Civil & Human Rights

There’s something happening here . . .

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The 1960’s rock classic “For What it’s Worth” by Buffalo Springfield still rings true today:

“There’s something happening here
But what it is ain’t exactly clear . . .”

Whoever thought we would see a conservative icon making the conservative case for same-sex marriage in an ad for Freedom to Marry? Freedom to Marry launches national TV ad featuring Republican Sen. Alan Simpson:

Pride-Flag-Thumbnail-Friday-3x2-256x171[J]ust days before the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals kicks off a wave of hearings and rulings on the freedom to marry at the appellate level, Freedom to Marry released a national television ad featuring former U.S. Senator Alan Simpson of Wyoming. In the 30-second spot, Simpson, a Republican, makes the conservative case for marriage for same-sex couples and cites his own decades-long marriage to his wife.

In the ad, Sen. Simpson says, “I’m a Republican, and the party’s basic core is government out of your life and the right to be left alone. Whether you’re gay or lesbian or straight, if you love someone, and you want to marry them – marry them … Live and let live. It is very simple.

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Arizona’s abortion wars continue in court

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Last week, U.S. District Court Judge David Bury refused to enjoin Arizona’s new restrictions on medication induced abortions set to take effect on April 1, while he decides the legal issues before him.

6a00d8341bf80c53ef01910386dd8c970c-320wiJudge Bury wrote that Arizona’s rules will not unduly burden a woman’s constitutional right to an abortion, since the alternative of surgical abortions remains available. The fact that some women may have to travel hundreds of miles to clinics, twice, under the restrictions, and that the process will cost more, he wrote, “do not qualify as irreparable harm.” Uh-huh.

Planned Parenthood of Arizona appealed the denial of an injunction to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, which immediately granted the request for a temporary injunction to block the new state regulations from going into effect. 9th Circuit Temporarily Grants Block of New AZ Abortion Rules. Arizona Attorney General Tom “banned for life by the SEC” Horne moved the appellate court to set aside its temporary injunction and allow the new state regulations to go into effect. Horne asks court to lift a stay on enforcing new abortion restrictions.

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The Civil Rights Summit

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On April 8-10, 2014, the LBJ Presidential Library will host a Civil Rights Summit to mark the fiftieth anniversary of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The Civil Rights Summit. LBJ summit celebrates law’s 50th anniversary: Four U.S. presidents, including Barack Obama, are scheduled to headline a summit this week that commemorates the signing of … Read more

Appalling AZ Republic false equivalence on national legislative orgs

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Crossposted from DemocraticDiva.com

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I don’t know for sure, but Alia Beard Rau’s recent piece looks like it started to be about the influence that American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), the Goldwater Institute, and Center for Arizona Policy (CAP) have on the Republican-controlled AZ Legislature, but then she was pressured by an editor to make it a “both sides” thing. Or maybe not, but whatever happened, the article is a testament to the incredible lengths the MSM will go to imply that the left is as powerful and corrupt as the right is.

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Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals to hear same-sex marriage cases beginning this week

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Pride-Flag-Thumbnail-Friday-3x2-256x171As I have previously posted, there are three same-sex marriage appeals to be heard by the Courts of Appeal over the next month, beginning this week:

  • The Tenth Circuit has scheduled oral arguments in Kitchen v. Herbert, the Utah case, to be heard on Thursday, April 10, 2014.
  • The Tenth Circuit has scheduled oral arguments in Bishop v. Smith, the Oklahoma case, to be heard on Thursday, April 17.
  • The Fourth Circuit has scheduled oral arguments in Bostik v. Rainey, the Virginia case, for Tuesday May 13.
  • The Ninth Circuit has cancelled oral arguments in Sevcik v. Sandoval, the Nevada case, pending the determination of a request for en banc hearing in another matter, SmithKline Beecham Corp. v. Abbott Laboratories.

Some previews of the Tenth Circuit Court cases can be found at the Denver Post, Federal judges reviewing gay marriage appeals in Denver appointed, the Salt Lake Tribune, Observer: Panel on Utah gay marriage case ‘slightly’ conservative, and the Tulsa World, Oklahoma and Utah same-sex marriage appeals will be this month in federal appeals court.

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