Rudy Giuliani Doubles Down: Obama Has Been Influenced By Communists

From the New York Post:

Rudy Giuliani doubled down on his claims that President Obama doesn’t “love America” in an interview with The Post Friday — claiming the commander-in-chief has been influenced by communists since his youth. “From the time he was 9 years old, he was influenced by Frank Marshall Davis, who was a communist,” Giuliani said. The ex-mayor added that Obama’s grandfather introduced him to Davis, a writer and labor activist. Giuliani also said another bad influence on Obama was Saul Alinsky, a community organizer whom the ex-mayor called a “socialist.” The man once called “America’s mayor’’ also sharply criticized the president for having been a member of a church led by radical Chicago Rev. Jeremiah Wright. “He spent 17 years in the church of Jeremiah Wright, and this is the guy who said ‘God damn America, not God bless America,’" Giuliani said.

Last night Giuliani told CNN that he's been getting death threats since his initial comments. Meanwhile Republicans have been distancing themselves from Giuliani, with one GOP strategist saying that independent voters are looking that them saying, "These people are crazy."

UPDATE: The New York Daily News points out the Giuliani shouldn't be criticizing anybody's upbringing as his own father was a draft-dodging felon and reputed mafia enforcer.

Panti Bliss: May 23rd Could Be So Gay That The Earth's Orbit Is Affected

Drag legend Panti Bliss points out to the Irish Sun that not only will the results of Ireland's marriage referendum be official on May 23rd, the Eurovision finals are also that day. Panti: "May 23rd has the potential to be so gay that the Earth's orbit is affected." Embiggen the image to read the full story.

Tea Party Report With Susie Sampson

Fake Tea Party reporter Susie Sampson took to the streets to poll passersby on same-sex marriage. She ran into some interesting people.

Freepers Are Furious With Jeb Bush

As you'd expect, Free Republic readers are furious with Jeb Bush over the appointment of an openly gay man to head the communications team of his 2016 campaign. Not that they have any love for Bush in the first place. A few sample comments:

"This is a big mistake. I don't know why everyone feels the need to cave to these homo militants. Somebody is giving Jeb the wrong advice. I predict this homosexual activist is going to damage the campaign because of his disorder. I suspect he is a Dem plant."

"More proof that Jeb means to be anointed without the need for conservative votes of the base. Tim Miller’s communications could have been easily vetted to see he is against conservatives. Jeb is doing this with the support of Tokyo Rove and the GOP-E. We need to wake up and have a new party, with our own candidates."

"If he’s not intentionally sabotaging his own candidacy then he is indeed too stupid to be president."

WYOMING: GOP Rep Ejected From Room During Successful LGBT Rights Vote

Yesterday a Wyoming House committee approved an LGBT anti-discrimination bill but only after ejecting a ranting GOP rep from the chamber.

Senate File 115 would add “sexual orientation or gender identity” to existing laws that protect people from discrimination based on race, religion, age and other protected classes. The bill had previously passed the Senate and now moves to the House floor for debate. Rep. Harlan Edmonds, R-Cheyenne, was kicked out of the House Labor, Health and Social Services meeting Friday, after proposing an amendment to the bill that would make it effective when “hell freezes over,” instead of the date of July 1. Committee Chairwoman Rep. Elaine Harvey, R-Lovell, had started the Friday afternoon meeting insisting people would remain civil. She told Edmonds to leave after his comment, which followed a more than two-hour discussion in which he also asked the bill’s supporters why pedophilia wasn’t in the bill. “We said civility would prevail,” Harvey said. Senate File 115 passed with six representatives in favor and two in opposition.

Note that the ejection was ordered by the Republican chair of the committee. Edmonds tried to vote before leaving the room but the committee chair told him that his vote would not count. Among those testifying in opposition to the bill were the Catholic Diocese of Cheyenne and Wyoming Pastors Network.

Richard Grenell: CPAC Uninvited Me

Grenell, you may recall, was part of the Romney 2012 team for a few minutes until the religious right went nuts.

DUBAI: 80-Story Tower Is On Fire

The fifth-tallest residential building on the world is on fire in Dubai at this writing. The 80-story building is called the Marina Torch and was completed in 2011. Daytime photos of the building are here. Gulf News reports:

People being rescued from the tower with smoke inhalation injuries. A resident said the fire alarm went off at 2.05am. "There have been three fire alarms every week recently and all were false. This time I heard it and said it must be false. But then I smelt smoke. I took my wallet and ran down along with my wife. We live on the 59th floor." Thousands of people have been evacuated and the fire is getting worse, according to witnesses. Chunks of masonry on fire are falling. The fire seems to have started about level 51. High winds are causing the fire to spread rapidly, says a witness.

Headline Of The Day

Details.

WASHINGTON: Anti-Gay Florist Rejects $2000 Settlement, Prefers Martyrdom

Via the Associated Press:

A florist who refused to provide flowers for a gay wedding has rejected an offer from the Washington state attorney general to settle a discrimination case by paying a $2,000 fine and agreeing to sell bouquets for same-sex ceremonies in the future. “Our state would be a better place if we respected each other’s differences, and our leaders protected the freedom to have those differences,” Barronelle Stutzman wrote in a letter Friday to Attorney General Bob Ferguson. She wrote that gay couples are allowed to act on their views, but “because I follow the Bible’s teaching that marriage is the union of one man and one woman, I am no longer free to act on my beliefs.” Stutzman, 70, owner of Arlene’s Flowers in Richland, Washington, had earlier said she plans to appeal a judge’s ruling that she broke a state anti-discrimination law.

