Two years after a Kentucky county clerk stirred national attention for refusing to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples, a family court judge in the same state announced he will no longer hear adoption cases involving "gay parents," calling his stance on the issue "a matter of conscience."
Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore plans to run in the upcoming special election for Alabama's seat in the U.S. Senate. Moore made his campaign plans official during a news conference on Wednesday. This comes after Moore's politically-motivated suspension was upheld by the special AL Supreme Court.
North Carolina Representatives Pittman, Speciale, Ford, and Brody have introduced House Bill 780, the “Uphold Historical Marriage Act,” which essentially declares Obergefell unconstitutional and states that North Carolina’s marriage amendment remains in effect. Speaker of the House Tim Moore has promised to make sure the bill dies before it gets to the House floor.
Yesterday, the NC House and Senate repealed HB2 and replaced it with a weaker substitute. This came just days after Senate President Pro Tempore Phil Berger and House Speaker Tim Moore announced that they had reached an agreement with Gov. Roy Cooper on the issue. The repeal bill, House Bill 142, passed 32-16 in the Senate and 70-48 in the House.
Chief Justice Roy Moore’s request to cancel oral argument in order to expedite his appeal has been approved by the Special Court. The oral argument in his case was scheduled for April 26, 2017, but that distant date places a great financial hardship on the Chief Justice and his family. Since the case is fully briefed and there is no reason to delay the final ruling, Chief Justice Moore requested that the Special Court cancel oral argument and expedite its decision.
The Justice Department wrote in a motion recently that it needs time to rethink its 2016 request to halt North Carolina’s HB2. The federal judge responded on Friday with a stay that freezes efforts started by lawyers working under President Barack Obama to block the law with a preliminary injunction.
14 Republicans in the NC House of Representatives have signed on as sponsors of HB186, a bill that would fully repeal HB2. Do any of them represent you? Then please give them a call, and let them know that backtracking on principle is not what you elected them for.
Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore has filed a Motion to Expedite his appeal with the special Alabama Supreme Court and is willing to waive oral argument to speed up the resolution of his case.
The Foundation for Moral Law (“Foundation”) has filed an amicus brief with the Texas Supreme Court in Case No. 15-0688, Pidgeon v. Turner. The question before the court is whether Obergefell should be applied narrowly—limited to the issuing of marriage licenses—or broadly, affecting spousal benefits and other incidents of marriage. The Foundation’s amicus brief provides a unique perspective. Arguing that Obergefell is a wholly illegitimate decision with no basis in the Constitution, a pure act of judicial will that usurps the legislative power, the Foundation encourages the justices of the Texas Supreme Court, in fulfillment of their oath to the Constitution, to give it no effect.
President Trump is dropping Obama's transgender bathroom mandate, according to the White House spokesman. The matter of handling school bathroom policies for gender-confused students should be left to states, White House spokesman Sean Spicer said Tuesday.
A new bill filed in the NC House of Representatives would fully repeal HB2 and change North Carolina's non-discrimination laws to match those of the federal government. Republican representatives Chuck McGrady and Ted Davis Jr. are listed as sponsors of the bill, along with Democratic representatives Ken Goodman and Marvin W. Lucas. Sorry folks, but being "bipartisan" isn't admirable if it means compromising on principle.
In a 9-0 decision, the Washington State Supreme Court upheld the punishment of florist Barronelle Stutzman, who was fined last year for declining to participate in a same-sex "wedding" ceremony.
North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper unveiled a proposal to repeal HB2 at a news conference Tuesday morning. Lt. Gov. Dan Forest and the NC Values Coalition have responded to Gov. Cooper, explaining why nothing good can be expected from his so-called "compromise" proposal.
Many thanks to Tennessee legislators Sen. Mae Beavers and Rep. Mark Pody for sponsoring the Tennessee Natural Marriage Defense Act. The bill declares Obergefell unconstitutional, and orders all state officials to treat it as such. Let's pray the bill makes it through committee, and that legislators in other states would introduce similar measures.
