Donald Trump holds commanding lead in SC, says new CNN poll
South Carolina Republicans think Donald Trump has the best chance of winning the general election this November, according to a new CNN/ORC International poll. The survey found 53 percent of likely South Carolina Republican primary voters said Trump had the best chance of winning the general election in November. Nineteen percent of respondents said Ted Cruz had the best chance of winning the general election, while 16 percent said Marco Rubio. Trump continues to hold a commanding lead in the polls, with 38 percent of likely Republican primary voters saying they were backing Trump in the primary. Cruz was in second with 22 percent, followed by Rubio at 14 percent and Jeb Bush at 10 percent. Ben Carson is at 6 percent, while John Kasich, who placed second in the New Hampshire primary, is at 4 percent. Fifty-eight percent of Republicans said Trump would be the best person to handle the economy, while 53 percent said he was the best candidate to tackle illegal immigration. On social issues, such as abortion and same-sex marriage, Cruz came out on top, with 28 percent of Republicans saying he would be the best candidate to deal with the issues. In the Democratic race, Hillary Clinton leads Bernie Sanders in South Carolina, 56 percent to 38 percent. The CNN/ORC International poll was conducted from Wednesday through Monday. Results among likely Republican voters have a margin of error of 5 percent; while the margin of error for results among Democratic primary voters is 6 percent.
Roy Moore rankles critics with order halting same-sex marriage licenses
Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore has come under fire from marriage equality groups in the wake of his recent judicial order requiring state probate judges to stop issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples. Moore issued the order citing discrepancies among Alabama jurisdictions. The current state of affairs – wherein some counties are issuing the licenses while others refuse to – creates a disparity that “affects the administration of justice in this state,” requiring court intervention. On Wednesday the Human Rights Campaign, a leading national advocate for LGBT rights and interests, heaped scorn on Moore for his “shameful” judicial opinion. “Yet again Chief Justice Roy Moore is flagrantly defying the rule of law, and empowering those who wish to stand between same-sex couples and their constitutional right to marry the person they love,” said HRC Legal Director Sarah Warbelow. “Regardless of what Roy Moore says, marriage equality is the law of the land,” said Warbelow, referring to last year’s landmark U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges. “His obstructionist tactics tarnish the reputation of the great state of Alabama, and we urge all of the state’s probate judges to issue licenses to same-sex couples, as is their duty under the law. Moore’s personal opinions are not at issue here. As a judge, he has an obligation to follow the law.”
Alabama judge: Feds should issue same-sex marriage licenses
An Alabama probate judge is asking the state’s Supreme Court for a way out of issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples. Elmore County Probate Judge John Enslen filed a petition Monday that says the federal government, not state offices, should issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples. The federal government is responsible for upholding and enforcing other laws created at the federal level and already issues licenses through numerous agencies, Enslen said in the petition. The petition asks the court to order judges statewide not to issue same-sex marriage licenses or recognize licenses that Enslen says have been issued in contradiction to the Alabama Constitution. “Born solely from a strained interpretation of the U.S. Constitution, the new same-sex marriage license is a child of the federal government, not the State of Alabama,” Enslen wrote in the petition. Enslen also asks that the Alabama Supreme Court declare it will only recognize same-sex marriage licenses if they have been issued by the federal government or by states that have their own gay marriage laws. The petition is the second of its kind to be filed with the state’s high court, said ACLU-Alabama Executive Director Susan Watson. “They would really be hard pressed to come out and say that Alabama isn’t bound by the Supreme Court decision,” she said. “I think it’s just typical Alabama mindset in that they don’t want to do what the federal government tells them to do.” Elmore County, just north of Montgomery, is one of nine counties in the state that has stopped issuing marriage license altogether, Watson said. Officials in Alabama counties that are no longer issuing marriage licenses are using a segregation-era state law to avoid licensing gay and lesbian couples. The law says probate courts “may” issue rather than “shall” issue marriage licenses. “We’re taking a strong look at that because the Supreme Court ruling stated that marriage was a fundamental right,” Watson said. “So the fact that these judges are not issuing licenses to anyone is denying them their fundamental right to marry.” Republished with permission of the Associated Press.
