Anti-Gay Folks In Charlotte Deny “Nazi” Signage
California Man Files “Death Penalty For Sodomites” Ballot Initiative
A California lawyer has filed a proposed ballot initiative which would legalize the death penalty for gays in the Golden state.
According to Wonkette, a man listed as Matt McLaughlin of Huntington Beach, California, has paid his $200 filing fee to begin what he hopes would see death and million dollar fines for “sodomites” via his “Sodomite Suppression Act.”
Excerpt from McLaughlin’s filing:
“Seeing that it is better that offenders should die rather than that all of us should be killed by God’s just wrath against us for the folly of tolerating-wickedness in our midst, the People of California wisely command, in the fear of God, that any person who willingly touches another person of the same gender for purposes of sexual gratification be put to death by bullets to the head or by any other convenient method.”
In addition, McLaughlin would like to see gays fined $1 million for each “sodomistic propaganda” incident and possible expulsion from California. Plus, none of the “sodomites” may be allowed to hold public office.
McLaughlin now needs 366,000 signatures via petition to get his legislation on the next ballot.
See a copy of the wording above.
Supreme Court Says California Anti-Gay Groups Can’t Hide Donor Names
A California group, which fought to deny same-sex marriage in their state, has been rebuffed by the Supreme Court in their attempt to hide the names of donors to the anti-gay Prop 8 campaign of 2008.
The justices on Monday let stand a lower court ruling against ProtectMarriage.com, the National Organization for Marriage and other supporters of a 2008 ballot initiative that outlawed same-sex marriages in California until the ban was overturned five years later.
The groups sought to conceal their past and future campaign finance records because they feared harassment of donors. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled against them in part because the names have been publicly available for five years.
State law requires political committees to identify those who contribute more than $100 during or after a campaign, along with the donor’s address, occupation and employer.
Nebraska: Omaha Man Arrested For Stealing/Burning Rainbow Flag
Twenty-three year old Cameron Mayfield of Omaha, Nebraska has been arrested for stealing a neighbors rainbow flag and burning it in the street.
Via Gay Star News:
Ariann Anderson and Jess Meadows-Anderson, a married couple who live next door, said it went ‘beyond vandalism or a threat’ as it was a ‘direct attack’.
‘It’s just a reminder that hate is still out there,’ they said.
The two women woke up just after midnight on Sunday morning (1 March), believing their home was being burglarized.
When Meadows-Anderson rushed downstairs to check on their two girls, her wife saw a van drive off.
When they woke up again, they went to a window to see a man running down the street with what looked like a burning stick.
They then both realized he was burning their rainbow flag.
‘You almost feel bad for a minute,’ Meadows-Anderson told WOWT. ‘He’s a young man and he made a hate-filled, drunken mistake that will have a lasting effect on his life and his family.’
Later that day, a new, bigger, brighter Pride flag was flying on their front porch.
Mayfield is facing a 2nd degree felony arson charge and a separate charge for resisting arrest.
Washington: Florist Declines Offer To Settle LGBT Discrimination Lawsuit
Barronelle Stutzman, the Washington state florist who refused to provide flowers for a gay wedding, has declined to accept an offer from the Washington state attorney general to settle her discrimination case by paying a $2,000 fine and agreeing to sell bouquets for same-sex ceremonies in the future.
In a letter to the Attorney General Bob Ferguson, Stutzman wrote that gay couples are allowed to act on their views, but “because I follow the Bible’s teaching that marriage is the union of one man and one woman, I am no longer free to act on my beliefs.”
From the Washington Post:
Stutzman, 70, owner of Arlene’s Flowers in Richland, Washington, says she plans to appeal a judge’s ruling that she broke a state anti-discrimination law.
Benton County Superior Court Judge Alex Ekstrom on Wednesday rejected arguments that Stutzman’s actions were protected by her freedoms of speech and religion.
The First Amendment protects religious beliefs but not necessarily actions based on those beliefs, Ekstrom ruled. The state has the authority to prohibit discrimination, and Stutzman can be held personally liable for damages if she breaks bias laws, the judge said.
A gay couple and the state sued the florist, who could be required to pay damages and legal fees that far exceed the attorney general’s offer.
Ferguson said Thursday that his goal wasn’t Stutzman’s financial ruin. He offered to settle the case for $2,000 — the fine for violations of the law — and a $1 payment for legal fees if she would agree not to discriminate against same-sex couples.
“My primary goal has always been to bring about an end to the defendants’ unlawful conduct and to make clear that I will not tolerate discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation,” Ferguson said in a news release.
