Court Rules Tennessee's Same-Sex Marriage Ban Is Constitutional

BREAKING: For the first time since the Supreme Court's DOMA decision, a court has ruled that the constitution does not protect a gay couples’ right to marry.

Slate magazine reported this afternoon, that for the first time since June of 2013, when the Supreme Court struck down the major provisions of The Defense of Marriage Act, a court has ruled a state's ban on same-sex marriage is constitutional. 

Roane County Circuit Judge Russell E. Simmons Jr. (right) ruled that Tennessee’s same-sex marriage ban is "rationally related to state interests" and therefore does not violate the Constitution’s equal protection clause. 

Judge Simmons:

“Marriage simply cannot be divorced from its traditional procreative purposes... the promotion of family continuity and stability is certainly a legitimate state interest. There is nothing irrational about limiting the institution of marriage for the purpose for which it was created, by embracing its traditional definition. To conclude otherwise is to impose one’s own view of what a State ought to do on the subject of same-sex marriage."

Judge Simmons' decision, is a direct contradiction of almost thirty court decisions, that have found there is a constitutional right to same-sex marriage, including two by federal appeals courts. It may be all the division the Supreme Court needs to weigh in sooner, rather than wait for the all the states to wade through the challenges to their marriage bans. 

Stay tuned...

IGBO Mid Year 2014 Jacksonville

The IGBO 2014 Mid-Year Tournament can accommodate an estimate of 400 bowling participants on 100 teams. Shifts outlined below will be allowed for one bowling house to be used.  The Awards Banquet facility can currently accommodate 400 guests, and can be expanded if necessary. Registration fee will be $109.00 with a breakdown as follows: Lineage $26.00, Prize Fund $40.00, Banquet $30.00, IGBO Donation $5.00, Trophies $5.00 and Misc. $3.00.

Entry Deadline

Electronic entries for IGBO 2014 Mid-Year will close at midnight (EDT), Tuesday, October 28, 2014. This is 10 days before the Official Opening of the IGBO Mid-Year 2014. Non-bowling Participants will be bound by the same dates and deadlines that Bowling participants adhere too and will check in at the Hospitality Registration events, Non-Bowlers will only be accepted if Banquet accommodations are available.

Tournament Registration and Hospitality Events

All bowling and non-bowling participants of IGBO 2014 Mid-Year are required to register at The Crowne Plaza Jacksonville on the River-Walk. Registration will not be available at the bowling center during the tournament.

SCHEDULE OF EVENTS!

Tuesday 11/4

8a - 5p:    IGBO Board Meeting

Wednesday 11/5

8a - 5p:      IGBO Board Meeting

12p - 12a:  Tournament Registration

12p - 1a:    Hospitality Suite

Thursday 11/6

8a - 5p:    IGBO Board Meeting

9a - 12a:  Tournament Registration

9a - 1a:    Hospitality Suite

    BOWLING TIMES @ Jax Lanes Grove Park

    8a - 3p :     Singles / Doubles Event SD1

    8a - 12p:   Team Event T1

    1p - 5p :    Team Event T2

    4p - 10p:   Singles / Doubles Event SD2

    6p - 10p :  Team Event T3

Friday 11/7

      8a - 5p:    IGBO General Meeting

      9a - 12a:  Tournament Registration

      9a - 1a:    Hospitality Suite

      BOWLING TIMES @ Jax Lanes Grove Park

     8a - 3p :     Singles / Doubles Event SD3

     4p - 10p:   Singles / Doubles Event SD4

     5p - 9p :     Team Event T4

Saturday 11/8

7a - 9a:    Tournament Registration

9a - 1a:    Hospitality Suite

8p - 12a:  Ladies Social

BOWLING TIMES @ Jax Lanes Grove Park

8a - 3p:    Singles / Doubles Event SD5

8a - 12p:  Team Event T5

1p - 5p:    Team Event T6

4p - 10p:  Singles / Doubles Event SD6

6p - 10p:  Team Event T7

Sunday 11/9

9a - 12p:  Scratch Masters Tournament

12p - 5p:  Hospitality Suite

12p - 4p:  AIDS Quilt Memorial

1p - 3p:    Tournament Committee Meeting and Forum

4p - 5p:    Cocktail Reception

5p - 9p:    Awards Banquet

10p - 1a:  Miss IGBABE

Monday 11/10

         9a - 12p:   IGBO Board Meeting

 

Our Host Hotel for this Event will be The Crowne Plaza Jacksonville, located on Jacksonville’s beautiful River-Walk.  We are being offered a very affordable $92 per night double occupancy rate with $5 per day self parking.  This hotel offers the only poolside view of the St. Johns River, is centrally located, and includes complimentary wired and wireless internet throughout the hotel.  The deadline for the group rate is Friday, October 3rd 2014.

