Tag: Alabama

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News Round-Up: September 13, 2017

(via Instagram)

Some news items you might have missed:

• My buddy Brandon Pereyda, currently one of the stars (and poster boy) for Cirque du Soleil’s Zumanity here in Las Vegas, gets in “mid-show workouts” during his already grueling performances. And yes, everything in the pic is real from the mohawk to the body to everything else 🙂

• Former Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore, who was removed from office for blocking same-sex marriages in his state, could very well be the next U.S. Senator from the “Yellowhammer” state. And he’s not sure if gays should be executed or not for being who they are.

• Russian politician Vyacheslav Nikonov told Russian TV audiences recently that the United States intel community “missed it when Russian intelligence stole the president of the United States.”

• Is it weird that not only does Donald Trump Jr. face the pictures of his children on his desk AWAY from his view, but he also has a pic of HIMSELF right there in the middle? #hmmm

(via Twitter)

• More big stars are signing on for guest spots on the upcoming Will & Grace reboot beginning September 28 on NBC. Jane Lynch and Andrew Rannells will guest star together joining previously announced appearances by Ben Platt, Harry Connick, Jr., Minnie Driver and Bobby Cannavale.

• I’m certain that Los Angeles’ 100% score on the Human Rights Campaign’s Municipal Equality Index helped the “city of angels” book the upcoming 2028 Summer Olympics & Paralympics.

• Any day is a good day for some fresh Cher. Like this new spot for GAP which pairs the diva with Future on a new take on Sly and the Family Stone’s “Everyday People.”

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Alabama: HIV Prevention Video Features “World Wrestling” Style Approach To Ending Stigma, Promoting PrEP

Is this the first southern “World Wrestling-inspired” HIV prevention public service announcement?

The good folks at Thrive Alabama admit not every approach to talking about HIV is for every community. Instead of a “sexy” PrEP video, Thrive Alabama took a more home-grown tone to setting folks straight about HIV, stigma, and prevention.

The video pits bad guys HIV and Stigma against do-gooders Prevention and PrEP.

It’s interesting to note that the video doesn’t feature any stereotypical “gay” men in the video. Mark Moore, director of development and marketing, said that was a conscious choice. “We have a lot of people here who are ‘men who have sex with men’ but who do not identify as gay or just don’t do labels,” Mark told Queerty.

Watch the lighthearted but still informative PSA below.

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Alabama: Former Chief Justice Roy Moore Loses Appeal In Court – Again

Roy Moore

Former Chief Justice of the Alabama Supreme Court Roy Moore lost yet again in court today.

You’ll recall Moore, who is virulently anti-LGBT, was ousted for instructing state officials to ignore the landmark Obergefell ruling at the U.S. Supreme Court in 2015 that made marriage equality the law of the land.

He was suspended last September for the remainder of his term as chief justice after he was found guilty of six charges of violation of the canons of judicial ethics.

Today, the Alabama Supreme Court upheld that decision that stripped him of his power as Chief Justice.

This is the second time Moore has been removed as Chief Justice. In 2003, he refused to remove a monument bearing the Ten Commandments.

Some people never learn, you know?

Moore has been feeding rumors that he might attempt a U.S. Senate run next year for the seat vacated by Jeff Sessions to become U.S. Attorney General. That seat is currently held by former Alabama Attorney General Luther Strange.

(source)

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Alabama Supreme Court Justice Roy Moore Suspended For Remainder Of His Term

Alabama Supreme Court Justice Roy Moore

Virulently anti-LGBT Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore has will spend the remainder of his term suspended from the bench for instructing probate judges in his state to ignore federal laws regarding same-sex marriage.

The ruling comes via the Alabama Court of the Judiciary (COJ).

From AL.com:

“For these violations, Chief Justice Moore is hereby suspended from office without pay for the remainder of his term. This suspension is effective immediately,” the order stated. The court found him guilty of all six charges of violation of canon of judicial ethics. Moore was tried Wednesday before the COJ on the six charges that claimed he violated canons of judicial ethics regarding that Jan. 6 administrative order to the state’s 68 probate judges.

Prosecutors said Moore’s order sought to have probate judges defy the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling that declared gay marriage legal nationwide and halt the issuance of marriage licenses to same-sex couples. Moore and one of his attorneys said at the trial that the order was just a status report on the state of a petition that had been pending before the Alabama Supreme Court and did not tell the probate judges to defy federal orders.