Stutzman becomes a national martyr in 3, 2, 1…
Oklahoma Bill Would Ban State Employees From Issuing Same-Sex Marriage Licenses
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| Anti-gay Oklahoma Rep. Sally Kern |
A bill currently before the Oklahoma state legislature would ban state officials from any activity which supported same-sex marriage. The legislation would
On Tuesday, HB 1599 successfully passed the House Judiciary and Civil Procedure Committee by a 5-3 vote. It now is headed to the full House.
The bill makes it illegal for any state employee to issue a marriage license to a same-sex couple. Punishments would include losing state pension, benefits and salary.
The bill is one of several in the Republican-dominated statehouse to impose restrictions on same-sex marriages that have been proposed after a U.S. federal judge last year ruled the state’s ban on same-sex marriage was unconstitutional. The ban remains in effect pending an appeal.
The bill called the “Preservation of Sovereignty and Marriage Act” prohibits taxpayer funds, including government salaries, to be used for any activity that supports same-sex marriage. It also says that those who issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples can be subject to removal from office.
The bill’s author, Representative Sally Kern, a Republican, said the measure is a response to U.S. courts overstepping their authority by forcing Oklahoma to recognize gay marriage.
Representative Emily Virgin, a Democrat who voted against the measure in committee on Tuesday, said: “No other state in the union has seen more anti-LGBT legislation introduced during this legislative session. The battleground is right here in Oklahoma.”
Supreme Court Justice Scalia: “Don’t Paint Me As Anti-Gay”
Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia took umbrage at the idea that he would somehow be seen as “anti-gay” during a joint appearance with Ruth Bader Ginsberg last night at George Washington University.
Via Washington Blade:
“The issue of gay rights, on abortion, on many of the issues in which Ruth’s opinions and mine differ does not pertain to the substance,” he said. “It doesn’t pertain to whether gay people ought to have those rights or whether there ought to be a constitutional right or a right to an abortion,” he said.
“That isn’t the issue. The issue is who decides,” Scalia told the gathering. “That’s all. I don’t have any public views on any of those things. The point is who decides? Should these decisions be made by the Supreme Court without any text in the Constitution or any history in the Constitution to support imposing on the whole country or is it a matter left to the people?” he asked.
“But don’t paint me as anti-gay or anti-abortion or anything else,” he added. “All I’m doing on the Supreme Court is opining about who should decide.”
Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg added, “It isn’t the Supreme Court that is deciding for the whole society like an imperial ruler. There hasn’t been any major change in which there wasn’t a groundswell among the people before the Supreme Court put its stamp of approval on the inclusion in the equality concept of people who were once left out,” she said.
While Scalia may not like the label “anti-gay,” in 2013, he referred to gays as an “invented minority” in regard to recent rulings on same-sex marriage.
Editorial Cartoon Of The Day: Roy Moore Of Alabama
After the Mississippi KKK endorsed Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore’s stance on same-sex marriage, AL.com’s JD Crowe came up with this editorial cartoon.
JD Crowe is the statewide cartoonist for the Alabama Media Group. Crowe has been following Moore’s exploits in Alabama and the media for a long time.
You can find more of his “Moore” here.
Liberty Counsel Files Petition Demanding Alabama Probate Judges Cease Issuing Same-Sex Marriage Licenses
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| Mat Staver of the anti-gay hate group Liberty Counsel |
Mat Staver and the virulently anti-gay Liberty Counsel have filed a petition with the Alabama state Supreme Court demanding that the entire bench of judges instruct all state Probate Judges to cease issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples.
Via press release from Liberty Counsel:
“Many Alabama probate judges are acting lawlessly,” said Mat Staver, Founder and Chairman of Liberty Counsel.
“Alabama probate judges do not have discretion to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples. Neither the Searcy nor the Strawser Injunction requires Alabama probate judges to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples,” Staver pointed out.
“The only remedy to this lawlessness is mandamus relief, an order from the Alabama Supreme Court to command probate judges to perform their ministerial duty not to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples,” Staver concluded.
Actually, the Supremacy Clause of the US Constitution specifically states that Federal law trumps State law. Federal Judge Callie Granade has ruled Alabama’s ban on same-sex marriage is unconstitutional. The Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals and the US Supreme Court have been asked and passed on staying the ruling.
Haters would want to stop embarrassing themselves sooner than later.
Alabama’s Judge Roy Moore Claims He Has Gay Friends
With “friends” like this, who needs enemies?
Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore appearing on Bloomberg Politics:
“I’ve had many friends who are homosexual. I’ve treated people just like other people. This is not about how I treat people or how I go to a wedding or a marriage or anything. It’s about the constitution of Alabama and the constitution of the United States and specifically the sanctity of marriage amendment. I would not go to a same-sex wedding.”
Just saying.