(image via Depositphotos) The state of Nevada is on its way to making history as the first state in the U.S. to acknowledge all marriages in its state constitution. On the ballot this election cycle was Question 2 which asked voters to remove an existing provision that only marriage between a male person and a female person would be recognized. The state constitution will be amended to require the state (and its political subdivisions) to recognize all marriages and issue marriage licenses to couples regardless of gender, and to treat those marriages equally under the law. The ballot question did include explicit language that allows religious organizations and clergy to refuse to perform a marriage that they don’t agree with on religious terms. Same-sex marriages became legal in the Silver State in 2014, and across the nation in 2015 thanks to the U.S. Supreme Court’s historic Obergefell v. Hodges ruling. At this writing, the Secretary of State’s website shows the measure passing overwhelmingly by 61.69 percent to 38.31 percent. Gary Brewer, who married his husband this past May in a small ceremony, told local news affiliate FOX5, “It feels really good to know this is the direction Nevada has taken and I feel really proud to call the state my home,” Chris Davey of the Henderson Equality Center told FOX5 the legal amendment won’t change daily life for LGBTQ Nevadans at this time, but could prove to be crucial if the now-conservative leaning U.S. Supreme Court were to rule in favor of rolling back rights for same-sex marriages.
As I reported last month, on the first day of the Supreme Court’s new term, conservative Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito chose to reignite their discontent with the 2015 decision that made marriage equality the law of the land. Justice Thomas wrote that the Obergefell ruling “enables courts and governments to brand religious adherents who believe that marriage is between one man and one woman as bigots, making their religious liberty concerns that much easier to dismiss.” Since that time, Amy Coney Barrett (who has a history of anti-LGBTQ views) has been confirmed to replace recently-deceased Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg increasing the conservative-leaning of the court to 6-3. Just this week, Barrett heard arguments in a case regarding a Roman Catholic adoption agency in Philadelphia (Catholic Social Services) that claims a First Amendment right to decline to match foster children with same-sex households even though it signed a contract with the city agreeing not to engage in anti-LGBTQ discrimination through its taxpayer-funded activities. According to Washington Blade reporter Chris Johnson, the court appeared to side with CSS after the oral arguments. With these Supreme Court developments in mind, state-based legal moves like Question 2 in Nevada become all the more important for LGBTQ Americans. (source: FOX5 News, Washington Blade)
New numbers were finally reported today from the presidential race in battleground state Nevada showing former Vice President Joe Biden expanding his lead over Donald Trump. From the Las Vegas Review-Journal:
In the latest results released by the Secretary of State’s office at 9 a.m. Thursday, Biden built on the 7,600-vote lead he held when counting stopped on Election Night, a 0.6 percentage point advantage over Trump in a race with more than 1.2 million votes cast. Biden now leads Trump by 597,353 votes, 49.50 percent, to Trump’s 585,311 votes, 48.50 percent.
Nevada will continue to count ballots and update at least once daily.
Secretary of State Barbara Cegavske, in a statement released late Wednesday, said that the remaining ballots were mail-in ballots received on or after Election Day and ballots from voters who registered at the polls on Election Day, as permitted by state law.
Only about 14K votes or so updated from Clark and Biden lead goes up by almost 5K. See the advantage Dems have with mail. If that is ratio for ballots in Clark, very bad news for Trump.
Net vote gain so far compared to yesterday’s totals: – Joe Biden: +9,751 (+0.14%) – Donald Trump: +5,940 (-0.16%) Clark 2-1 Biden, rurals 2-1 for Trump. https://t.co/Sx5NMEJ2EC
L-R President Donald Trump, former Vice President Joe Biden A tale of two candidates… As Joe Biden called for unity and declaring the office of the presidency “demands a duty of care for all Americans,” Donald Trump was retweeting his demands that states “STOP THE COUNT!”
