By David Badash, The New Civil Rights Movement 02.02.2011
The GOP hasn't experienced the same optimism as Punxsutawney Phil. They saw their shadow, got scared, and are working to repeal every good law in sight. Read more...
A personal blog by a graying (mostly Anglo with light African-American roots) gay left leaning liberal progressive married college-educated Buddhist Baha'i BBC/NPR-listening Professor Emeritus now following the Dharma in Minas Gerais, Brasil.
Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakayue says the California Supreme Court will decide soon, maybe next week, on whether to enter the Proposition 8 gay marriage fray. The 9th U.S. Court of Appeals said last month that it cannot decide if the gay marriage ban is constitutional until the state high court weighs in on whether proposition sponsors have authority to defend the measure. A three-judge panel asked the California Supreme Court to decide if ballot proposition backers can step in to defend voter-approved initiatives in court when state officials refuse to do so. The panel suggested it would have to dismiss the case if there's no state high court input.If I'm reading this right, the Court is going to decide if it wants to decide.
Rep. LaVar Christensen, R-Draper, filed a bill Wednesday, HB270, that would reiterate the state’s policy that marriage is between a man and a woman and require that publicly funded programs, laws and regulations that are designed to support families be “carefully scrutinized to ensure that they promote the family.” Brandie Balken, executive director of Equality Utah, said the group is "deeply concerned" about the proposed law. "It could be used to create a filter for public agencies and a way to target laws, services and funding that currently help single Utahns or Utahns with families that differ from Representative Christensen's," she said.Christensen's second bill in a one-sentence item that declares, "An arrangement, agreement or transaction that is unlawful or violates public policy is void and unenforceable." LGBT activists say that could be interpreted to make void any wills or medical directives between gay couples. Christensen is a lay bishop with the LDS Church.
The Christian Seniors Association (CSA), a front group of the TVC, recently sent out a fundraising letter claiming that the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act (HCPA) of 2009, which added sexual orientation to the classes protected by federal hate crime legislation, “makes the Bible illegal ‘Hate Literature.’” The letter further claims that “under this law, criticism of homosexuality is deemed discrimination – just like racism,” and ultimately, the intent of the law is to “outlaw Christianity.” Scary stuff. Except that none of it is true.The SPLC points out that the good Christians at the TVC have a long track record of shady fundraising, including one mailed campaign that pretended to be from the federal government.
The CSA – which bills itself as “America’s Christian alternative to the far-Left AARP” – has a history of fundraising letters that prey on unfounded fears and, in some cases, even mimic government documents. In 2006, the CSA mailed out bogus “U.S. Taxpayer Census” forms. The packet included a survey about Social Security and dark warnings about politicians raiding the program for personal gain. According to the San Francisco Chronicle, the mailing did not explicitly point out that money donated to the CSA would go directly to the TVC.The head of the CSA is married to Andrea Lafferty, the daughter of Lou Sheldon, who is the founder of the certified hate group, the Traditional Values Coalition. Just keeping that ill-gotten money in the family.