"Stone Cold" Steve Austin gives an awesome profanity-laced tirade on the hypocrisy of churches being against gay marriage.
I don't give a shit if two guys, two gals, guy-gal, whatever it is, I believe that any human being in America, or any human being in the goddamn world, that wants to be married, and if it's same-sex, more power to 'em. What also chaps my ass, some of these churches, have the high horse that they get on and say, 'We as a church do not believe in that.' Which one of these motherfuckers talked to God, and God said that same-sex marriage was a no-can-do? Okay, so two cats can't get married if they want to get married, but then a guy can go murder 14 people, molest five kids, then go to fucking prison, and accept God and He's going to let him into heaven? After the fact that he did all that shit? See that's all horseshit to me, that don't jive with me.
Steve Bousquet awarded Pam Bondi the well-earned title of political loser of the week.
Pam Bondi. The attorney general, who immediately appealed a South Florida court ruling overturning Florida's same-sex marriage ban, is becoming the face of opposition to marriage equality. All signs point to the tide of history rolling over Bondi, who is up for re-election in November.
Hysterical sidenote: Bondi has been divorced twice. I don't think Bondi's divorces are a threat to the institution of marriage. The same holds true for gay people marrying.
Rick Scott Hates Answering Questions About Gay Marriage
The Miami Herald political reporting staff has been hounding Gov. Rick Scott on his position on gay marriage. Circuit Judge Luis Garcia has declared that the Florida ban on gay marriage violates the equal protection clause in the United States Constitution.
Political reporters across the state have been trying to get a straight answer from Scott on various subjects. Scott is a talking points machine that panics when he goes off script. Scott's refusal to answer questions have made national news. Scott's canned response was hysterically feautured on The Rachel Maddow Show.
Scott gave a sort of answer to The Miami Herald on gay marriage. Basically, Scott doesn't support gay marriage being legal in Florida.
Q: “Gay rights groups say that the marriage ban discriminates against them but proponents of the ban say that judges are now discriminating against their votes. You have said you are against discrimination. Which kind of discrimination are you against?”
A: “First off, as we know in 2008 the voters of the state decided that marriage would be between man and a woman, traditional marriage. It's gone to the courts. The courts will end up deciding. The Attorney General is doing her job. She is appealing it which is her job to defend the Constitution. In my case I believe in traditional marriage. Also I don’t want anybody discriminated against. We will see what the courts do.”
Q: “How did you vote in 08 on that?”
(Scott’s response was so quiet I couldn’t hear him.)
Q: “What?”
A: “I would have voted for the traditional marriage.”
Scott whispered when attempting to give a canned response answer. Scott is a disaster with the media. The more serious matter is Floridians have a right to know where Scott stands on policy matters. What Scott fears is if people actually knew he was a crony capitalist they wouldn't vote for him.
US district judge John Heyburn wrote an epic smackdown in his decision against Kentucky's gay marriage ban. Heyburn calls out the stupidity of the state of Gov. Steve Beshear's arguments and states the only logical conclusion is the state wishes to discriminate against gay people.
"These arguments are not those of serious people. Though it seems almost unnecessary to explain, here are the reasons why.
Even assuming the state has a legitimate interest in promoting procreation, the Court fails to see, and Defendant never explains, how the exclusion of same-sex couples from marriage has any effect whatsoever on procreation among heterosexual spouses. Excluding same-sex couples from marriage does not change the number of heterosexual couples who choose to get married, the number who choose to have children, or the number of children they have.
The state's attempts to connect the exclusion of same-sex couples from marriage to its interest in economic stability and in 'ensuring humanity's continued existence' are at best illogical and even bewildering…The Court can think of no other conceivable legitimate reason for Kentucky's laws excluding same-sex couples from marriage."
Beshear contends marriage is only for making babies. How romantic.
Even if Baker were not preclusive, Plaintiffs’ equal protection claims fail. Same-sex couples are materially different from traditional man-woman couples. Only man-woman couples can naturally procreate. Fostering procreation serves a legitimate economic interest that is rationally related to the traditional man-woman marriage model. Thus, same-sex couples are not similarly situated to man-woman couples, and the distinction drawn by Kentucky’s statutes is rationally related to a legitimate interest of Kentucky.
Is Kentucky the American version of China and now has made the procreation of its citizens public policy? That is a scary thought. As Judge Heyburn noted, the state of Kentucky failed to provide any evidence that gay marriage would effect birth rates. The reason is that there is no evidence. Straight people aren't going to stop fucking and having babies if gat people wed. The argument by Beshear is pure bullshit.
