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☆ Supreme Court hears case of Colorado wedding website refusing gay marriage work
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-05 | by ( Dan Mangan | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

The Supreme Court heard arguments Monday in a case involving a Colorado web design company whose desire to avoid doing work for same-sex weddings runs afoul of the state's public accommodation anti-discrimination law. Conservative justices appeared sympathetic to First Amendment arguments made by a lawyer for the design company's owner. The court will likely decide the case by next spring or early summer. Justice Sonia Sotomayor asked Kristen Waggoner, the lawyer for company owner Lorie Smith, an evangelical Christian opposed to gay marriage. asked Sotomayor, a liberal, as she sat feet away from conservative Justice Clarence Thomas, a Black man who is married to a white woman.

☆ 12 Republican senators so far have broken with their party to support a bill that would protect same-sex marriage. Final passage is expected Tuesday night.
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-29 | by ( Bryan Metzger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

The Senate will vote on a bill to protect same-sex marriage on Tuesday night. Twelve Republican senators so far have voted to advance the bill. Senators have tweaked the bill, which passed the Democratic-controlled House in July, to get GOP support. So far, 12 Republicans have cast votes in support of advancing the bill, and more could emerge when the final version comes up. A Gallup poll from June 2021 found that 70% of Americans — including 55% of Republicans — support same-sex marriage.

It would not bar states from blocking same-sex or interracial marriages if the Supreme Court allowed them to do so. A similar, but not identical, bill passed the House of Representatives earlier this year with support from 47 Republicans and all Democrats. The House would need to approve the Senate version before it is sent to President Joe Biden to sign into law. In June, the Supreme Court overturned the nationwide right to an abortion, undoing 50 years of precedent. In a concurring opinion, Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas wrote the court should consider reversing other decisions protecting individual freedoms, including the 2015 ruling on gay marriage.

☆ Faith groups split over bill to protect same-sex marriage
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-17 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +7 min

Among U.S. faith leaders and denominations, there are sharp differences over the bill advancing in the Senate that would protect same-sex and interracial marriages in federal law. Meanwhile, many left-of-center faith leaders are cheering the bill, including some who planned a Thursday morning rally at the U.S. Capitol. A final Senate vote is expected soon, and the measure — if approved — would then return to the House for consideration of Senate changes. An opinion at that time from Justice Clarence Thomas suggested that an earlier high court decision protecting same-sex marriage could also come under threat. Paul Brandeis Raushenbush, an American Baptist pastor who is president of Interfaith Alliance and is part of a same-sex marriage.

☆ Same-sex marriage protection bill clears initial hurdle in U.S. Senate
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-17 | by ( Moira Warburton | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

It would serve as a legal backstop against any future Supreme Court action by requiring the federal government to recognize any marriage that was legal in the state it was performed. It would not block states from banning same-sex or interracial marriages if the Supreme Court allows them to do so. All 50 Democrats and 12 Republican senators voted to advance the bill in the 100-member Senate. Speaking before Wednesday's vote, Republican Senator Thom Tillis, another key negotiator, called the bill "a good compromise... based on mutual respect for our fellow Americans." In a mark of how far the country has moved on the issue, the Mormon church - once a virulent opponent of legalizing same-sex marriage - came out in support of the bill.

The Senate is expected to hold a key vote Wednesday on a bill to codify federal protections for same-sex marriage, days after Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., vowed to proceed to an updated version of the bill released by a bipartisan group of senators. The group, led by Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., expressed confidence this week that the bill has the 10 GOP votes needed to pass in the upper chamber during the lame-duck session. NBC News has not yet called which party will control the chamber, with the results of several races still outstanding. The legislation would repeal the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act, enshrine legal same-sex marriage for the purposes of federal law, and add legal protections for married couples of the same sex. Same-sex marriage remains the law of the land under the Supreme Court’s 5-4 ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges in 2015.

☆ Four Republican senators so far have broken with their party to support a bill codifying same-sex marriage
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-16 | by ( Bryan Metzger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The Senate is set to take a procedural vote Wednesday on a bill codifying same-sex marriage into law. Four Republican senators are publicly backing the bill so far, but more could emerge this week. Senators tweaked the bill, which sailed through the Democratic-controlled House in July, to get GOP support. A Gallup poll from June 2021 found that 70% of Americans — including 55% of Republicans — support same-sex marriage. Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska is broadly supportive of same-sex marriage, while retiring Republican Sens.

