As a child growing up, there was a sampler in one of the rooms in our house:
"To be a Virginian/By birth, marriage, or even on one's mother's side/Is an invitation to any state in the Union, a passport to any country, and a benediction from the Almighty God."
I have always been inordinately proud to be a Virginian and a Richmonder. There are dark chapters in our history, as there are for any person or place. But there is so much to be proud of: the first permanent settlement in the "New World," the "Birthplace of Presidents," the Palladian architecture of the State Capitol and Monticello, the University of Virginia, beautiful country from mountain to sea. Never before have I been less than proud of my Commonwealth. Not until today.
Today, an honorable man, an esteemed and decorated lawyer, and a gifted prosecutor who has served this Country, this Commonwealth, and this City, was denied appointment as a judge because he is openly gay. Tracy Thorne-Begland deserved better than that. The people of this City deserved better than that. The citizens of the Commonwealth deserved better than that.
I have the privilege of knowing Tracy Thorne-Begland. Tracy was a classmate in law school and I consider both him and his partner, Michael, to be friends. I know exactly how gifted a prosecutor he is. I know exactly how good a man he is. His sexual orientation should be irrelevant to any evaluation of his fitness to serve and uphold the laws of the Commonwealth.
People will want to say I must be a Democrat, and the Democrats have an agenda. If forced to self-identify with a political party, I have called myself a Republican for the last 20 years, although I have generally held my nose while I did so. I believe in smaller federal government, one limited to those powers enumerated to it in the Constitution. All other responsibilities rightfully belong to the states. I believe in fiscal discipline and a strong defense. And I believe who someone loves has no bearing on one's ability to sit the bench and administer the laws of the Commonwealth dispassionately and fairly.
Today, I am not proud to be a Virginian. Today, I am ashamed.
It truly is a sad day for Virginia. I cannot believe the elected representatives of this great Commonwealth are these cravens, bigots, and cowards. And no, I don't consider that name-calling or hyperbole. For those of you who refused to vote or abstained, you are cravens and cowards. For those of you who voted against a distinguished prosecutor, only because he is openly gay, you are bigots. Claiming potential judicial activism and trying to wrap yourself in the Constitution - you aren't fooling anyone. Every single one of you should be ashamed, and I hope this brings challengers of ANY political stripe out of the woodwork to challenge these people. I do not generally comment on politics, unless I am criticizing a development decision or real-estate related matter and the political component is tangential, but what happened yesterday was and IS wrong. People need to stand up againt it and refuse to accept elected officials who discriminate EVER AGAIN. Virginians are better than this, I know we are.
Posted by: Melissa Loughridge Savenko | May 16, 2012 at 03:42 PM
If you haven't already listened to the May 15 episode of "Hearsay with Cathy Lewis" you should. The intellectual dishonestly the Prince William county deligates displayed is amazing; simple beyond words. At the end of the day, the Richmond candidate was removed from consideration for judicial appointment because he gay. Not because of his ability, capabilities, or qualifications. End of story.
They accuse the candidate of potential judicial activism, yet provide no meaningful evidence of him using/misusing his position as a commonwealth attorney to advance his cause. None. Potential judicial activism would be a reason to disqualify anyone who is black, or female, or non native born, and the list goes on.
Posted by: Jason | May 15, 2012 at 10:44 PM