Wednesday, August 5, 2015

Via JMG: IOWA: Man Tries To Marry Lawnmower

"Congressman Steve King (R - Iowa) said last week that the recent Supreme Court ruling on gay marriage meant you could marry your lawnmower. So I decided to test his theory and see if I could, in fact, wed my lawnmower in Iowa."


 



(Tipped by JMG reader Blair)


Reposted from Joe Jervis

Via JMG: KENTUCKY: Anti-Gay Clerk Files Religious Discrimination Suit Against Governor



 
The Liberty Counsel is suing Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear on behalf of renegade county clerk Kim Davis. Via the Lexington Herald-Leader:
Late Tuesday, Davis filed a lawsuit against Beshear in federal district court. She blamed the governor for instructing all 120 of the state's county clerks to comply with this summer's U.S. Supreme Court decision that legalized gay marriage. Beshear's stance left dissenting county clerks vulnerable to lawsuits, including two that she currently faces, filed by groups of her constituents, Davis said. U.S. District Judge David Bunning is expected to rule in these cases in coming days. "The Commonwealth of Kentucky, acting through Governor Beshear, has deprived Davis of her religious-conscience rights guaranteed by the United States and Kentucky constitutions and laws, by insisting that Davis issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples contrary to her conscience, based on her sincerely held religious beliefs," Davis' lawsuit says.
The suit also names the head of the Kentucky Department for Libraries and Archives, which changed the marriage license forms to gender-neutral.

The Liberty Counsel has issued a press release:
“Governor Beshear is unlawfully picking and choosing the conscience-based exemptions to marriage that he deems acceptable,” said Mat Staver, Founder and Chairman of Liberty Counsel. When Kentucky Attorney General Jack Conway refused to defend Kentucky’s natural marriage laws after “pray[ing] over this decision,” Governor Beshear did not command that he perform his duties, but hired private attorneys to pursue the appeal. “In no uncertain terms, Governor Beshear’s policies and directives are intended to suppress religion—even worse, a particular religious belief,” Liberty Counsel’s complaint points out. “Thus, although Attorney General Conway was given a pass for his conscience about marriage without any threats of repercussion, clerks like Davis are being repeatedly told by their Governor to abandon their religiously informed beliefs or resign.” “Simply put, Governor Beshear is making secularism a litmus test for holding office in Kentucky,” said Mat Staver. “The governor is forcing clerks like Davis to choose between following the precepts of her religion and forfeiting her position, on the one hand, and abandoning one of the precepts of her religion in order to keep her position, on the other,” Staver concluded.
The ruling in the ACLU's suit against Davis is expected next week. (Tipped by JMG reader Allen)


Reposted from Joe Jervis

I Kissed A Boy - Kar Karaoke


VIa JMG: TEXAS: AG Ken Paxton Ordered To Appear In Court Over Marriage Recognition


The San Antonio Express-News reports:
U.S. District Judge Orlando Garcia has ordered Texas officials to appear in court next week to determine if the state should be held in contempt for failing to recognize same-sex marriage. Garcia issued the order Wednesday in response to a request from a Conroe police officer who says the Texas Department of Health and Human Services refused to amend his spouse’s death certificate to reflect he was married. The death certificate lists him as single. Garcia instructed the state on Wednesday to immediately amend the death certificate of James Stone-Hoskins to add John Allen Stone-Hoskins as the surviving spouse. John Stone-Hoskins, a former police officer who lives in Conroe and is dying from cancer, asked Garcia to hold the department and the Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton in contempt. Garcia ordered Paxton to appear before this Court next Wednesday at 10 a.m.
Paxton was arrested and booked on multiple felony securities fraud charges on Monday.


Reposted from Joe Jervis

Via "The Bully Effect" / FB:


From a GLBTqB amigo...


Via Sri Prem Baba: Flor do Dia- Flor del Día - Flower of the Day 05/08/2015

“O êxtase se torna permanente quando o amor não sai do seu coração por nada. Porque o êxtase é uma manifestação do amor; o resultado de você estar amando de forma desinteressada. Mas, me refiro ao amor de verdade, aquele que não pede nada em troca. Esse amor é que proporciona a alegria divina, a alegria sem causa.”

“El éxtasis se vuelve permanente cuando el amor no sale de tu corazón por nada. Porque el éxtasis es una manifestación del amor; el resultado de estar amando de forma desinteresada. Pero me refiero al amor de verdad, aquél que no pide nada a cambio. Este amor es el que proporciona la alegría divina, la alegría sin causa.”

"Ecstasy becomes permanent when love no longer leaves your heart for any reason. Ecstasy is the manifestation of love itself. It’s the result of selfless love. The love I am referring to is true love, the kind that doesn’t ask for anything in return. This love is what provides divine joy, also known as joy without cause."

Today's Daily Dharma: Emotional Acceptance Is Vital

Emotional Acceptance Is Vital
When we open to our feelings as they arise, we create the causes and conditions of mental and physical health. This is what acceptance-based inner awareness entails; it is not a practice to put off, any more than breathing, sleeping, or consuming nourishment.
 
- Josh Korda, "Flowing Feelings"