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| Robert Marshall |
RICHMOND, Va. --
In a testy interview Thursday with CNN on the Virginia
legislature's refusal to appoint openly gay Richmond prosecutor Tracy
Thorne-Begland to a judgeship, Del. Robert G. Marshall, R-Prince
William, declared that "sodomy is not a civil right."
Marshall, a U.S. Senate candidate and one of the General Assembly's most conservative members, denied that he had lobbied against Thorne-Begland because he is gay, but instead termed him an "activist."
Marshall said Thorne-Begland "displayed a pattern of behavior inconsistent with what we have come to expect in Virginia judges."
As examples, he said Thorne-Begland had been forced to "misstate his background" in order to join the Navy in the late 1980s, defied regulation by going on television and been openly critical of the now-defunct "don't ask, don't tell" policy.
"He can be a prosecutor if he wants to," Marshall said, "but we don't want advocates as judges."
Marshall added that he was "concerned about possible bias" if Thorne-Begland had been appointed a General District judge, using the example of a barroom fight between a homosexual and heterosexual.
Marshall rejected the CNN interviewer's comparison of the issue to civil rights and women's suffrage, remarking: "Sodomy is not a civil right. It's not the same as the civil rights movement."
In 2003, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the sodomy law in Texas, invalidating such laws in more than a dozen other states, including Virginia.
Also Thursday, Bill Harrison, interim executive director of the Gay Community Center of Richmond, said in a statement that he hopes lawmakers' "shameful" rejection of Thorne-Begland will inspire action.
"History shows us that the minority must bring the injustices to the attention of the majority," he said. "If Rosa Parks waited for white people to make the changes, her seat would not have been moved for years to come."
The legislature's rejection of Thorne-Begland also entered the realm of the presidential election in Virginia, which is again shaping up as a critical swing state in the fall.
"This was an opportunity for Mitt Romney to stand up and say what the legislature did was just plain wrong — something even Bob McDonnell did," said Stephanie Cutter, deputy campaign manager of Obama for America.
"Yet as we have seen time and time again, Romney is incapable of standing up to the fringe of his party and showing any type of leadership."
The Romney campaign said in response that the president and his campaign are trying to divert attention from the economy.
"This is yet another example of how President Obama and his campaign would rather talk about anything other than his failed economic record," said Curt Cashour, Virginia communications director of Romney for President.
"Obama's presidency just hasn't lived up to the promise of his 2008 campaign and, after more than three years in office, Americans are still suffering through one of the worst job markets in history. No wonder the Obama campaign is trying to change the subject."
source
Marshall, a U.S. Senate candidate and one of the General Assembly's most conservative members, denied that he had lobbied against Thorne-Begland because he is gay, but instead termed him an "activist."
Marshall said Thorne-Begland "displayed a pattern of behavior inconsistent with what we have come to expect in Virginia judges."
As examples, he said Thorne-Begland had been forced to "misstate his background" in order to join the Navy in the late 1980s, defied regulation by going on television and been openly critical of the now-defunct "don't ask, don't tell" policy.
"He can be a prosecutor if he wants to," Marshall said, "but we don't want advocates as judges."
Marshall added that he was "concerned about possible bias" if Thorne-Begland had been appointed a General District judge, using the example of a barroom fight between a homosexual and heterosexual.
Marshall rejected the CNN interviewer's comparison of the issue to civil rights and women's suffrage, remarking: "Sodomy is not a civil right. It's not the same as the civil rights movement."
In 2003, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the sodomy law in Texas, invalidating such laws in more than a dozen other states, including Virginia.
Also Thursday, Bill Harrison, interim executive director of the Gay Community Center of Richmond, said in a statement that he hopes lawmakers' "shameful" rejection of Thorne-Begland will inspire action.
"History shows us that the minority must bring the injustices to the attention of the majority," he said. "If Rosa Parks waited for white people to make the changes, her seat would not have been moved for years to come."
The legislature's rejection of Thorne-Begland also entered the realm of the presidential election in Virginia, which is again shaping up as a critical swing state in the fall.
"This was an opportunity for Mitt Romney to stand up and say what the legislature did was just plain wrong — something even Bob McDonnell did," said Stephanie Cutter, deputy campaign manager of Obama for America.
"Yet as we have seen time and time again, Romney is incapable of standing up to the fringe of his party and showing any type of leadership."
The Romney campaign said in response that the president and his campaign are trying to divert attention from the economy.
"This is yet another example of how President Obama and his campaign would rather talk about anything other than his failed economic record," said Curt Cashour, Virginia communications director of Romney for President.
"Obama's presidency just hasn't lived up to the promise of his 2008 campaign and, after more than three years in office, Americans are still suffering through one of the worst job markets in history. No wonder the Obama campaign is trying to change the subject."
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