Tag: unconstitutional

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Kenya: High Court Rules Anti-Gay Laws Not Discriminatory

Flag of Kenya

Kenya’s High Court has upheld the African country’s laws which criminalize homosexual behavior.

LGBTQ activists had argued the laws are discriminatory, lead to increased harassment of the LGBTQ community, and serve to discourage people from seeking HIV testing or treatment.

The plaintiffs involved in the case also said the laws violate the Kenyan Constitution which reads the “state shall not discriminate directly or indirectly against any person on any ground,” including sex.

The three-judge panel, however, ruled the British colonial-era laws are not discriminatory and told the packed courtroom of activists in Nairobi the petitioners had failed to provide “credible evidence” that the laws infringed their rights, reports Quartz.com.

The three laws in question, Sections 162 (a) and (c), 163 and 165 of the nation’s penal code, make it a felony to have “carnal knowledge of any person against the order of nature” or to commit “gross indecency.” The punishment for these crimes range from five to twenty-one years in prison.

The “carnal knowledge” offense is generally used to relate to oral and anal intercourse. While the law could apply to people of any gender, it’s primarily used to persecute gay men.

The “gross indecency” section pertains specifically to sexual acts between men.

Of the more than 70 countries that outlaw homosexuality, nearly half are located in Africa.

A report in 2014 found the government of Kenya prosecuted 595 cases of homosexualitybetween 2010 and 2014.

A report from the Kenyan government shows 534 people were arrested for same-sex relationships between 2013 and 2017.

Today’s ruling comes as other countries, like Indiaand Trinidad and Tobago, have recently decriminalized homosexuality.

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Fox News Legal Panel: Kim Davis’ Lawyer Mat Staver Is “Ridiculously Stupid”

Now, when even Fox News’ legal analysts say anti-gay County Clerk Kim Davis has no leg to stand on, you know you’re in trouble.

Unless you’re Davis and her equally anti-gay lawyer Mat Staver.

Via Raw Story:

“She can still practice her faith,” Fox News host Gregg Jarrett noted. “Just not on the job in a way that interferes with the legal rights of the citizens she serves. And in fact, the U.S. Supreme Court said so nine years ago.”

“She’s a hypocrite,” criminal defense attorney Sharon Liko agreed. “She’s applying for the job of a martyr. She wants to practice her faith by not issuing marriage licenses. Yet, she will not agree to let the deputy county clerks issue marriage licenses even if it’s okay with their faith.”

“When she took the job she swore to uphold the law,” Jarrett explained. “We rely on government officials to do that. They can’t just pick and choose what laws they like, which ones they don’t. If they were allowed to do that, wouldn’t that lead to chaos, anarchy and so forth?”

Jarrett also called out Davis’s attorney, who said it was “questionable” if the Supreme Court had the “constitutional authority” to rule on same-sex marriage.

“Whether the Supreme Court has constitutional authority?” the Fox News host said. “Article III Section 2 of the Constitution gives the Supreme Court constitutional authority to decide constitutional issues!”

Jarrett added that Staver’s statement appeared to be “stunningly obtuse.”

“That’s a very polite way of putting it,” Liko replied. “I would say it’s just a ridiculously stupid statement. The Supreme Court does just that, and they determine constitutionality issues, they resolve these kinds of disputes.”

“This woman has a choice, she can either follow the law — she can do her job — or she can get out.”

Jarrett also pointed out during the segment that Davis is still free to exercise her freedom of religion, just not in a way that interferes in the legal rights of others.

To underline the point, Jarrett quoted the 2006 U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Garcetti v. Ceballos: “When a citizen enters government service, the citizen by necessity must accept certain limitations on his or her freedom.”

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Alabama: Federal Judge “Clarifies” – Same-Sex Marriage Ruling Applies To ALL Counties

When Federal Judge Granade ruled that Alabama’s ban on same-sex marriage was unconstitutional, the Alabama Probate Judge’s Association (probate judges issue marriage licenses in the state) issued an “opinion” that the ruling only applied to the plaintiffs in the case – not the entire state.

Plaintiffs ask for clarification from judge; plaintiffs get clarification from judge.

And it’s exactly what we expected. Judge Granade doesn’t suffer fools lightly.

