Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas has accepted a request from Florida’s Attorney General Pam Bondi to hear arguments on a federal judge’s ruling that overturned the state’s ban on same-sex marriage. The ruling in question comes from Judge Robert Hinkle. Hinkle found that Florida’s voter-approved marriage ban violated the U.S. Constitution and, after some legal rigmarole, declared that same-sex couples must be allowed to marry in the Sunshine State starting January 6. Bondi for her part has appealed that ruling to the U.S. 11th Circuit Court of Appeals and wants Justice Thomas to stay Judge Hinkle’s ruling so that it will not go into effect until the 11th Circuit has a chance to consider the question. Bondi is hanging her hopes on the incongruency that now exists in the wake of the 6th Circuit upholding a state’s ban on same-sex marriage, becoming the only circuit court to uphold such a ban. The Sun-Sentinel reports:

[Pam Bondi] pointed out there is a conflict among federal appellate rulings — the sixth district upheld a state marriage ban while all other federal appeals courts that have heard such cases have overturned these bans.

Bondi also claimed the likelihood was the Supreme Court would have to hear this case, and that it would, upon review, “likely reaffirm the States’ nearly exclusive authority to define marriage and hold that the Fourteenth Amendment allows states to define marriage as Florida has.” […]

Attorneys seeking same-sex marriage have until 5 p.m Thursday to present their case for why the hold should be lifted.

Thomas is the justice who accepts requests from the 11^th Circuit Court of Appeals, which covers Florida, Georgia and Alabama. On December 3, that appellate court refused to delay Hinkle’s ruling.

After receiving arguments from all parties involved in the suit, Thomas can either act alone to continue the hold, allow it to be lifted on January 5, or else bring the matter to his colleagues on the Court.

This is not the first time the Supreme Court has been asked to continue such a stay, but it has previously turned down such requests.

However Thomas “has indicated in previous, similar cases that he would have granted a stay,” said Elizabeth Schwartz, an attorney involved in same-sex marriage lawsuits in Miami-Dade and Monroe counties that are going through state appellate court.

Thomas has no deadline by which to decide what to do in this case, but in previous instances, the court and individual justices have ruled quickly. 

“I don’t think anyone was surprised that [Thomas] asked for more information, and I think it’s also likely he’ll want to continue this with the full court,” Schwartz said. “I do think they’ll rule on it possibly on Friday.”

Earlier this month we brought you the first in Impulse Group NYC’s series intended to encourage dialogue about safer sex. That video, which you can watch at this link, explored sex, protection, health, stigma, and status.

The second in the series goes deeper into the subject of protection, asking the subjects how they protect themselves while having sex, what their thoughts are on bareback sex, how they ensure their safety when hooking up with a stranger, what the term “safer-sex” means to them, and if they’ve heard of PrEP. An HIV-positive participant is also asked if he would have taken PrEP had it been available when he was negative.

Watch, AFTER THE JUMP…

Impulse is an organization formed to mobilize gay men for social advocacy, HIV/AIDS health-centered education and community engagement, utilizing volunteer efforts of local community members to create campaigns, events and online content to gay men impacted by HIV.

Thanks to the support of two rabidly anti-LGBT senators, Texas is getting its first openly gay federal judge. 

The Senate on Tuesday night confirmed Robert Pitman to fill a San Antonio seat that’s been vacant for more than six years. 

President Barack Obama in June nominated Pitman, who was backed by Cornyn and Cruz, both members of the Senate Judiciary Committee. Cruz also inadvertently aided Pitman’s confirmation when he forced the Senate into session last weekend. 

Pitman will become one of about 10 openly LGBT federal judges in the US. When Obama took office, there was only one.

Eric Lesh, fair courts project manager at Lambda Legal, said in a statement responding to Pitman’s confirmation: 

“For the judicial system in the United States to be truly fair, it must reflect the tremendous diversity of the country. President Obama has made great strides in promoting and ensuring that diversity with his nominations of people of color and of openly gay and lesbian individuals to the federal bench. We celebrate the confirmation of Judge Pitman, which brings welcome diversity to the federal bench in Texas while simultaneously filling a seat that had been vacant for more than six years.

“While great progress has been made to bring diversity to the courts, we still have a long way to go. There are nearly 900 federal judges in the U.S., and most are straight white men. Federal courts are charged with providing everyone with equal access to justice, and yet justice has not always been a reality for some. A judiciary diverse in race, ethnicity, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation and lived and professional experience serves not only to improve the quality of justice, but to boost public confidence in the courts.”

Pitman is a Fort Worth native who attended Abilene Christian University and earned his law degree from the University of Texas. He currently serves as U.S. attorney for the Western District of Texas. 

When Pitman was first recommended for U.S. attorney by Cornyn and former Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison in 2009, the pick riled some fellow Republicans, but Cornyn stood behind it.

“A person’s sexuality has no bearing on his qualifications for a job. … It’s just not even remotely considered,” Cornyn spokesman Keven McLaughlin said at the time. 

Based on that statement, one might think Cornyn would be a supporter of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, but he voted against it last year and received a zero on the Human Rights Campaign’s most recent Congressional Scorecard.