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Louisiana agrees Supreme Court should review marriage ban

State says lawsuit unique because district court upheld ban on gay nuptials

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James Buddy Caldwell, gay news, Washington Blade, Louisiana
James Buddy Caldwell, gay news, Louisiana, Washington Blade

Louisiana Attorney General James “Buddy” Caldwell wants the Supreme Court to review Louisiana’s ban on same-sex marriage. (Photo courtesy of the Office of the Attorney General of Louisiana)

The attorney general for Louisiana signaled Tuesday he agrees the Supreme Court should review litigation challenging his state’s ban on same-sex marriage, but to rule in favor of the constitutionality of such laws throughout the country.

In a 22-page brief, Louisiana Attorney General James “Buddy” Caldwell and other state lawyers urge justices to take up the case, Robicheaux v. George, before the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals issues judgment on the litigation.

The filing from the attorney general responds to a request from the LGBT legal group Lambda Legal, which is co-counsel in the case for plaintiff same-sex couples, calling on the Supreme Court to review the litigation even before judgment is rendered by the Fifth Circuit.

But while that petition calls on the Supreme Court to reverse a decision from U.S District Judge Martin Feldman, one of two federal district judges who determined bans on same-sex marriage are constitutional against a sea of others who struck down such laws, Caldwell maintains Feldman’s ruling could serve as a basis for justices to uphold bans on same-sex marriage.

“The Court’s resolution of the conflict may well hinge on the degree to which Windsor affirmed the authority of States to decide whether to adopt same-sex marriage,” Caldwell writes. “Robicheaux powerfully suggests that the contrary federal rulings get Windsor’s teaching exactly backwards.”

The Louisiana petition is one from among five others from other states — Michigan, Ohio, Tennessee, Kentucky and Louisiana — seeking Supreme Court of review of state bans on same-sex marriage.

Adam Romero, federal legal director for the University of California, Los Angeles, said the Supreme Court may well accept the Louisiana case, but noted each of the lawsuits now pending before the court call for review of court decisions upholding bans on same-sex marriage. The U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld marriage bans in Michigan, Ohio, Kentucky and Tennessee.

“While the fact that the district court upheld Louisiana’s ban may give the Justices more reason to grant cert – if they are inclined to reverse such a decision – all of the pending petitions are from decisions upholding state marriage bans, so Louisiana is like Michigan, Ohio, Kentucky, and Tennessee in this regard,” Romero said.

The Fifth Circuit is already scheduled to consider the Louisiana litigation during oral arguments on Jan. 9, the same day as arguments for a lawsuit seeking marriage equality in Texas. Plaintiff same-sex couples in the Mississippi case, for which the Fifth Circuit also has jurisdiction, have requested the court hear that lawsuit on the same day.

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World Pride 2025

D.C. liquor board extends drinking hours for WorldPride

Gay bars, other liquor-serving establishments can stay open 24 hours

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Sasha Colby performs at Pitchers in 2023. Liquor-serving establishments in D.C. will be able to remain open for 24 hours during WorldPride. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)

D.C.’s Alcoholic Beverage and Cannabis Board, which regulates liquor sales for the city’s bars, restaurants, nightclubs, and other establishments licensed to serve alcoholic beverages, has approved extended hours for alcohol service and sales during the days when most WorldPride events will be held in the nation’s capital.

In a May 2 announcement, the Alcoholic Beverage and Cannabis Administration, which works with the board, said the extended liquor serving and sales hours for WorldPride will take place beginning Friday, May 30, through 4 a.m. Monday, June 9.

Although the official schedule for WorldPride events shows the events will take place May 17-June 8, most of the large events, including a two-day Pride street festival, parade, and concert, were expected to take place between May 30 and June 8.

According to the ABCA announcement and an ABCA spokesperson, liquor servicing establishments with the appropriate license can stay open for 24 hours and serve alcoholic beverages from 6 a.m. through the day and evening until 4 a.m., with no liquor sales allowed from 4 a.m. to 6 a.m. during the May 30-June 9 period.

The ABCA announcement says liquor serving establishments must apply for the extended hours option and pay a $100 registration fee by a deadline on May 27.

