You know that silly argument that same-sex marriage harms the institution of marriage? Pretty dumb, right? What do they think is going to happen? If gay people get married, straight married couples will get divorced??? LOL!!! Well, actually, not so LOL. Gay marriage could in fact lead to divorce among straight couples. Or rather, one straight couple. Who are being total dicks … Read More
Same-Sex Marriage Still A Battlefield In North Carolina
This morning, North Carolina legislators in the GOP-controlled state House approved a measure that allows some court officials to refuse to perform same-sex marriage duties because of their religious beliefs. House lawmakers agreed 69-41 to override Governor Pat McCrory’s veto of the bill, which the Senate had done last week. The bill, now a law, allows magistrates and register of … Read More
The Crazy North Carolina Legislature
(1) Jerks: Lawmakers passed a bill Wednesday that would make North Carolina one of several states with 72-hour waiting periods for abortions. Gov. Pat McCrory said he planned to sign it, despite the urging of opponents who wanted him to stand by his statement during his 2012 campaign that he would not sign any further restrictions on abortion if elected. … Read More
Catching Up
The merry month of May is a busy one. Fortunately, not a lot is happening news-wise upon which I feel the urge to pontificate at length. However, I few tidbits are worth at least a passing mention: Yay, Ireland for the feckin’ landslide to legalize same-sex marriage. Significant, I think, in light of the strong Catholic sentiment there. Seems that Rome … Read More
The Battle For Same Sex Marriage: A Timeline Graph
I love this graph from an article in today’s New York Times. It shows what states did for and against the idea of same-sex marriage. You can see that the anti-SSM movement got out ahead of the issue in the mid 1990s by enacting laws banning same-sex marriage. I have no way of proving this, but I think that by making … Read More
Same-Sex Marriage Case Being Heard In Supreme Court Today
Today, the US Supreme Court will hear oral arguments on Obergefell v. Hodges, one of several same-sex marriage cases brought to the Court. Obergefell v. Hodges requires the Court to answer: “1) Does the Fourteenth Amendment require a state to license a marriage between two people of the same sex? 2) Does the Fourteenth Amendment require a state to recognize … Read More
Fourteen Of The Oddest Legal Arguments Against Same Sex Marriage
MSNBC’s Irin Carmon has read all the amici briefs (or “friend-of-the-court” briefs) submitted to the U.S. Supreme Court in its upcoming same-sex marriage case (to be heard next week), and picks out some of the oddest arguments against gay marriage. Read the whole thing: 1. Marriage equality will kill people. The group Mike Huckabee Policy Solutions — which says it is “neither … Read More
Most Christians Support SSM
Also Jewish, Hindu, Buddhist, and a surprising percentage of Muslims, too….
Log Cabin Republicans Barred From Conservative Convention
The Western Conservative Summit is a gathering of the most influential newsmakers of the right. The convention this year is scheduled for June in Denver, where thousands of conservative activists will gather to hear Republican presidential hopefuls like Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker and former Pennsylvania Sen Rick Santorum speak. The event is organized by The Centennial Institute, a think tank affiliated with … Read More
“Cake Is Speech”: The New Dumbest Thing Ever Said
Yes, cake is speech. That’s what Indiana Baptist pastor Tim Overton told NPR’s Steve Inskeep yesterday morning, defending his state’s controversial “religious freedom” law. No, it’s not some fringe theory: It’s shaping up as a core tenet of one “compromise” approach to religious freedom laws that’s under consideration, in the wake of the backlash to the Indiana law, which Overton fervently supported … Read More
The Indiana Fix
The proposed new bill working its way through the Indiana state legislature today seems to negate the worst things about the RFRA law: It doesn’t undue Hobby Lobby or other grievances. The changes would not establish sexual orientation and gender identity as a protected class under the state’s civil right’s laws. That will have to come another day. All this does is … Read More
Arkansas Governor Wisely Seeks To Avoid Same Headache That Indiana Has
Moments ago, Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson said that he does not plan to sign the version of the religious freedom bill that currently sits on his desk and called on the state legislature to make changes before sending it back to him. Hutchinson, who called the issue “divisive” and cited his own son as an example of someone urging him … Read More
Bigots Get It
At yesterday’s press conference, Indiana Governor Mike Pence spent a great deal of time blaming the media for its representation that Indiana’s RFRA law allows businesses to discriminate against gay people. “Not true”, Pence said. Well, it is true if you read the actual law, and apparently, even the bigots think so: WALKERTON, Ind. -A small-town pizza shop is saying they … Read More
Pence Lies Himself Into A Corner
UPDATE: Pence is giving a press conference this morning in which he re-asserts that the Indiana RFRA is just like the federal RFRA and the RFRAs passed in 30 other states. He is lying (or is stupid). It is similar, but has important differences. He’s playing the victim, claiming (repeatedly) that he and Indiana are being “smeared”. Still, he’s calling on the … Read More
The Indiana “Religious Freedom” Law Isn’t Like Past Laws
Last, week, Indiana Gov. Mike Pence stirred up controversy when he signed a “religious freedom” bill into law. The law has businesses and civil rights groups up in arms and threatening — or in some cases pledging — to boycott the state. Critics assert the law could be used by individuals and businesses to discriminate on the basis of religion — … Read More