Thursday, November 07, 2013

Rubio To Keynote FL Hate Group Meeting

And he'll be there right beside alleged child kidnapping conspirator Mat Staver, head of the Liberty Counsel.

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Homosexuality Is Worse Than Trans Fats

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GM Recognizes Gay Marriages

General Motors will now recognize same-sex marriages for the purposes of insurance and pension benefits.
“GM will recognize a legal marriage for U.S. employees no matter the state of residence,” the automaker said in a statement. “For example, if a GM employee residing in Michigan, where same-sex marriage is not recognized, got married in New York, GM would recognize that marriage.” GM also changed its policies to allow same-sex partners of GM employees to inherit their spouse’s pension when they die. “Because marriage is considered a ‘life event,’ U.S. hourly and salaried employees can add their spouse to their health care coverage at any time within one year from their date of marriage or during the next annual enrollment period with proof of a valid, legal marriage license,” GM said in a statement.
Let's see if this prompts a Dump General Motors boycott by NOM.

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Giving Credit Where It's Due

Via Memographs.

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ILLINOIS: Thomas More Society Concedes Marriage Lawsuits Are Now Moot

Via press release:
This morning attorneys with the Thomas More Society secured an agreed Order, entered by Judge Sophia Hall, staying all further proceedings in the lawsuit filed by the Illinois ACLU and Lambda Legal, who filed suit over a year ago, challenging Illinois' marriage laws as unconstitutional in violation of various provisions of the Illinois Constitution of 1970. Given Tuesday's votes in the Illinois General Assembly, amending the marriage law to allow for same sex marriages and Governor Quinn's announcement that he will soon sign the new measure into law, the Society, whose attorneys represent downstate County Clerks who intervened in the lawsuit, filed a motion contending that the lawsuit should be dismissed as "moot."
According to the press release, Lambda Legal and the ACLU have, of course, agreed to the stay.

UPDATE: Lambda Legal director Jon Davidson jumped into the comments of this post.  He writes:
The Thomas More Society's press release may have been misleading. The court's order only stayed the Illinois marriage cases until Thursday of next week, and that is all that Lambda Legal and the ACLU agreed to. The cases are not moot at present, as same-sex couples currently are still not able to marry in Illinois. The cases will not be moot until same-sex couples actually can marry in the state.

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Tony Perkins Has The ENDA Sadz

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Atheist Group Praises ENDA Passage, Vows To Help Remove Exemptions

Via press release from the Secular Coalition For America:
The Secular Coalition for America today applauded the passing of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act in the U.S. Senate, but expressed disappointment that discrimination by religious organizations will continue to be permitted, leaving millions of Americans unprotected. “This is a step in the right direction, but it certainly doesn’t go far enough,” said Edwina Rogers, executive director for the Secular Coalition for America. “Many of the organizations exempted from the law receive public funding, which means they are permitted to discriminate against taxpayers with taxpayer dollars. That’s completely unacceptable.” The First Amendment’s Free Exercise Clause has never stood for the principal that religious belief trumps all other laws. As Justice Scalia once wrote “to permit this would be to make the professed doctrines of religious belief superior to the law of the land, and in effect to permit every citizen to become a law unto himself.” As the bill moves to the U.S.House, where Speaker John Boehner has indicated he will not bring the bill up. The Secular Coalition will continue to work for passage of ENDA, and to ensure Section 6 is removed or narrowed and that no exceptions are made for religiously-motivated discrimination.

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President Obama Cheers Passage Of ENDA, Urges House To Hear Bill

"Today’s victory is a tribute to all those who fought for this progress ever since a similar bill was introduced after the Stonewall riots more than three decades ago. In particular, I thank Majority Leader Reid, Chairman Harkin, Senators Merkley and Collins for their leadership, and Senator Kirk for speaking so eloquently in support of this legislation. Now it’s up to the House of Representatives.

