Virginia state lawmakers blocked the nomination of an openly gay attorney for a district court judge position on Tuesday.
In a 33 to 31 vote, Virginia's Republican-controlled House of Delegates nixed the nomination of Richmond Deputy Commonwealth Attorney Tracy Thorne-Begland to the 13th General District Court.
Lawmakers said he was not fit for the bench due to his political activism on gay rights during the past two decades, according to the Washington Examiner.
Thorne-Begland has spoken openly on gay rights and was discharged from the U.S. Navy under the 'Don't Ask Don't Tell' policy after coming out as gay in an interview on ABC's "Nightline" in 1993. He said he would refrain from political activity if appointed to the position.
Republican Del. Bob Marshall launched an effort to block Thorne-Begland's nomination, claiming we was "an aggressive activist for the pro-homosexual agenda."
Thorne-Begland lives with his partner and two adopted children in Virginia.
"Marriage is between one man and one woman, and the applicant has represented himself in public in a relationship that we don't recognize in Virginia," Marshall said in an interview with WRIC, the ABC affiliate in Richmond.
Marshall is currently running for U.S. Senate in Virginia's Republican primary against likely nominee George Allen.
"In those cases where my impartiality could reasonably be questioned, I will, as any judge in my position would, recuse myself," Thorne-Begland wrote in a letter to the state Courts of Justice Committee.
Republican Del. Manoli Loupassi nominated Thorne-Begland.
"It is without question that he is extremely qualified," Loupassi said "The type of issues, the social issues that would touch upon someone's constitutional interpretations, these things don't come up in district court."
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