UTAH: State GOP To Spend $2M On Outside Counsel To Fight Gay Marriage

Utah House Speaker Becky Lockhart (R-Duh) says that the state GOP is willing to spend $2M to fight same-sex marriage before the Supreme Court, if necessary.

"We need the best we can get," House Speaker Becky Lockhart, R-Provo, said after a House GOP leadership meeting Friday with newly named Attorney General Sean Reyes. "He's coming into this, frankly, in the middle." Reyes laid out his case for bringing in help to seek a stay from the U.S. Supreme Court of last Friday's ruling striking down Amendment 3, a decision resulting in same-sex marriage being allowed in Utah. He has said he also intends to use the outside counsel to bolster the state's appeal of U.S. District Judge Robert Shelby's ruling to the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals and possibly to the Supreme Court. After hearing Reyes' strategy and the projected cost, Lockhart said the House Republican majority leadership "felt comfortable telling him, 'Move forward with what you think is in the best interest of the state.' "

Lockhart: "To go through the court process on an issue that, on a 2-to-1 vote the people of our state felt was important to have in our constitution, I think is of value."

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Posted in: GOP,marriage equality,SCOTUS,Utah

From The Governor Of South Carolina

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Posted in: GOP,Nikki Haley,South Carolina,Tea Party

Headline Of The Day

The story is illustrated with a photo of Crazy Eyes.

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Posted in: 2014 elections,GOP,Tea Party,teabaggers

BREAKING: Tenth Circuit Court DENIES Marriage Stay In Xmas Eve Order

Via Chris Geidner at Buzzfeed:

The 10th Circuit Court of Appeals denied the state of Utah’s request to stop same-sex couples’ marriages during the appeal of the judge’s ruling that started those marriages on Friday.“Having considered the district court’s decision and the parties’ arguments concerning the stay factors, we conclude that a stay is not warranted,” Judges Jerome Holmes and Robert Bacharach wrote in an order signed by court clerk Elisabeth Shumaker for the court.

The denial means that a Friday decision by Judge Robert Shelby striking down the state’s ban on same-sex couples marrying will remain in place during the appeal of the case, absent a contrary ruling from the Supreme Court — to which Utah officials could appeal. Interim requests of the type that would be filed in this situation would go to Justice Sonia Sotomayor, who oversees such requests from the 10th Circuit. She could either decide the matter on her own or refer the matter to the whole court for consideration.

Merry Christmas, UTAH!

UPDATE: The state is going right to Sotomayor.

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Posted in: Gary Herbert,GOP,lawsuits,LGBT rights,marriage equality,Tenth Circuit Court,Utah

Quote Of The Day - Ian Bayne

"In December 1955, Rosa Parks took a stand against an unjust societal persecution of black people, and in December 2013, Robertson took a stand against persecution of Christians. What Parks did was courageous. What Mr. Robertson did was courageous too." - Ian Bayne, GOP candidate for the US House, writing on his campaign website.

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Posted in: batshittery,GOP,Phil Robertson,religion

NEW MEXICO: GOP State Senator Intro's Bill To Ban Same-Sex Marriage

As expected, a GOP senator in New Mexico has already introduced a bill to place a ban on same-sex marriage in the state constitution and thereby overturn yesterday's ruling by the state Supreme Court.

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Posted in: bigotry,GOP,marriage equality,New Mexico

PENNSYLVANIA: Governor Tom Corbett Backs LGBT Anti-Discrimination Bill

Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett, who so far had been no friend to the gay community, has backed a bill that would protect LGBT residents from discrimination in housing, employment, and public accommodations.

Corbett, who has previously staked out conservative positions on social issues, told The Inquirer that he was "coming out in support" of the bill after learning that federal law does not cover discrimination in the state. "I've had people come and talk to me about how they were discriminated against," said Corbett, who served for eight years as the state's attorney general. "The federal government has antidiscrimination laws. I believed they covered it." Corbett's support of legislation that has languished in the General Assembly for a decade is viewed by many advocates as a major step forward on a civil rights issue. "This is remarkably big news," said Ted Martin, executive director of Equality Pennsylvania, a statewide gay rights advocacy group. "His leadership will move the issue forward in a way that is long overdue."

Corbett says he's has not changed his mind about same-sex marriage, which he infamously compared to incest during an interview earlier this year.

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Posted in: employment,GOP,housing,LGBT rights,pennsylvania,public accommodations,Tom Corbett

New Petition From The RNC

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Posted in: Barack Obama,GOP,Obamacare,RNC

Without Exaggeration, This Teabagger Is A Million Times Worse Than Hitler

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Posted in: GOP,North Carolina,Tea Party,teabaggers

Paul Ryan/Aaron Schock Slashfic

It exists. (Tipped by JMG reader TeeJay)

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Posted in: Aaron Schock,erotica,GOP,Paul Ryan

Mike Huckabee: I'll Run For President Again But Only If God Tells Me To

Mike Huckabee says that he'll run for president in 2016, but only if God tells him to.

