News
Louisiana agrees Supreme Court should review marriage ban
State says lawsuit unique because district court upheld ban on gay nuptials
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.
United Nations
UN Human Rights Council extends LGBTQ rights expert’s mandate
29 countries voted for resolution
The U.N. Human Rights Council on Monday extended the mandate of the United Nations’ independent LGBTQ rights expert for another three years.
The resolution passed with 29 countries (Albania, Belgium, Bolivia, Brazil, Bulgaria, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, the Dominican Republic, France, Georgia, Germany, Iceland, Japan, Kenya, the Marshall Islands, Mexico, the Netherlands, North Macedonia, South Korea, Romania, South Africa, Spain, Switzerland, Thailand, and Vietnam) voting for it and 15 countries (Algeria, Bangladesh, Burundi, China, Cote d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Gambia, Indonesia, Kuwait, Malawi, Maldives, Morocco, Qatar, and Sudan) voted against it.
Benin, Ghana, and Kyrgyzstan abstained.
The U.S. in February withdrew from the Human Rights Council. The Trump-Pence administration in 2018 pulled the U.S. from it. The U.S. in 2021 regained a seat on the Human Rights Council.
Graeme Reid has been the UN’s independent LGBTQ rights expert since 2023. The South African activist, among other things, previously ran Human Rights Watch’s LGBT Rights Program.
Maryland
Maryland’s oldest rural gay bar — and one of the last — is a log cabin in the woods
The Lodge is a Boonsboro watering hole resembling a log cabin
By SAPNA BANSIL | In the woods of a conservative Western Maryland town of fewer than 4,000 people is an unlikely landmark of state LGBTQ history.
The Lodge, a Boonsboro watering hole that resembles a log cabin, is Maryland’s oldest rural gay bar — one of a few remaining in the country, according to historians.
For about four decades, the Washington County venue has offered safety, escape and community to queer people far from large, liberal cities. Starting Friday night, The Lodge will close out Pride month with one of its biggest parties of the year: a weekend of dancing, drinking and drag in celebration of Frederick Pride, held about 20 miles away in the area’s largest city.
The rest of this article the Baltimore Banner published on June 27 can be read on its website.
South Africa National Assembly Speaker Thoko Didiza on June 17 swore in lesbian feminist Palomino Jama as a new MP.
Jama joins other LGBTQ legislators — including Public Works and Infrastructure Minister Dean Macpherson; Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment Minister Dion George; and Deputy Women, Youth, and Persons with Disabilities Minister, Steve Letsike.
Jama said she will work hard and excel as MP.
“What a great moment to be alive. Thank you youth of 1976, thank you Simon Nkoli, Phumi Mthetwa, Paddy Nhlaphos, Vanessa Ludwig, and others for what you did for the LGBTI people in the 80s and 90s. Lastly, for the fierce fist of the Jamas to always hit where it matters for the people of this country,” said Letsike.
Embrace Diversity Movement, a local LGBTQ organization, said Jama’s inauguration came at an appropriate time, during Pride month.
“Her swearing-in took place during a month of profound significance in June, which marks both international Pride Month and Youth Month in South Africa,” said the group. “Palomino is a seasoned queer activist and dedicated community builder with a distinguished record of leadership and service.”
“The EDM proudly supports Palomino in her deployment to parliament, her presence meaningfully advances youth and queer representation in public office,” added the Embrace Diversity Movement. “We are confident that she will serve the people of South Africa with integrity, courage, and distinction.”
South Africa is the only African country that constitutionally upholds LGBTQ rights. There are, however, still myriad challenges the LGBTQ community faces on a daily basis that range from physical attacks to online abuse.
Letsike in May faced a barrage of online attacks after she released a scathing statement against popular podcaster Macgyver “MacG” Mukwevho, who during a podcast episode in April insinuated that the reason behind popular socialite Minnie Dlamini’s “unsuccessful” relationships were probably due to the bad odor from her genitals.
Letsike, who viewed MacG’s comments as offensive, called for the podcaster to be summoned before parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Women, Youth, and Persons with Disabilities and criticized the local television station that aired the podcast.
X users and other social media subscribers bombarded Letsike with anti-lesbian comments. She, however, was unphased.
Letsike continues to face anti-lesbian comments, even though MacG apologized and the television station on which his podcast had aired cancelled its contract with him.
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