trump Nominates Neil Gorsuch for SCOTUS

So trump nominates this Neil Gorsuch for the Supreme Court.

Neil isn't a hater of LGBT rights, but he's not a huge fan either. Neil is a typical judge, nothing special about him really.

But here are a few things:

Judge Gorsuch, 49 — who was appointed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit, in Denver, by President George W. Bush — is an originalist, meaning he tries to interpret the Constitution consistently with the understanding of those who drafted and adopted it. This approach leads him to generally but not uniformly conservative results. “Ours is the job of interpreting the Constitution,” he wrote in a concurrence last year. “And that document isn’t some inkblot on which litigants may project their hopes and dreams.”

While he has not written extensively on several issues of importance to many conservatives, including gun control and gay rights, Judge Gorsuch has taken strong stands in favor of religious freedom, earning him admiration from the right.

In two prominent cases, both of which reached the Supreme Court, he sided with employers who had religious objections to providing some forms of contraception coverage to their female workers.

He voted in favor of Hobby Lobby Stores, a family-owned company that objected to regulations under the Affordable Care Act requiring many employers to provide free contraception coverage. Similarly, he dissented from a decision not to rehear a ruling requiring the Little Sisters of the Poor, an order of nuns, to comply with an aspect of the regulations.

 I don't care for him or like him.

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Today, President Obama will Announce his Supreme Court Nominee

Today at 11am Eastern time, President Obama will announce his nominee for the Supreme Court.

Obama sent an email, discussing his choice, as well as, preparing for a showdown with the GOP on this pick.

"I’m confident you’ll share my conviction that this American is not only eminently qualified to be a Supreme Court Justice, but deserves a fair hearing, and an up-or-down vote. In putting forward a nominee today, I am fulfilling my constitutional duty. I’m doing my job. I hope that our Senators will do their jobs, and move quickly to consider my nominee. That is what the Constitution dictates, and that’s what the American people expect and deserve from their leaders."
Obama laid out three principles that he said guided his choice.

First, that a justice "should possess an independent mind, unimpeachable credentials, and an unquestionable mastery of law."
Second, that he or she "should recognize the limits of the judiciary's role."
And third, that his choice have "a keen understanding that justice is not about abstract legal theory, nor some footnote in a dusty casebook."
"It’s the kind of life experience earned outside the classroom and the courtroom," he elaborated, "experience that suggests he or she views the law not only as an intellectual exercise, but also grasps the way it affects the daily reality of people’s lives in a big, complicated democracy, and in rapidly-changing times."

Let/s see how the GOP responds to his nominee

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Interesting Quote: President Obama

First and foremost, the person I appoint will be eminently qualified. He or she will have an independent mind, rigorous intellect, impeccable credentials, and a record of excellence and integrity. I’m looking for a mastery of the law, with an ability to hone in on the key issues before the Court, and provide clear answers to complex legal questions. 

Second, the person I appoint will be someone who recognizes the limits of the judiciary’s role; who understands that a judge’s job is to interpret the law, not make the law. I seek judges who approach decisions without any particular ideology or agenda, but rather a commitment to impartial justice, a respect for precedent, and a determination to faithfully apply the law to the facts at hand.

- See more here

Supreme Court Justice Loretta Lynch?

Scalia's death is causing a lot of drama over his replacement. It seems that everyone has an opinion on what President Obama should and shouldn't do. However, the SCOTUS Blog has weighed in with their suggestion... Attorney General Loretta Lynch.

The SCOTUS blog write:

“Attorney General Loretta Lynch, who is fifty-six, is a very serious possibility. She is known and admired within the administration. At some point in the process, she likely would have to recuse from her current position, but the Department of Justice could proceed to function with an acting head. Her history as a career prosecutor makes it very difficult to paint her as excessively liberal. Perhaps Lynch’s age would give the administration some hesitancy. They would prefer to have a nominee who is closer to fifty. But because the nomination would principally serve a political purpose anyway, I don’t think that would be a serious obstacle.”

I agree, she would be a great choice

USA Today Talks to Folks in line for the Supreme Court Marriage Equality Case

Super Tuesday (For Gay Marriage)

Today, History will be made!

Gay Marriage will hopefully, be the law of the land

DOJ urges Supreme Court to Strike Down Gay Marriage Bans

Yesterday, the Justice Department filed a brief to SCOTUS in hopes to strike down all of the gay marriage bans in the country.

