LGBTQ news and entertainment
In light of the decision of an Ohio grand jury to NOT indict the officer who shot and killed 12 year-old Tamir Rice in December 2014, I thought this video would be appropriate to post.
Buzzfeed’s Adam Serwer examines why grand juries don’t indicted police officers when they kill.
Some news stories you may have missed:
• Hunky, handsome and openly gay trainer Bob Harper on The Biggest Loser will take over the hosting duties for the show this season.
• The lawyers who led the fight for Jim Obergefell and marriage equality in Ohio have submitted their bill to the state for $1.1 million.
• Tennis star James Blake calls for the firing of the police officer who wrongly tackled and handcuffed him in a case of mistaken identity.
• Hollywood movie musical genius Rob Marshall is working on a sequel to Mary Poppins set 20 years after the original story took place.
• Let’s hear it for the most famous deputy clerk in the country, Brian Mason, who IS doing his job in Kentucky’s Rowan county issuing marriage licenses in Kim Davis’ place.
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Ohio Judge Allen McConnell, who had earlier declined to marry same-sex couples, has found himself on the losing end of that fight.
From the Star-Tribune:
Judges who perform marriages in Ohio can’t refuse to marry same-sex couples on personal or moral grounds or because of religious beliefs, according to a state judicial conduct board.
In addition, judges who stop performing all marriages to avoid marrying same-sex couples may be interpreted as biased and could be disqualified from any case where sexual orientation is an issue, according to an opinion by the Ohio Supreme Court’s Board of Professional Conduct issued Friday and made public Monday.
The ruling followed a request for guidance from a Toledo judge who refused to perform a same-sex wedding last month.
Municipal Judge C. Allen McConnell said he didn’t marry a same-sex couple because of his religious beliefs after the U.S. Supreme Court made gay marriage legal in all 50 states in June.
McConnell said Monday he would abide by the board’s opinion and would marry a same-sex couple if requested.
Judges’ oaths to support the state and U.S. constitutions also require them to honor court interpretations of constitutional matters, the judicial board said in its opinion.
From the judicial conduct board: “The personal, moral, and religious beliefs of a judicial officer should never factor into the performance of any judicial duty.”
BOOM!
Hundreds have gathered tonight in Columbus Ohio and across U.S. for memorial for Leelah Alcorn. #StandUp4Leelah pic.twitter.com/ahhH2HMbYB— The Task Force (@TheTaskForce) January 3, 2015
Following the petitions filed on Friday by Ohio and Tennessee, the plaintiffs in the Kentucky and Michigan same-sex marriage cases – which recently saw their respective state’s bans upheld by the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals – have filed requests with SCOTUS for review of that 6th Circuit anti-equality ruling.
SCOTUS is highly expected to take up at least one if not all cases now that there is disagreement among federal appellate courts on marriage equality.
Stay tuned.
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The first of four expected appeals of the recent 6th Circuit Court ruling on same-sex marriage has been filed by Lambda Legal and the ACLU to the US Supreme Court by the plaintiffs from Ohio.
Those plaintiffs are comprised of married same-sex couples and widowers of men who have died and want their out-of-state marriages recognized by the state.
The appeal is predicated on the recent ruling by the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals which upheld bans on same-sex marriage in four states.
The cases in Tennessee and Ohio focus on recognition of legal same-sex marriages conducted in other states, while the Kentucky and Michigan cases request full marriage equality.
The Supreme Court declined to review appeals from Utah, Oklahoma and Virginia earlier this year saying with no disagreement between federal appellate courts there was no need.
With the 6th Circuit’s ruling which upheld the marriage bans in the four states, it’s almost certain SCOTUS will grant review to at least one of the cases.
Tennessee’s request is now filed, with Ohio and Michigan to follow suit on later today or Monday, according to Buzzfeed’s Chris Geidner.
Presently, 32 states plus the District of Columbia allow same-sex marriage.
According to Buzzfeed’s Chris Geidner, all sets of plaintiffs from yesterday’s 6th Circuit ruling upholding bans on same-sex marriage have conferenced and the decision is to unanimously head to the US Supreme Court.
Abby Rubenfeld, the lead lawyer for the Tennessee plaintiffs, updated BuzzFeed News about Friday’s call with the counsel from all four states.
“We just had a conference call with the attorneys from all four Sixth Circuit states on the marriage cases. We were all in agreement to apply for certiorari at the supreme court, and not to first seek en banc review in the Sixth Circuit,” she explained. “Given the significance of the issue, the reality that it will end up in the Supreme Court ultimately, and the harms that all of our clients are suffering each day that their marriages are not recognized, we want to get to the Supreme Court sooner rather than later.”
“We hope to file within two weeks, and hopefully sooner, so that we can still be on the docket for this term—which means resolution by june 30, 2015,” she added.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit has just issued a ruling upholding the bans on same-sex marriage in Michigan, Kentucky, Ohio, and Tennessee.
The oral arguments, held on August 6th, looked as if this might be the case. The ruling comes as a split 2-1 decision, with Circuit Judge Jeffrey Sutton writing the majority opinion. Sutton was widely viewed as the “swing vote” among the three judges who heard oral arguments.
The 4th, 7th, 9th and 10th Circuit Courts of Appeal have all ruled that bans on same-sex marriage are unconstitutional.
The US Supreme Court recently declined requests for appeal from Oklahoma, Utah and Virginia. Justice Ginsburg later said that since all federal appellate courts were in agreement, there was no pressing need for SCOTUS review. The ruling today makes it much more urgent for SCOTUS to weigh in now that the 6th Circuit becomes the first federal appellate court to disagree with prior appeals court rulings.
At present, 33 states plus the District of Columbia have marriage equality.
More soon. Read the ruling below:
For several weeks, fliers have been popping up in Columbus, Ohio, advertising an upcoming “Straight, White Guy Festival” but locals aren’t sure if it’s for real or not.
Bill Maher has news for Columbus…
Speaking of “straight, white guys” – On Friday, RNC members voted to make Cleveland the host of its 2016 national convention.
The big day for marriage equality in the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals has ended.
Six cases from four states looking for marriage equality – Michigan, Tennessee, Kentucky, and Ohio.
Freedom To Marry has posted the oral arguments from all of the cases. If you’ve never listened to lawyers present their cases and answer questions by the judges, it can be pretty fascinating. Plus, you might get a sense of which side the rulings will come down on. Although, law experts always make a point of saying you can’t really tell what the ruling will be based on the questions the judges ask. Sometimes, they are just playing “devil’s advocate” to see where it takes them.
Chris Geidner, legal editor for Buzzfeed, seemed to think Judge Daughtrey seemed most sympathetic to the good guys; Judge Cook, who apparently spoke the least seemed to favor the bad guys; and so it will most probably fall on Judge Sutton, who was not an easy read.
Chris Johnson of the Washington Blade wrote:
Based on their line of questioning, two judges — U.S. Circuit Judge Martha Craig Daughtry and U.S. Circuit Judge Jeffrey Sutton — seemed prepared to rule against bans on same-sex marriage. U.S. Circuit Judge Deborah Cook was relatively quiet, but appeared poised to rule in favor of the laws. Similar to other federal appeals court rulings, the panel seemed headed to make a 2-1 decision in favor of marriage equality.
Listen to the oral arguments below and see what you think:
Michigan: DeBoer v. Snyder
Tennessee:Tanco v. Haslam
Kentucky: Bourke v. Beshear and Love v. Beshear
Ohio: Obergefell v. Wymyslo and Henry v. Himes
And now, we wait. Experts say it could take several weeks to get the rulings.