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After the 1992 constitutional amendment however, Kentucky’s Lt. Governor is only a ‘ceremonial post’ with a big paycheck (prior to the amendment, the Lieutenant, or “Vice,” Governor was the ex-officio President of the Senate, meaning you automatically assume control of one office by being elected to another. This remains the case in the federal system of government, the Vice President is automatically the President of the U.S. Senate).

Though the LGBTI community supports and applauds current Governor Steve Beshear for keeping a campaign promise to protect LGBTI people again in Kentucky government (by executive order), it is strange that the Kentucky Democratic Party is apparently already endorsing Governor Beshear without giving anyone else the opportunity to file for the Democratic slate.

The Kentucky Democratic Party is nothing short is dysfunctional, something apparently carried over into other states according to New Jersey Senator (D – District 20), who earlier this year said:

We have not been bold enough, the Democratic Party has lost its moral compass. We have been timid. Think about the crisp leadership Michael Bloomberg has given New York City, and then imagine the opposite.  That’s us.”

New Jersey Senator (D – District 20) was a major supporter of New Jersey’s failed gay marriage law, but thankfully fought for it till the bitter end, saying gay and lesbian people are taxed, but still “cannot join the club.”

According to the Lexington-Herald Leader Kentucky Senate President Williams said he had discussed the ticket in the last 24 hours with state legislators, the state’s congressional delegation and even had left a message with Beshear earlier in the morning.

In the call to Beshear, he said, he gave his commitment to work with Beshear “for the rest of his tenure.”

No pro-gay legislation has ever made it past the Republican held Senate under the leadership of President Williams. This past year, Senate President Williams ignored pleas from Kentucky Equality Federation to pass House Bill 118, which would have allowed the partners of same-sex couple the right to visit them in the hospital.

The University of the Cumberlands stands for what is positive [by expelling a gay student]. – Senate President David Williams (R) (August 2006)

I wouldn’t think that there would be a lot of support in the General Assembly for giving benefits to people that were involved in same-sex relationships. Doing so would be bad public policy. – Senate President David Williams (R) (July 2006)

If elected, one of the first official acts of Williams would probably be to rescind the executive order protecting LGBTI people in Kentucky government, just the way Virginia’s new Republican Governor did.

Williams says Kentucky needs new direction, apparently forgetting that his Senate failed to pass a budget, forcing Governor Beshear to call them into special session at an estimated cost of $66,000.00 per day.

It should also be noted that the Whitley County Judge Executive is trying to push a national constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage for “moral objections” to same-sex marriage.

1. Is it a coincidence that the Judge Executive in the county Senate President Williams lives passed this resolution only weeks prior to Senate President Williams announcing he will run?  Is this the “bold” leadership the Williams campaign is speaking of?

1. Perhaps this is a sign of things to come if Williams is elected Governor of the Commonwealth?

School officials allow these outside groups to introduce policies, curriculum and library books under the guise of diversity, safety or bullying-prevention initiatives, said Focus on the Family education expert Candi Cushman.

“We feel more and more that activists are being deceptive in using anti-bullying rhetoric to introduce their viewpoints, while the viewpoint of Christian students and parents are increasingly belittled,” Cushman said.

Public schools increasingly convey that homosexuality is normal and should be accepted, Cushman said, while opposing viewpoints by conservative Christians are portrayed as bigotry.

Eliza Byard, executive director of the national Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network, agrees with a big part of that statement.

“Yes, we want LGBT students afforded full respect,” she said.  GLSEN says its agenda is to ensure safe schools and acceptance for all students, regardless of sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, race, national origin or ability.

American conservative pundit Ann Coulter giving a talk in March. Photo: AP

Conservative speaker Ann Coulter, the woman who says you cannot say the word “fagot” without going to rehab, claims Jews need to be “perfected,” and calls people in the Middle East “Camel Jockeys,” has been asked to step down as a keynote speaker at WorldNetDaily’s “Taking America Back National Conference”.

