate the state’s anti-sodomy statute.

“It certainly raises some questions about the qualifications to serve as a judge,” he told the Daily Press of Newport News at the time. Segraves quoted that line back to McDonnell.

McDonnell: “No, I think you got that out of context.”  Segraves: “What is context for it?”  McDonnell: “What I said was someone, at the time, actually there were certain acts that would be a crime —”

Segraves: “It’s 2003. Anti-sodomy laws.” McDonnell: “Right. If someone had [committed] a crime, honestly that would call into question their ability to be a judge. But I was very clear in other statements of the time that those factors should not be an element of the decision making.”

The U.S. Supreme Court struck down anti-sodomy laws later in 2003. Segraves asked if the now-invalidated law could still be used to disqualify gay judicial nominees — at least those who were sexually active in Virginia before the Supreme Court ruling. The question appeared to catch McDonnell off guard.

Segraves: “If a judge came before the General Assembly for confirmation now who is openly gay, admitted was openly gay in 2002, and having sexual relationships, and anal sex, which was against the law back then, would that disqualify them from serving as a judge now?”

Once he’d gathered his thoughts, the governor went on to say that he would not object to a gay nominee “if they are otherwise qualified to be on the bench based on merit, ability, judicial temperament and ability to follow the law regardless of what their political beliefs are.”

It should be noted that even though Lawrence v. Texas invalidated Virginia's sodomy statute, Bob McDonnell and his Virginia GOP cronies have blocked every attempt to have that statute repealed and  removed from the Code of Virginia.  Actions do speak louder than words.

Virginia, the Virginia GOP and Family Foundation Trashed in Foreign Press; Bigotry is Bad for Business

The seemingly pea size brains of the misogynist in the Virginia GOP and the Christofascists at The Family Foundation never seem to get it that their hate, bigotry and intolerance do not go unnoticed and that the image of the Commonwealth of Virginia nationally and worldwide is damaged every time they make the state look like a a bigoted, intolerant backwater.   Apparently, in their rush to return Virginia to the 17th century, they never stop to look at the economic toll.  What modern progressive business in its right mind will relocate to a state that seems to pride itself on backwardness.  One need only look at the economic status of Mississippi and Alabama - which seem to be the model for the Virginia GOP and its theocratic allies - to see how backwardness, bigotry and religious extremism are not good for business.  The Guardian (a UK newspaper) has coverage on the Tracy Thorne-Begland "lynching" and none of it's pretty.  Perhaps the most mind numbing aspect id The Family Foundation playing the victim and saying others had resorted to name calling - this from an organization that never tells the truth and lies about LGBT citizens daily.  Here's a sampling of the coverage:  

Senior Democrats expressed their dismay and outrage at the vote in the House of Delegates to reject a prominent local prosecutor, Tracy Thorne-Begland, for a vacancy on the Richmond circuit court. The decision instantly engulfed Virginia in the toxic fumes of the gay marriage debate sweeping America. 

The block on the appointment of Thorne-Begland, 45, has thrown Virginia into the centre of the debate about the legal status of gay and lesbian Americans.

The LGBT civil rights group Lambda Legal said the Virginia action was part of a broader strategy across the nation to undermine fairness and impartiality within the judiciary. Eric Lesh, of the group's fair courts project, said that up to now the focus had been on specific court rulings, such as the judgment of US district judge Vaughn Walker blocking California's gay marriage ban, Proposition 8.

Much attention in the Virginia dispute is being paid to a socially conservative group called the Family Foundation that actively campaigned against Thorne-Begland ahead of the vote. The gay rights group Equality Virginia accused Family Foundation of peddling "fear mongering and shrill personal attacks".

Family Foundation hit back with a statement that charged liberals with resorting to "mean-spirited name-calling, misinformation and bullying. After losing election after election, you would think Virginia's left would finally figure out that they are on the wrong side of these issues."

Mean spirited ought to be Victoria Cobb's middle name.  The woman and her foul organization, in my opinion, are a menace to religious freedom in Virginia.  And as an article in the New York Times noted last week, naked anti-gay bigotry such as was demonstrated by North Carolina's passage of Amendment One and now this bigotry here in Virginia carries a business price.  Here are highlights from the Times  article:

[T]here’s mounting evidence that a state’s support for same-sex marriage yields important benefits for business, especially with the younger, highly educated, affluent population avidly courted by most employers. Brian Ellner, who led the successful Human Rights Campaign for marriage equality in New York, said, “We heard over and over from the C.E.O.’s of major corporations that they don’t want any impediments to recruiting the best people, period, whether they’re people who want to live in a tolerant city or state or gay people who want to live where they feel their families will be protected and safe.”