Joe Biden: “We are campaigning as Democrats, but I will govern as an American president. The presidency itself is not a partisan institution … It demands a duty of care for all Americans.” https://t.co/qpSut7hsXg#Election2020pic.twitter.com/wXSZCtiWLx
(stock photo via Depositphotos) After hearing arguments in a case involving LGBTQ discrimination and foster parenting in Philadelphia, the Supreme Court appeared to lean in favor of a Roman Catholic adoption agency that wouldn’t certify same-sex couples to foster children. From CNBC:
The adoption agency case (Fulton v. City of Philadelphia) arose after the city of Philadelphia learned in 2018 that Catholic Social Services, a foster care services provider affiliated with the Roman Catholic Church, would not certify same-sex couples as suitable parents for children in the city’s foster care system.
After Philadelphia learned about CSS’ policy, the city stopped referring the group new children, citing a city law prohibiting sexual orientation discrimination, and updated its 2019 contract with foster care services providers to explicitly forbid such discrimination against potential parents.
Catholic Social Services argues that Philadelphia’s exclusion of it from the city’s foster care system amounts to religious discrimination, in violation of the First Amendment’s protections for religious exercise.
This case is the first to come before newly-confirmed Justice Amy Coney Barrett. Barrett’s history of anti-LGBTQ views were raised during her Senate confirmation hearings last month.
(graphic via NY Times) With six states left undecided in the presidential race, most folks are saying they’d rather be in Joe Biden’s shoes than Donald Trump’s at this point. I’ll be updating this page as states are called. Update 1: Wisconsin was just called for Biden giving him 237 electoral votes to Trump’s 213. Update 2: CNN just called Michigan for Biden taking him to 252 electoral votes to Trump’s 213. The Trump campaign is already calling for a recount in Wisconsin but state law says a recount can’t happen until 10 days after an election. Former Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker says Biden’s 20,000+ advantage could be tough to overcome in a recount tweeting, “After recount in 2011 race for WI Supreme Court, there was a swing of 300 votes. After recount in 2016 Presidential race in WI, Trump’s numbers went up by 131.”
After recount in 2011 race for WI Supreme Court, there was a swing of 300 votes. After recount in 2016 Presidential race in WI, @realDonaldTrump numbers went up by 131. As I said, 20,000 is a high hurdle. #Election2020https://t.co/CEr82eiCWH
Here’s an abbreviated version of how things stand according to Nate Cohn at the New York Times: Nevada: Mr. Biden has a narrow lead (7,600+), with only 86 percent of Democratic stronghold Clark County (Las Vegas) has been counted. The remaining ballots look to be Democratic-leaning late mail and provisional ballots. Arizona: Biden leads by 3.5 points and there’s more than 10 percent of the vote yet to be counted in Democratic strongholds Maricopa and Pima Counties. There are late mail ballots, received by the state over the last few days and those ballots usually tilt Democratic. Michigan: Biden leads with over 48,000 and almost 20 percent of heavily Democratic Wayne County (Detroit) remains to be counted. It’s reasonable to assume that much of the outstanding vote is Democratic mail-in ballots. Pennsylvania: Trump currently leads here by 463,000+ votes – but only 80 percent of the votes have been counted. There are many outstanding votes in Democratic-leaning areas like Philadelphia and the Pittsburgh area. The majority of those are mail-in ballots, which Biden has won those by a margin of 78 percent to 21 percent. There are more than 1.4 million absentee votes left to count, according to the secretary of state, plus more that could arrive over the next few days. If Biden wins those by the same margin he’s been winning them so far it would net him 800,000 votes. Georgia: Trump leads with 93 percent of the vote in (83,000+ votes). An estimated 200,000 uncounted votes remain in the state, and most come from left-leaning areas of metropolitan Atlanta, which could mean they’re likely to skew Democratic. According to the secretary of state, the winners of most races in the state should be announced by Wednesday afternoon. North Carolina: Trump leads by 1.4 points (76,000+ votes), so it’s not really that close. But, the state accepts mail ballots received after the election until November 12, and there were around half a million absentee ballots still outstanding heading into Election Day. I personally don’t expect Biden to win here.