Coulter is an American constitutional attorney, conservative social and political commentator, best-selling author, and syndicated columnist. Well-known for her right-wing political opinions and the controversial ways in which she defends them, Coulter has described herself as a polemicist who likes to “stir up the pot” and, unlike “broadcasters,” does not “pretend to be impartial or balanced.

The conference organizers said that it was Coulter’s involvement in “HOMOCON”, an event that is put on my GOProud and represents, “gay conservatives and their allies”, that let to her being booted from the program.

World Net Daily editor Joseph Farah made a public point to take Ann Coulter off the list of speakers at an upcoming event for her participation in Homocon this year (a conference for gay conservatives).

Coulter fired back, calling Farah “swine” and a “publicity whore.” Last night on Fox News’ Red Eye, she took it a step further, referring to WND as “fake Christians.”

“Ultimately, as a matter of principle, it would not make sense for us to have Ann speak to a conference about ‘taking America back’ when she clearly does not recognize that the ideals to be espoused there simply do not include the radical and very ‘un-conservative’ agenda represented by GOProud,” said Joseph Farah, editor and CEO of WND.

Coulter defended her involvement with GOProud, telling Farah, “They hired me to give a speech, so I’m giving a speech. I do it all the time.”

She says speaking at the event has nothing to do with her personal beliefs.

“I speak to a lot of groups and do not endorse them,” Coulter said to Farah, according to WND. “Giving a speech is not an endorsement of every position held by the people I’m speaking to.”

And though CBS reports she will continue to write a column for WND, Coulter wasn’t afraid to critique the website’s views.

“I think you’re nuts on the birther thing,” she told Farah, “Though I like you otherwise!”

While her involvement in HOMOCON may surprise right-wing supporters, Coulter has expressed her belief that gays belong in the GOP before.

“I don’t know why all gays aren’t Republican,” she once said. “I think we have the pro-gay positions, which is anti-crime and for tax cuts. Gays make a lot of money and they’re victims of crime. No, they are! They should be with us.”

FOX RED EYE

Whitley County Judge-Executive Pat White Jr. head of the Whitley County Fiscal Court.

According to the Corbin Times-Tribune (covering Knox, Whitley and Laurel Counties):

Whitley County Judge-Executive Pat White Jr. is hoping to spark a national movement in order to pass and ratify an amendment to the United States Constitution establishing marriage as only being recognized as a union between a man and a woman in the United States of America.

White, an attorney, took the first step towards that effort Tuesday evening by asking the Whitley County Fiscal Court to approve a resolution, which asks the Kentucky Legislature to pass legislation demanding a federal constitutional convention for the purpose of passing a constitutional amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

Fiscal court members unanimously approved the resolution during their monthly meeting Tuesday night. Copies of it will be sent to the leadership of both the Kentucky House of Representatives and the Kentucky Senate in addition to certain members of Kentucky’s Congressional delegation including U.S. Senators Mitch McConnell and Jim Bunning, U.S. Rep. Hal Rogers, and Kentucky Representative Dewayne Bunch (82nd District).

“We will begin distributing this resolution to the other counties in Kentucky asking them to pass similar resolutions and to distribute to the legislature of Kentucky asking them to take action at their next regular session,” White said after the resolution’s passage.

White said that he decided to draft the resolution after an Aug. 4 federal court decision striking down Proposition 8, which was California’s constitutional amendment banning gay marriage.

“If it is set as established precedent by some of the higher courts, it would overturn the constitutional amendment here in Kentucky,” White said. “I thought of what could be done so that the people would get the opportunity to vote on this issue at the national level, and not be overturned by the courts.”

“There was a statement made by the San Francisco Mayor when the campaign for Proposition 8 was going on that no matter what the people wanted, this was going to be the law of the land that gay marriage was accepted.”

White said that he is hoping to start a national movement with this effort.

