Penn Medicine Program for LGBT Health – Climate
Penn Medicine Program for LGBT Health – Climate.
N. Ireland Bakery Refuses to Apologize for Denying Gay Bert and Ernie Cake
N. Ireland Bakery Refuses to Apologize for Denying Gay Bert and Ernie Cake
A Christian-owned bakery in Northern Ireland that refused to bake a cake adorned with the Sesame Street pals and the words ‘support gay marriage’ has been ordered to make things right.
Thom Senzee
www.advocate.com/world/2014/11/06/n-ireland-bakery-refuses-apologize-denying-gay-bert-and-ernie-cake
In Blistering Dissent, Appeals Court Judge Slams Colleagues Who Upheld Gay Marriage Bans
In Blistering Dissent, Appeals Court Judge Slams Colleagues Who Upheld Gay Marriage Bans
WASHINGTON — A federal appeals court judge on Tuesday issued a scathing dissent to an opinion supported by two of her colleagues who upheld bans on same-sex marriage in Michigan, Ohio, Tennessee and Kentucky.
In a 2-1 decision, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals overturned the rulings of lower federal courts that found same-sex marriage bans unconstitutional.
But in a blistering dissent, Martha Craig Daughtrey wrote that while her colleagues’ opinion would make “an engrossing TED Talk or, possibly, an introductory lecture in Political Philosophy,” it “wholly fails” to address the issue of whether a state constitution’s ban on same-sex marriage violates the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment. The majority opinion “treats both the issues and the litigants here as mere abstractions,” Daughtrey wrote.
“Instead of recognizing the plaintiffs as persons, suffering actual harm as a result of being denied the right to marry where they reside or the right to have their valid marriages recognized there, my colleagues view the plaintiffs as social activists who have somehow stumbled into federal court, inadvisably, when they should be out ing to win ‘the hearts and minds’ of Michigan, Ohio, Kentucky, and Tennessee voters to their cause,” she wrote.
“But these plaintiffs are not political zealots trying to push reform on their fellow citizens; they are committed same-sex couples, many of them heading up de facto families, who want to achieve equal status … with their married neighbors, friends, and coworkers, to be accepted as contributing members of their social and religious communities, and to be welcomed as fully legitimate parents at their children’s schools,” she continued. “They seek to do this by virtue of exercising a civil right that most of us take for granted — the right to marry.”
Citing the Supreme Court ruling that struck down key provisions of the Defense of Marriage Act in 2013, Daughtrey said that the majority of the federal appeals court ignored the damage to the children of same-sex couples whose unions were not recognized.
People familiar with the Supreme Court ruling in the Windsor case, Daughtrey wrote, “must have said to themselves at various points in the majority opinion, ‘But what about the children?’ I did, and I could not find the answer in the opinion.”
She added that it was “ironic that irresponsible, unmarried, opposite-sex couples in the Sixth Circuit who produce unwanted offspring must be ‘channeled’ into marriage and thus rewarded with its many psychological and financial benefits, while same-sex couples who become model parents are punished for their responsible behavior by being denied the right to marry.”
In concluding her dissent, Daughtrey cited the oath of office she took more than 20 years ago when she was sworn into office. She said her colleagues “seem to have fallen prey to the misguided notion that the intent of the framers of the United States Constitution can be effectuated only by cleaving to the legislative will and ignoring and demonizing an independent judiciary.” She wrote that the judiciary existed to “ensure that rights, liberties, and duties need not be held hostage by popular whims.”
“If we in the judiciary do not have the authority, and indeed the responsibility, to right fundamental wrongs left excused by a majority of the electorate, our whole intricate, constitutional system of checks and balances, as well as the oaths to which we swore, prove to be nothing but shams,” she wrote.
Read Daughtrey’s dissent below.
CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story said the court ruled 3-2. In fact, the ruling was 2-1.
Major setback for gay marriage in US: Bans upheld in four states by federal appeals court
Major setback for gay marriage in US: Bans upheld in four states by federal appeals court
Decision 6th Circuit Court of Appeals opens the doors for US Supreme Court to review cases in Michigan, Ohio, Kentucky and Tennessee
gregh
Shameful Sixth Circuit Decision Upholds Discriminatory Marriage Bans
Rose McGowan Is Sorry About Gay Slur; Doesn’t Get Golden Girls
Rose McGowan Is Sorry About Gay Slur; Doesn’t Get Golden Girls
For those of you who hang upon the words of celebrities, it may be time to relax a little bit about Rose McGowan. The star of Charmed and Conan the Barbarian came under fire yesterday for a few unkind, thoughtless words, and now she’s apologized. Somewhat.
