Maryland senate approves openly gay judge

The Maryland state senate approved the appointment of an openly gay Baltimore judge Tuesday despite objections from a Republican senator who said the candidate lied about her sexual orientation on an application for military service in the 1980s. Senators voted 38-4 to confirm former governor Parris Glendening's nomination of Halee Weinstein to the state district court. Frederick County senator Alex Mooney tried without success to hold up Weinstein's appointment. "It's clear she would have had to lie or falsify her documents to get into the military," Mooney said. He handed out copies of a military enlistment form that included a question about sexual orientation. Mooney also said Weinstein left military service after "she was charged with a behavior...that I don't want to describe in public." Weinstein has declined to respond to Mooney's comments. When she appeared before the senate executive nominations committee on February 3, she introduced committee members to her partner and their children. Sen. Philip Jimeno said Weinstein is "an outstanding candidate to be a judge" and rejected Mooney's motion to send the nomination back to committee for more hearings. "I think this committee and this senate have all the information we need to confirm an outstanding judge," Jimeno said. "This is the kind of judge we want."