U.S. Senate blocks appointment of homosexual activist as ambassador to El Salvador

by Matthew Cullinan Hoffman

• December 13, 2011 (LifeSiteNews.com) - The U.S. Senate has blocked the appointment of a controversial homosexual activist nominee to the position of ambassador to El Salvador, in a 49-37 vote that upheld a filibuster against a vote on the nomination.

The Associated Press acknowledged that nomination of Marie Carmen Aponte failed in large part because of her open support for the homosexual agenda in El Salvador, which sparked a protest to the U.S. Senate on the part of El Salvadoran civil organizations.

The White House immediately responded with a statement denouncing the blockage of the nomination. “Today’s filibuster is one more example of the type of political posturing and partisanship the American people are tired of seeing in Washington,” White House press secretary Jay Carney said in a statement.

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As LifeSiteNews reported in July, Aponte outraged pro-family organizations in El Salvador by writing an opinion article for the La Prensa Grafica newspaper in which she denounced “homophobia,” which she said was “based on the lack of understanding of what it really means to be homosexual or transgender.”

In the same piece, Aponte claimed that those who oppose the homosexual political agenda are motivated by “hate” and “prejudice.” Aponte also quoted Secretary of State Hilary Clinton’s slogan that “Gay rights are Human Rights.”

Aponte wrote the article while serving temporarily in the post of ambassador following a recess appointment by President Barack Obama. The U.S. Constitution permits the president to temporarily appoint nominees that have not been approved by the Senate by the time it recesses.

A coalition of 22 pro-family organizations in El Salvador responded to the article with a written protest sent to the U.S. Senate, stating, “Madam Ambassador Aponte has abused her diplomatic status, showing a clear disdain concerning our values and cultural identity, claiming to ‘guide’ us toward a shift in our way of thinking so that we may accept multiple forms of sexual behavior as legitimate, in the same way that President Obama promotes.”

The Associated Press notes that in writing the article Aponte was following a directive from the State Department urging ambassadors to recognize “Gay Pride Month.” The Obama administration has since launched an international campaign to promote the gay agenda through its embassies.

Aponte’s tenure runs out at the end of the year, but President Obama will have the option to appoint her for another temporary period during the Senate recess over the Christmas holidays, if the Senate does not definitively vote against her nomination before the recess.