“I made a dumb generalization, for that I apologize,” she wrote today, but added, “For everything else I said, no. I will not.”
“Gay men are as misogynistic as straight men, if not more so,” she said. “You wanna talk about the fact that I have heard nobody in the gay community, no gay males, standing up for women on any level?”
Errrrr, well that may not be true. Plenty of gay men are concerned about feminism and gender equality. But we get her point: as a group, gay men aren’t super-vocal about women’s issues. It’s definitely a blind spot. She’s right. And to be fair, Rose has been an ally of LGBT equality in the past, so it’s not like she’s out to attack us for no reason.
But then she said this, which is a little rude: “I see now people who have basically fought for the right to stand on top of a float wearing an orange Speedo and take molly.” Ouch.
And in her apology, she tells a story about how a gay friend of hers called Blanche from Golden Girls a slut, and then she yelled at him and corrected him, which just sounds annoying. Rose, please don’t attempt to goldsplain the show to us. It’s OK to call Blanche a slut. That’s not misogyny. That’s just being real.
matt baume
Judge Martha Daughtrey Rips Colleagues in Stinging Dissent of 6th Circuit Marriage Ruling
Judge Martha Daughtrey Rips Colleagues in Stinging Dissent of 6th Circuit Marriage Ruling
While we’re waiting for some analysis from our legal editor Ari Ezra Waldman, here are a couple of stinging passages from Judge Martha Craig Daughtry’s dissent of the 6th Circuit marriage ruling upholding gay marriage bans in Michigan, Ohio, Tennessee, and Kentucky (click to enlarge):
Daughtry then goes on to accuse her colleagues, Judges Jeffrey Sutton and Deborah Cook of betraying their oaths:
Read the full ruling and dissent HERE.
Andy Towle
IVFNJ LGBT Family Building – Start Your Journey with Us!
IVFNJ LGBT Family Building – Start Your Journey with Us!
We’ve been helping build LGBT families since 1990! IVF New Jersey’s leadership position in LGBT family building means a smoother, less stressful process for LGBT intended parents. Let us…
Anti-LGBT Pastor Warns of 'Sodomite' Semen in Starbucks Lattes
Anti-LGBT Pastor Warns of 'Sodomite' Semen in Starbucks Lattes
The homophobic minister who decried Starbucks patrons as ‘upscale sodomites’ who spread Ebola now says the chain is using the semen of ‘sodomites’ to flavor its coffee.
Stevie St. John
www.advocate.com/politics/religion/2014/11/06/anti-lgbt-pastor-warns-sodomite-semen-starbucks-lattes
Unhappy With The Election Results? Just Look At The People Your Neighbors Voted Into Office
Unhappy With The Election Results? Just Look At The People Your Neighbors Voted Into Office
As the dust settles and we take a closer look at Tuesday night’s election results, we can’t help but wonder what the hell some voters were thinking. As with every election, there were the incumbents who somehow remained able to win re-election, like Rep. Michael Grimm (R-N.Y.), who threatened to throw a reporter off a balcony, Rep. Charlie Rangel (D-N.Y.), who just won a 23rd term in Congress despite being found guilty of a number of ethics violations in 2010, and Rep. Don Young (R-Alaska), who joked about suicide just weeks before the election.
And that’s just the tip of the iceberg in Congress. All hail the power of incumbency.
But there are some even stranger figures who got elected across the nation this week. Here are our top picks for elected officials we still can’t believe ended up on the ballot, let alone in office.
Jody ‘Abortion Is Worse Than Hitler’ Hice
Republican Jody Hice of Georgia had no problem winning his state’s deep-red 10th Congressional District on Tuesday. Salon documents some of the most controversial viewpoints of the soon-to-be congressman: Hice has said Islam is not a real religion and doesn’t deserve First Amendment protections, that legal abortion is “worse than Hitler’s six million Jews or Mussolini’s three hundred thousand,” and that the gay community is trying to seduce and sodomize your children.
There’s more. From supporting nullification to wanting to re-litigate the Civil War to suggesting that women should ask their husbands for permission to enter politics, the list goes on. And on. We wonder how much voters actually knew about all of this.