White noted that 45 states do not recognize gay marriage, including Kentucky, and that Kentucky’s traditional marriage amendment passed with a 74 percent majority.

Why does White feel so strongly about this issue?

“I don’t believe in homosexual marriage. It is against my raising and my morals,” White said. “I don’t believe that this should be decided by the courts.

WYMT-TV, the CBS affiliate for Southern Kentucky (covering 24 counties) reported:

It’s an issue that’s sparking a national debate and now an Eastern Kentucky official is hoping to make a statement when it comes to same-sex marriages. “I think it is a complete joke. It’s coming from a judge executive who has no political or executive authority. I think that it’s pathetic,” said Jordan Palmer with Kentucky Equality Federation.

Opponents call the resolution a step in the wrong direction. “It is a step back…if it’s inspired by tradition, or just plain old fashion bigotry. I think we should be teaching our children about diversity because diversity in our commonwealth makes us strong. It does not make us weak,” said Palmer.

Palmer’s complete comments (unedited): “Even if this makes it to the Kentucky Legislature, it would have to pass the constitution amendments Committee (and it would not). However, if the Whitely County Judge Executive believes for one moment that Kentucky Equality Federation, Marriage Equality Kentucky, Louisville’s Fairness Campaign, Kentucky Fairness Alliance, or Lexington Fairness would allow this to go unchallenged, I believe he is mistaken. Kentucky has a lot of good LGBTI organizations, and we are sick of being second class citizens.

If motivated by religion, by tradition or by old-fashioned bigotry, this will shed additional light on the fact that LGBTI people are second-class citizens; we are taxed, yet we can be fired for being gay or lesbian and we do not even have civil unions in the Commonwealth, and all of this is coming from the California trial.”

Jordan Palmer is the founder and former president of Kentucky Equality Federation and is currently serving as public advocate for the organization.

VIDEO

Cheyenne Williams

The Lexington Herald-Leader reported that District Judge Henria Bailey-Lewis acquitted the juvenile at her trial on Monday:

The girl’s name has not been released because she was 17 in April, when the alleged crime occurred. Her trial was closed, but her attorney, Sharon K. Allen Gay, said she received permission to release information about the verdict.

The teen and two 18-year-old friends, Corinne Schwab and Ashley Sams, were charged in April with attempted murder and kidnapping in a case involving Cheyenne Williams. The trial for Schwab and Sams, is scheduled for Thursday.

Jordan Palmer, founder of the Kentucky Equality Federation, was not available for comment on Monday’s verdict. Palmer has served as spokesman for Williams and her family. The federation is a lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex advocacy organization.

In addition, no one returned a phone message left at Williams’ home.

The lack of official court room procedure, as well as inadequate prosecution in this case continue to unfold.  London based Kentucky Equality Federation Treasurer Dean Byrd stated it was his belief that if the case had taken place in a urban court such as Lexington, Richmond, or Louisville the outcome would have been different.

The grandmother of the alleged victim today added: “The judge mentioned lack of evidence; maybe it was because the judge slept through the evidence.”

According to the mother of the alleged the victim, the County Attorney told her that he made no statements to the Lexington Herald-Leader in the article mentioned above.  The mother also stated that one of the police officers also pointed out to her that District Judge Henria Bailey-Lewis was “nodding off,” during the trial.

Former Kentucky Equality Federation president Jordan Palmer, who was not available at press time issued the following statement:

“After the irregularities our attorney, Jill Hall Rose pointed out during the preliminary hearing (http://www.kentuckylgbt.org/ht/display/ReleaseDetails/i/1300881/pid/1235127), this was no surprise to us; this is why we have always maintained that we reserve the right to sue the accused in civil court.

The family has give Kentucky Equality Federation the green light to begin getting information for a civil case.

