Openly gay nominee Laura Duffy was
confirmed Friday as U.S. attorney for the Southern District of
California in San Diego.
Duffy was nominated by President Barack
Obama in February.
Members of the Senate Judiciary
Committee unanimously approved her nomination, the Los Angeles
Times reported.
Duffy is a veteran federal prosecutor
who has earned widespread respect battling criminal drug cartels
along the U.S.-Mexico border. She led the prosecution against
Tijuana's Arellano Felix cartel, which resulted in a life sentence
for its leader, Francisco Javier Arellano Felix, one of Mexico's most
notorious drug kingpins.
“President Obama has appointed more
than 100 LGBT Americans to his administration so far, with abut two
dozen of those requiring Senate confirmation,” Denis Dison, a vice
president at the Gay
& Lesbian Victory Fund, a group that supports openly gay
candidates, told On Top Magazine in an email.
Last month, the Senate confirmation of
Marisa Demeo, a candidate to the D.C. Superior Court bench, drew
widespread criticism from conservative groups because she is a
lesbian.
South Carolina Senator Jim DeMint led
the opposition, telling the National Law Journal that Demeo,
who has worked as a lobbyist and advocate for Hispanic causes, had a
history of “very leftist activism.”
And the socially conservative group
Traditional Values Coalition labeled Demeo a “radical lesbian”
who “supports gay marriage” in urging senators to reject her.
The group went on to call Demeo “dangerous to our nation” and
would “destroy traditional marriage through her edicts.”
“If Congress is to act fairly, it
will consider the qualifications and competence of nominees, not
their sexual orientation or gender identity,” Dison said.
“Blocking nominees simply because of their sexual orientation is
unfair and un-American.”
California Senator Barbara Boxer, a
Democrat, praised Duffy's confirmation, saying in a statement: “She
will be an outstanding U.S. attorney for the people of San Diego and
Imperial counties.”