Kansas senator blocks judge nominee after gay ceremony.

U.S. Sen. Sam Brownback (R-Kan.) is holding up the nomination of a federal judge from Michigan after learning that she has participated in a same-sex commitment ceremony.

In October, the Religion News Service (RNS) reported that Brownback, a leading ally of the Religious Right, had placed a hold on the nomination of Judge Janet T. Neff to the U.S. District Court of Michigan. The Senate Judiciary Committee had confirmed Neff's nomination. But Republican operatives in Michigan discovered that Neff helped lead a commitment ceremony for two women at a United Church of Christ.

A Brownback spokesman said the senator is stalling Neff's confirmation and has asked the Justice Department to render an opinion on whether her involvement in the religious ceremony was illegal. The senator also said that he wanted to know Neff's views on same-sex marriage and whether her beliefs would color her actions on the bench.

According to the RNS, the American Humanist Association has asked the Justice Department to issue an opinion on whether Brownback has violated his oath to uphold the Constitution. In a letter to the senator, Roy Speckhardt, executive director of the group, asked whether the senator's religious views and activism would compromise his duty to uphold the First Amendment principle of church-state separation.