The nine-member Court of the Judiciary thought otherwise and issued the sanction. The nine member court had several options – acquit Moore, remove him from the bench, suspend him without pay, or issue a statement of censure expressing disapproval. Removal from the bench required a unanimous decision and any of the other sanctions require a minimum 6-3 vote. Moore can appeal the ruling to the Alabama Supreme Court.

The suspension basically ends Moore’s career on the state Supreme Court. He cannot receive any salary, and he cannot weigh in on legal decisions. His current term ends in 2018, and he is unable to run again for Supreme Court office due to age restrictions.

In addition, the COJ ruled he has to pay for the cost of the trial. Here’s the signed suspension document:

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Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore Suspended, Facing Removal From Office – Again

For the second time in his career, virulently anti-LGBT Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore has had ethics charges filed against him via the Alabama Judicial Inquiry Commission.

This time the charges relate to orders he issued in the wake of the historic ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court on same-sex marriage. Chief Justice Moore instructed the state’s probate judges that they had a “ministerial duty” to continue enforcement of the state’s ban on same-sex marriage.

From the New York Times:

As a result of the charges, Chief Justice Moore, 69, has been immediately suspended from the bench and is facing a potential hearing before the state’s Court of the Judiciary, a panel of judges, lawyers and other appointees. Among possible outcomes at such a hearing would be his removal from office.

“We intend to fight this agenda vigorously and expect to prevail,” Chief Justice Moore said in a statement, saying that the Judicial Inquiry Commission, which filed the complaint, had no authority over the charges at issue.

Referring to a transgender activist in Alabama, Chief Justice Moore said the commission had “chosen to listen to people like Ambrosia Starling, a professed transvestite, and other gay, lesbian and bisexual individuals, as well as organizations which support their agenda.”

It is the second complaint lodged by the state’s Judicial Inquiry Commission against the judge. In 2003, he was ousted by the same body from his position as chief justice after disobeying a federal court order to remove a two-ton monument of the Ten Commandments that he had installed in the rotunda of the state judicial building.

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U.S. Supreme Court Overturns Alabama Supreme Court Ruling Against Same-Sex Adoption

The U.S. Supreme Court has unanimously reversed the Alabama Supreme Court’s refusal to recognize adoption regarding a same-sex couple.

From USA Today:

The justices upheld a challenge brought by an Alabama woman after her state’s highest court refused to recognize the adoption she and her former lesbian partner were granted in Georgia.

The couple never married and have since split up. But the case presented a test of an issue that crops up occasionally in state and federal courts since the Supreme Court struck down state bans on same-sex marriage: Can gays and lesbians be denied adoption rights?

The case was brought by “V.L.,” as she is identified in court papers, against her former partner “E.L.,” who gave birth to three children between 2002-04 while the couple was together. To win adoption rights for V.L., they established temporary residency in Georgia.

Now that they have split, E.L. agreed with the Alabama Supreme Court, which ruled in September that Georgia mistakenly granted V.L. joint custody. E.L.’s lawyers argued that “the Georgia court had no authority under Georgia law to award such an adoption, which is therefore void and not entitled to full faith and credit.”

The National Center for Lesbian Rights, which worked on the appeal, issued a statement today which reads in part:

“The Supreme Court’s reversal of Alabama’s unprecedented decision to void an adoption from another state is a victory not only for our client but for thousands of adopted families,” said National Center for Lesbian Rights Family Law Director Cathy Sakimura, who is representing V.L. “No adoptive parent or child should have to face the uncertainty and loss of being separated years after their adoption just because another state’s court disagrees with the law that was applied in their adoption.”

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Alabama: Birmingham News Says “Roy Moore Is Delusional About Roy Moore”

 The AL.com editorial board in Alabama has a scathing op-ed addressing misguided, anti-gay State Supreme Court Justice Roy Moore and his latest attempts to stop same-sex marriage in his state.

Just an excerpt – from the folks who know him best:

It is time Roy Moore realized that he is wrong. He is wrong on this issue, he is wrong in thinking he might ever be governor of Alabama, he is wrong in seeing himself as of presidential timber, he is wrong in thinking that he matters.