Perhaps obviously, Alliance Defending Freedom is hoping to turn Stutzman's case into a federal issue that would establish the national right to refuse to serve LGBT Americans.

Mat Staver: Gay Marriage Turns Kids Gay

TEXAS: AG Asks State Supreme Court To Invalidate Travis County Marriage

Via the Austin Statesman:

Attorney General Ken Paxton on Friday asked the Texas Supreme Court to confirm that the marriage license issued to an Austin same-sex couple a day earlier was void. As the product of a “trial court’s improper order,” Paxton argued, the marriage license was never legally valid. Paxton argued that the Supreme Court’s Thursday stay, which blocked an order by state District Judge David Wahlberg, confirmed that the state’s ban on same-sex marriage remained in effect, voiding “any same-sex marriage in Texas, no matter when or where it was entered into.” Sarah Goodfriend, left, and Suzanne Bryant were married Thursday by Rabbi Kerry Baker in Austin. Wahlberg’s ruling ordered Travis County officials to issue a marriage license to Sarah Goodfriend and Suzanne Bryant, leading to their wedding Thursday morning. In addition to voiding that marriage, Paxton asked the Supreme Court to make it clear that lower courts cannot rule on the constitutionality of the state’s ban on same-sex marriages while the issue is being reviewed by the Texas and U.S. Supreme Courts.

The attorney for the couple maintains that the marriage was valid at the time it was officiated.

Jeb Bush Names Out Gay Man To Head Communications Team On 2016 Campaign

Via Politico:

Jeb Bush plans to name Tim Miller, executive director of America Rising PAC, as his top communications aide, Republican sources told POLITICO on Friday. Miller initially will be a senior adviser to Bush’s Right to Rise PAC, and is expected to become communications director if Bush launches his campaign. Kristy Campbell, who has been the PAC’s chief spokesperson, likely will be national press secretary of the campaign, or have some senior communications adviser role. Miller is an aggressive, younger operative who can be expected to inject a pugilistic style into Bush’s high command. America Rising – based in Arlington, Va. — is the two-year-old GOP opposition-research group that relentlessly spattered Democratic Senate candidates during the last cycle.

How long until he gets the same treatment Richard Grenell got from Mitt Romney?

UPDATE: Jeremy Hooper has compiled some of Miller's pro-gay tweets and attacks on anti-gay conservatives.

TEXAS: Petition To Repeal Plano LGBT Rights Ordinance Ruled Totally Invalid

From the Dallas Morning News:

A Plano petition drive aimed at the city’s LGBT ordinance is invalid, the city has announced. Last month, opponents of the city’s Equal Rights Ordinance say they turned in petitions containing more than the 3822 signatures required to force the City Council to repeal the measure or put it on the ballot.

Plano officials say the petition contained false information about the ordinance, claiming that it regulates bathrooms. “By making this false representation, the Equal Rights petition asked signees to repeal an ordinance that does not exist,” according to a statement issued by the city.

The petitions did not include a copy of the ordinance, as required by the City Charter, and did not include a a column for the county of voter registration, as required by the Texas Election Code, according to the city. Plano officials say they sent an email to the organizing groups prior to their deadline to inform them of some of the problems, with links to the appropriate websites.

BOOM. Read the full statement from the city.

Thomas Peters Has The Florist Sadz

Barronelle Stutzman is actually many years from being an octogenarian, but that doesn't work so well in the right's "little old lady" scenario.

Ice Shuts Down NYC Ferry Service

The wind chill this morning was a record-setting -15.

Wingnuts: Gay Marriage Is Like Slavery

Founded by former NOM chairman Robert George, the Witherspoon Institute today argues that the Supreme Court's Windsor ruling is just like Dred Scott, the infamous 1857 ruling which held that African-Americans could not be considered citizens. From their site Public Discourse:

In legal form and substance, the decisions in Windsor and Dred Scott are surprisingly parallel. Windsor involved a same-sex marriage that was recognized by the state of New York but not recognized by the federal government due to the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). The Court held that DOMA denied “due process of law” because it withheld federal recognition to a state-law legal status. That is exactly the same thing the Court did in Dred Scott. Instead of marriage, Dred Scott involved the status of slavery, which was recognized by the state of Missouri, but not by federal law in federal territory. Scott’s master, a captain in the army, had taken Scott to Fort Snelling, in the free federal territory of present-day Minnesota. The federal Missouri Compromise of 1820 banned the status of slavery in federal territory north of a designated line. Dred Scott held that the Missouri Compromise denied “due process of law” because it withheld federal recognition to a state-law legal status. That is just what Windsor did with respect to DOMA.

