Unbelievable: Idaho state Rep. Paul Shepherd (R) reportedly compared gay people to slave owners by noting that both were “good people” who made terrible decisions, Idaho Reports, a program of Idaho Public television, reported on Friday. Shepherd’s comments were made to a reporter from Idaho Reports who met with the congressman after his website was commandeered by a gay rights … Read More
Indiana Governor Plans To Sign Pro-Discrimination Bill Into Law
Sometime today, Indiana Gov. Mike Pence is to sign into law a religious objections bill that would allow discrimination against gay people. [UPDATE: 10:45 am EST – Bill signed] The signing would make Indiana the first state to enact such a change this year among about a dozen where such proposals have been introduced. The measure would prohibit state and local … Read More
Good Briefs: Amicus Filings in the Supreme Court Marriage Equality Case
Last Friday was the deadline to submit amicus briefs to the Supreme Court in support of marriage equality. Over 60 different briefs were filed by various “friends of the court,” including coalitions, organizations, scholars, and individuals. Contained within them are a variety of arguments in favor of recognizing same-sex couples’ right to marry, ranging from the more legal and technical … Read More
Alabama and Gay Marriage
Well, you know we’ve crossed over when Alabama starts with the gay marriage thing. An order from a federal judge allowing gay marriage was to take effect this morning. But what’s that? It’s Chief Judge Roy Moore (a state, not federal, judge) to the rescue. If you don’t remember, Judge Moore is often known as the “Ten Commandments Judge.” When Moore, a devout … Read More
Oregon Bakers Fined As Much As $150,000 For Discrimination
Aaron and Melissa Klein, co-owners of Sweet Cakes by Melissa, refused to sell a wedding cake to Rachel Cryer and Laurel Bowman (now Bowman-Cryer) because they were a same-sex couple in January 2013. The Kleins became martyrs for conservative opponents of LGBT equality, claiming that they were being persecuted for their beliefs — both because of the complaint the couple … Read More
Add Florida To The List
A few minutes ago, Florida became the… I’ve lost count… state to recognize gay marriage. Check out this infographic (which doesn’t reflect the change in Florida): That’s pretty amazing. Only the South and parts of the midwest remain holdouts. UPDATE: Some backlash — Generally, when a couple heads to their local courthouse or county clerk’s office, they can both receive … Read More
Marriage Equality Setback Might Mean Fast Track To Supreme Court
On Thursday afternoon, the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit just became the first federal appeals court in the country to side with marriage discrimination. Although the immediate effect of this court’s 2-1 decision is that marriage equality will not quickly become the law in Michigan, Ohio, Kentucky and Tennessee, the most important consequence of the Sixth … Read More
Breaking A 20-Court Victory Streak, A Federal Judge In Louisiana Upholds Gay Marriage Ban
Well, you can't win them all. The Honorable Marty Fledman (yes, that's his name) — a Reagan appointtee — wrote today: Many states have democratically chosen torecognize same-sex marriage. But until recent years, it had noplace at all in this nation's history and tradition. Publicattitude might be becoming more diverse, but any right to same-sexmarriage is not yet so entrenched … Read More
Fourth Circuit Overturns Virginia Same-Sex Marriage Ban
The religious right continues losing their reactionary culture war, as a federal appeals court strikes down Virginia’s ban on marriage equality. And this ruling will also affect conservative bans on same-sex marriage in West Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina, so it’s a significant defeat for the forces of atavism. “We recognize that same-sex marriage makes some people deeply uncomfortable. However, … Read More
We’re Back
Lots of things I wanted to write yesterday, but Typepad got dinged by another denial-of-service attack. Pretty frustrating for them, but more so for me. This is happening too often. So now it all seems like old news — Oregon flipping on same-sex marriage, for example. One story I was following — because it takes place in New Hampshire and … Read More
Arkansas Oh So Close
The Arkansas Supreme Court has denied a request for an emergency stay of Judge Chris Piazza's order overturning the ban on same-sex marriage. The court also dismissed as premature an appeal of Piazza's ruling because it wasn't a final order. Here's the opinion. Marriage equality remains the law of the land in Arkansas, but the court injected a wrinkle that will give … Read More
And Idaho
Another domino falls. A federal judge has ruled that Idaho's ban on same-sex marriage is unconstitutional. The ruling, handed down by U.S. Magistrate Judge Candy Dale on Tuesday, followed oral arguments on May 5. Earlier Tuesday, Idaho Gov. Butch Otter (R) filed a preemptive motion asking for an immediate stay if Dale did rule against the gay marriage ban.
Not Dead
Yes, I haven't posted in a loooooong time, and it's very frustrating because some interesting stuff has been going down (the excuse is work — I'm covering for a sick co-worker and it has been time-consuming). The MOST interesting story, as far as I am concerned, came from Arizona and SB1062, the "religious freedom" pro-bigotry bill which would permit businesses to … Read More
Virginia Upheaval on Gay Marriage Issue
Virginia, like many southern and midwest states, had passed a ban on same-sex marriage. As in most states that have passed such a ban, there are legal challenges. As we know in Oklahoma, a challenge to the ban recently succeeded, and a judge ruled that a ban on same-sex marriage is unconstititional (of course, that decision is being appealed). But … Read More
Coming South
Oklahoma court rules that a ban on same-sex marriage is unconstitutional. There's an appeal though.