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发帖数: 19713 | 1 Obama Nominates Another Gay Man for Federal Bench
By Lucas Grindley
MICHAEL W. FITZGERALD X390 | ADVOCATE.COM
The potential for a significant change in the number of openly gay judges
serving on the federal bench continued Wednesday with the nomination of
Michael Walter Fitzgerald by President Obama.
His nomination comes on the heels of Paul Oetken's confirmation as a federal
judge Monday. Oetken became the first openly gay man ever confirmed in a
Senate vote.
Already serving is U.S. district judge Deborah Batts, a lesbian appointed
during the Clinton administration.
Obama praised Fitzgerald, who is a partner at a Los Angeles law firm, for
his "impressive career" and "formidable intellect." Obama has also nominated
Alison Nathan for a judgeship in the Southern District of New York and
Edmund Dumont as a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal
Circuit.
Retired judge Vaughn Walker, who was nominated as a U.S. district judge by
George H.W. Bush in 1989, was outed as gay during a case about the
constitutionality of California's Proposition 8. Supporters of that
amendment had argued Walker was unfit to make decisions in the case because
of his sexual orientation.
Although supporters of Oetken's nomination pointed to the need for LGBT
judges, Walker told Reuters a judge's sexual orientation should never be a
factor in a case. "That's a very slippery slope," Walker said. | m******8
发帖数: 2153 | 2 美国参议院18日晚间以压倒性的表决结果，通过美国历史上第一桩由公开出柜男同性
恋者出任联邦法官的人事案。
参议院在80票赞成、13票反对的情况下，同意由柯林顿政府时代的法律顾问欧特肯
(Paul Oetken)，出任纽约州南区联邦地方法院法官。
参议院司法委员会主席莱希(Patrick Leahy)赞扬欧特肯是深具资格的被提名人，
他也赞扬欧巴马总统这项创新的提名之举。
纽约州6月才成为美国第六个、也是人口最多的承认同志婚姻合法化的州。另外5州
为爱荷华、新罕布什尔、麻塞诸塞、康乃狄克和佛蒙特。
此外，加州等其他州则承认同性恋者的民事结合，但不承认同性婚姻。
根据今年3月的一项民意调查，53%美国人倾向于允许同性恋者婚姻。（撰稿：季平
，新闻引据：采访、法新社，2011-07-19） |
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