In both Dred Scott and Windsor, the Court’s legal analysis was transparently result-oriented: the justices wanted a particular result, and manipulated the law to reach the outcome they thought preferable as a social-policy matter. In both cases, the majority’s “reasoning” wanders aimlessly before finally settling into the same oft-discredited judicial invention of “substantive due process”—the idea that it is simply morally wrong, or mean, for a democracy to deny a legal right or status conferred under the law of a different jurisdiction. In both cases, the majority opinions were subject to devastating dissents, and they produced greatly divided public reaction. It is hard to avoid the conclusion that Dred Scott and Windsor are two peas from the same judicial-activist pod.

Public Discourse is the occasional blogging home of Mark Regnerus and Ryan Anderson.

Eurovision 2015: Italy's Entry

Pop opera trio Il Volo won Italy's Eurovision contest last weekend and since I'm not finding a clip of that performance, below is the rather odd production clip for their entry, which already has over 6M views and has spawned a viral parody. So far about half of the competing nations have selected this year's winners and with the slight exceptions of Italy and Denmark's boy band entry, none of the acts seem very interesting. We've certainly seen nothing that lives up Eurovision's often over the top glizt and glam standards.

Chris Christie Joins CPAC 2015 Roster

CPAC organizers today announced the addition of Chris Christie to this year's speakers roster. Christie, as you may know, is one of the far-right's most detested Republicans and many of the Tea People will likely not be too pleased about this. Curiously, CPAC regular Mike Huckabee has declined this year's invitation.

BRITAIN: Gay-Bashing Murderer To Get Gay-Married In First For Prison System

A British killer convicted in a gay-bashing murder will marry a fellow murderer in a first for that nation's prison system. Via the Daily Mail:

Mikhail Ivan Gallatinov, 40, who was jailed in 1997 for what a judge labelled a ‘callous, chilling killing’, is to marry fellow prisoner Marc Goodwin. Goodwin, 31, was the leader of a gang that roamed the streets of Blackpool looking for homosexuals to attack. He was jailed for life with a minimum of 18 years in 2007 after being found guilty of murdering Malcolm Benfold, 57, who was beaten to death. His trial heard that he and two friends had agreed to go ‘gay bashing’. Goodwin and Gallatinov – who strangled 28-year-old gay man Adrian Kaminsky – met while behind bars, according to the Daily Mirror. They have been given official permission for the ceremony at HMP Full Sutton, Yorkshire. No details of the wedding have been revealed, although a notice of the marriage has reportedly been posted at the register office in the nearest town, Beverley. On the notice, both men give their occupation as bar staff.

Other British killers have been permitted to marry women while behind bars. (Tipped by JMG reader Kent)

ALABAMA: Human Rights Campaign Files Demand To See Emails Of Roy Moore

Whoa. From the Human Rights Campaign:

Today, HRC Alabama filed an Alabama Open Records request for the government email and phone records of Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore. HRC Alabama wants to determine whether Chief Justice Moore concocted an organized plan to stop same-sex marriages by enlisting two anti-LGBT groups –the Alabama Policy Institute (API) and the Alabama Citizens Action Plan (ALCAP) -- to file emergency petitions to the Alabama Supreme Court. These same records would also reflect whether Justice Moore violated judicial codes of conduct by encouraging probate judges to deny LGBT couples their constitutional right to marry.

Last week, the two anti-LGBT activist groups, API and ALCAP, filed an emergency petition to the Alabama Supreme Court, hoping to stop marriage equality across the state. On Friday, the Alabama Supreme Court voted 6-2 to take up the petition. Justice Moore did not vote. Responses to the petition were due at 5 p.m. Wednesday.

“We want to know whether Justice Moore inappropriately used the power of his office to direct legal strategy in a case before his own court,” said HRC Alabama State Director R. Ashley Jackson. “Judge Moore is no stranger to questionable legal ethics and Alabamians have the right to know whether their chief justice has acted inappropriately once again. We ask Justice Moore to come clean and voluntarily hand over these files.”

According to Alabama Open Records Law § 36-12-40 et seq., HRC Alabama has requested to publicly inspect Moore’s email communications containing the following terms: gay; lesbian; homosexual; marriage; or Granade. HRC Alabama has also requested the phone records from January 23, 2015 to present. The listed time frame begins from the day U.S. District Judge Ginny Granade struck down Alabama’s discriminatory ban on marriage.

(Tipped by JMG reader Str8 Grandmother)

New York City And New York State Sue UPS For Shipping Untaxed Cigarettes

Via Reuters:

New York City and New York state sued United Parcel Service Inc. on Wednesday, seeking over $180 million in damages and penalties against the shipping company for allegedly delivering nearly 700,000 cartons of untaxed cigarettes across the state. The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Manhattan, accuses UPS of cheating the state and city of $29.7 million and $4.7 million, respectively, in tax revenue, according to a statement from New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman. The deliveries mostly originated from smoke shops on Indian reservations in New York state and were shipped to unlicensed wholesalers and retailers as well as residences in New York and nationwide, according to the lawsuit. The deliveries, which violated both federal and state laws, were made despite a 2005 agreement between UPS and the state in which the company agreed to stop cigarette shipments to individual consumers and unlicensed dealers, Schneiderman said.

A similar suit filed last year against FedEx remains pending. Cigarettes sold in New York City are taxed an extra $5.85 per pack.

FINLAND: President Signs Marriage Bill

Finnish President Sauli Niinistö this morning signed his nation's marriage equality bill into law, but marriages will not commence until March 2017.

