AL Chief Justice Roy Moore to Face Judicial Panel Today on Ethics Charges Over Gay Marriage Order

Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore will face a trial-like proceeding today on judicial ethics charges stemming from his defiance of the Supreme Court’s ruling on same-sex marriage. Moore could be removed from the bench.

Moore, who has been defying the federal government since the Supreme Court’s ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges, was suspended in May and charged with violating ethical rules for trying to stop probate judges from issuing marriage licenses in the state.

In January, Moore issued an order prohibiting 68 probate judges from issuing marriage licenses to gay couples telling them they had a “ministerial duty” to do so.

In his order, Moore actually cited the U.S. Supreme Court’s Obergefell ruling. Moore claimed that the high court’s ruling only applied to Michigan, Kentucky, Ohio and Tennessee, the states directly involved in Obergefell.

In March, the Alabama Supreme Court dismissed a series of petitions asking it to declare that the state’s ban on gay marriage is still in effect.

That decision meant anti-gay foes like the Alabama Policy Institute were out of legal options to try and fight the SCOTUS ruling on gay marriage in Obergefell. However, that fact didn’t stop Chief Justice Roy Moore from writing a scathing rebuke of Obergefell and insisting that the state’s ban on gay marriage was still in effect.

The AP reports on today’s proceedings:

The nine-member Court of the Judiciary will weigh the intent with the memo: Was it a defiant effort to try to block gay marriage or, as Moore contends, a status report in response to probate judges’ questions?

Moore’s attorney Mat Staver said the chief justice told the judges that he was not at “liberty” to offer them advice on what to do. Staver said probate judges were asking questions because the Alabama Supreme Court had not lifted the order after indicating they would make a decision.

John Carroll, a lawyer for the Judicial Inquiry Commission — the group that brought the charges against Moore — told the court last month that Moore’s purpose was clear and now is trying to “pretend away” the charges.

Shortly after the Obergefell ruling, Moore predicted all-out war over it.

Moore said that same-sex marriage would lead to the “persecution” of Christians who would be forced to “accept evil” and “condone sodomy.” He also said it would lead to a massive and possibly violent backlash and claimed that the founding fathers would be “incensed” at the SCOTUS decision, calling the Court a tyrannical force trampling on freedom.

Moore said he saw his battle as a holy one:

“God gives rights and the government’s role is to secure those rights. When governments [sic] dismisses god out of the equation and pretends to get rights, we suffer accordingly.

“I think that’s where we were in 1776 and if government is not securing the rights god gave us….[same-sex marriage] is not really securing it, is it?”

The post AL Chief Justice Roy Moore to Face Judicial Panel Today on Ethics Charges Over Gay Marriage Order appeared first on Towleroad.

AL Chief Justice Roy Moore to Face Judicial Panel Today on Ethics Charges Over Gay Marriage Order

California Bans State-Funded Travel To States That Discriminate Against LGBT People

California lawmakers have approved a ban on state-funded travel to other states that discriminate against LGBT people.

Introduced by Assembly Member Evan Low (above and right) last February and signed by California Governor Jerry Brown on September 27th, AB 1887 prohibits “a state agency and the Legislature from requiring any of its employees, officers, or members to travel to, or approving a request for state-funded or state-sponsored travel to, any state that, after June 26, 2015, has enacted a law that voids or repeals, or has the effect of voiding or repealing, existing state or local protections against discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression or has enacted a law that authorizes or requires discrimination against same-sex couples or their families or on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression, as specified, subject to certain exceptions.”

AB 1887 was signed: bans state funded travel to states that discrim against LGBT people. Thx @Benioff @KamalaHarris @eqca #lovewins 🌈🏳️‍🌈❤️ pic.twitter.com/R4W9d7pAnD

— Evan Low (@Evan_Low) September 27, 2016

In May, Low said that AB 1887 – sponsored by Equality California and the National Center for Lesbian Rights – “sends a clear message that we do not tolerate discrimination in California or anywhere beyond our borders. Just as we strive to be a state that provides equal opportunity for all,” he added “we should not be spending our tax dollars in states that allow discrimination toward the LGBT community. We are stronger by being inclusive.”

