U.S. Supreme Court schedules conference on Louisiana gay marriage appeal

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Supreme Court has distributed for conference an appeal by plaintiffs in a challenge to Louisiana’s same-sex marriage ban.

In September, U.S. District Judge Martin Feldman in New Orleans upheld Louisiana’s ban, a rare loss for marriage equality advocates who, at the time, had won more than 20 consecutive rulings overturning bans in other states.

An appeal of that ruling is tentatively set to be argued in January at the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, which has jurisdiction over Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas.

However, on Nov. 20, lawyers for gay rights groups Lambda Legal and Forum for Equality Louisiana asked the Supreme Court to take the rare step of reviewing Louisiana’s case ahead of those arguments.

The justices rarely agree to hear a case before a federal appeals court has weighed in, and to date, none of the other petitions currently before the Court in the marriage cases — Michigan, Ohio, Kentucky and Tennessee — have been distributed for conference.

The action Wednesday does not guarantee the court will decide to hear a same-sex marriage case. But the January meeting will be the first time the justices will have had the issue before them since they opted in October against hearing appeals from five other states.

The last distribution list for the Jan. 9 conference will be created on December 23.

Florida: Broward County judge grants state’s first same-sex divorce

CURT ANDERSON | Associated Press

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — The first formal divorce for a same-sex couple in Florida history was granted Wednesday by a Broward County judge who used the case to join other judges in declaring the state’s ban on same-sex marriage is unconstitutional.

Circuit Judge Dale Cohen on Wednesday dissolved the marriage of Heather Brassner and Megan Lade in a brief hearing. They were united in a 2002 civil union in Vermont but Brassner was unable to obtain a divorce in Florida for five years since their relationship ended.

“It’s like an emotional weight being lifted off,” said Brassner, who is from Lake Worth. “I just feel free and I couldn’t have gotten a better holiday gift.”

Cohen ruled in August that Florida’s gay marriage ban is unconstitutional because it violates the Fourth Amendment’s guarantees of equal protection and due process. Because the ruling came in a divorce case, it has the effect of also declaring that out-of-state gay marriages should be recognized in Florida. It does not mean same-sex marriage licenses can be issued in Broward County.

“This is a historic day. This is the first divorce for a same-sex couple. It will not be the last divorce,” said Brassner attorney Nancy Brodzki.

Lade did not take part in the divorce and Brassner said she had not seen her former partner for several years. A private investigator was unable to find any trace of her, Brodzki said in court.

Brodzki said she expects Attorney General Pam Bondi to appeal the decision, just as she has several other rulings against the gay marriage ban by state and federal judges.
“We expect the state to continue to fight until there is no longer any possibility of them waging a fight,” Brodzki said.

There was no immediate reaction from Bondi’s office, but the attorney general has been battling on several legal fronts in support of the same-sex marriage ban enshrined in the state constitution by voters in 2008.

At the federal level, U.S. District Judge Robert Hinkle has declared the same-sex marriage ban unconstitutional, but put a hold on gay marriages until the end of the day Jan. 5 to allow Bondi appeal.

Justice Clarence Thomas, who hears emergency appeals from Florida, Georgia and Alabama, wants all briefs on the stay extension to be filed by late afternoon Thursday. There is no immediate timetable for his decision, and it remains unclear how many of Florida’s 67 court clerks would issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples if the stay is lifted.

State appeals courts are considering several other rulings that would strike down the same-sex marriage ban.

ACLU Files Response in Appeal of Florida Marriage Ruling

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – December 17, 2014

CONTACT:  ACLU of Florida Media Office, media@aclufl.org, (786) 363-2737

MIAMI, FL – Today, the ACLU filed its brief in the State of Florida’s appeal at the 11^th Circuit of a federal court ruling striking down the state’s ban on granting and recognizing marriages between couples of the same sex as unconstitutional.

