Michael Boggs, one of President Obama’s nominees for the federal bench in the Northern District of Georgia, was on the defensive at his confirmation hearing today, saying his views on marriage equality “may or may not have changed.”
Boggs, a Georgia Court of Appeals judge, has been under fire for his support of the state’s 2004 ban on same-sex marriage and his statements on the issue at the time: “I am proud of my record. You don’t have to guess where I stand – I oppose same-sex marriages…I have a record that tells you exactly what I stand for,” Boggs was quoted as saying at a campaign forum.
The comments were aimed at what Boggs called at the time “activist judges.”
Today, Boggs refused to say what his personal views are on marriage equality, claiming that they are “irrelevant” and that it wouldn’t be “appropriate” to address them.
Boggs said that regardless of his personal views on marriage equality, it would not have a bearing on how he rules on cases.
“My position on that, as reflected by those personal comments in 2004, have never had any import whatsoever in how I decided cases or how I analyzed issues both as a trial court judge an an appellate court judge,” he said.
Boggs also fielded questions on his views on abortion and the Georgia state flag.
psaunders@thegavoice.com | @patricksaunders