Freep This Ohio Poll

Right here. (Tipped by JMG reader RFW)

Rep. Tim Huelskamp: Gay Marriage Hurts The Economy, Rejects Laws Of Nature

Rep. Tim Huelskamp appeared on Tony Perkins' radio show last night to flog the latest attempt to pass the Federal Marriage Amendment. "This is National Marriage Week. What a better time to call your members of Congress and say, 'What are you doing to protect marriage? What are you doing to protect children and our economic well-being?"

Palin Calls For Constitutional Convention

"Tired of Government Gone Wild? Here's What We Can Do About It! Our Founders put a special sort of 'emergency cord' right into Article V of our Constitution as a last resort to rein in our wayward federal government drunk on its own power. That article gives states the power to call a convention for the purpose of proposing amendments to the Constitution.

"Three states have already successfully passed legislation calling for a Convention of the States, and right now it’s Virginia’s turn. We need every patriot to step up and remind lawmakers in the Old Dominion why we support the Convention of States.

"By calling a Convention of the States, average citizens can stop the federal spending spree, power grabs, and other abuses by proposing amendments to rein in the federal government. After the states draft, debate, and vote upon these proposed amendments, they will then be sent to all 50 states for ratification, and three-quarters of the states must agree for any of the proposed amendments to be ratified.

"The beauty of this process is that neither the President nor Congress has the authority to stop it. It is truly in the hands of We the People. This idea is really the last recourse of the citizens to rein in DC and restore our country to a Constitutionally limited federal government." - Sarah Palin, in a Facebook post that has been liked over 100K times. I'm sure you can imagine the nature of the first ten or so new amendments that would be proposed.

RELATED: The 2015 push for a constitutional convention is the work of a group calling themselves Citizens For Self-Governance, a Texas-based outfit headed by the founder of Tea Party Patriots. The top article of their site today (SHOCKER) is about religious liberty. Perhaps obviously, the first and so far only Constitutional Convention took place in 1787.

Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore Has The Same-Sex Marriage Sadz

"As Chief Justice of the Alabama Supreme Court, I will continue to recognize the Alabama Constitution and the will of the people overwhelmingly expressed in the Sanctity of Marriage Amendment. I ask you to continue to uphold and support the Alabama Constitution with respect to marriage, both for the welfare of this state and for our posterity. Be advised that I stand with you to stop judicial tyranny and any unlawful opinions issued without constitutional authority." - Alabama Supreme Court Justice Roy Moore, in a letter to Gov. Robert Benchley.

Moore's letter goes on to call on the Alabama legislature to issue a formal resolution which would demand that Congress convene a constitutional convention for the purpose of approving an amendment that would ban same-sex marriage nationwide. Moore's proposed amendment goes further than the one just introduced by Sen. Ted Cruz, which would limit marriage decisions to state legislatures.

Here's the text of Moore's amendment: "Nothing in the Constitution or in the constitution or laws of any state shall define or shall be construed to define marriage except as the union of one man and one woman and no other union shall be recognized with the legal incidents thereof in the United States or any place subject to their jurisdiction." (Tipped by JMG reader Jeremy)

PREVIOUSLY ON JMG:  Moore was booted from office in 2003 for refusing to remove a copy of the Ten Commandments from his courtroom. He ran unsuccessfully for Alabama governor in 2006 and 2010 and was reelected as Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice in 2012. Upon his reelection, Moore handed over the leadership of the anti-gay group he founded to his wife, Kayla Moore. That group, the Foundation For Moral Law, filed a September 2014 SCOTUS brief in support of an Alabama woman who wants to prevent her late son's widower from inheriting his estate. That same month the Foundation For Moral Law called on SCOTUS justices Kagan and Ginsberg to recuse themselves from all same-sex marriage cases. In May 2014 Roy Moore declared that the First Amendment only applies to Christians.

