Rally Tonight for Beating Victim
I think it would be appropriate for Ruth Jacobs, Theresa Rickman, and the others at the Citizens for Responsible Government to comment on the video of the beating at McDonalds in Rosedale last week. Their 2008 Montgomery County referendum campaign exploited the fear of "men in the ladies room" and they deliberately painted our transgender neighbors as dangerous predators who would harm good, law-abiding women. Does the CRG take any responsibility for this violence, or are they going to remain silent?
The Baltimore Sun interviewed the victim of the beating. Here are some snatches of that article.
Our brave Maryland legislators failed to pass a law last month that would have guaranteed the rights of transgender individuals in seeking employment, credit, and some other things. Before failing to pass it, the legislators deleted wording that would have given transgender people the right to use "public accommodations." Public accommodations would include bathrooms, and our courageous representatives in Annapolis were afraid that such a bold move, allowing people the right to pee in a public restroom, would trigger a controversy that would be too much for them.
The McDonalds franchise owner says she's "shocked" etcetera.
I think it's wrong.
Let's hear somebody from the Citizens for Responsible Government say it's wrong.
A rally is scheduled to take place outside the McDonald’s at 6315 Kenwood Ave., Rosedale, Md., at 7 p.m. tonight (Monday).
The Baltimore Sun interviewed the victim of the beating. Here are some snatches of that article.
"They said, 'That's a dude, that's a dude and she's in the female bathroom,' " said Chrissy Lee Polis, 22, who said she stopped at the Rosedale restaurant to use the restroom. "They spit in my face."
A worker at the restaurant taped Monday's attack and created a graphic video that went viral last week. After the video garnered hundreds of thousands of views on websites, McDonald's issued a statement condemning the incident, and on Saturday the worker who taped the incident was fired.
The video shows two females — one of them a 14-year-old girl — repeatedly kicking and punching Polis in the head as an employee and a patron try to intervene. Others can be heard laughing, and men are seen standing idly by.
Toward the end of the video, one of the suspects lands a punishing blow to the victim's head, and Polis appears to have a seizure. A man's voice tells the women to run because police are coming. Victim of McDonald's beating speaks out
Our brave Maryland legislators failed to pass a law last month that would have guaranteed the rights of transgender individuals in seeking employment, credit, and some other things. Before failing to pass it, the legislators deleted wording that would have given transgender people the right to use "public accommodations." Public accommodations would include bathrooms, and our courageous representatives in Annapolis were afraid that such a bold move, allowing people the right to pee in a public restroom, would trigger a controversy that would be too much for them.
Polis, who said she had a sex-change operation to become a woman, said this isn't the first time that she's been picked on physically because of her sexual identity. She said she's been subjected to beatings and even sexual assaults.
She said seeing herself all over the Internet and all over the news has been "like walking out of the closet all over again." Polis is concerned that the public attention could trigger more violence — and worries it could hurt her chances of getting a job. "I want to cry, but I need to hold my head up," she said.
Her twin brother, Matty Polis, who also lives in Baltimore, said it's been painful to watch her have to endure these sorts of attacks.
"My sister has gotten this her entire life," Matty Polis said. "Being the way she is, she's always had a hard time."
Polis, who was raised by her grandmother in Dundalk and Essex, graduated from Chesapeake High and hasn't had a job or stable place to stay for the past two years, according to her mother, Angela Thomas.
Polis, who is white, believes race may have also been a factor in her attack— both the assailants were black, according to the police report.
...
The three-minute video clip was apparently first posted on YouTube, then taken down by administrators who said it violated the site's policies. But it popped back up on other sites and was ultimately linked from the Drudge Report, which gave it top billing for much of the day Friday.
The video begins with two women near a bathroom door kicking and hitting a woman who is lying on the ground.
An employee repeatedly tries to separate them, but the attackers continue to stomp and kick the victim in the head. People yell, "Stop! Stop!" to no avail, though others can be heard laughing. An older woman at one point also attempts to pull the attackers away and is shoved.