"This bill has the overwhelming support of the American people, including a majority of Republican voters, as well as many corporations, small businesses and faith communities. They recognize that our country will be more just and more prosperous when we harness the God-given talents of every individual.

"One party in one house of Congress should not stand in the way of millions of Americans who want to go to work each day and simply be judged by the job they do. Now is the time to end this kind of discrimination in the workplace, not enable it. I urge the House Republican leadership to bring this bill to the floor for a vote and send it to my desk so I can sign it into law. On that day, our nation will take another historic step toward fulfilling the founding ideals that define us as Americans." - President Obama, via press release.

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Senate Passes ENDA 64-32

 Four senators did not vote. I'll have the roll call shortly.

UPDATE: Buzzfeed has the vote recap.
Ten Republicans joined all 54 present Democrats in voting for the bill. In addition to ENDA co-sponsors Sens. Mark Kirk and Susan Collins, Republicans Sens. Kelly Ayotte, Jeff Flake, Orrin Hatch, Dean Heller, John McCain, Lisa Murkowski, Rob Portman and Pat Toomey supported the legislation. Sens. Bob Casey and Tom Coburn are absent from the Senate Thursday, for family and health-related reasons, respectively. Sens. John Barrasso and Jeff Sessions did not vote.

The last time the full Senate voted on ENDA was in 1996, when the legislation contained only sexual orientation and not gender identity protections and the bill failed 49-50. The bill was voted on as part of the Senate’s consideration and eventual passage of the Defense of Marriage Act. The House passed a similar sexual orientation-only version of ENDA in 2007, but the Senate did not consider it and President George W. Bush opposed it.

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LIVE VIDEO: Final Senate ENDA Vote

The Senate is about to make its final vote on ENDA.  C-SPAN2 is covering the proceedings live.  While the bill will not be heard in the House under the Boehner regime, this IS major LGBT history happening today.

UPDATE: And it PASSES!

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Toomey's ENDA Amendment Fails

Sen. Pat Toomey's attempt to further broaden the religious exemptions in ENDA just failed 55-43.  View the roll call here. The final full vote on ENDA is due within the hour.

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ASAP Science: Fresh Vs Frozen

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Exit The Cronut

 Grubstreet reports:
As you've no doubt seen, this year, the first full day of Hanukkah is Thursday, November 28, which just so happens to also be Thanksgiving. And so, to celebrate this year's hybrid holiday, Zucker Bakery in the East Village has released pumpkin-flavored doughnuts stuffed with turkey and your choice of cranberry sauce or gravy. (Gravy!) They'll also offer a pumpkin doughnut with cranberry filling sans turkey, and a sweet-potato version filled with marshmallows.
The bakery doesn't show a price on its website. Will New Yorkers line up for hours, as they've done for cupcakes, macaroons, and cronuts? (Tipped by JMG reader Bill)

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Internet Killed The Video Store

As CNN puts it, your Blockbuster late fees are now waived.
On Wednesday, DISH Network, which purchased Blockbuster in 2011, announced it was closing the chain's 300 remaining U.S.-based retail stores, as well as its distribution centers. "Consumer demand is clearly moving to digital distribution of video entertainment," said DISH president and CEO Joseph P. Clayton in the press release about the closures. His statement echoes many from recent years about the migration of entertainment from physical objects -- CDs, DVDs, books, games -- to bits, bytes and pixels available on various screens and portable devices. The action was long expected. Blockbuster had been closing stores for years, as is obvious from the yawning vacancies still present in many of those very same strip malls. The chain was done in by Netflix, streaming video and a world of Internet options.
My headline is from the NYT story, which notes that Blockbuster had 9000 stores just ten years ago.

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Patrick Stewart Rings In Twitter IPO

The IPO was priced at $26 and at this writing the stock has climbed to $45.