☆ Mormon church backs U.S. measure to protect gay marriage
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

The Utah-based church said in a statement posted on its website its doctrine related to marriage - that God commanded it be between a man and a woman - would remain unchanged. The change states that the bill would have no impact on religious liberties protected under the U.S. Constitution. Specifically, the Senate version states no church can face a civil lawsuit or other legal action for refusing to provide any service or access to its facilities for any marriage it opposes. The Senate is expected to approve its version of the "Respect for Marriage Act" as soon as this week. The Mormon church said the amended legislation "is the way forward."

☆ U.S. Senate to hold initial vote on bill protecting same-sex marriage
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-16 | by ( Moira Warburton | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON, Nov 16 (Reuters) - The U.S. Senate on Wednesday will hold an initial vote on legislation to protect the right to same-sex marriage, spurred by concerns that a conservative Supreme Court could reverse its earlier decision that made it legal nationwide. The bill, which is expected to pass the Senate, would serve as a legal backstop against any future Supreme Court action by requiring the federal government recognize any marriage that was legal in the state it was performed. However, it would not block states from banning same-sex or interracial marriages if the Supreme Court allows them to do so. Supporters of same-sex marriage were spurred to act when Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas wrote that the court should also reconsider the legality of same-sex marriage, in a concurring opinion to the court's overturning of federal protections for abortion in June. The bill will have to jump through several more procedural hoops in the Senate before going back to the House for final approval.

☆ Mormon church comes out in support of same-sex marriage law
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-15 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +4 min

Yet it said it would support rights for same-sex couples as long as they didn’t infringe upon religious groups’ right to believe as they choose. The faith opposes same-sex marriage and sexual intimacy, but it has taken a more welcoming stance to LGBTQ people in recent years. 8, which defined marriage as between a man and a woman in response to cities such as San Francisco granting marriage licenses to same-sex couples. It has since made incremental changes, including allowing the children of same-sex couples to get baptized. The faith opposes laws that would make it illegal for churches to not allow to same-sex couples to marry on their property.

☆ Michael Cohen blasts ruling tossing his lawsuit alleging Trump weaponized the Justice Department to lock him up as he weighs appeal
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-15 | by ( Jacob Shamsian | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

A judge dismissed Michael Cohen's lawsuit against Donald Trump and the DOJ for locking him up. Cohen, once a fixer and personal lawyer for Trump, as well as an executive at the Trump Organization, has turned into a fiery Trump critic. "President Donald J. Trump will continue to fight for the truth and against innumerable falsehoods being perpetrated by his enemies." Cohen followed up the book in question, "Disloyal," in October with the book "Revenge: How Donald Trump Weaponized the US Department of Justice Against His Critics." Michael Cohen, former personal attorney for U.S. President Donald Trump, exits the Loews Regency hotel and walks toward a taxi cab, July 27, 2018 in New York City.

More than 60 prominent conservatives, including former Trump White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows and activist Ginni Thomas, are calling on House and Senate GOP leadership elections to be delayed until after the Dec. 6 Georgia Senate runoff. The open letter to GOP lawmakers released Monday comes just a day before House Republicans are set to hold their closed-door election to pick their leaders for the new Congress. Senate Republicans plan to hold their own internal elections on Wednesday. There should be no rushed leadership elections,” the conservative group wrote in their letter. “Conservative Members of the House and Senate have called for the leadership elections to be delayed.

REUTERS/Jonathan ErnstWASHINGTON, Nov 14 (Reuters) - Democrats in the U.S. Congress aim to pass bills protecting same-sex marriage, clarifying lawmakers' role in certifying presidential elections and raising the nation's debt ceiling when they return from the campaign trail on Monday. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen both signaled that addressing the nations' looming debt ceiling would be a priority during the session. Some Republicans have threatened to use the next hike in the $31.4 trillion debt ceiling, expected in the first quarter of 2023, as leverage to force concessions from Biden. Pelosi, who would lose her position as speaker if Republicans win a majority in the House, told ABC News on Sunday that the best way to address the debt ceiling was "to do it now." "We'll have to, again, lift the debt ceiling so that the full faith and credit of the United States is respected."