About halfway through the clip, the attackers drag Polis by her hair to the front door. That is where the victim is sitting before another blow to the head causes an apparent seizure.
Throughout the attack, a man is filming and does not intervene. But when the victim appears to have a seizure, he yells, "She having a seizure, yo. … Police on their way. Y'all better get out of here."
The McDonalds franchise owner says she's "shocked" etcetera.
Polis said she plans to take legal action against the restaurant.
"Anyone in my predicament should not be afraid to walk the streets," Polis said. "They should not have to go into a restaurant and get gawked at and made fun of. They shouldn't be afraid to leave the house. It's just wrong."
I think it's wrong.
Let's hear somebody from the Citizens for Responsible Government say it's wrong.
A rally is scheduled to take place outside the McDonald’s at 6315 Kenwood Ave., Rosedale, Md., at 7 p.m. tonight (Monday).
posted by JimK at 10:36 AM
40 Comments:
"Their 2008 Montgomery County referendum campaign exploited the fear of "men in the ladies room" and they deliberately painted our transgender neighbors as dangerous predators who would harm good, law-abiding women."
actually, it didn't
it didn't make any sweeping statement about trans in general but just said they would hard to distinguish from others who decided to dress outside their gender for whatever reason
and they said business owners should make their own policies about who can use what bathroom on their property
"Does the CRG take any responsibility for this violence, or are they going to remain silent?"
if these are the choices they should remain silent
they have no responsibility for this
few that don't read TTF knew anything about the trans bathroom issue
certainly not the local JDs in Baltimore County
crazy as it seems, people, form all walks of life, have pretty consistently felt that public bathrooms should be segregated by gender
if someone can't hold that position without being accused of inciting violence, can we ever favor any rules?
for example, TTFers believe anyone who is successful should be forced to give their money to pay for the benefits of anyone who isn't successful
are they then tresponsible anytime an inner city thug mugs a ligh-priced lawyer?
"The video shows two females — one of them a 14-year-old girl — repeatedly kicking and punching Polis in the head as an employee and a patron try to intervene."
I just don't see why this tranvestite guy and three, as I can't them, other people, couldn't stop two teenage girls
"Others can be heard laughing, and men are seen standing idly by."
I watched it a few times and didn't hear any laughing or see anyone standing idly by
"Our brave Maryland legislators failed to pass a law last month that would have guaranteed the rights of transgender individuals in seeking employment, credit, and some other things. Before failing to pass it, the legislators deleted wording that would have given transgender people the right to use "public accommodations." Public accommodations would include bathrooms, and our courageous representatives in Annapolis were afraid that such a bold move, allowing people the right to pee in a public restroom, would trigger a controversy that would be too much for them."
there were elected officials, accountable to their constituents which didn't favor this law
had the law passed, there is no reason to think this incident would not have happened
"allowing people the right to pee in a public restroom"
this is a deceptive phrase Jim has used a few times
trans have no trouble finding a place to urinate
some places may require that they use the men's room but they have a place to go
"Polis, who said she had a sex-change operation to become a woman, said this isn't the first time that she's been picked on physically because of her sexual identity. She said she's been subjected to beatings and even sexual assaults."
no law will change that
the violent element will target the unusual
these people should keep this in mind and take steps to be careful
Anon writes:
"Polis, who said she had a sex-change operation to become a woman, said this isn't the first time that she's been picked on physically because of her sexual identity. She said she's been subjected to beatings and even sexual assaults."
no law will change that
the violent element will target the unusual
these people should keep this in mind and take steps to be careful
********************************
This was the sort of advise given to African Americans in the South prior to the enactment of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
And what step should a transgender person take? Always go to the bathroom at home before going out, and then hold it in until you get home? Assuming, of course, you have a home, since it is still legal in Maryland to discriminate in housing based on sexual identity.
David, beating people is against the law. It didn't prevent this attack.
Why would a law that you have to let trangenders use any restroom they want have changed this?