I drilled Ms. Williams with Statehouse candidate Matthew Vanderpool during the last hearing and both of us were satisfied that she was being truthful. Mr. Vanderpool, an openly gay candidate for the Kentucky House of Representatives also offered his support to the family and wanted to shed light on hate crimes across the Commonwealth regardless of race, sex, religion, disability, sexual orientation, or gender identity.

It would not be the first time in the history of the Kentucky Court of Justice or the United States that a person was found criminally innocent and later found guilty in civil court.

This case and its information have also been forwarded to the FBI.

The family will make absolutely no statements. Chairman Jones, the Discrimination, Hate Crimes and School Bullying Committee, and myself personally are their sole spokesperson.

As a community, we remain united with Ms. Williams.

Funding a civil trial is currently on the agenda for the Board of Directors meeting on Friday, August, 20, 2010.”

This is similar to the statement Kentucky Equality Federation made in April.

Southern Kentucky Political Futures Bought or Dependent on Keeping Larger Families Happy

In March, a jury convicted eight people, including former Circuit Judge R. Cletus Maricle, 66, and former school Superintendent Douglas C. Adams, 58, on a charge that they engaged in organized criminal acts to rig elections.

Those charged with the former Circuit Judge for Judicial District 41, which includes Clay, Leslie, and Jackson Counties also included Clay County Clerk Freddy W. Thompson, Magistrate Stanley Bowling, 59; Charles Wayne Jones, 69, a former county Democratic election commissioner; William Stivers, 57, a former precinct worker; and William Bart Morris, 51, who owns a garbage-transfer company, and his wife Debra L. Morris, 50, who owns a beauty shop.

Many of the people listed by U.S. District Judge Danny C. Reeves have not been charged, and his finding doesn’t mean they will be, but it punctuates the extent of alleged public corruption.

Those Reeves said were also involved (other than the ones convicted) include Circuit Judge Oscar Gayle House; Judge-Executive Carl “Crawdad” Sizemore; Commonwealth’s Attorney Gary Gregory (who covers Clay, Leslie and Jackson Counties); former Representative Barbara Colter and current Representative Tim Couch, former Jailer Charles Marcum, former Sheriff Edd Jordan, who is running for re-election, Manchester attorneys Yancey White and Carl Anthony Short; and Roy Morgan, a former magistrate influential in politics. (more from the Lexington Herald-Leader)

During the May 2010 election primary, the Kentucky Office of Attorney General received complaints of vote buying or selling in 11 Southern Kentucky Counties: Breathitt (11 calls), Clay (seven), Jackson (two), Knox (one), Laurel (one), Leslie (three), Magoffin (three), Monroe (one), Perry (four), Powell (one) and Wayne (one).

Prolonged Public Corruption in the 41st Judicial Circuit

* time-line courtest of the Lexington Herald-Leader

Oct. 25, 2005: Jennings B. White, who served two terms as county clerk, admits laundering money for a large-scale drug trafficker. He said he got involved with the man while in office. He is sentenced to 90 months in prison, fined $25,000 and forfeits $650,000 to the government.

Feb. 5, 2007: Vernon Hacker, a former Manchester council member and director of the local 911 system, pleads guilty to being involved in drug trafficking. A drug dealer said Hacker tipped him off about police activity. He is sentenced to 120 months in prison.

April 27, 2007: D. Kennon White, whose father, Manchester Mayor Daugh White, created a job for him as city manager in 2004, pleads guilty to extorting kickbacks from a contractor and involvement in paving private driveways with taxpayers’ money for political gain. The charges remain sealed for months as he helped federal investigators. He has not been sentenced.

Aug. 13, 2007: Daugh White, who served 28 years as Manchester mayor before losing in 2006, pleads guilty to extortion and paving private drives. He is sentenced to 84 months and a $100,000 fine.

Aug. 15, 2007: Darnell Hipsher, former Manchester city council member, pleads guilty to taking part in the scheme to pave private drives. He is sentenced to 46 months.