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European Union Grants Asylum Eligibility For LGBT Refugees From Anti-Gay Nations

Excellent news from the EU. The BBC has the story:
The EU's top court has ruled that homosexuals from Sierra Leone, Uganda and Senegal who fear imprisonment in their home country have grounds for asylum in EU member states. The Netherlands had asked the court for advice about three gay citizens of those countries seeking asylum. The European Court of Justice (ECJ) says asylum can be granted in cases where people are actually jailed for homosexuality in their home country. ECJ rulings apply to all EU members. Homosexual acts are illegal in most African countries, including key Western allies such as Uganda, Nigeria, Kenya and Botswana. In June a report by Amnesty International said homophobic attacks had reached dangerous levels in sub-Saharan Africa and must stop.
IMPORTANT: The ruling stipulates that it will be up to each EU nation to determine if imprisonment is "applied in practice" in the applicant's home country. The "mere existence" of a ban on homosexuality is not grounds in itself for eligibility. (Tipped by JMG reader Matthew)

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The DNC Spikes The Ball

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The Next Issue Of TIME

TIME Magazine's new cover is blowing up Twitter today. Via Mediaite:
Next to a shadowy profile of newly-reelected New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, the cover reads, “The Elephant in the Room,” a triple pun on Christie’s party, his uncomfortable status within it, and, most troubling to the tweepsters, his weight. Despite Christie’s party affiliation, the cover drew much of its criticism from liberals, and even from old Time employees.

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Tony Perkins Vs Sen. Rob Portman

"With ENDA on the table, liberals (and a handful of Republicans) are trying to convince the American people that they aren't tolerant enough to run their own offices. Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) is trying to cushion the blow of his ENDA support with flimsy so-called religious exemptions that will do nothing to protect Americans. His amendment, which passed yesterday by voice vote, would supposedly prevent the government from discriminating against a church or church-run organization in the narrowest of exemptions. If Sen. Portman thinks his amendment will protect him from criticism once Americans recognize what the law means for businesses, he's mistaken." - Hate group leader Tony Perkins, via email.

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TRAILER: Sing Over Me

Clip recap:
The trailer shows Christian singer-songwriter Dennis Jernigan as he shares about his lifelong struggle with same-sex attraction and the redemption he's found in Christ. Despite Dennis's notoriety as a musician (he penned "You Are My All in All" among many other world-renowned worship songs), this is the first time he has spoken in-depth about his homosexual past and, now, freedom from same-sex attraction. "Sing Over Me" boasts an accomplished production team and is the 2nd feature film from director, Jacob Kindberg.

RELATED: Jernigan is a former vice president of Exodus International who resigned last year after he was exposed for supporting Jamaica's anti-gay laws. According to his Wikipedia entry, Jernigan also campaigned against the Hate Crimes Act. Last month Jernigan was named the winner of the "Ex-Gay Theme Song Contest."

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Thomas More Society Has Illinois Sadz

"While we believe it regrettable that Illinois legislators have now purported to redefine marriage as something different from the union of one man and one woman, we are at least pleased and reassured to hear that legislators insisted during today's floor debate in the House of Representatives that Illinois' Religious Freedom Restoration Act and other constitutional and statutory guaranties of Illinois citizens' religious liberties remain in full force and effect. We will do our part to insure that those fundamental religious liberties are given robust and unstinting protection. The free speech and free exercise clauses of our First Amendment remain at the core of our constitutional order, and no law nor any public official may lawfully coerce anyone to deny or disavow his or her religious beliefs, or refrain from professing those beliefs in the public square, or to go against those beliefs in practice. This is still a free country, and Thomas More Society stands ready to do its utmost to keep it free." - Tom Brejcha, whose group was representing downstate Illinois county clerks in the lawsuits to overturn the ban on same-sex marriage.

