Mark Kelly (image via campaign website)
Arizona: Democrats Lead In Presidential & Senate Races By 9 Points
Biden Sweeps 3 More States, Sanders ‘Assessing’ His Campaign
L-R Joe Biden, Bernie Sanders
“Senator Sanders and I may disagree on tactics, but we share a common vision for the need to provide affordable health care for all Americans, reduce income inequity that has risen so drastically, to tackling the existential threat of our time, climate change.
“Sen. Sanders and his supporters have brought a remarkable passion and tenacity to all of these issues. Together, they have shifted the fundamental conversation in this country. So let me say, especially to the young voters who have been inspired by Senator Sanders: I hear you. I know what’s at stake. I know what we have to do.”
Biden began his delegate lead in the race by coming out on top in 10 of 14 contests on Super Tuesday. Then on March 10, Biden won five of six contests including Washington state which was considered a safe haven for Sanders. Political experts say Biden will have a nearly insurmountable lead in delegates by the time all of the votes are counted from this week’s primaries. Biden currently has around 1,180 delegates, while Sanders has just about 884 delegates. You can check the count as more delegates are allocated at RealClearPolitics. Candidates must garner at least 1,991 to officially clinch the nomination. Forty percent of delegates remain to be allocated. Ohio, scheduled to vote last night, postponed its primary at the last minute due to coronavirus concerns. Additionally, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, and Puerto Rico have also delayed their primaries. 
After Widespread Ridicule, Lawmaker Backpedals On Attempt To Outlaw Word ‘Homosexuality’
Arizona state Sen. Sylvia Allen (screen capture)
Podcast: Billy Porter At The Emmys, Mayor Pete’s ‘Grumpy’ Moment, Queer Eye Star’s New Memoir
In this week’s podcast: • Billy Porter makes history at the Emmy Awards • Arizona’s Supreme Court rules it’s fine for businesses to discriminate against LGBTQ people • Democratic White House hopeful Pete Buttigieg got grumpy with the LGBTQ media • A conservative lawmaker (who opposed LGBTQ rights because Jesus) charged with possessing child pornography • Queer Eye’s Jonathan Van Ness comes out as HIV positive All that and more in this episode of The Randy Report
News Round-Up: September 24, 2019
Michael and I visiting a church Portofino
Arizona Supreme Court: Anti-LGBTQ Design Firm Can Discriminate Against Same-Sex Couples
The Arizona State Supreme Court has ruled Phoenix-based company Brush & Nib, which designs custom wedding invitations, may turn away same-sex couples looking to engage their services. According to the Phoenix New Times, the owners of the design studio, Breanna Koski and Joanna Duka (pictured above), filed their lawsuit against the city of Phoenix in 2016 saying the city’s anti-discrimination ordinance violated their artistic and religious freedoms. The ordinance, which prohibits businesses from refusing to offer services to protected classes, was expanded in 2013 to include sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression. After the U.S. Supreme Court handed down its historic Obergefell ruling on same-sex marriage in June 2015, Koski and Duka said they didn’t want to design wedding invitations – or any custom art for that matter – for a same-sex ceremony because they believed it would be seen as an ‘endorsement’ of marriage equality. It’s important to note that no one had asked Brush & Nib to design any wedding invitations for a same-sex wedding. The duo seems to have preemptively pursued legal action before there was a reason to do so. Today’s ruling reverses multiple previous decisions against the business owners. After losing in the Maricopa County Superior Court, the business owners went to the state Court of Appeals and lost there as well. 
Writing for the majority in today’s 4-3 decision, Justice Andrew Gould said:
“The rights of free speech and free exercise, so precious to this nation since its founding, are not limited to soft murmurings behind the doors of a person’s home or church, or private conversations with like-minded friends and family. These guarantees protect the right of every American to express their beliefs in public. This includes the right to create and sell words, paintings, and art that express a person’s sincere religious beliefs.“
The women’s lawyer, Jonathan Scruggs with the virulently anti-LGBTQ law firm Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), told reporters his firm hopes to see the issue make it’s way to the U.S. Supreme Court. ADF also represented Colorado baker Jack Phillips in his case where he refused to bake a wedding cake for a same-sex couple. In 2018, SCOTUS handed down a narrow ruling in Phillips’ favor saying the Colorado Civil Rights Commission had allowed religious bias to come into play in finding the baker discriminated against the couple even though state law clearly bans discrimination based on sexual orientation. Some LGBTQ activists, like Joe Jervis of JoeMyGod, have publicly speculated whether ADF created Brush & Nib as a means to challenge the Phoenix city ordinance. Prior to the filing of the original lawsuit, the company didn’t appear to have a physical address, the artists’ social media accounts had only recently been created, and the company’s YouTube channel only had one introductory video posted and it was marked ‘unlisted.’ Things that make you go hmm… The city of Phoenix issued a statement regarding today’s ruling, pointing out the decision does not strike down the local ordinance:
“The city of Phoenix’s anti-discrimination ordinance is still a legal, valid law and remains in effect. It currently affirms that everyone should be treated fairly and equally regardless of sexual orientation, race, religion, sex, gender or disability. On September 16, 2019, the Arizona Supreme Court made a very narrow ruling that one local business has the right to refuse to make custom wedding invitations for same-sex couples’ weddings that are similar to the designer’s previous products. This ruling does not apply to any other business in Phoenix. The city of Phoenix has had an anti-discrimination ordinance since 1964 to protect all residents and believes that everyone should be treated equally.”
