Senators confirmed the judicial
nomination of Marisa Demeo, an openly lesbian candidate, late
Tuesday. The 66-32 vote fell largely along partisan lines.
Republicans opposed to Demeo have
blocked her confirmation to the D.C. Superior Court bench since her
March 2009 nomination by President Obama.
South Carolina Senator Jim DeMint has
led the opposition, telling the National Law Journal in
February: “A number of Republicans had concerns and asked me, as
chairman of Steering, to ask for limited debate and a recorded vote
because of a history of very leftist activism. There are just a
number of things that don't look like a fair-and-balanced approach
that you'd like in a judge.”
Demeo, a D.C. magistrate judge since
2007, has worked as a lobbyist and advocate for Hispanic causes. She
also has a history of gay activism and holds membership in several
groups that advocate for gay and lesbian rights, including the Human
Rights Campaign (HRC) and Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund.
In a letter by the socially
conservative group Traditional Values Coalition, senators were urged
to reject Demeo because she's openly gay. The letter, obtained by
the progressive website ThinkProgress.org,
was published Tuesday.
“As an open, radical lesbian, Demeo
has openly condemned the effort to amend our Constitution to protect
marriage as a one-man, one-woman union,” the group wrote. “Demeo
supports gay marriage, claiming it is a constitutional right. She
also claims that LGBT individuals are equal to racial minorities and
can claim protection as minorities under our civil rights laws.”
The group went on to call Demeo
“dangerous to our nation” and would “destroy traditional
marriage through her edicts.”
Denis Dison, a vice president at the
Gay & Lesbian
Victory Fund, a group that supports openly gay candidates, told
On Top Magazine that Demeo was recommended by the Presidential
Appointments Project, a community driven effort coordinated by his
group.
“We know some extremist groups oppose
her nomination because she is a lesbian,” Dison said,” but that
kind of bigotry has no place in discussions of an individual's
qualifications for a job, especially in the U.S. Senate.”
Demeo, he added, is highly qualified
for the job.