RICHMOND — A Republican lawmaker running for the U.S. Senate in Virginia led a successful charge early Tuesday morning to block the nomination of a Richmond attorney vying for a judgeship because the judicial candidate is gay.
At 1:15 a.m. Tuesday, the Republican-led House of Delegates, prodded by Del. Bob Marshall, R-Manassas, shot down the nomination of Richmond Deputy Commonwealth Attorney Tracy Thorne-Begland to the 13th General District Court, citing the candidate’s two decades fighting for gay rights as evidence that he wasn’t fit for the bench. Thorne-Begland is a retired Navy officer who was honorably discharged after coming out as gay on the ABC news show “Nightline” in 1993.
Marshall, one of four Republicans running for the Virginia’s open Senate seat, said Thorne-Begland’s history of activism would prevent him from upholding Virginia’s constitution, which defines marriage as between a man and a woman. Marshall and compared Thorne-Begland’s relationships to polygamy, which is illegal in Virginia.
“When you state that you’re in a relationship that’s in a contradiction of [the state constitution], I don’t see how you can be a judge,” Marshall said.
The House defeated Thorne-Begland on a 33-31 vote after a marathon special session dedicated mainly to finishing work on the state budget. A majority, or 51 votes, was needed to approve him. By the time the vote was cast, many lawmakers had already left the chamber. About 10 who remained abstained from voting.
The rest of the nominees for judgeships passed the House on a unanimous or near-unanimous vote.
Marshall first announced Saturday that he would oppose Thorne-Begland’s nomination after The Family Foundation, a socially conservative organization, came out strongly against the Richmond lawyer’s candidacy.
Del. Manoli Loupassi, a Republican from Richmond, nominated Thorne-Begland, who served 12 years as a prosecutor in the city.
“It is without question that he is extremely qualified,” Loupassi said. “The type of issues, the social issues that would touch upon someone’s constitutional interpretations, these things don’t come up in district court.”
Democrats attempted to dispel Marshall’s statements before he and other Republicans, many former military members, spoke against the nomination.
“There are some who say he’s not qualified simply because he told the truth about who he was, which many people say was the right thing to do,” said Del. Jennifer McClellan, D-Richmond. “He has been vindicated.”
Marshall questioned whether Throne-Begland could uphold the oath of office after violating the military oath not to take sides in political issues and publicize them in the media.
“If you want to be an advocate that’s one thing. You have a First Amendment right to do it,” Marshall said. “But having already taken an oath and violated it, why would we” give him another chance?
Democrats decried the attempts to block the appointment as a hateful attack on the gay community.
“Bob Marshall has a history of anti-gay zealotry that goes back a long time,” Sen. Adam Ebbin, D-Alexandria, Virginia’s only openly gay lawmaker, told The Washington Examiner.
“It makes me sad and frustrated that someone who is clearly qualified would be questioned based on orientation. I would have hoped we moved beyond that.”
