Alabama Supreme Court Halts Same-Sex Marriages

MONTGOMERY (AP) – The Alabama Supreme Court on Tuesday ordered the state’s probate judges to stop issuing marriage licenses to gay couples, saying a previous federal ruling that gay-marriage bans violate the U.S. Constitution does not preclude them from following state law, which defines marriage as between a man and a woman.

The all-Republican court in Montgomery sided with the argument offered by a pair of conservative organizations when they appealed a decision last month by U.S. District Judge Callie Granade of Mobile, who ruled that both Alabama’s constitutional and statutory bans on same-sex marriage were unconstitutional.

It was not immediately clear what impact the court’s ruling would have or whether it would stand. While a six-member majority of the nine-member court did not explicitly invalidate the marriages of hundreds of same-sex couples who obtained licenses in the state in recent weeks, the decision used the term “purported” to describe those licenses.

The court’s most outspoken opponent of gay marriage, Chief Justice Roy Moore, recused himself from the case and did not participate in the writing of the unsigned 134-page decision.

After Granade’s ruling, Moore told probate judges across the state not to issue same-sex marriage licenses. His stance created widespread confusion, prompting some judges to refuse to issue the licenses and others to shut down their operations for all couples, gay and straight, until they could get a clear answer. Still others decided to issue the licenses.

Of the other justices on Alabama’s high court, one agreed with the ruling while citing some reservations, and one, Justice Greg Shaw, dissented.

In his dissent, Shaw said it was “unfortunate” that federal courts refused to delay gay marriage in the state until the U.S. Supreme Court could settle the issue nationally. But, Shaw said, the state Supreme Court doesn’t have the power to consider the issue and is creating more confusion by “venturing into unchartered waters” (sic) outside its jurisdiction.

The court released the decision while Gov. Robert Bentley and most state leaders were assembled in Montgomery for the state of the state address. A spokeswoman for Bentley said the administration was reviewing the decision and had no immediate comment.

The court’s ruling came in response to a request from the Southern Baptist-affiliated Alabama Citizens Action Program and the Alabama Policy Institute, a conservative think tank, which asked the justices to halt same-sex unions.

David Kennedy, a lawyer for the couple in the case that resulted in Granade’s ruling overturning Alabama’s gay-marriage ban, said the U.S. Supreme Court spoke on the Alabama case when it refused to block Granade’s decision.

“The Alabama Supreme Court has now demonstrated a willingness to defy and nullify a decision of the Supreme Court of the United States, the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals and the federal district court for the southern district of Alabama,” said Kennedy.

The Alabama court ruled state bans on gay marriage aren’t discriminatory since they ban both men and women from marrying people of the same sex, and it said the laws have a rational basis because they are meant to recognize and encourage ties “between children and their biological parents.”

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VP Biden To Headline Gay Rights Group’s Convention

WASHINGTON (AP) – Vice President Joe Biden will deliver a speech this week to the nation’s largest gay rights group.

The Human Rights Campaign says Biden will headline its annual convention on Friday in Washington. The group advocates for equal rights for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people.

Biden spoke at the group’s annual gala fundraiser last year, and President Barack Obama has also spoken to HRC. The group endorsed the Obama-Biden re-election campaign, and has already started attacking likely 2016 Republican presidential candidates over their positions on gay rights issues.

Biden’s 2012 disclosure that he supported same-sex marriage increased the pressure on Obama, who announced shortly thereafter that he had changed his position and now supports gay marriage. Biden has described gay rights as “the civil rights issue of our day.”

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Charlotte Rejects LGBT Anti-Discrimination Proposal

CHARLOTTE (AP) – Charlotte has narrowly rejected a measure protecting people from discrimination because of their sexual orientation.

The City Council voted Monday night 6-5 against expanding the city’s nondiscrimination ordinance to include sexual orientation, gender expression and gender identity to a list of protected groups.

It also would have prohibited discrimination based on someone’s marital and familial status.

Before the vote, the council removed a section of the ordinance that would have allowed transgendered people to use the bathroom in which they feel most comfortable. That provision had been the focus of radio ads and thousands of phone messages in which ordinance opponents say letting biological males use women’s bathrooms could endanger women and children.

A coalition of gay rights groups Tuesday condemned the vote, saying similar protections have been adopted by more than 200 local governments across the country, including many in the Carolinas: Raleigh, Winston-Salem in North Carolina and Charleston and Myrtle Beach in South Carolina.

The Charlotte Non-Discrimination Ordinance Coalition said the decision “moves the city backward not forward and shows a continued lack of commitment to fair treatment of all its citizens and residents.”

“This coalition will not stop lobbying Council for these changes and will bring them back to city leaders for future consideration,” said Jen Jones, the group’s communication director.

The vote in North Carolina’s largest city took place after a few hours of emotional debate. One-hundred-twenty people signed up to speak two minutes either for or against the measure. Before the meeting, supporters and opponents held rallies.

Among America’s 20 largest cities, only three – Charlotte; Memphis, Tennessee; and Jacksonville, Florida – are without the kind of nondiscrimination ordinance that came before the Charlotte City Council.

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W. Michigan City Adds Sexual Orientation To Non-Discrimination Ordinance

EAST GRAND RAPIDS (AP) – A city in western Michigan may add sexual orientation and gender identity to an existing non-discrimination ordinance on housing and employment.

City leaders in East Grand Rapids on Monday supported the amendment and a March 16 second reading is planned where it could be approved.

