• A majority of Americans say their are more than comfortable with a gay or lesbian running for president
• The U.S. House approved a non-binding resolution Thursday morning rebuking Donald Trump’s plan to ban transgender military service members
• Wisconsin couple told to remove their Pride flag or be evicted
• New data shows there are more bisexual youth and they need our attention
• GOP lawmakers in Texas approved a bill on Monday that would allow state-licensed professionals to discriminate against LGBTQ people, or anyone they want to refuse services, based on their religious beliefs
• Netflix drops the official trailer for 'Special,' an offbeat comedy series about a gay man with mild cerebral palsy
All that and more in this episode of The Randy Report
A gay couple in Oak Creek, Wisconsin, have been ordered to remove their Pride flag from the outside of their apartment home or be evicted.
Kevin Kollman and Merle Malterer told their local NBC News affiliate they received a note from their landlord at the Country Oaks Apartments on Wednesday informing them flying their Pride flag outside their home was a breach of their lease.
They were given five days to remove the flag.
“It’s a symbol of America, it’s a symbol of our pride in America,” Kollman told NBC2. “Personally, I feel like we’re being singled out here because of what it is.”
When contacted by NBC2, the landlord said the conflict wasn’t a ‘discrimination issue’ but an issue with the appearance of the property.
According to the landlord, “No one is allowed to have flags anywhere, and it’s against the lease agreement.”
The couple was asked in January to remove a Packers flag as well.
However…
A neighbor in the apartment complex, Ken Miller, flies flags outside his apartment and hasn’t received the same written warning.
"I've been here for three years, and I've had these flags up for at least two years, and I've never had any issues with the flags," Miller said.
In the NBC2 report, several flags could be seen throughout the complex.
Kollman and Malterer say they aren’t backing down, and will continue to fly their Pride flag.
“It’s part of my house, it’s part of who I am,” said Kollman. “My neighbors don’t care - why should he?”
The couple told NBC2they are looking into possible legal action.
When an individual sits on the bench as a judge - in any court - the responsibility is to be fair and unbiased in applying the law. The public needs to know judges don’t bring their own personal judgements into the courtroom.
Which is why many in Wisconsin are concerned about the candidacy of State Appeals Court Judge Brian Hagedorn for the state Supreme Court.
According to the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, in 2016, Hagedorn helped found the Augustine Academy in Merton, Wisconsin.
The private religious school bans students, teachers, and parents from being in gay relationships.
The school's statement of faith declares that "Adam and Eve were made to complement each other in a one-flesh union that establishes the only normative pattern of sexual relations for men and women, such that marriage ultimately serves as a type of the union between Christ and his church."
The school’s Code of Personal Conduct (listed in the school teacher application) specifically dictates no “immoral sexual activity” which is defined as “any form of touching or nudity for the purpose of evoking sexual arousal apart from the context of marriage between one man and one woman.”
Violations of the code of conduct could result in teaches being fired. And students face possible expulsion from the school should they or their parents be discovered violating the rules.
It isn’t unusual for a private, faith-based school to have such policies.
However, Hagedorn’s close relationship to the school, which he still oversees, gives pause as to how neutral he would be as a judge on the state’s highest court.
In that the nonpartisan court hears cases that involve LGBTQ discrimination based on “deeply held religious beliefs,” it’s difficult to see Hagedorn putting his personal beliefs aside in such cases.
Analiese Eicher, executive director One Wisconsin Now, expressed her concerns that Hagedorn “remains intimately associated with an organization that actively discriminates against the LGBTQ community.”
Stephan Thompson, a member of the schools board of directors, defended Hagedorn saying he “treats everyone fairly under the law.”
"He is running for the Supreme Court to protect religious freedoms for all Wisconsinites, regardless of faith," added Thompson. "Yet the latest smear is just another example of attacks on his own faith."
But the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel has previously reported on blog posts made by Hagedorn while in law school where he once wrote gay rights could lead to legalized bestiality.
In 2005, he wrote, “The idea that homosexual behavior is different than bestiality as a constitutional matter is unjustifiable.”