On August 21^st, U.S. District Judge Robert Hinkle issued a ruling overturning Florida’s ban on marriage for same-sex couples as a result of two separate federal lawsuits: one brought by the ACLU of Florida on behalf of eight couples, a Ft. Myers widow, and South Florida’s largest LGBT rights organization, SAVE; the other brought by Jacksonville attorneys William Sheppard and Sam Jacobson.

On September 4^th, Attorney General Pam Bondi appealed that decision to the 11^th Circuit Court of appeals. The brief filed today is the ACLU’s response to the state’s appeal.

“The couples we represent – and same-sex couples all over the state of Florida – have waited long enough,” stated ACLU of Florida LGBT rights staff attorney Daniel Tilley. “Judge Hinkle was right to find that the discriminatory ban, which is causing real harm to Florida families every day that it is in effect, is unconstitutional. We look forward to arguing on behalf of those families before the 11^th Circuit.”

Yesterday, the U.S. Supreme Court also asked attorneys for the plaintiffs to respond to the State of Florida’s request to extend the stay of the ruling, which is set to expire on January 5^th. The ACLU’s response is due tomorrow, December 18^th, at 5pm.

“Enough is enough,” stated SAVE Executive Director Tony Lima. “Gay and lesbian couples have waited long enough for the State of Florida to recognize that they should have the same rights as everyone else.  We hope that the 11^th Circuit makes a speedy decision to uphold the ruling in favor of equality for gay and lesbian Floridians. We also look forward to celebrating our victory on January 6, 2015 when the stay is lifted, because marriage equality is inevitable in Florida.”

From the brief filed today:

“Like other committed same-sex couples in Florida, the Grimsley Appellees are severely harmed by Florida’s exclusion of them from the protections of marriage. Their stories illustrate the profound and far-reaching effects of the marriage ban on families.

[…]

“The Appellees and other lesbian and gay couples in Florida suffer serious irreparable harm every day that the marriage ban remains in effect, denying them critical protections that come with marriage and subjecting them to the significant stigma that flows from being branded ‘second-tier’ families… Allowing them to marry and have their marriages recognized will harm neither the State nor the public interest.

Today’s filing can be found here: https://aclufl.org/resources/grimsley-11th-circuit-appeals-brief/

Attorneys from the ACLU, the ACLU of Florida and Stephen F. Rosenthal of Podhurst Orseck, P.A. represent eight same-sex couples, a widow from Ft. Myers, and SAVE, South Florida’s largest LGBT rights organization, in a federal lawsuit challenging Florida’s marriage ban.

 

Reggie Fullwood for Florida House District 13: A Warning to other Political Candidates of Jacksonville

By David Vandygriff

With a 10.36% voter turn-out in what would have normally given a GOP Candidate a victory, the Democrat HRO Supportive Candidate won the race yesterday in Jacksonville. His opponent was a current City Councilman, Dr. Johnny Gaffney. We must say Gaffney is a Democrat but opposes a fully inclusive HRO in Jacksonville, by his voting record during the HRO 296. Gaffney was one person that changed his vote for the amended HRO 296 that resulted in LGBT being unprotected in Jacksonville. Fullwood not only won the race but beat Gaffney by double. WOW this should be a key indicator to other political candidates that the LGBT Voting Block is not to be ignored in Jacksonville. 

One cannot say that there was any major difference among the candidates, because both were democrats, both were African American, both work for the under privileged, both have community ties, etc. The ONLY factor one can see a stark contrasting difference is the support of the LGBT Community. Many have attempted to argue that the Silent Mayor Alvin Brown’s choice to not support the HRO was due to the lack of support within the African American Community. Well, we are seeing a huge movement within the African American Community in supporting a local HRO to include LGBT. 

As the Primaries of March 2015 quickly approach, the LGBT Community needs to be more focused, engaged, and supportive of the African American Community. These two communities coming together could result in the TRUE Grassroots Efforts needed to change our community from race relations to inequality within the LGBT community. 

Even with the growing support within the African American Faith Based Communities, the struggles remain apparent for the both communities. We are ALL HUMAN and Gay Rights – Civil Rights are Human Rights. 

