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<\/p>\nGOP Blocks Confirmation of Gay Connecticut Supreme Court Chief Justice Candidate<\/b>
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Connecticut Senate Republicans blocked the confirmation of gay<\/a> Judge Andrew J McDonald as Chief Justice of the state Supreme Court in a 19-16 vote.<\/p>\n The Hartford Courant<\/em> reports<\/a>:<\/p>\n All 18 Senate\u00a0Republicans<\/a>\u00a0voted against McDonald and were joined by a moderate Democrat, Sen.\u00a0Joan Hartley<\/a>\u00a0of Waterbury, a strong supporter of the death penalty who was concerned about McDonald\u2019s vote to eliminate capital punishment\u2026.<\/p>\n \u2026Gov. Dannel P. Malloy, a close friend and political ally of McDonald\u2019s for the past 25 years, charged that part of the reason that Republicans are opposed to McDonald is that he is gay<\/a>. But Republicans have repeatedly and heatedly denied that allegation, saying they have never mentioned McDonald\u2019s sexuality during the weeks that his nomination has become highly controversial.<\/p>\n Said Malloy:\u00a0\u201cLet there be no doubt that Andrew was treated differently than any other person nominated and quite frankly the only difference is that he was openly gay<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n The Connecticut Mirror<\/em> adds<\/a>:<\/p>\n Sen. Beth Bye, D-West Hartford, the only openly gay<\/a> member of the Senate, said McDonald\u2019s treatment was a dramatic departure from previous confirmations, beginning with an unprecedented 13-hour confirmation hearing and the legislature\u2019s second-guessing of his ethics and approach to several controversial cases.<\/p>\n \u201cSo forgive my skepticism that this has nothing to do with Justice McDonald being gay<\/a>,\u201d Bye said.<\/p>\n The NYT reported<\/a> last week that the confirmation had turned into \u201ca contentious partisan fight\u201d<\/p>\n Bye spoke out then as well:<\/p>\n \u201cThe whole thing is just, I\u2019ll tell you, it\u2019s so out of character for this building,\u201d said Senator Beth Bye, a Democrat who supports Justice McDonald. \u201cThat\u2019s why you have to say, what else could be up? It doesn\u2019t sit with past practice.\u201d<\/p>\n McDonald delivered a statement following the vote<\/a>:<\/p>\n \u201cWhenever I faced a challenging situation, or was disappointed about something that happened to me, she would always remind me, \u2018Andrew, life is not about you. It\u2019s about those who need you.\u2019 To everyone I tried to help, and to everyone who tried to help me, I am sorry I failed in this endeavor. And to the LGBT community, particularly its youth who I know have been closely watching this process, I want you to understand that every minority group in history has faced setbacks. In the fullness of time, those setbacks usually end up becoming a source of strength, a reminder of why the community must continue to press for equality, and a framework that helps shape and develop the next steps of progress.\u201d<\/p>\n The post GOP Blocks Confirmation of Gay Connecticut Supreme Court Chief Justice Candidate<\/a> appeared first on Towleroad<\/a>.<\/p>\n