Gov. Bobby Jindal Backs Latest Attempt To Pass Federal Marriage Amendment

FLASHBACK: Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL)

"I thank the Senator from Nevada for his courtesy. I will speak about Callie--known as Ginny--Granade, who will be voted on shortly for the U.S. district judgeship for the southern district of Alabama. Ginny Granade is a nominee of the highest order. President Bush has nominated her to be the judge in the southern district of Alabama. She has the temperament, integrity, legal knowledge, and experience that will make her an outstanding jurist on the Federal bench. I know this from firsthand experience. Ginny is levelheaded, fair minded, trustworthy, and very smart.

"I suggest in the filling of this vacancy with Ginny Granade as a Federal judge, we are going to have done a good day's work. Her experience and practice make me confident that the lawyers and the litigants in the Southern District of Alabama will enjoy and appreciate their opportunity to be in the courtroom she will control and preside over." - Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL), in his 2002 Senate speech endorsing the nomination of the judge who yesterday overturned his state's ban on same-sex marriage.

BUT WAIT, THERE'S MORE: One year later Sen. Jeff Sessions co-sponsored Senate Joint Resolution 26, also known as the Federal Marriage Amendment: "Marriage in the United States shall consist only of the union of a man and a woman. Neither this Constitution, nor the Constitution of any State, nor State or Federal law, shall be construed to require that marital status or the legal incidents thereof be conferred upon unmarried couples or groups." (Groups!)  Not incidentally, the original text of the Federal Marriage Amendment was written by future (and now former) NOM chairman Robert George, with an assist from failed Supreme Court nominee Robert Bork.

Bill Donohue: All Catholics Must Support Constitutional Ban On Gay Marriage

"God got tossed again this week when Obama called for homosexual marriage to be recognized as a constitutional right. In doing so, he teed up a confrontation between our long established constitutional right to religious liberty and this newly invented right to gay marriage. Contrary to what many have said, this issue is not over. Were it not for unelected judges overturning the express will of the people—in state after state—attempts to subvert marriage, properly understood, would not have succeeded. We need to return power to the people by considering a constitutional amendment.

"The time is ripe for Catholics to support the efforts of Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone, the bishops’ point man on marriage. In February, he called for support of the federal Marriage Protection Amendment. As any astute political science undergraduate knows, there is no constitutional right to gay marriage. But now that this issue has been thrust upon us by our constitutional law professor president, we need to affirm marriage between a man and a woman in the U.S. Constitution." - Bill Donohue, writing for the Catholic League.

Ralph Reed: Federal Marriage Ban Is Dead

Former Christian Coalition head Ralph Reed says that the Federal Marriage Amendment, which is still being flogged by the likes of NOM, is effectively dead. Michelangelo Signorile interviewed Reed at CPAC this weekend:

Reed, who in his speech at CPAC attacked "left-wing bullies" whom he said forced Gov. Jan Brewer to veto an anti-gay bill in Arizona and railed against the Obama administration for fomenting a "war on religion," said in an interview with me on SiriusXM Progress that he doesn't "know of anyone [among possible GOP contenders] who plans to run for president in 2016" who supports gay marriage. However, agreeing that no potential GOP 2016 candidate has yet to come out in favor of a federal marriage amendment, Reed conceded that it would be "trying to put the genie back in the bottle." "Even if you passed a federal marriage amendment," he said, "I would assume it would grandfather in anyone who's been married, so I don't know. It was always a very difficult option. I don't think we ever got 50 votes in the U.S. Senate for that amendment. So, we always knew that the amendment was going to be very difficult to pass."