"You’re either really dumb or you’re secretly worried that dicks are delicious."
Joe Rogan, gay activist, on the two reasons why people oppose gay marriage.
I have been looking on foodie blogs but haven't found any good recipes for dick.
Rick Kriseman Comes Out In Support of Gay Marriage
Equality Florida made this statement on Facebook.
We applaud St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Kriseman for signing the Mayors for the Freedom to Marry initiative today! "By signing this pledge, we’re taking one more step towards creating a city of opportunity where the sun shines on all who come to live, work and play.” Click "like" to thank Mayor Kriseman for supporting marriage for all Floridians!
Gravis Market Poll on Scott, Crist and Gay Marriage
Gravis Marketing has Charlie Crist leading Gov. Rick Scott in its poll. Crist leads Scott 46 percent to 36 percent.
A problem for Scott is his high 52 percent disapproval rating.
Scott has had plenty of time to get Floridians to warm up to him. Scott has horrible media and people skills. Scott's policies have been unpopular with the public. Another example of how voters feel Crist is less robotic than Scott. Crist has a 13 point lead on who understands average Floridians.
Gay marriage activists should be happy about the poll more people support gay marriage than oppose.
The poll has a 3 percent margin of error. Gravis Marketing tweeted me this repose to my question.
Republican Lynne Osterman Regrets Her Vote For DOMA
Former Republican Minnesota state legislator member Lynne Osterman admitted she voted for the Defense of Marriage Act for "politically expedient" reasons. Osterman tearfully told Minnesota legislators that she regrets her vote. Osterman asked that Minnesota elected officials voted to make gay marriage legal.
I served as a Republican because of my interest in smaller government. And it was incredibly counter-intuitive to me to then upon my arrival, tell citizens how the government wanted them to live their lives. I didn’t’ come to St. Paul to single out same-sex couples and their families. But in my only term as a member…..[long pause, tearing up] I cast a politically expedient vote in favor of DOMA and I have regretted that ever since…
Nothing in my life says it’s OK to treat people differently than how I would want to be treated— fairly, respectfully, equally. And that’s really what this conversation is about. Whether you believe in big government or small, do you believe in fair, respectful, equal? Is it ever OK to say “well, except for those people”? …
I blew my vote. And I’m imploring you, please get this right. Minnesota citizens just want you to lead.
Gay marriage became legal in Minnesota in May. I had a Twitter discussion with Litbrit about President George W. Bush's evolving position on gay marriage. Litbrit feels Bush doesn't deserve a pass. I'm not interested in pardoning Bush. However, I never believed Bush and Karl Rove cared about the Christian Right. In fact, there is evidence they looked at Christian conservatives with disdain. Bush and Rove were cynically willing to use gay marriage as a wedge issue. Lynne Osterman is guilty of the same thing.
We need elected Republicans to support gay marriage and abortion rights. The truth is the majority of so-called religious leaders that pressure Republicans on social issues have nearly nonexistent followings. Locas Christian Right activists, such as Terry Kemple and David Caton, literally run one man operations. These people aren't that powerful. Republicans have pandered to Christian Right activists because the GOP can't run on income inequality. Mitt Romney is proof of that.
Jim Defede Interviews Ileana Ros-Lehtinen On DOMA & Voting Rights
Jim Defede interviews Ileana Ros-Lehtinen on the Supreme Court's decisions on the Defense of Marriage Act and the Voting Rights Act. Ros-Lehtinen is one of the few elected Republicans that strongly backs gay rights. Ros-Lehtinen wants Congress to pass ENDA. There is little chance that Ros-Lehtinen can get anything done on ENDA in the dysfunctional House of Representatives.
Ros-Lehtinen told Defede that Congress should have hearings on a possible new Voting Rights Act. Ros-Lehtinen admits that racism still exists in pockets of America. However, I don't see her having the same passion for a voting rights hearings that she has demonstrated with gay rights.
Florida Has First Legally Bi-National Gay Married Couple
Florida finally does a progressive first in America. Julian Marsh and Traian “Tray” Popov of Fort Lauderdale are the first bi-natural married gay couple to have their marriage recognized by Popov's green card. Marsh and Popov couldn't marry in Florida because of the state ban against marriage. The couple married in Brooklyn, New York.
Their immigration attorney, Lavi Soloway of New York and California, believes Marsh and Popov’s case will “accelerate change” in Florida.
“That new reality changes the perspective of a lot of Floridians who probably never gave a thought to marriage equality,” said Soloway, co-founder of the DOMA Project for gay and lesbian binational couples.”
