News
Utah att’y gen’l seeks to halt same-sex marriages
Tarbet says ruling shifts away ‘from society’s understanding of what marriage is’
Utah Gov. Gary Herbert is seeking to halt same-sex marriages in Utah. (Photo public domain)
The governor of Utah and the state’s acting attorney general are calling for a halt to same-sex marriages in the state following a wave of couples exchanging vows after a court ruling instituting marriage equality.
Acting Attorney General Brian Tarbet — along with attorneys for Gov. Gary Herbert — filed two requests on Friday for emergency stays. One is before the district court that struck down the state’s ban on same-sex marriage, the other is before the U.S. Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals, where it is anticipated state officials will appeal the decision.
The request before the district court, which stunned the nation by delivering a surprise ruling in favor of marriage equality in the country’s most conservative state, says a stay should be put in place because the Tenth Circuit has no precedent for marriage equality and other courts have upheld bans on same-sex marriage.
“This Court’s decision constitutes a fundamental shift away from society’s understanding of what marriage is,” the requests states. “For over one hundred years Utah has adhered to a definition of marriage as the union of a man and a woman and has never recognized as a marriage any other kind of relationship…And, Utah does not stand alone. A majority of States adhere to the same definition of marriage.”
Moreover, Herbert’s attorneys write that continuing to allow same-sex couples to wed could subject them to “irreparable harm” if a higher court decides to overturn the ruling.
“Such marriages would be entered into under a cloud of uncertainty,” the requests states. “Should the appeal be successful those couples may suffer irreparable harm when their marriages are declared invalid.”
The decision on instituting a stay won’t happen immediately. According to the Associated Press, the attorney general’s office reportedly said the judge would need a couple of days to review any request for an emergency stay.
UPDATE: In response to the state’s request for a stay, U.S. District Judge Robert Shelby scheduled a hearing on Monday at 9 am. The docket doesn’t give any indication of whether Shelby will announce a decision once the hearing is complete, or at a later time.
Shelby also gives the plaintiff same-sex couples in the case until 5 pm on Sunday to respond to the stay, and defendants the opportunity the reply to that response.
Attorneys representing the plaintiffs at Magleby and Greenwood PC already responded to the request before the Tenth Circuit, saying the state didn’t address issues the appellate court considers important in deciding whether to grant a stay.
“[A]s the District Court explained in its summary judgment order, ‘the harm experienced by same- sex couples in Utah as a result of their inability to marry is undisputed’ in this matter,” the brief states.
In a blog post, University of Southern California law professor David Cruz writes that Shelby is “unlikely” to grant a stay on Utah same-sex marriage, and if the Tenth Circuit does, it won’t be the result of the state’s arguments.
“It can be hard to convince judges that they made a mistake in their rulings,” Cruz said. “But the state officials did not even make much effort here. Their position basically was a safety-in-numbers argument: we’ve got lots of cases we cited upholding laws excluding same-sex couples from marriage.”
The ruling in favor marriage equality unleashed of wave of gay couples applying for marriage licenses in the few hours on Friday after the decision was handed down, but before the clerks’ offices closed.
According to KSL News, the Salt Lake City county clerk issued between 115 and 120 marriage licenses, breaking a record for the number issued in one day. Salt Lake City Mayor Ralph Becker was at the clerk’s office and performed 35 same-sex marriages. State Sen. Jim Dabakis, who’s gay and chair of the Utah Democratic Party married his longtime partner Stephen Justesen.
But not all gay couples were allowed the opportunity to wed. According to Reuters, same-sex couples also tried to obtain marriage licenses in Weber County, Washington County, Davis County and Utah County, but clerks there turned them away on the grounds that they needed to see the federal court ruling and evaluate it.
Meanwhile, the Salt Lake City county clerk pledged to open again on Saturday at 11 am to accommodate more couples seeking to wed.
