Presidental Candidates and Gay Issues -- Sam Brownback

Presidential candidate and Republican U.S. Senator Sam Brownback, from Kansas, on gay weddings...

In May 2007, Republican presidential candidate and Kansas senator, Sam Brownback bullied a nominee for a judgeship in Michigan, Janet Neff, because she had attended a same-sex union ceremony in 2002.

The Senate Judiciary Committee had cleared Neff for the post, but Brownback had questions about her role in the same-sex ceremony, which surfaced because of a wedding announcement in The New York Times.

Neff attended the ceremony for the daughter of close family friends and her partner. Neff said she gave a homily, but did not preside over the service. The family lived next door to Neff for 26 years.

"...was it a marriage ceremony?" Brownback asked.

"It was not," Neff said.

Brownback said the key issue is whether Neff participated in an illegal ceremony. Brownback blocked her nomination, arguing that being friends with a gay neighbor for more than two decades necessarily disqualifies a person for the federal bench, even if you’re nominated by the Bush White House.

He eventually dropped his opposition to her nomination. But only after proving to his base how macho he is. Read all about it here.

Photo from All Aussie Beef.