Tag Archives: Topic: Homosexual Agenda

Orin Kerr at Volokh Conspiracy: At the oral argument today in Hollingsworth v. Perry, Justice Scalia repeatedly questioned Ted Olson on when same-sex marriage became unconstitutional. From the transcript . . .

Manuel Possolo, Morals Legislation After Lawrence: Can States Criminalize The Sale Of Sexual Devices?, 65 Stanford L. Rev. 565

CNN (includes video): “Our most fundamental right in this country is the right to vote and the right to participate in the political process,” said Austin Nimocks of the Alliance Defending Freedom, a Christian advocacy group. “We don’t need the Supreme Court to take that right away from Americans of good faith on both sides of this issue and impose its judicial solution,” Nimocks said. “We need to leave this debate to the democratic process, which is working.”

WPTV (includes video): “Our most fundamental right in this country is the right to vote and the right to participate in the political process,” said Austin Nimocks of the Alliance Defending Freedom, a Christian advocacy group.
“We don’t need the Supreme Court to take that right away from Americans of good faith on both sides of this issue and impose its judicial solution,” Nimocks said. “We need to leave this debate to the democratic process, which is working.”

Mainline Media News (text of the chat at the link): Join a moderated discussion at 3 p.m. ET on Monday, March 25, about Proposition 8 and the Defense of Marriage Act being considered by the U.S. Supreme Court. Joining Bay Area News Group legal affairs writer Howard Mintz will be Byron Babione, senior counsel for the Alliance Defending Freedom, which is helping defend Proposition 8 and supports the federal Defense of Marriage Act; and Christopher Stoll, a staff attorney with the National Center for Lesbian Rights.

OzarksFirst.com: “The big question going before the Supreme Court is whether or not the Supreme Court should impose a 50-state solution upon this entire country regarding the debate surrounding marriage,” says Austin Nimocks, with the Alliance Defending Freedom.

Audio here. Transcript here.

Tallahassee.com: That is why, as president of the NFL Players Association, I’m standing with the majority of Americans who support the freedom to marry. This simple endorsement of equality might surprise some people.

The Hill: A divided Supreme Court debated Tuesday whether the Constitution includes a right to same-sex marriage — and how broadly such a right would extend.

AP: South Dakota Sen. Tim Johnson was expected to announce his retirement Tuesday, making the state the fifth where Democrats will have to defend a seat without an incumbent seeking re-election.

Austin R. Nimocks at Wall Street Journal (via Google): The Supreme Court is not the place to settle the country’s public-policy disputes. The court is not equipped to distill all of the competing concerns and interests over marriage into a comprehensive, nationwide policy.

Ken Klukowski at Breitbart: This would be an easy case with clear adherence to two constitutional principles. Prop 8 and DOMA would both be upheld. Now we’ll find out how those two principles fare before the nine justices currently on the Supreme Court. Part I is about Hollingsworth, and Part II is about Windsor.

Washington Post: Now, it seems not only possible but also likely that same-sex marriage will be legal, widespread and, frankly, mundane and that this will happen relatively soon. The Supreme Court must play a part in this civil rights triumph — and justices should not shrink from it.

NY Times Editorial: The court should avoid that kind of error in the same-sex-marriage cases. It should broadly declare that under the Constitution the right to marry applies equally to all couples, period, and that this principle applies to the federal government and every state.

Daily Mail: In short, the Supreme Court ought to allow the public – as a society – to decide the future of marriage. Why? Because marriage exists to bring a man and a woman together as husband and wife to be father and mother to any children their union produces.

More information here.

SCOTUS Blog: Below are answers to questions about how the cases will unfold over the next three months . . . As with health care last year, the ruling almost certainly will come at the end of the court’s term. The last week of June looks to be historic one way or another.

Politico: Republican fundraisers say the changing views of gay marriage in their party could unlock big money from GOP donors in places like New York, California and Florida — where some Republicans have kept their checkbooks closed over what they saw as misplaced priorities, at best, or intolerance, at worst, at the highest ranks of the party.

