Monday, August 16, 2010

Via Beyond the Chron: Out Christianing Each Other

James Lankford & Kevin Calvey
Out Christianing Each Other


It’s not hard to court conservative Christian voters. All a politician has to do these days is spew lots of hatred towards the LGBT community and oppose abortion, national healthcare and of course gay marriage. Such is the case in Oklahoma with Republicans James Lankford and Kevin Calvey, who are in a heated runoff for their party’s nomination to fill the seat vacated by retiring Congress woman Mary Fallin, a right-winger who opposes abortion and believes in border fences and walls and the right of every man, woman and child (and possibly pet dog) to carry a gun. [more]->

Via EQCA:


August 16, 2010
Equality California | http://www.eqca.org

Dear Daniel,
Right-wing, anti-equality groups are targeting Republican Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and Democratic Attorney General Brown, urging them to appeal Judge Walker’s historic decision.
We need to make sure they don’t succeed.
Email Gov. Schwarzenegger and Attorney General Brown and urge them to stand strong against right-wing attacks. 
At a time when the state is strapped for cash, our leaders should be concentrating resources on keeping teachers, firefighters and police on the job, not defending discrimination in court.
So far the Governor and Attorney General’s offices have stood with the majority of Californians who now support marriage for same-sex couples.
Urge Governor and Attorney General to keep doing the right thing: not defending bigotry in court. 
And urge your friends and family to do the same.
www.eqca.org/standstrong
On Wednesday evening, the U. S. Constitution’s promise of equality for all will hopefully be restored and couples will start getting married again.
We need to protect their marriages by making sure the state stays out of the business of discrimination.
Thank the Governor and Attorney General for standing on the side of equality, and urge them to continue to stand strong.
Warmly,

Geoff Kors
Executive Director
Equality California

 
 
Image: take action

Email the Governor and Attorney General:
www.eqca.org/standstrong
Call the Governor:
916.445.2841
Call the
Attorney General:

916.324.5437

Via JMG: Here's Protect Marriage's Final Motion


Protect Marriage's final motion claims that the state's job of promoting "responsible procreation" would be irrevocably harmed by gay marriage. Because in California, there has been ABSOLUTELY no irresponsible procreation so far. Hilarious. Considering that the Ninth Circuit Judicial Conference is kicking off today in Hawaii, don't be surprised if we get a ruling before the end of the office day in California. It's important to note that some anti-gay evangelicals don't want this appealed to the Supreme Court. They'd rather "sacrifice" California to the evil homos than risk losing at SCOTUS and seeing same-sex marriage become the law of the nation.
CA9Doc 11

reposted from Joe

Target Ain't People

Via JMG: BREAKING: Ninth Circuit Court Grants Stay Of Prop 8 Overturn Pending Appeal


No same-sex marriage for California, for now. Via Rex Wockner, here's the legalese:
Filed order (EDWARD LEAVY, MICHAEL DALY HAWKINS and SIDNEY R. THOMAS) Appellants' motion for a stay of the district court's order of August 4, 2010 pending appeal is GRANTED. The court sua sponte orders that this appeal be expedited pursuant to Federal Rule of Appellate Procedure 2. The provisions of Ninth Circuit Rule 31-2.2(a) (pertaining to grants of time extensions) shall not apply to this appeal. This appeal shall be calendared during the week of December 6, 2010, at The James R. Browning Courthouse in San Francisco, California. The previously established briefing schedule is vacated. The opening brief is now due September 17, 2010. The answering brief is due October 18, 2010. The reply brief is due November 1, 2010. In addition to any issues appellants wish to raise on appeal, appellants are directed to include in their opening brief a discussion of why this appeal should not be dismissed for lack of Article III standing. See Arizonans For Official English v. Arizona, 520 U.S. 43, 66 (1997). IT IS SO ORDERED. [7441574] (JS)
This may get to the Supreme Court yet.
reposted from Joe

Via JMG: Prop 8 Plaintiffs Respond To Stay


From Ted Olson and the American Foundation for Equal Rights:
Today the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit set a highly expedited schedule for briefing and argument of proponents' appeal from the district court's August 4, 2010 decision striking down California's Proposition 8 as an unconstitutional violation of the rights of gay and lesbian citizens to due process and equal protection of the law under the Fourteenth Amendment, and it granted proponents' request to stay the judgment of the district court's order while the appeal is decided. This means that although Californians who were denied equality by Proposition 8 cannot marry immediately, the Ninth Circuit, like the district court, will move swiftly to address and decide the merits of Plaintiffs' claims on their merits.