☆ Senate same-sex marriage bill says people with 'diverse beliefs about the role of gender in marriage' are 'due proper respect'
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-14 | by ( Bryan Metzger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

A bipartisan group of senators released the text of their amendment to a bill that codifies same-sex marriage. "Diverse beliefs about the role of gender in marriage are held by reasonable and sincere people based on decent and honorable religious or philosophical premises. A Gallup poll from June 2021 found that 71% of Americans — including 55% of Republicans — support same-sex marriage. A handful of Republican senators stated their support for the bill following House passage, though some balked at the necessity of the legislation. If the amended bill passes the Senate, the House will have to vote on the measure again before January.

☆ A gay Republican who said Trump was 'at his full awesomeness' on January 6 is headed to Congress
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-09 | by ( Bryan Metzger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

George Santos is set to become the only openly gay sitting Republican member of Congress. Santos will also be only the third openly gay Republican member of Congress, following former Reps. Jim Kolbe of Arizona and Steve Gunderson of Illinois. He is the first Republican to be openly gay at the time of his election. At the same time, Republicans have shown an increasing openness to same-sex marriage. Nonetheless, most members of the House Republican Conference voted against enshrining the right to same-sex marriage into law.

☆ Live Results: Rep. Abigail Spanberger, a moderate Democrat from the battleground state of Virginia, faces off against first-time House hopeful Yesli Vega
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-08 | by ( Warren Rojas | April Joyner | Nov | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Rep. Abigail Spanberger is running against Republican Yesli Vega in Virginia's 7th Congressional District. VA-02VA-07 HouseTwo-term Democratic Rep. Abigail Spanberger faces off against Republican Yesli Vega in Virginia's 7th Congressional District. Vega is one of the conservative candidates backed by E-PAC, the women-centric recruiting effort run by Trump-aligned House Republican Conference Chair Elise Stefanik. Voting history for Virginia's 7th Congressional DistrictThe Old Dominion's 7th Congressional District includes a big chunk of central Virginia, stretching from the exurbs of the nation's capital to the outskirts of the state capital, Richmond. The National Republican Congressional Committee has so far spent more than any other group.

☆ Trump's layers saw Clarence Thomas as their best chance to stop the 2020 election certification
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-02 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailTrump's layers saw Clarence Thomas as their best chance to stop the 2020 election certificationCNBC’s Shep Smith reports that former President Trump’s lawyers saw Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas as their best chance to stop the certification of the 2020 election, according to new emails from Trump’s legal team.

☆ Trump lawyers thought appealing to Clarence Thomas was their best option to block Biden's 2020 victory, emails show
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-02 | by ( Charles R. Davis | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Emails obtained by Politico show Trump campaign lawyers discussing their 2020 litigation strategy. The lawyers viewed Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas as the most likely to be on their side. Thomas is "our only chance to get a favorable judicial opinion by Jan. 6," one lawyer wrote. In response to that December email, Politico reported, another Trump lawyer, John Eastman, wrote: "I think I agree with this." In January 2022, Justice Thomas was the only judge to side with former President Donald Trump in a case over whether he had to comply with a documents request from the January 6 committee.

Graham had appealed to the Supreme Court after the Atlanta-based 11th U.S. 'UNIQUE KNOWLEDGE'Prosecutors sought Graham's testimony about phone calls he made to Georgia election officials in the weeks after Trump, a Republican, lost the election to Democrat Joe Biden. Graham has "unique knowledge" regarding communications "involved in the multi-state, coordinated efforts to influence the results of the November 2020 election in Georgia and elsewhere," the prosecutors added. During the phone call, Trump urged Raffensperger to "find" enough votes to overturn his Georgia loss to Biden. Legal experts have said Trump's phone calls may have violated at least three Georgia election laws: conspiracy to commit election fraud, criminal solicitation to commit election fraud and intentional interference with performance of election duties.