Committee votes to do away with Alabama marriage licenses
Alabama lawmakers are considering legislation to take the state out of the marriage business in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court decision legalizing gay marriage. The House Judiciary Committee on Monday voted for a bill to do away with state-issued marriage licenses. Instead, couples would bring in a signed marriage contract and file it with the probate office. The change would prevent probate judges who oppose same-sex marriage from having to sign licenses for gay couples. A few Alabama counties have shut down marriage license operations altogether rather than issue licenses to gay couples. Senators passed the bill last week. Legislators could approve the bill this week. However, it requires a two-thirds vote to pass because it’s outside the governor’s call for the special session focused on budget measures. Republished with permission of the Associated Press.
Chief Justice Roy Moore faces ethics complaint over same-sex marriage
The Southern Poverty Law Center has accused Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore of violating judicial ethics with his public criticisms of the U.S. Supreme Court ruling that legalized same-sex marriage nationwide. The group on Wednesday filed a supplement to its Judicial Inquiry Commission complaint lodged earlier this year against Moore. The filing contends Moore committed ethics violations by improperly commenting on pending cases and by saying that he couldn’t accept the gay marriage ruling as binding precedent and would recuse himself in future cases. The complaint states that Moore’s, “open and blatant disregard for judicial ethics demonstrates that he is unfit to be judge.” “If Chief Justice Moore wants to make political speeches or be an activist in opposition to same-sex marriage, he is free to do so, but he cannot simultaneously hold his current position on the Alabama Supreme Court,” SPLC President Richard Cohen wrote in the complaint. Moore did not have a comment on the filing, a spokesman for the court system said. The outspoken chief justice has criticized the gay marriage decision, saying it has “destroyed the foundation of our country, which is family.” The Republican chief justice, often a lightning rod for controversy, has been careful at times to quote or paraphrase the words of dissenting justices in the marriage case in describing his opposition. The SPLC filed the initial complaint earlier this year after Moore advised Alabama probate judges to not give marriage licenses to same-sex couples, saying they were part of an independent judicial branch and not bound by a federal judge’s order overturning Alabama’s ban on gay marriage. The judicial ethics panel in 2003 removed Moore as chief justice for disobeying a court order to remove a Ten Commandments monument from the state judicial building. Republished with permission of The Associated Press.
2 more Alabama counties to issue same-sex marriage licenses
Two more Alabama counties say they will issue wedding licenses following the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision legalizing same-sex marriage nationwide. Both Houston and Henry counties have refused to issue any licenses because of gay marriage. But the Dothan Eagle reports that probate judges in both counties say they will now issue marriage licenses to anyone. The change came at the end of a 25-day window in which the U.S. Supreme Court could have reconsidered its decision. Henry County Probate Judge Patrick Davenport says his office will resume issuing licenses to anyone on Wednesday. Conservative groups are asking the Alabama Supreme Court to follow anti-slavery precedents from the 1850s and resist gay marriage. Most Alabama counties already are issuing marriage licenses to anyone, gay or straight. Republished with permission of The Associated Press.
More Alabama counties issuing same-sex marriage licenses
Additional Alabama counties are issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples as some opposition to the U.S. Supreme Court decision that legalized gay marriage nationwide fades away. Several more counties in the state on Monday said they’d begun issuing marriage licenses. The reversals come more than a week after the high court’s landmark ruling that declared same-sex couples have a constitutional right to marry. Escambia, Randolph and Coosa were among the latest to begin issuing licenses after halting for days. Last week Henry County Probate Judge David Money said he expected to begin issuing marriage licenses to all couples on Tuesday. Other counties including Pike, Geneva, Houston and Washington have stopped issuing marriage licenses altogether. Republished with permission of The Associated Press.