He described business support in New York as enormously important. “They’re the job creators and the engines of the economy and so important to the health and well-being of the state. And they were on our side.” 

In Washington State, where same-sex marriages are scheduled to begin June 7 unless opponents gather enough signatures to force a referendum, major employers have been sounding similar themes.  Starbucks said in January as the state Legislature was considering allowing same-sex marriage that it “strives to create a company culture that puts our partners first, and our company has a lengthy history of leading and supporting policies that promote equality and inclusion.” Microsoft, the first Fortune 500 company to provide same-sex domestic partnership benefits in 1993, said, “Washington’s employers are at a disadvantage if we cannot offer a similar, inclusive environment to our talented employees, our top recruits and their families” as states that permit same-sex marriage. “Employers in the technology sector,” it went on, “face an unprecedented national and global competition for top talent.”

It’s not just about gay people, because the truth is, there aren’t enough gay people to make a huge impact. But it signals a kind of openness to people who are different. It sends a signal to people, straight or gay, that this is a place where they can potentially thrive. That’s especially critical for companies that rely on people who have to be creative, entrepreneurial and innovative.” 

There is data to suggest that members of the so-called creative class, a phrase coined by Richard Florida in his 2003 book “The Rise of the Creative Class,” with an updated version due out next month, are disproportionately influenced by a state’s attitude on issues like same-sex marriage. This group, which Mr. Florida estimates at more than 35 million people, tends to be mobile, affluent and well educated. “These people have choices,” Mr. Ellner noted, “and if you’re gay and you can be married in New York or Boston, would you opt for that over North Carolina? Of course you would.” 

Mr. Florida, now a professor at the University of Toronto, and Mr. Gates collaborated on a 2002 study for the Brookings Institution, called “Technology and Tolerance: The Importance of Diversity to High-Technology Growth.” The two concluded that “perhaps our most striking finding is that a leading indicator of a metropolitan area’s high-technology success is a large gay population.” They continued, “Frequently cited as a harbinger of redevelopment and gentrification in distressed urban neighborhoods, the presence of gays in a metro area signals a diverse and progressive environment.”

The Virginia GOP has sent a very loud message to the very people that Virginia ought to be seeking to attract that if they are smart, they will go elsewhere.  It's little wonder that in the local LGBT community that smart, talented gays and their allies seek to leave Hampton Roads at the first opportunity.  It's also why Hampton Roads has a brain drain of young college educated people.  If one wants to join Alabama and Mississippi in their usual dead last rankings, then the Virginia GOP is on target.  If one wants progress and a thriving economy, then the Virginia GOP needs to be thrown out of control of Virginia.

Bob McDonnell - Sex and the Southern Governor

While the Tracy Thorne-Begland "lynching" in the Virginia House of Delegates by Virginia Republicans has made the state look beyond backward and reactionary to the world, there's another casualty of the rank unvarnished bigotry: Bob "Governor Ultrasound" McDonnell who has been trying strenuously to make himself look like a moderate and trying to change the public conversation away from the extremism of the Virginia GOP of which he is the ostensible leader.  The events in the wee hours of this past Tuesday did nothing to help McDonnell's effort to win the GOP VP sweepstakes.   McDonnell's dancing around the issue of Thorne-Begland's sexual orientation has also revived interest in McDonnell's own involvement in a similar "lynching" of former Circuit Judge Verbena Askew in 2003.  And then there's the issue of the McDonnell administration's unholy ties to The Family Foundation, a coven of theocracy loving Christianists.  Life's a bitch of late for Taliban Bob.  A column in the Richmond Times Dispatch looks at how the Thorne-Begland matter is blowing back against McDonnell.  Here are highlights:

Other people's sex lives keep getting Bob McDonnell into trouble.   The governor's latest headache: Fellow Republicans in the General Assembly killed the nomination of a veteran Richmond prosecutor, Tracy Thorne-Begland, to a city judgeship because he is gay. Thorne-Begland would have been Virginia's first openly gay judge.

