Happy Marriage Equality Day! Support Reaches All-Time High Approval Of 62%

Hubby Michael and I getting married a second time in Palm Springs in 2008

Today is the 2nd anniversary of the historic Obergefell v. Hodges ruling from the Supreme Court which brought marriage equality to all fifty states. I think it was one of the happiest and joyful days of my life.

And, according to a new Pew Research poll, support for same-sex marriage among U.S. adults has reached an all-time high of 62%.

Pew has been tracking the opinions of Americans on marriage equality for two decades and found the biggest jump in support came during this past year with a 7-point uptick in support.

Terrific to see these numbers today, but there's still work to do on LGBTQ rights.

We need to see The Equality Act passed into law. The legislation would ensure no one could lose their job, their home, or be denied services because of who they are or whom they love.

The bill has been introduced in Congress and enjoys bipartisan support, 242 members of Congress and more than 90 corporations now back the legislation. But sadly, it's not enough. It's highly doubtful the current Republican-controlled Congress will pass the bill.

Behind The Scenes Of ESPN Body Issue Photo Shoot

Out Olympian Gus Kenworthy

Check this sneak peek into the nude photo shoots for ESPN's upcoming Body Issue featuring out Olympic Freeskier Gus Kenworthy, New England Patriots’ Julian Edelman, Chicago Cubs' Javier Baez and the US women's hockey team.

In one clip you can hear the hunky Kenworthy exclaim, “Oh my god, what did I sign up for? I have to get naked right now?”

It's not as though nudity is something new to Gus. You know what I mean if you follow his Instagram account ;)

Happy Monday!

New England Patriots' Julian Edelman

Dallas Cowboys' Ezekiel Elliott

Trump Tweets: Obama "Colluded Or Obstructed" In 2016 Campaign

Donald Trump

It wouldn't be a Monday morning without President Trump taking to Twitter to assert some nutty theory.

Now that he's heard the word "obstruction" so much in regard to himself being investigated by a Special Counsel, it seems like it's his favorite word.

This morning, Trump accused former President Obama of colluding or obstructing during the last months of the 2016 presidential election in regards to interference with Russia.

"The reason that President Obama did NOTHING about Russia after being notified by the CIA of meddling is that he expected Clinton would win...and did not want to "rock the boat." He didn't "choke," he colluded or obstructed, and it did the Dems and Crooked Hillary no good. The real story is that President Obama did NOTHING after being informed in August about Russian meddling. With 4 months looking at Russia...under a magnifying glass, they have zero "tapes" of T people colluding. There is no collusion & no obstruction. I should be given apology!"

The reason that President Obama did NOTHING about Russia after being notified by the CIA of meddling is that he expected Clinton would win..

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 26, 2017

...and did not want to "rock the boat." He didn't "choke," he colluded or obstructed, and it did the Dems and Crooked Hillary no good.

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 26, 2017

The real story is that President Obama did NOTHING after being informed in August about Russian meddling. With 4 months looking at Russia...

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 26, 2017

..under a magnifying glass, they have zero "tapes" of T people colluding. There is no collusion & no obstruction. I should be given apology!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 26, 2017

Of course, it's complete nonsense that the Obama administration did "nothing." Obama expelled Russian diplomats, seized their compounds, and set sanctions in place for Trump to trigger.

Former spokesman for Obama's National Security Council, Ned Price, pushed back saying Trump's latest tweets were "nonsensical" blame-shifting.

"He’s attempting to pin on the Obama administration the very serious charges—namely collusion and obstruction—that federal investigators are examining in the context of his behavior and that of his associates," Price said.

He added, "This 'I’m-not-you-are' strategy tends to be a hallmark of elementary school, not presidential strategy."

Supreme Court Will Decide Colorado/Same-Sex Wedding Cake Case, Strikes Down Arkansas Birth Certificate Law

The Supreme Court decided today, on the second anniversary of the Obergefell ruling which made marriage equality the law of the land, that it will review and rule whether a Colorado baker must sell a wedding cake for a same-sex marriage.