"And what step should a transgender person take?"
like the rest of us, frequent safe places
btw, Baltimore is somewhat associated with transgenderism
Johns Hopkins pioneered SRS and John Waters used a transvestite in all his movies
just saw a news report in the national media on this which emphasized the racial aspect
toward the end of the piece they did briefly say that Equality Maryland thought it was a transgender hate crime
Laws do define what is acceptable in terms of how people treat each other, and can impact the general behavior in society of people to each other. When was the last time you heard of an African American being beaten for asking to be served in a restaurant that the owner and other customers view as a place for white people?
"actually, it didn't
it didn't make any sweeping statement about trans in general"
Yes they did. Lots of shower nuts made lots of sweeping statements about transfolk in general and you can still find most of them on their website.
Here's one in the press: Michelle Turner said, “Any biological male who is willing to wear a dress and who is feeling transgendered at that particular moment can enter the ladies room or locker room.”
The shower nuts staged the Rio incident with care. No one was harmed, not a single head was kicked or stomped, and not a single phone camera caught the action.
The shower nuts website has a poster you can print alleging MoCo's decision to add gender identity to the existing anti-discrimination law would put the all of the following at risk:
women and children
business owners
day care centers
roommates and landlords
churches
school children
Since MoCo enacted its legal protections for transgenders, I haven't heard of a single woman, child, business owner, day care center, roommate, landlord, church or school child who has been harmed by this law but I have seen how in Baltimore where this law is not in effect, a trans woman was savagely beaten when she left the woman's room in a restaurant alone.
Another shower nut poster claims enacting protection on the basis of gender identity enables "Gender Identity Theft." (Oh no! Someone has stolen my gender identity from me! Whatever shall I do?)
Apparently shower nuts do not have gender identities. They feel everyone but themselves is covered by the law. One of their fliers has the header: "Loose “Gender Identity” Definition Leaves No One Out Of The Big Tent - But You!"
Oh shower nuts! You should know that if you think you're a male or a female, you have a gender identity.
My initial reaction, when I first watched the video of what I thought at the time was 2 large female Klingons beating down an innocent white female, was that if I was there I would have instinctively intervened on her behalf.
But now having the reason for fight in context …… a drunk man with a penis and a wig demanding his “civil right” to use the girl’s bathroom …… which is apparently what transpired before the video started …….. I do not think I would have intervened.
The fact that he is a transsexual prostitute certainly changed my perspective 180 degrees.
I’m not necessarily anti-transgender, just that if he tried to use the bathroom while my 14 year old daughter was in there I would have beat his ass too.
I think if you have a penis you should use the Men's restroom. And if you walk into a Men's bathroom dressed like that you should probably expect to get your ass whipped.
I'm sorry there's not a 3rd option available to transexuals when it comes to public bathrooms, but choosing either of the 2 available options is dangerous. But I'd beat your ass less severely if you walked into my bathroom than I would if you walked into my daughter's.
"Laws do define what is acceptable in terms of how people treat each other, and can impact the general behavior in society of people to each other."
wrong
When was the last time you heard of a transgender being beaten for asking to be served in a restaurant that the owner and other customers view as a place for normal people?
"Lots of shower nuts made lots of sweeping statements about transfolk in general and you can still find most of them on their website.
Here's one in the press: Michelle Turner said, “Any biological male who is willing to wear a dress and who is feeling transgendered at that particular moment can enter the ladies room or locker room.”"
excuse me
I meant any sweeping statement painting our transgender neighbors as dangerous predators who would harm good, law-abiding women
they didn't do that
Jim was lying
"Since MoCo enacted its legal protections for transgenders, I haven't heard of a single woman, child, business owner, day care center, roommate, landlord, church or school child who has been harmed by this law but I have seen how in Baltimore where this law is not in effect, a trans woman was savagely beaten when she left the woman's room in a restaurant alone."
actually, Baltimore has a transgender discrimination law
TTF is whining because there isn't a statewide one
which wouldn't change a thing
UPDATE:
Guess what?