Republicans say Thorne-Begland is unfit for the bench for two reasons: that Thorne-Begland — who, with his partner, has two children — favors same-sex marriage. It has been illegal in Virginia since 2006. And that the former Navy fighter pilot criticized the scrapped Clinton-era rule allowing gays to serve in the military if they kept their sexuality secret — the policy of "don't ask, don't tell."

Sounding like a Washington politician who insists his position on gay rights is evolving, McDonnell — historically, no friend of gay Virginians — said after the vote, "If anyone voted against Mr. Thorne-Begland because of his sexual orientation, that would be very disappointing and unacceptable." Before the vote, McDonnell said candidates for the courts should be considered for their professional qualifications, not their sexuality.  McDonnell said, "These ought to be merit-based selections solely based on a person's skill, ability, fairness, judicial temperament." Sexuality should not be a factor, he said, "only their ability to practice law and mete out fair decisions." 

That's practically the reverse of McDonnell's position in 2003.   Then, as the chairman of the House courts committee, which was considering the reappointment of a Newport News judge who had been accused of sexually harassing another woman, McDonnell clearly established a link between a candidate's CV and sexuality. 

In an interview with the Daily Press of Newport News, McDonnell said a violation of Virginia's ban on anal and oral sex between consenting adults — since invalidated by a U.S. Supreme Court ruling in a Texas case — might disqualify a judicial prospect: "It certainly raises some questions about the qualifications to serve as a judge."   The judge, Verbena Askew, was removed  .   .   . 

[T]the episode — in part because of McDonnell's pronouncement — established sexuality as a standard for court candidates.   It is one easily embraced by a Republican legislative majority that, when told to jump by the Family Foundation, asks how high on the way up.

The conservative grass-roots organization, which initiated the campaign against Thorne-Begland with a tartly worded email alert to supporters last week, has political and personal ties to McDonnell. The Family Foundation's leader, Victoria Cobb, is the wife of a deputy Cabinet secretary, Matt Cobb. His secretariat oversees the health and welfare programs that her group wants reined in.

[T]he vote in the wee, small hours of Tuesday  .   .   .   .  is a nightmare that the governor doesn't need.  This is another punch in the nose to McDonnell's brand of happy-face conservatism, not to mention his now even-longer shot at the vice presidency. It keeps alive the potentially ambition-killing narrative he has struggled to change in recent weeks through campaign-type advertising and by barnstorming the state, emphasizing its economic rebound.

That storyline — nice-guy Southern Republican exposed as committed culture warrior — is largely McDonnell's doing   .   .   .   .   But it is only one data point in a decades-long string of them: McDonnell's 1989 thesis as a law student at Pat Robertson-founded Regent University in which he complained that government policy is wrongly weighted to "cohabitators, homosexuals (and) fornicators." And McDonnell's refusal, as a newly installed governor, to extend an executive order by his two Democratic predecessors protecting gay state employees from discrimination in the workplace.

Taliban Bob worked hard over the years to push the backward thinking, theocratic agenda of Pat Robertson and The Family Foundation.  Now that it's biting him in the ass, I cannot find a single tear to shed for McDonnell.  Past actions and words have consequences as McDonnell is finding out.

Washington Post Slams Virginia GOP

Not to beat a dead horse, but the Washington Post has a great editorial that rips the Virginia GOP a new one over the naked bigotry demonstrated against judicial nominee Tracy Thorne-Begland who suffered the equivalent of a lynching in the Virginia House of Delegates.  The sad episode clear shows the true face of the Republican Party of Virginia and its Christofascist puppeteers at The Family Foundation, a foul "family vales" organization based in Richmond.  Here are highlights from the editorial:

IF ANYTHING, Tracy Thorne-Begland, a top state prosecutor in Richmond with a decade of courtroom experience, is overqualified for a judgeship on the General District Court. Mr. Thorne-Begland, who has prosecuted dozens of homicides and other major felonies, runs one of the biggest commonwealth’s attorney’s offices in Virginia. The caseload of 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.

But the judicial nomination of Mr. Thorne-Begland, a former Navy fighter pilot who is gay, was sabotaged by an ugly campaign of homophobic bigotry led by Virginia Republicans. In a vote at 1 a.m. Tuesday, the GOP-dominated House of Delegates, with an avowed homophobe leading the charge, killed his candidacy, thereby ensuring that Virginia state courts remain free of openly gay judges.

