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Virginia’s General Assembly rejected a gay man for a Richmond judgeship early Tuesday, after conservatives argued that his support for gay marriage and challenge to the military’s now-defunct “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy made him unfit for the bench.

(Del. ROBERT G. MARSHALL (R-Prince William) led the fight against appointing a gay judge.) The House of Delegates voted 33 to 31, with 10 abstentions, to make Richmond prosecutor Tracy Thorne-Begland a General District Court judge in Richmond. He had needed 51 votes in the 100-member chamber to win appointment.

“He holds himself out as being married,” said Del. Robert G. Marshall (R-Prince William), who is running for U.S. Senate. Noting that gay marriage is not legal in Virginia, he said that Thorne-Begland’s “life is a contradiction to the requirement of submission to the constitution.”

The Senate did not vote on the nomination itself, but Republicans killed it by passing it by for the day — the very last of this year’s General Assembly session. The decision to pass it by cleared the evenly divided body 20-19, with one Democrat, Yvonne B. Miller of Norfolk, not voting.

“The debate in the House of Delegates was homophobic and embarrassing and showed a disrespect to a chief deputy commonwealth attorney and decorated veteran who was honorably discharged,” said Sen. Adam P. Ebbin (D-Alexandria), Virginia’s first openly gay state senator. “It’s offensive that the Senate wouldn’t even grant Lt. Thorne-Begland the courtesy of a vote.”

Former congressman Thomas M Davis III is wading into the contested Republican primary for his old seat, backing retired Army Col. Chris Perkins as the best bet to take on Rep. Gerald Connolly (D) in November.

Perkins faces traffic engineer Ken Vaughn in the June 12 primary for
Chris Perkins (above) has the support of Tom Davis is in the race for Davis’s old congressional seat. (Photo by Dayna Smith/for the Washington Post)the Fairfax-based 11th district, which Davis held from 1995 to 2008. In a statement scheduled for release Tuesday, Davis says Perkins “is exactly the kind of leader we need in public office today.”

“In addition to the national security experience gained from his long service in defense of our nation, Perkins brings a common-sense approach to politics that has been missing on Capitol Hill for too long,” Davis says.

The American Civil Liberties Union filed a federal lawsuit Monday on behalf of the Libertarian Party against Virginia’s rules for circulating petitions to get candidates on the state’s presidential ballot.

Under Virginia law, candidates who are not from a major party have to follow strict guidelines to qualify for the general election ballot, collecting a minimum of 400 signatures from each congressional district and at least 10,000 overall. The signatures can only be collected by Virginia residents, a requirement the ACLU specifically targets in its suit, which was filed in U.S. District Court in Richmond.

“People from out of state have every right to promote their political ideas in Virginia, and the government has no legitimate interest in preventing them from doing so by circulating petitions,” said Rebecca K. Glenberg, the ACLU of Virginia’s legal director.

Despite what you’ve seen on the cover of Time magazine, the picture of maternal over-achievement is not that blonde breast-feeing her 3-year-old.

Sen. Jill Holtzman Vogel arrives in the Senate chamber with her newborn, Olivia Marguerite Holtzman Vogel. (Laura Vozzella/The Washington Post) It is a brunette in the Virginia Senate, who showed up Monday for what could be a marathon day with her 18-day-old daughter in tow.

One day after Mother’s Day, with little Olivia Marguerite Holtzman Vogel in her arms, Sen. Jill Vogel (R-Fauquier) returned to Richmond to vote on judicial nominees and on Gov. Robert F. McDonnell’s amendments to the two-year, $85 billion state budget.

Vogel, who also has three sons and two stepchildren, gave birth to Olivia on April 25, one week after working through early labor pains to help Republicans pass the budget.

And yes, she’s breast-feeding the baby. Just not on the Senate floor or on any magazine covers.

Virginia House Democratic Leader David J. Toscano (D-Charlottesville) responded to the state’s Transportation Secretary Sean Connaughton calling legislators and their staff “idiots” in a debate over funds on Metro’s new Silver Line.

Some legislators believe Connaughton is trying to hold back funding for phase 2 of the Silver Line in exchange for more Virginia members being seated on the airports authority board.

But Connaughton says he is not and that Virginia will put in its share of money when an incentive in a pro-union labor agreement is removed.