Mayor Amna Seibold says it “will ensure there is no discrimination.”

East Grand Rapids leaders expressed disappointment that state lawmakers failed to pass legislation on the issue. Part of the proposed ordinance was modeled after similar measures in other Michigan cities.

Republican Gov. Rick Snyder has called for legislative discussion to amend the state’s civil rights law to prohibit discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people in employment, housing and places open to the public, but bills died last session.

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Arkansas AG Opposes Effort To Lift Stay In Gay Marriage Case

LITTLE ROCK (AP) – The Arkansas attorney general’s office on Monday asked a federal judge who struck down the state’s gay marriage ban as unconstitutional to not allow same-sex couples to wed while the ruling is being appealed.

Attorney General Leslie Rutledge’s office asked U.S. District Judge Kristine Baker to not lift the stay on her November decision striking down a 2004 voter-approved constitutional amendment and earlier state law defining marriage as between a man and a woman. Baker suspended her decision while the state appealed, but the couples challenging the ban have asked her to lift the stay. Baker gave the state until Monday to respond to the motion for lifting the stay.

The state argued that it’s too late for the stay to be lifted since the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has already scheduled oral arguments in May for Arkansas and similar cases regarding gay marriage bans in Missouri and South Dakota.

“The significance of the legal issues involved, as recognized by the Eighth Circuit’s scheduling orders thus far, favors a continuation of the stay,” Assistant Attorney General Nga Mahfouz said in the filing.

The U.S. Supreme Court is to hear oral arguments over same-sex marriage laws in April. A decision is expected by the end of June.

Group Touts Arkansas Businesses Promoting LGBT Diversity

LITTLE ROCK (AP) – A national advocacy group on Tuesday touted 100 Arkansas businesses as supporting the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community as it fights legislation that critics say would justify discrimination.

The Human Rights Campaign, the nation’s largest LGBT rights group, unveiled its “Equality is Our Business” program aimed at promoting anti-discrimination protections based on sexual orientation and gender identity. The group said 106 primarily small businesses had signed on to the program’s pledge to embrace and support the LGBT community.

Kendra Johnson, the HRC’s Arkansas director, said the program can “help build a better Arkansas where we retain the state’s top talent and keep our door open wide for new business.”

The program was unveiled as the HRC and other groups are fighting a House-backed “conscience protection” bill that supporters say would prevent state and local government from infringing upon someone’s religious beliefs. Opponents have said the bill, rejected by a Senate panel last week, would sanction discriminating against gays and lesbians.

It also comes a week after Republican Gov. Asa Hutchinson allowed another measure to go into law that will prevent local governments from expanding anti-discrimination laws to include sexual orientation and gender identity. Johnson said the group had been working on the program before the legislative session, and said businesses in the program could participate in webinars and networking events held by HRC.

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Request For Stay In Nebraska Gay Marriage Case filed

LINCOLN (AP) – Nebraska Attorney General Doug Peterson says the state should not be forced to recognize gay marriages until the matter is decided by the U.S. Supreme Court.

Peterson filed a motion Tuesday with the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for an emergency stay. The filing came a day after U.S. District Judge Joseph Bataillon struck down Nebraska’s gay marriage and civil union ban as unconstitutional.

Bataillon ordered that his ruling not to go into effect until March 9, to give the state time to appeal.

The 8th Circuit is expected to decide by next Monday whether to grant the emergency stay.

The U.S. Supreme Court has said it will decide whether same-sex couples have the constitutional right to marry everywhere in the U.S. A decision is expected by late June.

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South Dakota Panel Votes Down Measure To Void Transgender Athletes Policy

PIERRE (AP) – A measure that would have required transgender students to use the sex on their birth certificates to determine the sports team they played on was defeated by a South Dakota Senate committee Tuesday, but another bill on the issue is being considered later this week.

The Senate Education Committee voted 4-3 to dismiss the measure, which would have invalidated a South Dakota High School Activities Association policy on transgender student participation in sports.

The association’s policy was adopted in June. It directs schools to help transgender students or their guardians apply to the activities association with the correct documentation. An association committee would then make the determination.

Republican Rep. Jim Bolin of Canton, the House sponsor of the bill that was defeated by the Senate committee, said the association “made a significant error and overstepped its authority” when it adopted the policy.

“It’s not a small thing. It is a very, very big thing,” Bolin told the committee.

On Thursday, the same legislative panel is to consider a separate measure that seeks to void the policy.

Dale Bartscher, executive director of Family Heritage Alliance Action, pushed the committee to support Bolin’s measure and said that it’s unfair to allow young people whose sex at birth was male to play on girls sports teams. He acknowledged the emotions surrounding the issue, but said the association’s policy should be “voided and avoided.”

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Utah Anti-Discrimination, Religious Rights Bill Coming On Mar. 4

SALT LAKE CITY – Utah lawmakers on Mar. 4 will unveil a compromise bill that protects LGBT individuals against discrimination in housing and employment while also protecting religious rights.

Utah Senators, LGBT-rights activists and representatives of the Mormon church are scheduled to discuss the bill at a noon news conference at the state Capitol.

Lawmakers have held closed-door negotiations on the compromise for weeks.

Supporters of gay rights have unsuccessfully pushed for a statewide non-discrimination law for years.

Those efforts were fast-tracked after the Mormon church issued a nationwide call earlier this year for laws that balance both religious rights and LGBT protections.

It’s unclear how lawmakers plan to balance those issues, but advocates say they can do so with the hope of winning approval from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

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