Alabama Lawyers Face Off Against Chief Justice In Gay Marriage Fight
Alabama Lawyers Face Off Against Chief Justice In Gay Marriage Fight
In Alabama, which is set to begin allowing same-sex marriages on Monday, two old foes are facing off over the future of gay rights in the state.
A legal group is leading the fight against Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore over his opposition to gay marriage. Last week, Moore wrote in a letter to Gov. Robert Bentley that he planned to oppose a federal judge’s recent ruling that the state’s ban on same-sex marriage is unconstitutional. He referred to the decision as “judicial tyranny” and said that any Alabama judges who obey the federal court ruling and allow marriage licenses to be issued would be in “defiance of the laws and Constitution of Alabama.”
This week, Moore doubled down on his position, with a letter and memorandum to Alabama’s probate judges, telling them that they are not required to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples once the ruling goes into effect next week. Lower federal courts, he wrote, “have absolutely no legitimate authority to compel state courts to redefine marriage to include persons of the same sex.”
In response to Moore’s statements, last week the Southern Poverty Law Center, a legal advocacy group based in Montgomery, Alabama, filed a judicial ethics complaint against him, charging the chief justice with numerous ethical violations and accusing him of undermining “public confidence in the integrity of the judiciary.” On Tuesday, the SPLC filed a supplement to its ethics complaint, pointing to a radio interview in which Moore stated that, if the U.S. Supreme Court were to determine that the ban on same-sex marriage is unconstitutional, he would face a “very hard decision” whether to follow the law of the land.
This is not an entirely new dilemma for Moore, nor is it the first time he has faced challenges over an inclination not to comply with a higher court. In 2001, the year Moore was first sworn in as chief justice, he arranged for workers to install a two-and-a-half-ton granite monument of the Ten Commandments in the central rotunda of the Alabama state courthouse. The SPLC, whose offices are next door to the Supreme Court, was among several groups to file a suit calling for the monument’s removal, citing the separation of church and state. A federal court order demanded the monument be removed, but Moore refused to comply, and in 2003, he was dismissed from the bench. (He was re-elected to the post in 2012.)
“He hasn’t learned his lesson,” Richard Cohen, president of the SPLC, said of Moore. “He wasn’t elected to be the chief pastor of Alabama, he was elected to be the chief justice, and he doesn’t understand the difference.”
Moore did not respond to a request for comment.
Cohen did notice one key difference this time around, however. During the fight over the Ten Commandments monument, the SPLC was flooded with threats and angry letters. But in the past week, Cohen says, his group has received thank-you notes from around two dozen lawyers. “The sentiment on the bar is overwhelmingly against Moore,” he said.
Indeed, it does not appear that Alabama’s legal community is rallying behind Moore’s position, although support for same-sex marriage in the state still trails the rest of the country. The Alabama State Committee of the American College of Trial Lawyers released a statement calling Moore’s letter to the governor “improper and unfair.” The Alabama Probate Judges Association has also turned its back on Moore. Initially, the group advised its members not to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples, arguing for a narrow interpretation of the court ruling that struck down the ban. But last week, after clarification from the judge who issued the ruling, the association changed its position, stating that it will encourage its members to comply with the decision and that, once the stay on the ruling is lifted Monday, same-sex couples may apply for marriage licenses.
“I think it’s quite telling that the Alabama Probate Judges Association has reversed its position,” Ron Krotoszynski Jr., a professor at the University of Alabama School of Law, told The Huffington Post. “Like Chief Justice Moore, these judges are subject to popular election; yet, unlike the incumbent Chief Justice, they clearly recognize that they have a legal duty to honor a binding order of a federal court that invalidates a state constitutional provision because it violates the federal Constitution.”
Krotoszynski said the matter has come up several times in the constitutional law course he teaches to first-year students, both in and out of class. “They seem embarrassed,” he said of his students, noting that “they understand the supremacy clause of the Constitution,” which states that federal laws take precedence over state laws.
“Whether or not the students personally agree or disagree with same-sex marriage, they clearly appreciate that a state court judge cannot resist or refuse to honor a higher ruling,” he added.
Channing Tatum And Friends Strip Down In First “Magic Mike XXL” Trailer: WATCH
Channing Tatum And Friends Strip Down In First “Magic Mike XXL” Trailer: WATCH
Grease up those stripper poles, kids, Channing Tatum, Joe Manganiello, Matt Bomer and the rest of the gang (minus Oscar-winning Lincoln driver Matthew McConaughey) are gearing up for the most anticipated sequel of the queer year, Magic Mike XXL.
Warner Bros. released the first official poster for the film (above), which grinds its way into theaters July 1, while People has some exclusive photos and an interview with director Gregory Jacobs, who promises this film won’t be as “dark” as the last one. Here’s hoping that means better lighting to capture the hotness of the male leads in all their glory.
