WASHINGTON, D.C. — Wednesday, the Senate confirmed John K. Bush to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. Bush’s confirmation is in line with an alarming trend of the Trump-Pence Administration appointing anti-LGBTQ nominees at all levels of government.
“Donald Trump and Mitch McConnell should never have advanced this nominee who is clearly unfit to serve as a federal judge and we are disappointed that Senate Republicans voted to confirm him,” said David Stacy, HRC Director of Government Affairs. “John Bush does not have the judgment or temperament to serve on U.S. Court of Appeals and has publicly demonstrated his contempt for LGBTQ people and their families.”
In a letter to Senators, HRC reviewed Bush’s long public track record of speaking out against the equality of LGBTQ people and their families and called on the Senate to reject his nomination. Last month, Bush appeared before the Senate Judiciary Committee, where he failed to distance himself from offensive blog posts disparaging LGBTQ people and failed to show that he could produce impartial judgements based upon fact rather than ideology.
Commenting on the confirmation, Sharon McGowan, Lambda Legal’s director of strategy said, “We left it all on the floor, and put our hearts and souls into opposing the nomination of John Bush to the federal bench. While it is incredibly disappointing that a majority of the United States Senate would hand a lifetime appointment to someone who has such open disdain for so many Americans, we will not be deterred. Lambda Legal will continue to resist, push back, and fight against any nomination this administration puts forward who does not believe in equality and dignity under the law, for all Americans. We are thankful to those Senators who held their ground in opposing this nomination, and will be shoulder-to-shoulder with you in future confirmation fights, particularly on nominees with anti-LGBT extremist positions and records.”
Writing under the pseudonym “G. Morris” on a public blog, Bush has criticized rulings striking down sodomy laws targeting LGBTQ people, has complained about updating passport forms to be inclusive of same-sex parents, and compared abortion access to slavery.
A sampling of John Bush’s most appalling blog posts and writings include:
- Criticizing the “expansive view” of the Kentucky Supreme Court for a ruling that decriminalized same-sex relationships;
- Complaining when the State Department updated passport forms to reflect same-sex parents;
- Comparing slavery to abortion, calling them the two greatest tragedies in America.