Smoking Gun now reports that the 18-year-old who attacked Chrissy Lee Polis also attacked a non-transgender woman and her teenaged daughter at the same McDonald's last year!!
It appears as if this 18-year-old perpetrator will attack anyone. Where was the vigil for last year's victims?
how'd the big rally go, kids?
was there a big turmout to protest the treatment that transexual men are getting from teenage girls in Baltimore?
According to public accounts, there were about half as many protesters in support of ending hate crimes who rallied at the McDonald's in Rosedale last night as there were who attended the last nationwide tea party rally on the national mall on March 31, 2011, led by Reps. Pence and Bachmann. See the videos and/or read the coverages for yourselves.
Community rallies around victim of McDonald's attack: Bystander who intervened describes melee; 18-year-old suspect denied bail
"...more than a hundred supporters gathered at the Rosedale restaurant Monday night..."
Tea Bag Fizzles
"...The high estimate for this mega rally was 200 people, including representatives. That's excessive. The teabaggers "persuaded" Fox News to cover the rally live because it was such a major event..."
I've got a nickel for anyone who can find Fox News' coverage of that national tea party event on the national mall on March 31, 2011.
that's interesting because the Tea Party flipped a Congressional House of the world's leading economic power to the Republican Party and changed the entire focus of our economic policy, with global implications
along the way they've had huge rallies although, having had so much success, people do get a little burned out
what exactly were the vast crowds at Rosedale last night proposing to do about the threat that teenage girls pose to the transgender community in Baltimore?
the Tea Party flipped a Congressional House
That was five months ago in November 2010. Polls show the tea party and the GOP have done nothing but lose ground with the American people since that high point. Now that the Ryan plan to move money from programs for poor people to the pockets of the already obscenely rich has been delivered to the public, polls taken since show the times they are a'changing, a'gain.
We still have vast majorities who do not want their Medicare touched (Thou shalt not mess with Grannie's Medicare! And Death to Death Panels!) and they have been joined by additional vast majorities -- including Alan Greenspan! -- who believe it is time for people to pay slightly higher taxes like they did under Clinton.
I will gladly pay Clinton era taxes again to help repair the damage the GOP has done to our economy, again. My family and friends are also willing to step up and pay more taxes to help right the economy the GOP destroyed. The same is true for members of the Responsible Wealth Project.
But not Theresa and Anon, oh no!
They want Granny to give up her Medicare so they can pay less taxes to support the USA.
Shame on you both!
I think you were right to divert attention from the issue of violent teenage girls attacking innocent transgenders
that issue is a loser for TTF
"the Ryan plan to move money from programs for poor people to the pockets of the already obscenely rich"
this statement is a lie
Ryan plan is that tax revenue should stay flat for wealthy people
rates will go down but deductions and credits would be eliminated, giving us a lower marginal tax rate, which has has consistently improved economies whenever it has been implemented
Medicare would be returned to states to implement
the public is uneasy about reform but it is inevitable and raising tax rates on the wealthy won't make a dent in the national debt which threatens our way of life
there is a currently a run on the dollar and investors globally are dumping it because of our debt
the Democrats' lack of resolve and intitiative in this matter will be exposed
RT2, you have your facts wrong.
Do some research and try agan to add a worthwhile comment to this discussion.
Chrissie Polis does not have a penis and is not a prostitute. She is a post-operative trans woman who peed alone inside a locked single seat bathroom and was brutally attacked when she came out of the bathroom.
Let's hope no one mistakes your daughter for a pre-operative trans prostitute and treats her like Chrissie was treated.
"But I'd beat your ass less severely if you walked into my bathroom than I would if you walked into my daughter's."
What the hell does severity matter? You're still basically saying you'd beat a transgender person just for using the washroom, regardless of which is is. All trans people deserve to be beaten just for using the washroom now?