The signing was an historic occasion also in respect to the fact that this will be the first piece of legislation brought to Parliament as a citizens' initiative and approved as the law of the land. Now that the law has been confirmed by the President, the Justice Ministry will begin the job of revising other national legislation to bring it into line with the concept of gender-neutral marriage. According to officials, various family social and health entitlements will have to be examined and revised, as will the law on the legal status of registered same-sex couples. Revisions are to be submitted to Parliament this coming autumn. Parliament passed the final changes to marriage law to allow same-sex marriage in December. The legislation was based on a citizens' initiative petition signed by 167,000 voters.

New York High Court Drops Felony Charge Against Man In HIV Exposure Case

Via the Associated Press:

An HIV-positive man who told a partner that they could safely have unprotected sex should face a misdemeanor reckless endangerment charge, not a felony, New York's highest court ruled Thursday. The Court of Appeals said Terrance Williams didn't expose his partner "out of any malevolent desire" to give him the virus that causes AIDS, though he lied about having the infection and his partner did get sick. The court said the Syracuse man didn't show "depraved indifference," which is necessary to support the felony charge. The judges declined to decide whether HIV infection no longer "creates a grave and unjustifiable risk of death" because of advances in medical treatment. Two lower courts had reached that conclusion while knocking down the felony indictment to the lesser charge. The felony could have sent Williams to prison for seven years. He still faces the misdemeanor and a possible year in jail if convicted.

Unlike many states, New York does not have a law that specifically criminalizes exposing others to HIV. The map below is from the CDC.

NEBRASKA: Judge Vows Quick Action On Request To End Marriage Ban

Judging by the tweets of those in the courthouse, things went very well at yesterday's marriage hearing in Nebraska. Via Omaha's NBC affiliate:

A federal judge is promising quick action on a request to tell the state of Nebraska that it immediately must recognize same-sex marriages while a lawsuit challenging the state's gay marriage ban proceeds. A hearing before U.S. District Judge Joseph Bataillon in Omaha began at 2 p.m. Judge Battaillon said he hasn't seen a courtroom this full in a while. A number of same sex couples were on hand anxiously waiting a decision. He said while he would act swiftly, he didn't expect a decision today. The judge already decided not to delay the lawsuit in Nebraska while the U.S. Supreme Court is considering the issue. The American Civil Liberties Union of Nebraska filed the motion for an injunction that would order the state to recognize same-sex marriages. The lawsuit was filed in November by seven same-sex couples seeking to have their marriages recognized despite the state's ban passed by voters in 2000.

We might know as soon as Monday. In the first clip below, ACLU lawyers speak first, then you'll hear from the plaintiffs. In the second clip Nebraska Attorney General Doug Peterson holds a lengthy post-hearing press conference. (Audio is rather low.) Petersen predictably warns of "chaos" if couples get married before he can get a stay from the Eighth Circuit Court.

SOUTH AFRICA: Black Group Withdraws From Cape Town Pride, Claims Racism

Via the Independent Online:

A lesbian and gay rights campaign organisation has hit out at the Cape Town Pride, saying the celebration does not represent the black homosexual community and it will not be supported. “Free Gender has made the decision to continue to suspend its support for the upcoming Cape Town Pride 2015,” said Funeka Soldaat, who is the chairperson of Free Gender, an organisation that campaigns for the rights of homosexuals in Khayelitsha. “The events currently tabled for the upcoming Cape Town Pride are exclusionary and do not represent the black lesbian, gay, bisexual, intersex and transgender community (LGBTI),” she added. Cape Town Pride week starts on Friday and will take place from February 20 to 28, culminating in a pride parade and mardi gras along Cobern, Liddle and Napier streets in De Waterkant.  Response from festival organiser Matthew van As: "Cape Town Pride does not see race or gender, but people willing to put in the effort and time, for free, to create gay spaces to celebrate being gay. We are Capetonians and gay. That is all we are."

Cape Town Pride is the largest such event in all of Africa. Indeed, there are no gay pride events anywhere outside of South Africa. Cape Town Pride begins tomorrow. (Tipped by JMG reader Bruce)

Pope Francis: Transgender People Destroy God's Creation Like Nuclear Weapons

"Let's think of the nuclear arms, of the possibility to annihilate in a few instants a very high number of human beings.  Let's think also of genetic manipulation, of the manipulation of life, or of the gender theory, that does not recognize the order of creation. With this attitude, man commits a new sin, that against God the Creator. The true custody of creation does not have anything to do with the ideologies that consider man like an accident, like a problem to eliminate. God has placed man and woman and the summit of creation and has entrusted them with the earth. The design of the Creator is written in nature." - Pope Francis, in an interview with Italian journalists.

Ireland Sets The Date

Via the Guardian:

Voters in the Irish Republic will decide whether to approve same-sex marriage on 22 May after the Taoiseach announced the date for a referendum. Enda Kenny announced the date that voters in the republic will cast their ballots during an interview on RTÉ television on Thursday night. He said the referendum would underline Ireland’s reputation as a tolerant and inclusive nation. Kenny said that most members of the Irish parliament were in favour of same-sex marriage and that he hoped support for the referendum would be maintained. The proposal to be put to Irish voters will read: “Marriage may be contracted in accordance with law by two persons without distinction as to their sex.” Justice minister Frances Fitzgerald described the wording of the referendum as “clear and precise”. The referendum was backed by both Fianna Fáil and Sinn Féin last month.

