Senate Passes Same-Sex Marriage Protections

The US Senate voted 61-36 to pass the Respect for Marriage Act, protecting same-sex marriage nationwide. Twelve Senate Republicans joined Democrats in the vote. The bill will be sent to the House, where it is expected to easily pass before it is sent to President Biden’s desk.

The bill was crafted in response to a Supreme Court opinion by Clarence Thomas questioning the 2015 Obergefell v. Hodges precedent, which legalized same-sex marriage. A July 2022 Gallup poll found that 71% of Americans support same-sex marriage.

More:

“Senate passes bill to protect same-sex marriage,” Andrew Solender,” Axios

“Senate passes protections for same-sex marriages,” Michael Macagnone, Roll Call

“U.S. Senate passes bill to protect same-sex, interracial marriage,” Sheri Walsh, UPI

“Respect for Marriage Act: Senate passes same-sex marriage bill,” BBC News

“Senate passes landmark protections for same-sex marriage,” Al Weaver, The Hill

“Landmark same-sex marriage bill wins Senate passage,” Mary Clare Jalonick, Associated Press

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Gaetz Ex-Girlfriend Talks to Federal Grand Jury

The ex-girlfiend of Florida Man and well-known congressional sleazebag Matt Gaetz (R, FL-1) testified to a federal grand jury investigating him on underage sex-trafficking and other charges. The young woman has been in talks for months with prosecutors about an immunity deal, NBC reports, hoping to avoid prosecution for obstruction of justice in return for testifying as to whether Gaetz paid a 17-year-old female for sex and violated a federal law prohibiting people for paying for prostitutes overseas. This testimony is seen as a sign that the grand jury is moving closer to indicting Trump idolator Gaetz.

More:

“Matt Gaetz’s ex-girlfriend testifies to grand jury in sex trafficking probe,” Marc Caputo, NBC News

Update:

“Matt Gaetz’s ex-girlfriend granted immunity before testifying in sex trafficking probe,” Michael Kaplan, CBS News

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Shocker: Matt Gaetz Marries Adult Woman

Florida Man and well-known congressional sleazebag Matt Gaetz (R, FL-1) took a break from dodging a Justice Department inquiry into underage sex trafficking and traveling across state lines with a married woman to wed 26-year-old Ginger Luckey, merely 13 years his junior, in California. The couple met last year at Mar-a-Lago, of course. The bride markets preservatives you spray on fruits and veggies, and the goateed Gaetz brother-in-law founded a virtual reality company. As to the rest of family, his new sister-in-law called Mr. Gaetz a weird and creepy pedophile.

Congressman Gaetz wanted an Elvis imitator to officiate, but settled for former Rand Paul staffer and Trump fundraiser Sergio Gor, who has the power to marry people because he’s a Libertarian minister or something. It was a small ceremony on Catalina Island. In lieu of gifts, send weird conspiracy theories via Twitter, if you’re not banned.

More:

“Matt Gaetz, Republican in sex-trafficking investigation, marries in California,” AP via The Guardian

“’Trump Was an Inspiration for Me’: Matt Gaetz Tries to Shift the Focus With a MAGA Romance,” Abigail Tracy, Vanity Fair

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In Kentucky, They Really Believe in Marriage

Rowan County Clerk Kimberly Jean Bailey Davis believes in marriage so much, she’s had four of them. She’s making news right now for denying same-sex couples the right to civil marriage, a violation of the U.S. Constitution she swore to uphold. Apparently God told Ms. Davis that it’s okay to violate her oath to Him as well as the 14th Amendment.

For Kim Davis, the Rowan County Clerk’s office must seem like the family business, since her Mom held it for 37 years. Like her daughter, she also swore not to “commit any malfeasance of office” and to “faithfully execute the duties of my office without favor, affection or partiality, so help me God.” The Deity will no doubt settle with Kim Davis later, but Federal District Court judge David L. Bunning will decide if she’ll be held in contempt of court.

As County Clerk, Ms. Davis is paid $80,000 a year to do her job; annual per capita income in Rowan County is $17,094. Unemployment is 6.3%, so there’s room for one more.

Supreme Court: Love Wins, 5 to 4.