Check out the trailer for Magic Mike XXL, below:
Les Fabian Brathwaite
Cristiano Ronaldo Shows Off His Greased Physique To Promote New Underwear Line: VIDEO
Cristiano Ronaldo Shows Off His Greased Physique To Promote New Underwear Line: VIDEO
Soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo is promoting the latest collection for his underwear line CR7 by modeling in a series of steamy shots recently posted online. Ronaldo has also released a behind the scenes video of his photoshoot showing the “fittest man alive” getting greased up for the camera.
Watch the video and catch a few more skintillating shots, AFTER THE JUMP…
Sean Mandell
The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender LGBT Network
The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender LGBT Network
The network for Lesbian, Gay, Bi-sexual and Transgender people was established to support and make a difference to Islanders whose sexual orientation is not heterosexual. At our first meeting,…
THISSSSSS FRIDAY = YOUR FAVORITE FRIDAY MOVE + #ALLBLACKEVERYTHING EDITION!!!! —- WE HEAR THAT THEY'RE CALLIN THIS THE SEXY ALL BLACK WINTER PARTY FOR 2015!!!! —- WE TURNING UP FOR ALL AQUARIUS!! E/B FREE BEFORE 12AM!!!! PLUS THOSE $5 #CIROC SHOTS BEF
From 'Intellectual Homosexual' to 'Cootie Catcher'
From 'Intellectual Homosexual' to 'Cootie Catcher'
A new solo show chronicles a young gay man’s struggle to say sex-positive and HIV-negative.
Brandon Voss
www.advocate.com/arts-entertainment/theater/2015/02/04/intellectual-homosexual-cootie-catcher
The First 'Magic Mike XXL' Trailer Is Here (You're Welcome)
The First 'Magic Mike XXL' Trailer Is Here (You're Welcome)
You’re welcome. Warner Bros. released the first trailer for “Magic Mike XXL” on Wednesday. Let’s get back to the grind.
Channing Tatum returns for the highly anticipated sequel, which shows Magic Mike building furniture and dancing, his two passions. Matt Bomer, Joe Manganiello, Kevin Nash, Adam Rodriguez and Gabriel Iglesias, Elizabeth Banks, Donald Glover, Amber Heard, Jada Pinkett Smith, Andie MacDowell and Michael Strahan all co-star. Gregory Jacobs directs.
“Magic Mike XXL” finds the remaining Kings of Tampa ready to throw in the towel. But they want to do it their way: burning down the house in one last blow-out performance in Myrtle Beach, and with legendary headliner Magic Mike sharing the spotlight with them. On the road to their final show, with whistle stops in Jacksonville and Savannah to renew old acquaintances and make new friends, Mike and the guys learn some new moves and shake off the past in surprising ways.
Tatum teased the trailer on Tuesday, when he posted the film’s first poster. “Magic Mike XXL” is due out July 1.
Look, but you can’t touch…until tomorrow. Tune in to @theellenshow! #MagicMikeXXL
A photo posted by Channing Tatum (@channingtatum) on Feb 3, 2015 at 12:03pm PST
Is Gay Sex Considered 'Intercourse'? Florida Supreme Court Will Decide
Is Gay Sex Considered 'Intercourse'? Florida Supreme Court Will Decide
The Florida Supreme Court will decide the definition of sexual intercourse as it applies to state law and whether that definition includes homosexual sex acts.
As Reuters reports, the court’s involvement in the matter stems from a case in which a Key West man, Gary Debaun, was charged in 2011 with lying to a man about his HIV status before engaging in sexual activity. Debaun was acquitted of those charges by a county circuit judge because state law defines sexual intercourse as taking place between a man and a woman. Florida law requires HIV positive individuals to inform their partners of their status before engaging in sexual intercourse. The state has argued that the law was meant to apply to both heterosexual and homosexual sex.
“The Florida Legislature and this court have always identified penile-vaginal union as ‘sexual intercourse’ and distinguished it from all other sexual contact,” assistant public defender Brian Lee Ellison, representing Debaun, said in his brief to the high court.
“The plain meaning of the term is therefore clear and unambiguous,” he added, stating that, according to Florida law sexual intercourse “does not refer to homosexual acts or oral sex.”
Assistant Attorney General Joanne Diez wrote in her brief that “the lack of a definition of ‘sexual intercourse’ … did not render the statute ambiguous or unclear.”
After hearing arguments, the seven justices [on the state supreme court] usually take months to issue rulings.
The court has dealt with sexual definitions before, in 1971 striking down an 1868 statute that criminalized “the abominable and detestable crime against nature with either mankind or with beast” in the case of two gay man who faced up to 20 years in jail.
Sean Mandell
www.towleroad.com/2015/02/is-gay-sex-considered-intercourse-florida-supreme-court-will-decide.html
6 Great LGBT Movies Streaming on Netflix! – Geeking OUT
6 Great LGBT Movies Streaming on Netflix! – Geeking OUT
That dastardly Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow the other day, meaning its time to snuggle up on the couch with these 6 great LGBT movies and forget that there are 6 more weeks of winter! Stranger.