"a lower marginal tax rate, which has has consistently improved economies whenever it has been implemented"
Somebody brain-farted and forgot all about those "lower marginal tax rates" and the resultant "economies" around the world from 2001-right now.
Oh yeah baby, look at what those "lower marginal tax rates" have brought us to.
"She is a post-operative trans woman who peed alone inside a locked single seat bathroom and was brutally attacked when she came out of the bathroom."
In RT2's defense, the "facts" on this blog have been contradictory.
I would agree that post-op's should use the girls room and pre-op's the boys but I wouldn't support any legislation.
While I'm not the violent type, I do agree that pre-op's in the girls room is highly offensive and would avoid businesses that allowed such a thing.
Of course, the most relevant new revelation is that the teenage girl who attacked has a history of attacks on women at this McD's so the "hate crime" theory is suspect.
Fact remains that discrimination against trans is illegal in Baltimore and assault is illegal so what did the "masses" rallied last night want?
"Somebody forgot all about those "lower marginal tax rates" and the resultant "economies" around the world from 2001-right now.
Oh yeah baby, look at what those "lower marginal tax rates" have brought us to."
Right now, countries who have lower marginal rates and avoided large stimulus programs are recovered and America, with its Keynesian President, is struggling.
Read up on history.
Uncle Bobo's wife said:
"Polls show the tea party and the GOP have done nothing but lose ground with the American people since that high point. Now that the Ryan plan to move money from programs for poor people to the pockets of the already obscenely rich has been delivered to the public, polls taken since show the times they are a'changing, a'gain.
We still have vast majorities -- including Alan Greenspan! -- who believe it is time for people to pay slightly higher taxes like they did under Clinton."
the facts from Gallup:
"WASHINGTON — A new USA TODAY/Gallup Poll finds that House Republicans, who took a political risk in passing a controversial budget blueprint last week, have survived so far with some key advantages intact as Congress moves toward the debate on raising the debt ceiling, passing the 2012 budget and enacting a long-term deficit plan.
Americans are evenly divided between the deficit plan proposed by President Obama and the one drafted by House Budget Chairman Paul Ryan, and those surveyed put more trust in Republicans than Democrats to handle the federal budget and the economy.
Pessimistic about the economy and the nation’s course, they overwhelmingly blame too much spending for soaring federal deficits and want to rely more on spending cuts than tax hikes to get it under control.
“The bad news for the Democrats is that even after the Ryan budget comes out and has been attacked for a little while, the Republicans have an advantage,” says Joseph White, a political scientist at Case Western Reserve University who studies budget politics and policy.
Republicans have held their political base intact. When it comes to a plan to curb the deficit, Americans have qualms about Democrats:
•Nearly three-fourths of those surveyed, 71%, worry that the Democrats’ plan “won’t go far enough to fix the problem”; 62% fear they might use the deficit as an excuse to raise taxes.
•By more than 3-to-1, those surveyed say the deficit stems from too much spending, rather than too little tax revenue.
When it comes to solving the deficit problem, about half of Americans, 48%, want to do it entirely or mostly with spending cuts. Some 37% support an equal mix of spending cuts and tax increases; 11% prefer mostly tax hikes.
Republicans hold a 12-percentage-point edge over Democrats as the party better able to handle the budget, and a 5-point edge on the economy in general.
Meanwhile, the country is deeply discouraged about the future. A majority of Americans say today’s youth aren’t likely to have a better life than their parents, a judgment at odds with the traditional American dream — the first time since the question initially was asked nearly three decades ago that a majority has held that view."
thanks for the help, Barry
I think we're going to try something else now
Here’s some news you may not have heard: One year after the worst oil spill in history, the Gulf of Mexico is nearly back to normal.
That’s right: Armageddon didn’t happen. Instead of terrible harm to the biosphere, the Deepwater Horizon spill has caused only mild problems. In fact, because of the fishing bans imposed after the spill, there are more fish than ever. Shark and mackerel populations have exploded. “Red snapper are unbelievable right now,” one fisherman said. “You could put a rock on the end a string and they’d bite it.”