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Body Language

New York City Mayor-Elect Bill De Blasio sat down with Bloomberg yesterday. Gothamist writes
The people of New York pulled a fast one on Mayor Bloomberg last night, defying Dear Leader and electing his supposedly "racist," "class warfare"-waging arch-enemy to replace him. So it should come as no surprise that Bill de Blasio got a very grumpy-looking Bloomberg this morning when the two sat down for some special post-election bonding time at City Hall. De Blasio reportedly told the press that the mayor had given him some "good advice," and that being at City Hall as the mayoral-elect was a "special feeling," though from the looks of things, Bloomberg was brewing his own "special" brand of good old fashioned rancor.

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VIRGINIA: Gov-Elect's First Act Will Be To Protect LGBT State Employees

Via the Human Rights Campaign:
Signaling a new day for LGBT equality in Virginia, Democrat Governor-elect Terry McAuliffe said in his first press conference that his first executive order will be to ban discrimination against LGBT state employees. “In his first day as Governor-elect, Terry McAuliffe has declared a new day for LGBT equality in the Commonwealth of Virginia,” said HRC National Field Director Marty Rouse. “Inclusion and equality won in yesterday’s election, while the politics of hate and discrimination were soundly defeated. We look forward to working with the governor-elect on moving Virginia forward.”
RELATED: Shortly after he took office in 2010, outgoing Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell refused to renew an executive order that protected LGBT state employees from discrimination. Because he could find no evidence that such discrimination even existed.

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HomoQuotable - HI Rep. Jo Jordan

"No, nobody's going to beat me up. Nobody's going to throw me out of my (LGBT) community — I'm not quite sure of that. I might vote against something that I personally believe in. I personally believe I should have the right. You know how hard it is for me to say no? I have to say no." - Openly lesbian Hawaii state Rep. Jo Jordan, who voted against marriage equality on the second reading of the bill. Jordan says she listened to the five days of batshit crazy anti-gay testimony with an "open heart" and set aside her personal beliefs.

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Breitbart Headline Of The Day

Guess what they never mention in their announcement.

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HAWAII: House FINALLY Advances Marriage Bill, Final Vote Due On Friday

Via Honolulu Civil Beat:
After 11 hours of emotional floor speeches and failed attempts to have the issue put on the ballot, the House passed Senate Bill 1 on second reading by a vote of 30 to 18 (three members' absences were excused). The decision brings the measure to its third reading, set for 10 a.m. Friday. From there, the bill returns to the Senate for its consideration.

Supporters who rallied in the rotunda erupted in applause, hugs and cheers for "marriage equality" after the vote was announced. At the same moment, several dozen opponents — their crowd again far bigger — began chanting "let the people vote," urging lawmakers to put the issue on the ballot.

The overall numbers were far fewer but the tension between the two sides was more palpable than at any time during the special session, now in its second week. The two groups formed right next to each other, illuminated by the Capitol lights and TV news crews as a handful of lawmakers and staff members watched from the floors above.
Here's the reaction outside.

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Creationists Turn On Pat Robertson

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Updated Marriage Map

The governor of Illinois hasn't signed the bill yet, so maybe Slate is jumping the gun a little. But it's still satisfying to look at.

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Wednesday, November 06, 2013

Bryan Fischer Explains How To Get Demons Out Of Your New House

You even need to anoint your toaster, just in case leftists were making sandwiches for Satan.

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HomoQuotable - Michelangelo Signorile

"The fact that ENDA is unlikely to get a vote in the House gives us a chance to make sure the religious exemption comes out of this bill. That may make it harder to get it passed, and it may take a lot longer, but so be it. There are no shortcuts or bargains on civil rights. And quite honestly, when you ask for crumbs from the outset, both your friends and your enemies don't take you very seriously. We still need full protections in employment, housing and public accommodations, and none should include any religious exemptions. We need to stop viewing the ENDA vote this week as a sign of how far we've come -- as much of the hyped-up media has been doing -- and instead view it as a sign of how much further we need to go." - Michelangelo Signorile, writing for the Huffington Post.

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HAWAII: Full House Meets For Second Reading Of Marriage Equality Bill

Any approved amendments will send the bill back to the Senate for concurrence, which should come easily. It appears we're headed for a Friday finish line, folks. Things should get rolling any minute, watch live here.