As Richmond’s chief deputy commonwealth’s attorney, he isn’t regarded as a gay rights advocate; he is seen as a consummately professional prosecutor.  But for House Republicans, and for the Family Foundation, an anti-gay group that stirred up opposition to Mr. Thorne-Begland’s nomination, his sexual orientation trumped his copious professional qualifications. Del. Robert G. Marshall (R-Prince William), who last year expressed the view that gays are “intrinsically disordered,” denounced the nominee as “an aggressive activist for the pro-homosexual agenda.”

Mr. Marshall — known in Richmond as “Sideshow Bob” — said that, as a gay man living with a domestic partner, Mr. Thorne-Begland had a lifestyle that would impede him from upholding Virginia’s constitution, which defines marriage as between a man and a woman. As if the nominee’s sexual orientation would cripple his ability to preside over traffic cases and misdemeanors.

No matter how they dressed it up, the Republicans’ opposition boiled down to old-fashioned prejudice. Even by voting at 1 a.m., they couldn’t hide the fact that bigotry and discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation is alive and well in the state of Virginia.

This sad episode conclusively proves the LGBT Virginians cannot expect fair treatment in Virginia, be it in the courts, state employment and just about all other fronts. The Republican Party and its hate group backers continue to do all they can to make us less than full citizens.

The Family Foundation Attacks Gay Judicial Nominee

Not surprisingly, the gay-haters at The Family Foundation - the toxic Virginia affiliate of Focus on the Family and FRC - are absolutely beside themselves that an openly gay man has been nominated for a judgeship on Richmond, Virginia;s General District Court.  The height of the hypocrisy is that the hate merchants are alleging that the personal opinions of the nominee, Tracy Thorne-Begland, might impact his decisions on the bench.  As if the personal opinions of the husband of TFF's Empress of Hate, Victoria Cobb (pictured at left), don't impact his decisions in his position within Bob "Governor Ultrasound" McDonnell's administration.  The Washington Post looks at the spittle flying fast and furiously at TFF.  Here are excerpts:

Tracy Thorne-Begland was booted from the Navy 20 years ago, after coming out as a gay man on national TV to challenge the military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy.  Now his activism in gay rights is complicating his efforts to land another job, this time as a state judge.

The deputy commonwealth attorney for Richmond has been nominated to serve as a judge for the city’s 13th General DistrictCourt. The Family Foundation of Virginia issued a statement Friday opposing his appointment, arguing that his outspokennesson behalf of gay rights makes him unsuitable for the impartial role of judge.

“The question is, will his personal political agenda take precedent over Virginia law and the Constitution?” the Family Foundation statement reads. “Is he going to uphold laws he clearly and very publicly disagrees with? What does he believe is the role of the courts in moving in a more ‘progressive’ direction?

“There is additional concern that, once appointed, a progressively minded judge would be fast-tracked by a Democrat Governor or President to a higher court, like the U.S. Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals for example,” the statement continues.

Thorne-Begland, a former board member of the gay-rights group Equality Virginia, “rose to prominence in the early 90s with an appearance on Nightline coming out as an openly gay Naval Officer,” according to the group’s Website. He has since spoken out in favor of gay marriage. He and his partner, a Richmond lawyer, are raising twins.

Again, Ms. Cobb - or the Empress of Hate as I will henceforth refer to her - has no problem whatsoever with Christofascists injecting their personal views and political opinions into the law (Attorney General Ken "Kookinelli" Cuccinelli is but one example - as is Governor Bob "Taliban Bob" McDonnell), but no one else is supposed to be allowed similar rights and opinions.  Cobb ALWAYS wants special rights for Christofascists and typically the Virginia GOP is only to willing to kiss her bigoted ass. 

P.S. Interestingly enough, all FRC references have been scrubbed from TFF's website since FRC was named a registered hate group.  The Southern Poverty Law Center needs to add The Family Foundation itself to the list.

Chris Chritie Nominates New Jersey's First Openly Gay Supreme Court Justice

OMG!! I cannot wait to hear the venting and gnashing of teeth from the Christianists over GOP Governor Chris Christie's appointment of the first openly gay justice to the New Jersey Supreme Court. The flying spittle will make foul weather gear a necessity! And to make matters worse - oh, the absolute horror - Christie's appointee, Bruce A. Harris, is African American. In addition, Christie filled another vacancy on the Court with an appointee of Asian descent. The folks at Family Research Council and the American Family Association - especially Bryan Fischer - must be convulsing on the floor. Needless to say, I love it! Here's a video clip from the Star-Ledger:

The Star-Ledger has these additional highlights:

Gov. Chris Christie today nominated an openly gay African-American Republican mayor and a Korean-American assistant attorney general to the state’s highest court.

