Obama Nominates 4th Openly Gay Man to Federal Bench

President Obama nominated openly gay attorney Michael Fitzgerald to the bench of the United States District Court for the Central District of California, a July 20 White House media release announced.

Fitzgerald was an assistant U.S. Attorney in the late 1980s and early 1990s. He has been a partner at Los Angeles law firm Corbin, Fitzgerald & Athey LLP since 1998.

"I am honored to nominate Michael Walter Fitzgerald to the United States District Court," the release quoted Obama. "His impressive career stands as a testament to his formidable intellect and integrity. I am confident he will serve the people of California with distinction on the District Court bench."

Gay news blog The Mad Professah Lectures noted that Fitzgerald is the fourth openly gay man to be nominated by Obama to the federal bench, following Ali Nathan, J. Paul Oetken and Ed Dumont.

Oetken's nomination was confirmed by the Senate earlier this month. His confirmation makes Oetken the first openly gay man to be confirmed to the federal bench.

Retired federal judge Vaughn Walker, who presided over last year's suit against California's anti-gay ballot initiative Proposition 8, was long rumored to be gay. He did not come out until after his retirement.

Sen. Charles Schumer praised Oetken prior to his confirmation, telling his fellow lawmakers from the senate floor, "As the first openly gay man to be confirmed as a federal judge and to serve on the federal bench, he will be a symbol of how much we have achieved as a country in just the last few decades."

Oetken's confirmation received bipartisan support, with the ranking Republican on the Judiciary Committee, Sen. Check Grassley of Iowa, lending his support to the nominee. Other Republicans, 13 in all, lined up to vote against Oetken; no Democrats opposed his confirmation. 80 senators lent their support to Oetken's nomination.

Another Obama nominee to the federal bench, Alison Nathan, is an out lesbian and is a former associate counsel to the White House. Upon her nomination, Obama said, "Alison Nathan is a distinguished individual who has demonstrated an unwavering commitment to justice throughout her career. I am grateful for her decision to serve the American people from the District Court bench." Her nomination is pending.

An open lesbian, Deborah Batts, already sits on the federal bench. Batts was nominated by President Bill Clinton and assumed her place on the bench in 1994.

Openly gay nominee to the Federal Circuit Ed Dumont was named by Obama in 2010, but the Senate has not taken action on the nomination. Website PatentlyO condemned the inaction in an April 21 article.

"The hold-up for DuMont's nomination is the fact that he is openly gay," the article said. "If approved by the Senate, DuMont would be the only openly gay federal appellate judge and one of only three openly gay federal judges."