L-R Ritchie Torres, Sarah McBride, Torrey Harris, Michele Rayner (images via campaigns) There were over 574 LGBTQ candidates on ballots across the nation on Tuesday night. Here are just some of the results that will send these community leaders to represent us. Colorado: Brianna Titone overcame an onslaught of vile transphobic ads to win her election for Colorado State House, District 27. Also, David Ortiz won his race for District 38 in the State House, becoming the first bisexual candidate elected to the Colorado state legislature. An advocate for his fellow disabled veterans, he’ll also be the first wheelchair user elected to the legislature. Delaware: Sarah McBride won her state senate race, making her the first and only openly transgender state senator in the U.S. and the country’s highest-ranking transgender official. Florida: Shevrin Jones became the first openly LGBTQ person ever elected to the Florida State Senate. Michele Rayner won her race for the Florida House making history as the first openly Black queer women ever elected at any level. Georgia: Kim Jackson won her race for the Georgia state Senate, becoming the first openly LGBTQ person elected to that chamber. Kansas: Stephanie Byers was elected to her state house seat in Kansas making history as the first trans person of Native American heritage to be elected to any state legislature. New York: Ritchie Torres and Mondaire Jones were elected in New York, making them the first openly gay, black members of Congress. Jabari Brisport won election to the state senate from Brooklyn’s 25th District. He will be the first openly queer person of color to join the New York Legislature.” Ohio: Charmaine McGuffey, who is openly gay, won the Hamilton County Sheriff’s race and will be the county’s first female sheriff. Oklahoma: Mauree Turner became the first openly non-binary person ever elected to a state legislature in the United States, winning their race for the Oklahoma House. Tennessee: Torrey Harris, who is bisexual, became the state’s first openly LGBTQ legislator. Texas: Ann Johnson won her race for House District 134 in the Lone Star state. Ann will join a growing number of LGBTQ women in the state House and help them pass pro-equality legislation. Vermont: Taylor Small became the first out transgender person ever elected to the Vermont state legislature. (source: Victory Fund)
Drive-through voting in Harris County, TX (screen capture)And stay out! First, the Texas state Supreme Court said ‘no.’ Then, a federal District Court judge said ‘no.’ Now, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals has said ‘no’ to a bid by Texas Republicans to block Election Day drive-through voting in Harris County. From NPR:
In a terse order, the three-judge panel wrote: “It is ordered that appellants’ motion for injunctive relief to issue a preliminary injunction banning drive-thru voting on Election Day, November 3, 2020, is denied.” No explanation was given.
The move is yet another loss for Texas Republicans who had sought to challenge the legality of some 127,000 votes cast at drive-through voting sites in the Houston area.
On Monday, U.S. District Court Judge Andrew Hanen threw out that suit, ruling the plaintiffs don’t have legal standing to sue. The Texas Supreme Court dismissed a similar challenge on Sunday.
Harris County, Texas’ most populous county and majority Democratic, erected 10 drive-through sites, mostly tents, to expedite the early voting process as a way of allowing people to cast ballots safely during the coronavirus pandemic. They were also in place this summer before the state’s primary.
Noting that point, Hanen, a George W. Bush appointee, asked plaintiffs, “Why am I just getting this case?” He later said that the suit was not timely and that “this has been going on all summer.”
Check out the new single from out pop duo Tegan and Sara, “Make You Mine This Season,” featured on the upcoming soundtrack for the Hulu Original romantic comedy, Happiest Season. According to the film’s official synopsis, “A young woman plans to propose marriage to her girlfriend while attending her family’s annual holiday party. At the party, she realizes her girlfriend hasn’t come out to her conservative parents yet.” The TV movie, which stars Kristen Stewart, Mackenzie Davis, Victor Garber, and Mary Steenburgen, debuts exclusively in the U.S. on Hulu on November 25th. Tegan and Sara’s euphoric, upbeat synthpop track sounds like a perfect fit for a queer holiday rom-com.
You’re the only girl I’ve got on my listI’ll write your name, I know it’s foolishBut I chase the feeling ‘cus you keep me dreamingThat I could make you mine this season
“For all types of families, music matters more during the holidays than any other time of year,” says soundtrack producer Justin Tranter. “To be given the honor to help create a holiday soundtrack that everyone can enjoy but celebrates LGBTQ talent is an actual dream come true for me! There are LGBTQ artists and/or songwriters on every original song.”