 UPDATE: JMG reader Kevin suggests this feed works better.

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Quote Of The Day - Laurie Anderson

"We were at home – I'd gotten him out of the hospital a few days before – and even though he was extremely weak, he insisted on going out into the bright morning light. As meditators, we had prepared for this – how to move the energy up from the belly and into the heart and out through the head. I have never seen an expression as full of wonder as Lou's as he died. His hands were doing the water-flowing 21-form of tai chi. His eyes were wide open. I was holding in my arms the person I loved the most in the world, and talking to him as he died. His heart stopped. He wasn't afraid. I had gotten to walk with him to the end of the world. Life – so beautiful, painful and dazzling – does not get better than that. And death? I believe that the purpose of death is the release of love. At the moment, I have only the greatest happiness and I am so proud of the way he lived and died, of his incredible power and grace." - Laurie Anderson, writing for Rolling Stone's upcoming tribute issue to Lou Reed.

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Senate Adopts GOP's ENDA Amendment Granting Broader Religious Exemptions

Via the Associated Press:
On a quick, voice vote Wednesday, the Senate approved an amendment from Republican Sens. Rob Portman of Ohio and Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire that would prevent federal, state and local governments from retaliating against religious groups that are exempt from the law. The overall bill would prohibit workplace discrimination against gay, bisexual and transgender Americans. The vote set the stage for passage of the bill on Thursday when all 55 senators in the Democratic majority and a number of Republican senators are expected to back the measure. Asked if he would vote for the bill, five-term Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., who twice sought the presidency, said, "yes," then added in a brief interview, "if we get the amendments worked out." McCain was a co-sponsor of the Portman-Ayotte amendment. The Senate plans to vote on Thursday on an amendment by Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Pa., to expand the number of groups that are covered under the religious exemption.

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AUSTRALIA: Abortion Comment By Dan Savage Ignites Internet Firestorm

For several years the Sydney Opera House has hosted a forum titled the Festival Of Dangerous Ideas, where pundits and personalities like (the late) Christopher Hitchens, Julian Assange, and Alan Dershowitz have appeared. At this year's event, Savage was asked to present a "dangerous idea." His response:
"Population control: there's too many goddamn people on the planet. You know, I'm pro-choice, I believe that women should have a right to control their bodies. Sometimes in my darker moments, I'm anti-choice. I think abortion should be mandatory for about 30 years."
Savage's response is blowing up on Twitter this afternoon and is being posted across the wingnut-o-sphere. Pat Buchanan's biographer Tim Stanley goes off at Britain's Telegraph:
In retrospect, Savage might try to insist that he was only joking but there's no smile on his face and the point seems quite seriously made. It's also not funny. Had he said that old people should be exterminated to bring the numbers down, his career might be over. Because he said something similar about abortion, he'll probably be defended by radical pro-choicers. But what he's basically saying here is that women should be compelled to abort their children so that there are less people around to annoy Dan Savage. Of course, they already do this in China. The irony is that prior to this comment Savage and Hitchens were arguing about who was the more authoritarian: religious conservatives or free-loving liberals. With this statement on abortion, Savage answers his own question. In a way that should make both Left and Right shudder.
As you'll see in the clip, Savage was joking. And the audience did laugh.

