In an unusually agreeable set of public statements, two of
Virginia’s top Republican contenders for the governorship said Wednesday that
an individual’s sexual orientation should not be the overriding factor that
decides their fit to be a judge.
The public statements came in the wake of the kerfuffle over
Tracy Thorne-Begland’s[1],
an openly gay prosecutor in Richmond, failed nomination to a general district
court judgeship after social conservative legislators and advocacy groups
fought successfully to rebuff his bid, stirring another controversy in Virginia
between liberals, libertarians, and conservatives.
On Tuesday, Gov. McDonnell also publicly stated that “the
individual’s ability to do the job well” should be the primary basis upon which
judicial candidates should be considered.[2]
Thus, three of Virginia’s most politically ambitious
politicians have distanced themselves from the more socially conservative
sphere that has come to dominant the headlines over the course of the 2012
General Assembly session for their less-than progressive views[3]
on women’s rights to gay rights.
Conservative legislators who voted to block Thorne-Begland’s
nomination have argued that the Richmond prosecutor’s support for gay marriage
and gay rights would slant his judicial decisions were he to become judge.
However, the judicial nominations for a labor union supporter and gun-rights
advocate were not questioned, leaving the argument with little force.
The fact of the matter is that virtually every judge comes
with some “baggage,” some more so than others. But usually it’s taken for
granted that the judge in question will rule impartially on the cases before
him or her.
For what it’s worth, one positive is resulting from this
latest controversy stirred by Virginia’s conservative legislators: it is cogently
highlighting just how “out of touch” these individuals are with the times and
what most Virginians, and Americans more generally, believe.
Now the question is whether or not voters in Virginia will
“throw out the bums.”
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