"The first question he was asked was whether or not he was running for president and he said he'd let the Lord decide," ABC quoted Warren Watkins, pastor of Westside Baptist Church, as saying, of pastors' interaction with Huckabee at a meeting at the Convention Center in Little Rock, Ark., Thursday night. "I think most of the evangelical pastors are already behind him, but I thought this was a great event for him to do that probably," added David Insell, pastor of Believer's Community Church in Batesville, Ark., who was also at the meeting.

Huckabee won a number of states during the 2008 primaries but withdrew after it became clear that John McCain would win Texas and achieve the required number of delegates to secure his nomination.

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Posted in: 2016 elections,GOP,Mike Huckabee,religion

RNC Member Claims Gays Want Free Healthcare Because They All Have AIDS

“Folks, they (gay people) want free medical because they’re dying (when they’re) between 30 and 44 years old. To me, it’s a moral issue. It’s a Biblical issue. Traditional marriage is where it should be and it’s in our platform. Those in our party who oppose traditional marriage are wrong. - Republican National Committee member Dave Agema, speaking at a Michigan GOP holiday party. LGBTQ Nation reports that Equality Michigan is calling for the RNC to suspend and denounce Agema, who earlier this year posted a Facebook claim that half of the murders in major cities are committed by gay people. (Tipped by JMG reader Jake)

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Posted in: assholism,crackpots,Dave Agema,GOP,liars,Michigan,religion,RNC

MA GOP Candidates For Gov & Lt. Gov Back Marriage, Wingnuts Threaten To Walk

Massachusetts GOP gubernatorial candidate Charlie Baker supports same-sex marriage. And as of this week, so does his running mate, Karyn Polito. And that makes the Tea People very unhappy.

Social conservative activists are threatening to walk away from Republican gubernatorial candidate Charlie Baker after his running mate, former state representative Karyn E. Polito, reversed her position this week, endorsing gay marriage. According to state Republican Party insiders, some of Polito’s closest allies in the battle against gay marriage are pressing the former Shrewsbury lawmaker to dial back her new stance on the issue or risk losing their support. “I know they are meeting today and trying to work it out,’’ said a Republican Party leader who is a strong backer of Baker’s candidacy. The Baker campaign, looking to placate social conservatives, said late Thursday that Polito considers same sex unions to be accepted law. But the campaign would not make Polito available to be interviewed about her position.

RELATED: Baker ran unsuccessfully for governor in 2010, when his running mate was openly gay state Sen. Richard Tisei, who now works as a realtor after losing last year's bid to become the first openly gay GOP member of the U.S. House.

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Posted in: 2014 elections,GOP,Massachusetts,Tea Party

NEBRASKA: GOP Candidate For Gov Issues Pledge To Block Marriage Benefits

Nebraska state Sen. Beau McCoy is running for governor and he wants his fellow candidates to sign on to a pledge to block benefits for gays married in other states.

"Make no mistake," the Omaha state senator said, "every time same-sex couples get the same recognition as a married couple, the Nebraska Constitution and the will of Nebraskans gets undermined." Nebraska voters in 2000 adopted a constitutional amendment defining marriage as only between one man and one woman. "The people of Nebraska spoke out loud and clear," McCoy said. McCoy's statement was issued in reaction to a decision by the Douglas County Board to offer the same county employee benefits to same-sex couples married in other states that it does to couples legally married in Nebraska.

McCoy: "As governor, I will not allow the institution of marriage or our constitution to be attacked by expanding state benefits to state employees in same-sex relationships who get married in other states." (Tipped by JMG reader Thom)

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Posted in: 2014 elections,Beau McCoy,GOP,Nebraska

Democrats Slam Christie For Backing Anti-Gay Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin

UPDATE: Garden State Equality is furious.

“As a native Oklahoman, I find Governor Fallin’s anti-LGBT stand reprehensible. Ending service to all rather than offering service to a minority is not equality, it is discrimination of the highest order," said Troy Stevenson, executive director of Garden State Equality. "While Governor Christie has never been a proponent of the freedom to marry, he has always claimed to support equal protections for all. In a time when LGBT rights are quickly becoming a non-partisan issue, it is tragic that Governor Fallin has chosen time and time again to marginalize LGBT Oklahomans."

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Posted in: 2014 elections,Chris Christie,GOP,Mary Fallin,National Guard,Oklahoma