Uniquely Nasty

A new documentary film from Yahoo News:

Yahoo News presents a groundbreaking documentary "Uniquely Nasty: The U.S. Government's War on Gays." The film is a historical investigation into a dark, and little known, chapter of America's recent past, including new details about J. Edgar Hoover's "sex deviates" program and a blackmail threat that led to the suicide of a U.S. senator - an event that haunted a generation of gays in politics.

Marriage News Watch, 7/21/14

Matt Baume of the American Foundation for Equal Rights reports:




And some long-awaited good news today from the White House, the Washington Post reports:

President Barack Obama on Monday gave employment protection to gay and transgender workers in the federal government and its contracting agencies, after being convinced by advocates of what he called the “irrefutable rightness of your cause.”

“America’s federal contracts should not subsidize discrimination against the American people,” Obama said at a signing ceremony from the White House East Room. He said it is unacceptable that being gay is still a firing offense in most places in the United States. . . .

Since Obama announced that he would take executive action, he’s faced pressure from opposing flanks over whether he would include an exemption for religious organizations. He decided to maintain a provision that allows religious groups with federal contracts to hire and fire based upon religious identity, but not give them any exception to consider sexual orientation or gender identity. Churches also are able to hire ministers as they see fit. . . .

The change for federal contracting will impact some 24,000 companies with 28 million workers, or one-fifth of the U.S. workforce. Many large federal contractors already have employment policies barring anti-gay workplace discrimination. However, the Williams Institute at UCLA Law School estimates that the executive order would extend protections to about 14 million workers whose employers or states currently do not have such nondiscrimination policies.

While few religious organizations are among the biggest federal contractors, they do provide some valued services, including overseas relief and development programs and re-entry programs for inmates leaving federal prisons. . . .

Obama also amended an order signed by President Richard Nixon in 1969 to prevent discrimination against federal workers based on race, religion, gender, nationality, age or disability. President Bill Clinton added sexual orientation, and Obama will include gender identity in a change that will immediately take effect.

Popcorn and a Movie: Part II

Did you enjoy yourself at intermisson, guys?  Now that everyone's back in their seats, I'll continue with the discussion - which is as much to summarize and clarify what I know for my own benefit as for anyone else's.  Once again, I'm not a legal expert, just a highly interested observer of these things from afar.

(If you do want to hear a legal expert's opinion on these cases, read the excellent analysis by David Cole, Professor of Law at Georgetown University.  But he won't give you any popcorn or free movies, like me.)

Well, to pick up from Thursday's post, there are a number of ways the Supreme Court could decide the Prop 8 case, depending on which one can get at least five votes. Marty Lederman at SCOTUSblog analyzes at least seven possible rulings.

1. reversal on the merits, upholding Proposition 8 as being constitutional, not discriminatory against gays and lesbians;
2. dismissal of the Proposition 8 sponsors’ petition for lack of appellate standing (leaving the ruling of U.S. district judge Vaughn Walker intact and thus returning same-sex marriage to California immediately, if not sooner);
3. dismissal of the petition as improvidently granted by the Supreme Court – a “DIG” (same result as above); or
4. overturning of the court of appeals’ decision (which upheld what Judge Walker ruled) and sending the case back to the Ninth Circuit for reconsideration in light of whatever the Court does in Windsor, the DOMA case.

and three different ways of striking down Proposition 8, in line with Judge Walker's findings of fact that it does discriminate against gays and lesbians for no good reason:

1. a ruling that applies only to California;
2. a ruling that would guarantee same-sex marriage in the eight states that already offer all the benefits and other incidents of marriage (i.e., most civil unions and some domestic partnerships); or
3. a sweeping ruling that would provide a constitutional right to same-sex marriage nationwide.

After a good bit of argument and analysis, he sees the dismissal on standing grounds or an “eight-state” ruling on the merits as being the most likely outcomes.  He doesn't see a reversal on the merits, or a nationwide ruling, as being within the realm of possibilities for the Court at this time.  I'll leave it up to you guys to go read his analysis and see if you agree.

Many commentators I've read this week do seem to think that, having considered the cases back to back, the DOMA ruling will likely have a major effect on how the high court decides the Prop 8 case.  So let's turn to that now.

Continued after the jump . . .

Screw the Feds, Let the Locals Deal with Irene?

That's the message libertarian fucktard Ron Paul put out yesterday, saying "We should be like 1900; we should be like 1940, 1950, 1960."

Dude has his head so far up his doctrinaire ass, he doesn't even have the facts of history right.  Here's a video I found over at David Mixner's site, detailing the much-needed federal response to the horrific 1938 hurricane that slammed the Northeast, later jocularly called the "Long Island Express."  Judge for yourselves, boys, whether the federal involvement was worth it for the survivors or not:




Hope you fellas up there in the target zone have plenty of cold beer and candles on hand.  Don't forget to fill the bathtub - for flushing - and all the ice chests too.  God bless.


Bonus: This headline from Americablog requires no comment from your Head Trucker --

Boehner and Cantor unsure about emergency aid for hurricane without budget cuts

Big Brother Just Friended You

FYI:  Your New Facebook Friend May Be a Federal Agent.  Or even the local police.

You have been warned.

Also:  Facebook, Twitter, and Google Are Out to Screw LGBT Privacy. If You Let Them.

Change has come to America

. . . . as shown by this statement on the employment application page at the Obama-Biden transition team's new web site, Change.gov:

The Obama-Biden Transition Project does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, age, national origin, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, or any other basis of discrimination prohibited by law.

(Honk to Pam's House Blend)

It's worth noting here that Bill Clinton signed Executive Order 13087, which prohibited discrimination based on sexual orientation in the federal civilian workforce. However, under Bush, the Office of Special Counsel in the Justice Department refused to enforce this policy, and even purged some gay staffers.