New Jersey, which has long been at the forefront in terms of extending legal protections to gays and lesbians, now has fallen behind in one important gay-inclusiveness indicator: openly gay federal judges have been confirmed or nominated in eight other states, but not here.
President Obama has nominated 10 gay and lesbian candidates to district court seats, and one to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. The nominations have led to a topsy-turvy situation where conservative standard-bearers Senators Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and Marco Rubio, R-Fla., have advanced gay candidates for the federal bench, but none have seen the light of day in gay-friendly New Jersey.