Soloway, who said he represents “scores” of similar couples in South Florida, is pleased the first gay couple to get a green card is from the Sunshine State.
No matter how Gov. Rick Scott feels about gay marriage; he can't legally change the fact that Marsh and Popov are legally a married couple.
This comes as a shock to no one. Gov. Rick Scott is going to defend Florida's ban on gay marriage. The Supreme Court's repeal of DOMA be damned.
"It impacted federal law, not state law," Scott said of the high court's 5-4 ruling. "In 2008, Florida voters amended our constitution and said that we are a traditional marriage state, that marriage is between a man and a woman. As the governor of this state, I'll uphold the law of the land, and that's the law of our state."
Scott goes on.
Asked whether he has reconsidered his position on the issue, Scott replied: "Look, I've been married since I was 19. I believe in traditional marriage."
Does Scott even know what "traditional marriage" is? Is Scott saying that he supports the days when his ancestors were forced into arranged marriages? "Traditional marriage" is merely a talking point that Republicans use when they don't want to admit that they are discriminating against a group of people.
President Barack Obama called Proposition 8 plaintiffs Paul Katami, Kristin Perry and Sandra Stier from Air Force One. Obama congratulated the plaintiffs on their Supreme Court victory. It is a nice moment for three people whom have been fighting for their civil rights.
"Who cares?"
Nancy Pelosi, House Minority Leader, on Rep. Michele Bachmann's comments against the Supreme Court's decision on the Defense of Marriage Act.
Pelosi was asked about a statement Bachmann released.
"Marriage was created by the hand of God. No man, not even a Supreme Court, can undo what a holy God has instituted," Bachmann said in a statement.
"For thousands of years of recorded human history, no society has defended the legal standard of marriage as anything other than between man and woman. Only since 2000 have we seen a redefinition of this foundational unit of society in various nations.
If you are not religious then you don't believe that marriage was a tradition started by God. Bachmann is entitled to her beliefs. Bachmann cannot prove her believe with empirical evidence that the institution of marriage was created by a higher power. I also wonder when did "foundational" become a word.
If Bachmann wants to talk about traditional marriage then she has to address arranged marriages or young daughters traded for land or livestock. I doubt Bachmann will be that candid.
Equality Florida May Challenge State Gay Marriage Ban
Equality Florida sent out a press release stating that they are willing to challenge the Florida constructional ban against gay marriage.
"As the entire country awaits the Supreme Court's rulings, it is time for all who believe in equality and
fairness to take a clear stand on the right side of history," the organization's executive director Nadine
Smith said in a conference call.
More:
"While the fastest path to marriage equality in Florida is not yet certain, we do know that we will not just
wait," Smith said. "We intend to win marriage, and all options are on the table including new legal challenges
and the possibility of going back to the ballot to overturn Florida's discriminatory ban."
I change in the Florida constitution would require 60 percent approval from voters. You can thank Republicans for making that undemocratic 60 percent threshold.
Gov. Rick Perry makes the twisted argument that people that support gay rights are bigots.
“The underlying problem is that there is this very vocal, very litigious minority of Americans willing to legally attack anybody who dares utter a phrase or even a name that they don’t agree with,” Perry said. “In a twisting of logic, they insist on silencing the religious in the cause of tolerance. Now I ask you, where is the tolerance in that?”
Perry doesn't realize it, but he made the arguyment that the Defense of Marriage Act is constitutional. The First Amendment states that "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof." Perry and others like him wish to legally impose their religious views on other Americans. That is clearly unconstitutional and religious bigotry. Perry doesn't realize that people in America have the right to disagree or not paticipate in any religious faith. America isn't Afghanisthan under the Taliban.
Personally, I think Perry is doing some projection with his comment that gay rights advocates are intolerant. If Perry really was a devout Christian he wouldn't be so willing to execute immates. The Bible repeatedly states that murder is a sin. I doubt Perry supports a literal interpretation of Leviticus 24:17.
Anyone who takes the life of a human being is to be put to death.
That passage could be used by Perry to support his use of the death penalty. A selp-proclaim biblical literalist like Perry would also have to sentence himself to death, in order to obey God's law. I would advise Perry to ignore that passage of the Bible.
Hillary Clinton's Support of Gay Marriage Comes Late
Former Sec. of State Hillary Clinton has filmed a video for the Human Rights Campaign. In the video, Clinton announces her support of gay marriage.
I personally think that Clinton has been too afraid of gay rights issue in the past. Clinton has flipped-flopped on her support of DOMA. This is what Clinton's spokesman Phil Singer told Ben Smith of Politico in 2007. It doesn't pass the laugh test.