Two nominees are Phil Kwon, 44, who worked under Christie when he was U.S. attorney for New Jersey, and Bruce Harris, 61, who was elected mayor of Chatham Borough in November. Kwon, of Bergen County, would be the first Asian-American to sit on the state Supreme Court, and Harris would be the first openly gay justice.

"I am honored to nominate these two gentlemen," Christie said at a Statehouse news conference. "I trust the Senate will take into account their extraordinary backgrounds and experience and will give them swift hearings.”

The nominees would replace former Justice John Wallace Jr., whom Christie declined to reappoint in 2010, and Justice Virginia Long, who faces mandatory retirement on March 1.

Christie has emphasized that he wants to remake the Supreme Court, which he blames for tying his hands on such issues as financing poor school districts and affordable housing.

Harris graduated magna cum laude from Amherst College, and with honors from Boston University Graduate School of Management. He earned a law degree from Yale. In addition to serving as mayor of Chatham, he most recently worked at the law firm of Greenberg Traurig and previously at Riker, Danzi, Scherer, Hyland and Perretti.

Steve Goldstein, the chief executive of Garden State Equality, a gay rights organization, said he was stunned when Christie called to tell him about the imminent nomination of Harris, 60, a graduate of Yale Law School. "As I told the governor right then and there, you could have picked me up off the floor," Goldstein said .

State Sen. Nicholas Scutari (D-Union), chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, . . . said he was pleased by the diversity of the governor’s appointments, but had yet to examine their professional careers to determine their qualifications for the bench.

Scutari may be pleased with the nominees' diversity, but it's a safe bet that the Christianist/Tea Party crowd will be anything but pleased. Kudos to Governor Christie.

NJ Governor Chris Christie Says What Other Republicans Are Afraid to Say

WOW!! I will concede that to date I haven't been a big fan of New Jersey GOP Governor Chris Christie. But his recent remarks basically ripping Christianists and anti-Muslim loons of the far right a new one in connection with their attacks on his appointment of a Muslim attorney to the bench were truly amazing. Kudos to Governor Christie. Would that more Republicans were brave enough to speak the truth and condemn the hate, ignorance and bigotry of the Christianists and their racist allies.

Among the many things that set off the Christofacists and anti-Muslim zealots is the fact that the nominee, Sohail Mohammed, defended Muslims who were wrongly accused in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks. After all, according to the elements of the far right, only white conservative Christians have rights under the U. S. Constitution. America is becoming a frightening place for minorities. Think Progress has coverage of Christie's amazing statements. Here are highlights followed by a video clip which is well worth watching:

While defending his choice at a press conference, Christie made it clear he is “disgusted” by the “ignorance behind the criticism of Sohail Mohammed.” Paranoid fear of Sharia law has become a growing theme in Republican rhetoric, and Christie lashed out at those who would use Islamophobia to attack an exceptional judge:

CHRISTIE: They are criticizing him because he is a Muslim American…I was disgusted, candidly, by some of the questions he was asked by both parties at the Senate judiciary committee… Sharia Law has nothing to do with this at all — it’s crazy! It’s crazy. The guy’s an American citizen…This Sharia Law business is crap. It’s just crazy, and I’m tired of dealing with the crazies. It’s just unnecessary to be accusing this guy of things just because of his religious background.

Amazing stuff - all of Christie's statements, of course are true. Here's the video clip:

