President Trump has nominated former Nevada Solicitor General, Lawrence VanDyke, for a lifetime judgeship on the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. Last month, the American Bar Association took the rare step of rating VanDyke as “unqualified,” noting colleagues of his who were interviewed consistently gave this description: “arrogant, lazy, an ideologue and lacking in knowledge of the day-to-day practice, including procedural rules. There was a theme that the nominee lacks humility, has an ‘entitlement’ temperament, does not have an open mind, and does not always have a commitment to being candid and truthful.” Furthermore, they were concerned “about whether Mr. VanDyke would be fair to persons who are gay, lesbian or otherwise part of the LGBTQ community.”
VanDyke has a long history of extremist anti-LGBTQ rhetoric and actions. As a student at Harvard Law School, he wrote an op-ed claiming same-sex marriage would “hurt families and consequentially children and society.” At his hearing, VanDyke was provided with an opportunity to address his previous statements regarding same-sex marriage, specifically as to whether same-sex marriage damaged children. He pointedly refused to answer. VanDyke also refused to respond to Senators’ inquiries as to his legal approach to the intersection of LGBTQ rights and religious liberty. Emails from him reveal a Solicitor General who had little interest in engaging in the daily tasks of the office and instead an ideologue committed to advancing a political agenda.
Add your name to tell Senator Catherine Cortez Masto and Senator Jacky Rosen to vote 'NO' on the nomination of Lawrence VanDyke for the 9th Circuit! Both Senators have expressed their concern but need to hear from Nevadans that VanDyke should NOT be confirmed.
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