Guernsey County, Ohio Officials Refuse To Marry Any Couples After SCOTUS Ruling: VIDEO

Couples in Guernsey County, Ohio will no longer be able to seek civil marriages because the county’s three judges have said they are getting out of the marriage business.

A local mayor, Thomas D. Orr, the mayor of Cambridge, has also said that he will stop performing marriages.

All the officials in question have said this change has nothing to do with gay marriage. However, the timing is suspicious. The news comes shortly after the Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage nationwide and at a time when county clerks and judges elsewhere in the US are similarly attempting to get out of the marriage business to avoid having to marry same-sex couples.

The Columbus Dispatch reports:

Contacted by The Dispatch, spokesmen for the four officials did not say that they aren’t doing weddings because they oppose the June 26 U.S. Supreme Court ruling legalizing same-sex marriage. They cited other reasons….

A spokeswoman for Guernsey Probate Judge David B. Bennett [above, 3rd from left] said that he has never performed marriage ceremonies of any kind.

Guernsey Municipal Judge John Mark Nicholson [above left]  hasn’t performed weddings for more than a year, according to his assistant, Katie Archibald. “Our schedule is too busy,” she said.

A spokeswoman for Guernsey Common Pleas Judge David A. Ellwood [above second from left] said he “does not have the jurisdiction to perform wedding ceremonies.”

According to the Ohio Revised Code, county judges who are equivalent to municipal court judges have the power to “solemnize marriages,” but common pleas judges do not.

Cambridge Mayor Orr [above right] is “no longer doing marriages,” said Mary A. Green, his administrative assistant. “It’s been real bothersome to try to fit them in with his schedule.”

The end result appears to be that couples in Guernsey will need to travel to a neighboring county to have a civil marriage. A prospect some couples are not happy about:

Levi Wade, a Cambridge resident, and his partner have the option of being married by a clergy member, but that’s not what they want. They planned a civil ceremony but so far haven’t found anyone in the county to perform their marriage.

“We didn’t want to go to a church. We wanted no religion involved,” Wade said. The couple was issued a marriage license on July 6 by the Guernsey County Probate Court.

“We could go to another county. I think that’s wrong,” Wade said. “This is my home, too. I shouldn’t have to cross multiple jurisdictions to do something that should be available to everybody.”

Watch a news report on what’s going on in Guernsey and an interview with Wade below:

(Photo of Mark Nicholson via The Daily Jeff)

The post Guernsey County, Ohio Officials Refuse To Marry Any Couples After SCOTUS Ruling: VIDEO appeared first on Towleroad.

Sean Mandell

Guernsey County, Ohio Officials Refuse To Marry Any Couples After SCOTUS Ruling: VIDEO

LGBT Elder Americans Act Introduced in Senate

As the number of LGBT elders swell, Colorado’s senior senator has introduced legislation to assist them with their specific needs.

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Bil Browning

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Amy Schumer Wears Princess Leia's Bikini On GQ Cover

Amy Schumer is GQ’s August covergirl, dressed up in a “Star Wars” slave Leia bikini costume and sucking some droid finger. Inside, the comedian is posed in bed with C-3PO and R2-D2. We’re pretty sure that never happened in the movie, but what a lucky lady, right?

GQ declared Schumer “the funniest woman in the galaxy” and though we wish we could share some of the presumably funny things she told them in the upcoming interview, the men’s magazine sent out just a press release with the star’s cover photo, and has only published her “Star Wars”-themed photo shoot. 

Schumer’s interview won’t be released until Monday, according to E! News, so until then we implore you to go see her new movie, “Trainwreck,” opening on Friday, which she wrote and stars in. Also, we’ve already compiled a list of some of the best things Schumer has said, so that should tide you over until GQ releases the article that goes with the titillating photos. 

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The New York Times Shares Examples of Discrimination Facing LGBT Community

After the Supreme Court ruling in Obergefell, The New York Times shared the stories of LGBT people facing discrimination across the country.
HRC.org

www.hrc.org/blog/entry/the-new-york-times-shares-examples-of-discrimination-facing-lgbt-community?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss-feed

WATCH: Tina Fey & Amy Poehler Are “Sisters” Doing It For Their Damn Selves

As you know, Amy Poehler and Tina Fey are two of the funniest women, like, ever. And when they’re together, it’s comedic lightening in a hilariously oversized bottle.

The two haven’t starred on the big screen together — barring a priceless cameo in the otherwise cheap Anchorman 2 — since 2008’s Baby Mama, but they’ve reunited for Sisters and boy does it feel good.

The trailer is already funnier than nearly everything I’ve seen this year and features appearances from other funniest lady of all time Maya Rudolph —

— as well as Ike Barinholtz playing Amy’s love interest and WWE superstar John Cena flooding my basement.

December 18 can’t come soon enough. Check out the trailer for Sisters below:

Les Fabian Brathwaite — Sisters, and I’m not talking Swoosie Kurtz.

Les Fabian Brathwaite

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Joey Graceffa on Coming Out: ‘I Want People To Not Feel So Alone’ – WATCH

Popular YouTuber Joey Graceffa has a new video interview with GLAAD in which he talks about his experience coming out and what he hopes his impact will be on others.

The 24-year-old, who has garnered over 600 million views across his two YouTube channels, came out in May of this year in a music video that told of his own personal struggles, struggles that were also explored more in-depth in his new book, In Real Life: My Journey Through a Pixelated World.

Of his coming out music video titled “Don’t Wait” (which has been viewed more than 8.8 million times), Graceffa told GLAAD:

“Originally I needed something to encompass my book in a video format. So I thought it would be really cool to incorporate three main things in the music video: bullying, dealing with [my mother’s] alcoholism, coming to terms with your sexuality and accepting yourself.”

Graceffa said that people were incredibly loving and supporting upon seeing his video, immediately seeing it as his coming out after many of his fans had wondered for years if he was gay.

Talking about his memoir, Graceffa reflects on the difficulty of reliving his mom’s alcoholism as well as the pains he experienced when he first started dating. Ultimately, the memoir was therapeutic for Graceffa. He hopes it’s a relatable story for his followers, adding, “I just want people to not feel so alone.”

Watch Graceffa talk about coming out below:

The post Joey Graceffa on Coming Out: ‘I Want People To Not Feel So Alone’ – WATCH appeared first on Towleroad.

Sean Mandell

Joey Graceffa on Coming Out: ‘I Want People To Not Feel So Alone’ – WATCH

#TrumpYourCat: Felines Mimic Donald Trump's Iconic Comb-Over in Hilarious Meme

Cat lovers are teasing their pets’ hair-dos in a joking social media homage to the real estate tycoon’s “huh?”-worthy hairstyle.

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A Gay Dad Sounds Off On Christians Who Are Reluctant To Attend Gay Weddings

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Gareth Johnson

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