The Foundation for Moral Law, an Alabama-based legal institution, took issue with last week's order by U.S. District Court Judge Callie Granade, in which she purported to bar state officials from enforcing Alabama's marriage amendment. "Article VI, Section 2 says the Constitution, federal laws, and federal treaties are the supreme law of the land; it says nothing of federal court decisions," Foundation Senior Counsel John Eidsmoe said. "Nothing in the Constitution says every federal, state, and local official has to march to the beat of a federal judge’s drum, no matter how erratic that drumbeat may be."
As suspended Alabama Chief Justice Moore awaits his trial, the federal judge who created Alabama's marriage license controversy in January of 2015 has renewed her attack, again claiming that Alabama's Sanctity of Marriage Amendment is unconstitutional. U.S. District Judge Callie Granade of Mobile issued an order Tuesday, purporting to block enforcement of the amendment once and for all.
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts jumped on the transgender bathroom bandwagon on June 1, when its House of Representatives voted 116-36 to move forward with a bill that legally replaces the concept of biological sex with that of gender identity. The “Gender Identity Public Accommodations Bill,” or H.4343, seeks to further push for transgender “anti-discrimination” laws in three separate parts.
U.S. Sen. Mike Lee of Utah has written an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act that would remove the provision that requires women to register for the Selective Service. The amendment would also force the Pentagon to prepare a report for Congress by July 2017 about whether the Selective Service is even necessary and if registration should be required regardless of gender. The amendment is also sponsored by GOP Sens. Ted Cruz of Texas, James Inhofe of Oklahoma, Mike Rounds of South Dakota, Ben Sasse of Nebraska, and Roger Wicker of Mississippi.
Last week, the Washington Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) released a document that instructs public schools to begin teaching students about gender identity at a very young age. Now, OSPI Communications Manager Nathan Olson says those standards are merely recommendations, not requirements. "State learning standards are the required elements of instruction," Olson said. "Outcomes provide the specificity to support school districts in meeting each standard in each grade level."
Kindergarten used to be a place for children to learn how to add, subtract, and read. Next year, Washington school children as young as five years old will instead be learning about gender fluidity and the differences between gender and sexual identity. The newly-minted health and physical education standards, released by the Washington Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI), will be implemented in schools across the state for the 2017-2018 school year.
The head of Georgia’s ACLU chapter heightened the bathroom debate this week when she stepped down in protest of the group’s push to let men into women's bathrooms. Maya Dillard Smith said Thursday she resigned because she was met with hostility when she questioned the organization’s stance on the policy, adding that she risked being branded a homophobe by even raising her critique. "There are real concerns about the safety of women and girls in regards to this bathroom debate," she said.
A U.S. appeals court on Tuesday denied a motion to reconsider its opinion that a female student must be allowed access to the boys' bathroom at a Virginia high school. The Gloucester County School Board had asked the full U.S. Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals to review the decision by a three-judge panel last month in favor of Gavin Grimm, a student at the local high school. The request was denied.
Last week, New York City’s Human Rights Commission created a new list of 31 protected gender identities from which New Yorkers can now choose. The list includes labels such as "two-spirit," "pan-gender," "third sex," and "gender gifted." Crossdressers, drag kings, and drag queens are also included as fully-protected identities under the ordinance. Businesses that don’t respect and accommodate any of the 31 protected gender identities could face fines of up to $250,000.
On Friday, the Alabama Supreme Court voided its earlier decision that allowed the birth mother of three children to prevent her former female partner from having regular visits with the children. The court originally refused to recognize the other woman as a parent, but has now reversed that ruling. Not participating in the court's decision was Chief Justice Roy Moore, who was suspended while he faces a judicial ethics hearing linked to his public opposition to same-sex "marriage."
On Friday, Liberty Counsel filed a federal lawsuit against the Alabama Judicial Inquiry Commission (JIC) on behalf of Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore, raising constitutional challenges to the charges brought against Moore and the automatic removal provision of the Alabama Constitution. Liberty Counsel is asking the court to immediately reinstate the Chief Justice. "The JIC has no jurisdiction over an Administrative Order of the Chief Justice," said Mat Staver, Founder and Chairman of Liberty Counsel.
Officials in 11 states joined together on Wednesday, May 25 to sue the Obama Administration and challenge its radical policy that would force “elementary and secondary schools that receive federal funds” to open bathrooms, showers, changing rooms, and other facilities to individuals of either sex. The states represented in the lawsuit include Texas, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Utah, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Arizona and Maine.
The lawyer representing suspended Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore said Thursday that the Judicial Inquiry Commission (JIC) has hired John Carroll to be the prosecutor in Moore's ethics case. Carroll is the former legal director of the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), the same group which filed the ethics complaints against Moore to the JIC. "I have almost no words for this corrupt and unjust system," Mat Staver, Founder and Chairman of Liberty Counsel, which represents Chief Justice Moore, stated in a press release.