Already, there are citizen calls for his impeachment. He will soon go into retirement and be remembered as a bigot, disrespectful of the law and of his fellow human beings. That might be the only memory he has earned in his time in public office. And, hopefully, Alabama’s citizens will be remembered as the ones who showed him the door.

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Fox News’ Megyn Kelly Slaps Down Anti-Gay Brian Brown Over Marriage Equality & SCOTUS

In an effort to find some semblance of relevance in today’s world of marriage equality, virulently anti-gay Brian Brown (of the ironically-named National Organization for Marriage) made an appearance on Fox News last night to talk on Alabama state Supreme Court Justice Roy Moore’s feckless attempt to stop same-sex marriages in his state.

Of course, as we all know, last June the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that same-sex marriage was a right in this country, and thus making it possible for gay and lesbian couples everywhere in America to wed.

Grasping at straws, Brown tried to make an (illogical) legal case for Moore’s impertinence. The results – and response from experienced lawyer Megyn Kelly – were not exactly what Brown was hoping for.

From Mediaite:

Brown’s opening gambit was the fine legal thinking of Rick Santorum and Mike Huckabee (imagine that wedding), which holds that Supreme Court rulings are more, like, guidelines. Kelly lost it a little when Brown said officials shouldn’t “kowtow” to the court (which might be NOM-speak for some kind of man-dairy animal union), then patiently tried to explain the legal concept codified in Marbury vs Madison.

That’s when Brown really stepped in it, telling attorney Megyn Kelly “I think you are misreading Marbury vs Madison.” If Megyn Kelly ever decides to return to practicing law, her new strategy should be to just make faces during opposing counsel’s argument. She’d win every case.

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Hillary Clinton To Alabama’s Anti-Gay Roy Moore: “Marriage Equality Is The Law Of The Land”

From Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton via press release:

“Marriage equality is now the law of the land — including in Alabama. Today’s unconstitutional order reminds us that, despite the Supreme Court’s ruling that all Americans have the right to marry the person they love, our work is far from over.

“There are still judges who are determined to stand in the way of people’s rights. There are still politicians who argue the Court got it wrong and states should ignore its ruling.

“We need to ensure that marriage equality is guaranteed and enforced nationwide. And we need to fight discrimination against LGBT Americans wherever it occurs.

“There are places where you can get married on Sunday and are at risk of being fired from your job or evicted from your home on Monday because you’re gay.

“That’s not how it should be in the United States of America. As President, I’ll fight for the equal rights of all Americans, no matter who they are or who they love.”

That’s my next president.

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State Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore Attempts To Halt Marriage Equality In Alabama

Virulently anti-gay Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore issued an order today saying that, although the U.S. Supreme Court ruled same-sex marriage was a constitutional right last June, probate judges in Alabama are to stop issuing marriage licenses to same sex couples.

Moore asserts that his state Supreme Court’s ruling from March of 2015 is still in effect upholding the state’s ban on marriage equality.

(Wrong.)

From AL.com:

Chief Justice Roy Moore issued an order today saying that a ruling issued last March by the Alabama Supreme Court remains in effect and that probate judges “have a ministerial duty not to issue any marriage license contrary” to Alabama’s law and constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage.

In a four-page administrative order, Moore said the conflict between the state court ruling and the U.S. Supreme Court ruling in June has caused “confusion and uncertainty” among probate judges.

Moore said he issued the order today in his role as administrative head of the state court system. He quoted a state law that says the chief justice is empowered to “take affirmative and appropriate action to correct or alleviate any condition or situation adversely affecting the administration of justice within the state.”

Moore’s order drew forceful criticism.

Scott McCoy, senior staff attorney for the Southern Poverty Law Center, issued a statement calling Moore’s order a “dead letter.”

“In no way does his administrative order supersede Judge Granade’s federal injunction prohibiting probate judges from enforcing discriminatory Alabama marriage laws.

“If probate judges violate the injunction, they can be held in contempt. This is Moore yet again confusing his role as chief justice with his personal anti-LGBT agenda.”

Americans United for Separation of Church and State called Moore’s order a “pathetic gesture that is doomed to fail.”

“I have a news flash for Roy Moore: The U.S. Supreme Court upheld marriage equality in June and the decision extends nationwide,” said the Rev. Barry W. Lynn, executive director of Americans United. “All Alabama probate judges remain bound by a federal court order to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples.”