Via The Advocate:

The Supreme Court granted certiorari in Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission, in which a baker named Jack Phillips told a same-sex couple — David Mullins and Charlie Craig, pictured above — that he could sell them brownies but not a cake for their wedding. Phillips contends he’s an artist and that the First Amendment protects his business from having to bake a cake for a wedding that he opposes.

LGBT rights supporters say his refusal amounts to discrimination against same-sex couples, and the Colorado Civil Rights Commission agreed, which is what sent the case all the way to the Supreme Court. A ruling could have far-reaching effects on the myriad of ways LGBT opponents are trying to undermine marriage equality by claiming religious exemptions. Bakers, florists, photographers and more have claimed their religious beliefs give them the right to deny service.

I think it's important to note that Colorado's anti-discrimination law specifically states that businesses open to the public may not deny service to customers based on their race, religion, sex or sexual orientation.

It's the same as if the baker refused to make a cake for an African-American couple or a Jewish couple. It's illegal.

The high court will hear the case in October.

In related marriage equality news, SCOTUS also ruled that an Arkansas law intended to stop birth certificates from listing the names of both parents in a same-sex couple was unconstitutional and summarily struck down.

Also from The Advocate:

“The Arkansas Supreme Court’s decision, we conclude, denied married same-sex couples access to the “constellation of benefits that the State has linked to marriage,” the justices wrote.

“As already explained, when a married woman in Arkansas conceives a child by means of artificial insemination, the State will — indeed, must — list the name of her male spouse on the child’s birth certificate.

And yet state law, as interpreted by the court below, allows Arkansas officials in those very same circumstances to omit a married woman’s female spouse from her child’s birth certificate.

As a result, same-sex parents in Arkansas lack the same right as opposite-sex parents to be listed on a child’s birth certificate, a document often used for important transactions like making medical decisions for a child or enrolling a child in school.”

It's telling that newly installed Justice Neil Gorsuch wrote the dissent joined by Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas.

U.S. Supreme Court Agrees To Review Trump Muslim Travel Ban

The Supreme Court announced today that it will review the constitutionality of President Trump’s revised Muslim travel ban this fall.

The decision includes allowing part of the ban to go into effect.

From the New York Times:

Mr. Trump’s revised executive order, issued in March, limited travel from six mostly Muslim countries for 90 days and suspended the nation’s refugee program for 120 days. The time was needed, the order said, to address gaps in the government’s screening and vetting procedures.

Two federal appeals courts have blocked critical parts of the order.

The administration had asked that the the lower-court ruling be stayed while the case moves forward. The court granted part of that request in its unsigned opinion.

“We grant the government’s applications to stay the injunctions, to the extent the injunctions prevent enforcement of” Mr. Trump’s executive order “with respect to foreign nationals who lack any bona fide relationship with a person or entity in the United States.”

The United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, in Richmond, Va., ruled last month that the limits on travel from the six countries violated the First Amendment’s ban on government establishment of religion. Relying on Mr. Trump’s statements during the presidential campaign, where he called for a “Muslim ban,” the court said the order “drips with religious intolerance, animus and discrimination.”

The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, in San Francisco, recently blocked both the limits on travel and the suspension of the refugee program. It ruled on statutory rather than constitutional grounds, saying Mr. Trump had exceeded the authority granted him by Congress.

So, if you are a foreign national in one of those six Muslim-majority countries with a close family member in the United States, or a job offer from an American company, or an invitation to lecture an American audience, or an offer of admission from an American university, you can obtain a visa.

If you have no concrete ties or true business connection to the U.S., the Trump ban can keep you out of the U.S.

What I don't understand is: the purpose of the ban was to give the Trump administration 90 days to examine immigration processes. I'm assuming they've been doing this review anyway? By October we'll be long past 90 days. By October shouldn't the review be concluded and immigration rules adjusted?