Aug. 17, 2007: Todd Roberts, a former assistant police chief in Manchester, pleads guilty to involvement in having a drug dealer burn down a vacant house so the city could buy the property for construction of a new police and 911 building. He is sentenced to 87 months in prison, a $15,000 fine and restitution of $25,000.

Nov. 20, 2007: Magistrate Fred Clinton Johnson pleads guilty to buying votes in the May 2002 primary. He is sentenced to 14 months in prison and fined $10,000.

March 17, 2008: Charles “Dobber” Weaver, Manchester fire chief, pleads guilty to stealing votes in 2006 when he was a precinct officer. The scam involved duping voters into walking away from new, unfamiliar voting machines before completing their choices, then switching the votes. He has not been sentenced.

March 19, 2009: Authorities arrest eight people on vote-fraud charges in the latest phase of the continuing investigation, including longtime Circuit Judge R. Cletus Maricle, school Superintendent Douglas C. Adams and county Clerk Freddy W. Thompson. Magistrate Stanley Bowling is charged later.

May 29, 2009: Paul Bishop, a former precinct worker charged in the case, pleads guilty to buying votes. He has not been sentenced.

The New Jersey Supreme Court is located beside the New Jersey Capitol in the Richard J. Hughes Justice Complex. Photo Credit: Wiki Commons

Seven months after the New Jersey Senate failed to pass a gay marriage law, and nearly a month after the New Jersey Supreme Court refused to hear a gay case, speculation runs rampant through the state and the nation.

Gay couples unsuccessfully sued New Jersey four years ago for the right to marry. They claimed that by creating civil unions, the state did not fulfill a court order to treat them the same as heterosexual couples seeking to marry.   The justices split 3 to 3, one vote shy of the four needed to have the court consider the case.

Justice Virginia Long, who wrote the dissenting opinion, agreed that there was an insufficient record for debating the merits of the claim, but she said that oral arguments would have helped guide the court.

In January, the New Jersey Senate voted 20 to 14 to defeat a bill that would legalize same-sex marriage. Gay rights activists had hoped to get the bill passed because then, Governor Jon Corzine said he would sign the bill into law. However, Governor-elect Chris Christie (now Governor) said he would veto the bill.

Democratic Party Blamed

New Jersey Senator Sandra Cunningham

New Jersey Senator Sandra Cunningham (D-Jersey City), one of the bill’s co-sponsors, urged her fellow senators to support the Freedom of Religion and Equality in Civil Marriage Act. Senator Cunningham compared the fight for marriage equality to the fight for racial equality.

She said if not for the Civil Rights movement the African-American and minorities might be part of the legislature, but in different roles. “We would probably be sweeping the floors instead of sitting here as legislators,” she said. “It’s important for me to stand up and say that everyone has a right and everyone has the right to fight for their life, for the kind of life we all want, the American Dream. Our responsibility here is to protect the rights of New Jersey’s citizens.”

“This should have been a slam dunk,” said Senator Ray Lesniak (D), one of the party’s frustrated power brokers. “The victims this time were the thousands of gay couples across this state, and their children, who just got a slap in the face. The message opponents delivered to them was an ugly one, whether it was inspired by religion, by tradition or by old-fashioned bigotry.”

Senator Lesniak (D) continued: “They are second-class families who cannot join the club. But most of us are victims of this Democratic decade in one way or another, unless you have one of those fat state pensions. Consider property taxes, job losses, the state’s enormous debt, and the ever increasing salaries and benefits that we pay to teachers, firefighters and cops. We face a mess that will take many years to clean up.”

Senator Lesniak (D) continued: “The reason for that is we have not been bold enough, the Democratic Party has lost its moral compass. We have been timid. Think about the crisp leadership Michael Bloomberg has given New York City, and then imagine the opposite. That’s us.”

The Governor’s Wrath and Broad Reach Blamed

The New Jersey Supreme Court doesn’t give interviews, so no one can ask whether the tribunal balked on the gay marriage issue because it was afraid of the reaction of Governor Chris Christie. Christie became the first Republican to win a statewide election in New Jersey in 12 years.

