Cross posted from the Arizona Eagletarian
A source told me he had been hearing for some time during the primary election campaign that door-to-door canvassers for state Rep. Catherine Miranda have been telling voters that the candidate, locked in a primary race with Army Reserve Capt. Aaron Marquez, is “pro-choice” on the hot button issue of abortion.
Miranda’s record in the legislature and public statements would immediately call such claims into question.
It started in the “Conch Republic” of the Florida Keys a few weeks ago when a state court judge struck down Florida’s same-sex marriage ban in that country. This decision was quickly followed by state court judges in several other South Florida counties striking down the state’s same-sex marriage ban in their counties as well.
Now a federal district court judge in Florida has struck down Florida’s same-sex marriage ban. the Miami Herald reports, U.S. judge slams Florida ban on gay marriages:
In the first decision on same-sex marriage with statewide impact, a federal judge ruled Thursday that Florida’s gay-marriage ban is unconstitutional, ordering the state to allow the marriage of same-sex couples and to recognize marriages performed elsewhere.
“When observers look back 50 years from now, the arguments supporting Florida’s ban on same-sex marriage, though just as sincerely held, will again seem an obvious pretext for discrimination,” wrote U.S District Judge Robert L. Hinkle of Tallahassee. “Observers who are not now of age will wonder just how those views could have been held.”
Crossposted from DemocraticDiva.com
Arizona Congressional District 5 is currently represented by Matt Salmon (who, when he ran for Governor in 2002, was considered to be firmly in the GOP establishment but is now a member of the Tea Party Caucus in Congress) and is viewed as an unwinnable district for Democrats. Nonetheless, James Woods has mounted a serious challenge and I don’t think I’ve ever found myself in more agreement with a candidate before.
I have a vision for an America in which we approach governance with the best evidence we have available–not ideology, revelation or religion. Public policy decisions should be made rationally through an unbiased examination of facts, efficacy and outcomes. This gives us the best possible chance of steering the country toward the advancement of prosperity for all. We must thoughtfully avoid the unverified opinions and irrational prejudices in our lawmaking process that thwart our common pursuit of happiness.
U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, who was in Ferguson, Missouri today for a briefing on the investigation, had this op-ed published by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch this morning. A message to the people of Ferguson:
Since the Aug. 9 shooting death of Michael Brown, the nation and the world have witnessed the unrest that has gripped Ferguson, Mo. At the core of these demonstrations is a demand for answers about the circumstances of this young man’s death and a broader concern about the state of our criminal justice system.
At a time when so much may seem uncertain, the people of Ferguson can have confidence that the Justice Department intends to learn — in a fair and thorough manner — exactly what happened.
Today, I will be in Ferguson to be briefed on the federal civil rights investigation that I have closely monitored since I launched it more than one week ago. I will meet personally with community leaders, FBI investigators and federal prosecutors from the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division and the U.S. Attorney’s Office to receive detailed briefings on the status of this case.
Just as I expected, the U.S. Supreme Court granted a request for stay of the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals decision striking down Virginia’s ban on same-sex marriage.What makes this situation different from the stay granted in the appeal from the state of Utah is that the request did not come from the state of Virginia, but from a county clerk in Prince William County.
Amy Howe at SCOTUSblog.com reports, Court blocks Virginia same-sex marriage ruling:
Just as it did when a federal trial judge in Utah struck down that state’s ban on same-sex marriage, this afternoon the Supreme Court put on hold a ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, which had held that Virginia’s ban on same-sex marriage is unconstitutional.
Michele McQuigg, the county clerk for Prince William County, Virginia, had asked the Court to step in to stay the Fourth Circuit’s decision, which otherwise would have gone into effect tomorrow. The application for a stay went to Chief Justice John Roberts, who handles such requests from the geographic area that includes Virginia. Roberts then referred the application to the full Court; there were no recorded dissents from today’s order.