US: Senate confirms anti-LGBT judicial nominee

Flouting the recognition of June as Pride Month, the U.S. Senate approved on Wednesday a Trump judicial nominee who has a long anti-LGBT record, including defense of Kim Davis for refusing to give marriage licenses to same-sex couples. The Senate confirmed Matthew Kacsmaryk to a seat on the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas by a vote of 52-46.

Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), the first out lesbian elected to the Senate, called on her colleagues from the Senate floor to vote against Kacsmaryk based on his anti-LGBT record, displaying on a placard the title of one of his writings: “The Inequality Act: Weaponizing Same-Sex Marriage.”

Baldwin said she heard from dozens of parents of transgender children who have voiced concern about the prospect of Kacsmaryk on the bench: “I urge my colleagues to send the message to those children, their parents, and the broader LGBTQ community, and the country, that they do count, that they count, that they matter, that we hear their voices, and please, reject this nominee.”

Also speaking out on the Senate floor against Kacsmaryk was Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.), who said his history demonstrates he won’t be an impartial judge and his views are “hateful and out the mainstream.” 

“Mr. Kacsmaryk is another example of an extreme choice by President Trump to jam courts with individuals who will put their political views above the law and use their positions of power to chip away at people’s rights,” Murray said.

Read more via Washington Blade