Alabama, AG Luther Strange join 15-state push to re-enforce religious tax exemptions
Attorney General Luther Strange on Tuesday hopped on board a 15-state appeal to the Republican Congressional leadership to “take steps to prevent the IRS from choosing” to deny religious organizations their current tax-exempt status in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s same-sex marriage decision last month in Obergefell v. Hodges. “The U.S. Solicitor General recently indicated … the federal government might decide based on Obergefell that certain religious organizations may no longer qualify as tax exempt under the Internal Revenue Code and also that contributions to these organizations are not deductible as charitable contributions,” read the five-page letter co-signed by 15 state attorneys general addressed to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and House Speaker John Boehner. “We take very seriously the religious freedom of our States’ citizens and believe that Congress should take action now to preclude the IRS from targeting religious groups in this way.” By a 5-4 decision in June, the Supreme Court ruled that same-sex couples are guaranteed the right to marry under the 14th Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause, striking down prohibitions against same-sex marriage in either the state laws or constitutions of each of the 15 states that wrote the appeal to Congress, including Alabama, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, Louisiana, Arizona, West Virginia, Arkansas, Idaho, Kansas, Nebraska, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, and Wisconsin. Echoing a meme circulating among conservative circles, the letter seized on a comment by U.S. Solicitor General Donald Verrili, the Obama administration’s chief advocate to the high court that the tax-exempt status of organizations who object to same-sex unions by refusing to accommodate them will “certainly be an issue” for the federal government going forward. The state attorneys general — all are Republicans — sought to prevent the contemplation of any such issues by asking for swift pre-emptive action to signify Congress’ intent to preserve the tax status of all religious organizations currently exempt, regardless of their practices regarding newly-legal marriage licensees. “Stripping tax-exempt status from religious organizations in this way-a severe consequence that could force groups to exit the public sphere-would be an unprecedented assertion of governmental power over religious exercise,” the searing communique continued. Despite the “historic” Obergefell decision, the status of gay marriage recognition in America is not completely settled. An array of tax, family law and clerical issues remain around the nation.
Federal judge: Alabama counties must allow gay marriage
A federal judge says Alabama counties must abide by court decisions allowing gay marriage. U.S. District Judge Callie Granade issued an order Wednesday updating a previous ruling in favor of same-sex marriage in Alabama. Granade says state probate judges can’t discriminate against gay couples because the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled gay marriage is legal everywhere. But her order doesn’t affect counties that have stopped issuing all marriage licenses. The judge had put previous decisions on hold to allow time for the justices to rule. Granade’s order came at the request of groups representing gay couples across Alabama. Many Alabama counties still aren’t issuing same-sex marriage licenses despite the Supreme Court decision. The Alabama Supreme Court has muddied the issue by granting time for gay marriage opponents to voice their opinion. Republished with permission of the Associated Press.
Katherine Robertson: Reflections on freedom as Independence Day approaches
Raised to love my country and our flag, and because it’s reserved for time with my family, the Fourth of July is a day that I look forward to from the very first signs of summer. For me, at least, I sense that this year will somewhat bittersweet. When we celebrate America’s independence, we necessarily celebrate freedom — unprecedented and unmatched by any other nation. For the first time in my life, I fear that my own freedom might actually be at stake. As the left tirelessly labels as hateful anyone expressing the slightest disappointment over the Court’s ruling on marriage, any objective constitutional scholar has to admit that this decision goes well beyond the simple act of requiring that marriage licenses be issued to any couple who seeks them. Rather, it tips the scales of justice against one of our nation’s foremost freedoms: the free exercise of religion. As you have likely read and heard numerous times over the weekend, the court has designated the right to marry as one that is “fundamental.” Assigning that status to same-sex marriage places it on equal footing with the free exercise of religion, a freedom enumerated in the First Amendment. Such a designation for same-sex marriage has vast implications, of course, for anyone with a religious objection to it. Precedent dictates that government action may limit a fundamental right if the action promotes a compelling or overriding state interest. Sadly, the