(It’s worth noting that Hice will take the seat formerly held by Rep. Paul Broun, who once declared that evolution and the Big Bang are “lies from the pit of hell.” It seems fair to predict that Hice will represent the district with a similar mindset.)
Ryan ‘Hillary Clinton Is The Anti-Christ’ Zinke
Former Navy SEAL Ryan Zinke of Montana handily won a seat in Congress on Tuesday, despite expressing a number of controversial views throughout his . Perhaps the most surprising of these was calling former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton the “anti-Christ.” Zinke later claimed the comments were a joke.
Zinke has been an equally ardent critic of President Barack Obama. He previously led an anti-Obama super PAC that claimed the president “conveniently took credit for killing Osama Bin Laden for political gain.” Earlier this year, Zinke also appeared to suggest that he would support impeaching Obama if given the option when he gets to Congress.
Glenn ‘What Do We Need Weekends For, Anyway?’ Grothman
Glenn Grothman, a Wisconsin Republican running for the seat of retiring GOP Rep. Tom Petri, cruised to victory over his Democratic challenger on Tuesday. Grothman, like Hice, has established himself as a far-right politician with a number of divisive views. He once told The Huffington Post it was “a little ridiculous” that Wisconsin had laws against a seven-day workweek. In 2012, he claimed to the Daily Beast that women get paid less because “money is more important for men.”
Grothman also believes that teachers should be banned from discussing homosexuality in the classroom because it could turn kids gay, that people on food stamps eat too well and that Planned Parenthood is “the most overtly racist organization.” These are just some of the views Grothman will be taking to Washington.
Michael ‘The Gays Are Out To Recruit Your Children’ Peroutka
Michael Peroutka, a former Constitution Party candidate who has since turned Republican, won a seat on the Anne Arundel County Council in Maryland on Tuesday, receiving 53 percent of the vote against his Democratic opponent. Peroutka attracted scrutiny throughout his for his involvement with the League of the South, a Southern secessionist group, which he severed ties with last month amid the controversy.
In October, Peroutka also decried what he called the LGBT “deathstyle,” which he said needed to “recruit your children” to maintain its ways. He has also suggested that “there is no such thing as a civil right,” and that gay people don’t deserve protections because of their sexuality.
Mark ‘Let’s Go To War With Mexico’ Walker
Republican Mark Walker secured an easy victory Tuesday in his race to replace retiring Rep. Howard Coble (R-N.C.). Walker raised some eyebrows on the trail when he suggested that a solution to southern border violence and undocumented immigration would be to “blitz somebody with a couple of fighter jets for a little while.” He went on to say he had no qualms with going to war against Mexico, though he later claimed he was joking.
Gordon ‘Obama Is Literally Possessed By Demons’ Klingenschmitt
Gordon Klingenschmitt cake-walked to a seat in the Colorado state house on Tuesday, taking nearly 70 percent of the vote in the state’s heavily Republican House District 15. Klingenschmitt, a former Navy chaplain, has made a name for himself as a prominent voice on the religious right. He has frequently made extreme anti-gay claims and suggested in his book that Obama is possessed by “demonic spirits,” which, according to the Bible, has led the president to actions that are “worthy of death.”
(Read more about Klingenschmitt at Right Wing Watch, which has tirelessly ed his career.)
Saira ‘NRA-Endorsed College Freshman’ Blair
A photo posted by Saira Blair (@sairablair) on Oct 10, 2014 at 10:08am PDT
On Tuesday, 18-year-old Saira Blair won a seat in West Virginia’s state legislature, securing the distinction of being the youngest lawmaker in the nation. Blair began her at the age of 17 and, according to the Wall Street Journal, did most of her ing out of her college dorm at West Virginia University, where she is enrolled as a freshman. In May, she defeated a 66-year-old Republican incumbent in the GOP primary, and in the general election on Tuesday, she trounced her Democratic opponent, 44-year-old attorney Layne Diehl.
Blair is ultra-conservative. She has the NRA’s endorsement and believes life begins at conception. She opposes Plan B contraception, gay marriage and labor unions, and says her focus is bringing jobs back to West Virginia.
The 18-year-old will join her father, a sitting state senator, in the upcoming legislative session, at which time she says she’ll defer her spring semester of college.
Did voters in your district elect a newcomer with seriously weird or wacky views this week? Send me an email at [email protected] or tweet me @nickpwing.
