Todd Starnes: Vermont Town Won't Let Boy Scouts Pick Up Trash Over Gay Ban

Todd Starnes writes at Fox News:

The folks in Montpelier, Vermont will have to find someone else to pick up trash after their Fourth of July Parade. It seems the Boy Scouts won’t be volunteering this year. And they won’t be selling bottled water either. The Boy Scouts bowed out after city council members criticized the group’s ban on gay adult leaders. The council initially tabled a request for the scouts to participate. Instead, they wanted the children and their leaders to attend another council meeting where they could debate the scout’s ban on gay adult leaders. Councilman Thierry Guerlain told The Times Argus he did not want a group that openly discriminates against gays selling water at the town’s parade – even if it meant banning local Boy Scouts from selling bottled water. So instead of getting bullied by the town council – the scouts decided to withdraw from the parade. We’re going to steer clear of Montpelier for a while,” Scout volunteer Leslie Sanborn told the newspaper. “It’s left a very bad taste in our mouths.”

At the top of Starnes' post: "This commentary is brought to you by Persecuted. In theaters July 18th."

Homosexual Commercial Tyranny!

Here's the latest from the red-caped Catholic loons of Tradition, Family & Property, who are super-pissed about the ruling against a Vermont inn for refusing to host a gay wedding reception.

It seems painfully clear that liberals are content with abrogating the freedoms of some in order to enforce the “freedoms” of others in the name of equality. The implications of this decision are chilling. Business can only operate in an atmosphere of freedom, and contract without coercion. The recent decision against the O’Reilly’s demonstrates how government is dictating the terms of a contract to owners and with whom they must do business. If owners insist upon honoring their consciences, they must either conform, or get out the business altogether. Another consequence of this decision is that it sends the message that owners can expect to see an array of disproportional powers brought against them. Small owners now know they can be punished by government and have legal action taken against them if they dare disagree with the homosexual agenda. So much for land of the free.

Matt Baume: Marriage News Watch

Clip description: "Three years ago today, Vermont became the fourth state in the country where gay and lesbian couples had freedom to marry. On this third anniversary, let's take a moment look back at how that happened -- and what's happened since."

VERMONT: Inn Loses Suit, Must Pay $30K For Turning Away Lesbian Couple

Vermont's Wildflower Inn has been fined $30,000 for turning away a lesbian couple that wanted to hold their wedding reception there. The couple was represented by the ACLU, who convinced the Vermont Human Rights Commission that the inn had violated state law on public accommodations. The losing Alliance Defense Fund denounces the decision:

“Every American should be free to live and do business consistent with their deeply held beliefs,” said Alliance Defending Freedom Senior Counsel Byron Babione. “It is unfortunate when a state agency teams up with the ACLU to harass and punish a private family business over its owners’ constitutionally protected thoughts and beliefs. Legal attacks like this one are not pursuits for justice, but attempts to coerce and police private expression.”

Blogger VT Digger has more:

According to the settlement, the Wildflower Inn was acting in good faith and in compliance with a 2005 decision by the Vermont Human Rights Commission that said that while no public establishment may refuse to serve a customer based on sexual orientation, the inn could advise potential customers of the owners’ Catholic beliefs. Based on that decision, the Wildflower Inn’s stated policy was to ignore all calls and emails from same-sex couples hoping to host a wedding or reception at the inn. If confronted, their policy was to advise the couple that the owners did not believe in same-sex marriage, but would host the reception if they really wanted to.

ACLU-Vermont attorney Dan Barrett gets to the heart of the decision: "What this settlement makes clear is that you can’t discourage and get away with it. Discouragement or any unequal treatment of LGBT customers is [legally] the same as an outright refusal." The winning couple says they will donate the "largest chunk" of their settlement to the Trevor Project.

VERMONT: Sailor Marries As Clock Strikes The Official End To DADT

Moments after the clock struck the official end to DADT, last night an active duty Navy officer married his husband in Vermont.

When Navy Lt. Gary Ross and his partner were searching for a place to get married, they settled on a site in Vermont, in part because the state is in the Eastern time zone. That way, the two men were able to recite their vows before family and friends at the first possible moment after the formal repeal of the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy. Just after midnight Tuesday, the partners of 11 years were married. "I think it was a beautiful ceremony. The emotions really hit me, but it's finally official," Ross said early Tuesday. Ross, 33, and Dan Swezy, a 49-year-old civilian, traveled from their home in Tucson, Ariz., so they could get married in Vermont, the first state to allow gays to enter into civil unions and one of six that have legalized same-sex marriage.

Thanks to DOMA, Ross' new husband is still not entitled to health care or to most of the benefits extended to the heterosexual spouses of service members.

VERMONT: Sued Innkeepers Respond

The owners of Vermont's Wildflower Inn have responded to the ACLU's lawsuit filed against them for refusing to host a gay wedding reception.

