BOSTON: Police Academy Cadets Graduate As First Openly Gay Couple

Via the Boston Herald:

Jimmy Moccia and Shawn MacIver will make a small but significant piece of local history tomorrow. They will become the first openly gay couple to graduate from the Boston Police Academy. Both men scored 100 on their civil service tests. They have been together for five years, and yesterday, in a steady rain, they completed the traditional eight-mile run along with their recruit class 5414, from the police academy in Hyde Park to Schroeder Plaza. Moccia, who grew up in Hyde Park, has a father and brother who are also Boston cops. “I think it’s important to note that throughout the entire academy experience we were never afraid to be ourselves,” he said after yesterday’s run. “I’m not going to lie. I was pretty nervous on the first day back in December,” he said, “I sort of didn’t want people to find out because I didn’t want people to look at me differently. I wanted people to get to know us. We didn’t want to be known as ‘the gay cops.’ We’re cops who just happen to be gay. There’s so many other things we are. Yeah, gay’s on the list, but it doesn’t define us.

The couple met while working as bouncers at a Boston gay club. (Tipped by JMG reader Tristam)

Subpoena Issued For Martin Ssempa In Civil Lawsuit Against Scott Lively

Last month the Center For Constitutional Rights surprised us with the revelation that Ugandan Pastor Martin "Eat Da Poo Poo" Ssempa is a US citizen and is therefore subject to a subpoena in their civil lawsuit against Scott Lively, who stands accused of crimes against humanity. The Ssempa subpoena has now been issued along with a $1900 check to cover his travel expenses to Massachusetts. Ssempa is very prolific on Twitter and has not yet publicly commented there about this development. (Via Equality Case Files)

GLAD: From Goodridge To Obergefell

Important history from GLAD:

"On April 28, 2015, Mary Bonauto will argue before the U.S. Supreme Court for the freedom to marry for all same-sex couples nationwide. In 2001 Mary and Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders (GLAD) filed the case that first brought marriage equality to the U.S. - with the landmark 2003 Goodridge v. Department of Public Health decision in Massachusetts. This is the story of that historic victory, and how far we've come on marriage equality to get us where we are today. Featuring two of the couples who fought to marry in Goodridge, Chief Justice Margaret H. Marshall, Evan Wolfson, Mary Bonauto and more."

NEJM To SCOTUS: Say Yes To Marriage

The New England Journal of Medicine is the nation's oldest continuously published peer-reviewed medical journal. Posted today:

Eleven years ago, Massachusetts became the first state in the country to give same-sex marriages full legal recognition. Today, same-sex marriage is legal, through legislative or judicial action or by popular vote, in more than 35 states and the District of Columbia. It is recognized by the federal government. And polls consistently show that it is supported by a clear majority of Americans. However, in Ohio, Kentucky, Michigan, and Tennessee, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled in favor of laws and constitutional amendments that define marriage as a union between a man and a woman only, denying recognition of same-sex marriage. Given the conflicting lower-court rulings, the Supreme Court has taken the issue under consideration. The Court will hear oral arguments on April 28 and is expected to hand down its ruling by the end of the current session, in June. We believe that the Court should resolve this conflict in favor of the full recognition of same-sex marriage throughout the United States.

Read the rest. (Tipped by JMG reader TJ)

Pastor Eat Da Poo Poo Subpoenaed In Scott Lively Crimes Against Humanity Suit

The Center For Constitutional Rights writes today with the surprising news that notorious anti-gay Ugandan Pastor Martin "Eat Da Poo Poo" Ssempa is actually a US citizen and is therefore subject to their subpoena which demands he appear at Scott Lively's trial for crimes against humanity. From the motion filed in Massachusetts by CCR's client, Sexual Minorities Uganda:

Mr. Ssempa is an anti-gay activist and longtime associate of Defendant. Mr. Ssempa is known for employing forced outings, and “homosexual exorcisms,” and showing graphic pornography to his church congregations, as well as for making threatening statements and taking other actions, in order to deny the humanity of LGBTI individuals. Mr. Ssempa has long conspired with Defendant and three others to deprive lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex (“LGBTI”) people of their fundamental rights. Indeed, from at least 2002, Mr. Ssempa has known and worked closely with Defendant and others to develop anti-gay strategies and tactics. For example, as early as 2003, Mr. Ssempa was involved in an attempt to exclude LGBTI persons from governmental HIV/AIDS prevention programs and policies. In 2007, Ssempa began to publicize the names, photos, and address information of LGBTI advocates in an attempt to intimidate those persons. Mr. Ssempa also facilitated Defendant’s communications with the Ugandan Parliament about the Anti-Homosexuality Bill, which, among other things, criminalized advocacy of LGBTI rights and provision of various services to LGBTI persons, and provided that the death penalty be imposed for a second conviction for consensual sex between adults of the same gender.

Ssempa is very prolific on Twitter but so far it doesn't appear that he's yet mentioned the subpoena.

