Civil & Human Rights

Bisbee passes civil unions ordinance . . . city not destroyed by fire and brimstone

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Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

I guess God doesn't hate gays after all, it's just the self-righteous Christian Taliban. Bisbee passed its civil unions ordinance last night, and the city was not destroyed by fire and brimstone as Mullah Cathi Herrod and her Christian Taliban at the Center for Arizona Policy prophesied. Maybe people should stop listening to these false prophets. Bisbee legalizes civil unions, pushes aside AG's legal warnings:

EqualIgnoring vociferous opposition and threats of lawsuits, the small southeastern Arizona city of Bisbee legalized civil unions for same-sex couples Tuesday night in an historic council vote that turned into a political circus, as nearly 100 people packed the chambers in both opposition and support.

The City Council pushed aside legal warnings from the state’s attorney general and a conservative advocacy group and voted 5-2 to become first city in the state to offer civil-union certificates for all couples that would extend to same-sex partners some of the same rights as married couples within the Bisbee boundaries.

The ordinance, which goes into effect in 30 days, would cover joint property ownership, property inheritance, guardianship and adoption rights.

Christian Taliban bullies Bisbee over civil unions ordinance

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Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

The Bisbee City Council is scheduled to cast a final vote Tuesday night on an ordinance allowing civil unions for gay couples. Bisbee council is poised to recognize civil unions.

Naturally, this has caused unhinged apoplexy among the "God hates gays" crowd, including Arizona Attorney General Tom "banned for life by the SEC" Horne. Geezus, hasn't this poster boy for political corruption been indicted yet? AG Horne threatens legal action against Bisbee over civil union vote:

Arizona Attorney General Tom Horne warned Bisbee on Tuesday that his
office would take legal action against the city if council members
approve an ordinance tonight allowing civil unions for gay couples. 

The unions would be recognized only within the city limits and would
grant rights given to a married couple, including property ownership,
inheritance, guardianship and adoption.

Horne opposed the measure in a letter to city officials, saying Bisbee doesn’t have the authority to offer such unions and that “the impact goes beyond (city) boundaries.”

Rep. Matt Salmon is the antithesis to ‘evolved’ Sen. Rob Portman

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Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

Screenshot-21A couple of weeks ago, Senator Rob Portman (R-OH) revealed that his son is gay and that he has now decided to support gay marriage. By Sen. Portman’s own account,  he opposed gay marriage
until he realized that opposition to gay marriage stands in the way of
his own son’s happiness.

The Washington Post reports today, Rep. Matt Salmon: Gay son hasn’t changed my views on marriage:

In an interview aired over the weekend, Rep. Matt Salmon (R-Ariz.) told a
local news station that his son’s homosexuality has not led him to
change his position on gay marriage.

“I don’t support the gay marriage,” the social conservative said. But
Salmon emphasized that he loved and respected his son and did not
consider homosexuality a choice.

“My son is by far one of the most important people in my life. I love
him more than I can say,” an emotional Salmon told 3TV. “It doesn’t
mean that I don’t have respect, it doesn’t mean that I don’t sympathize
with some of the issues. It just means I haven’t evolved to that stage.” (video below the fold).

Opening Day: For Love of The Game – ’42’ Edition

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Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

BaseballsTechnically, the first game of the 2013 Major League Baseball season will be played Sunday night on ESPN, Texas Rangers v. Houston Astros at 8 p.m. ET.

But the "official" Opening Day is Monday, April 1, with the World Champion San Francisco Giants v. Los Angeles Dodgers, Boston Red Sox v. New York Yankees, Philadelphia Phillies v. Atlanta Braves, Seattle Mariners v. Oakland Athletics, St.Louis Cardinals v. Arizona Diamondbacks, and the Detroit Tigers v. Minnesota Twins.

The 84th All-Star Game will be played at the New York Mets stadium, Citi Field in Queens, New York City on July 16.

Opening Day remains to this day an almost religious experience for
me. It is the one day of the year when every team is tied for first
place and everything is possible. The failures of the past season are
forgotten and forgiven, and the hopes and dreams of every fan are that
"maybe this year our team will win the pennant and go to the World
Series." There is a sense of possibility and hopeful optimism, a sense
of renewal and rebirth with the coming of Opening Day.

CAP Christian Taliban to oppose Gov. Brewer’s Medicaid (AHCCCS) restoration plan

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Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

Mullah Cathi Herrod and the Christian Taliban at the Center for Arizona Policy (CAP) are injecting their hysterical anti-abortion crusade against Planned Parenthood into the debate over Governor Jan Brewer's Medicaid (AHCCCS) restoration plan. . . because more ignorance and hysteria over "ObamaCare" is what is needed in this debate. This is a grand distraction straw-man for Tea-Publican extremists to oppose the Governor's plan.

The Arizona Republic reports Abortion enters Arizona debate on Medicaid expansion:

TalibanOne of the Legislature’s most powerful lobbying groups says Gov. Jan Brewer’s Medicaid-expansion plan would subsidize abortions and is pushing for an amendment that complicates negotiations and threatens the proposal.

The Center for Arizona Policy is using an opinion from the Arizona-based Alliance Defending Freedom, a Christian legal-defense organization, to argue that the draft Medicaid legislation should be amended to disqualify the non-profit women’s health provider Planned Parenthood from receiving public money.

It’s the first in what is expected to be a long line of suggested changes to Brewer’s proposal to broaden eligibility for the state-federal health-insurance program for the poor and disabled, each with the potential to gain or lose votes for the governor’s top legislative priority with thousands of lives and billions of dollars at stake.

Democrats warn that piling on unrelated amendments could cost Brewer their support, and the governor still must find ways to win over Republicans.

The amendment suggested in a letter this week to Brewer from Cathi Herrod, the center’s president, is similar to a law signed by the governor last year to defund Planned Parenthood and other abortion providers.

Planned Parenthood and the ACLU filed suit, and a federal judge put House Bill 2800 on hold in February. [Because Planned Parenthood is likely to succeed on the merits of its case in overturning the law.]