Congressman Greg Stanton, who served as mayor of Phoenix when the city’s ordinance was expanded, issued a statement as well calling the decision “a shameful day for Arizona.” Noting that the ruling will “hurt real people,” Stanton said the message of the decision sends a message “that discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation is still acceptable by some state leaders.”
Former mayor @gregstantonaz on Brush & Nib verdict: pic.twitter.com/3g63DVvvbf
— Maria Polletta🌵 (@mpolletta) September 16, 2019
Arizona Official Claims Average Life Expectancy Of Gay Men Is 42
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| Ron Gould (image via YouTube/RonGould) |
An elected official in Arizona is getting backlash for telling a local newspaper gay men have a life expectancy of 42 and pointed to sexual orientation as the reason.
Ron Gould, a former Arizona state senator and currently the Mohave County Supervisor, told the Kingman Daily Miner (subscription) that gay men have an average life expectancy of 42. When asked if he believes sexual orientation was the reason for that statement, he said, “That’s why they die.”
He went on to draw a false equivalence between being homosexual and drinking alcohol.
“We all have our sins, but we should try to suppress them,” said Gould, according to the Phoenix New Times. “Alcohol is harmful, too, but we don’t see groups promoting alcoholism.”
Gould also took a swipe at marriage equality in the interview. “It used to be ‘tolerate us,’” he told the newspaper. “Now, it’s ‘accept us.’”
Gould, who served in the Arizona state Senate from 2005 to 2013, was elected to the Mohave County Board of Supervisors in 2018.
#Mohave County #Official Says Being Gay #Kills. Another Blasts ‘Signs in #Mexican‘ https://t.co/IxUa9XftR3 #Arizona #LGBT— Stonewall Dems AZ (@StonewallDemsAZ) August 12, 2019
Gould didn’t indicate where he got such erroneous information about ‘gay life expectancy,’ but many believe it has to do with a debunked study by anti-LGBTQ activist and pseudo-researcher, Paul Cameron.
In his 1994 study, “The longevity of homosexuals,” Cameron scanned through local newspapers that served the LGBTQ communities for obituaries. At the height of the AIDS epidemic, he added up the ages of the deceased gay men and found an average age of 43.
Cameron was booted out of the American Psychological Association for his vastly flawed research.
News Round-Up: February 8, 2019
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| (image via Instagram) |
Some news items you might have missed:
• InstaHunk ‘Steve In LA’ wants you to remember to consider adopting from a dog rescue next time you want to expand your furry family. OMG, I want all four!
• The Arizona state government has raised over a million dollars for a notorious anti-LGBTI group, Alliance Defending Freedom, by selling specialty license plates.
• Things got way out of hand last night at popular West Hollywood gay bar, Micky’s, when a patron being escorted out of the establishment turned and stabbed the security guard twice in the back.
• Tennessee state Sen. Joey Hensley, virulently anti-gay and professes “deeply held religious convictions,” has introduced legislation in his state that would allow adoption agencies to discriminate against same-sex couples. Hensley, who has divorced four times (sanctity of marriage my ass), was named in a divorce proceeding in 2017 for sleeping with another man’s wife. #DeeplyHeldReligiousBeliefs
• One of the highest ranking officers in the California National Guard has announced the state won’t discharge transgender soldiers from its ranks even as the Trump administration continues to move its ban on trans military service members.
• The president of Brazil has announced plans to remove all references to homosexuality, feminism, and violence against women from public school textbooks. President Jair Bolsonaro’s campaign for the presidency proudly included anti-LGBTQ policies.
• Laverne Cox was giving you LIFE as she closed the 11 Honore fashion show finale during New York Fashion Week.
The event is a first for 11 Honore as it only featured plus size clothes from designers.
Wearing a gown by Zac Posen, the Orange is the New Black star twirled on the runway, serving up glamour, and clearly having the time of her life. Get it, diva!