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Tuesday rejected a request from Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., to quash a grand jury subpoena in a Georgia prosecutor’s probe into alleged interference in the 2020 presidential election. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected Graham’s attempt to avoid answering questions about phone calls he made to Georgia election officials after the 2020 election. The unsigned Supreme Court order said that the lower court already ruled that Graham cannot be questioned on his legislative activities. The order also said Graham is free to litigate further over which issues are off-limitsWillis is investigating a pair of post-election phone calls Graham made to Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger and his staff. On Oct. 24, conservative Justice Clarence Thomas, who handles emergency applications that arise from Georgie, temporarily blocked the grand jury subpoena from being enforced while the court determined its next steps.

☆ Supreme Court denies Sen. Lindsey Graham's bid to avoid testifying in Georgia election interference case
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-01 | by ( Dan Mangan | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

The Supreme Court on Tuesday denied a request by Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., to block a subpoena demanding his testimony before a Georgia grand jury investigating possible criminal interference in that state's 2020 presidential election. The subpoena to Graham calls for him to testify before the grand jury in Atlanta on Nov. 17. In its order Tuesday, the Supreme Court noted, "The lower courts also made clear that Senator Graham may return to the District Court should disputes arise regarding the application of the Speech or Debate Clause immunity to specific questions. " A day after that loss, Graham asked Thomas, the Supreme Court justice who has authority over emergency applications from 11th Circuit cases, to temporarily block the subpoena. "Secretary Raffensperger said that Senator Graham suggested that Georgia could discard or invalidate large numbers of mail-in ballots from certain areas," the filing said.

☆ Supreme Court rejects Sen. Lindsey Graham's request to block a grand jury subpoena in Georgia election probe
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-01 | by ( Oma Seddiq | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

The Supreme Court denied Lindsey Graham's request to block a grand jury subpoena. A Georgia grand jury is investigating alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 election. In an unsigned order, the nation's highest court dismissed Graham's emergency request to block the subpoena, writing: "a stay or injunction is not necessary to safeguard the Senator's speech or debate clause immunity." Justice Clarence Thomas, who handles emergency matters arising from Georgia, referred the issue to the full Supreme Court after he temporarily halted a lower court ruling ordering Graham to abide by the subpoena. President Donald Trump also called Raffensperger and pressed him to "find" enough votes to swing the state to him.

☆ College use of race in admissions challenged at Supreme Court in arguments
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-31 | by ( Dan Mangan | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

"Racial classifications are wrong," the attorney Patrick Strawbridge said in his opening argument on behalf of the group Students for Fair Admissions. The Supreme Court began hearing arguments Monday in two cases that challenge the use of race-based considerations to determine who gets admitted to American colleges. Conservatives hold a 6-3 super-majority on the Supreme Court and are expected to be open to the arguments for ending affirmative action. The cases being argued are Students for Fair Admissions v. President and Fellows of Harvard, case No. 20-1199, and Students for Fair Admissions v. the University of North Carolina, case No.

☆ Supreme Court's conservative majority seems open to eliminating affirmative action in university admissions process: 'Why do you have these boxes?'
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-31 | by ( Oma Seddiq | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

The Supreme Court heard two high-profile challenges to race-conscious university admissions processes. The court's conservatives appeared open to ending race as a factor in university admissions. Thomas, the second Black person to ever serve on the bench, has long been critical of race-conscious admissions policies. They cannot adopt race-conscious admissions and sit back reflexively and let that play out forever into the future," Prelogar said. "At present, it's not possible to achieve that diversity without race-conscious admissions, including at the nation's service academies."

☆ Clarence Thomas says 'I don't have a clue' what 'diversity' means as the Supreme Court tackles affirmative action
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-31 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas said he didn't know what the word "diversity" meant. The Supreme Court is tackling a case challenging affirmative action in college admissions. "I've heard the word diversity quite a few times and I don't have a clue what it means. The court heard oral arguments Students for Fair Admissions (SFFA) vs. the University of North Carolina (UNC), a case centered around the school's admissions process. UNC denied SFFA's allegations, and lower courts sided with the university before the case was brought to the Supreme Court.

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