Voters will also be asked to decide if the minimum age to run for the Irish presidency should be lowered from 35 to 21.

Freep This Alabama Poll

Right here. (Tipped by JMG reader Paul)

Perkins Attacks Apple Over Fired Lobbyist

"Tech giant Apple was outed for firing an Alabama lobbyist who had supported natural marriage when he was a state legislator! Like FRC's Craig James, who never mentioned his views on the job, Jay Love got the boot for voicing his opinion years earlier as a state legislator. A local Alabama newspaper smoked Love out in a hit piece that no doubt went straight to Apple CEO (and open homosexual) Tim Cook's desk.  Love's contract was terminated the same day. So this is tolerance? The kind that says the biggest publicly-traded company in the world can fire someone for their views? This new Brendan Eich lost his livelihood through the same politics of fear, intimidation, and oppression. Who knows how many will be next if America doesn't wake up?" - Hate group leader Tony Perkins, via email.

Sleater-Kinney - A New Wave

Via Rolling Stone:

If there's a riot grrrl poster child for the 21st century, it's Tina Belcher, the 13-year-old, butt-loving, self-proclaimed "smart, strong sensual woman" at the heart of Fox's animated show, Bob's Burgers. And if she needed an anthem, she got one in the form of Sleater-Kinney's "A New Wave." Sleater-Kinney teamed up with the Bob's Burgers crew for the video for "A New Wave" off their latest LP, No Cities to Love. The clip finds the Washington trio animated and kicking out the jams for Tina in her room, and soon enough they're joined by the other Belcher kids, Louise and Gene. The party rages as the animation grows wilder, and the headbanging only stops for a moment when the Belcher parents, Bob and Linda, notice plaster falling from the ceiling.

TEXAS: AG Says Travis County Marriage Is "Void" But County Clerk Disagrees

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton tonight declared that the marriage performed this morning in Travis County is "void" due to this afternoon's ruling by the state Supreme Court. Via USA Today:

"The Court's action upholds our state constitution and stays these rulings by activist judges in Travis County," Paxton said in a statement. "The same-sex marriage license issued by the Travis County Clerk is void, just as any license issued in violation of state law would be. I will continue to defend the will of the people of Texas, who have defined marriage as between one man and one woman, against any judicial activism or overreach."

According to the Travis County clerk's office, Judge David Wahlberg signed a state court order Thursday, commanding Travis County Clerk Dana Debeauvoir to "cease and desist relying on the unconstitutional Texas prohibitions against same-sex marriage as a basis for not issuing a marriage license specifically to Plaintiffs Sarah Goodfriend and Suzanne Bryant" because Goodfriend has ovarian cancer.

The couple married under the judge's one-time court order. The Texas Supreme Court issued an emergency order blocking gay couples from obtaining marriage licenses after the couple wed Thursday. Despite the attorney general's statement, Debeauvoir said the marriage still stands. In a statement, the clerk's office said, "The Texas Supreme Court order on the Motion for Temporary Relief has stayed further proceedings in the trial court, and is not directed at the County Clerk. "I have every reason to believe that the actions I took this morning were legally correct based on the trial court's order, and that the license my office issued was then and is now valid. There is no further action for me to take at this time," Debeauvoir said in a statement.

The couple has been together for over 30 years.

CHINA: Viral Video Urges Parents To Welcome LGBT Kids Home For New Year

Via Time Magazine:

The video, Coming Home, tells the story of a young man who summons the courage to talk to his mom about being gay, only to be criticized and cast out. After a long period of heartache and estrangement, his mother comes around, tearfully welcoming him home. As the credits roll, real mothers speak directly to the camera, offering words of encouragement and advice to young people facing the journey. The message to parents: “Accept your children, welcome them home.” And for children: “Don’t give up. Your parents might not understand today, but maybe they will tomorrow.” It’s a sentiment that obviously struck a chord: the video has already racked up 100 million views.

Texas Supreme Court: No More Marriages

The Texas Supreme Court has just ordered all county clerks and judges not to issue same-sex marriage licenses.

The emergency action comes following today's wedding of two women in Austin. The same sex couple convinced a judge to order the Travis County Clerk to issue them a marriage license, after a probate judge in the county earlier this week ruled that the state's current Constitutional Amendment that makes marriage only between one man and one woman was illegal. "The Texas Supreme Court has granted a stay of two trial court rulings that Texas' constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriages violates constitutional protections to equal protection and due process of law," The Texas Attorney General's office said this afternoon. "Motions to stay orders by two Travis County judges, one in a probate case and the other a temporary-restraining order granting a same-sex couple a marriage license, were sought by the Texas Attorney General's Office."

Rep. Mike Honda: My Grandchild Is Trans

 Thank you, Rep. Honda!