Hagedorn has stated he sets aside his personal beliefs as a member of the state Appeals Court, and would continue to do so if elected to the Supreme Court.
• I love Wrangler jeans. And the outdoors. And cowboy hats.. And, hold on, something else, it's coming to me... :)
• The movie Boy Erased, based on Garrard Conley’s real-life journey through so-called 'conversion therapy' will not be released in Brazil. Universal Pictures says the film won't be released due to 'financial reasons.' The South American country recently elected openly-homophobic Jair Bolsonaro as president.
• If you ever wondered EXACTLY what it's like to be bullied at school as a young boy, before he's even figured out who he is, please read this by my talented friend, David Toussaint. Definitely worth the read.
• ABC News: An investigation by a government watchdog organization shows President Donald Trump’s four trips to his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida over four weeks in March and February 2017, including his summit with the Japanese prime minister, cost the government nearly $14 million.
• Opera singer David Daniels and his husband Scott Walters, were arrested Tuesday over allegations of rape by baritone Samuel Schultz in 2010. Schultz, who told police he was drugged and raped in 2010, came forward with the allegation in August.
• Texas political phenom Beto O'Rourke gave Oprah "a strong signal" he is seriously considering a 2020 run for the White House.
Talking with @Oprah just now, Beto sends a strong signal he is weighing a run for President and will decide by the end of the month. Oprah characterized his remarks as “leaning towards a run” and Beto did not correct her... #nhpolitics#Beto#Beto2020#DraftBetopic.twitter.com/Nz1c4F1lxC
• Pet Shop Boys drop their first single, “Give Stupidity a Chance”, from their upcoming EP Agenda (release date April 12).
Neil Tennant describes the track as “a satirical song about the poor quality of political leadership in the modern world.”
“Chicks are always up for it / You’ve got to grab whatever you can / We need a leader who knows money means class / With an eye for a peach-perfect piece of ass”
• Donald Trump responded to reports of the horrific attack on Empire star Jussie Smollett telling reporters in the Oval Office today, "That I can tell you is horrible. It doesn't get worse."
Note: There is no religious exemption to Illinois's nondiscrimination law, and sexual orientation is specifically included as a protected class. So, you do the math...
• The Arkansas Supreme Court on Thursday ruled the city of Fayetteville may not continue enforcing its anti-discrimination ordinance while the city challenged the constitutionality of a 2015 law that prevents cities and counties from enacting their own LGBTQ protections not covered by state law.
• A deaf lesbian couple say Delta Airlines mistreated them when they tried to communicate with a gate agent in Detroit. The women say they wrote down their request to sit next to each other on the plane, but the agent crumpled up their note and threw it away.
• This could technically qualify as a 'Daily Dance' post, but I thought I'd leave this right here.
As a last f*ck you to the Democrats who won the governorship and other key statewide offices in the recent November elections, outgoing Republican Gov. Scott Walker and GOP lawmakers are passing last-minute changes to limit the powers of the new governor and other incoming Democrats.
Wisconsin’s lame-duck, Republican-controlled state Legislature passed on Wednesday a host of measures designed to kneecap Gov.-elect Tony Evers, other Democrats elected to statewide offices and hurt the Democratic Party in general, sending the legislation to the GOP governor Evers defeated ― Scott Walker ― for his signature.
One part of the package would prohibit municipalities from allowing more than two weeks of early voting. That presumably would cut down on voter turnout, which generally helps Republicans.
Other provisions would give the Legislature full control of a state economic development agency, block the governor’s ability to write regulations and allow the Legislature to hire its own lawyers to file lawsuits on behalf of the state.
Republicans still control the state Senate and Assembly, due to the gerrymandered nature of the legislative districts.
It's worth noting that the GOP retained a supermajority in the Assembly even though they received a minority of the overall votes cast in those races.
Yesterday, I reported on the prom photo that went viral from Baraboo school district in Wisconsin.
The photo showed about 30 male members of the Baraboo High School Class of 2019 giving the Nazi salute before their junior prom last spring.