Clinton spokesman Phil Singer adds, "Sen. Clinton backed the Defense of Marriage Act because it enabled us to fend off right wing attacks like the Federal Marriage Amendment by keeping marriage as the purview of the states. She believes DOMA served an important purpose in that respect. Marriage should be left up to the states.
The Christian Right had zero chance of adding the Federal Marriage Amendment to the Constitution. Adding amendments to the Constitution is extremely difficult. The real reason DOMA was passed was because President Bill Clinton was running for re-election in 1996. Clinton was in full trianglation mode. Clinton feared getting attacked on gay marriage. The result was President Clinton throwing the LGBT community under the bus.
House Speaker John Boehner tells Martha Raddatz, of ABC News, that he will not compromise his position on gay marriage. There are no exceptions in Boehner's world.
MARTHA RADDATZ (HOST): Can you imagine yourself in a situation where you reversed your decision as Portman has on gay marriage if a child of yours or someone you love told you they were gay.
BOEHNER: Listen, I believe marriage is a union between one man and one woman. It’s what I grew up with, it’s what i belive, it’s what my church teaches me and I can’t imagine that position would ever change.
The conservative LGBT group, GOProud, has not been allowed into CPAC. The simple reason GOProud is not allowed is because GOProud supports gay rights. MSNBC conservative pundit SE Cupp boycotted CPAC because GOPRoud was not allowed to attend.
"It just became increasingly uncomfortable to align with an event, a great event in many ways, that had nonetheless attempted to marginalize a really important group of conservatives working on our behalf," Cupp said. "For us to sort of slap them on the face and say, we no longer want your services or we're embarrassed by you and ashamed of you and we'd like to put you in the back of the tent just felt really dismissive and disrespectful."
Sen. Marco Rubio said at CPAC that the Republican Party doesn't need new ideas. If the Republican Party wants to stick to the old ideas of marginizing gays, women and brown people than they can expect to keep losing elections. The Democratic Party will take the voters that the Republican establishment casts aside.
Update: when Republicans have to defend their position on gay marriage by saying they are not bigots, you know they are losing the argument. Case in point is Marco Rubio.
"Just because I believe that states should have the rights to define marriage in a traditional way does not make me a bigot," Rubio said during his Thursday speech. While the line drew applause, it was tepid compared to the reaction to his statements on abortion that followed.
Hillsborough County Commission Fails on Domestic Registry
The Hillsborough County Commission voted against a domestic registry for same sex couples. The domestic registry would have allowed straight and gay unmarried partners to have hospital visitation rights and involvement in financial decisions.
The board voted 4-3 against creating a Domestic Partnership Registry for Hillsborough County.
Commissioners Victor Crist, Ken Hagan, Al Higginbothom and Sandra Murman voted against the motion. Commissioners Les Miller, Kevin Beckner and Mark Sharpe voted in favor.
Republican Mark Sharpe put the domestic registry up for a vote. Sharpe deserves praise for bucking his party on this issue. The four nay votes were all cast by Republicans. This was a chance for the commission to lead on gay rights. Once again the commission pandered to conservative intolerance.
If Charlie Crist wants to be the Democratic nominee for governor in 2014, he is going to have to give a better answer on his position on gay marriage. The media Marc Caputo asked Crist about the Governor signing a petition in 2006 to make gay marriage illegal in the Florida Constitution. Crist gives a nonanswer.
"Would I do it today? No," Crist said. "I think the best way to judge where my heart is is to look at the deeds that I have done, whether as attorney general, governor - restoration of rights, civil rights cases, things of that nature that I think show a compassionate heart and hopefully someone who cares and knows who the boss is -and the boss is the people of Florida."
I never thought of Crist as a bigot. He is a politician and like all politicians will cave to political pressure. If Crist runs from his past he is going to eventually sound like Mitt Romney. Crist needs to address his past and explain why he is in the place he is today. Wishing that people forget that he was a Republican will not work for Crist.
Update the reporters at The Buzz filed the original story. Marc Caputo did not ask Crist about the anti-gay marriage petition.
Conservatives such as Rick Warren and Rick Santorum would have you believe that gays and lesbians are a threat to marriage. Buzzfeed has emotional photos of gay and lesbian couples finally being able to marry. Some of these couples have been together for decades.
I look at these photos and see the joy on the faces of couples finally allowed to legally marry. I don't see the decline of America that fearmongers would have you believe. One of my favorite photos from the Buzzfeed article is of a marquee with the words "Love Wins."