The economy is chugging along, too. The fear was that livelihoods and even entire communities were finished. But business is looking up – partly because of all the lawyers who flooded in to work on spill claims.
In fact, most scientists believe the Gulf is in surprisingly good shape. When three dozen of them were asked to rate the current health of the Gulf’s ecosystem on a 1-to-100 scale, they gave it an average grade of 68 – not bad, considering that, before the spill, they gave it a 71. “People are having a hard time accepting it. Me, too,” says Ed Overton, a chemist at Louisiana State University.
Carl Safina is a renowned marine ecologist whose new book, A Sea in Flames, is unsparing in its apportionment of blame for the disaster. He thinks our oil addiction will be the ruin of us because of global warming. But he also writes that the Deepwater Horizon spill didn’t do much environmental harm. After the well was capped, the oil slick quickly shrank. The chemical dispersants didn’t make the oil go away, but they speeded its natural decomposition. Photo oxidation and biodegradation – i.e., nature – did the rest. At the time, Tony Hayward, BP’s CEO, was reviled for saying that the amount of oil leaked was “tiny” compared with the “very big ocean.” But he turned out to be right.
Nor did the dispersants cause widespread marine deaths, as environmentalists had feared. This year, according to Kevin Anson, a biologist with the Alabama division of Marine Resources, the shrimp, crabs and fish appear to be developing normally. The only species really hurt was oysters. They were devastated, not by the oil, but by all the fresh water sent through the delta to keep the oil outside the marshes.
In light of the facts, it’s worth asking why we’re so determined to cling to the narrative of catastrophe. I think it’s because we saw the spill as a giant morality tale: evil versus good, rapacious oil interests versus the environment, greedy consumers (that’s us) versus oil-soaked pelicans and the unspoiled natural world. The visuals were devastating, and the coverage was relentless. The media took turns hyping the disaster. They had a lot invested in this storyline and, when it took an unexpected happy turn, they couldn’t handle it. They couldn’t even see it.
Luckily for us, they were wrong. “Nature’s resilience is truly magnificent,” writes Carl Safina. And that’s a good thing.
A rally to draw attention to anti-transgender violence turned surprisingly upbeat and almost jubilant on Monday night at a Maryland McDonald’s restaurant where Chrissy Lee Polis was beaten last week.
A crowd of about 300 spectators sang “We Shall Overcome,” as politicians and activists denounced the beating that captured national media attention after it was recorded by a restaurant employee and posted to YouTube.
The video shows two teenage women punching and kicking Polis in the head and body as she curled up on the restaurant floor. It has been viewed hundreds of thousands of times.
“The turnout tonight is wonderful, I’m so happy,” said Renee Carr, Polis’s mother, who attended the rally with family and neighbors, but without her daughter. “I didn’t think that McDonald’s was a dangerous place, all she wanted to do was eat and use the bathroom.”
In an interview with the Blade after the rally, Carr said she has always known her daughter was transgender and that she has supported her “100 percent.”
“I even carried her pocketbook on the way to the bus stop as a kid,” Carr said, adding that Polis is doing better but was unable to attend. Others at the rally said Polis was afraid to leave her house.
“I want to thank everyone personally who came tonight,” said Kathleen Hand, Polis’s grandmother, who also attended the rally, which was held in the McDonald’s parking lot in Rosedale, Md., where the beating took place. “Chrissy is doing great.”
Several politicians in the crowd expressed surprise and gratitude for the strong turnout.
“This is truly an LGBT moment,” said Mary Washington, a lesbian member of Maryland’s House of Delegates from Baltimore City. “Our allies are here as well. I see this moment lasting and we will resume the fight to pass HB 235.”
She was referring to a transgender non-discrimination bill that was killed by the Maryland Senate just a week prior to the beating.
Baltimore City Council member Carl Stokes echoed those impressed by the large turnout.
