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Gov.
Charlie
Crist’s
first
appointment
to
the
Florida
Supreme
Court
is
rattling
gay
nerves.
His
choice,
Judge
Charles
T.
Canady
of
the
2nd
District
Court
of
Appeal
in
Lakeland,
Fla.
is
widely
regarded
as
a
partisan
politician,
who
repeatedly
stood
against
GLBT
rights
issues
when
he
served
in
the
US
Congress.
“It’s
hard
to
imagine
anyone
who
would
be
a
worse
choice
than
Canady,”
said
Nadine
Smith
executive
director
of
Equality
Florida.
“It’s
a
deep
disappointment
to
everyone
who
took
the
governor
at
his
word
that
he
was
standing
more
moderate
and
not
pandering
to
the
extreme
right.”
“I
don’t
know
what
went
into
Crist’s
decision,”
said
Rand
Hoch,
a
former
judge
and
president
of
the
Palm
Beach
Human
Rights
Council.
“In
my
opinion
there
were
certainly
stronger
candidates.”
Canady
is
known
as
a
staunchly
conservative
voice.
While
serving
in
the
US
House
of
Representatives,
Canady
supported
the
Federal
Defense
of
Marriage
Act,
opposed
gay
adoption
in
Washington
D.C.
and
called
for
an
end
to
affirmative
action.
He
also
led
a
13-
member
house
panel
to
impeach
President
Bill
Clinton.
He’s
been
criticized
as
being
a
professional
politician
from
a
political
family.
He
argues
against
same-sex
marriage
equality
from
a
moralistic
point
of
view.
“What
is
really
at
stake
in
the
Defense
of
Marriage
Act,”
he
was
quoted
as
saying.
“Is
whether
the
law
of
this
country
should
treat
homosexual
relationships
as
morally
equivalent
to
heterosexual
relationships.”
Crist’s
appointment
has
been
criticized
for
falling
short
of
a
high
enough
standard
for
the
state’s
most
powerful
court.
The
St.
Petersburg
Times
editorialized
that
Crist
had
“picked
the
most
partisan
candidate
available.”
Three
other
judges
and
a
lawyer
were
nominated
by
the
states
Judicial
Nominating
Committee.
The
list
included
openly
gay
Miami
attorney
Edward
Guedes.
None
of
the
nominees
were
women
or
black.
Hoch
said
Canady’s
presence
on
the
high
bench
sends
a
one-dimensional
political
message
that
he
does
not
want
the
state’s
highest
court
to
reflect
the
state’s
diverse
population.
“The
concern
here
is
that
when
[Crist]
has
the
opportunity
to
pick
someone
from
the
mainstream,”
Hoch
said.
“The
choice
is
made
once
again
from
the
right.”
Crist
announced
his
choice
on
the
same
day
that
Republican
Presidential
Nominee
John
McCain
announced
Sarah
Palin,
the
conservative
governor
of
Alaska,
as
his
running
mate.
Others
view
Canady’s
appointment
as
being
a
purely
political
move
on
Crist’s
part,
said
Howard
Simon,
executive
director
of
the
Florida
ACLU
.
“When
a
governor
who
likes
to
be
seen
as
a
moderate
appoints
a
reliably
ideological
politician
to
the
Florida
Supreme
Court,”
Simon
said.
“Crist
sends
a
message
that
it
is
more
important
to
foster
the
image
of
being
moderate
than
actually
being
moderate.”
Crist
could
name
up
to
two
more
judges
to
the
state
Supreme
Court
by
the
end
of
his
first
term.
Could
an
openly
gay
nominee
make
it
to
the
bench?
“Yes,”
says
Hoch.
“What
it
would
depend
on
is
whether
the
governor
has
what
it
takes
to
say
‘I
don’t
think
that
being
gay
or
lesbian
is
a
negative.’
”
However,
if
Crist’s
recent
posturing
is
any
indicator,
those
chances
could
be
slim.
The
appointment
comes
in
the
wake
of
Crist
abandoning
his
‘live
and
let
live’
stance
on
Amendment
2,
and
supporting
the
anti-gay
marriage
amendment
to
the
Florida
constitution.
His
support
of
the
measure
was
seen
by
many
as
an
attempt
to
further
distance
himself
from
being
seen
as
moderate.
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