"We are very gratified that the Ninth Circuit has recognized the importance and pressing nature of this case and the need to resolve it as quickly as possible by issuing this extremely expedited briefing schedule. As Chief Judge Walker found, Proposition 8 harms gay and lesbian citizens each day it remains on the books. We look forward to moving to the next stage of this case,” said Attorney Theodore B. Olson.

“Today’s order from the Ninth Circuit for an expedited hearing schedule ensures that we will triumph over Prop. 8 as quickly as possible. This case is about fundamental constitutional rights and we at the American Foundation for Equal Rights, our Plaintiffs and our attorneys are ready to take this case all the way through the appeals court and to the United States Supreme Court,” said Chad Griffin, Board President, American Foundation for Equal Rights.

reposted from Joe

Via Marriage Equality USA:


Marriage Equality USA has just received word that Ninth Circuit has granted the stay but expedites appeal. 

Filed order (EDWARD LEAVY, MICHAEL DALY HAWKINS and SIDNEY R. THOMAS) Appellants’ motion for a stay of the district court’s order of August 4, 2010 pending appeal is GRANTED. The court sua sponte orders that this appeal be expedited pursuant to Federal Rule of Appellate Procedure 2. The provisions of Ninth Circuit Rule 31-2.2(a) (pertaining to grants of time extensions) shall not apply to this appeal. This appeal shall be calendared during the week of December 6, 2010, at The James R. Browning Courthouse in San Francisco, California. The previously established briefing schedule is vacated. The opening brief is now due September 17, 2010. The answering brief is due October 18, 2010. The reply brief is due November 1, 2010. In addition to any issues appellants wish to raise on appeal, appellants are directed to include in their opening brief a discussion of why this appeal should not be dismissed for lack of Article III standing. See Arizonans For Official English v. Arizona, 520 U.S. 43, 66 (1997). IT IS SO ORDERED. [7441574] (JS)

We were hoping that Wednesday would mark the day that marriage equality would return to California.  But there is some good news with this decision.

The Ninth Circuit has asked for opening briefs by September 17th and that parties must discuss why the appeal should not be dismissed due to lack of standing.  Also, the schedule for the briefs are similar to what Plaintiff attorneys Ted Olson and David Boies requested.  And oral arguments should begin by the end of this year.

So it's not what we wanted, but Harvey Milk would want us to keep hope alive.  We have an amazing legal team (including our friends with the City & County of San Francisco).  We have a fact-based district trial court decision that overwhelmingly explains why Proposition 8 is unconstitutional.  And we know that eventually we will win.

Stay engaged with Marriage Equality USA.  Join our facebook page, get involved with your local chapter, donate, and volunteer.  And go out an make every moment a marriage equality moment.

Founded in 1998, Marriage Equality USA is a national grassroots organization whose mission is to secure legally recognized civil marriage equality for all, at the federal and state level, without regard to gender identity or sexual orientation.  For more information go to www.marriageequality.org

Sunday, August 15, 2010

Via JMG: This Week In Holy Crimes


Over the last seven days...

Israel: Rabbi Yitzhak Shapira arrested for incitement to kill non-Jews.
Arkansas: Pastor Joshua Wilson arrested in prostitution sting.
New York: Convicted child molester Rabbi Baruch Leibovits demands and gets special kosher meals in prison.
New York: Father Thomas Kresier resigns in embezzlement scandal.
Virginia: Pastor James Bolton arrested for statutory rape.
Ontario: Father Kenneth O'Keefe arrested for child molestation.
British Columbia: Father Philip Jacobs arrested on numerous counts of child molestation.
Ireland: Father Patrick McCabe arrested on numerous counts of child molestation. McCabe was transferred to the U.S. twenty years ago when the accusations first began.
Ontario: Father William Marshall charged with numerous counts of child molestation. Marshall was principal at a Catholic high school.
Pennsylvania: Diocese of Pittsburgh sued after molestation victim commits suicide.
North Carolina: Father William Casey pleads guilty to child molestation.
Illinois: Father Daniel McCormick sued by child molestation victim.
Ohio: Pastor James Blaine pleads guilty to embezzling over $100K from his parishioners.