Matt Baume On The Gay Cake Wars

NEW ZEALAND: Pride GayTM Vandalized

As I reported last week, a New Zealand bank has decorated its Auckland ATMs in celebration of this week's pride events. Today one of the machines was damaged by an as yet unidentified vandal. The bank took to Twitter this after to vow that the machine will be "glittering again in no time." Let's hope we get to see the surveillance tape. (Tipped by JMG reader NZArtist)

Texas Hate Group Has The Marriage Sadz

"The Texas Supreme Court needs to step in immediately and put a stop to this lawlessness and clear disrespect and defiance towards our marriage laws. This rogue ruling is just more evidence that supporters of redefining marriage refuse to play by the rules and some judges and clerks will do anything to advance their own agenda. This is exactly why state legislators are working on laws to hold government officials accountable when they violate our Texas marriage laws." - Texas Values head Jonathan Saenz, whose wife left him for another woman.

Pat Robertson Has The Florist Sadz

"This is outrageous. To tell a florist that she’s got to provide flowers for a particular kind of wedding? What if somebody wanted to marry his dog? She’s got to have flowers for that? What if there’s a polygamous situation where a guy has five wives and he wants to have five ceremonies and she’s going to be forced by the law to provide them flowers? This is crazy!"

CNN POLL: 63% Say Same-Sex Couples Have The Constitutional Right To Marry

From the poll: "63% of Americans say that gays and lesbians have a constitutional right to marry and have their marriages recognized by the law as valid. That's up from 49% in August 2010. Over that time, the share who see marriage as a constitutional right has climbed 15 points among Republicans to 42% and 19 points among Democrats to 75%."

TENNESSEE: Woman Charged With Beating Son For Acting "Feminine And Gay"

 Via the Memphis NBC affiliate:

Neighbors of Jacqueline Alexander are shocked any mother would beat her son for acting “too feminine and too gay.” According to police, Alexander punched her son in the face around 11 p.m. Tuesday at their home on Mt. Moriah Road. “No, that's not right. I mean that's her flesh and blood, her son," said neighbor Tamika Heard. "No, that's not right.” Police say Alexander's son was lying in bed when she accused him of “being too feminine and gay." One neighbor said, “You don't know who you are living around. It's just terrible.” It is not clear how old Alexander's son is, but he appears to live with his mother.

The mother is being held on assault charges.

One Million Moms Vs Free WiFi

Just in via email:

Public Wi-Fi hotspots are attracting pedophiles and sex offenders to McDonald's - where we bring our children to eat and play - and where illegal p-rn can be accessed easily with anonymity. Because there are no filters to block online p-rnography and child p-rnography in these restaurants that so many families like yours and mine frequent, this toxic illegal content is readily available in every Starbucks and McDonald's in America. The best way to combat this growing trend - and to protect our children - is for you and me to pressure companies like McDonald's and Starbucks to implement filtering to block p-rnography on their public Wi-Fi networks. TAKE ACTION: Sign our letter of petition to McDonald's and Starbucks to be delivered to the CEO's of both companies and their Board of Directors. We will include only your name and state on the petition. Your support will help us get protective WiFi in McDonald’s and Starbucks 25,000 combined locations to protect children and families.

The email goes on to vow that One Million Moms will stop unfiltered free WiFi in all public places.

TEXAS: AG Ken Paxton Asks State Supreme Court To Affirm Marriage Ban

Via the Dallas Morning News:

Attorney General Ken Paxton has asked the Supreme Court of Texas to reaffirm the state's ban on same-sex marriage after a probate judge ruled that the ban was unconstitutional. In a news release issued Wednesday, Paxton said Probate Judge Guy Herman's "misguided ruling does not change Texas law or allow the issuance of a marriage license to anyone other than one man and one woman." Paxton late Tuesday filed emergency motions with the state Supreme Court seeking to overturn Herman's ruling and uphold the statewide ban. He said that Herman "committed a clear abuse of discretion" by declaring the ban unconstitutional, adding that Herman's ruling may compel same-sex couples to seek marriage licenses in Texas — and district clerks to mistakenly grant them.

This morning Paxton, Gov. Greg Abbott, and Sen. Ted Cruz are attending the Texas Legislative Prayer Breakfast to "stand up for the rule of law." So all the haters were in the same room today when the news broke out of Travis County. Snork!

BREAKING: First Texas Same-Sex Marriage License Issued By Travis County Clerk, Couple Marries Immediately UPDATE: Judge's Order Only Applies To Them

Via the Austin Statesman:

Two Austin women were legally married Thursday morning after a Travis County judge ordered the county clerk to issue a marriage license. Sarah Goodfriend and Suzanne Bryant, together almost 31 years, said their vows before Rabbi Kerry Baker while standing in front of the Travis County Clerk’s Office sign on Airport Boulevard. The couple was denied a license in the same office building eight years ago. On Wednesday morning, state District Judge David Wahlberg, petitioned by a lawyer for Goodfriend and Bryant, ordered Travis County Clerk Dana DeBeauvoir to grant the couple a marriage license. The ceremony was a mix of personal – with friends and their teenage daughters, Dawn and Ting, standing nearby – and public statement, with photos of their vows in front of the county sign.

More from Burnt Orange Report:

With careful consultation by County Attorney David Escamilla the legal grounds for DeBeauvoir to issue the first of its kind marriage license was set. The ceremony was conducted just outside Travis County’s main office on Airport Blvd. just after 9 a.m. It was crucial that a plan be worked out in such a way that the marriage could be validated before anyone in opposition could react or be tipped off. There is no legal way for the state to invalidate a marriage other than with the consent of individuals or by death, so this will further put the burden on the state to find a compelling interest for denying marriage, not to mention the horrible optics that come with trying to void a consensual marriage.

