Free Republic

Six South Florida couples who want to get married, but can't because they're gay, said Tuesday they're filing a lawsuit against the state seeking to overturn the Sunshine State's ban on same-sex marriage. Ten of the 12 plaintiffs, along with the gay rights group Equality Florida and the National Center for Lesbian Rights, announced the filing of their case at a news conference at the Lesbian and Gay Victor Center in Miami Beach.

GREENSBORO, NC - A North Carolina law requiring women who want an abortion to have an ultrasound and then have a medical provider describe the image to them is a violation of constitutional free-speech rights, a federal judge ruled Friday.

Today U.S. District Judge Terence Kern ruled that Oklahoma’s ban on marriage equality is unconstitutional. His ruling is stayed pending appeal, meaning marriages will not occur immediately in the Sooner State. ... The ruling comes on the heels of a year-long string of electoral, judicial and legislative victories for marriage equality. In recent weeks both the New Mexico Supreme Court and a federal district judge in Utah have ruled in favor of marriage for lesbian and gay couples.

When Chief Justice John Roberts sided with the Supreme Court’s Marxist bloc in ruling the Affordable Care Act’s individual mandate constitutional, stunned conservatives immediately accused him of committing an “act of judicial cowardice.” “It is not our job to protect the people from the consequences of their political choices,” wrote the supremely hypocritical Roberts as he shattered one of the first rules of judicial restraint by rewriting sections of ObamaCare from the bench. Although he refused to “protect” the people from a wanton abuse of power, he was more than willing to protect DC lawmakers from the consequences of passing...

When U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia handed down a scathing dissent in United States v. Windsor — the case in which the high court deemed the anti-gay Defense of Marriage Act unconstitutional — he warned of the domino effect it would have on state bans on gay marriage. His prediction came true on Friday, when U.S. District Judge Robert Shelby ruled that Utah's 2004 ban on gay marriage was unconstitutional. And Shelby even made note of Scalia's dissent at points in his ruling, citing it as part of his reasoning in striking down the Utah law. Scalia warned that...

Judge Robert J. Shelby, whom President Barack Obama appointed to the U.S. District Court in Utah last year, issued an opinion on Friday declaring that a right to same-sex marriage is "deeply rooted in the nation’s history and implicit in the concept of ordered liberty."

The tentative decision prohibits the city from forcing current employees to contribute significantly more toward their pensions, as called for in last year's Measure B. That left each side claiming victory, even as both expected to appeal.

A day after a judge’s surprise ruling overturned Utah’s same-sex marriage ban, at least one county clerk intended to open early Saturday to issue licenses. About 40 minutes north of Salt Lake City, about 300 hundred people showed up at the Weber County Clerk’s Office on Saturday afternoon but were later turned away without marriage licenses. […] The confusion Saturday and reports of other crowds scrambling to find an open office illustrated how gay marriage caught many in Utah off guard. …

Judge Robert J. Shelby, whom President Barack Obama appointed to the U.S. District Court in Utah last year, issued an opinion on Friday declaring that a right to same-sex marriage is "deeply rooted in the nation’s history and implicit in the concept of ordered liberty." Shelby was confirmed to the federal bench by a voice vote of the Senate on Sept. 21, 2012. There was no debate over his nomination, and no senator objected to his confirmation. He has now issued an opinion that could fundamentally alter American law and culture. “The State’s second argument is that the Plaintiffs are...

The federal judge who recently issued a vitriolic 79-page ruling against Pastor Scott Lively has a disturbing background revealing prejudices and improprieties that under federal law should certainly have disqualified him from presiding over the case, MassResistance has discovered. Presiding Federal Judge Michael Ponsor issued the ruling back in August. The homosexual movement is infamous for its success at shrewd "judge shopping" to push their agenda in the US court system. Ponsor was clearly a perfect choice. Ponsor is openly liberal and a protégé of pro-homosexual Judge Joseph Tauro, who recently ruled to strike down DOMA in the federal court....

Starting Monday, Illinois same-sex couples facing terminal illness can marry — nearly six months ahead of the state’s new marriage equality law taking effect, a federal judge in Chicago ruled. U.S. District Court Judge Sharon Johnson Coleman has ordered the Cook County Clerk’s office to immediately issue marriage licenses to all Illinois same-sex couples who can provide a doctor’s declaration stating that one or both of them has a life-threatening illness that would prevent them from marrying after the marriage equality law takes effect June 1. “When you have a terminal illness, every day is significant,” Camilla Taylor, Marriage Project...