Online Reservations

Click HERE for ONLINE RESERVATIONS!

$92 per night double occupancy rate with $5 per day self parking.

Hotel Address & Phone #

1201 Riverplace Blvd
Jacksonville, FL  32207
(904)398-8800

Event Website: IGBO Mid Year 2014

FINAL VOTE HRO ATLANTIC BEACH TONIGHT

Via Jacksonville Coaltion for Equality:
Final Vote on HRO Planned for
Atlantic Beach City Commission Meeting
on Monday, August 11

Jacksonville, FL (August 8, 2014)–Having survived months of discussion, a preliminary vote and two readings, the amended Human Rights Ordinance, No. 95-14-108, is one last vote away from passage in Atlantic Beach this coming Monday, August 11, 2014 when the City Commission holds its regularly scheduled Commission meeting. The meeting will begin at 6:30pm at the Atlantic Beach City Hall Commission Chamber, 800 Seminole Road.

The Jacksonville Coalition for Equality is urging Atlantic Beach residents and others interested in the Ordinance’s passage to attend and speak at the meeting and wear red in a show of solidarity for the bill.

The first vote, taken at the City Commission meeting held on July 14, passed 3-2. Commissioners voting in support of the amendment were Mayor Carolyn Woods, Commissioner Maria Mark and Commissioner Mayor Pro Tem, Mark Beckenbach. Voting against the amendment were Commissioner Jimmy Hill and Commissioner John Daugherty. The legislation was then moved forward after a second public reading at the Commission’s workshop on July 28. With a simple majority on Monday’s vote, the amended Ordinance will become law.

The proposed Atlantic Beach Human Rights Ordinance will add explicit protections for residents based on sexual orientation and gender identity or expression in employment, housing and public accommodation.

The Jacksonville Coalition for Equality (JCE) is a community group in Jacksonville working to bring area Human Rights Ordinances up-to-date and inclusive of the Lesbian, Gay Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) community.

“Excitement is mounting and expectations are high,” said Dan Merkan, Chair of the JCE Steering Committee. The LGBT community in Northeast Florida, along with its numerous allies, feels like it’s being heard. The support we have received from all areas of the community has been gratifying. There has been tremendous community support from Atlantic Beach residents, straight allies and others who believe the amended Ordinance is right for their own community as well as an important first step to assuring equality for everyone in Northeast Florida. Atlantic Beach and the City Commissioners who have worked to pass this legislation are to be commended for their courage and commitment. We are cautiously optimistic that we will have an important milestone to celebrate on Monday evening.”

About the Jacksonville Coalition for Equality

The Jacksonville Coalition for Equality grew out of the Jacksonville Committee for Equality, the group that led the 2012 effort to pass an amended human rights ordinance in Jacksonville that would have, if passed, added protections from discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity and expression in the workplace, housing, and public accommodation. The Jacksonville Coalition for Equality consists of many organizations including Jacksonville Chapter of the National Organization for Women (NOW), Human Rights Campaign, Equality Florida, the LGBT Resource Center at the University of North Florida, We Are Straight Allies, PFLAG Jacksonville, JASMYN, and OneJax as well as many other civic leaders, businesses and business owners, faith leaders and individuals. More information about the JCE is available at https://www.facebook.com/jaxequality.

One of Florida's Openly Gay State Representative's Win Re-Election

Republican Laura Rivero Levey was disqualified from the race last month after a check she submitted to the Florida Department of State bounced.

Judge Francis said state law is clear: Candidates must pay the filing fee before qualifying period ends.

"I find this to be a very harsh decision," he said. "In fact, I don't think there is anything the candidate could have done differently that would have changed what happened during the week… But I am bound by the precedent that says when the legislature speaks as to a particular item, I am not to guess at what it means."

The ruling means incumbent David Richardson, D-Miami Beach, will be automatically re-elected.

