National
DOJ asks Supreme Court to prioritize Windsor’s DOMA challenge
Brief says Second Circuit ‘most appropriate vehicle’ for justices
The Justice Department is asking DOJ to prioritize Edith Windsor‘s challenge against DOMA (Washington Blade file photo by Michael Key)
The Obama administration is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to make the case of an 83-year-old New York lesbian who had to pay $363,000 in estate taxes its highest priority among the pending lawsuits challenging the Defense of Marriage Act.
In an 11-page supplemental brief filed on Friday, U.S. Solicitor General Donald Verrilli writes that the case of Windsor v. United States — which recently led the U.S. Second Circuit Court of Appeals to conclude DOMA is unconstitutional — should take precedence among other pending lawsuits challenging the anti-gay law.
Previously, the Justice Department has said the consolidated case of Gill v. Office of Personnel Management and Commonwealth of Massachusetts v. Department of Health & Human Services — which was filed respectively by Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders and Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley — should be the priority because the case once was the only one in which an appeals court ruled against DOMA.
However, that changed after the ruling by the Second Circuit, which became the first appeals court to apply heightened scrutiny — or a greater assumption the law is unconstitutional — in its ruling against DOMA. The application of heightened scrutiny is suggested in the Justice Department as the reason why the Windsor case should take precedence, although it’s not explicitly stated.
“Although Department of Health and Human Services v. Massachusetts… is also a case in which a court of appeals has rendered a decision, this case now provides the most appropriate vehicle for this Court’s resolution of the constitutionality of Section 3 of DOMA,” the brief states. “In particular, the court of appeals in Massachusetts was constrained by binding circuit precedent as to the applicable level of scrutiny … whereas the court of appeals here was not so constrained, and its analysis may be beneficial to this Court’s consideration of that issue.”
The plaintiff in the case, which was filed by groups including the American Civil Liberties Union, is Edith Windsor, who was forced to pay $363,000 in estate taxes in 2009 upon the death of her spouse, Thea Spyer. The two had lived as a couple for 44 years and married in Canada in 2007.
In a statement, Windsor said she’s “pleased” the Justice Department underscoring the importance of her lawsuit against DOMA.
“I am so pleased that the U.S. Solicitor General has recommended that the Supreme Court grant certiorari in my case,” Windsor said. “It has been a long journey up to this point, and I remain hopeful that I will be alive to see the day soon when justice is done for me and for all other married gay and lesbian couples.”
The Justice Department brief explains that the administration previously had concerns about the Windsor case, but each of these concerns was addressed in the Second Circuit ruling. Chief among them was that no appellate court had weighed on the lawsuit, which was obviously addressed when the Second Circuit made its decision.
Additionally, Paul Clement, a private attorney who’s defending the lawsuit on behalf of House Republicans, contended the lawsuit should be brought to certification before the New York’s highest court, the New York Court of Appeals, to allow before the case could move forward because New York had yet to legalize same-sex marriage in 2009. The Justice Department points the Second Circuit dismissed this argument in its decision.
“[A]fter finding New York law sufficiently clear to resolve the issue directly rather than requiring certification to the New York Court of Appeals, the court of appeals unanimously held — consistent with the ‘useful and unanimous’ rulings of New York’s intermediate appellate courts — that New York law recognized plaintiff ’s foreign marriage at the relevant time,” the brief states.
Finally, based on previous case law, the Justice Department disputes a notion that the previous brief asking the Supreme Court to take up the lawsuit should be abrogated in the wake of the Second Circuit.
“Although the government’s petition in this case was filed as one for certiorari before judgment, the issuance of the court of appeals’ intervening decision does not deprive the Court of the authority to grant it,” the brief states. “If granted, the writ of certiorari would still be directed tothe court of appeals, and this Court could still exercise jurisdiction…”
If the Supreme Court grants review in the Windsor case, the Justice Department says justices should hold the petitions in the Massachusetts case “pending final resolution on the merits.” But if the court determines neither case is appropriate for review, the Justice Department says other cases — Golinski v. Office of Personnel Management or Pedersen v. Office of Personnel Management — should be considered for review. Federal district courts have ruled against DOMA in those lawsuits and they’re also pending before the Supreme Court, but an appeals court has yet to weigh in on either lawsuits.
Carisa Cunningham, a GLAD spokesperson, was dismissive of the Justice Department’s call to make the Windsor case a higher priority among the challenges against DOMA as opposed to the initial lawsuit her organization filed against the statute.
“DOJ has pretty consistently pointed the court away from Gill for reasons only they can tell you, so this is not surprising to us,” Cunningham said.
Coakley’s office declined to comment on the brief.
[H/T] Prop 8 Trial Tracker
Arizona
Shooting outside gay bar in Ariz. leaves three dead
Tucson police investigating double murder-suicide as a hate crime
Three people were fatally shot outside a gay bar in Tucson, Ariz., early Monday morning, about a mile from the city’s nightlife district.
Police have said the shooting, which took place in the parking lot of Venture-N bar at 1239 N. 6th Ave., was likely a hate crime and a double murder-suicide following a verbal altercation.
The suspect, Ousman Ceesay, allegedly shot Vincent Anthony Siqueiros and Cameron Davis Capara while they were outside the club around 12:30 a.m. Monday.
Reports show Capara and Siqueiros were pronounced dead at the scene. Ceesay died after being taken to a local hospital with gunshot wounds.
Police have also said that Ceesay was carrying a list of LGBTQ businesses at the time of the shooting.
Arizona Public Media has said police are investigating the case as a hate crime because the suspect was carrying a note containing the names of multiple LGBTQ-associated businesses.