MASSACHUSETTS: Coast Guardsman Held In Fatal Attack On Lesbian Couple

Via the New York Daily News:

Armed to the teeth, Coast Guardsman Adrian Loya stormed the Massachusetts home of two lesbian colleagues and opened fire because he was obsessed with one of the women, authorities said. Coast Guard Petty Officer Lisa Trubnikova (above right) died at the scene of Thursday's bloody rampage in Cape Cod. Her wife, Anna Trubnikova, also a petty officer, remains hospitalized with severe injuries. Bourne Police Officer Jared MacDonald, who was shot in the back, below his flack vest, is also hospitalized. Relatives told the Boston Globe that Loya had been pursuing Lisa Trubnikova for years, beginning when all three were stationed in Alaska. "He became obsessed," one family member told the paper. "He was fixated on her." Loya, who lived in Virginia, is believed to have driven to Massachusetts earlier in the week and rented a motel room near the couple's condo complex.

BOSTON: Obama Calls Into Public Radio Show, Chats With Gov. Deval Patrick

Yesterday President Obama surprised Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick by calling into the governor's monthly Boston Public Radio show. "Uh, Governor, this is Barack Obama, formerly of Somerville. I've got a few complaints about service in and around the neighborhood, but I've moved down South since that time..."

(Tipped by JMG reader Daddy Ray)

First Circuit Denies Scott Lively's Petition To Dismiss Crimes Against Humanity Suit

The First Circuit Court of Appeals today denied Scott Lively's dismissal demand in the crimes against humanity suit filed against him by Sexual Minorities Uganda. See the ruling at Equality Case Files.

MASSACHUSETTS: Town Considers A First-In-Nation Ban On Tobacco Sales

Via the Associated Press:

The cartons of Marlboros, cans of Skoal and packs of Swisher Sweets are hard to miss stacked near the entrance of Vincent’s Country Store, but maybe not for much longer: All tobacco products could become contraband if local health officials get their way. This sleepy central Massachusetts town of 7,700 has become an improbable battleground in America’s tobacco wars. On Wednesday, the Board of Health will hear public comment on a proposed regulation that could make Westminster the first municipality in the United States to ban sales of all tobacco products within town lines. “To my knowledge, it would be the first in the nation to enact a total ban,” said Thomas Carr, director of national policy at the American Lung Association. “We commend the town for doing it.”

Tobacco giant Altria, the makers of Marlboro, Virginia Slims, and dozens of other cigarette brands, is very unhappy: "The proposed regulations, if enacted, would fundamentally alter these businesses and would likely cost Westminster jobs."

MASSACHUSETTS: Scott Lively Declares "Great Victory" In Gubernatorial Race

"I want you to recognize what a great victory we have achieved in this campaign. A Missionary Pastor with an inner-city church that seats just 45, mostly street-people, ran a part-time campaign, serving as his own campaign manager, with only 20-30 campaign volunteers (only about half of whom dedicated more than 40 hours to the effort), and a budget of just over $25,000. Deliberately (by the prompting of the Holy Spirit) limiting his campaign activities only to those public appearances and media interviews to which he was invited (not trying to win the seat in his own strength but staying out of the way to let God pull the strings), he (by conservative accounts) handily won the two major debates in which he appeared, shocked the hosts, audience and fellow panelists in every forum with his boldness and candor, and preached the unvarnished Gospel of Jesus Christ in nearly all of the 30 or so public events in which he appeared. I believe my faithfulness in stepping out into the political arena to preach the gospel has spiritually broken the back of the anti-Lively coalition and demolished its campaign of defamation.  The public has seen me in the debates and other venues and know I am a sincere and kind-hearted Christian man, whether or not they agree with my views.  They will never again believe the vicious LGBT lies trying to paint me as a genocidal monster.  The Lord has vindicated me in an entirely unique way.." - Scott Lively, who took 0.9% of the vote but says he so enjoyed campaigning that he will run for office again.

Scott Lively Gets 0.9% Of Vote

Crackpot Scott Lively earned 0.9% of the vote in the Massachusetts gubernatorial race, finishing just ahead of wealthy investment banker Jeff McCormick, who is reportedly not also crazy.

MASSACHUSETTS: Maura Healey Wins, Nation's First Out Attorney General

MASSACHUSETTS: Gay GOP Candidate Richard Tisei Loses To Seth Moulton

Iraq War veteran Seth Moulton, who has never held elected office, beat nine-term Democratic Rep. John Tierney in the primary. Massachusetts has not elected a House Republican since 1996. Tisei was one of two gay GOP House candidates, the other is freak show Carl DeMaio in California. NOM campaigned for both Moulton and DeMaio's opponent, Rep. Scott Peters.

Lively: God Is My Campaign Manager

"Friends, As you know, I am not running a typical election campaign. My Campaign Manager is the Holy Spirit, and He has His own plan and purposes for my run for Governor of Massachusetts. First, He has told me NOT to try to make things happen in my own will and strength, but wait on Him to move others to take action on my behalf. That was the word I received while on my annual personal retreat on the Appalachian Trail this May. I confess I haven’t been completely faithful to that command. It is not in my nature to be passive. But truthfully, every effort I have made in violation of His guidance has been a complete dud. Getting on the ballot was a genuine miracle." - Scott Lively, in a money beg in which he notes that his campaign donation page delivers a malware warning. Apparently, God has shitty coding skills.

