Michael Fitzgerald |
Earlier this month, Michael Fitzgerald, an openly gay California lawyer was approved by a vote of 91-6 in the Senate to serve as a federal judge on the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California. Subsequently, this makes him the the fourth out LGBT federal, lifetime-tenured judge in the nation.
And members of the religious right aren't happy over that. Brad Dacus, president of the right-wing Pacific Justice Institute, thinks its a plot by Obama - a plot of what, I'm not sure. He also thinks that Fitzgerald isn't qualified.
However if you ask me, Mr. Dacus really should have kept his mouth closed on this situation. That way, none of his ignorance would have escaped:
"This president continually appoints judges not based upon their qualifications or their skills, but instead based upon their participation in one group or another," he contends. "Political correctness has absolutely no place when choosing those whose job it is to ensure fair and blind justice for all Americans."
And that, my friends is the gist of the article. Dacus claims that Fitzgerald isn't qualified to be a judge, but he neglects to say why. Perhaps Dacus thought that he could relay his concerns via the Jedi mind trick.
Or perhaps Dacus opposes Fitzgerald being a judge simply because Fitzgerald is gay and is too chickenshit to be honest about it.
My money is on the second conclusion.
Fitzgerald was not selected by President Obama and approved 91-6 by the Senate because he is openly gay. Apparently he has the aptitude and skills to more than handle the job he was appointed to. It's a shame that bigotry blinds Dacus to this simple fact.
Where was this guy when former President Bush's Department of Justice was screening candidates based upon their stance on abortion?
ReplyDeleteMichael Fitzgerald is very well qualified indeed. He was rated "unanimously well qualified" by the ABA. As a young lawyer he took an important case pro bono against the FBI, which had fired an FBI special agent because he was gay and therefore could not get a security clearance. This case in 1993 led to the FBI having to change its policies and, ultimately, in 1997,to an executive order by President Clinton instructing all agencies not to use sexual orientation as a factor in approving securing clearances. See the blog on Fitzgerald at glbtq.com.
ReplyDeleteI love how easy it is to show the hypocrisy of these guys, all it took was a five word Google search.
ReplyDeleteBrad Dacus, president of Pacific Justice Institute, stated, “It is clear that Harriet Miers has a distinguished legal career and has worked closely with President Bush to appoint many exceptional judges to the federal bench. We are hopeful that she will herself prove to be a strict constructionist, and we will be closely monitoring the upcoming confirmation hearings in the Senate.”
http://www.lifesitenews.com/news/archive/ldn/1951/00/5100306
"It is better to be thought a fool, than to open your mouth etc.etc."
ReplyDeleteHistory writes itself.