"We have never refused rooms or dining or employment to gays or lesbians," they wrote. "Many of our guests have been same-sex couples. We welcome and treat all people with respect and dignity. We do not however, feel that we can offer our personal services wholeheartedly to celebrate the marriage between same-sex couples because it goes against everything that we as Catholics believe in."

You can fuck all night in our rooms as unmarried sinners!

VERMONT: Lesbian Couple Sues Hotel For Refusing Their Wedding Reception

A lesbian couple has filed a lawsuit against a Vermont inn for refusing to host their wedding reception. Their suit was filed by the ACLU.

Kate Baker and Ming Linsley filed the suit on Tuesday in Vermont Superior Court, accusing the Wildflower Inn of Lyndonville of abruptly turning them away after learning they are lesbians. They claim the inn violated Vermont’s Fair Housing and Public Accommodations Act, which prohibits inns, hotels, motels and other establishments with five or more rooms from turning away patrons based on sexual orientation. The law makes an exemption for religious organizations. Twenty-one other states and the District of Columbia have similar laws. Greg Johnson, a law professor at Vermont Law School, said the suit could set a precedent as more states legalize same-sex marriage. Currently, same-sex marriage is legal in six states and the District of Columbia, all of which protect gay men and lesbians in their public-accommodations laws.

According to the suit, the inn has turned away at least two other gay couples.

Sen. Bernie Sanders: Republicans Are Robbing The Poor To Give To The Rich

Another classic rant from our favorite Independent.

Sen Patrick Leahy: I Will Cosponsor Feinstein's Bill To Repeal DOMA

Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT) emailed his constituents today with a promise to cosponsor Sen. Dianne Feinstein's coming bill to repeal DOMA.

As a Vermonter who has been married for 48 years, I believe it is important to encourage and to sanction committed relationships; relationships that encourage us all to give back to our community; and relationships that complete our lives. Vermont led the way by being the first state to adopt a same-sex marriage law through a legislative process. Now that several states that have voted to give full marriage rights to same-sex couples, I believe that the Federal government should not interfere with those laws or discriminate between marriages sanctioned by State law. Vermont and other states have determined that committed same-sex couples and their families should be entitled to all the protection of that state-sanctioned union. The Defense of Marriage Act denies some Vermont families equal treatment, creating a system of second-class citizens. This goes against American values and it must end. In the coming days, I will join with Senator Dianne Feinstein to introduce legislation to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act. It is a core American value that all people should be treated equally by their government. Vermont has been leading the nation on this important civil rights issue and this week, President Obama and Attorney General Holder moved the Federal government in the right direction.

(Tipped by JMG reader Matthew)

Maddow On Sen. Bernie Sanders

"A super-human display of strength and endurance."

Almost Nine Hours Later.....

Howard Dean Compares "Civil Unions Compromise" To Mosque Controversy

Dean thinks the downtown NYC mosque should be located elsewhere, a "good reasonable compromise" he compared to the creation of civil unions when he was governor of Vermont.

He's On A Cow

Dr. Daniel Freilich is challenging incumbent U.S. Sen. Patrick Leahy in next week's Democratic primary in Vermont. Here's his take on the popular Old Spice commercials.

(Via - Towleroad)

Take This And Eat It

The Plaid Crew comments on the new issue of Vermont Catholic:

This is the actual cover of the current issue of Vermont Catholic magazine, the monthly publication put out by the Diocese of Burlington. No joke. Less than a week after an almost-$18 million settlement with the remaining 26 plaintiffs (you know, all those kids who were diddled by priests for decades while the Church pretended it didn't know what was going on?), these guys put a photo of a young man kneeling in front of the Bishop on the cover of their damn magazine. Given the context, this is a loaded (PUN!) image, and someone in the chain of command should have caught this.

(Via - Andrew Sullivan)

Court: New York Can Annul Civil Unions

The appellate division of the New York Supreme Court has ruled that the state may annul civil unions made in other jurisdictions. The case involved a lesbian couple that was civil unioned in Vermont seven years ago. They had been told they'd have to live in Vermont for one year before the state could make their separation legal.

''Today, the public policy of our state protects same-sex couples in a myriad of ways,'' justices wrote in their decision. ''Two provisions of the Public Health Law define a domestic partner to include one who is 'formally a party in a domestic partnership or similar relationship with the other person, entered into pursuant to the laws of the United States or of any state, local or foreign jurisdiction.'"

Lambda Legal called the ruling important, saying, "A different ruling here would leave the persons legally entangled with each other and people have to move on with their life."

Arrest Warrant Issued For Lisa Miller

A Vermont judge has issued an arrest warrant for Lisa Miller, the "ex-gay" mother who disappeared late last year after custody of her daughter was awarded to her lesbian ex-partner.