AGAIN: Brian Brown Re-Re-Re-Renews Call For Federal Marriage Amendment

"We are encouraged by the Supreme Court's putting the brakes on the lawlessness in Utah this week. By its unanimous decision to grant a stay, the Supreme Court shows that the Justices recognize when the rule of law is being flouted and when judicial activism has run amok — even those liberal Justices who voted for the flawed majority decision in Windsor! The granting of this stay changes the momentum in a very real way and slows the stampede of rabid same-sex marriage bullies who are willing to trample over the rights of everyone else in order to get their way. There's no telling how many true constitutional rights these radicals would run roughshod over to gain their prize of a faux right to genderless 'marriage' and a regime under which Christians and others are relegated to second-class citizen status. We must take advantage of this momentum shift and petition Congress today calling for decisive action for the protection of our fundamental liberties. Surely the Justices on the Supreme Court are not the only ones in Washington who have noted the absurd arrogance and brazen overreaching of the deceptively-named 'marriage equality' movement." - Hate group leader Brian Brown, in a 3000-word email that once again flogs an anti-gay amendment to the federal constitution, which won't happen in a million motherfucking years.

NOM Cheers First Democrat To Back Federal Marriage Ban Amendment

Brian Brown is thrilled.

It has been announced that the first Democrat (hopefully of many!) has joined as a cosponsor: Rep. Nick Rahall of West Virginia's 3rd District! Rep. Rahall's support proves once again that marriage is an issue that cuts past partisan politics and special interests, speaking universally to our shared common sense principles, such as every child's right to have both a mom and a dad. The progress already made on getting this amendment to a vote on the floor of the House is only possible because NOM supporters like you band together and take the time to tell your elected leaders that you, and the majority of Americans, stand for marriage — and that those who represent us in Washington need to do the same.

One Democrat and a very measly 39 out of 234 House GOP members have signed on as cosponsors of a bill that wouldn't have the remotest fuck of a chance of passage even if every Republican backed it. But Brian Brown has do something to keep snatching those Social Security checks from the hands of seniors.

Liberty Counsel: We Can Stop Gay Marriage Just Like We Stopped Slavery

NOM Flogs Federal Marriage Amendment

It's not happening in a million years, but the dough WILL roll in. Screencap by former NOM employee Louis Marinelli.

GOP Rep. Tim Huelskamp: The Supreme Court Has Attacked Jesus Christ

As I reported earlier this week, Huelskamp is planning to reintroduce the Federal Marriage Amendment, which has ZERO chance of passage. Image source.

MEHLMAN REDUX: FL Gov. Charlie "Closet Case" Crist Supports A Federal Anti-Gay Marriage Amendment

THIS POST IS UPDATED.
In a transparent ploy to appeal to the teabaggers backing his GOP Senate opponent Marco Rubio, Florida Gov. Charlie "Closet Case" Crist today told CNN that he supports amending the U.S. Constitution to ban same-sex marriage.

“When it comes to marriage, I think it is a sacred institution, I believe it is between a man and a woman,” Crist said, “but partners living together, you know, I don’t have a problem with it.” “It’s just how I feel,” Crist added. Anti-gay activists have repeatedly pushed Congress to consider a Federal Marriage Amendment, but it has never gathered enough support to pass. The amendment was a central issue in the 2004 presidential election.

Of course, Dubya's mouthpiece on the Federal Marriage Amendment was Quisling Ken Mehlman. Sometime around 2016 we'll see Closet Case Charlie come out a la Mehlman, telling us that he was secretly working from the inside to keep the anti-gay GOP at bay.

UPDATE: Now Closet Case Charlie takes it back.

"In an interview that aired today, I was not discussing an amendment to the U.S. Constitution banning same-sex marriage, which I do not support, but rather reaffirming my position regarding Florida's constitutional ban that I articulated while running for Governor. In fact, the interviewer's question reflected just that. I am fully supportive of civil unions and will continue to be as a United States Senator, but believe marriage is a sacred institution between a man and a woman."

FLASHBACK: Mehlman Supports 2005 Federal Marriage Amendment

In January 2005, GOP Sen. Wayne Allard (CO) introduced the Marriage Protection Amendment (a verbatim restating of the earlier failed Federal Management Amendment) with 21 Senate GOP co-sponsors. Later that year the bill was approved for review by the full Senate Judiciary Committee. Newly appointed RNC chair Ken Mehlman gave the bill his full support to reporters at an Ohio GOP fundraiser that March.