It appears that the judge's order may only apply to this one couple.

UPDATE: Yup, just this one couple.

UPDATE II: Freedom To Marry reacts.

This is a historic day for fairness and equality in Texas. The family that Suzanne and Sarah have built together over more than three decades of commitment to each other mirrors the love between so many same-sex couples in Texas, all of whom deserve the freedom to marry. The 5th Circuit should quickly affirm Texas’ lower court ruling and ensure the freedom to marry across the Lone Star State.

CPAC Bans Log Cabin Republicans

"The American Conservative Union has the right to invite or not invite whoever they want to the Conservative Political Action Conference, but they should be honest about the reasons why. The ACU is fond of hiding behind a fig leaf stating gay people are welcome as guests, but the ability to buy a ticket to CPAC was never what our debate was about; indeed, I will be attending CPAC, as will hundreds of other Log Cabin Republicans members and supporters. Make no mistake: LCR is actively being prohibited from sponsoring CPAC.

"For our organization, this has always been about contributing to CPAC as sponsors or in some recognized capacity. Time and again, when we showed the ACU that we met the criteria for sponsorship, the reasons for our exclusion changed. The only conclusion that can be made is that the organizers of CPAC do not feel gay people can be conservative - a position opposed by the thousands of Millennial CPAC attendees who have been asking Log Cabin Republicans for months if we would be participating at this year's event. We owed it to them to explain why we are not." - Log Cabin Republicans head Gregory Angelo, via email.

Angelo's email goes on to tick off on a long list of positions which align with the goals of CPAC. Top on that list is the repeal of Obamacare. The on-again off-again inclusion of homocon groups has long roiled CPAC and caused very entertaining infighting among its participants. Last year the now-defunct GOProud was allowed to attend after two years of being banned, but were prohibited from purchasing booth space.

NEW YORK CITY: Basher Pleads Guilty To Hate Crime In 2013 Gang Attack On Couple, Gets Only Two Years Probation

A New York man charged in a 2013 gang attack on a gay couple outside Madison Square Garden yesterday pleaded guilty to a hate crime. His plea arrangement will result in a sentence of only two years of probation.

Martin Martinez was arrested in October 2013, four months after he and a group of Knicks fans came across Nick Porto and Kevin Atkins walking arm-in-arm on Eighth Avenue, according to police. The group of fans hurled homophobic slurs at the then-couple and beat them, breaking Porto’s nose and Atkins’ wrist, authorities said. Porto, 29, said he approved of the guilty plea. "I actually his respect his honesty," he told DNAinfo. "I think that speak volumes on whether or not he’s actually learned something." Martinez, who was 25 at the time of the attack, pleaded guilty to aggravated harassment in the second degree, a hate crime with a promised sentence of two years probation, the Manhattan district attorney’s office said. The misdemeanor involves physical contact based on “belief or perception regarding such person’s race, color…or sexual orientation,” according to the penal code. Martinez’s sentencing is set for March 30.

Porto says he plans to file a civil suit against all eight of his attackers, all of whom were caught on surveillance video.

Kaplan & Windsor For "The People's Brief"

Clip description:

The Human Rights Campaign has launched an unprecedented “People’s Brief” to the U.S. Supreme Court. Roberta Kaplan, the leading civil rights litigator who won a landmark Supreme Court ruling in United States v. Windsor striking down Section 3 of the discriminatory Defense of Marriage Act in 2013, is the author and lead counsel on the brief. The historic effort, joined by Edie Windsor as first signer, gives every American a chance to share their view on marriage equality with the Supreme Court. Sign today.

The HRC says they are not harvesting the contact details of those who sign the brief.

GLAAD & GMHC Enlist Alan Cumming As Spokesman For FDA "Celibacy Challenge"

From the Celibacy Challenge site:

The FDA recently announced that gay and bisexual men may finally be allowed to donate blood after being banned for life since the ’80s—but only if they remain celibate for one year. So straight guys can have safe sex with woman after woman and still donate blood. But gay and bi men who have had safe sex for an entire year—even with a monogamous partner—would still be banned. Sounds like discrimination to us. Sign this petition to pressure the FDA to screen all prospective blood donors based on risk, regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity.

You'll enjoy the clip.

Tammy Bruce Joins CPAC Roster

CPAC 2015 is next week and organizers are now dribbling out their second and third string participants. Announced yesterday was homocon radio shrieker Tammy Bruce, who once sat on the board of GOProud. For those unaware, Bruce's hobbies are endorsing anti-gay politicians, using the word gaystapo, and attacking the appearance of Hillary Clinton.

Erick Erickson Compares Gays To ISIS

RedState editor Erick Erickson has previously called gay Americans "terrorists." Today he flat-out compares us to ISIS in a post about the Washington state florist.

