Lesbian’s nomination to Puerto Rico Supreme Court confirmed

June 24, 2014 | by Michael K. Lavers
Lesbian’s nomination to Puerto Rico Supreme Court confirmed

The Puerto Rico Senate on Monday confirmed the nomination of a lawyer who will become the first openly LGBT judge on the U.S. commonwealth’s Supreme Court.

Senators initially approved Maite Oronoz Rodríguez’s nomination in a voice vote, but they debated it after Sens. María de Lourdes Santiago and Larry Seilhamer made the request as as the newspaper el Nuevo Día reported. They ultimately approved Oronoz’s nomination by a 16-10 vote margin.

“The constitution says that the dignity of the human being is inviolable; we are all equal under the law,” said Senate President Eduardo Bhatía. “We have the ability to build a democracy where everyone is equal under the law.”

“The most important things are her professional qualifications, the historic nature of her nomination and her work as a lawyer,” added Sen. Tony Fas Alzamora....

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