Trump White House Is First In 20 Years To Not Hold A Ramadan Event

For the first time since 1996, the White House has not held a celebration to mark the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which ended at sunset on Saturday.

Via ThinkProgress:

President Donald Trump did issue official statements for Ramadan and Eid al-Fitr, a festival that marks the end of the month-long daytime fast. Even those statements, however, lingered on terrorists and terrorism that many felt held all Muslims responsible for the actions of a few.

“I reiterate my message delivered in Riyadh: America will always stand with our partners against terrorism and the ideology that fuels it,” the Ramadan statement read, in part. “During this month of Ramadan, let us be resolved to spare no measure so that we may ensure that future generations will be free of this scourge and able to worship and commune in peace.”

The Eid statement, while brief, was more conciliatory, commemorating a holiday with Muslims “carry on the tradition of helping neighbors and breaking bread with people from all walks of life.”

Unlike other recent administrations, however, the White House did not hold a dinner or reception to mark either holiday — despite Trump telling ABC News last year that he’d be fine with continuing the Ramadan dinner tradition.

The Trump White House also took a pass on holding a White House seder during the Jewish holiday of Passover.

But he has played golf 30 times since taking office.

The Pride Is High At NYC Pride

Just a few of the snaps on Instagram from NYC Pride March today.

#nycpride2017 #DancingQueen 😝of course #ABBA ❤️🌈❤️

A post shared by Michael Halden (@mikehalden) on Jun 25, 2017 at 12:14pm PDT

A post shared by Michael Halden (@mikehalden) on Jun 25, 2017 at 11:06am PDT

Happy #NYCPride2017! ❤️💛💚💙💜 xo, Women's March

A post shared by Women's March (@womensmarch) on Jun 25, 2017 at 9:51am PDT

A post shared by Rahul (@thefasttraveler) on Jun 25, 2017 at 12:35pm PDT

A post shared by Nick Tan (@thetandiaries) on Jun 25, 2017 at 12:34pm PDT

A post shared by Lindsey Roberts (@linni1324) on Jun 25, 2017 at 12:30pm PDT

A post shared by 30Casas🐼 (@sergiocasasb) on Jun 25, 2017 at 12:29pm PDT

A post shared by Rodolfo Mustafé (@mustafex) on Jun 25, 2017 at 12:29pm PDT

A post shared by Rachel Levi (@levirs89) on Jun 25, 2017 at 12:24pm PDT

New York: Gov. Cuomo Unveils LGBT Memorial Monument Design

As NYC Pride marches on today, Governor Andrew Cuomo unveiled the design chosen for New York’s official monument honoring the LGBT community and the victims of the Orlando shooting.

The governor commissioned the monument in the aftermath of the Pulse Nightclub shooting on June 12, 2016.

The design chosen was created by artist Anthony Goicolea.

Via the governor’s office:

“This stunning design complements the landscape and communicates a timeless message of inclusion, and this monument will serve as an enduring symbol of the role New Yorkers play in building a fairer, more just world,” Governor Cuomo said. “From Stonewall to marriage equality, New York has always been a beacon for justice and we will never waiver in our commitment to the LGBT community and to creating a more just and inclusive society. This new monument will stand up for those values for generations to come.”

Following the tragic shooting in Orlando, Florida on June 12, 2016, Governor Cuomo issued Executive Order No. 158, establishing the LGBT Memorial Commission, with the mission to design and build a new memorial in honor of the LGBT community and the victims of the Orlando shooting. The Commission issued a request for proposals in October 2016, and all submissions were judged on their interpretation and clarity of the theme, creativity and originality of depicted theme, quality of artistic composition, site compatibility, and constructability, among other factors.

The site specific design works in harmony with the existing attributes of Hudson River Park and promotes thought and reflection while encouraging people to unite in a communal environment. It will feature nine modified boulders, some of which are bisected with a clear, laminated, borosilicate-glass with refractory components that act as a prism to create subtle rainbow patterns on the surrounding lawn and nearby objects.