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Judge orders Kentucky to recognize married gay couples

Order follows ruling striking down ban for those that wed elsewhere

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Vicco, Kentucky, employment non-discrimination, gay news, Washington Blade

(Image by Seth Ilys via Wikimedia Commons)

A federal judge has ordered Kentucky to begin recognizing out-of-state same-sex marriages in the aftermath of his earlier ruling Ā against the state’s ban on gay unions.

U.S. District Judge John Heyburn issued the two-page order on Thursday, saying laws prohibiting recognition of out-of-state same-sex marriages in Kentucky “violate the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution, and they are void and unenforceable.”

Heyburn was confirmed to the federal bench by the Senate in 1992 after being recommended by Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and nominated by President George H.W. Bush. On Feb. 12, he ruled against Kentucky’s constitutional ban on same-sex marriage, approved by Kentucky voters in 2004, but only with respect to recognition of out-of-state marriages performed in other jurisdictions.

Earlier in the day, Attorney General Jack Conway filed a Ā request with the judge asking for a 90-day stay to determine if an appeal will be made or what action the state must otherwise take. The judge has not yet issued a response to the request. [UPDATE: On Friday, Heyburn issued a 21-day stay in his order, allowing Kentucky to wait to recognize until March 20].

In a statement provided to the Washington Blade, Conway said he and Gov. Steve Beshear are reviewing whether to appeal the case to the U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals.

ā€œI received Judge Heyburn’s final order and am in the process of reviewing it,” Conway said. “I have 30 days to determine whether or not to file an appeal in this case, which is why I asked Judge Heyburn for a stay of his order this morning. I will be determining promptly, in consultation with Gov. Beshear, whether or not to file an appeal in this case.ā€

The lawsuit, Bourke v. Beshear, was filed on behalf of four gay and lesbian couples that legally married outside Kentucky and sought seeking recognition of the union in their state.

The judge has now also allowed two unmarried couples to intervene in the case: Timothy Love and Lawrence Ysuna as well as Maurice Blanchard and Dominique James. They’re arguing that they should be allowed to marry in Kentucky, but the judge has not yet ruled on that issue.

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Politics

George Santos sentenced to 87 months in prison for fraud case

Judge: ‘You got elected with your words, most of which were lies.’

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Former U.S. Rep. George Santos (Washington Blade photo by Christopher Kane)

Disgraced former Republican congressman George Santos was sentenced to 87 months in prison on Friday, after pleading guilty last year to federal charges of wire fraud and aggravated identity theft. 

ā€œMr. Santos, words have consequences,ā€ said Judge Joanna Seybert of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York. ā€œYou got elected with your words, most of which were lies.ā€

The first openly gay GOP member of Congress, Santos became a laughing stock after revelations came to light about his extensive history of fabricating and exaggerating details about his life and career.

His colleagues voted in December 2023 to expel him from Congress. An investigation by the U.S. House Ethics Committee found that Santos had used pilfered campaign funds for cosmetic procedures, designer fashion, and OnlyFans.

Federal prosecutors, however, found evidence that “Mr. Santos stole from donors, used his campaign account for personal purchases, inflated his fund-raising numbers, lied about his wealth on congressional documents and committed unemployment fraud,” per the New York Times.

The former congressman told the paper this week that he would not ask for a pardon. Despite Santos’s loyalty to President Donald Trump, the president has made no indication that he would intervene in his legal troubles.

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Maryland

A Baltimore theater educator lost jobs at Johns Hopkins and the Kennedy Center

Tavish Forsyth concluded they could not work for Trump

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Tavish Forsyth, a queer artist and educator, posted a nude video on YouTube in protest of the Trump administration’s takeover of the Kennedy Center earlier this year. (Photo by Jessica Gallagher for the Baltimore Banner)

BY WESLEY CASE | Tavish Forsyth had come to a conclusion: They could not work for President Donald Trump.

So the 32-year-old Baltimore resident stripped down, turned on their camera, and lit their career on fire.

ā€œF—— Donald Trump and f—— the Kennedy Center,ā€ a naked Forsyth, an associate artistic lead at the Washington National Opera’s Opera Institute, which is run by the Kennedy Center, said in a video that went viral. The board of the nation’s leading cultural institution had elected Trump just weeks prior as its chairman after he gutted the board of members appointed by his predecessor, President Joe Biden.

The rest of this article can be read on the Baltimore Banner’s website.

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District of Columbia

Little Gay Pub to host April 25 celebration of life for Patrick Shaw

School teacher, D.C. resident praised for ā€˜warmth, humor, kindness’

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Patrick Shaw (Photo via GoFundMe)

Co-workers and friends will hold a celebration of life for highly acclaimed schoolteacher and D.C. resident Patrick Shaw beginning at 5:30 p.m. Friday, April 25 at The Little Gay Pub 1100 P St., N.W.

Little Gay Pub co-owner and Shaw’s friend, Dusty Martinez, said Shaw passed away unexpectedly on April 19 from a heart related ailment at the age of 60.

ā€œPatrick touched so many lives with his warmth, humor, kindness, and unmistakable spark,ā€ Martinez said. ā€œHe was a truly special soul – funny, vibrant, sassy, and full of life and we are heartbroken by his loss.ā€

In an Instagram posting, Shaw’s colleagues said Shaw was a second-grade special education teacher at the J.F. Cook campus of D.C.’s Mundo Verde Bilingual Public Charter School.

ā€œPatrick brought warmth, joy, and deep commitment to Mundo Verde,ā€ his colleagues said in their posting. ā€œHis daily Broadway sing-alongs, vibrant outfits, and genuine love for his students filled our community with energy and laughter.ā€

The posted message adds, ā€œPatrick was more than a teacher; he was a light in our school, inspiring us all to show up with heart, humor, and kindness every day. His spirit will be deeply missed.ā€

The Washington Blade is preparing a full obituary on Patrick Shaw to be published soon. 

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