President Barack Obama and U.S. Sens. John Cornyn and Ted Cruz are seldom aligned, but the two Republicans from Texas were lockstep with the president when he nominated Robert Pitman, who is openly gay, to the federal bench.
Pitman’s uncontroversial selection—Cornyn called Pitman’s sexuality “irrelevant”—was Obama’s 11th nomination of an openly gay or lesbian lawyer to a federal district judgeship. His record on the issue—10 gay or lesbian judges confirmed—reflects both the president’s stated mission to diversify the courts and the widespread cultural shift in acceptance of gays and lesbians in public life.
