Lawmakers block gay man from Va. judge seat

[kpete]

Source: WTVR

Lawmakers block gay man from Va. judge seat

The vote over Tracy Thorne-Begland’s nomination as judge to the Richmond General District Courts ran late into Tuesday morning. At 1:13 a.m. , Del. Jennifer McClellan (D – Richmond) announced lawmakers voted down Begland’s nomination 33-31 with 10 abstentions. He needed 51 votes.

Del. Bob Marshall (R -Manassas) wanted Thorne-Begland, who is openly gay, removed from consideration because of the prosecutor’s past involvement with the gay rights movement, most notably his network interview about “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.”

“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.

Read more: http://wtvr.com/2012/05/15/judge-nomination-of-tracy-thorne-begland-voted-down/

[NorthCarolina]

1. Only Activist Judges Need Apply. nt

[underpants]

2. 2 a.m. lobbying (from the Richmond Times-Dispatch).

BTW- I just bought my daughter a spaghetti dinner at Loupassi's family restaurant in the Fan.
This article just gets sadder and sadder the more you read. An embarassment for the Commonwealth.

2 a.m.

A late-hour lobbying offensive by social conservatives prevailed in the House of Delegates early Tuesday to torpedo bipartisan support for the judicial nomination of an openly gay Richmond prosecutor
...

Thorne-Begland's nomination for a judgeship on the General District Court in Richmond, where he has been a prosecutor for 12 years, had been approved by courts committees in the House and Senate.

“I would like to thank my sponsors, Senator Donald McEachin, and Delegates Jennifer McClellan and Manoli Loupassi and my family for their support," Thorne-Begland said in a statement issued following the vote, which occurred after 1 a.m.


But his nomination came under fire late last week, as the Family Foundation and Del. Robert G. Marshall, R-Prince William, stoked fears that the 45-year-old attorney would allow his sexual orientation to influence his judicial decisions.

http://www2.timesdispatch.com/news/virginia-politics/2012/may/15/22/house-of-delegates-rejects-thorne-begland-for-judg-ar-1914948/