As I'm sure you're well aware, we have made sweeping--to a degree and with a speed previously unimaginable--on marriage equality in the past couple of weeks. I'm an LGBT news junkie, and it has reached the point where I am starting to feel out of touch because I can't even keep up with the updates. This morning, a federal judge added Arizona to the list of marriage equality states. By the time this diary publishes, I wouldn't be surprised if we had a new marriage equality state or two. (EDIT: Well, that wasn't an exaggeration...Alaska is now official, and Wyoming's ban has been struck down in the time since I finished this diary draft. Should we even try to keep up anymore?)
And of course, these rulings are not simply establishments of judicial precedent leading up to a probable Supreme Court case. They are providing hundreds of real rights and benefits to thousands of same-sex couples at a time. It's easy at times to get caught up in looking at the expanding marriage equality map and lose sight of the real people being tangibly affected by these rulings. People like William Locklear and Randall Jackson of North Carolina, who on Monday finally went to a courthouse in Pasquotank County after 31 years together looking to get married and take advantage of their newly expanded civil rights. But, as has happened in the past when the marriage equality rubber hits the road, they ran into trouble on what should have been a special day. The law, it seems, doesn't apply in Pasquotank County in the eyes of magistrate Gary Littleton, who stood in the proverbial schoolhouse door by refusing to do his job and marry the couple. More below the fold...
But First, A Word From Our Sponsor:
Top Comments recognizes the previous day's Top Mojo and strives to promote each day's outstanding comments through nominations made by Kossacks like you. Please send comments (before 9:30pm ET) by email to topcomments@gmail.com or by our KosMail message board. Just click on the Spinning Top™ to make a submission. Look for the Spinning Top™ to pop up in diaries posts around Daily Kos.
Make sure that you include the direct link to the comment (the URL), which is available by clicking on that comment's date/time. Please let us know your Daily Kos user name if you use email so we can credit you properly. If you send a writeup with the link, we can include that as well. The diarist poster reserves the right to edit all content.
Please come in. You're invited to make yourself at home! Join us beneath the doodle...
|
When Locklear and Jackson showed up before Littleton to get married, they instead got a heaping helping of bigotry when, citing "religious beliefs," the magistrate refused to perform the marriage. Religious beliefs. I must have missed the part where the couple asked to be united in holy matrimony in Littleton's church. Oh, that's because they didn't, and they simply expected a civil marriage from a civil servant. From the Virginian-Pilot:
William Locklear and his partner showed up at the county courthouse Monday expecting to get married after 31 years together.
The couple didn't get the chance.
A magistrate turned them away.
"He said, 'I won't be performing your marriage because of my religious beliefs,' " Locklear said.
A federal judge struck down the state's gay marriage ban late Friday. Monday was the first full business day that same-sex marriages could be performed.
"He has to do his job," Locklear said. "He is not there to preach to us."
Well, Locklear is certainly correct that Littleton has to do his job. This was confirmed by Pasquotank County Clerk of Superior Court Connie Thornley, who stated simply of magistrates that "they cannot refuse." Thornley is, however, concerned about this in practice:
The court website lists four magistrates in Pasquotank County. Thornley had concerns that more than one magistrate could resign over his or her beliefs, which could lead to a shortage, she said.
Now, Locklear and Jackson did return to the courthouse, and they
were married by a different magistrate. So that is well and good, as that is all they wanted, but it is still a problem that they were refused in the first place. Littleton is certainly not the only bigoted magistrate in North Carolina, or the country for that matter. Meanwhile, on the state's part, North Carolina
has warned all magistrates that they must perform their duties, including performing marriages:
North Carolina magistrates have been directed to perform civil marriages for same-sex couples or face suspension or dismissal from their state jobs. A memo to state magistrates Wednesday said they would be violating their oaths of office if they refuse to marry gay or lesbian couples. The directive came after a magistrate in Pasquotank County on Monday refused to marry two men, citing religious objections. Some magistrates in Alamance County also said they wouldn’t marry gay couples. A federal judge last week struck down North Carolina’s same-sex marriage ban as unconstitutional.
All of this has led John Kallam, Jr., a magistrate in Rockingham County, to submit his resignation rather than be tasked with the unimaginable task of performing civil marriages for teh gay:
Magistrate John Kallam Jr. sent a letter to Chief District Court Judge Fred Wilkins and said he couldn’t fulfill his oath of office after same-sex marriage became legal in North Carolina. His resignation is effective Oct. 31.
“When I took my oath of office, I understood I would be required to perform weddings and have done so throughout my tenure,” Kallam said in an emailed resignation letter. “I did not, however, take that oath with any understanding that I would be required to marry same sex couples. It is my personal belief and a position of my Christian faith that doing so would desecrate a holy institution established by God himself.”
Wilkins had this to say on the resignation:
He’s a good honorable man and a good man who stuck by his convictions.