This Week's Winner
Texas: Pastor Randy Scott has been arrested for meeting young men online and forcing them into sex. Posing as a young man, Scott would exchange emails with his victims, then appear at their homes pretending to be the step-father of the person they thought they'd been corresponding with. Scott would then threaten to call the police unless the young men gave him oral sex. At least one of the victims is underage. Scott, who is married with children, has resigned from his church.
reposted from Joe

Via JMG: PhoboQuotable - Pat Buchanan


"When did the Creator indicate that among these rights was for homosexuals to have their unions recognized as marriages? The author of that declaration, Thomas Jefferson, equated homosexual acts with rape and wrote that male homosexuals (they used the term sodomites in that time) should be castrated and lesbians should have a hole cut into their noses.

"Undeniably, homosexuals have the same constitutional rights of free speech, peaceable assembly and trial by jury. But what the judge has done is declare the life choices and lifestyles of gays and lesbians to be equal to the life choice of married men and women. This is nothing but Walker's personal opinion.

"But he is declaring it to be the only rational conclusion that can be reached. And having reached it, he has seized upon a phrase in the 14th amendment, 'equal protection,' distorted its meaning and dictated that this means his view and his values henceforth are the law in California, the voters be damned.

"And what the judge dismisses and rejects as irrational is a conviction rooted in the history of the human race, biblical truth, natural law and basic common sense. For, in recent decades, male homosexuality has been linked to enteric diseases, hepatitis, AIDS and early death. Historically, from the late Roman Empire to Weimar, flagrant homosexuality has been associated with sick societies, decadent cultures and dying civilizations. Today would appear to be no exception." - Pat Buchanan, writing for the Christofascist site World Net Daily.

 
reposted by Joe

I left the following at Sacbee:

I am so grateful to live in a country that has a system of checks and balances... I appreciate the constitution more now than ever... People who are so worried about gays and lesbians ruining their marriage should focus on making their own marriages exemplary. I hope and pray that religious people take a look at themselves, themselves, many churches have welcomed glbt people with open arms, other religious groups Catholics, Mormons, and Baha'i's seek to exclude glbt from their membership and are behaving disgracefully. All sides have been tested, and to my mind the communities that are inclusive have taught us so much, and I am very grateful to them. If a religious community doesn't want glbt members so be it, you are free to exclude us. To those communities who are open, loving and inclusive... I say thank you!

Saturday, August 14, 2010

Via Belirico: The karate lessons ads, improved

Waymon posted some ads for karate lessons yesterday, and a few people pointed out in the comments that you can't really tell the message without more text, so I added some. The other ad is after the jump.

karate-ad-1.jpg

Vua Huffington: Why Jews Should Rejoice at the Overturning of Prop 8

Rabbi Michael Lerner
Rabbi Michael Lerner: Why Jews Should Rejoice at the Overturning of Prop 8

The rights of homosexuals are supported by an overwhelming majority of the American Jewish community. That support is not only based on a memory of shared victimhood, but also on the core values of our own Jewish tradition.

Via Huffington: Prop 8 Ruling Exposes Democrats' Weak Support For LGBT Community

Prop 8 Ruling Exposes Democrats' Weak Support For LGBT Community
Right now, LGBT citizens are trapped in a choice between a party that opposes their very existence and a party that, you know, kind of wishes them well. And so the typical policy among Democrats is to do as little as possible for as long as they can, figuring that if the Republican party never changes its position, they can string along the LGBT community for a long while before they have to lay their marker down and risk the vote of any single voter who opposes gay rights.

via huffington post

Fight OUT Loud Co-Founder Waymon Hudson's My New Essay on the Huffington Post~ The Everyday "Don't Ask, Don't Tell". Rate it, "like" it on Facebook, and share it!
www.huffingtonpost.com
So what is this "everyday" policy, you may ask? It's how so many of us live our lives. We don't let our friends or families know about the discrimination or legal barriers we face just for being who we are.

Prop 8 Fed Decision - Love Sweet Love

RELÓGIO / CLOCK

ESTE VEIO DA HOLANDA  E É UM NOVO TIPO DE RELÓGIO .... BASTANTE DIFERENTE E INTERESSANTE.


ESTUDA-O POR UM INSTANTE E COMPREENDERÁS RÁPIDO. FIXA-TE SÓMENTE NA LINHA "VERDE" QUE É A QUE INDICA TODA A INFORMAÇÃO.