Earlier this year, Washington, Vermont, New York City, San Francisco, Seattle and New York banned official travel to North Carolina because of that state’s contentious HB2 law.

(Image via Twitter)

The post California Bans State-Funded Travel To States That Discriminate Against LGBT People appeared first on Towleroad.

California Bans State-Funded Travel To States That Discriminate Against LGBT People

Get a Goofy Peek Behind-the Scenes at the ‘Will & Grace’ Reunion – WATCH

It was a reunion nobody expected and a glorious moment when the cast of Will & Grace came together earlier this week for a Trump-baiting pre-election scene.

In fine form, Will and Grace are livid that Trump even exists while Karen Walker has just spent the weekend with the orange one at Mar a Lago. Jack steals the scene (as ever) as the “unemployed, uneducated, angry white man” who is considering voting for the GOPish flip-flopping hot mess until convinced to vote Hillary via some hardcore Gracesplaining.

RELATED: The ‘Will & Grace’ Cast Have Reunited to Take on the Presidential Election: WATCH

The set is the same, the gags are (almost) as good as ever and the cast didn’t seem to have aged a bit. There may not be a full reunion on the cards so get your fill of an additional behind the scenes photo montage.

And watch the full scene HERE.

The post Get a Goofy Peek Behind-the Scenes at the ‘Will & Grace’ Reunion – WATCH appeared first on Towleroad.

Get a Goofy Peek Behind-the Scenes at the ‘Will & Grace’ Reunion – WATCH

Texas Association of Business Condemns Anti-LGBTQ Legislation

Last week, the Texas Association of Business (TAB) formally condemned anti-LGBTQ legislation, including legislation that would deny transgender people access to appropriate restrooms.

TAB’s resolution opposed “legislation that is seen as discriminatory and would impact workforce recruitment and/or cause a negative economic impact on the state,” TAB President Chris Wallace told The Texas Observer.

The resolution comes as fallout continues in North Carolina over Gov. Pat McCrory’s discriminatory anti-LGBTQ law HB2. HB2 not only threatens LGBTQ North Carolinians, but also has had a severe economic impact on the state. Just this month, the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) and the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) moved championship games out of North Carolina due to HB2. Since the NCAA announcement, Town of Cary officials have estimated the Governor’s refusal to repeal HB2 will cause them to lose out on $2 million in direct visitor spending in Cary alone. Citing the hostile environment created by the anti-LGBTQ law, the NBA also previously announced it is moving the 2017 All-Star Game out of the state, costing North Carolina an estimated $100 million in All-Star Game related profits.

“We don’t want economic fallout here because of legislative action that could be prevented,” Wallace told The Texas Observer. “We know it’s going to be a top issue, and because of that, business has to speak up.”

The economic fallout from HB2 continues to mount as companies concerned with protecting their customers and employees have moved conventions, trainings, operations, productions, and more out of state. In the more than five months since Gov. McCrory and state lawmakers rammed HB2 into law, the outcry has continued to grow: More than 200 major CEOs and business leaders signed an open letter calling for full repeal of HB2 — including many of North Carolina’s largest employers. Major film studios and corporations, from PayPal to Deutsche Bank, have stopped investments and conventions have withdrawn from the state, taking substantial revenue with them.

While the economic impact is clear, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and Texas Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick  jumped into the legal battle over HB2. Paxton and ten other state attorneys general have urged U.S. District Court Judge Thomas Schroeder to pause the proceedings of a pending Justice Department challenge to HB2 so that other cases can be heard and resolved first. Astoundingly, Patrick and Paxton have repeatedly claimed that they cannot define “transgender,” and have never met a transgender person before.

www.hrc.org/blog/texas-association-of-business-condemns-anti-lgbtq-legislation?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss-feed

As Gay Black Men Face HIV Crisis, Advocate Says ‘No Choice but Hillary Clinton’

This post originally appeared on miamiherald.com

Much has been written about the 2016 presidential election, including the fact that young people like me are still deciding where to throw our support. For me, there is no choice but Hillary Clinton. She is the only candidate in this race with a plan to address one of the most pressing issues on my mind and the minds of many other Americans, especially those of color: HIV.