What have you done to become engaged? Have you voted? Have you donated to a political campaign? Have you talked with a political candidate? Did you even know that Jacksonville has an OPENLY GAY City Council Candidate running for District 7 in 2015?

Breaking: Supreme Court Accepts Florida Marriage Petition, Calls For Response

Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas has accepted Pam Bondi's petition asking to extend the stay on a ruling striking down Florida's same-sex marriage ruling. What's next? 

Late this afternoon SCOTUS Justice Clarence Thomas called for a response from the plaintiffs in a Florida same-sex marriage case. Late yesterday, Attorney General Pam Bondi filed an extensive emergency petition asking Justice Thomas to extend a stay due to expire after January 5. 

Justice Thomas could have ignored the petition, or sent it to the full court, but it appears he has made the decision himself to consider the stay request.

That decision is unsurprising, given that Justice Thomas had made clear in other stay requests that were denied he would granted them.

Stay tuned.

 

Law firm to Florida court clerks: Issue same-sex marriage licenses and you risk arrest

Gay rights activists were ecstatic: Come Jan. 6, they thought, Florida same-sex couples would be lining up at courthouses around the state to get married.

But that is not what the people who issue marriage licenses in Florida — county clerks of court — say.

They are trying to determine whether a Tallahassee law firm is right when it says that every Florida clerk, except the one in Washington County, would be committing a crime if he or she issues marriage licenses to same-sex couples.

The firm of Greenberg Traurig, legal counsel to the Florida Association of Court Clerks and Comptrollers, this week updated a memo it sent July 1 that says the same thing: If you issue a marriage license to two people of the same sex, you've committed a first-degree misdemeanor and could spend a year in the county jail.

In a statement Tuesday, Executive Director Kenneth A. Kent said, "At this time of uncertainty, the Florida Court Clerks & Comptrollers have been advised by the association to follow the advice of our legal counsel and not issue same-sex marriage licenses until a binding order is issued by a court of proper jurisdiction."

"I think they're dead wrong," said Elizabeth White, one of the Jacksonville lawyers representing Stephen Schlairet and Ozzie Russ, a same-sex Washington County couple who, along with several others, convinced U.S. District Judge Robert Hinkle in Tallahassee to overturn Florida's ban on same-sex marriage in August.

He imposed a stay, however, to give the state time to appeal. Two weeks ago, when the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals rejected the state's request to extend the stay beyond Jan. 5, gay rights activists began planning celebrations for what many believe will be a flood of same sex marriage applications Jan. 6.

Florida Attorney General Bondi on Monday asked the U.S. Supreme Court to extend the stay. Daniel Tilley, an attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union who represents several gay and lesbian couples in that case, pointed out that since October, the high court has rejected every similar appeal.

In Central Florida, some people have already begun to preparing for same-sex marriages on Jan. 6.

The Osceola County Commission voted Monday to open the clerk's office in Kissimmee from 12:01 a.m. to 2 a.m. that day to allow same-sex couples to get licenses.

But Osceola Clerk Armando Ramirez said Tuesday he was not sure whether he would issue licenses then.

"According to the advisory, I would be subject to criminal penalties if I issue a marriage license to a same-sex couple," he said.

"I am leaning toward doing the right thing," he said. "I believe marriage is a legal agreement binding upon two parties. It does not specify that it has to be a man and a woman."

Orange County Clerk Tiffany Moore Russell did not return phone calls seeking comment.

Seminole County Clerk Maryanne Morse said last week that because she was not specifically named in the Tallahassee federal suit, she believes the ruling does not apply to her.

Lake County Clerk Neil Kelly said he is not sure what to do but is relying on legal advice from Greenberg Traurig.

Orange-Osceola State Attorney Jeff Ashton's office did not say whether he would prosecute Moore Russell, Ramirez or any of their employees should they issue the licenses.