Theodore Olson and David Boies at Wall Street Journal (via Google) . . . withholding marriage causes infinite and permanent stigma, pain and isolation. It denies gay men and lesbians their identity and their dignity; it labels their families as second-rate. That outcome cannot be squared with the principle of equality and the unalienable right to liberty and the pursuit of happiness that is the bedrock promise of America from the Declaration of Independence to the 14th Amendment, and the dream of all Americans. This badge of inequality must be extinguished.

Baptist Press: Afterward, a co-counsel for Prop 8′s supporters said they have been asking the same question as Scalia.”At what point in time did marriage, this cornerstone of civilization and the bedrock of our society, all of a sudden become unconstitutional? And we don’t believe obviously it ever has,” Austin Nimocks, senior counsel with Alliance Defending Freedom, told Baptist Press. “We believe Americans have the constitutional right to uphold, support and defend marriage as it has always been. And so we certainly are hopeful that the Supreme Court agrees with us.”

Matthew J. Frank at NRO: So the official position of the United States, in the Supreme Court anyway–notwithstanding the blandishments of the president of the United States–is that same-sex marriage is a constitutional right in those states that have civil unions, but that it is an “open question” whether this is so anywhere else. It might or might not be a constitutional right in, say, Mississippi, but it certainly is one in California!

Tampa Bay Times (includes video): “Our most fundamental right in this country is the right to vote and the right to participate in the political process,” Austin Nimocks of the Christian group Alliance Defending Freedom said Sunday on CNN.

CNSNews: “Well, you’ve said — you’ve said in the cases decided by this court that the polygamy issue, multiple marriages raises questions about exploitation, abuse, patriarchy, issues with respect to taxes, inheritance, child custody, it is an entirely different thing,” Olson said. “And if you — if a state prohibits polygamy, it’s prohibiting conduct.

Ed Whelan at NRO: Some noteworthy question/comments by Justice Kennedy in the oral argument today:

KTLA 5 (includes video): “Our most fundamental right in this country is the right to vote and the right to participate in the political process,” said Austin Nimocks of the Alliance Defending Freedom, a Christian advocacy group. “We don’t need the Supreme Court to take that right away from Americans of good faith on both sides of this issue and impose its judicial solution,” Nimocks said. “We need to leave this debate to the democratic process, which is working.”

WPTV.com (includes video): “Our most fundamental right in this country is the right to vote and the right to participate in the political process,” said Austin Nimocks of the Alliance Defending Freedom, a Christian advocacy group.
“We don’t need the Supreme Court to take that right away from Americans of good faith on both sides of this issue and impose its judicial solution,” Nimocks said. “We need to leave this debate to the democratic process, which is working.”

Fox2Now.com: “Our most fundamental right in this country is the right to vote and the right to participate in the political process,” said Austin Nimocks of the Alliance Defending Freedom, a Christian advocacy group. “We don’t need the Supreme Court to take that right away from Americans of good faith on both sides of this issue and impose its judicial solution,” Nimocks said. “We need to leave this debate to the democratic process, which is working.”

SCOTUS Blog provides a growing list of links here.

Fox 31 Denver (includes video): Our most fundamental right in this country is the right to vote and the right to participate in the political process, ” said Austin Nimocks of the Alliance Defending Freedom, a Christian advocacy group. “We don’t need the Supreme Court to take that right away from Americans of good faith on both sides of this issue and impose its judicial solution,” Nimocks said. “We need to leave this debate to the democratic process, which is working.”

Christian Institute: Alliance Defending Freedom, another group which supports traditional marriage, says gay marriage should not be imposed by the court. A spokesman said: “Californians and Congress voted for marriage, and the court should respect the freedom to affirm society’s fundamental building block. “Marriage between a man and a woman is a bedrock social institution that diverse cultures and faiths have honored throughout the history of Western Civilization. “The freedom of the people to affirm this vital institution should not be taken away.”

Howard Mintz of San Jose Mercury News via The Saratogian: Jim Campbell, a lawyer for Alliance Defending Freedom, which backs Proposition 8, stresses the political battle over gay marriage is “at some point in the middle. … The Supreme Court should resist demands to prematurely end the national debate.”