“There won’t be any comment,” says Winnie Comfort, a spokeswoman for the court. “Of course, people are free to speculate. There is nothing we can do about that.”

Comfort made the comments in response to remarks by legislators who raised the issue of whether the court — or, at least, three members — might have been afraid to touch the gay marriage case because Christie can remove them by appointing other justices. The way he did to Justice John Wallace, the court’s only African-American.

Both Senator Raymond Lesniak (D-Union) and Assemblyman John D. McKeon (D-Essex) told The Star-Ledger’s Matt Friedman the decision raised the question of whether Wallace’s ouster led three non-permanent court members to duck the issue. The three judges who don’t have to worry about reappointment — Justices Virginia Long, Jaynee LaVecchia, and Barry Albin dissented from the order. They wanted arguments on the motion to go forward. Coincidence?

“I think the three justices who voted against the motion looked over their shoulders and saw Governor Chris Christie,” says Frank Askin, a Rutgers Law School professor and constitutional scholar in Newark. “There is no question in my mind that fear of what the Governor would do played a part in that decision.”

Michael Drewniak, Governor Christie’s spokesman, declined to answer questions about the decision.

California Prop 8 Case

New Jersey once had a supreme court willing to render significant decisions. Under chiefs like Joseph Weintraub, Richard Hughes, Robert Wilentz, James Zazzali and Deborah Poritz, the state’s highest court was a national leader in individual rights.

It is often in state courts that individual rights are most effectively protected. New Jersey’s decisions on school funding and fair housing — also now endangered — went far beyond what the federal courts would do.

Rutgers Law Professor Carlos Bell, an expert on gay marriage, explains it could lead to an adverse decision by a conservative U.S. Supreme Court:

“That is why most of the other same-sex marriage lawsuits (including New Jersey’s Lewis v. Harris) have been brought in state courts alleging violations of state constitutions. When a case is decided on state constitutional grounds, it cannot be appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court.

“It is likely the court will hear the Proposition 8 case. The upside for gay people of a favorable decision is tremendous: It would mean same-sex couples all over the country would have to be afforded the opportunity to marry. But the downside is also great: It would mean a U.S. Supreme Court decision, which would likely stay on the books for a long time, holding gay people are not entitled to marry under the federal constitution.”

New Jersey Senate Debate – Protests and Supporters

Graphic copied from Kentucky Equality Federation, sponsor of the International Day Against Homophobia in Kentucky.

A prenatal pill for congenital adrenal hyperplasia to prevent ambiguous genitalia may reduce the chance that a female with the disorder will be gay. Critics call it engineering for sexual orientation while others are calling it outright genetic engineering.

Each year in the United States, perhaps a few dozen pregnant women learn they are carrying a fetus at risk for a rare disorder known as congenital adrenal hyperplasia. The condition causes an accumulation of male hormones and can, in females, lead to genitals so masculinized that it can be difficult at birth to determine the baby’s gender.

A hormonal treatment to prevent ambiguous genitalia can now be offered to women who may be carrying such infants. It’s not without health risks, but to its critics those are of small consequence compared with this notable side effect: The treatment might reduce the likelihood that a female with the condition will be homosexual. Further, it seems to increase the chances that she will have what are considered more feminine behavioral traits.

That such a treatment would ever be considered, even to prevent genital abnormalities, has outraged gay and lesbian groups, troubled some doctors and fueled bioethicists’ debate about the nature of human sexuality.

The treatment is a step toward “engineering in the womb for sexual orientation,” said Alice Dreger, a professor of clinical medical humanities and bioethics at Northwestern University and an outspoken opponent of the treatment.

The ability to chemically steer a child’s sexual orientation has become increasingly possible in recent years, with evidence building that homosexuality has biological roots and with advances in the treatment of babies in utero. Prenatal treatment for congenital adrenal hyperplasia is the first to test — unintentionally or not — that potential.

