LGBTQ news and entertainment
State court judge J. Dale Youngs has ruled all out-of-state same-sex marriages must be recognized by Missouri.
Here’s the language from the ruling (via Chris Geidner):
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CNN reports that the police officer who shoved news anchor Don Lemon on the air earlier this week has been suspended after wild remarks regarding violence, the President, the Supreme Court and Muslims came to light.
A Missouri police officer involved in maintaining security in troubled Ferguson was put on administrative leave Friday after a video surfaced showing him railing about the Supreme Court, Muslims, and his past — and perhaps, he said, his future — as “a killer.” The officer, Dan Page of the St. Louis County Police Department, became something of a familiar face to many earlier this month when video showed him pushing back CNN’s Don Lemon and others in a group in Ferguson. At the time, CNN was reporting on the large-scale and at times violent protests calling for the arrest of a white Ferguson police officer who shot and killed African-American teenager Michael Brown.
In his rambling remarks on the video, he talks about what he describes as a draft replacement for the U.S. Constitution, the “four sodomites on the Supreme Court,” and a visit to Kenya “to our undocumented President’s home.” He refers to Barack Obama as “that illegal alien who claims to be our President.” Page frequently references violence, including nine combat tours in the Army, during which he did “my fair share of killing.” Speaking about Muslims, he says pointedly: “They will kill you.” On domestic disputes, he opines: “You don’t like each other that much, just kill each other and get it over with. Problem solved. Get it done.” On urban violence, he predicts that “when the inner cities start to ignite, people are going to start killing people they don’t like.”
And lastly, Page says, “I personally believe the Lord Jesus Christ is my savior, but I’m also a killer. I’ve killed a lot and, if I need to, I will kill a whole bunch more. If you don’t want to get killed, don’t show up in front of me.” Belmar, the head of the St. Louis County police department, said all the talk about killing was especially disturbing to him. “As a police chief, that’s something I’m not going to be able to endure,” Belmar said.
In addition to Page, a second Missouri officer, Matthew Pappert, was suspended for inflammatory comments made on social media which included “These protestors should have been put down like a rabid dog the first night.”
I believe in these officers having the right to free speech, but it’s seriously disconcerting to hear that peace officers with guns are talking about killing and putting protestors “down.”
Watch the CNN report below:
Gov. Nixon of Missouri addresses the latest developments in the Michael Brown shooting debacle, including the release of video allegedly showing Brown stealing cigars from a shop.
Nixon said he and the Justice Department disapproved of the video’s release as it only served to somehow disparage the character of the shooting victim.
We and our security team and the highway patrol didn’t know that was going to be released, and I don’t think the Attorney General knew that. Quite frankly we disagree deeply I think for 2 reasons. Number one to attempt in essence to disparage the character in the middle of a process like this is not right. It’s just not right. And secondarily it did put the community and, quite frankly, the region and the nation on alert again. These are old wounds, these are deep wounds in these communities and that action was not helpful.
The Washington Post’s Wesley Lowery, who along the Huffington Post’s Ryan Reilly, were arrested in a McDonalds last night, called out MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough after the MSNBC host criticized the journalists and accused them of just wanting to “get on TV:”
“Well, I would invite Joe Scarborough to come down to Ferguson and get out of 30 Rock where he’s sitting and sipping his Starbucks smugly,” Lowery said during a Thursday morning appearance on CNN.
“I invite him to come and talk to the residents of Ferguson, where I’ve been since Monday afternoon having tear gas shot at me, having rubber bullets shot at me … I would invite Joe Scarborough down here to do some reporting on the ground, then maybe we can have an educated conversation about what’s happening here.”
Lowery and Reilly are covering the events on the ground in Ferguson, where tensions continue to rise after Michael Brown, an unarmed black teenager, was shot and killed by a police officer last weekend.
Why would police in Ferguson, Missouri, fire tear gas at a news crew, run them off, them come in specifically to turn off the lights and point the news camera down?
Is there something to hide?
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| 18 year old Michael Brown |
LGBT advocacy groups like the Human Rights Campaign, The Trevor Project, GLAAD, Center for Black Equity, Inc., PFLAG National and more have issued a statement in support of slain Missouri teenager Michael Brown and his family.
The shooting death of Brown has inflamed racial tensions across the country. The letter calls for a swift and thorough investigation.