One News Now: Attorney Jim Campbell with Alliance Defending Freedom: “The importance of these cases and what’s at stake is whether the people throughout this country can continue to affirm marriage as we’ve always known it as a union of a man and a woman – or whether a court, through legal decisions, will redefine marriage for all of society.” [more ]

MPRNews (includes audio): Those defending Proposition 8 point out that the citizens of California have twice, since 2000, voted to ban same-sex marriage. “We are claiming that the Supreme Court should not try to remove the decision on the future of marriage from the hands of the people, that the people are sovereign, that they do have a right to maintain marriage as one man and one woman,” says Austin Nimocks, counsel for the Alliance Defending Freedom, one of the groups involved in defending Proposition 8.

Rich Lowry at National Review: By seeking a shortcut in the courts, supporters of gay marriage want to end debate through judicial fiat. In an amicus brief in the case, the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty points out the consequences if traditional marriage is deemed irrational. Religious people and groups objecting to same-sex marriage will “face a wave of private civil litigation under anti-discrimination laws never intended for that purpose,” and they will be “penalized by state and local governments.” In other words, supporters of the exotic-sounding practice of “opposite-sex marriage” will be marginalized forevermore.

Clark S. Judge at Human Events: In Windsor, I counted 89 submissions, in Perry 100. I may have missed a few and I am only counting those since the Court said it would hear the cases. I am guessing that …

LA Times: “I think we are going to win this case,” Andy Pugno, lawyer for Proposition 8 campaign. “We definitely represented the winning case today and the justices asked good thoughtful questions and we were able to say everything that we wanted to get in front of the court today.”

More information here.

USA Today: The Missouri senator joins President Obama, Hillary Rodham Clinton and Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, to publicly state support for marriage equality.

Claremont Institute Webinar Information here.

USA Today: Sen. Mark Warner of Virginia, a Democrat up for re-election next year, publicly announced his support Monday for gay marriage in a post on Facebook.

CBS video includes Austin R. Nimocks.

Christian Institute: Revd David Robertson warned that the Equality Network labels anyone who disagrees with their position as “homophobic”. Revd Robertson, who leads the SOLAS group, was responding to the £1.6 million that the Equality Network has received from the Scottish Government since 2007.

LifeSiteNews: The California Department of Education has revised the statewide recommended reading list for its 6.3 million K-12 students, adding roughly 40 titles focused on homosexuality or gender confusion.

Lloyd Marcus at American Thinker: Think of us as crew members on the starship Enterprise of the Star Trek TV show, boldly going where no one has gone before. Folks, this is what it feels like challenging the Homosexuality Is Normal Movement. It is extremely dangerous. Homosexual activists attempt to humiliate and politically destroy anyone who dares even criticize their agenda.

Yahoo News: Karl Rove, former deputy chief of staff under President George W. Bush and current Fox News contributor, says he can envision a candidate in the 2016 Republican presidential primary supporting gay marriage.

Newsmax: “It’s a free country. You can sell your shares of Starbucks and buy shares in another company,” CEO Howard Schultz told a shareholder opposed to the company’s stand for same-sex marriage this week. The shareholder, Tom Strobhar, founder of Corporate Morality Action Center, told Schultz he opposes the company’s stand and believes it is hurting its stock price, the Daily Mail reports.

ABC: New York City health officials are urging some men to get vaccinated against meningitis amid an outbreak that has sickened 22 New Yorkers and killed seven. The dangerous strain of bacterial meningitis appears to be spreading through sexual encounters between men who meet through websites or smartphone apps, or at bars or parties, according to the City’s health department.

Links and issue summary by SCOTUS Blog below. Hollingsworth v. Perry | Oral Argument at 10 am on Tuesday, March 26th Issue: (1) Whether the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment prohibits the State of California from defining marriage …

The Volokh Conspiracy has as series of posts discussing the issue: Jonathan Adler, Federalism and Proposition 8 Randy Barnett, From Whom or What is DOMA Defending Traditional Marriage? Sasha Volokh, More on DOMA and federalism Jonathan Adler, Why Does Federalism …

Sacramento Bee: All eyes will be on Sacramento’s own Justice Anthony M. Kennedy this week when the U.S. Supreme Court hears oral argument in two important cases dealing with issues of fairness and equality under the law. These cases ask whether our Constitution allows same-sex relationships to be treated differently than their opposite-sex counterparts.