The window of opportunity for these gay couples may be short. If the courts institute a stay on the ruling as requested by the state, it would mean gay couples would no longer be able to obtain marriage licenses from clerks throughout the state.
Virginia
Arlington LGBTQ bar Freddie’s celebrates 25th anniversary
Owner asks public to support D.C.-area gay bars
An overflowing crowd turned out Sunday night, March 1, for the 25th anniversary celebration of Freddie’s Beach Bar, the LGBTQ bar and restaurant located in the Crystal City section of Arlington, Va.
The celebration began as longtime patrons sitting at tables and at the bar ordered drinks, snacks, and full meals as several of Freddie’s well-known drag queens performed on a decorated stage.
Roland Watkins, an official with Equality NoVa, an LGBTQ advocacy organization based in the Northern Virginia areas of Arlington, Alexandria, and Fairfax County, next told the gathering about the history of Freddie’s Beach Bar and the role he said that owner Freddie Lutz has played in broadening the bar’s role into a community gathering place.
“Twenty-five years ago, opening a gay bar in Arlington was not a given,” Watkins told the crowd from the stage. “It took courage, convincing, and a deep belief that our community belongs openly, visibly, and proudly,” he said. “And that belief came from Freddie.”
Watkins and others familiar with Freddie’s noted that under Lutz’s leadership and support from his staff, Freddie’s provided support and a gathering place for LGBTQ organizations and a place where Virginia elected officials, and candidates running for public office, came to express their support for the LGBTQ community.
“Over the past 25 years, Freddie’s has become more than a bar,” Watkins said. “It has become a community maker.”
Lutz, who spoke next, said he was moved by the outpouring of support from long-time customers. “Thank you all so much for coming tonight and thank you all so much for your support over the past 25 years,” he said. “I can’t tell you how much that means to me and how much it’s kept me going.”
But Lutz then said Freddie’s, like many other D.C. area gay bars, continues to face economic hard times that he said began during the COVID pandemic. He noted that fewer customers are coming to Freddie’s in recent years, with a significant drop in patronage for his once lucrative weekend buffet brunches.
“So, I don’t want to be the daddy downer on my 25-year anniversary,” he said. “But this was actually the worst year we’ve ever had,” he added. “And I guess what I’m asking is please help us out. Not just me, but all the gay bars in the area.” He added, “I’m reaching out and I’m appealing to you not to forget the gay bars.”
Lutz received loud, prolonged applause, with many customers hugging him as he walked off the stage.
The Comings & Goings column is about sharing the professional successes of our community. We want to recognize those landing new jobs, new clients for their business, joining boards of organizations and other achievements. Please share your successes with us at [email protected].
Congratulations to Gil Pontes III on his recent appointment to the Financial Advisory Board for the City of Wilton Manors, Fla. Upon being appointed he said, “I’m honored to join the Financial Advisory Board for the City of Wilton Manors at such an important moment for our community. In my role as Executive Director of the NextGen Chamber of Commerce, I spend much of my time focused on economic growth, fiscal sustainability, and the long-term competitiveness of emerging business leaders. I look forward to bringing that perspective to Wilton Manors — helping ensure responsible stewardship of public resources while supporting a vibrant, inclusive local economy.”
Pontes is a nonprofit executive with years of development, operations, budget, management, and strategic planning experience in 501(c)(3), 501(c)(4), and political organizations. Pontes is currently executive director of NextGen, Chamber of Commerce. NextGen Chamber’s mission is to “empower emerging business leaders by generating insights, encouraging engagement, and nurturing leadership development to shape the future economy.” Prior to that he served as managing director of The Nora Project, and director of development also at The Nora Project. He has held a number of other positions including Major Gifts Officer, Thundermist Health Center, and has worked in both real estate and banking including as Business Solutions Adviser, Ironwood Financial. For three years he was a Selectman, Town of Berkley, Mass. In that role, he managed HR and general governance for town government. There were 200+ staff and 6,500 constituents. He balanced a $20,000,000 budget annually, established an Economic Development Committee, and hired the first town administrator.