Below, is the full brief. There are plenty of great parts in it, so please, get into it.

DOJ Amicus Brief On Gay Marriage by Ryan J. Reilly

SCOTUS will hear Same-Sex Marriage Arguments on April 28th

It just got real folks.

The Supreme Court just announced they will hear arguments over gay marriage bans in Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, and my home state, Tennessee on April 28th.

Read the announcement here

A little over than a month away.

President Obama Welcomes SCOTUS plans to end “Patchwork” Marriage Laws

via Buzzfeed

President Obama shared some great news about the marriage drama in the country.

In a Buzzfeed interview, he spoke about how marriage equality will be the law.

Here's some of the article:

“My sense is that the Supreme Court is about to make a shift, one that I welcome, which is to recognize that — having hit a critical mass of states that have recognized same-sex marriage — it doesn’t make sense for us to now have this patchwork system,” Obama said in an interview with BuzzFeed News. “It’s time to recognize that under the equal protection clause of the United States [Constitution], same-sex couples should have the same rights as anybody else.”
Obama’s comments came on the second day in which same-sex couples were marrying in Alabama, the 38th state to allow same-sex couples to marry.

When asked about dumbass Roy Moore, Obama said:

“My recollection is that Judge Moore had a similar problem with a federal court ruling that you couldn’t put a huge Ten Commandments statue in the middle of your courthouse and, ultimately, federal law was obeyed, and I think that the same thing will end up happening here,” Obama said. “I think that the courts at the federal level will have something to say to him.”

You can watch the video after the jump

Mike Huckabee thinks States can Ignore SCOTUS' decision on Gay Marriage

So, Mike Huckabee believes that states can ignore SCOTUS if they side with gay marriage. He told radio host Hugh Hewitt:

Well, if the federal Supreme Court rules that same sex marriage is protected under the 14th Amendment, you still have to have Congress and the President act to agree with it, because one branch of government does not overrule the other two. This idea that a judge makes a ruling on Friday afternoon, and Saturday morning same sex marriage licenses are being given out, that’s utter nonsense, because there’s not been any agreement with the other two branches of government, so I just want people to go back to their 9th grade civics class, and remember there are three branches equal, and that all three of them have to be in concert in order for something to become law. And the courts can’t make a law, and they don’t have the power to enforce a law.

Hugh asked if he wanted the county clerks to invoke civil disobedience and Huckles said:

Well, the point is states would be in a position that their legislatures would have to go into session. They would have to create legislation that the governor would sign. If they don’t, then there is not same sex marriage in that state. Now if the federal courts say well, you’re going to have to do it, well, then you have a confrontation. At that point, somebody has to decide is the Court right? If it is, then the legislation will be passed. It’s not unlike we’ve seen other legislation. In my own state, when we had school funding legislation that had to be passed, the courts ruled, but we didn’t start sending out checks the next day. We called a special session, we negotiated through it. The courts didn’t tell us what the formula had to look like. They just told us the one we had wasn’t Constitutional. In that case, I agree with them. They were right. We fixed it.

Umm, good luck with that notion, Mike.

David Boies: Supreme Court Will Legalize Gay Marriage

SCOTUS will hear all 4 Marriage Cases

SCOTUS announced that they will hear the marriage cases in Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and my home state Tennessee.

They will rule on the state power to ban gay marriage. The cases are possibly set for April. Eric Holder has already stated that the Government will back the same sex marriage plaintiffs!

Read his statement:

“After the Justice Department's decision not to defend the constitutionality of Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act, the Supreme Court sent a powerful message that Americans in same-sex marriages are entitled to equal protection and equal treatment under the law. This landmark decision marked a historic step toward equality for all American families. 

“The Supreme Court has announced that it will soon hear several cases raising core questions concerning the constitutionality of same-sex marriages. As these cases proceed, the Department of Justice will remain committed to ensuring that the benefits of marriage are available as broadly as possible. And we will keep striving to secure equal treatment for all members of society—regardless of sexual orientation. 

“As such, we expect to file a ‘friend of the court’ brief in these cases that will urge the Supreme Court to make marriage equality a reality for all Americans. It is time for our nation to take another critical step forward to ensure the fundamental equality of all Americans—no matter who they are, where they come from, or whom they love.”

 This is going to be huge people! Fuc#%ng huge! 

Haters are already begging for money to fight it, but seriously, they can't do a thing ! I'm so excited to see how this will turn out!