As I noted yesterday, one student was not having the moment.
Today, CBS This Morning spoke with the student, Jordan Blue.
Blue tells CBS News the photographer came up with the idea of telling the boys to "wave goodbye to their parents," but didn't specifically tell the boys to “raise your hand in a Nazi symbol way.”
But it's telling that 'raise you hand' to these young men meant doing so in Nazi fashion.
Blue added that he felt his classmates did understand what the symbol represented, and that the moment was "scary" and "uncomfortable."
Photographer Peter Gust has issued a statement which reads, "I didn't tell them to salute anything... it was waving goodbye to their parents, having a good time."
"There was nothing that diminished the quality of anyone's life," said Gust in defense of the photo. "There was nothing that diminished anyone's stature in society, there was nothing that was intended to point a finger at anyone in their class who may have some kind of difference. There was none of that."
When asked why he didn't participate, Blue tells CBS This Morning, “It did not represent my morals and I could not do something that I didn’t believe in."
Blue admits making the gesture makes no sense to him, saying, "Some of these people have bright futures ahead of them, so why’d they do it?”
Speaking to CNN, Blue says if he'd known the direction the photo opp would go, he wouldn't have taken part in the pics at all.
He also says that while the community is a 'phenomenal' place to live, people are "hurt and very distraught" over the scandal. And he makes a point to say the photo doesn't represent Baraboo as a whole.
Suzdaltsev later tweeted that, after receiving more than 100 messages from students and parents from Baraboo High School, "nearly all of the stories echo the same basic theme: the community as a whole has a lot of casual & jokey racism, homophobia, and transphobia that is accepted as a part of life."
"The school (and other schools in the area) do little to nothing to address these issues," he added.
The American Defamation League reports the number of anti-semitic incidents in the U.S. rose 57% in 2017. That's the largest single year increase on record.
I spoke with the only student who is visibly not comfortable with the “salute”, he provided this statement. pic.twitter.com/HbNBc8xLOK
Folks are kind of flummoxed by a photo taken at the junior prom of Wisconsin's Baraboo High School showing the class's male students doing a 'sig heil.'
Law & Crime points out the event was last spring, but the photo just came to light when it was posted to the Twitter account @GoBaraboo that has since been been made private.
It was posted with the caption, “We even got the black kid to throw it up #BarabooProud.”
One guy in the front was clearly doing the sign for white power:
Vice contributor Jules Suzdaltsev asked Twitter to help him do a deep dive into the matter, and he began getting private messages from students at the school saying they had seen and heard a lot of racist language while attending the school.
Someone who would like to remain anonymous just sent me this message and picture of herself that was posted by a classmate.
Folks did note that one student, in the upper right hand corner of the photo, was clearly not having the moment.
Suzdaltsev spoke with the student, Jordan Blue, who said the photo was taken so quickly he couldn't leave. But he also shared that he'd been bullied by his classmates for years.
"My name is Jordan Blue, I am the boy captured in the photo to the far right. The photo was taken during our Junior Prom Photos. I clearly am uncomfortable, with what was happening. I couldn't leave the photo as it was taken within 5 seconds. The photographer took the photos telling us to make the sign, I knew what my morals were and it not to salute something I firmly didn't believe in. I attend BHS, these classmates have bullied me since entering middle school, I have struggled with it my entire life and nothing has changed. These are the boy of Class of 2019, nothing has been done and my question is... with anything ever be done. I truly & firmly believe we need to make a change to this horrible act, it need to stop. Bullying. Immaturity. And just taking things as a "joke"..."
I spoke with the only student who is visibly not comfortable with the “salute”, he provided this statement. pic.twitter.com/HbNBc8xLOK
According to Suzdaltsev, the photographer (identified as local motorcycle photographer Peter Gust) has taken the photo album down from his website and issued an odd message calling out "malevolent behavior on the part of some in society." He seems to be blaming the scandal on folks taking issue with the idea of telling students to do a Nazi salute.