FACE the NATION (includes video): Austin Nimocks, part of the legal team defending California’s Proposition 8, said during a gay marriage panel earlier in the program that the debate is “too young” to be stifled by a nationwide decision. “That’s exactly what we don’t need when we see Americans of all walks of life, all different faiths and backgrounds, and creeds, engaging in the marriage debate,” Nimocks said. “President Obama said there are people of good will on both sides of the debate, and the last thing we need is to shut down the debate, have the Supreme Court redefine marriage for everybody, instead of letting us work through this question through our democratic institutions. That’s why we have them. “The Supreme Court is not a legislature,” Nimocks continued. “We have ballot boxes for a reason and we’re asking the Supreme Court not to interject itself in this question.”

The video is here.

How Appealing links to numerous reports and commentaries here.

Religion Clause Blog: The Prime Minister said that the government also has a mandate to legislate civil unions.

SCOTUS Blog links to numerous reports and commentaries discussing the litigation.

AP: A look at potential outcomes for the Proposition 8 case and then for the case about DOMA . . .

WESH.com: The Boy Scouts are one of the great jewels of American culture,” said John Stemberger, Eagle Scout and founder of OnMyHonor.net. “We support the current policy of scouting, which is backed by over 100 years of tradition and allows anyone to participate irrespective of sexual orientation, only disallowing the open and aggressive promotion of homosexuality and political agendas. When it comes to young boys, parents have the final say on the issues of sex and politics.”

Fox & Hounds Daily: (Editor’s Note: California’s Proposition 8 banning gay marriage has its day in court tomorrow when the United States Supreme Court takes up the case. CNN’s State of the Union with Candy Crowley, hosted a debate on the issue between California Attorney General Kamala Harris and vice president for Marriage Litigation at Alliance Defending Freedom, Austin Nimocks. A transcript of the debate follows.) Link to CNN video here.

NBC: A lesbian cousin of Chief Justice John Roberts will attend the landmark Supreme Court arguments on gay marriage and says she is confident he will see that gays deserve “dignity, respect, and equality under the law.”

CBS: “The big question going before the Supreme Court is whether or not the Supreme Court should impose a 50-state solution upon this entire country regarding the debate surrounding marriage,” Austin Nimocks with the Alliance Defending Freedom told CBS’ “Face the Nation.” “It’s about fundamentally altering society,” Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council, told CBS’ “Face the
Nation.”

CNN via WYFF4.com : “Our most fundamental right in this country is the right to vote and the right to participate in the political process, ” said Austin Nimocks of the Alliance Defending Freedom, a Christian advocacy group. “We don’t need the Supreme Court to take that right away from Americans of good faith on both sides of this issue and impose its judicial solution,” Nimocks told CNN’s State of the Union. “We need to leave this debate to the democratic process, which is working.” | KSAT.com carries a related CNN video report that includes Austin R. NImocks.

Alliance Defending Freedom attorneys who are co-counsel in defense of California’s constitutional amendment protecting marriage will be available for media interviews at the U.S. Supreme Court Tuesday following oral arguments in Hollingsworth v. Perry.

SCOTUS Blog: This is the second of two articles examining the arguments made in the Supreme Court’s two same-sex marriage cases by the “friends of the Court” — the amici who have filed written briefs. This article deals with the amici arguments in the case involving the federal Defense of Marriage Act,United States v. Windsor (12-307), set for a hearing at 10 a.m. on Wednesday.  Part I, dealing with the amici briefs in the case of California’s Proposition 8, appeared Sunday and can be read here.   Because the two cases raise some parallel issues, this post repeats some of the background material from the first post, and follows the same format in discussing the arguments of the amici.

SCOTUS Blog: This is the first of two articles examining the arguments made in the Supreme Court’s two same-sex marriage cases by the “friends of the Court” — the amici who have filed written briefs, a lengthy list.  This article deals with the amici arguments in the case of California’s Proposition 8 ban on gay marriages,Hollingsworth v. Perry (12-144), to be heard at 10 a.m. on Tuesday.  Part II, to appear Monday, will cover the amici arguments on the federal Defense of Marriage Act case, United States v. Windsor (12-307), set for a hearing at 10 a.m. on Wednesday.

