LGBTQ news and entertainment
According to the AP, the group the Coalition for the Protection of Marriage on Thursday filed documents with the high court and the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
There is no longer any formal opposition in court to gay marriage in Nevada.
Coalition lawyer Monte Neil Stewart declined to say why.
And, we’re off! Yay! Happy Dance!
• Tony Perkins of the American Family Association:
“Led by activist in chief, Stephen Reinhardt, the three-judge panel scrapped the marriage laws of two more states just 24 hours after the Supreme Court left voters vulnerable to the benches’ attacks.
“Reinhardt is one of the most overturned judges in U.S. history, whose portfolio includes striking down the Pledge of Allegiance because it ‘indoctrinates our nation’s children with a state-held religious belief.’
“Yesterday’s opinion, however, is one of the most vicious yet. Reinhardt rips into the majority of Americans who believe children deserve (and need) a mom and a dad. ‘This proposition,’ (which incidentally, is rooted in years of social science data), ‘reflects a crass and callous view of parental love and the parental bond,’ Reinhardt rants, ‘that is not worthy of response.’ How typically liberal.
“Instead of encouraging debate, he shuts it down. Like most on the Left, he wants to attack the majority who hold these views and silence them because he knows the facts aren’t on his side.”
• Linda Harvey writing for BarbWire:
“The liberal majority in the 2014 Roberts court will now be labeled with the ‘C’ word—for being cowards. These justices upended American civilization while standing on the sidelines. Millions of voters in five states were assaulted in the public square, disenfranchised by this court’s decision to not overturn erroneous lower court rulings validating same sex ‘marriage.’
“Like Saul during the stoning of Stephen, they became bystanders, nodding their assent as terrible violence was committed. The ‘gay’ bullies got their way. Truth and morality were trampled but the black-robed bystanders will plead innocence. But let’s not just pick on certain lawyers because they do operate with some powerful constraints at times.
“What’s needed and totally possible is a firm stand by the GOP, no longer adopting the loaded lingo of the left, like denying being ‘anti-gay,’ which makes me want to scream.”
• Spokesman for the anti-gay National Organization for Marriage, Brian Brown:
“Right now I think folks who look at this issue and think that NOM or any of the groups out there supporting the traditional definition of marriage, that we’re the Goliath, and the pro-gay marriage Human Rights Campaign is the David — they’ve got the story in reverse. They are one organization among a whole platter of organizations like Freedom to Marry, GLAAD and all of these other groups that have almost unlimited access to the media and get their talking points across largely for free.
“But for us, it’s a lot more difficult and we’re up against a much bigger hurdle. I actually sort of relish that. It doesn’t matter to me whether it’s easier or harder or whether we have less money or more money. The real question is: are we standing up for the truth in marriage? And I’ve never had any question about that.”
Brad Schimel, the current GOP nominee for Attorney General for Wisconsin, was asked on a public access TV interview if he would have defended the state’s now-defunct ban on same-sex marriage.
Schmiel said not only would he have defended the anti-gay law, he would have defended a ban on interracial marriage.
Via the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel:
For months, Schimel has said he would have defended the state’s ban on gay marriage in court because the attorney general is obligated to uphold state laws and provisions in the state constitution.
As he discussed his stance on that issue last month on an Oshkosh cable access program, he was asked if it would have been his obligation to defend a ban on interracial marriage if he had been an attorney general in a state with such a law 60 years ago. He sighed and said, “Yeah, it is.” “It might be distasteful to me …but I’ve got to stay consistent with that — as the state’s lawyer, it’s not my job to pick and choose.”
Responding to the criticism, Schimel issued a statement Wednesday that said: “Love and the law are colorblind, as they should be. Many shameful, racist laws were changed over the course of time in this country by legislators, the courts and the people’s direct votes. But if Susan Happ wants to make up new laws, or change old ones, she’s running for the wrong job.”
MORE: Supreme Court Justice Kennedy clarifies earlier order on gay marriage, allows weddings to begin in Nevada: http://t.co/s14EYIin8X— The Associated Press (@AP) October 8, 2014
On Wednesday afternoon, Justice Anthony Kennedy revised his order from hours earlier so as to declare that same-sex marriages can move forward in Nevada — but not in Idaho, at least for now.
The Supreme Court justice’s original order put on hold a ruling on Tuesday by the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, which consolidated cases from Nevada and Idaho and struck down both states’ gay marriage bans.
It’s unclear whether Kennedy — who has jurisdiction over appeals within the 9th Circuit — had a change of heart or whether he merely made a mistake in his initial order. But his new order reversed a part of his old order.
“IT IS ORDERED that the portion of the order issued on this date entering a stay of the mandate of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in case No. 12-17668 is hereby vacated,” he wrote, referring to the Nevada case.
The key difference is that Idaho is appealing the 9th Circuit ruling, while Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval (R) announced that his state won’t take further legal action on the issue.
(via Talking Points Memo)
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A District Court has directed the clerk of Johnson County to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples who apply for one. Read the ruling above.
Johnson County, a suburb of Kansas City, Missouri, is the most populous county in Kansas.
