Sears Draws Ire for Post-Retirement Choice

Georgia Chief Justice Leah Ward Sears has drawn criticism from gay rights groups after announcing plans to join a think tank whose founder is an outspoken opponent of gay marriage.

Sears is the nation's first black female chief justice of astate supreme court and is considered a potential nominee for the U.S. Supreme Court.

She announced this week she will join the New York-based Institute for American Values when she retires June 30th. In announcing her future plans, Sears said her role at the institute would build on her work with the Georgia Supreme Court toward "strengthening the institution of marriage" by working to reduce the nation's divorce rate.

Gay rights advocates said they felt betrayed that she will be working part-time for the New York-based think tank. Institute president David Blankenhorn, critics point out, wrote in 2008 that changing the definition of marriage to accommodate gay couples "definitively undermines" the institution of marriage.

(Associated Press)