In Denmark, France, and elsewhere we have seen Islamic extremists take lives because of the Islamic extremists’ beliefs. They do not want tolerance. They do not want pluralism. They do not want to show respect to the views of others. They will take life for being offended. There will be no magnanimity and there will be no mercy. In taking life, the Islamic extremists want the public spectacle. They want not just revenge, but they also want to make others fear and second guess doing the same. They want to silence others and drive them from the town square. They use death and violence to do it. Gay rights activists, with few exceptions like Floyd Lee Corkins and the guy in North Carolina last week, have not turned physically violent. But they are intent on destroying any who disagree with them. They will take the homes, businesses, and life savings of any who defy them. They will use the tools of the state and mob action through boycotts, fear, and intimidation to make it happen. They will not kill but they will threaten and scare. The divide between Islamic extremists and gay rights extremists is at death. They meet on the line at destruction.

There have only been a handful of LGBT-related public accommodations cases in the many years since such laws were instituted in fewer than half of the states. But we're terrorists to ask a business to take our money.

Giuliani: Obama Doesn't Love America

"I do not believe, and I know this is a horrible thing to say, but I do not believe that the president loves America. He doesn’t love you. And he doesn’t love me. He wasn’t brought up the way you were brought up and I was brought up through love of this country. With all our flaws we’re the most exceptional country in the world. I’m looking for a presidential candidate who can express that, do that and carry it out. And if it’s you Scott, I’ll endorse you. And if it’s somebody else, I’ll support somebody else." - Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, speaking last night at a Manhattan fundraiser for Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker.

ALABAMA: Haters Plan Another Rally

Since a massive crowd in the tens showed up the first time, Sanctity Of Marriage Alabama is planning another rally this weekend.

Please join Christians from across Alabama for a Sanctity of Marriage Rally at the Alabama State Capitol; Saturday, February 21st, 2015 at 10:00 am. Be a voice for God's definition of marriage - the sacred union between one man and one woman. Another activist Federal Judge is working hard to overturn Alabama’s Sanctity of Marriage Amendment. 81% of voters supported the amendment in 2006. Alabamians are deeply troubled and outraged. Since February 9th, 2015, probate judges in many counties have issued marriage licenses to same-sex couples. Several have refused, and we applaud their resolve. Some of our leaders have cowered and others have stood firm. On a national and state level the voices for homosexual “marriage” have been loud. They want Christians to remain quiet, keep our views to ourselves, keep the Gospel in the confines of our church, and accept defeat by a Federal Judge. But we can not do that. Proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ while the whole nation is talking about marriage - the ultimate picture of Christ’s love for His Bride, the Church.

VIRGINIA: Gay Man Fires Back At Ex-Gay Crackpots With Billboard Of His Own

Remember the PFOX billboard in Virginia? Remember their humiliation when it turned out that the model on their billboard, Kyle Roux, not only isn't a twin but is proudly gay? It gets even better:

Roux thinks that PFOX, which has since taken down the billboard, purchased the photos of him from a stock photography site. Legally, he said, there’s not much he can do. But this week, he’s striking back in his own way. On Wednesday, Planting Peace, a nonprofit organization based in Topeka, Kansas, erected a new billboard down the road from where the PFOX billboard once stood. The new sign, designed in the same color and style as the PFOX billboard and featuring new photographs of Roux, reads: “Dear PFOX: Identical twins? I’m not. I’m gay. Regardless of what you believe I was born gay. And I’m proud of who I am.” Aaron Jackson, the president of Planting Peace, reached out to Roux after media reports surfaced that he was openly gay. Jackson was concerned about young gays and lesbians who might see the billboard.

(Tipped by JMG reader David)

Bible Prophecy In Fifty Shades

"This is about perverted sex, domination, submission, and BDSD." It's also a totally secret message from the Illuminati about "how they plan to bring America into bondage."

WASHINGTON: Anti-Gay Florist Found Guilty In Public Accommodations Case

Via the Associated Press:

A judge has ruled that a florist in Washington state who refused to provide flowers to a gay couple for their wedding violated state consumer protection and anti-discrimination law. In an opinion Wednesday, Benton County Superior Court Judge Alex Ekstrom rejected arguments from the owner of Arlene's Flowers in Richland that her actions were protected by her religious freedom. He said that while religious beliefs are protected by the First Amendment, actions based on those beliefs aren't necessarily. Courts have long held that lawmakers can prohibit discriminatory conduct, and the judge said florist Barronelle Stutzman broke the law when she refused to sell flowers for a same-sex wedding in 2013. Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson and the American Civil Liberties Union of Washington welcomed the ruling.

The wailing has already begun at World Net Daily:

A judge in Washington on Wednesday authorized the “personal ruin” for a florist whose Christian faith prevented her from promoting a same-sex “marriage” and was sued by both the state and the homosexuals. Officials with the Alliance Defending Freedom confirmed that Benton County Superior Court Judge Alex Ekstrom granted a summary judgment in the case against Barronelle Stutzman, so the case won’t proceed to trial now. It had been scheduled for March 23. It was Ekstrom who said last month that Stutzman personally was liable for the claims against her, placing both her business assets and her home and savings at risk. The judge ordered that the state and the homosexuals, who each filed lawsuits, could collect damages and attorneys’ fees from Stutzman. “The message of these rulings is unmistakable: the government will bring about your personal and professional ruin if you don’t help celebrate same-sex marriage,” said ADF Senior Counsel Kristen Waggoner.

What was that we were just saying about the track record of Alliance Defending Freedom?