To fully understand the investigation and permanent suspension of Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore by the Court of the Judiciary, The Alabama Political Reporter filed a Motion to Intervene and Unseal Court records about the case on October 19, 2016. In a 4-3 decision on February 3, 2017, the Special Supreme Court selected to hear Moore’s appeal denied APR’s request.
The White House said on Monday that President Trump would leave in place a 2014 Obama administration order that forbids federal contractors from discriminating on the basis of sexual behavior. "President Trump continues to be respectful and supportive of L.G.B.T.Q. rights, just as he was throughout the election,” a statement from the White House said. "The president is proud to have been the first ever G.O.P. nominee to mention the L.G.B.T.Q. community in his nomination acceptance speech, pledging then to protect the community from violence and oppression."
During his confirmation hearing Tuesday morning, Attorney General-designate Sen. Jeff Sessions took on questions about Obergefell and same-sex "marriage." "Supreme Court has ruled on that, the dissents dissented vigorously, but it was 5-4 and five justices on the Supreme Court, the majority of the court, has established the definition of marriage for the entire United States of America, and I will follow that decision," Sessions said.
In his first in-depth interview since being taken off the bench for a second time, Chief Justice Roy Moore is speaking exclusively to CBS42 about everything: from his potential run at the Governor’s office to his time in the boxing ring in Vietnam. “The Constitution of the United States is our supreme law,” Moore said. “We’ve got to recognize and go back to what it says and what it means. I think a lot of people are tired of the courts overlooking the constitution and ruling according to the seat of their pants.”
The American College of Pediatricians is speaking out against National Geographic’s decision to put a 9-year-old on their January cover who is biologically male but identifies as a girl. American College of Pediatricians president Michelle Cretella said that National Geographic is “promoting a political agenda over science and the wellbeing of innocent children” by displaying the young child as the face for their first ever transgender cover.
In this legislative update on the failed attempt to repeal North Carolina's HB2, state Rep. Larry G. Pittman expresses his continued support for the measure: "We did the right thing in HB 2. When you do the right thing, you should stand by it. The majority of our people across the State, about 62% in my district, agree with HB 2. They deserve the protection it offers our women and children. They also deserve to see that their Legislators have moral integrity and a backbone. I will vote no on any effort to repeal HB 2."
The Obama Administration wanted to force America's 900 thousand physicians to participate in abortions and gender reassignment surgeries. A federal judge just said that's not legal.
Texas could soon follow in the footsteps of Indiana and North Carolina and pass its own bathroom bill in the upcoming legislative session. Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick has made passage of such a bill, which could require all Texans to use the restroom which corresponds to the gender on their birth certificate, a priority. The proposal threatens to split the Texas Republican Party, which controls all three branches of government in Austin. Proponents include the lieutenant governor and the Senate he leads, while House leadership is less enthusiastic. The politically powerful chamber of commerce and the Texas Association of Business both strongly oppose any bathroom bill.
The vote to repeal HB2 failed in the NC Senate last night, and both houses decided to adjourn, leaving HB2 unchanged! Praise to the Lord, for He is good, for His mercy endures forever! The strange thing about last night’s attempt to repeal HB2 was that it was voted down by all the Senate Democrats (because it didn’t go quite as far as they wanted it to) as well as the conservative Republicans (because they didn’t want to repeal HB2 at all). So who ended up voting for the HB2 repeal? Only the liberal Republicans.
The North Carolina House and Senate are in session today to consider a repeal of HB2, the bill that kept Charlotte from forcibly putting men into women’s bathrooms. Conservatives like Lt. Gov. Dan Forest and Rep. Larry Pittman are standing against a repeal, but it’s going to be a hard fight.
An appeals court judge who is on President-elect Donald Trump’s list of potential nominees for the U.S. Supreme Court delivered a ruling on Tuesday that reversed a lower court’s dismissal of a complaint surrounding the denial of a “gay-straight alliance” club at a Florida middle school. 11th Circuit Court of Appeals Judge William Pryor, who also prosecuted Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore in 2003 over his refusal to remove a Ten Commandments monument from the rotunda of the Alabama Supreme Court, wrote the opinion on behalf of his colleagues.