L-R James Corden, Pete Buttigieg (image via The Late Late Show) One of the things to come out of this election cycle that I’ll long appreciate is the emergence of former South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg onto the national stage. Over the past year and a half, Buttigieg demonstrated how a mayor of a mid-sized city can show up and go toe-to-toe with not only experienced political candidates but also the press (Fox News, I’m looking at you). Last night, Mayor Pete made an appearance on The Late Late Show with James Corden where he addressed the state of the election cycle (“It’s all going to come down to getting out the vote”) but also offered a positive view on the resiliency of the American people. “We have to find a way to get through this,” said Buttigieg. “This is a country that has been through pandemics, it has been through wars; at one point, half the country broke off and declared war against the other half. And this country still stands. We have got to find a way through this and I believe that starts with electing new leadership.” “Now, we’re also the generation that could blow it,” he added. “That’s part of the reason this election is so high stakes. But if we get it right in the next few years, the 2020s could go down in history as the time America stood up and turned in a better direction. And by the middle of this century could be delivering to humanity something as important as the founding of America itself. I really believe that – if we do the work, and that’s why we’re doing the work.”
And in another segment called “Late Late Show And Tell,” Corden asked Mayor Pete to share something from his home that the general public wouldn’t generally get to see. Buttigieg revealed a red baseball he received on the night of his first date with now-husband Chasten. The couple had attended a baseball game, and the souvenirs were a give-away at the game that night. Later in the date, the couple held hands for the first time. “That moment we held hands was one of the best moments of my life,” shared Buttigieg. “I keep this baseball around because they were giving them out that night. It’s just a reminder of how any given night can change the rest of your life.” At a time when so many politicians and elected officials give us much to be cynical about, I find Buttigieg continually serves up reasons to look for the good in those in public service.
It’s finally Election Day! And according to ABC News, early voting across the country hit record highs as over 97 million Americans cast their vote before today. Prior to this morning, voters had cast more than 70% of the total ballots counted in the 2016 general election, when 166 million Americans voted. In 2016, there were just under 43 million early votes. Former Vice President Joe Biden attended a church service before heading out to final ‘get out the vote’ appearances in Pennsylvania.
Good morning America! It’s Election Day & @JoeBiden is starting his by going to church with @DrBiden and two of their granddaughters. He’ll then make one final stop in Scranton and Philadelphia, Penn. as voters head to the polls today. pic.twitter.com/gBLDwPvXsG
Donald Trump called in to his own place of worship – Fox & Friends. Sounding a bit low energy, Trump spoke about how “mean” people had been to him, bragged about the size of his campaign rallies, threw some predictable shade at Biden, and then turned on – of all outlets – Fox News Channel. “Fox has changed a lot,” whine Trump. “Somebody said ‘What’s the biggest difference between this and four years ago?’ I said Fox, it’s much different, you know. Fox is a much different place in terms of politics.” “In the old days, [Fox] wouldn’t put on sleepy Joe Biden every time he had opened his mouth. They had other networks for that, frankly. It’s a much different operation, I’m just telling you. It’s much different.” Trump also complained about the democratic process itself again moaning that all ballots won’t be counted by the end of tonight. As I’ve reported yesterday, every state has its own rules for cutting off accepting ballots and when to begin processing and counting them. Trump criticized American voters saying, “There’s no reason why they couldn’t put the ballot in 2 weeks earlier.” Some of those ballots include military service members overseas who have little control over when their ballots arrive.
An exhausted-sounding Trump on when he’ll declare victory: “When there’s victory. If there’s victory … there’s no reason to play games.” pic.twitter.com/MiuuPjTe1E
“There’s no reason why they couldn’t put the ballot in 2 weeks earlier” — Trump explicitly wants to disenfranchise voters who have done nothing wrong beyond cast a ballot in a way he doesn’t like pic.twitter.com/zzLZnekNaR
Just heard him speaking at his campaign HQ in Virginia and it sounded like a concession speech. He kept talking about his presidency in the past tense, like it was over. Their internals must look bad