In animal studies, the treatment appears to cause an increased risk of high blood pressure, plus changes in glucose metabolism, brain structure and brain function, leading to memory problems, for example. Long-term studies in humans are lacking.

Copyright © 2010, Los Angeles Times

Genetic Engineering

Graphic copied from Kentucky Equality Federation, sponsor of the International Day Against Homophobia in Kentucky.

Being born gay or lesbian is not a sickness or a disease. The United Nations World Health Organization removed it from their list in 1978 thanks to the International Lesbian and Gay Association (“ILGA”) and enormous pressure from medical experts.  This resulted in U.S. states as well as the U.S. Center for Disease Control (“CDC”) and other world governments to do the same.

This finding will eventually have profound long-term impacts on the gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender community. Some doctors and scientists still believe homosexuality is a sickness despite reports from the American Medical Association and other reputable organizations to the contrary.

1. Would you change your sexual orientation with a pill or therapy if you could?
2. Would you have wanted your parents to take that action?
   

Mexico is a federation comprising thirty-one states and a Federal District, the capital city. Mexico is the 14th largest nation-state in the world and the 11th most populous.

Mexico City, like Washington, D.C. is a federal District controlled by the federal government and are not sovereign states or entities. However, the 8-2 vote by justices of the Mexican Supreme Court said marriage is a matter of equal rights, as well as states’ rights that should include the District.

Washington, D.C. legalized gay marriage earlier this year after a District Superior Court rejected a citizens anti-gay marriage referendum.

In March U.S. Chief Justice John Roberts rejected a last-minute request by traditional marriage supporters to stop the District’s same-sex marriage law from taking effect. As a “matter of judicial policy,” Roberts said in an opinion that it has been the practice of the U.S. Supreme Court not to intervene in local matters.

Earlier this year, Mexico City became the first capital city of Latin America allowing gay couples to marry and adopt, giving them the same rights as the heterosexual couples. The law was passed despite protests by Mexico President Calderon’s conservative government and his right-wing National Action Party or PAN. Gay marriage was called “immoral” by the Catholic hierarchy in Mexico and PAN has stated gay marriage would be destructive to families.

The Mexican Supreme Court will now decide if the city’s approval of gay adoption is constitutional, and examine whether gay couples married in Mexico City are married elsewhere in the federation.

According to the NotieSe news agency, 173 male couples and 147 female couples have gotten married. In 27 of the marriages, one partner was a foreigner — from Austria, Canada, Colombia, England, France, Germany, Guatemala, Italy, Panama, Romania, Spain, the United States, or Venezuela.

Last month, Argentina became the first South American nation to legalize same-sex marriage, while the Governor of Hawaii vetoed legislation legalizing same-sex civil unions.

In another victory for our community, last month, U.S. District Court Judge Joseph Tauro ruled that the Defense of Marriage Act’s denial of federal rights and benefits to lawfully married Massachusetts couples “offends” the notion of states’ rights as enshrined in the 10th amendment to the U.S. Constitution. The Commonwealth of Massachusetts sued the federal government for not recognizing legally married couples under Massachusetts law.

Williams attended several Republican events in western Kentucky, introducing U.S. Senate hopeful Rand Paul and firing up the troops. At a rally in Calvert City Friday night, Williams predicted possible Republican victories in two Kentucky congressional races.

“We might very well pick up a seat in Louisville or Lexington because there are a lot of people that are going to fall this year. They’re going to leave the Congress because of illness and fatigue. The people are sick and tired of them and they’re going to be leaving. Now, they don’t know that yet, but they are going to be leaving.”

Earlier this year, the Republican controlled Kentucky Senate passed a resolution that included gay and lesbian people in Kentucky.  Louisville Democratic Senator Gerald Neal introduced the resolution during the 2010 special session and to the surprise of everyone, it was adopted without objection in the predominantly Republican chamber.

