Same-sex rite stalls
judge nomination
SAM HANANEL and KEN
THOMAS, AP from the NYTimes on the Web, October 7, 2006
WASHINGTON, Oct. 6 -- A
judge's elevation to the federal bench could be derailed because she helped
preside over a commitment ceremony for a lesbian couple four years ago.
Republican Sen. Sam Brownback of Kansas has placed a hold on the nomination of
Michigan Court of Appeals Judge Janet T. Neff, saying her presence at the 2002
Massachusetts ceremony raises questions about her judicial philosophy.
"It seems to speak about her view of judicial activism," Brownback said Friday.
"It's something I want to inquire of her further."
Brownback, a vehement opponent of gay marriage who has presidential ambitions,
said he wants to know whether Neff might have presided over "an illegal marriage
ceremony" that skirted Massachusetts law. He has asked the Justice
Department for a formal legal opinion on Neff's conduct.
Ceremonies marking the union of same-sex couples are usually symbolic events
that carry no legal benefits and require no government approval.
Massachusetts did not recognize gay marriages in 2002 but legalized same-sex
marriage two years later after a ruling from its highest court.
Conservative activists expressed concerns about Neff after seeing her name in a
September 2002 New York Times "Weddings/Celebrations" announcement. It
said Neff led the commitment ceremony for Karen Adelman and Mary Curtin with the
Rev. Kelly A. Gallagher, a minister of the United Church of Christ.
Both women are former employees of the gay rights group Human Rights Campaign in
Washington.
"When she did the commitment ceremony, she was doing it in her role as a judge,
and that draws up a serious question," said Tom McClusky, a spokesman for the
Family Research Council, a conservative group. "She would be more
sympathetic to an activist on the issue of homosexual marriage."
The Senate Judiciary Committee last week approved Neff for a seat on the U.S.
District Court in Michigan's Western District, and the nomination is pending
before the full Senate. A single senator can block a nomination from
moving forward by placing a hold on it.
Neither Neff nor a White House spokesman returned calls seeking comment on
Friday.
Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., who learned about the ceremony this week, said based
on the newspaper announcement it didn't sound like Neff did anything illegal.
"There's no reason why two people can't stand up and exchange commitments with
each other provided they don't do anything illegal," Levin said.
Brownback cited recent instances in California and New York where local
officials issued marriage licenses to same-sex couples contrary to existing
laws.
"I don't know what she did," Brownback said. "That's why there's a factual
question."
Gay activists call Brownback's inquiry a publicity stunt that is irrelevant to
Neff's qualifications.
"This has got nothing to do with legal or ethical concerns by Sam Brownback and
everything to do with him finding another opportunity to show himself to be the
mean-spirited bigot that he is," said Joe Solmonese, president of the Human
Rights Campaign.
Neff, 61, has served on the Michigan Court of Appeals since 1989. She was
nominated by President Bush in June -- along with Grand Rapids attorney Robert
Jonker and Berrien County Circuit Judge Paul Maloney -- to fill three vacancies
on the district court.
Levin said Neff was nominated along with Jonker and Maloney as part of an
agreement he and Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., reached with the White House.
Brownback said Neff has a more liberal reputation while Jonker and Maloney are
considered conservatives.
McClusky said he doesn't understand why Bush struck a deal to appoint Neff and
said the president is going back on his promise to appoint judges in the mold of
Supreme Court Justices Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas.
Bush has long advocated a ban on gay marriage. In July, a proposed
constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage failed to win the needed
two-thirds support in both the Senate and House.
Forty-five states have either constitutional amendments banning gay marriage or
statutes outlawing same-sex weddings. Twenty states, including Michigan,
have approved bans on same-sex marriage, and eight states are considering
similar measures in November.
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