Leave a Comment Jacob Combs
President Obama nominates first gay Asian-American to federal bench
August 3, 2012
By Jacob Combs
Yesterday, President Obama nominated federal prosecutor Pamela Chen to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York, making her the first openly gay Asian-American nominated to the federal bench. Of the more than 900 lifetime judgeships in the United States, only one is currently held by a Chinese-American and only two are held by out gay women.
In his nomination, Obama referenced Chen’s work as an attorney in New York, saying “Pamela Chen has a long and distinguished record of service, and I am confident she will serve on the federal bench with distinction.” Chen attended the University of Michigan and Georgetown Law, worked as an assistant U.S. attorney in the Eastern District of New York from 1998 on, and was the deputy commissioner for enforcement at the New York State Division of Human Rights for four months in 2008. Her boss, Brooklyn U.S. Attorney Loretta Lynch, told NY Daily News that Chen is “quite simply, the complete package.”
Chen marks the fifth openly gay attorney President Obama has nominated to the federal bench. Out gays and lesbians are woefully underrepresented in the federal judiciary, with only one currently sitting judge, Deborah Batts, a Clinton appointee, predating Obama’s presidency. Three of Obama’s gay nominees were confirmed; one withdrew his nomination out of frustration with the slow pace of confirmation in the current Senate. Chen’s nomination will now go to the Senate, where Republicans have made significant efforts to stymie the confirmation process.
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6 Comments Leave a Comment
1.
Bob | August 3, 2012 at 9:10 am
good pick Mr. president,,,,
and also thanks for making some effort to stop Westboro Baptist church
demonstrators will no longer be allowed to picket military funerals two hours before or after a service. The bill also requires protestors to be at least 300 feet away from grieving family members.demonstrators will no longer be allowed to picket military funerals two hours before or after a service. The bill also requires protestors to be at least 300 feet away from grieving family members.
2.
Bob | August 3, 2012 at 9:12 am
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/02/veterans…
3.
Bob | August 3, 2012 at 9:15 am
This aspect of the legislation was introduced by Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-Maine), who, at the urging of a teenage constituent, proposed new limitations on military funeral demonstrations as a response to a 2011 Supreme Court case that ruled such actions were protected under the First Amendment.
4.
Sagesse | August 3, 2012 at 9:34 am
@
5.
Jamie | August 3, 2012 at 10:57 am
To be clear, the Supreme Court said that the group could protest funerals, and those families could not sue the group for pain and suffering in response because the speech was protected under the First Amendment. However, I think there are a number of state laws that ban protests within certain distances of funerals, and that those laws have been upheld by the courts because they are "content neutral" and ban all speech and protests at funerals. This new federal law simply extends those laws to the entire country.
6.
Bob | August 3, 2012 at 12:18 pm
the new laws will impose more restrictions than previous,,,,, i.e. no protest two hrs before or after the funeral,,,,,,, and at all times restraining order,,,, no closer than 300 ft from a grieving family,,,,,, that's good
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