Retired Brooklyn Supreme Court Judge Frank Barbaro wants a white man he convicted in 1999 of killing a black man to be freed — claiming Wednesday he based the verdict on his own reverse racism. The 86-year-old former jurist convicted Donald Kagan, now 39, of fatally shooting Wavell Wint, 22, during a struggle over Kagan’s chain outside an East New York movie theater in 1998. But Barbaro told a court that, because of his viewpoint as a civil-rights activist, he didn’t consider a justification defense by Kagan in the nonjury trial. “Mr. Kagan had no intent to kill that man...

The owners of a Christian guesthouse who were ordered to pay damages for turning away a gay couple have lost their UK Supreme Court fight. Hazelmary and Peter Bull refused to let civil partners Steven Preddy and Martyn Hall stay in a double room at Chymorvah House in Marazion in Cornwall in 2008. The couple, who had already lost cases at Bristol County Court and the Court of Appeal, said they were "saddened". Mr and Mrs Bull have said they regard any sex outside marriage as a "sin". Steven Preddy (l) and Martyn Hall Steven Preddy (l) and Martyn Hall...

Washington, D.C. - The Federal Election Commission on Thursday denied the request of a prominent Tea Party organization that argued it should not have to disclose its political donors because they might face harassment from the government or the public. The Tea Party Leadership Fund, which recently announced that it is seeking challengers for the 87 Republicans who voted to end last month's government shutdown, told the FEC that an exemption from public disclosure would be justified by part of the Supreme Court's decision in Buckley v. Valeo. The group's lawyers noted the decision lets organizations like the Socialist Workers...

Hobby Lobby, a Christian-owned retail chain, has largely become the corporate face of ObamaCare opposition. After initially speaking out against mandates in the healthcare law that would force individuals to violate their faith, the company sought legal protection against its implementation. The dispute centered around a requirement the retailer fund birth control and abortifacient drugs for its employees. Though a federal court upheld the business’ position in a recent decision, the case now appears to be headed for the U.S. Supreme Court. Earlier this week, the chain initiated paperwork requesting the high court to review the case, indicating that abiding...

Kaitlyn Hunt will stay in jail until mid-December.A Florida teen accused of having sex with her underage girlfriend accepted a plea deal Thursday that her attorney says is in her best interest. Kaitlyn Hunt, 19, pleaded no contest to battery, interference with child custody and contributing to the dependency of a child. Hunt was charged in February with having sex with a 14-year-old female schoolmate. Hunt was 18 at the time. A previous plea deal was withdrawn in August following allegations that Hunt exchanged thousands of texts with the girl and sent her nude photos. A judge revoked her bond,...

Florida prosecutors offered Kaitlyn Hunt, 19, a third plea deal Wednesday after she'd refused or lost the previous ones in her ongoing legal saga over her sexual relationship with a 14-year-old female classmate. Hunt has been in jail ever since and is expected to accept this newest offer, which requires her to remain in jail until December 20 and serve two years house arrest. The deal would see Hunt remain in jail until December 20. She would then begin two years of electronically monitored house arrest. Nine months of probation would follow. According to CNN, ff she has no violations,...

An Obama-appointed federal judge has handed the administration a major victory, ruling that a Muslim woman’s civil rights were violated by an American clothing retailer that didn’t allow her to wear a head scarf as required by her religion. The lawsuit was filed by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the federal agency that enforces the nation’s workplace discrimination laws. In 2011 the agency sued the retail giant, Abercrombie & Fitch, accusing it of religious discrimination for firing 19-year-old Umme-Hani Khan for wearing a hijab at a northern California store. The company, which focuses on hip casual wear for consumers...

Officials said Fort Hood gunman Nidal Hasan was shaved after his move to death row and Texas legislators proposed a new compensation bill for shooting victims. Hasan, who was convicted in the 2009 shooting deaths of 13 people and injury of 31 others at the Texas military base, grew a beard for what he said were religious regions prior to the start of his court-martial. The move drew the ire of the judge, who found Hasan in contempt of court, causing a one-year delay of his trial. After Hasan, 42, was flown to Fort Leavenworth, Kan., Friday to be put...

A lesbian couple became the first same-sex couple to get a marriage license in Bernalillo County. The clerk’s office issued more than 100 marriage licenses before the day was over.