I might use some different words to describe a man so confused over the line between civil marriage and holy matrimony that he would rather quit his job than serve gay couples. But perhaps there is something to be said for resigning now rather than refusing to do his job later.
This continues to be an issue in North Carolina as there are reports of magistrates refusing to do their jobs in Alamance County as well:
And in Alamance County, some magistrates have refused to perform the ceremonies, but haven’t resigned.
Equality NC, a nonprofit that supports lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender issues, is considering legal options in response to the refusals.
“This is not an issue of people’s rights to have religious beliefs, but people try to spin it that way,” said Chris Sgro, executive director of Equality NC. “This is their job and it’s a job requirement.”
Indeed. But tell that to Tony Perkins,
who is tripping over himself to defend magistrates' "right" to pick and choose whom they serve. So much so that he doesn't even get the gender of the couple in question right:
Pasquotank County is hard to pronounce -- but it's not nearly as difficult as pronouncing two women 'wife and wife.' That's how North Carolina Magistrate Gary Littleton felt when a same-sex couple asked him to 'marry' them at a courthouse this week. Unfortunately for Littleton, his constitutional rights are of no concern to local liberals, who insist that the judge should have to check his religious beliefs at the workplace door. Like the overwhelming majority of Tar Heels, Littleton probably voted to define marriage as the union of a man and woman in 2012. Now, two years later, he doesn't believe that a handful of unelected judges should be able to override his vote -- and the vote of 1,317,177 others. Yesterday, the county met to determine if Littleton could face criminal charges for exercising the freedom the First Amendment guarantees. While he and other clerks await their fate, a federal judge has given Speaker of the North Carolina House, Thom Tillis, the right to defend his state's marriage amendment in court. An appeal could kick the issue back to the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals, which struck down Virginia's law.
Yeah, good luck with that, Tony.
Since the haters have lost the marriage equality fight--and they know that, for the most part--we can see the civil rights battleground moving to the area of "religious freedom." "Religious freedom" to refuse to marry gay couples. "Religious freedom" not to bake cakes for gay couples. "Religious freedom" not to allow gay weddings to take place in venues open to the public.
We'll fight these battles as they come. In the meantime, I say let the bigots quit if they value their hatred more than their jobs. If bigotry trumps employment, so be it.
TOP COMMENTS
October 17, 2014
Thanks to tonight's Top Comments contributors! Let us hear from YOU
when you find that proficient comment.
From Tamar:
This is a great comment by xaxnar about ebola and confirming the Surgeon General nominee.
From AllTheWayWithLBJ85:
This is a great comment/photo by Drewid about Rick Scott.
From HeyMikey:
I would like to submit this video comment by blue aardvark in response to leftprogressive's diary on Wyoming's same-sex marriage ban falling.
|
TOP MOJO
October 16, 2014
(excluding Tip Jars and first comments)
Got mik!
1) When Crist is talking before Scott arrives, by Calvino Partigiani — 160
2) they're just fanning the flames by renzo capetti — 136
3) I'm ridiculing CNN too by Armando — 135
4) It did seem like the debate moderators by freshwater dan — 125
5) #fangate has been trending #1 by jqjacobs — 120
6) Yes: "Reagan" the dog. by Tuffie — 107
7) Gee by elmo — 107
8) Frank Denton, one of the moderators by lotac — 103
9) No dog by norwood — 100
10) See the update by Armando — 98
11) Can anyone articulate for me by elmo — 93
12) I think it's because Crist likes them? by New Jersey Boy — 91
13) "There might be a hum" by Armando — 83
14) Ugh. That's not what happened!!!!!!!! Their ad buy by DoctorWho — 79
15) Oh great, they're fansplaining it to us. by jwinIL14 — 76
16) Well, hell, if this is on the rec list, by Crashing Vor — 71
17) Something has to change. by CwV — 66
18) And as the old irony goes, needing 60% majority by shmuelman — 65
19) Nah by sockpuppet — 62
20) For a so-called Democrat... by Senor Unoball — 61
21) A ridiculous demand like that shows that Scott by deben — 60
22) Of course by Puddytat — 58
23) Good Lord. by Witgren — 58
24) oh yes. I posted my comment before I remembered by nuclear winter solstice — 58
25) Chase Iron Eyes, Dustina Gill are on their way by navajo — 57
26) Who cares who tried to scoop whom? by RFK Lives — 57
27) The profit doesn't go to the shareholders. by raboof — 57
28) "issues are going to get lost in #fangate" -yep, by nuclear winter solstice — 56
29) There are a few on the committee by PsychoSavannah — 55
30) FL voters by Prognosticator — 54
31) I think it's become more and more obvious... by Meteor Blades — 54
32) .0001 also is a four digit lead /nt by annieli — 54
33) I still get angry when I recall by Heart of the Rockies — 54
|
TOP PHOTOS
October 16, 2014
Enjoy jotter's wonderful PictureQuilt™ below. Just click on the picture and it will magically take you to the comment that features that photo. Have fun, Kossacks!
|