“I’m surprised at the turnout,” Stokes said, “it’s great that we have all come out in support of Chrissy and of peace over hate. This happens all too often and it’s important we push back against hate.”
"A rally to draw attention to anti-transgender violence turned surprisingly upbeat and almost jubilant on Monday night at a Maryland McDonald’s restaurant where Chrissy Lee Polis was beaten last week."
did anyone go to the afterparty?
I was wondering if any TTFers got bombed on milkshake shots.
ROCK ON!!
"Several politicians in the crowd expressed surprise and gratitude for the strong turnout."
what did you expect them to say?
they are polticians, and, if they were there, already supporters of the gay agenda
"“This is truly an LGBT moment,” said Mary Washington, a lesbian member of Maryland’s House of Delegates from Baltimore City. “Our allies are here as well. I see this moment lasting and we will resume the fight to pass HB 235.”
She was referring to a transgender non-discrimination bill that was killed by the Maryland Senate just a week prior to the beating."
did this moron explain what that bill had to do with this?
assault is already a crime and that didn't deter the attackers
why would making it more of a crime to assault gays deter anyone?
and that's not what the bill would do anyway
and there is already a law against transgender discrimination in Baltimore
btw, if the law passed, doesn't that mean straights would not be receiving equal protection under the law?
"Baltimore City Council member Carl Stokes echoed those impressed by the large turnout.
“I’m surprised at the turnout,” Stokes said, “it’s great that we have all come out in support of Chrissy and of peace over hate. This happens all too often and it’s important we push back against hate.”"
why isn't there a rally against hate every time someone is assaulted in Baltimore?
shouldn't we push back against hate when other people are assaulted too
I'm pretty sure those weren't love crimes
"SAN FRANCISCO -- The sponsors of California's same-sex marriage ban insist they are not trying to disqualify the federal judge who struck down Proposition 8 because he is gay.
Instead, they argue the judge's decade-long relationship with another man poses a potential conflict because they might want to get hitched themselves.
The sponsors of California's same-sex marriage ban say the recent disclosure by Judge Vaughn R. Walker that he is in a long-term relationship with another man has given them new grounds to appeal the ruling that struck down Proposition 8 last summer. Walker retired from the bench at the end of February.
At the center of the dispute is Chief U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker, who issued the ruling last August declaring Proposition 8 to be an unconstitutional violation of gay Californians' civil rights.
"We are not suggesting that a gay or lesbian judge could not sit on this case," attorneys for the backers of Proposition 8 wrote in their motion filed Monday to overturn the landmark ruling. "Simply stated, under governing California law, Chief Judge Walker currently cannot marry his partner, but his decision in this case ... would give him a right to do so."
They claim Walker should have disclosed the relationship while presiding over the case and said if he had any interest in marrying his partner.
The Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund, a political action committee and recruitment organization for gay politicians, said there are now 102 openly gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender judges in the U.S.
Only one, U.S. District Judge Deborah Batts in New York, serves at the federal level, although President Barack Obama has nominated two gay men for federal judgeships but they have not been confirmed.
Rumors that Walker was gay and had a long-term partner who accompanied him to social functions circulated during the 13-day trial that preceded his decision and after he handed it down. The judge declined to comment at the time.
Members of the Proposition 8 team openly complained about Walker's handling of the case and accused him of favoring the same-sex couples who had sued in his court for the right to marry. But they refrained from raising the specter of the judge's sexual orientation, saying media reports and gossip were an unsound basis for legal strategy.
"The bottom line is this case, from our perspective, is and always will be about the law and not about the judge who decides it," Jim Campbell, a lawyer with the Christian legal defense group Alliance Defense Fund, told The Associated Press in August.
That might have remained their position if Walker, who retired in late February after two decades on the federal bench, had not decided to end the speculation himself.
Earlier this month, Walker had a farewell meeting with a select group of courthouse reporters. When the topic came up, Walker said he never thought about recusing himself because he was gay and noted that no one had asked him to, according to the San Francisco Chronicle, which had a reporter at the gathering.