               NA 1ª FILA OS SEGUNDOS
                NA 2ª OS MINUTOS
               NA 3ª. AS HORAS
                NA 4ª E 5ª OS DIAS
                NA 6ª. OS MESES E NA 7ª. OS ANOS


NÃO FAÇAS NADA POIS QUE ELE AJUSTA-SE AUTOMÁTICAMENTE À TUA ZONA DE TEMPO ..... UM PRODÍGIO, ...... MAS DO HOMEM ACTUAL.


via jmg: Here's AG Brown's Opposition To The Stay Request From Protect Marriage


Are you dizzy yet from all these legal docs? Protect Marriage has until 9am Monday to deliver their final response.
CA9Doc 8

reposted from Joe

Friday, August 13, 2010

via JMG: Ninth Circuit Responds To Stay Motion


Things are moving VERY quickly. Brian Devine reports at Courage Campaign:
The Ninth Circuit just issued an Order stating that the Plaintiffs’ response to the Motion to Stay is due by 11:00 p.m. tonight. The Prop 8 supporters’ reply, not to exceed 15 pages, is due by 9:00 a.m. on Monday, August 16, 2010. This suggests that the Ninth Circuit is preparing to rule on the Motion to Stay before Judge Walker’s temporary stay expires on August 18th at 5:00 p.m. It’s surprising that the Court only gave the Plaintiffs about 9 hours to file their brief, and gave the Appellants until Monday to Reply. But I wouldn’t read too much into this. They know that everyone anticipated the Motion and that everyone’s briefs are essentially written already.
Sounds like everybody wants to get to Hawaii.
reposted from Joe

Via HRC:


Joe's Weekly Message
Dear Daniel, 

Yesterday, we learned that marriage equality could return to California next week. U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker, who ruled Proposition 8 unconstitutional in the Perry v. Schwarzenegger case, lifted the stay on his decision as of August 18. If the federal appeals court does not intervene, marriages will resume at that time. Equality is returning to California, and the shameful specter of Proposition 8 is shrinking. That law must never return -- our Constitution says so. 

Increasingly, so do our neighbors. On August 11, CNN released a national poll showing for the first time that a majority of Americans believe in a constitutional right to marriage equality for same-sex couples. As in previous polls, people under age 50 were far more likely to support equality than those over 50.
What a change since 2004, when waves of anti-LGBT marriage amendments swept our nation in the election-year frenzy to enrage a right-wing base. Today, although some insist on fomenting hysteria around the Perry case (more on that in a moment), the issue of marriage equality is not at the top of the right wing’s list. Just look at what Glenn Beck had to say on The O'Reilly Factor

O'REILLY: OK. Is [same-sex marriage] going to harm the country in any way?
BECK: I believe -- I believe what Thomas Jefferson said. If it neither breaks my leg nor picks my pocket, what difference is it to me?

Our community and those who support us have done so much to change hearts and minds in recent years. Most powerfully of all, we have been living our lives and raising our families in almost every community across this nation. I doubt that Glenn Beck will ever have particularly charitable thoughts about our families, but he and many others have finally learned that our nation has no business interfering with them.   

Unfortunately, the ruling has generated some of the familiar anti-LGBT hate from certain quarters. The National Organization for Marriage’s summer bus tour -- a sham designed to help NOM challenge the requirements of neutral state campaign finance laws -- has been drawing miniscule crowds, but their supporters are showing the very worst of the anti-LGBT movement. At an Indianapolis event, one supporter carried a sign that read “the solution to gay marriage” with a picture of two nooses. At another event, Alveda King, niece of the late Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., said "I don’t know about you, but I'm not ready to be extinct. None of us wants to be, so we don't want genocide." Fortunately, only a few dozen people attended the rally. A note to NOM and their followers: when Glenn Beck is calm about something… well, you figure it out.  

Beck's muse Thomas Jefferson also famously said "Nothing is unchangeable but the inherent and unalienable rights of man." Our basic right to marry predates any litigation or ballot initiative; we have always had it. In the past few years, California families were all too briefly granted their basic human rights. Next week, if the appeals court does not intervene, California will once again recognize same-sex couples as equal citizens. Congratulations to California families and the Perry plaintiffs. Our nation took a step forward thanks to them.

Joe Solmonese
Joe Solmonese
President, Human Rights Campaign