These Cases could change the Country

These cases could change everything. Can you imagine if this date marks the day that gay marriage is legal in this country?

Can you imagine the how all of the anti-gay orgs will lost their shit over this? It would great if this date marks the shifting of the tide. It would be so good.

Let's hope for the best.

The DOJ will Ask Supreme Court to Uphold Marriage Equality

Big news on the gay marriage front.

Attorney General Eric Holder announced that the Justice Department will ask the Supreme Court to uphold marriage equality for the rest of the country.

HRC blog reports:

"Once again, Attorney General Eric Holder and the Obama Administration have stood up for marriage equality at a critical moment," said HRC President Chad Griffin. "As the nine justices of the U.S. Supreme Court gather on Monday to evaluate several marriage equality cases for full hearing, I hope they consider two facts—that the nation is ready for marriage equality, and that there are painful consequences to inaction. Committed and loving gay and lesbian couples can't afford to wait any longer. It's time to settle this constitutional question, once and for all."

This is getting deep, folks. This Monday, SCOTUS will possibly hear the marriage equality cases from the states of Utah, Oklahoma, Virginia, Indiana and Wisconsin.

Will Monday be the DAY?

Supreme Court MAY hear Gay Marriage cases in Late September

The Supreme Court has scheduled to hear gay marriage cases from five states. The date could be on September 29th for a private conference.

Here's more from USA Today:

The justices placed cases from Utah, Oklahoma, Virginia, Indiana and Wisconsin on the list for their first conference of the 2014 term. They could have delved into some or none, preferring to wait until later in the fall.

By scheduling all for consideration simultaneously, the justices gave equal footing to the Indiana and Wisconsin cases just decided last week by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit. The 10th and 4th Circuits previously ruled in the other cases.

The court could agree to hear one or more cases this winter; deny them all, or delay its decision for a while.

It's happening.

Supreme Court Halts Gay Marriages in Virginia

Minor setback...

The Supreme Court is continuing the stay on gay marriages in Virginia. Again, this is minor.

As we have seen so far, the judges have blocked most of these marriage cases while they are being appealed. So, I'm not worried. However, you know the haters will celebrate this short stop, but in the end... we win.

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SCOTUS: Utah Doesn't Have to Recognize Gay Marriages

The Supreme Court let us down yesterday. They said that Utah isn't required to recognize the marriages of roughly 1,000 same-sex couples there while the appeals are happening.

The NYT reports

The court’s order was two sentences long and said only that a lower court’s ruling “is stayed pending the final disposition of the appeal” by the federal appeals court in Denver.

The marriages took place between Dec. 20, when Judge Robert J. Shelby of Federal District Court in Salt Lake City struck down Utah’s ban on same-sex marriage, and Jan. 6, when the Supreme Court issued a stay blocking that ruling while the decision was appealed.

On June 25, the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit, in Denver, upheld Judge Shelby’s ruling. Utah officials have announced that they will soon ask the Supreme Court to hear that case, which presents the separate and much larger question of whether there is a constitutional right to same-sex marriage.

Friday’s order came in a different case, one concerning the status of what the state calls “interim marriages,” meaning those entered into during that period in December and January when same-sex marriage was briefly allowed.

Utah officials initially sent mixed messages about whether they would recognize the marriages but ultimately said they were “on hold.” Federal officials said they would recognize the marriages.

This too, shall pass

Supreme Court Denies NOM's request to stop Same-Sex Marriages in Oregon

Just saw this on Buzzfeed

PLONK

SCOTUS Upholds Michigan’s Affirmative-Action Ban, Sotomayor pissed

Drama!

In a 6-2 Supreme Court decision last night, Justice Anthony Kennedy, John Roberts, Samuel Alito and few others voted to uphold the 2006 Michigan constitutional amendment ban on affirmative action based on race, gender, ethnicity, or national origin in hiring or college admissions.

The one judge that was NOT on board... Was Justice Sonia Sotomayor. Oh, she was over it for real!

She said:

"But without checks, democratically approved legislation can oppress minority groups. Michigan voters "changed the basic rules of the political process in that state in a manner that uniquely disadvantaged racial minorities."

But that's not all. Please read her 58 page dissent

Supreme Court halts Utah's Same-Sex Marriage

This morning, the Supreme Court has halted same-sex couples from getting marry in Utah. They presented no reason.

At this time, everyone will have wait for a pending appeal to the Tenth Circuit. Then, the case would go back to the Supreme Court.

More to come on this story