Read more here: http://miamiherald.typepad.com/nakedpolitics/2014/08/judge-rules-against-former-florida-house-candidate-hoping-to-get-on-ballot-.html?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter#storylink=cpy

Read more here: http://miamiherald.typepad.com/nakedpolitics/2014/08/judge-rules-against-former-florida-house-candidate-hoping-to-get-on-ballot-.html?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter#storylink=cpy

Read more here: http://miamiherald.typepad.com/nakedpolitics/2014/08/judge-rules-against-former-florida-house-candidate-hoping-to-get-on-ballot-.html?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter#storylink=cpy

Florida AG Pam Bondi Wants US Supreme Court to Decide Gay Marriage

GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Florida's attorney general is asking state courts to stop considering same-sex marriage cases until the U.S. Supreme Court decides whether states have the right to ban gay marriage.

Attorney General Pam Bondi filed two motions on Friday in a state appeals court, requesting a freeze on appeals of cases concerning the state's constitutional amendment banning gay marriage. Voters approved the amendment in 2008.

Judges in four Florida counties have overturned the ban, but no marriage licenses are being issued because Bondi has appealed each case.

Bondi says the state will defer to the Supreme Court and that any further state proceedings are a waste of judicial resources. Utah and Oklahoma this week asked the Supreme Court to decide the issue.

Sneak Peak into Kickback's Expansion

In what was the turning point for a run down area of Riverside, Kickback's is going strong after almost a decade in business and expanding. Inbetween a $1.5-2.5 million expansion it is the corner stone of the King Street Entertainment District.

The remodel is after a Belgian dining room and accented with industrial steampunk decor, Goozlepipe & Guttyworks is scheduled to open later this month.

Although Kickbacks is known for the variety of draft beers it offers, 60 percent of its revenue comes from food sales. Faced with a small kitchen and lines out the door, Flores began the process to expand over a year ago. 

Grand Opening date for the expansion has not be announced. However, with lines typically out the door for what has become an ICONIC landmark in the King Street, we cannot wait to experience the expanding dining establishment.

Downtown Trolly - SUCCESS

Last weekend the Downtown Trolly running from Riverside to Downtown need an average of 25 per hour to be called an success. Well let's just say the ridership was an average of 40 people per hour, according to JTA spokesperson Leigh Ann Rassler. 270 passengers Friday night and 370 Saturday night rode the trolly.

"I was very successful," said Leigh Ann Rassler.

The one tack away from this mass transit signal from citizens is simply that they want mass transit in Jacksonville. It is time for the City of Jacksonville to start planning and implementing a Mass Transit System that will accommodate our citizens & tourist as we continue to grow. We should not wait until after the fact. As many other citizens have expressed in the candidate races, they want a Mass Transit System.

We would love to see an expansion of the Night Time Downtown Trolly to include San Marco. It is all about connections!

Family Says Tampa Church Canceled Funeral Because Son Was Gay

TAMPA, Fla. – The night before his husband's funeral, Kendall Capers was told the service was cancelled.

The pastor of New Hope Missionary Baptist Church in Tampa learned the pair was gay and the congregation was livid.

"Regardless of our background, our sexual orientation, how can you wait that long and put someone in a bind when they're going through a loss?" Capers asked.

Julion Evans, 42, died late last month of Amyloidosis. Evans' family attends New Hope and wanted the funeral there.

"I felt it probably would have been best for him to be at the church, his family grew up in the church, it just made sense," Capers said.

New Hope immediately said yes, but the invitation was abruptly revoked during the wake after the newspaper obituary named Capers as the surviving "husband."

Julion's mother was too upset to talk on camera, but said she was standing at her son's casket when the phone rang. The message? It would be blasphemous for her son's funeral to be held here at the church.

New Hope's Pastor T.W. Jenkins said that his church doesn't support gay marriage.
"I try not to condemn anyone's lifestyle, but at the same time, I am a man of God and have to stand upon my principles."

Initially, Jenkins agreed to an on-camera interview, but the door was locked when the reporter showed up and he never answered any calls.

All of this leaves Capers sad and conflicted about religion.

"It's not like we woke up and said, 'let's be gay,' someone we were born with and we've dealt with it for me, 40 years, him 42 years, and we make the best possible choices."

Pastor Jenkins said he regrets that his decision was made the night before the funeral.