NBC: Paris riot police fought back crowds who pushed their way onto Paris’ landmark Champs-Elysees avenue as part of a huge protest against a draft law allowing same-sex couples to marry and adopt children.

Heritage Foundation: What’s at stake in the marriage debate? Why does marriage matter for public policy? What would be the consequences of redefining marriage? Ryan T. Anderson, author of an amicus brief submitted to the Supreme Court on the marriage cases, Kellie Fiedorek, an attorney with Alliance Defending Freedom, and Doug Mainwaring, co-founder of National Tea Party Patriots and a gay man against redefining marriage will speak on the legal, policy, and cultural issues at the heart of these cases.

Politico: The continuing battle over gay marriage shouldn’t be equated with the civil rights movement, Austin Nimocks of the Alliance Defending Freedom, a conservative Christian legal organization, argued Sunday. “We understand historically that keeping the races apart is wrong. What marriage is about is bringing together the two opposite halves of humanity for a deep social good,” Nimocks said on CNN’s “State of the Union”.

Geoffrey Fowler at WSJ via Yahoo News: “What we don’t need at this juncture of a very young and significant debate on marriage is the Supreme Court presenting the nation with a 50-state solution that redefines marriage and removes the question from the hands of the people,” said Austin R. Nimocks of the Alliance Defending Freedom, who is one of the lawyers defending California’s Proposition 8 ban on gay marriage.

CNN (includes video): “Our most fundamental right in this country is the right to vote and the right to participate in the political process, ” said Austin Nimocks of the Alliance Defending Freedom, a Christian advocacy group. “We don’t need the Supreme Court to take that right away from Americans of good faith on both sides of this issue and impose its judicial solution,” Nimocks told CNN’s State of the Union. “We need to leave this debate to the democratic process, which is working.”

Mercury News: Join Mintz at noon Monday for an online chat with Byron Babione, counsel for the Alliance Defending Freedom, a group defending Proposition 8, and Chris Stoll, staff attorney with National Center for Lesbian Rights at www.mercurynews.com | Follow the chat here.

World: Steve Jordahl is a reporter for The World and Everything in It. Mary Reichard is a legal affairs correspondent for The World and Everything in It. She spoke with two lawyers who filed friend-of-the-court briefs in support of DOMA and Proposition 8: Jim Campbell of Alliance Defending Freedom and Lori Windham of The Becket Fund.

MyDesert.com (includes video): Alliance Defending Freedom, a legal ministry that is helping to defend Prop. 8 on behalf of ProtectMarriage.com, outlined its rebuttals to the plaintiffs’ arguments in a final brief submitted Tuesday to the Supreme Court. “The wisest course is for the court to resist demands to prematurely end the national debate over the future of marriage,” senior counsel Austin R. Nimocks said in a release. “Advocates for redefining marriage should not be allowed to sidestep the democratic process to accomplish their political objectives.” (web page 7)

Cheryl Wetzstein at the Washington Times: Marriage — i.e., the legal union of one man and one woman — “is the cornerstone of Western civilization,” Austin R. Nimocks, a lawyer with the Alliance Defending Freedom, which is helping defend Proposition 8, said during a Tuesday briefing hosted by the Heritage Foundation.

Washington Post: “I’m not worried about it, because the polls are skewed, ” Gary Bauer, a leading social conservative and former presidential candidate, said on “Fox News Sunday.” “Just this past November, four states, very liberal states, voted on this issue and my side lost all four of those votes. But my side had 45, 46 percent of the vote in all four of those liberal states.”

Jennifer Marshall at Heritage Foundation: But we have continued to give unique status in law to the union of a man and a woman—the only relationship that produces children—as a permanent, monogamous, and exclusive relationship. We uphold this ideal in the interest of children, of limited, constitutional government, and of America’s future. That’s a message Heritage will convey at an event today featuring Ryan Anderson, Kellie Fiedorek of the Alliance Defending Freedom, and tea party activist Doug Mainwaring, a gay man committed to maintaining the definition of marriage because of its importance for children. Tomorrow, we’ll be joining many other Americans gathering on the National Mall for the March for Marriage.