From Judge Granade’s Clarifying Judgement today:

“Because the court has entered a stay of the Judgment in this case, neither the named Defendant, nor the Probate Courts in Alabama are currently required to follow or uphold the Judgment. However, if the stay is lifted, the Judgment in this case makes it clear that ALA. CONST. ART.I, § 36.03 and ALA.CODE § 30-1-19 are unconstitutional because they violate the Due Process Clause and the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.”

[snip]

“A clerk who chooses not to follow the ruling should take note: the governing statutes and rules of procedure allow individuals to intervene as plaintiffs in pending actions, allow certification of plaintiff and defendant classes, allow issuance of successive preliminary injunctions, and allow successful plaintiffs to recover costs and attorney’s fees.”

Should the 11th Circuit Court not issue an extended stay on the ruling, the current stay placed on the ruling by Judge Granade will expire and marriage equality will begin in Alabama on February 9th.

You can read the clarification below:

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Charlie Crist: Florida officials do not have to defend anti-gay marriage ban

From the Miami Herald:

Charlie Crist, Florida’s former governor and attorney general, says current Gov. Rick Scott and Attorney General Pam Bondi don’t have to defend the state’s 2008 gay marriage ban in court.

Crist, who is running to become governor again (this time as a Democrat), spoke Thursday as he accepted LGBT-rights group SAVE’s endorsement at City Hall the Restaurant in Miami.

“It’s unfortunate that Rick Scott and Pam Bondi feel this way about gay marriage and are not embracing or tolerant of it. It’s embarrassing, frankly,” Crist said. “The rest of America is moving forward and they’re still on the wrong side of history on this issue. But we can fix it and they call it an election. Only 89 days away, so help is on the way.

“What would I do differently as governor? Everything. To this issue, specifically, he shouldn’t be fighting it through the attorney general’s office. They should cease and desist on fighting gay marriage — same-sex marriage — and equality. The time has passed to do that.”

(h/t JMG)

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Federal judge in Pennsylvania declares same-sex marriage ban unconstitutional

Pennsylvania’s same-sex marriage ban was ruled as unconstitutional by U.S. District Court Judge John Jones Tuesday.

From Judge Jones’ ruling:

“Hoping to end this injustice, eleven courageous lesbian and gay couples, one widow, and two teenage children of one of the aforesaid couples have come together as plaintiffs and asked this Court to declare that all Pennsylvanians have the right to marry the person of their choice and consequently, that the Commonwealth’s laws to the contrary are unconstitutional.

“We now join the twelve federal district courts across the country which, when confronted with these inequities in their own states, have concluded that all couples deserve equal dignity in the realm of civil marriage.”

Attorney General Kathleen Kane, who refused to defend the law saying it was unconstitutional, issued this statement: “This is an historic day. More importantly, today brings justice to Pennsylvanians who have suffered from unequal protection under the law because of their sexual orientation. When state-sponsored inequality exists, citizens are deprived of the full protections that the Constitution guarantees. Our Commonwealth progressed today and so have the hopes and dreams of many who suffer from inequality. Today, in Pennsylvania, the Constitution prevailed.”

Since the U.S. Supreme Court decision in U.S. v. Windsor struck down Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act last summer,  federal courts have ruled in favor of marriage equality in Utah, Ohio, Oklahoma, Kentucky, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia and, yesterday, in Oregon.

A May 2013 poll found 54 percent of Pennsylvanians support marriage equality.

You can read the entire ruling below from Judge John Jones:

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Louisiana votes to keep unconstitutional sodomy ban

From Yahoo News:

The Louisiana House of Representatives voted not to remove the state’s sodomy ban today, even though it was declared unconstitutional by the U.S Supreme Court in 2003 and cannot be used to arrest people. The 66-27 vote was overwhelmingly against getting rid of the ban.

The New Orleans Times-Picayune explains that a conservative religious lobbying group led the charge to keep the “crime against nature” law — which, again, isn’t even a real law anymore — on the books, sending letters to all members of the House saying the unenforceable law is somehow protecting young people from sexual predators and public health risks.

“Louisiana’s anti-sodomy statute is consistent with the values of Louisiana residents who consider this behavior to be dangerous, unhealthy and immoral,” the letter said, apparently not mentioning that the statute is not consistent with the Constitution and that the East Baton Rogue sheriff’s department was forced to apologize for trying to use it to arrest gay men last year.

It is currently legal in Louisiana to have intercourse with a corpse.

However, receive a blowjob from a consenting adult? Technically a felony and punishable by five years in prison.

LGBT author/activist Dan Savage thinks there are some questions to be posed…