In Seminole-Brevard, State Attorney Phil Archer hinted that he would prosecute no one. In a prepared statement, he said the issue "would be best addressed in civil court."

Michael P. Allen, an associate dean at the Stetson University College of Law, said the Greenberg Traurig firm is technically right: Hinkle's order applies only to the defendants named in the suit — Florida's surgeon general, who records an individual's marital status on death certificates; Florida's secretary of the Department of Management Services, who administers state employee retirement benefits; and the clerk of the Panhandle County of Washington, the one who would not give Schlairet and Russ a marriage license.

But Allen said it's also bad public policy. Clerks who follows it, he said, will likely be sued for violating the constitutional rights of any same-sex couple that applies for a marriage license on Jan. 6 or thereafter and is denied.

"It is just going to create a tremendous amount of litigation, lawsuit after lawsuit," Allen said.

White, the Jacksonville lawyer involved in the Tallahassee federal suit, said her firm would move aggressively against clerks who do not issue marriage licenses.

"On Jan. 6 if (same-sex) couples are denied marriage licenses, we will be knocking on courthouse doors," she said.

In most other places where a ban on gay marriage has been ruled unconstitutional, state and local officials have chosen not to dig in and engage in a county-by-county fight, Allen said.

"Most states have not done that, frankly, because it seems pretty mean-spirited," he said.

In 35 states, same-sex couples now have the right to marry.

In 2008, 62 percent of Florida voters approved a constitutional ban on same-sex marriage. But since July 17 four state trial judges — all in South Florida — have declared it unconstitutional. Those are in addition to the Tallahassee federal case that created the looming Jan. 5 deadline.

Most of those state court rulings, though, have been stayed while Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi pursues appeals.

And even though judges in Monroe, Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties have independently found Florida's ban on same-sex marriage to be unconstitutional, clerks in those counties, too, would be subject to arrest, according to Greenberg Traurig, should they issue marriage licenses to gay and lesbian couples on Jan. 6.

That's because they were not specifically named in the North Florida case decided by Judge Hinkle.

Jesse Wilson: A Message to my  Supporters

     I recently wrote a piece for Void Magazine entitled, “What’s Not #1 in the 904,” pointing out all the areas in Jacksonville that need major improvement. My conclusion after writing this piece was that the majority of these issues have arisen from or been prolonged by poor leadership and representation in our city.    
      Jacksonville has been my home since birth. From humble beginnings in the city’s foster care system to my time at Stanton College Preparatory School and then Leadership Jacksonville, this city made me who I am and I continue to fall in love with our city over and over again.  My passion is for people, every person, even those who don’t always see eye to eye with progress. That’s why I decided to run for Jacksonville City Council earlier this year.
      Over the past year, I’ve participated in conversations with so many great Jaxsons, served on committees, and witnessed Jacksonville experience success. I’ve also been appalled and disappointed by the continuing poor leadership
in our city.
     After a lot of self-reflection and conversations with many of you, my campaign for City Council has come to the point where it is clear to me that I could be a greater asset serving in other capacities. I want to dedicate my voice and my skills towards important issues that will move our city in the right direction.
    So, for now, I will be postponing my run for Jacksonville City Council.
    Over the next few months I will be taking on and partnering with several endeavors.
      Effective immediately, I will be joining the campaign team of Bill Bishop for Mayor. City Councilman Bishop is someone I have watched and come to know and admire over the past year. His selfless ambition to serve our city reminds me of my own. He has clear passion for this city and its people, and does not make decisions based on petty politics. His goal is to serve the people of Jacksonville and he has a great vision for our city. That’s it. Because of this, I am going to volunteer my time to getting Bill Bishop elected as the next mayor of our great city.
      In addition to my efforts for Bill Bishop’s campaign, I will be serving on the steering committee for the Jacksonville Young Voters Coalition, a grassroots effort to activate and educate young voters around the issues most crucial for our city to progress. More details about the Jacksonville Young Voters Coalition will be announced in January.
      I leave you with a tremendous thank you. To all of my wonderful supporters, this year would not have been so great without each and every one of you believing in me and my mission. Jacksonville is a wonderful city, and we proved that anyone should and can have representation here. I’m thrilled to continue my work alongside each of you and the efforts that will thrust our great city to be everything we know it can be.  