court made no effort in last week’s decision to assure the protection of religious liberty in the face of this new state interest in same-sex marriage. The majority writes, “[m]any who deem same-sex marriage to be wrong reach that conclusion based on decent and honorable religious or philosophical premises, and neither they nor their beliefs are disparaged here. But (emphasis mine) when that sincere, personal opposition becomes enacted law and public policy, the necessary consequence is to put the imprimatur of the State itself on an exclusion that soon demeans or stigmatizes those whose own liberty is then denied.” In other words, if exercising your First Amendment rights, including that of religion, is interpreted as demeaning the fundamental right to a same-sex marriage, then your religious right will be deemed inferior. To that end, Justice Samuel Alito did not mince words: “[The decision] will be used to vilify Americans who are unwilling to assent to the new orthodoxy. In the courts of its opinion, the majority compares traditional marriage laws to laws that denied equal treatment for African-Americans and women. The implications of this analogy will be exploited by those who are determined to stamp out every vestige of dissent.” Justice Clarence Thomas similarly opined, “[i]t appears all but inevitable that the two [rights] will come into conflict, particularly as individuals and churches are confronted with demands to participate in and endorse [same-sex marriages]. The majority appears unmoved by that inevitably.” This new, very real threat to our previously taken-for-granted freedoms will have one of two effects on those who revere the First Amendment. Some may decide that the current is just too strong, the left’s talking points too convincing, and that a strict adherence to the Constitution or our own religious beliefs is no longer feasible. On the other hand, and hopefully more likely, others will awaken from complacency. They will choose to be more intentional about who they allow to influence their stances, more confident in their convictions, and more thoughtful in how they go about expressing them. As renowned legal scholar, Judge Robert Bork, wrote in 1993, “[i]n our current culture wars, perhaps the most important of the virtues for conservatives is fortitude — the courage to take stands that are not immediately popular, the courage to ignore the opinion polls. Otherwise, we will never change the polls. That is what true conservatism means, or it means nothing.” This Independence Day, let’s reflect on the fortitude of the generations before us who fought for our freedoms and refuse to be the apathetic generation that lets them slip away. Katherine Robertson is vice president for the Alabama Policy Institute (API), a nonprofit research and education organization dedicated to the preservation of free markets, limited government and strong families.
Despite SCOTUS ruling, some Alabama counties give gay marriage licenses, others refuse
Nearly one-third of Alabama counties on Monday were not issuing marriage licenses to gay couples, or had shut down marriage license operations altogether, despite Friday’s landmark U.S Supreme Court ruling that same-sex couples have a fundamental right to marry. An Associated Press telephone survey of counties on Monday found that at least 32 of the state’s 67 counties were issuing the licenses to gay couples. However, at least 22 counties were not issuing the licenses, with many of those shutting down marriage license operations altogether as probate judges said they needed time to sort out the ruling. Rep. Patricia Todd, the state’s only openly gay lawmaker and the head of the Human Rights Campaign-Alabama, said the probate judges need to accept that the issue was settled with the U.S Supreme Court ruling that made gay marriage the law of the land. “It’s perplexing to me that they are not able to do their job,” Todd said. “Unfortunately, I think it’s probably going to continue until one gets sued and thousands of taxpayer dollars are spent on a lawsuit they are going to lose.” In March, in response to a request from two conservative groups, the Alabama Supreme Court ordered probate judges not to issue licenses to gay couples. On Monday, the court issued an order that noted a 25-day rehearing period for the landmark marriage ruling and asked the judges and the conservative groups to file motions “addressing the effect of the Supreme Court’s decision” on the March injunction by July 6. At least two probate judges pointed to the order from the state’s highest court to explain why they were not issuing same-sex marriage licenses. Randolph County Probate Judge George Diamond said he is waiting for the end of a 25-day appeal period before he begins issuing same-sex marriage licenses. Diamond said the county could begin sooner if it receives a directive from the state’s high court. “Right now my attorneys are telling us to hold off and see what this appeal is,” he said. Marion County Probate Judge Rocky Ridings said the county is not issuing same-sex marriage licenses after receiving the Alabama Supreme Court’s order. Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore, who recused himself from the Alabama marriage case because of his past statements, did not participate in Monday’s order. He did issue a separate statement, however, saying that “in no way does the order instruct probate judges of this State as to whether or not they should comply with the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling.” Susan Watson, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Alabama, said probate judges could face court sanctions if they issue marriage licenses to heterosexual couples but refuse to give them to gay couples. “There is no justification for delaying or obstructing the clear message of the Supreme Court of the United States — marriage equality must begin in Alabama, and probate judges who stand in the way of that legal imperative risk exposing themselves to legal consequences,” Human Rights Campaign Legal Director Sarah Warbelow said in a prepared statement. Some counties began granting the licenses to gay couples on Friday. More counties followed suit Monday after the Association of County Commissions of Alabama sent a memo advising probate judges to follow the U.S. Supreme Court ruling. “We are going to issue a license to every couple that qualifies under the law,” Monroe County Probate Judge Greg Norris said. “We’re going to follow the law.” Shelby County began issuing same-sex marriage licenses on Monday, after delaying on Friday so that Probate Judge James Fuhrmeister could review the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision. The delays won praise from some same-sex-marriage opponents. “Thank God that we have probate judges who stand for that which is right to keep their counties out of the principle of marrying that which God says cannot be married,” John Killian, pastor at Maytown Baptist Church, told a news conference in front of the Alabama Supreme Court building. State law says that probate judges “may” issue marriage licenses, meaning they aren’t required to issue them. Several judges have cited that provision as they ponder what to do. “I expect, in those counties, voters will get tired of having to drive to other counties to get marriage licenses,” Watson said. “That’s just ridiculous. It’s a hassle for everyone.” Republished with permission of The Associated Press.
Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore says Christians will be ‘persecuted’ after same-sex marriage ruling
The U.S Supreme Court, in ruling that gays and lesbians have a right to marry nationwide, handed a decisive loss to Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore who earlier this year fought to keep same-sex marriage from coming to Alabama. The chief justice, speaking Sunday at Kimberly Church of God, lashed out at the decision, saying he could not accept the ruling as correct. He said it made sin a national right and it was as wrong as the court decisions that allowed slavery. “Just who do they think they are when one person can reverse 200-and-something years of precedent in our country and thousands of years of precedent in western civilization,” Moore said during remarks Sunday at Kimberly Church of God. The Republican chief justice, often a lightning rod for controversy, was careful at times to quote or paraphrase the words of dissenting justices in describing his opposition including Justice Samuel Alito‘s prediction that opponents of gay marriage would be vilified and Chief Justice John Robert‘s phrase of, “Just who do we think we are?” “Welcome to the new world. It’s just changed for you Christians. You are going to be persecuted according to the U.S Supreme Court dissents,” Moore said. Moore in February directed probate judges to not give marriage licenses to same-sex couples, saying they were part of an independent judicial branch and not bound by a federal judge’s order overturning Alabama’s ban on gay marriage. “Is there such a thing as morality anymore? Sodomy for centuries was declared to be against the laws of nature and nature’s God. And now if you say that in public, and I guess I am, am I violating somebody’s civil rights? Have we elevated morality to immorality? Do we call good, bad? What are we Christians to do?” Moore spoke at the church’s “God and Country Day” on an altar decorated with American flags and beneath a projected image of Jesus on a cross. “Christians are commanded not to hate their fellow man. They are commanded to love their fellow man … We are to love our fellow man and if we love our fellow man what are we do but tell them when there is sin, because sin is something you are supposed to hate. When they create it as a national right, a fundamental right, what are we do?” Richard Cohen, president of the Southern Poverty Law Center, said it was a farcical to suggest that that opponents of same-sex marriage would be persecuted, saying the court majority made it clear that the First Amendment rights of opponents would be protected. “It’s a myth and a scare tactic,” Cohen said. Cohen said he hoped that Moore would follow the lead of other Alabama politicians who while vehemently disagreeing with the decision, said it must be respected as the law of the land. “We’ve yet to hear that from Judge Moore,” Cohen said. “Judge Moore would be so much better suited for the pulpit than the bench,” Cohen said. Republished with permission of the Associated Press.
