Right Wing Guns for Obama's Lesbian Appointee

A prominent lesbian scholar and minority advocate whom President Obama has nominated to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission is being targeted by conservative groups.

Chai Feldblum is the first openly gay person appointed to the EEOC, which issues regulations implementing antidiscrimination laws. Her work would involve enforcement of the Employee Non-Discrimination Act -- which would protect LGBT people from workplace discrimination -- should it pass.

She has strong credentials for a spot on the EEOC: She's a Georgetown law professor, a onetime law clerk to former Supreme Court justice Harry Blackmun, and one of the people who helped to craft the Americans With Disabilities Act. Feldblum has also written and spoken extensively on the subject of gay rights.

Unsurprisingly, Feldblum's nomination has caught the ire of the Traditional Values Coalition. On Thursday, a post on the right-wing group's website had this to say about Feldblum: "She is a lesbian and has played a major role in pushing the LGBT agenda in American culture for the past 20 years.... She is also a strategist for gay activists." The Alliance Defense Fund, another conservative group, has also written disparagingly about Feldblum.

If confirmed by the Senate, Feldblum would serve for a minimum of five years on the EEOC.