Pontes earned his bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth.
Kansas
ACLU sues Kansas over law invalidating trans residents’ IDs
A new Kansas bill requires transgender residents to have their driver’s licenses reflect their sex assigned at birth, invalidating current licenses.
Transgender people across Kansas received letters in the mail on Wednesday demanding the immediate surrender of their driver’s licenses following passage of one of the harshest transgender bathroom bans in the nation. Now the American Civil Liberties Union is filing a lawsuit to block the ban and protect transgender residents from what advocates describe as “sweeping” and “punitive” consequences.
Independent journalist Erin Reed broke the story Wednesday after lawmakers approved House Substitute for Senate Bill 244. In her reporting, Reed included a photo of the letter sent to transgender Kansans, requiring them to obtain a driver’s license that reflects their sex assigned at birth rather than the gender with which they identify.
According to the reporting, transgender Kansans must surrender their driver’s licenses and that their current credentials — regardless of expiration date — will be considered invalid upon the law’s publication. The move effectively nullifies previously issued identification documents, creating immediate uncertainty for those impacted.
House Substitute for Senate Bill 244 also stipulates that any transgender person caught driving without a valid license could face a class B misdemeanor, punishable by up to six months in jail and a $1,000 fine. That potential penalty adds a criminal dimension to what began as an administrative action. It also compounds the legal risks for transgender Kansans, as the state already requires county jails to house inmates according to sex assigned at birth — a policy that advocates say can place transgender detainees at heightened risk.
Beyond identification issues, SB 244 not only bans transgender people from using restrooms that match their gender identity in government buildings — including libraries, courthouses, state parks, hospitals, and interstate rest stops — with the possibility for criminal penalties, but also allows for what critics have described as a “bathroom bounty hunter” provision. The measure permits anyone who encounters a transgender person in a restroom — including potentially in private businesses — to sue them for large sums of money, dramatically expanding the scope of enforcement beyond government authorities.
The lawsuit challenging SB 244 was filed today in the District Court of Douglas County on behalf of anonymous plaintiffs Daniel Doe and Matthew Moe by the American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of Kansas, and Ballard Spahr LLP. The complaint argues that SB 244 violates the Kansas Constitution’s protections for personal autonomy, privacy, equality under the law, due process, and freedom of speech.
Additionally, the American Civil Liberties Union filed a temporary restraining order on behalf of the anonymous plaintiffs, arguing that the order — followed by a temporary injunction — is necessary to prevent the “irreparable harm” that would result from SB 244.
State Rep. Abi Boatman, a Wichita Democrat and the only transgender member of the Kansas Legislature, told the Kansas City Star on Wednesday that “persecution is the point.”
“This legislation is a direct attack on the dignity and humanity of transgender Kansans,” said Monica Bennett, legal director of the ACLU of Kansas. “It undermines our state’s strong constitutional protections against government overreach and persecution.”
“SB 244 is a cruel and craven threat to public safety all in the name of fostering fear, division, and paranoia,” said Harper Seldin, senior staff attorney for the ACLU’s LGBTQ & HIV Rights Project. “The invalidation of state-issued IDs threatens to out transgender people against their will every time they apply for a job, rent an apartment, or interact with police. Taken as a whole, SB 244 is a transparent attempt to deny transgender people autonomy over their own identities and push them out of public life altogether.”
“SB 244 presents a state-sanctioned attack on transgender people aimed at silencing, dehumanizing, and alienating Kansans whose gender identity does not conform to the state legislature’s preferences,” said Heather St. Clair, a Ballard Spahr litigator working on the case. “Ballard Spahr is committed to standing with the ACLU and the plaintiffs in fighting on behalf of transgender Kansans for a remedy against the injustices presented by SB 244, and is dedicated to protecting the constitutional rights jeopardized by this new law.”
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