Sources familiar with the liquor board have said the board has for many years approved the extension of liquor serving and sales hours for important events and for certain holidays such as New Year’s Eve.

At the time it approved the extended hours for WorldPride the liquor board also approved extended hours during the time when games for a World Cup soccer tournament will be held in the city on June 18, June 22, and June 26.

It couldn’t immediately be determined how many of D.C.’s 22 LGBTQ bars plan to apply for the extended drinking hours. David Perruzza, owner of the Adams Morgan gay bar Pitchers and its adjoining lesbian bar A League of Her Own, said he will apply for the 4 a.m. extended hours option but he does not intend to keep the two bars open for the full 23 hours.

Under the city’s current alcoholic beverage regulations, licensed liquor serving establishments may serve alcoholic beverages until 2 a.m. on weekdays and 3 a.m. on weekends.

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The Vatican

Executive director of LGBTQ Catholic group to travel to Rome for conclave

Marianne Duddy-Burke met Pope Francis in 2023

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DignityUSA Executive Director Marianne Duddy-Burke, middle, greets Pope Francis in 2023. (Photo courtesy of Marianne Duddy-Burke)

The executive director of a group that represents LGBTQ Catholics will travel to Rome next week for the papal conclave that starts on May 7.

DignityUSA Executive Director Marianne Duddy-Burke on Thursday told the Washington Blade she will arrive in Rome on May 6. Duddy-Burke said she plans to spend time in St. Peter’s Square “and have conversations with people.”

“I will wear Dignity insignia, have rainbow flags,” she said.

Pope Francis died on April 21. His funeral took place five days later.

The Vatican’s tone on LGBTQ and intersex issues softened under the Argentine-born pope’s papacy, even though church teachings on homosexuality did not change.

Francis, among other things, described laws that criminalize consensual same-sex sexual relations as “unjust” and supported civil unions for gays and lesbians. Transgender people were among those who greeted Francis’s coffin at Rome’s St. Mary Major Basilica before his burial on April 26.

Duddy-Burke and two others from the Global Network of Rainbow Catholics met with Francis in October 2023 during a meeting that focused on the Catholic Church’s future. Duddy-Burke noted Francis “invited” her and her colleagues as his “special guests for the audience and then had a conversation with him afterwards.”

“For me the sort of visibility that he (Francis) brought to our community and to our concerns feels irreversible,” said Duddy-Burke. “He empowered so many people and so many new ministries.”

Cardinal Fridolin Ambongo Besungu — the archbishop of Kinshasa in Congo who has described homosexuality as an “abomination” — is among the cardinals who are reportedly in the running to succeed Francis.

“I really don’t know,” said Duddy-Burke when the Blade asked her who the next pope will be. “Of course, I am hoping and praying hard that it will be someone who will continue to lead the church on responsiveness of human need and greater inclusivity.”

“What happens in that room is such a mystery,” she added.

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World Pride 2025

Episcopal bishop to speak at WorldPride human rights conference

Trump demanded apology from Mariann Edgar Budde over post-Inauguration sermon

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The Right Rev. Mariann Edgar Budde. (Screen capture via PBS NewsHour/YouTube)

The Right Rev. Mariann Edgar Budde is among those who are scheduled to speak at the WorldPride 2025 Human Rights Conference that will take place from June 4-6.

Budde, who is the bishop of the Diocese of Washington, in January urged President Donald Trump “to have mercy” on LGBTQ people, immigrants, and others “who are scared right now” during a post-Inauguration service that he and Vice President JD Vance attended at the Washington National Cathedral. Trump criticized Budde’s comments and demanded an apology.

The Right Rev. Mariann Edgar Budde speaks at the Washington National Cathedral on Jan. 21, 2025. (PBS NewsHour clip)

A press release the Washington Blade received notes Icelandic Industries Minister Hanna Katrín Friðriksson, UK Black Pride founder Phyll Opoku-Gyimah, and Bob the Drag Queen are among those who are also expected to participate in the conference.

The conference will take place at the JW Marriott (1331 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W.) and registration is open here.

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