During his Akron remarks, Mehlman put forth political and policy statements often viewed as anti-gay. “Republicans are for government that stands on the side of marriage,” he said, “and on the side of strong families.” After the dinner, he was asked by a reporter about the GOP’s support for the so-called Marriage Protection Amendment, introduced in the House last week by Rep. Dan Lundgren of California. Mehlman made it clear that he supports the amendment. “I don’t think it’s anti-gay,” said Mehlman. “I don’t think the intent is to be anti-anything.”

Members of the Cleveland Log Cabin Republicans attending the dinner expressed disappointment that Mehlman evaded questions about his sexuality. "He almost said it," one pouted. The above-linked story notes no such LCR regret about Mehlman's support for permanently enshrining anti-gay legislation in the motherfucking federal Constitution.

DC Wingnut Blames Dick Cheney For Failure Of Federal Marriage Amendment

One of the good failures of Dubya's administration was the non-passage of the Federal Marriage Amendment (FMA), which would have required approval by Congress and by a two-thirds majority of all the state legislatures. Any amendment to the U.S. Constitution would be an enormously ambitious undertaking - much less one with scant support from half of Congress. But the virtual impossibility of the FMA's passage doesn't seem apparent to DC's Bishop Harry Jackson, who, in light of Dick Cheney's recent endorsement of same-sex marriage, now says that it may have been Cheney himself who scuttled the FMA.

Jackson, a Washington-area pastor and chairman of the High Impact Leadership Coalition, says ironically, at the same time President Bush "lost steam" on the marriage issue in 2006, Dick Cheney's daughter Mary was talking openly with the media regarding her lesbian lifestyle. Bishop Jackson"I believe that Cheney's own ambivalence that has now manifested itself into what seems like a backhanded pro-gay approach was one of the things that kept the President [Bush] from going forward," he contends. "So, I'm outraged that we've been promised things by the GOP -- specifically by the president -- that haven't really come into fruition." Last week Dick Cheney suggested to reporters that he supports same-gender marriages.

RELATED: In 2004 Dubya secretly paid NOM head Maggie Gallagher $21,500 to write opinion pieces in support of the FMA.

LCR Unfazed By Palin's FMA Support

After Sarah Palin voiced support for the Federal Marriage Amendment this weekend, blogger Rod 2.0 called up the Log Cabin Republicans to see how they liked her now.

After being contacted by Rod 2.0. Log Cabin Republican President Patrick Sammon discounted Palin's influence as a potential vice president and added the gay Republicans are "glad McCain agrees with us."

We disagree with Gov. Palin on this issue, but we're glad that Sen. McCain agrees with us. The president sets the policy for the administration. Sen. McCain twice voted against the federal marriage amendment and continues to believe the states should decide this issue.

An interesting contradiction. When Palin was selected, her policy background was a bonus. When she breaks with McCain on positions, a reminder the president "sets the policy" for the administration.

Read Rod's entire post here.

Sarah Palin Comes Out For The Federal Marriage Amendment

Sarah Palin appeared on the Christian Broadcast Network yesterday to tell host David Brody that she supports the Federal Marriage Amendment, something her running mate has opposed. It's the first time Palin has publicly offered an opinion on the FMA.

Brody: On Constitutional marriage amendment , are, are you for something like that?

Palin: I am, in my own, state, I have voted along with the vast majority of Alaskans who had the opportunity to vote to amend our Constitution defining marriage as between one man and one woman. I wish on a federal level that that's where we would go because I don't support gay marriage. I'm not going to be out there judging individuals, sitting in a seat of judgment telling what they can and can't do, should and should not do, but I certainly can express my own opinion here and take actions that I believe would be best for traditional marriage and that's casting my votes and speaking up for traditional marriage that, that instrument that it's the foundation of our society is that strong family and that's based on that traditional definition of marriage, so I do support that.

She's not going to tell people "what they can and can't do", but is certainly willing to pass a federal law that does so.