Family Court Judge William Cohen found Lisa Miller of Forest, Va., in contempt of court during a hearing Tuesday and issued the arrest warrant. Miller was ordered to surrender custody of her daughter on Jan. 1 but failed to do so and has since disappeared. Their daughter is now considered a missing person. Miller and Jenkins got a civil union in Vermont in 2000, had the baby two years later and broke up in 2003. Miller moved to Virginia, where she renounced homosexuality and became an evangelical Christian.

The anti-gay Liberty Counsel has been advising Miller and is thought by some (including me) to be accomplices in the kidnapping of her daughter. They remain silent as to the pair's whereabouts.

Lisa Miller Gets Another Month To Hide

A family court judge in Virginia has given Lisa Miller another 30 days to appear with her 7 year-old daughter or face arrest. Presumably aided by the anti-gay Liberty Counsel, Miller went into hiding last month after a Vermont judge awarded custody of her daughter to Miller's lesbian ex-partner, Janet Jenkins. After "renouncing" her homosexuality and finding Jeebus, Miller had fled to Virginia upon the advice of Christianist lawyers who told her that state was the least likely to honor custody judgments from Vermont. The lawyers, obviously, were correct.

The Breakaway Republic Of Vermont

Having formed a new party, eight candidates for statewide office in Vermont as pushing for the state to secede.

Their name: Vermont Independence Day. "The only hope is to just say, 'Look, this isn't working for us. We want to start fresh again, with a real democracy,'" Garritano said. "I think that's the answer. Hopefully, it won't take another horrible economic breakdown to realize that the people running things don't look out for the little guy, or us, or the soldiers. It's all about profit and getting the last drops of oil on Earth and trampling people's rights." Garritano, gubernatorial candidate Dennis P. Steele and seven candidates for state Senate seats plan to declare their candidacies Friday. Their cause isn't new: It's the latest incarnation of a movement that's bubbled in Vermont and elsewhere for years. Alaska, Hawaii, New Hampshire and Texas all have made noise about seceding, to no avail.

From their website: "The Second Vermont Republic is a nonviolent citizens' network and think tank opposed to the tyranny of Corporate America and the U.S. government, and committed to the return of Vermont to its status as an independent republic and more broadly to the dissolution of the Union." Their manifesto actually doesn't look very wingnutty. But they do link the secessionist movements in Alaska and Texas, which are.

Virginia Police Issue Missing Persons Report For Lisa Miller And Daughter

"Ex-gay" Lisa Miller and her daughter Isabella remain on the lam, one week after a Vermont judge ordered Miller to surrender custody of Isabella to Miller's ex-partner, Janet Jenkins. Yesterday the Bedford County, Virginia sheriff's office issued a missing persons report for the pair, saying that while no Virginia laws have been broken, they do want proof that the pair is safe.

However on Monday the Virginia Civil Liberty Union reported that a local court order has been issued requiring that Miller surrender the child. The VCLU says they fully expect Virginian authorities to enforce the order. But on Wednesday, a Rutland Family Court judge said he wants to "hear all arguments" before issuing any arrest warrant. That hearing is scheduled for January 22nd. Miller's lawyers, the anti-gay Liberty Counsel, home to bigots Mat Staver and Matt Barber, have appealed the original Vermont ruling, but have remained silent on the Virginia court order. In fact, they have been "unavailable for comment" ever since Miller and her daughter went into hiding.

According to earlier reports, Lisa Miller specifically chose to flee to Virginia because "pro-family" lawyers had advised her that was the state least likely to abide by the Vermont ruling. With the Rutland County judge dragging his feet to order an arrest warrant, it appears that might have been good advice. Now it seems that we'll have to wait and see if Miller and her Liberty Counsel lawyers even bother to appear for the Jan. 22nd hearing, or if they'll continue to defy the Vermont court and illegally cloak the whereabouts of Miller and Isabella.

"Ex-Gay" Lesbian Lisa Miller Still In Hiding With Her Daughter

Lisa Miller (left) has until tomorrow to hand her daughter Isabella over to her ex-partner Janet Jenkins and nobody is saying where they are hiding, especially not the anti-gay Liberty Counsel, Miller's attorneys, who appear to be complicit in Isabella's kidnapping.

"She does not know where her daughter is and she is trying to find her," Sarah Star, an attorney representing Jenkins, told ABCNews.com. Star says Jenkins last saw her daughter in January 2009 and spoke with her in March 2009. In his custody ruling, Vermont Family Court Judge William Cohen said nobody has "seen or heard from" Miller and Isabella since Nov. 20. The judge ordered custody to be switched from Miller to Jenkins after Miller repeatedly failed to allow visitation for her former partner. An assistant to the lawyers representing Miller, Mathew Staver and Stephen Crampton, told ABCNews.com that the lawyers were "on vacation and unavailable for comment on the matter." A Facebook page seemingly set up by Miller appears to show the last posting from the mother being on Dec. 4.

The Protect Isabella Coalition is screaming "judicial tyranny." Here's a clip they made earlier this year, before full custody was awarded to Janet Jenkins.