Civil & Human Rights

Bob Robb scolds “both sides” for “behaving badly” without mentioning the actual bad behavior of certain people

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Crossposted at DemocraticDiva.com Quoth Bob Robb: In the debate over what to do about juvenile illegal immigrants from Central America, both sides are behaving badly. I agree with some of the policy points in Bob Robb’s column on the Honduran refugee children situation but he’s talking about policy and not behavior. Now, I’m the last … Read more

President Obama to sign executive orders banning workplace discrimination against LGBT workers in federal employment

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President Barack Obama on Monday will sign an executive order banning workplace discrimination against gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender workers of federal contractors and the federal government. Huffington Post reports, Obama Finally Ready To Sign Executive Order Targeting LGBT Job Discrimination:

Pride-Flag-Thumbnail-Friday-3x2-256x171The executive order has two components: It prohibits federal contractors from discriminating against employees based on sexual orientation or gender identity — a move that affects 24,000 companies employing roughly 28 million workers, or about one-fifth of the nation’s workforce — and it explicitly bans discrimination against federal employees based on their gender identity.

Senior administration officials outlined details of the executive order in a Friday afternoon call.

To the relief of the LGBT community, there is no sweeping religious exemption in the executive order. Obama is simply adding the categories of sexual orientation and gender identity to an existing executive order that protects employees of federal contractors from discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex or national origin. President George W. Bush amended that executive order in 2002 to allow religiously affiliated federal contractors to prioritize hiring employees of their particular religion, however, and Obama is keeping that language intact.

“Obama’s executive order does not modify that Bush exemption,” said a senior administration official. “It stands.”

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10th Circuit Court of Appeals rules marriage equality is OK in Oklahoma

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Pride-Flag-Thumbnail-Friday-3x2-256x171The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit has upheld the January 2014 U.S. District Court for Oklahoma ruling in Bishop v. Smith striking down that state’s same-sex marriage ban as unconstitutional, in a 2-1 decision. The opinion is by Judge Carlos Lucero. Read the opinion Here (.pdf).

The panel that decided this case, Judges Carlos Lucero, Jerome Holmes and Paul Kelly, are the same three judges who heard the Utah case of Kitchen v. Herbert. Judges Lucero and Holmes voted to strike down both states’ marriage bans. Judge Kelly dissented. The court has stayed its decision to allow the parties to seek U.S. Supreme Court review.

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Florida judge in Key West strikes down state’s same-sex marriage ban

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Alright you Parrotheads, the Tallahassee Democrat (great name for a newspaper) reports this morning Ruling allows same-sex marriages for Florida Keys:

conch republic key west flag.gifA judge in the Florida Keys overturned the state’s constitutional ban on same-sex marriage on Thursday after a legal challenge by gay couples said it effectively made them second-class citizens.

The ruling by Circuit Judge Luis M. Garcia applies only to Monroe County, which primarily consists of the Keys, and will certainly be appealed. The lawsuit contended that the same-sex marriage ban approved overwhelmingly by voters in 2008 violated the federal 14th Amendment’s guarantee of equal protection under the law. The judge said licenses could not be issued until Tuesday at the earliest.

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Gay marriage proponents have won more than 20 legal decisions around the country since the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the federal Defense of Marriage Act last year, although those rulings remain in various stages of appeal. Many legal experts say the U.S. Supreme Court may ultimately have to decide the question for all states.

Currently, 19 states and the District of Columbia have legalized same-sex marriage.

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Refugee Supporters & Anti-Immigrant Protesters Face Off in Oracle (Images)

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Supporters lined the main drag in Oracle, with bilingual or Spanish signs welcoming the the refugee children.
Supporters lined the main drag in Oracle, with bilingual or Spanish signs welcoming the the refugee children.

Demonstrators with dueling banners and ideologies lined the roads of rural Oracle, Arizona on Tuesday awaiting the arrival of 40-60 child refugees. An estimated 150 protesters, dozens of law enforcement officers (including the K-9 unit), and every TV, print, and online journalist imaginable came out to “greet” the bus of unaccompanied Central American children.

Oracle residents and other refugee supporters from Somos America, Progressive Democrats of America, South Side Presbyterian Church, and the Alliance for Global Justice gathered at 6:30 a.m.
Oracle residents and other refugee supporters from Somos America, Progressive Democrats of America, South Side Presbyterian Church, and the Alliance for Global Justice gathered at 6:30 a.m.

The original anti-immigrant protest was organized by Oracle’s self-proclaimed “Paul Revere” Robert Skiba, who was tipped off regarding the busload of refugee children by Pinal County’s Tea Party Sheriff Paul Babeu. Babeu’s grandstanding on Facebook about the federal government’s failed immigration policies, and Skiba’s boasting about a bus blockade to multiple media outlets sparked a counter protest initiated by Oracle residents who were concerned about the welfare of the children. E-mail blasts, Facebook, Twitter, blog posts like this one, and a re-Tweet by Rachel Maddow’s blog brought out the crowds, including sympathizers on both sides who drove in from Tucson and Phoenix.

Much of the media coverage has focused on tiny events that occurred during the four hours that we all waited for the bus to arrive. (More details and photos after the jump.)

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