Anti-LGBT Arizona Artists “Prepared To Go To Jail” If They Lose State Supreme Court Appeal
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| Joanna Duka and Breanna Koski |
Having already lost twice in court, the owners of a wedding invitation design firm in Phoenix, Arizona, have appealed to the state Supreme Court to determine if a public accommodation ordinance that protects LGBTQ people from discrimination violates their First Amendment rights of free religion and free speech.
The co-owners of Brush & Nib Studio, Breanna Koski and Joanna Duka, said in an interview with conservative radio host Todd Starnes they are prepared to go to jail if the state’s high court rules against them.
“I mean that’s that’s a possibility that we’re hoping we won’t have to face,” Duka told Starnes. “We’re hopeful that the Arizona Supreme Court will affirm some rights of artists that will never violate our beliefs and our conscience.”
They are being represented at the state Supreme Court by the virulently anti-LGBTQ law firm, Alliance Defending Freedom.
It’s important to note that no gay couple has asked Brush & Nib Studio for wedding services, nor has anyone has filed a complaint against the artists with the city.
The duo decided to file their initial lawsuit, in May 2016, as a pre-emptive strike of sorts against Phoenix’s non-discrimination ordinance.
The Phoenix City Council added sexual orientation and gender identity to its existing ordinance in 2013.
After losing in the Maricopa County Superior Court, the artists went to the state Court of Appeals. And lost there, too.
Now, the Arizona Supreme Court has agreed to hear their appeal.
The city of Phoenix issued the following statement regarding the issue:
“Phoenix’s non-discrimination ordinance is about access to goods and services on equal terms. The ordinance does not tell businesses what to write, what to think, or what to believe. The city’s legal team made this point to the Arizona Supreme Court. Four judges have already agreed that businesses in Phoenix must be open to everyone.
“Those legal rulings protect all and confirm that everyone should be treated fairly and equally regardless of sexual orientation, race, gender, religion, or disability. The city of Phoenix will continue to observe these shared community values, allowing the non-discrimination ordinance to protect and respect the rights of all residents.”
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Some LGBTQ activists, like Joe Jervis of JoeMyGod, have wondered aloud if the company might have been created by Alliance Defending Freedom to surreptitiously present a challenge to the Phoenix ordinance.
When their initial lawsuit was filed in 2016, the company didn’t appear to have a physical address. And the artists’ social media accounts were only months old, making it credible that the company might have been created just to file the lawsuit.
The video below, titled “Getting to Know the Artists of Brush & Nib,” was uploaded to YouTube just days before the lawsuit was filed, and the comments section is closed.
Additionally, the video is listed as “Unlisted.”
Now, why have a “getting to know” video be “unlisted” on YouTube?
#ThingsThatMakeYouGoHmm…
In the video, the artists make a point to say their teaming up was a “God thing,” “beautiful things just come from God,” and how “special” they view their work on wedding invitations.
JoeMyGod also notes that the firm has an online store on Etsy despite the fact the website has a very clear anti-discrimination policy that protects LGBT people.
Arizona Governor Taps Martha McSally For McCain’s Senate Seat
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| Rep. Martha McSally |
As expected, Arizona’s Republican Governor Doug Ducey has tapped anti-LGBTQ Rep. Martha McSally to fill the seat U.S. Senate seat John McCain held for decades.
McSally narrowly lost her bid for the U.S. Senate to replace retiring Sen. Jeff Flake in the recent midterm elections against Democrat Kyrsten Sinema.
For the past several months since McCain’s death, former Sen. Jon Kyl came out of retirement to temporarily serve. Kyl announced that he would leave the Senate at the end of 2018.
“With her experience and long record of service, Martha is uniquely qualified to step up and fight for Arizona’s interests in the U.S. Senate. I thank her for taking on this significant responsibility,” Ducey announced in a statement.
According to Arizona law, McSally will have to run for the seat in a 2020 special election. The seat will then be on the ballot again in 2022.
The Human Rights Campaign quickly issued a statement regarding the appointment of the longtime anti-LGBTQ legislator.
“In the 2018 midterm election, Arizonans rejected Martha McSally’s toxic agenda and elected pro-equality champion Kyrsten Sinema to represent our state in the U.S. Senate,” said HRC Arizona State Director Justin Unga. “From her votes to gut critical health care protections, to kowtowing to Trump’s shameful ban on transgender service members — McSally has proven that she is more interested in political pandering than working to address the issues that matter to all Arizonans. We’re disappointed with this appointment.”
Rep. McSally has long opposed marriage equality and supported discriminatory, anti-LGBTQ policies and proposals while in Congress, including an amendment that would allow discrimination against LGBTQ people by taxpayer-funded organizations.
She has refused to speak out against the Trump-Pence administration’s efforts to ban qualified transgender service members from the military and voted for an amendment to ban transition-related health care for service members and their families.
She has also voted to raise healthcare premiums and roll back protections for 2.8 million Arizonans with pre-existing conditions, including many LGBTQ people.