Virginia Lawmaker Who Led Opposition to Gay Judge Says Sodomy 'Not a Civil Right'
[There was a video here]
Speaking with CNN's Brooke Baldwin on this morning's Starting Point, the Republican Virginia delegate who successfully rallied his party to oppose the appointment of gay Richmond prosecutor Tracy Thorne-Begland to General District Court judge said he didn't see the parallels between previous rights movements and the gay rights movement because "sodomy is not a civil right."
Though he never explicitly pointed to Thorne-Begland's homosexuality as the main reason for his objection to the appointment, Del. Robert G. Marshall (R-Prince William) made it clear that he felt the former Naval officer's challenging of the military's anti-gay policy through his public self-outing on Nightline in 1993 — and his subsequent (honorable) discharge — proved he was unfit to serve as judge.
He also noted Thorne-Begland's same-sex marriage advocacy as a deciding factor, calling his life "a contradiction to the requirement of submission to the constitution."
On CNN, Marshall again sidestepped claims that he took exception to Thorne-Begland's sexual orientation, but made plainly obvious his disdain for homosexuality by calling it "a pattern of behavior."
