People of Faith for Equality in Virginia

Justice Rolling Down Like Waters

LetJusticeRoll The heavens opened last week in Virginia and justice came pouring down.

That’s the only way I know how to describe the amount of good news we received.

On Tuesday, the McGuire Veterans Medical Center sponsored its first Equality Day. Representatives from various LGBT and LBGT-related organizations spent four hours answering questions and sharing resources with staff and clients at McGuire.

Then Thursday. . . . well, Thursday is a day I will long remember. That it was Flag Day just made it more special.

First, the front page of the Richmond Times-Dispatch carried this headline: “Delegate Reverses Self on Judgeship.” The judgeship in question: Tracy Thorne-Begland’s appointment to the District Court bench in Richmond, earlier blocked by Del. Bob Marshall and other Republicans in the House of Delegates. You can read the story here.

Del_Richard_Morris Now, after a careful review of all the facts, a very brave, principled man, Del. Richard L. Morris, R-Isle of Wight (pictured right), decided his vote against Tracy had been wrong. And he did not just tell a few folks about it, he wrote a carefully-reasoned, well-researched four-page letter to all his Republican caucus colleagues telling them the true facts and saying why Tracy deserved appointment. You can read his letter here.

Your Obsession Is Showing

by Rev. Dr. Robin H. Gorsline, President

The past ten days have been topsy-turvy, to say the least. Last week Sunday, Vice President Biden spoke up for marriage. Then, on Tuesday, North Carolina voters dealt marriage a heavy blow. Then on Wednesday, the President spoke up for marriage, standing foursquare with Biden.

Tracy_Thorne_Begland2 Today, in the middle of the night, the House of Delegates in Virginia went back, saying “No” to the nomination of Tracy Thorne-Begland for a district court judgeship in Richmond, and saying, in effect, if you are gay, don’t expect to be approved for any office. For many of us, it felt like a request that we simply leave “their” commonwealth.

What has been done to Tracy Thorne-Begland is shameful. The opposition in the House—all Republicans—have taken the good name, the sterling reputation, of a decorated Navy “top gun” airman and dedicated public servant and dragged it through the mud. Fortunately, his character is strong, and too many people know him well so that the mud will only stick to his critics.

Tracy_pilot A truly unsettling aspect to this is how easy it is for people to twist the act of a patriot in challenging unjust laws into some sort of nefarious and dangerous activism. The truth of Tracy’s advocacy against discrimination in the military is that he was right in 1992 and it only took Congress, the Joint Chiefs of Staff and others 19 years to finally catch up to him. That is of course the real truth here: the 31 Republicans who voted against his confirmation (and probably some who hid and did not vote) really yearn for a return to the good old days of anti-LGBT military policies. And based on their votes against women’s reproductive health needs they want to return to a few other old ways as well.

Perhaps even more unsettling is the statement by Delegate Bob Marshall that “if a polygamist had an otherwise sterling reputation he would not be qualified because that is against the law - likewise Thorne-Begland admits he has a partner and Virginia has a marriage law therefore he is not qualified.” This is of course, is both insulting and utterly wrong legally. And the claim is a direct contradiction of what Marshall said in 2006 when he was promoting the anti-marriage amendment he had written.

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Prayers in Support of Thorne-Begland

Our prayers are needed urgently right now, Sunday night and Monday, for the cause of simple justice in the General Assembly of Virginia.

The cause? The appointment of a respected attorney and prosecutor to the bench of the Richmond 13th General District Court.

Actually, our prayers may be just as much about the need to stop a miscarriage of justice. The possible miscarriage? This good man could be denied approval of his appointment due to the wild conspiracy theories, and the homophobia, of the Family Foundation.

You may think this an unusual prayer request and you would be correct. But this is about justice for one good person, and actually justice for all of us.

Tracy_Thorne_Begland2 Tracy Thorne-Begland, a prosecutor for 12 years who currently serves as Deputy Commonwealth’s Attorney in Richmond, was nominated to serve as a judge of the city’s district court. All seemed positive for his approval by the General Assembly, until the Family Foundation of Virginia chose to focus on Thorne-Begland’s activism in 1992 when, as a “top gun” pilot, he was booted from the Navy after coming out as a gay man on national TV to challenge the military’s Don’t Ask Don’t Tell policy. They also spied what the FF seems to think is some sort of conspiracy to get Thorne-Begland elevated to a high court. Some conspiracy theories have a kernel of truth in them. Much of the time they just reveal more about the theorists than anything.

The FF also is critical of him for making comments critical of Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli’s advice to public universities to back off from policies prohibiting anti-LGBT discrimination. Never mind that many attorneys voiced similar criticisms of the AG’s reasoning.

Del. Manoli Loupassi, a conservative Republican from Richmond, is Thorne-Begland’s chief patron in the House. He dismisses the concerns because, Thorne-Begland “is absolutely well-qualified.” Besides, Loupassi says, the court is “like our ‘Night Court,” dealing with very basic cases. “He’s not going to be making decisions relative to some of the hot-button social issues.”

But, it seems not all Republicans are persuaded that the prosecutor should be appointed. So there seems to be a move afoot to deny approval to the Thorn-Begland appointment.

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