Last week, I traveled to Hollywood to attend the 20th annual US Conference on AIDS. The stakes there, as they are in this election, could not have been clearer. If current trends continue, one in two black men who has sex with men (MSM) will contract HIV in our lifetime. The rate for Latino MSM is one in four. I shudder to think what the rate would be for young, transgender women who are also disproportionately affected by HIV.

This shouldn’t be happening in today’s America, where we’ve made great strides in HIV prevention, treatment, and care. And yet, it is — largely because of structural barriers including stigma, discrimination, and poverty. The situation is especially dire in the state of Florida, which is home to at least five of the top 20 cities with the highest rates of HIV transmission.

The conference occurred just two months after I had an opportunity to join with a group of HIV and AIDS activists to meet with Hillary Clinton to discuss how we move forward together to create an AIDS-free generation. At the conference last week, there was an undercurrent of unease about the upcoming election. While Hillary Clinton sent a surrogate, Dr. Eric Goosby, to address the thousands of attendees gathered, Donald Trump sent no one. Not surprisingly, Trump’s chief campaign surrogate — running mate Mike Pence — did not attend. He has a long history of standing against HIV and AIDS prevention, treatment and research efforts.

Pence vowed to oppose federal funding for HIV and AIDS prevention programs as a member of Congress unless it was offset with cuts to programs that he claimed “celebrate and encourage the types of behaviors that facilitate the spreading of the HIV virus.” Pence instead wanted funding for so-called “conversion therapy” programs that have been rejected by every mainstream medical and mental health organization as dangerous and not supported by science.

And as governor of Indiana, Pence again put his hateful ideology first. A new study published in the New England Journal of Medicine this year highlighted how the HIV outbreak that occurred in on Mike Pence’s watch in rural Indiana could have been prevented. The study noted that HIV testing in Scott County, Indiana, was no longer available after a Planned Parenthood Clinic was closed, and that Pence dragged his feet on needle exchange programs that are a proven form of prevention.

Trump’s team has proposed no policy on HIV and AIDS. His policy staff notoriously abandoned his campaign this summer after Trump refused to pay them. What’s more troubling than Trump’s own lack of a formal policy is that he put Mike Pence on the ticket.

Hillary Clinton, by contrast, has offered the most robust LGBTQ equality agenda of anyone who has run for president. Just this summer Clinton released a detailed plan to fight the HIV and AIDS epidemic both in the U.S. and abroad and to create an AIDS-free generation once and for all. As president, she would increase access to Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) and other HIV prevention methods, fight to remove barriers to accessing care, protect the Ryan White HIV and AIDS program, and work to end stigma and discrimination against people living with and affected by HIV.

Last week’s 20th annual U.S. Conference on AIDS in Hollywood was a reminder that all the gains the LGBTQ community has fought for over the last eight years are on the line in November — including the progress we have made on HIV and AIDS. Donald Trump and Mike Pence could have taken the time at this event to develop and release a plan of their own. They didn’t. That’s why “I’m with Her.”

www.hrc.org/blog/as-gay-black-men-face-hiv-crisis-advocate-says-no-choice-but-hillary-clinto?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss-feed

At Long Last, Change Is Coming for Caribbean Gays

As activists push for change in the notoriously homophobic region, Aruba takes a big step in the right direction.

www.advocate.com/commentary/2016/9/28/long-last-change-coming-caribbean-gays

Pharma Loopholes Are Leading to HIV-Related Deaths

Conservative states and stingy insurers are cutting off the supply of lifesaving drugs. After losing his uncle to HIV-related causes, Ramon Gardenhire of the AIDS Foundation of Chicago demands action.

www.advocate.com/commentary/2016/9/28/pharma-loopholes-are-leading-hiv-related-deaths

80 Photos of Folsom: Behind Closed Doors

www.advocate.com/photography/2016/9/28/80-photos-folsom-behind-closed-doors

Hey, Putin: It's Raining Men in Russia (Photos)

www.advocate.com/photography/2016/9/28/hey-putin-its-raining-men-russia-photos