Sincerely,
Jesse Wilson

 

FLORIDA AG PAM BONDI FILES REQUEST FOR STAY TO US SUPREME COURT

On Dec. 3, the 11th District Court of Appeals denied the state’s request to extend a stay on same-sex marriages. That means the stay, put in place by U.S. District Judge Robert Hinkle, expires Jan. 5 – at the end of the day, so marriages wouldn’t actually begin until Jan. 6.


According to a media release from Bondi’s office, that decision “has created statewide confusion about the effect of the injunction, which is directed to only one of Florida’s sixty-seven clerks of court.”

Bondi filed an application with the U.S. Supreme Court – specifically, Justice Clarence Thomas – requesting that the stay be extended until all of the current court cases fighting for marriage equality are resolved.

Read the full application: SCOTUSSTAYAPPLICATION

Orlando attorney Mary  Meeks is part of the legal team in one of Florida’s court cases fighting for marriage equality according to Watermark Online.

“If the U.S. Supreme Court denies the request, or simply fails to act on it, marriage will start in Florida on January 6,” Meeks said. “If Clarence Thomas temporarily grants the request, it still requires further approval by the full court. This is Bondi’s last long shot to stop devoted same-sex couples from marrying in Florida.” - REPORTED by Watermark Online

Equality Florida Launches TransAction Florida to Support Transgender Equality

 

Equality Florida has launched TransAction Florida, a new statewide initiative to increase awareness, educate and promote equality for the transgender community.

The announcement coincides with the introduction of a bill in the state legislature that would add gender identity and sexual orientation to the state’s nondiscrimination law.

Currently, just over 50 percent of the state’s population lives in jurisdictions where discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity is prohibited,
according to Equality Florida.

Miami-Dade county was the latest to enact such protections when its County Commission voted on Dec. 2 to amend its existing Human Rights Ordinance to bar discrimination in housing, public accommodations and employment on the basis of gender identity and gender expression.

“This is an important moment for the transgender community, one that has been too often the silent T in the LGBT movement,” said Gina Duncan, Equality Florida’s Transgender Inclusion Director.

“This project reflects Equality Florida’s longstanding commitment to trans inclusion, and it recognizes the need for visible trans leadership at the forefront of this work,” said Duncan.

Among the group’s goals: educate lawmakers and advance local and statewide equality legislation; provide resources on transgender issues in the workplace and in the classroom; and develop a statewide Transgender Resource Guide.

The program evolved from Equality Florida’s partnership with TransAction Florida, an organization founded in the Tampa Bay area by Michael Keeffe from its predecessor, FORGE.

GROSS INDECENCY: THE THREE TRIALS OF OSCAR WILDE

Written by Moisés Kaufman

Directed by Dave Alan Thomas

January 9 - January 24

Unfolding on the Studio Stage January 9 - 24, Players by the Sea presents the fascinating and confounding story of Oscar Wilde's flamboyant swath through English literature, high society and low life.  At the height of his success in 1895, with two of his most brilliant comedies (An Ideal Husband and The Importance of Being Earnest) reigning in London's West End, Wilde brought a court action for libel against a brutish aristocrat, the Marquess of Queensberry.  It led to his downfall, imprisonment, and death in disgrace and exile.  Was Wilde willfully self-destructive?  Or pitifully delusional and blinded by love?  A martyr to repressive Victorian hypocrisy?  Or the victim of his own egotism and arrogance?  Perhaps all of the above?

Moises Kaufman's riveting docu-drama Gross Indecency: The Three Trials of Oscar Wilde explores this fateful tale in words drawn directly from the court records, newspaper accounts of the time and eye-witness memoirs.

CLICK FOR

MORE INFORMATION & TICKETS