The photographer has removed the photo from his website and updated with this... confusing message. pic.twitter.com/vx4r9Eo1zZ
The photo has even received international attention as the Twitter account for the Auschwitz Memorial tweeted, "This is why every single day we work hard to educate."
It is so hard to find words...
This is why every single day we work hard to educate. We need to explain what is the danger of hateful ideology rising. Auschwitz with its gas chambers was at the very end of the long process of normalizing and accommodating hatred. https://t.co/13AzZaMGJR
Baraboo School District Superintendent Dr. Lori Mueller issued this statement:
The Barabook School District sent the following letter to parents this morning in response to a photo on social media.
Dear Parents/Guardians of Baraboo School District Students:
Early this morning, a photo that was taken last spring of some Barabook School District students who appear to be making extremely inappropriate gestures began circulating on social media. The District has confirmed at this time that the photo was not taken on school property or at a school-sponsored event.
The school district is investigating this situation and is working with parents, staff and local authorities. If the gesture is what it appears to be, the district will pursue any and all available and appropriate actions, including legal, to address the issue.
With that, we want to be very clear: the Baraboo School District is a hate-free environment where all people, regardless of race, color, religion, creed, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin or ancestry, are respected and celebrated.
Hillary Clinton's loss in the 2016 election has been described as "death by a thousand cuts."
Clinton herself has admitted mistakes on behalf of her campaign, but it's also impossible to not point to FBI Director James Comey's announcement reviving the issue of Hillary's emails just 11 days before the election, plus the Wikileaks constant drip of DNC emails.
Add another component to her loss as The Nation shares the results of a study that shows Wisconsin's new strict voter-ID laws caused a drop of 200,000 fewer votes than in 2012.
Trump won Wisconsin by 22,748 votes.
Those lost votes tended to skew more Democratic and more African-American.
According to the study, states that did not implement stricter voting-ID laws saw participation increase by 1.3%. The states that did add tougher ID restrictions saw 3.3% less voters at the polls.
This isn't an "anti-Bernie Sanders" post. It's a post about math and delegates.
With Bernie Sanders leading in Wisconsin and Hillary Clinton looking to lead by 12 points in New York, the WaPo explores why a win for Bernie and a win for Hillary don't serve up the same results.
These states are not equivalent. This is not a tie, with Clinton winning one state and Sanders winning another. It is, instead, a clear demonstration of why Bernie Sanders almost certainly won't be the Democratic nominee.
After all, it comes down to delegates. Wisconsin has 86 delegates; New York has 247. Since the party distributes its delegates proportionally, that means that Sanders's slight Wisconsin lead would earn him a slightly bigger portion of the state's small delegate haul. Clinton's larger New York lead would earn her a larger portion of the state's large delegate haul.
There are still a lot of states after New York for Sanders to make progress. Many of the delegates remaining though -- more than half -- are tied up in three large states: Pennsylvania, New Jersey and California. As we noted earlier this month, Clinton is leading in the most recent polling in those three states, too.
Gov. Scott Walker called into WTMJ Radio in Milwaukee to announce his endorsement of Ted Cruz. Walker called Cruz a "principled, common sense conservative."
Not sure if endorsements actually do anything in this wild campaign season, though. South Carolina's Gov. Nikki Haley didn't seem to do much for Marco Rubio.
But we shall see. The Wisconsin primary is one week away.
The Ted Cruz campaign is thrilled with the news! From the Cruz campaign via press release:
We wanted to share some very exciting news with you: Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker has just endorsed Ted Cruz for President. This is a HUGE deal. Scott Walker has enacted big, bold conservative reforms in Wisconsin. His endorsement confirms what we have been saying for months, Conservatives are uniting behind Ted Cruz.
Will you join Scott Walker in standing with Ted Cruz today? Over the last year we have been campaigning from coast to coast to elect Ted Cruz as President. We have accomplished a great deal, but there is still a lot left to do. Next week Wisconsin votes. We must send a strong message that we are all behind Ted Cruz.