Kentucky Senator Neal said that Rand Paul’s extreme beliefs have made Kentucky “a laughing stock.”  The resolution, which does not carry to force of law because it was not passed by House of Representatives or signed by the Governor, stated that “discrimination is any form is inconsistent with Kentucky values.” (previous story)

Williams is widely believed to be testing the waters for a gubernatorial bid next year against incumbent Democratic Governor Steve Beshear. Among those being mentioned as possible running mates for Williams is Agriculture Commissioner and former University of Kentucky basketball star Richie Farmer.

Kentucky Equality Federation graphic. All Rights Reserved. Used with permission.

The legal battle over same-sex marriage is far from over, both sides have said so.  Remember last year when the leaders of major gay rights organizations issued a plea urging people not to make Prop 8 a federal issue? Though I have fought for LGBTI equality and marriage equality for years, these organizations had good reasons for issuing their plea. Both national and state leaders listed their reasons for issuing the plea — the battle must we waged within the states.

Most legal scholars agree that the federal government cannot impose a definition of marriage onto the laws of the various states.

In 1971, the Minnesota Supreme Court ruled that Minnesota law limited marriage to opposite-sex couples, and that this limitation did not violate the United States Constitution. The plaintiffs appealed, and the United States Supreme Court, 409 U.S. 810 (1972), dismissed the appeal “for want of [a] substantial federal question,” meaning the U.S. Supreme Court lacked the authority to rule or override the Minnesota Supreme Court. That dismissal by the Supreme Court of the United States constituted a decision on the merits, and established Baker v. Nelson as the controlling precedent as a matter of federal constitutional law on the absence of federal authority regarding same-sex marriage.

Historically, the U.S. Supreme Court does not get too far ahead of either public opinion or the law in the majority of states (in which case same-sex marriage is overwhelmingly illegal).

Organizations Made Plea Not to Make Prop 8 a Federal Issue

Nine gay and civil liberties organizations – including the American Civil Liberties Union, the Human Rights Campaign, the National Center for Lesbian Rights and Lambda Legal – said “even the strongest gay-rights decision the court has issued – the Lawrence v. Texas case striking down laws against intimacy for gay couples – explicitly commented that it was not saying anything about formal recognition of same-sex relationships.”

SPECIAL NOTE: Credit to the Kentucky Supreme Court who struck down sodomy laws over 10 years before the U.S. Supreme Court heard the Lawrence v. Texas case (2003). The Kentucky Supreme Court struck down laws against intimacy for gay couples back in 1992 (Wasson v. the Commonwealth of Kentucky).

What prominent LGBTI organizations said last year about a federal lawsuit:

• Evan Wolfson of the GLBT equality group Freedom to Marry sent out a May 27 press release that stated, “In response to the California Supreme Court decision allowing Prop 8 to stand, four LGBT legal organizations and five other leading national LGBT groups are reminding the LGBT community that ill-timed lawsuits could set the fight for marriage back.”

• Law professor John Oakley of the University of California called the suit “a silly and rash act.”

• “It’s an enormous intellectual exercise against the biggest legal opponent in the country—the United States government,” said Lambda Legal’s Jennifer Pizer.

• “Successful change involves building blocks,” Matt Coles, director of ACLU’s LGBT project, told the Wall Street Journal’s law blog. “You build constitutional principles alongside efforts at the societal and legislative levels. They’re jumping over the process and going straight to the end. From where we sit, this is a very high-risk proposition.”

• “In our view, the best way to win marriage equality nationally is to continue working state by state, not to bring premature federal challenges that pose a very high risk of setting a negative U.S. Supreme Court precedent,” Shannon Minter, legal director of National Center for Lesbian Rights, told the AP.

NOTE: This entry was made by the co-founder and former president of Kentucky Equality Federation, Jordan Palmer. This entry may not conform to our editorial standards. This entry has been approved by an editor or moderator.