05/16/12: A victory for ‘Virginia’s chief homophobe’

This op-ed appeared in The Virginian-Pilot on the date shown.

LAST WEEK, the president declared his personal support for gay marriage. In the wee hours of the morning Tuesday, the Virginia House of Delegates torpedoed an openly gay attorney’s nomination to the bench.

Tracy Thorne-Begland, the chief deputy attorney in Richmond, is a highly respected prosecutor. He has worked for 12 years in that office and is in charge of handling homicides, assaults and other violent crimes. Before that, he was a Navy pilot. Twenty years ago, he was honorably discharged after publicly disclosing his sexual orientation.

It was his work in the prosecutor’s office that prompted his bipartisan nomination for the bench in Richmond. Republican Del. Manoli Loupassi and Democratic Del. Jennifer Mc-Clellan sponsored it.

One does not become a judge, though, based on sponsorship.

The House and Senate each have a Courts of Justice committee. Potential judicial nominees have to clear both committees to be considered for election to the bench. House Resolution No. 619, patroned by Republican Del. David Albo, and Senate Resolution No. 522, patroned by Republican Sen. Tommy Norment, offered the names into nomination for general district court judgeships. Thorne-Begland’s name was included in both resolutions.

But that was not enough for the man who describes himself as “Virginia’s chief homophobe,” Republican Del. and U.S. Senate candidate Bob Marshall.

Marshall opposed the nomination simply because Thorne-Begland is openly gay. Marshall said that makes him unfit for the bench because it clashes with his duty to uphold the Virginia constitution.

Taking a cue from the Family Foundation of Virginia, which deemed Thorne-Begland unfit because he spoke out against the now-defunct “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy and in favor of gay marriage, Marshall called Thorne-Begland “an aggressive activist for the pro-homosexual agenda.”

Not to make light of the duties of General District Court judges, but who knew traffic tickets were a part of the “pro-homosexual agenda”?

Marshall apparently didn’t get the memo that came out last week in the wake of the president’s announcement.

In it, respected Republican pollster Jan R. van Lohuizen summarizes the current state of the polling data on marriage equality and gay rights. Political pundit Andrew Sullivan writes, “And the pollster’s conclusion is clear: if the GOP keeps up its current rhetoric and positions on gays and lesbians, it is in danger of marginalizing itself to irrelevance or worse.”

Loupassi, the chief defender of Thorne-Begland, went toe-to-toe with Marshall on Monday evening, arguing in favor of the nomination.

“He’s been doing his job and he’s been doing it well. He’s been protecting us from criminals,” said Loupassi, a Richmond attorney who has practiced in courtrooms with Thorne-Begland. “I have known this man for a very long time, and I believe that he absolutely will carry out the duties of his office in a dignified way and a correct way.”

Unfortunately, that was not enough for some people. Thorne-Begland needed 51 votes in favor; he got only 33. With a number of delegates having left the chamber, 31 voted against him and 10 abstained.

Thirty-three delegates, including some Republicans, voted in favor of a highly qualified nominee. Thirty-one delegates — all Republicans — voted against a highly qualified nominee.

I guess they didn’t get the memo.