Scott Walker’s endorsement proves that Ted Cruz has what it takes to win everywhere, including swing states like Wisconsin. The only thing left is your support today. Please join Scott Walker and conservatives across America by contributing to the Wisconsin Victory fund. Your contribution could make the difference between victory and defeat!
Brad Schimel, the current GOP nominee for Attorney General for Wisconsin, was asked on a public access TV interview if he would have defended the state's now-defunct ban on same-sex marriage.
Schmiel said not only would he have defended the anti-gay law, he would have defended a ban on interracial marriage.
For months, Schimel has said he would have defended the state's ban on gay marriage in court because the attorney general is obligated to uphold state laws and provisions in the state constitution.
As he discussed his stance on that issue last month on an Oshkosh cable access program, he was asked if it would have been his obligation to defend a ban on interracial marriage if he had been an attorney general in a state with such a law 60 years ago. He sighed and said, "Yeah, it is." "It might be distasteful to me ...but I've got to stay consistent with that — as the state's lawyer, it's not my job to pick and choose."
Responding to the criticism, Schimel issued a statement Wednesday that said: "Love and the law are colorblind, as they should be. Many shameful, racist laws were changed over the course of time in this country by legislators, the courts and the people's direct votes. But if Susan Happ wants to make up new laws, or change old ones, she's running for the wrong job."
WBAY reports that two counties - Dane and Outgamie - have begun issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples.
Three others - Brown County, Calumet County and Fond du Lac - say they are waiting for more guidance from the Wisconsin Attorney General's Office."
The Wisconsin Attorney General's Office released this statement:
"Today's action by the U.S. Supreme Court allows Judge Crabb's order to take effect. The Department, having made every effort to fulfill its duty to defend the state constitution, will now work with its state agency clients to implement the order."
A spokesperson for Gov. Scott Walker released this statement:
"Our office is working with the Department of Justice to evaluate the impact of the Supreme Court's decision and determine next steps for the state."
And the haters at Wisconsin Family Action are already up in arms. Juliane Appling issued this statement:
"The high court’s denial of our Wisconsin case and these other cases is profoundly disappointing. However, at some point the US Supreme Court will take a case on this issue. Wisconsin’s marriage amendment is on hold, but should the Court ultimately rule that the US Constitution does give the states the right to determine for themselves what marriage is, our amendment will be reinstated.”
A 19-year-old Republican candidate for Wisconsin State Assembly has ended his campaign after racist and homophobic comments he had made on Twitter and YouTube came to light.
Jacob Dorsey told The Janesville Gazette on Tuesday he was ending his campaign for the Assembly, just five days after apologizing for a Christmas Day 2013 tweet in which he said “fags need 2 leave my favorite state alone.”
Dorsey was commenting on Twitter after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit refused to issue a stay in a federal court ruling last year striking down Utah’s ban on same-sex marriage.
“I have decided to withdraw from the race due to insensitive remarks that have surfaced from years past,” Dorsey said in a statement to The Gazette. “This race has been extremely hard on my family and myself.”
Although Dorsey tried to add some "spin" that his comments were from "years ago," some of the comments were posted just five months before he announced his candidacy.
Clearly the young man is still on the immature side of life and not qualified to hold public office.
Dorsey says he plans to return to school to pursue a degree, having taken the semester off to run for public office.
In what is now the fourth appellate ruling in favor of marriage equality, a panel of 3 federal judges for the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled unanimously that the same-sex marriage bans in Wisconsin and Indiana unconstitutional
According to the 40-page unanimous ruling authored by Judge Richard Posner, who was nominated to the federal bench by President Ronald Reagan, “discrimination against same-sex couples is irrational, and therefore unconstitutional even if the discrimination is not subjected to heightened scrutiny.”
Ruling in two cases, the court found the governments of Indiana and Wisconsin have given no reason to think they have a “reasonable basis” for forbidding same-sex marriage.
“Discrimination by a state or the federal government against a minority, when based on an immutable characteristic of the members of that minority (most familiarly skin color and gender), and occurring against an historical background of discrimination against the persons who have that characteristic, makes the discriminatory law or policy constitutionally suspect,” the ruling states.