House conservatives on Thursday blocked passage of a relatively uncontroversial energy and water spending measure after Democrats attached an amendment that would bar federal contractors from discriminating against "lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender" people. The appropriations bill failed 305-112, with many Republicans opposed because of the anti-discrimination provision. Democrats also heavily voted against it over objections to other add-ons.
On Monday, Charlotte’s mayor and city council decided not to consider a repeal of the open-bathroom ordinance that prompted the passage of HB2. "I’ve been talking with council members and others throughout this day," Mayor Jennifer Roberts said. "Collectively, we concluded a discussion of HB2 by the City Council tonight would not be helpful." It’s unclear if there was enough support among council members to repeal the ordinance, or if there were enough votes to overcome a potential veto by Mayor Roberts.
A Virginia school board unanimously approved an ordinance on Friday resisting the Obama administration’s transgender bathroom edict and requiring students to use bathrooms and locker rooms that correspond with their biological sex. The ordinance, which immediately took effect, allows public school students in Grayson County, Virginia, to request to use a single-stall facility but prevents them from accessing facilities that don’t correspond with their biological sex.
Supporters of suspended Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore called for his reinstatement Saturday at a rally at the state judicial building in Montgomery. Among other speakers was Sen. Dick Brewbaker, who called the Judicial Inquiry Commission's decision an "outrageous abuse of process." "This is all over an administrative order . . . The JIC was never set up to ride herd on every administrative decision made by the chief justice as the head administrator of the courts," he said.
On Saturday, May 21, the Alabama Republican Party Executive Committee passed a resolution calling on the unelected Alabama Court of the Judiciary to drop the charges leveled against Chief Justice Roy Moore by the unelected Judicial Inquiry Commission (JIC)."[W]e call on the Court of the Judiciary to drop the politically motivated charges against Chief Justice Roy Moore," the resolution stated. Alabama Republicans also called upon the legislature "to pass legal changes that would prevent the political removal of statewide elected officials, unless done so by the elected legislature of the state."
Sanctity of Marriage Alabama announced Thursday that Kayla Moore (wife of Chief Justice Roy Moore and President of the Foundation for Moral Law) and State Senator Dick Brewbaker (R-Montgomery) will be among the speakers to address supporters of Chief Justice Roy Moore at a statewide rally on Saturday. For more information visit www.iStandWithJudgeMoore.com, Facebook: Sanctity of Marriage Alabama, or call (334) 220-2319.
The legal backlash against President Obama’s transgender restroom policy in public schools and universities hasn't stopped. On Wednesday, Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry said the order lacks not just the force of law, but any constitutional standing or common sense. "President Obama and his appointees do not have legal authority to require our children to share locker rooms and bathrooms with children of the opposite sex," Landry wrote in a letter to state educational leaders. Landry added that he is consulting with other state attorneys general about the next legal moves necessary to secure federal educational funding.
The U.S. Senate has confirmed the nomination of Eric Fanning to the position of Army secretary, making him the first openly homosexual leader of a U.S. military service. The confirmation comes eight months after President Obama nominated Fanning to the position. The nomination is the latest in a series of policy changes and appointments the Obama administration has made in an effort to advance the homosexual agenda. Last month, Obama announced the hiring of the first openly transgender White House staffer.
The White House has received a large amount of backlash from conservative state officials after it instructed public schools across the nation to let boys and girls share the same bathrooms. Leading the charge against the Department of Education's guidance was Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who proclaimed that Texas would not yield to "blackmail from the president of the United States." "We will not sell out our children to the federal government," Patrick said at a press conference Friday. "There is no compromise on this issue."
North Carolina Lt. Gov. Dan Forest responded Friday to President Obama's directive that every public school in the United States open up its bathrooms to both genders. "North Carolina public schools in receipt of the President's letter are reminded that there is a binding state law on the books governing bathroom policy and the President's non-binding directive is merely his attempt to push his version of a social policy on our state with no Constitutional authority to do so," Forest said. "It should be rejected as a matter of principle and policy."
North Carolina Senate Leader Phil Berger (R-Rockingham) responded Friday to the Obama administration’s bathroom directive: "The last time I checked, the United States is not ruled by a king who can bypass Congress and the courts and force school-aged boys and girls to share the same bathrooms and locker rooms," Berger said. "This is an egregiously unconstitutional overreach of the president's authority, and North Carolina's public schools should follow state law which protects our children’s safety and privacy."
Supporters of Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore will rally in Montgomery next week to oppose his suspension by the Alabama Judicial Inquiry Commission. “It’s time to show up. It’s time to speak. It’s time to actually care enough to do something," a flyer advertising the rally said. The event will be held in Montgomery on May 21st at 11:00am. Event details can be found at IStandWithJudgeMoore.com.