He said he typically reviews obituaries before they publish, but was on vacation when this obituary ran in the newspaper.

As for the family, for the funeral, they ended up using the funeral home that handled the wake.

The family said it ended up being a great service, but they still feel it was wrong the church excluded them.

Media Partners KSDK Tampa Video Interview 

LGBT & ALLY Call To Action - Tonight HOBNOB 2014

ALLY ACTION ALERT! Get down to the HobNob TONIGHT! Why is this important? We have received an e-mail indicating the Jacksonville Alliance of Christian Voters plan to attend the event and they are using the Jacksonville HRO bill of 2012 as a rallying cry:

Here is one sentence from their e-mail "In 2012 you contacted your City Council members to express your concern over ordinance 2012-296 - the proposed Gay Rights bill - which was eventually defeated by City Council. In your e-mail you said that you intended to monitor the actions of individual council members and that you would make your voice heard in the next election."

Let's be sure that the voice for equality and fairness is heard above all else.

WHEN: August 07, 2014 at 5pm - 7pm
WHERE: Hyatt Regency Riverfront
225 E Coastline Dr Ballroom

HobNob is a non-partisan political event sponsored by WOKV and the Jacksonville Chamber of Commerce. At this event you can mix and mingle with the candidates and other decision makers and ask them where they stand on the HRO, Florida Competitive Workforce Act, Marriage Equality, ENDA, and other legislative issues of interest to supporters of equality.

You will also have a chance to vote in a straw poll for the mayor and other races. The event is open to the public and there is no admission fee. If you have an LGBT supportive pin or sticker, feel free to wear it! We will be passing out Straight Ally stickers to those who need them!

Feel the Flashback -JASMYN Fundraiser

Feel the Flashback in guaranteed to be one of the top parties of 2014. In it's 5th year and hosted by Ginger Harris, Karma Edwards, Kerry Boatwright, & Billy Wells. This year theme is Feel the Flashback. Just think anything 1980's.

Get ready to turn back time...

Rev up the DeLorean and head back to the future on August 15th for the 5th Annual JASMYN Benefit - Feel tha Flashback, a totally tubular '80s party. Join us at The Museum (4160 Boulevard Center Drive) for a nostalgic night of over the top '80s attire, dancing, drinks, food trucks, fun, and excitement. Come one, come all, bring a guest, and hang loose. This is going to be epic!

ABOUT

Feel tha Flashback benefits JASMYN, a not-for-profit organization that provides a safe place for local at risk LGBT youth in Jacksonville. Last year's event, “Feel tha Fascination” was attended by more than 300 guests and raised $37,000 for JASMYN. 100% of ticket, silent auction, and cash bar proceeds benefit JASMYN. Learn more at JASMYN.org.

• While '80s attire is not required, it is highly suggested.

• Everyone 21+ is welcome to attend. Please spread the word and invite your friends.

TICKETS:

General Admission: $30 in advance, $35 at the door

VIP: (SOLD OUT) 

 Your VIP ticket will grant you access to the new and private VIP Lounge where you'll enjoy complimentary cocktails all night from a dedicated bartender. VIP Tickets are limited.

*All proceeds benefit JASMYN: Jacksonville Area Sexual Minority Youth Network. Learn more at  JASMYN.org.

ONLINE AUCTION

Our online auction will open one week prior to the event. Our auction includes fabulous hotel getaways, restaurant gift cards, jewelry, art, and services. If you're interested in donating an item to our online auction, please contact us at feelthaflashback@gmail.com.

BECOME A SPONSOR

For sponsorship opportunities at multiple levels, please contact us at feelthaflashback@gmail.com.

COMMITTEE

Feel tha Flashback hosts extend a special thanks to this year's committee: Angel Harris Scarborough, Antonio Aque, Cori Voight, Neil Bridgers, Ryan Ali, Stacy Brumbeloe

CONNECT

• Check our site regularly for event, online auction, and sponsor updates.

• Visit our Facebook event page and spread the word:

Feel tha Flashback on Facebook

• For photos from 2013's Feel tha Fascination, visit: 

Feel tha Fascination

• In honor of our '80s theme, we want to see what you looked like back in the '80s! Send us a photo of you from back in the day and you just might see it featured the night of the party. Email us at feelthaflashback@gmail.com and be sure to include your name.