The U.S. Senate Monday (May 2) gave voice vote approval to Michael McShane to serve on the U.S. District Court for Oregon.

McShane is the fifth openly gay person to be confirmed for a district court seat under President Obama. A native of Pittsburgh, he was working as a state circuit court judge in Portland, Oregon, when President Obama nominated him to the federal bench last September.  A majority of the American Bar Association committee on judicial nominee fitness voted him to be qualified.

McShane is a member of the Oregon Gay and Lesbian Law Association and served for four years on an HIV Services Planning Council.

President Obama has nominated seven openly LGBT people to federal district court positions in six different districts. In addition to McShane, the others confirmed thus far include Paul Oetken and Alison Nathan in Manhattan, Michael Fitzgerald in Los Angeles, Pamela Chen in Brooklyn. Two other openly gay U.S. district court nominations are still pending –Nitza Quiñones Alejandro in Philadelphia and William Thomas in Miami.