“I am deeply saddened that another senseless loss of life has happened in our community,” Tucson Police Chief Monica Prieto said in a statement. “Bias-based crimes are especially heinous and have no place in our community.”
According to Prieto, there is no imminent threat to the community, and the Tucson Police Department is working to provide extra protection to various LGBTQ businesses across town.
Congresswoman Adelita Grijalva, who represents the area, issued a statement condemning the act of violence, which appears to have been at least in part motivated by homophobia.
“I am disgusted and deeply saddened to learn of a targeted act of hate and the cold-blooded murder of two members of our LGBTQIA+ community, Vincent Siqueiros and Cameron Capara, at the Venture-N bar in Tucson last night. This horrific attack is a painful reminder that even in welcoming communities like Tucson, hate and violence against the LGBTQIA+ community still exist.”
“When that hate is combined with easy access to firearms, the consequences can be deadly. I am sick and tired of Congress refusing to lift a finger to protect our communities while, every day, dozens of people are shot and killed across the country. It does not have to be this way. The House of Representatives is returning to session this week, and our first action should be passing common-sense gun safety reforms that we know can save lives.”
Other federal lawmakers also condemned the shooting.
The Congressional Equality Caucus, which is made up of federal legislators advancing LGBTQ interests, issued a statement after news broke.
“Our hearts are with the friends and loved ones of the victims of this devastating attack outside a Tucson gay bar and with the Tucson LGBTQI+ community,” it said on X. “No one should fear violence because of who they are — and we’re going to continue fighting to build a world where no one does.”
The Human Rights Campaign, the largest LGBTQ organization in the country, released a statement following the shooting.
“We are heartbroken by the loss of Vincent Anthony Siqueiros and Cameron Davis Capara and our hearts are with their families, loved ones, and the entire Tucson LGBTQ+ community. Once again, we are reminded that gun violence robs people of their lives, destroys families, and devastates communities.”
A candlelight vigil honoring the victims is planned for Sept. 2 at 6:30 p.m. at Catalina Park in North Tucson.
Congress
HRC president campaigns for Chris Pappas in NH
Gay congressman running to succeed retiring U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen
Human Rights Campaign President Kelley Robinson on Sunday campaigned for U.S. Rep. Chris Pappas (D-N.H.) in New Hampshire.
Robinson traveled to Manchester, the state’s largest city, nine days before the Sept. 8 primary that will determine who will vie for retiring U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.)’s seat.
We’re hitting the pavement across New Hampshire to fight for a freer, fairer future for everyone.
Glad to have Human Rights Campaign President @KelleyJRobinson join us for a canvass launch in Manchester today. pic.twitter.com/XWCEaQxy4o
— Chris Pappas (@ChrisPappasNH) August 30, 2026
Former U.S. Sen. John E. Sununu, who represented New Hampshire in the U.S. Senate from 2003-2009, will face off against former U.S. Sen. Scott Brown, who represented Massachusetts in the U.S. Senate from 2010-2013, in the Republican primary.
Karishma Manzur is among the Democrats challenging Pappas.
A poll the University of New Hampshire Survey Center released on Aug. 26 shows Sununu is ahead of Brown. The same survey shows Pappas ahead of Manzur and his other Democratic challengers.
The UNH Survey Center poll shows Sununu ahead of Pappas by a 45-43 percent margin if they were to face off in the general election. The margin of error is +/-2.1 percent.
Pappas would become the first openly gay man elected to the U.S. Senate if he were to win in November.
National
Milo Yiannopoulos deported to UK
ICE arrested far-right provocateur in New Orleans on Thursday
Editor’s note: The Department of Homeland Security on Saturday said Milo Yiannopoulos has been deported to the U.K.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement on Thursday arrested far-right provocateur Milo Yiannopoulos.
A DHS spokesperson in a statement sent to the Washington Blade said ICE arrested Yiannopoulos, who they described as “an illegal alien from the United Kingdom,” at Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport.
The DHS spokesperson said Yiannopoulos “legally entered the country” in New York on May 14, 2019.
“He chose to overstay his welcome in violation of our nation’s laws,” said the spokesperson.
The DHS spokesperson said an immigration judge on July 22 “issued a final order of removal” for Yiannopoulos “after failing to show up for his immigration hearing.” The Times-Picayune newspaper in New Orleans on Friday reported Yiannopoulos is being held at an ICE detention center in Alexandria, La., which is about 200 miles northwest of the Crescent City.
“He will remain in ICE custody pending removal,” said the DHS spokesperson.
Yiannopoulos has, among other things, repeatedly targeted transgender people and Muslims.
The American Conservative Union, which organizes the annual Conversative Political Action Conference, in 2017 disinvited Yiannopoulos from speaking at that year’s CPAC after a video in which he appeared to condone sex between adults and underage boys emerged. Yiannopoulos subsequently resigned from Breitbart News, a far-right news website, where he had been a senior editor.
Yiannopoulos later that year married his boyfriend in Hawaii. The far-right provocateur in 2021 claimed he was an “ex-gay.”
The Australian government in 2019 banned Yiannopoulos from entering the country “on character grounds.” Yiannopoulos was also banned from Facebook, Twitter (now X), and other social media platforms.
The Times-Picayune reported Yiannopoulos “most recently worked for” Ye, formerly known as Kanye West.
The controversial rapper is scheduled to perform in New Orleans on Friday.
Laura Loomer, a far-right conspiracy theorist who is close to President Donald Trump, has called for Yiannopoulos’s deportation. Loomer on Friday wrote on X that she “reported him to ICE and the FBI” after he “called for me to be assassinated.”
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