Things sure are happening fast!
A Charleston, South Carolina probate judge has just issued the state’s first marriage license to a gay couple.
The license was issued to Charleston County Councilwoman Colleen Condon and her fiancé Nichols Bleckley.
The AP reports:
Earlier this week, the U.S. Supreme Court decided not to hear an appeal of a ruling allowing same-sex marriage by a federal appeals court with jurisdiction over South Carolina.
In a statement, Condon said that as a result, his court is required to accept and issue marriage licenses.
South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson is reviewing the situation.
HUGE NEWS: Charleston Probate judge announces he will grant marriage license to same sex couple. pic.twitter.com/Jpf80ir9CX
— Tyler Jones (@TylerMJones) October 8, 2014
The Coalition For The Protection Of Marriage, anti-gay organization that defended Nevada’s marriage ban after the governor and attorney general dropped their opposition, has filed a request to join Idaho Gov. Butch Otter’s request for an emergency stay until an en banc rehearing by the Ninth Circuit Court.
Early today Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy issued a stay order that seems to apply to both Idaho and Nevada, although Nevada did not apply for a stay. There is considerable chatter among the legal eagles as to whether that was Kennedy’s intent, but in the meantime no marriages will take place today in Nevada.
Officials at Lambda Legal, the gay rights advocacy organization that argued the Nevada case on behalf of eight same-sex couples, noted that only Idaho sought the stay.
Jon Davidson, the group’s legal director, called for the nation’s highest court to clarify whether Nevada can issue marriage licenses. He argued the Nevada and Idaho cases had been consolidated only for purposes of Tuesday’s decision, and that Nevada’s inclusion in the stay may have been a mistake. “Nothing prevents clerks in Nevada from proceeding to issue licenses today,” he said.
Nevada didn’t seek a stay. Gov. Brian Sandoval and state Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto issued a joint statement late Tuesday saying the state would take no further action. Sandoval, a Republican former federal district judge, said he determined the state had no way to defend its position after an appeals court ruling in another case in February.
So, now we wait to see if Kennedy will clarify his stay.
My state! My state! My state!
Per Jon Ralston of the Ralston Report, in light of yesterday’s ruling by the 9th Circuit Court same-sex marriage Clark County Clerk Diana Alba will begin issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples today at 2pm.
There is one waiting period in Nevada.
On the other side of the 9th Circuit ruling, Idaho Gov. Butch Otter has requested and received a stay on the same-sex marriage ruling for his state as he prepares for appeal by asking for a review en banc, or a review by the entire 9th Circuit Court.
Supreme Court Justice Kennedy (who oversees requests from the 9th Circuit) agreed to the stay with minutes to spare as Ada County Clerk Chris Rich was planning to begin issuing licenses this morning at 8AM.
UPDATE: It appears Idaho’s request for stay also affects Nevada since the two cases were heard in tandem. So Justice Kennedy’s stay puts same-sex marriage in Nevada on hold for now. Boo!
From Chris Geidner at Buzzfeed:
Although the application seeking the stay only came from Idaho officials, Kennedy’s order issuing a stay includes the 9th Circuit case numbers of both the Idaho and Nevada cases. From the language of Kennedy’s order, then, the rulings as to both Idaho and Nevada are on hold for now.
It was not immediately clear why Kennedy’s order referenced the Nevada case number, although a Tuesday decision from the 9th Circuit might be why. On Tuesday, in a brief order issued just prior to the release of its decision striking down both states’ bans, the 9th Circuit stated, “These cases are consolidated for purposes of disposition.” As such, all of the orders — including the mandate — issued in the two states’ cases were handled in a single order each time on Tuesday, meaning there was only one mandate issued as to both states’ cases.
From today’s ruling from the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals on the unconstitutionality of Idaho and Nevada’s same-sex marriage bans.
I think this sums up a lot of truth:
“The lessons of our constitutional history are clear: inclusion strengthens, rather than weakens, our most important institutions.
“When we integrated our schools, education improved.
“When we opened our juries to women, our democracy became more vital.
“When we allowed lesbian and gay soldiers to serve openly in uniform, it enhanced unit cohesion.
“When same-sex couples are married, just as when opposite-sex couples are married, they serve as models of loving commitment to all.”
Anti-gay Peter LaBarbera calls for civil disobedience because “gay:”
“Yesterday’s action by the Supreme Court only solidifies the idea that the powerful elites who dominate politics, media and culture do not care what the people think, expressed through the ballot box or their elected state legislators.
“And if ‘We the People’s’ votes do not count, then We live not in freedom but under tyranny. The notion that nine men and women in black robes know more about what constitutes marriage than 76 percent of Oklahoma’s voters is insulting and preposterous.
“Now is the time for civil disobedience on a massive scale: we hope that statesmen and citizens alike–in Oklahoma, Wisconsin, Indiana, Utah and Virginia—indeed, any state where the people’s will has been robbed by elitist judges—will reassert their state sovereignty against escalating judicial supremacy.
“The Scriptures are clear that homosexual practice is an offense against both God and the very bodies of those who practice it.”