When communities experience fear, harassment and brutality simply because of who they are or how they look, we are failing as a nation. In light of the recent events in Missouri, it is clearer than ever that there is something profoundly wrong in our country.
The lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community cannot be silent at this moment, because LGBT people come from all races, creeds, faiths and backgrounds, and because all movements of equality are deeply connected. We are all part of the fabric of this nation and the promise of liberty and justice for all is yet to be fulfilled.
The LGBT community stands with the family of Michael Brown, who was gunned down in Ferguson, Missouri. We stand with the mothers and fathers of young Black men and women who fear for the safety of their children each time they leave their homes. We call on the national and local media to be responsible and steadfast in their coverage of this story and others like it–racialized killings that have marred this nation since the beginning of its history. We call on policy makers on all levels of American government not to shrink from action, and we are deeply grateful to Attorney General Eric Holder and the Department of Justice for their immediate commitment to a thorough investigation.
At this moment, we are inspired by the words of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.: “In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies … but the silence of our friends.”
The letter is signed by the following:
ACLU
AIDS United
Center for Black Equity, Inc.
Courage Campaign
Equality Federation
Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders (GLAD)
GLAAD
GMHC
GLMA: Health Professionals Advancing LGBT Equality Human Rights Campaign
National Black Justice Coalition
National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR)
National Center for Transgender Equality
National Gay and Lesbian Task Force
National Minority AIDS Council
National Queer Asian Pacific Islander Alliance (NQAPIA) PFLAG National
Pride at Work, AFL-CIO
Soulforce
Southerners on New Ground (SONG)
Trans People of Color Coalition
Transgender Law Center
Trevor Project
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| Bishop George Wayne Smith |
Welcome news from the Episcopal Diocese of Missouri.
The City of St. Louis recently issued marriage licenses to four same-sex couples in opposition to the state’s ban on same-sex marriage. The Attorney General for Missouri, Chris Koster, subsequently sued the city to stop further licenses from being issued.
Now, Episcopal Diocese of Missouri has issued a statement in support of overturning the ban:
Bishop George Wayne Smith said in a statement that he “supports St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay and City Counselor Winston Calvert in their challenge to Missouri law prohibiting same-sex marriage.”
“Even as the Episcopal Church works to clarify our theological understanding of and pastoral practices around same-sex blessings, I believe that it is not the place of the State of Missouri to deny the privileges and responsibilities of marriage to anyone, basing that denial solely on the gender of the couple,” Smith said.
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| Missouri state Rep. Mike Colona |
Missouri state Rep. Mike Colona has filed a proposal that would ask voters to revisit the state’s current ban on marriage equality.
Via Ozarks First:
Representative Mike Colona (D-St. Louis) has filed HJR 85, a proposed constitutional amendment that would ask voters to add language saying that a marriage may exist between a man and a woman and a same-sex couple.
71 percent of Missouri voters approved Constitutional Amendment 2 in 2004 that said to be valid and recognized in Missouri, “a marriage shall exist only between a man and a woman.”
Colona, who is openly gay, says he’s not sure the proposal will clear the legislature but feels it’s time to address the issue while two different court cases are being considered on the subject of same-sex marriage.
NFL hopeful Michael Sam has penned an open letter to his fellow University of Missouri students in which he thanks the Mizzou community for the strong support shown during his public coming out:
To my fellow University of Missouri students, athletes, faculty, alumni and supporters:
From my first recruiting trip to the University of Missouri, I felt something extraordinary and special — something I didn’t feel anyplace else. I didn’t have a name for it then; I do now. It’s called family. And to me that family is defined by unconditional love.
Certainly you cheered my successes, but you also picked me up when I fell. Maybe most importantly, you gave me a chance to live my truth without judgment, without hesitation and with great discretion and respect.
When I came out last month, I did it with the confidence that my Mizzou “family” would always be there for me. To put it mildly, the love and acceptance I felt was amazing. The day after the announcement, my name was spelled out in the stadium; fraternities hung #StandWithSam banners; then when I went to the basketball game to honor the football team’s Cotton Bowl victory, I worked hard not to cry because of the amazing reception.
I have a long journey ahead of me, a lot of hard work and many dreams I want to fulfill. But I do it with the confidence that my Mizzou family will be there for me every step of the way. I will continue to work my hardest; I will strive to make you all proud. And I will be a Tiger forever.
Love, Michael
(via Towleroad)