NOM Hate Merchants Take Down Iowa Supreme Court Justices

In a very troubling result, three justices of the Iowa Supreme Court - the court that unanimously ruled in favor of same sex marriage - have not been retained as a result of yesterday's vote. Make no mistake about what this means. NOM and its self-enriching fat cow leader, a/k/a Maggie Gallagher will be working to intimidate judges nationwide from this moment forward since these purveyors of anti-gay hatred know that the courts offer the best opportunity for LGBT Americans to achieve full civil equality. I'm sure Gallagher is thrilled with the results and sees herself with a great meal ticket for years to come as she and her fellow Christofascists work to destroy an independent judiciary and impose the Christian equivalent of sharia law accross the nation. It sickens me and again makes me wonder if long term getting the Hell out of the USA isn't the best goal for LGBT citizens. I tremble at what the older homophobic generation guided by Gallagher and similar whores of hatred may inflict on the country before the old reactionaries and bigots die off. Here are some highlights from the Des Moines Register:
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Three Iowa Supreme Court justices lost their seats Tuesday in a historic upset fueled by their 2009 decision that allowed same-sex couples to marry. Vote totals from 96 percent of Iowa's 1,774 precincts showed Chief Justice Marsha Ternus and Justices David Baker and Michael Streit with less than the simple majority needed to stay on the bench. Their removal marked the first time an Iowa Supreme Court justice has not been retained since 1962, when the merit selection and retention system for judges was adopted.
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The decision is expected to echo to courts throughout the country, as conservative activists had hoped.*
In a statement issued early today, the three justices said: "We hope Iowans will continue to support Iowa's merit selection system for appointing judges. This system helps ensure that judges base their decisions on the law and the Constitution and nothing else. Ultimately, however, the preservation of our state's fair and impartial courts will require more than the integrity and fortitude of individual judges, it will require the steadfast support of the people."
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"In the end, the aggressive campaign to misuse the judicial retention vote, funded by out-of-state special interests, has succeeded," Drake University Law School Dean Allan Vestal said. "The loss of these three justices is most unfortunate, and the damage to our judicial system and the merit selection of judges will take much to repair."
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Groups that wanted the justices ousted poured more than $650,000 into their effort, with heavy support from out-of-state conservative and religious groups. Campaigns that supported the justices and the current state court system spent more than $200,000.
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Two Polk County judges who faced retention challenges survived with more than 60 percent of the vote, as did all of their colleagues at Iowa's largest courthouse. Judge Robert Hanson, who sided with six same-sex couples in the Polk County District Court ruling, was retained with 66 percent support once all precincts were counted. Polk County District Judge Scott Rosenberg, targeted in a last-minute automated phone campaign for signing one gay couple's marriage waiver, kept his seat on the bench with 69 percent.
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The retention challenge triggered a battle never seen in Iowa's judicial history. Television, radio and Internet ads portrayed the justices as both activists and referees. Robo-calls urged a "no" vote. U.S. Rep. Steve King embarked on a statewide bus tour to rally "no" voters.

Panel to Discuss Virginia Courts and Judiciary

The Waynesboro News Virginian has a timely story that needs much more publicity - the Virginia Coalition for Open Government will be holding a meeting that will look at both the judicial selection process, controlled by the General Assembly, and other transparency issues. Virginia has some very good judges, but it also has some very bad ones. Moreover, the enforcement of the Canons of Judicial Conduct are an absolute farce with the blatant violation of the Canons having no effect on the outcome of cases where misconduct occurred. The litigant harmed by prejudice is left with only one recourse: appealing the adverse outcome with added cost and expense involved and no guarantee of the ruling being overturned. The biased or homophobic judge (the majority of gays in divorce cases for instance appear to receive punative treatment for "choosing" to be gay and judges get away with this violation of the Canons regularly) may or may not get their wrist slapped, but most often it seems no adverse consequence to the offending judge is the norm. Here are some story highlights:

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Virginia’s judiciary will be the top topic of an annual conference this fall on opening the working of government to public view. The judicial selection process, controlled by the General Assembly, and a hot-button proposal to make jurors anonymous in criminal cases will be debated by panelists at Access 2009, a conference convened by the Virginia Coalition for Open Government. The judicial topics will occupy two of the four panels on the second day of the conference, scheduled for Oct. 15 and 16 at the Stonewall Jackson Hotel in Staunton.

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A group of citizens, known as the “Pitchfork Rebellion,” have called this year for a public examination of judicial selection. Virginia is one of two states in which the legislature elects judges, but direct election isn’t the primary issue under debate. The group has expressed more concern about the lack of openness in the way judicial candidates are evaluated and chosen, and it wants a public forum on whether to change the selection process and how.

*

Whether some changes will be forthcoming will be interesting to watch. Currently, there seems to be few standards for appointment to the bench and judges in the past have been appointed by ultra-conservative members of the General Assembly because of their extreme far right views rather than experience and competence. This needs to end. In addition, the Canons of Judicial Conduct the prohibit biased judges from hearing cases need to start being enforced.