Scott Lively: Murderous Demons Have Taken Over The Human Rights Campaign

And the AFA's Sandy Rios agrees.

Scott Lively: The Human Rights Campaign Has Targeted Me To Be Murdered

"The so-called Human Rights Campaign (HRC) has taken a page from the left wing hate group Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) and published a new report called 'The Export of Hate.' A’ la SPLC, this publication is nothing less than an enemies list designed to help people like 'gay' activist Floyd Lee Corkins identify their assassination targets. I have special cause for concern in this matter because I am listed by HRC as Target #1. Not every 'gay' activist is physically violent, thankfully. Most limit their 'human rights advocacy' to harassment, intimidation and slander. But make no mistake, if they thought they could get away will killing every person on the HRC and SPLC hit lists, they would do it. They smolder with malicious hatred against anyone who stands in their way.

"I believe they are now deliberately trying to incite murder against me and every other person on their enemies list. That might have sounded a bit paranoid in years past, but post-Corkins it is just cold hard fact that some 'gay' activists are incited to murder by inflammatory leftist rhetoric. The HRC knows that, and yet their rhetoric in this Exporting Hate publication is MORE inflammatory than the SPLC’s rhetoric the drove Corkins over the edge! Because I am a Bible-believing Christian I am not afraid of death. But neither am I volunteering for martyrdom. As of today I am for the first time going to start taking precautions against the possibility of being assassinated by agents of the LGBT movement. For one thing, I will no longer publicize my travel schedule in advance. And I am demanding a retraction and public apology from both HRC and SPLC. To both of them I insist: STOP INCITING HATE BEFORE YOU GET PEOPLE KILLED!!!!!" - Scott Lively, who has incited violent hatred in Uganda, writing for BarbWire.

MASSACHUSETTS: Pastor Scott Lively Qualifies For Gubernatorial Ballot

The Boston Globe reports:

Springfield pastor Scott Lively has qualified for the November ballot as an independent candidate for governor. The Secretary of the Commonwealth's office confirmed Wednesday that Lively's campaign submitted 11,494 valid signatures, far above the 10,000 needed to secure ballot access as an independent this fall. Lively joins the future Republican and Democratic nominees as well as independent candidate Evan Falchuk as candidates certified for the November ballot.

The Human Rights Campaign reacts:

“Hate is not an American value, and Scott Lively’s long record of exporting vicious anti-LGBT bigotry is horrifying,” said Ty Cobb, Director of Global Engagement at the Human Rights Campaign (HRC). “Lively’s words and actions harm LGBT people from the United States to Uganda and beyond. He is one of the most notorious extremists engaged in this work, and this is an opportunity to highlight his deplorable rhetoric and advocacy.” Earlier this year, HRC Foundation released a detailed report of Scott Lively’s deeply troubling anti-LGBT global work. Lively traveled repeatedly to Uganda claiming that LGBT people are responsible for the Holocaust, the Rwandan genocide and the spread of HIV/AIDS. Some Ugandan officials credit Lively with the idea of introducing new legislation to further criminalize homosexuality in the country, and prominent Ugandan LGBT activists have said the "bill is essentially his creation." Lively also traveled to Eastern Europe, and has taken credit for the passage of Russia’s anti-LGBT propaganda law.

TOMORROW: Furball At Bear Week

Next Friday In Provincetown...

Andy Towle writes at Towleroad:

Join us for our weekly Friday morning coffee meet-up on JULY 18 from 9 - 11 am at the Central House restaurant at The Crown & Anchor Inn. This week's guest is our friend and fellow blogger Joe Jervis who writes Joe.My.God! Come meet Joe along with Towleroad's Andy Towle and Michael Goff and enjoy some coffee to start your Friday!

I'm sure I'll have run into most of you long before Friday, but I encourage you to attend. At least at that hour you won't find me with a drink in my hand. Probably.

Scott Lively Is Furious With John Oliver

"Friends, On Sunday night I was attacked on HBO’s  'Last Week Tonight' a supposed comedy/news show in the mold of The Daily Show. The host is a Brit named John Oliver. I find it funny that lefties like John Oliver who pose as humanitarians are the masters at dehumanizing other people through ridicule and never give the subjects of their smears a fair chance to respond. I’m calling out John Oliver as a liar and a fraud who couldn’t go ten minutes with me in an unscripted, unedited debate. Without his teleprompter and his cheap-shot, out-of-context video clips he would be exposed as just another left-wing loony. Oliver is lying through selective editing re Rwanda and several other points. His show was one continuous stream of malicious LGBT propaganda in the guise of comedy. Yes, it will likely negatively affect the voters, as it was intended to do. It’s one more example of the 'politics of personal destruction' that Saul Alinsky taught the 'progressives,' including journalists, to practice." - Crimes against humanity defendant and Massachusetts gubernatorial candidate Scott Lively, writing on his personal website.

VIDEO: Here's the fantastic John Oliver clip again.