On Friday the Supreme Court of the United States announced its ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges. The majority (Justices Kennedy, Ginsburg, Breyer, Sotomayor and Kagan) held that the Due Process Clause of the 5th Amendment and the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment guarantee marriage equality for same-sex couples in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and the territories of the United States. The USA is now one of 21 countries with nationwide marriage equality.

Alabama Supreme Court Secedes From Union Over Same-Sex Marriage

On Tuesday the Alabama Supreme Court ordered the state’s probate judges to stop issuing marriage licenses for same-sex couples, adding yet another wrinkle to a messy situation. The story so far:

On January 23rd Federal District Judge Callie Granade struck down two Alabama state laws banning same-sex marriage.

On February 8th Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore ordered state probate judges to ignore the Federal court ruling.

On February 9th the U.S. Supreme Court refused to stay the District Court’s decision, and on February 12th Judge Granade ordered the Mobile County Probate Judge to issue licenses to same-sex couples, and he and most Alabama judges complied.

On March 3rd, on a 7-1 ruling, with Chief Justice Roy Moore recusing himself, the Alabama Supreme Court issued a 138-page order for probate judges to cease granting marriage licenses to same-sex couples.

So why are Alabama judges standing in the courthouse door to prevent same-sex marriage, in defiance of a Federal court order? Is it … Jesus? Is it the Klan? Is this an echo of Alabama’s 33-year refusal to allow interracial marriage or some kind of nostalgia for the Confederacy?

Maybe. Mostly, it’s just politics. Alabama Supreme Court Judges are elected partisans, and their election depends on symbolic appeals to the state’s Republican Party base.

 More:

“Alabama Supreme Court Throws Tantrum, Defies Federal Judge, Halts Gay Marriages,” Mark Joseph Stern, Slate

Related:

“I Was Alabama’s Top Judge. I’m Ashamed by What I Had to Do to Get There.” Sue Bell Cobb, Politico Magazine

“John Oliver digs into the ‘horrifying spectacle’ of judicial elections,” Sarah Gray, Salon

UPDATE: 

“Alabama GOP proposes bill to let judges opt out of marrying gay couples — and Jews and Muslims too!” Jenny Kutner, Salon

“Ala. Bill Would Let Judges Opt Out Of Performing Gay Marriages,” Caitlin MacNeal, TPM Livewire

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Let’s Hear it for Good Old Nebraska

Judge Joseph F. Bataillon of the United States District Court for the District of Nebraska has issued an injunction ruling that Nebraska’s same-sex marriage ban is unconstitutional, and that as of March 9th, “all relevant state officials are ordered to treat same-sex couples the same as different sex couples in the context of processing a marriage license or determining the rights, protections, obligations or benefits of marriage.”

Nebraska Attorney General Doug Peterson has filed an appeal with the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals.

Alabama Probate Judges Get Remedial Legal Education

On January 23rd Federal District Judge Callie Granade struck down two Alabama state laws banning same-sex marriage. On February 8th Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore ordered state probate judges to ignore the Federal court ruling. On February 9th the U.S. Supreme Court refused to stay the District Court’s decision. On February 12th Judge Granade ordered the Mobile County Probate Judge to issue licenses to same-sex couples, and he complied. But while judges in 23 Alabama counties were issuing licenses to all couples, those in 18 counties were only licencing straight couples and 26 counties weren’t issuing any licenses at all. What gives?

Marriage Equality in the Heart of Dixie

Federal District Judge Callie Granade has struck down two Alabama state laws banning same-sex marriage. Alabama is now the 37th state where same-sex marriage is legal.

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South Dakota Marriage Equality

U.S. District Court Judge Karen Schreier has ruled than South Dakota’s ban on same-sex marriage is in violation of the Due Process and Equal Protection Clauses of the U.S. Constitution. “Plaintiffs have a fundamental right to marry,” wrote Judge Schreier.  “South Dakota law deprives them of that right solely because they are same-sex couples and without sufficient justification.” The judge stayed her ruling pending appeals, which SD Attorney General Marty Jackley has promised. The attorney for the successful plaintiffs intends to appeal the stay.

More:

“Judge strikes down South Dakota gay marriage ban,” Reid Wilson, Washington Post

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