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Maggie Gallagher Has The Virginia Sadz

"They said he was 'unelectable. The RNC put only $3 million into this race. Ken was outspent by a margin of something between 4:1 and 10:1, if you believe the Associated Press. The Democrats poured everything into trying to lie to voters and portray Cuccinelli as an extremist — and they barely pulled this one out. Would another $3 million have swung 50,000 votes? The Republicans, starting with Bill Bolling, who undercut Cuccinelli as unelectable have egg all over their faces." - Maggie Gallagher, writing for the National Review. (Tipped by JMG reader Chris)

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Lou Reed Posthumously Forgives Mother For His "Ex-Gay" Electroshock Torture

In an interview published in the 1996 book Please Kill Me: An Oral History Of Punk, the late Lou Reed described the electro-convulsive therapy his parents ordered because they wanted to cure him of his bisexuality. 
"They put the thing down your throat so you don't swallow your tongue, and they put electrodes on your head. That's what was recommended in Rockland State Hospital to discourage homosexual feelings. The effect is that you lose your memory and become a vegetable. You can't read a book because you get to page 17 and have to go right back to page one again."
Reed famously railed against the abuses of his parents in his 1974 song, Kill Your Sons.

Reed's will was filed in a Manhattan court on Monday. While he left 75% of his fortune to his wife Laurie Anderson in a bequest that includes homes, boats, and publishing royalties, Reed also left a quarter of his estate to his sister in the hopes that she'll care for their 93 year-old mother.  From the will: "It is my hope and desire, without imposing any legal obligation, that my said sister will use a portion of this cash bequest to help care for our mother, Toby Reed, for the balance of her life."

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Freep This Alabama Poll

Halfway down on the right. (Tipped by JMG reader Jerry)

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Lady Gaga To Sing In Space

Lady Gaga has booked a ticket on Virgin Galactic and will perform a song from low-orbit in 2015. Seriously.
The "Dope" performer, 27, is set to blast off in a Virgin Galactic ship and belt out a single track during the Zero G Colony high-tech musical festival in New Mexico. "She has to do a month of vocal training because of the atmosphere," says a source, who adds that the diva's glam squad will join her in the shuttle. Zero G Colony is a three-day hi-tech festival set to take place at Spaceport America in New Mexico that features world-class entertainment and cutting-edge technology. Gaga's performance in space is planned to take place on the third day at dawn, which is approximately six months after the first Virgin Galactic commercial flight.
Gaga will be the first pop star to perform in space. That's if you don't count Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield's amazing rendition of David Bowie's Space Oddity, which he performed from the International Space Station in May.

RELATED: Openly gay boy band-er Lance Bass was supposed to fly to the ISS in 2002, but Russian officials canceled when television producers failed to raise the $2M fare.

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Lively Hearing Has Concluded

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ILLINOIS: Gov. Pat Quinn To Sign Marriage Equality Bill By The End Of The Month

I was expecting the Illinois marriage bill to be rushed to Quinn's desk last night or at least this morning. But the Chicago Tribune just reported that the signing won't be right away.
The governor said the exact timing depends on when various advocates will be able to get together, saying those who fought so hard for the measure deserve to be there when he puts pen to paper. "We're going to make an arrangement so lots and lots of people can come to the ceremony," Quinn said. "I think it's important to have an opportunity for the people who worked so hard in the community to pass marriage equality to have an opportunity to be there at the bill signing. This is what democracy is all about, people banning together for a cause they believe in, passing a law that makes our state a better place."

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Timeline: Matt Barber's Virginia Sadz

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Planned Parenthood Cheers Cooch Loss

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Barton: I'm Not Running For Senate

He's not running UNLESS God tells him to.

PREVIOUSLY ON JMG: David Barton says Starbucks hates Jesus.  David Barton says God sent AIDS and meningitis to kill gay men.  David Barton says Jesus already declared same-sex marriage to be unconstitutional.  David Barton says hating liberals is as good as virtue as hating Nazis.  David Barton says the right to own assault weapons is in the bible. David Barton says much of the Constitution is direct literal quotes from the bible. David Barton says God told him that homosexuality should be criminalized.