Oral arguments were heard before the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals last week in Chicago.
According to Gallup Polls, 55% of Americans support marriage equality. A recent ABC News/Washington Post poll showed 77% of Americans under the age of 30 are in favor of same-sex marriage.
Same-sex couples can legally marry in nineteen states and the District of Columbia.
Oral arguments are under way in the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals with Indiana and Wisconsin attempting to defend their respective state's same-sex marriage bans.
According to Chris Johnson of the Washington Blade, the good guys catch what might be a good break from the get-go as the legal journalist feels the judges assigned the case are possible good fit for marriage equality.
UPDATE - Chris Johnson just tweeted this after the close of oral arguments:
LGBT legal journalist Chris Geidner of Buzzfeed posted this "first take":
Target announced Tuesday that it has signed an amicus, or friend of the court, brief in support of marriage equality in two cases currently before the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals.
The cases, Baskin v. Bogan, out of Indiana, and Wisconsin's Wolf v. Walker, are both on appeal after federal district courts struck down same-sex marriage bans in those states.
Executive Vice President Jodee Kozlak explained the company's position in this statement:
As our leadership team discussed signing on, we took time to consider the bigger questions at hand. This brief is important, as the issues it addresses have significant impact on businesses. But it is more than that and we agreed that now is the right time to more directly share our views on this issue.
It is our belief that everyone should be treated equally under the law, and that includes rights we believe individuals should have related to marriage.
Without getting into the specifics of a court case, this brief evaluates the issues created by states that both prohibit same-sex marriage and also refuse to recognize marriages that were conducted legally in other states. This position is particularly challenging for a large organization that operates nationally, such as Target. At Target, we have long offered comprehensive, competitive benefits to our LGBT team members and their families, often above what is legally required. We continue to do so today because we believe doing so is right for our team and for our business. But current laws — in places like Wisconsin and Indiana that are addressed in this brief – make it difficult to attract and retain talent. These disparate laws also create confusing and complicated benefits challenges across multiple states.
We believe that everyone – all of our team members and our guests – deserve to be treated equally. And at Target we are proud to support the LGBT community.
Lambda Legal announced today via press release that Wisconsin's Domestic Partnership registry has been found to be constitutional by the state supreme court, thus ending an almost two year legal fight over the limited protections:
Today the Wisconsin Supreme Court upheld the state’s domestic partnership registry as constitutional, bringing a joyful end to a long legal battle by Lambda Legal on behalf of Fair Wisconsin and five intervening defendant couples.
“We’re thrilled that Wisconsin same-sex couples can keep the limited but very important protections that the domestic partnership registry grants them,” said Christopher Clark, Counsel for Lambda Legal. “The statute is clearly constitutional, and the Supreme Court of Wisconsin agreed with us. Gay and lesbian couples in Wisconsin no longer have to fear that the protections they have will be taken away by unnecessary anti-gay legal action.
Throughout the fight for marriage equality, we often hear that there's no animus towards LGBT folks regarding these rights. It's just the word "marriage."
And yet, even with the limited rights provided by domestic partnerships in Wisconsin, the haters attempted to take away those protections.
So, when you hear "I have nothing against gays" - be warned.
The 7th Circuit Appeals Court originally assigned a date of August 13 to hear arguments regarding overturning Wisconsin's same-sex marriage ban, but promptly cancelled the arguments with no comment.
A federal judge issued a final trial court order striking down Wisconsin’s ban on same-sex couples marrying, but she put her ruling on hold pending appeal.
“I conclude that Herbert v. Kitchen, compels me to stay the injunction,” U.S. District Court Judge Barbara Crabb wrote, referencing the Supreme Court’s January decision halting same-sex marriages in Utah during the appeal of that case.
The ruling comes a week after her initial decision striking down the ban. At that time, she did not issue an injunction in the case and laid out a plan for resolving that question and the question of whether her eventually injunction should be stayed during the appeal in the coming weeks.