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GOP Senators Attempt To Expand ENDA's Already Too-Broad Religious Exemptions

Buzzfeed's Chris Geidner reports that a group of GOP senators are pushing an amendment to ENDA that would expand the already too-broad religious exemption in the bill. LGBT groups "appear uninterested" in fighting the amendment, says Geidner.
The amendment, which also includes a provision making explicit that the purpose of the ENDA includes respect for religious liberty, is being authored by Sen. Rob Portman and is cosponsored by Sens. Kelly Ayotte, Dean Heller, Orrin Hatch, and John McCain. On Monday evening, the Senate’s lead sponsor of the bill, Sen. Jeff Merkley, said he would be backing the amendment. Officials with the Human Rights Campaign, American Civil Liberties Union and Freedom to Work all said they believed it was an unnecessary provision, but none said they were actively opposing it — and HRC made its lack of opposition explicit. “HRC believes this language is unnecessary, but does not oppose it. We believe this merely restates the status quo for religious employers,” HRC vice president for communications Fred Sainz told BuzzFeed.
The proposed amendment would bar the government from retaliating against "religious employers" that discriminate against LGBT workers. Here is the text:
“A religious employer’s exemption under this Act shall not result in any action by a Federal government agency, or any state or local government agency that receives Federal funding or financial assistance, to penalize or withhold licenses, permits, certifications, accreditation, contracts, grants, guarantees, tax-exempt status, or any benefits or exemptions from that employer, or to prohibit the employer’s participation in programs or activities sponsored by that Federal, state, or local government agency. Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to invalidate any other federal, state, or local law or regulation that otherwise applies to an employer exempt under this section.”
Sen. Pat Toomey has an amendment of his own and this one IS opposed by LGBT groups. The text:
“(b) In addition, (i) an employer shall qualify for this exemption if it is (in whole or in part) managed by a particular religious corporation, association, or society; if it is officially affiliated with a particular religion or religious corporation, association, or society; or if the institution’s curriculum is directed toward the propagation of a particular religion; and (ii) This exemption shall apply regardless of whether the employer, or the employment position at issue, engages in secular activities as well as religious activities.”
ENDA passed its cloture test on Monday and may be heard by the full Senate as early as today.

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Porno Pete Has The Illinois Sadz II

"It's very sad to see the Land of Lincoln now on the verge of officially defying God with our marriage laws. No matter what happens through the law or what politicians do, two men will never really be married, nor will two women. Marriage is one man, one woman. Sadly, as this state, and increasingly the country, kicks God to the curb, we're setting up all sorts of new-fangled legal arrangements – and that's exactly what homosexual so-called marriage is. It will now be easier in schools to propagandize in favor of so-called homosexual marriage." - Porno Pete, speaking to the American Family Association's OneNewsNow.

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Brian Brown Has The Illinois Sadz

"It’s disappointing but not surprising that the House has voted to redefine marriage. The losers will be the people of Illinois who will see that redefining marriage will unleash a torrent of harassment toward those who believe that marriage is the union of one man and one woman. Once the law goes into effect in June of next year, we will see individuals, businesses and religious groups sued, fined, brought up on charges of discrimination and punished simply for holding true to the traditional view of marriage. The legislation that has been adopted contains no meaningful protections for religious liberty. We will see a torrent of actions aimed at people of faith and religious groups. All we need to do is recall the words of Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel when Chick-fil-A’s CEO expressed his support for true marriage. Emanuel pledged that businesses like that would not be allowed to operate in Chicago." - Hate group leader Brian Brown, via press release.

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MASSACHUSETTS: Protesters Gather Outside Hearing For Scott Lively

Scott Lively's crimes against humanity case begins today in Massachusetts and protesters this morning staged a rally outside the courthouse. Reporting from inside is not being allowed, so I'll have further details later this afternoon. Photo source.

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NEW YORK CITY: Corey Johnson Easily Wins Chelsea City Council Seat

Openly gay and openly HIV+ former GLAAD staffer Corey Johnson scored an easy win yesterday, taking the Chelsea/West Village city council district of outgoing Speaker Christine Quinn by a massive margin. Johnson was first appointed to Chelsea's Community Board 4 in 2011 and later became its chair. He is a former contributor to Towleroad.

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