The judge also revealed that he'd been in a relationship with a man he identified only as a physician for a decade.
"If you thought a judge's sexuality, ethnicity, national origin (or) gender would prevent the judge from handling a case, that's a very slippery slope," Walker said. "I don't think it's relevant."
In the filing, they stated in a lengthy footnote that the burden for "maintaining impartiality and the appearance of impartiality" lies with judges, and that it was not the place of the lawyers to investigate Walker's private affairs."
Anon,
Re your Deep Water Horizon post, when you quote an article, it would be useful for the discussion to include a link. Here it is, from a Toronto newspaper: http://m.theglobeandmail.com/news/opinions/opinion/can-you-handle-the-truth/article1998171/comments/?service=mobile
This is good news. We don't know for sure the scope of the long-term damage (the short term was horrendous for the Gulf Coast and its economy), but these signs are certainly encouraging. But they should not be a reason for letting our guard down, just like the fact that the fairly small ecological/health impact of Three Mile Island was not a reason to let down our guard on safety at nuclear power plants.
But since you are so pleased with the article, could you comment on the Globe and Mail's description of one of the key sources for the article's theme? "Carl Safina is a renowned marine ecologist whose new book, A Sea in Flames, is unsparing in its apportionment of blame for the disaster. He thinks our oil addiction will be the ruin of us because of global warming."
With respect to the post on Judge Walker, I have the following observation:
One of the main premises of the attorneys who now assert a conflict is that same-sex marriage undermines opposite-sex marriage. So if they adhere to that position, a straight judge with a spouse or fiance (or, for that matter a single straight judge who hoped someday to find the love of his or her life and get marriend) would also have to be disqualified for having a potential conflict.
They apparently say that the simple fact of Judge Walker being gay was not a basis for a conflict. But based on the above, would the only straight judge who would not have a parallel conflict been one who was single and had no desire ever to marry?
"Re your Deep Water Horizon post, when you quote an article, it would be useful for the discussion to include a link."
just what I want
to be useful to TTFers
seriously, David, there's a word limit and that's the easiest thing to leave out
TTFers seem facile with search engines and I've never seen them not find a source when they want to
"We don't know for sure the scope of the long-term damage"
applies to many things in life
a year ago everyone was saying they did, which is the point of the article
"But they should not be a reason for letting our guard down, just like the fact that the fairly small ecological/health impact of Three Mile Island was not a reason to let down our guard on safety at nuclear power plants."
spoken like a true alarmist
let's base our conclusions on fears rather than facts
"But since you are so pleased with the article,"
I didn't realize my sheer delight had come through when I merely pasted a article without comment
I'm amazing
"could you comment on the Globe and Mail's description of one of the key sources for the article's theme? "Carl Safina is a renowned marine ecologist whose new book, A Sea in Flames, is unsparing in its apportionment of blame for the disaster. He thinks our oil addiction will be the ruin of us because of global warming.""
the point of quoting him in the article was to show that even the alarmists are conceding that the problem was overstated
anthropogenic global warming theory has been discredited worldwide by the data manipulations of East Anglia and IPCC
I could just imagine the howling here if sexuality studies that disporved the gay agenda were conducted that way
just last week, I read a prediction from the IPCC from about ten years ago about the millions who would be displaced by rising seas by 2010
didn't happen
the areas mentioned are actually booming
the response of IPCC: we never said that
it's a pattern
"With respect to the post on Judge Walker, I have the following observation:
One of the main premises of the attorneys who now assert a conflict is that same-sex marriage undermines opposite-sex marriage. So if they adhere to that position, a straight judge with a spouse or fiance (or, for that matter a single straight judge who hoped someday to find the love of his or her life and get marriend) would also have to be disqualified for having a potential conflict.
They apparently say that the simple fact of Judge Walker being gay was not a basis for a conflict. But based on the above, would the only straight judge who would not have a parallel conflict been one who was single and had no desire ever to marry?"
the effect wouldn't be direct and immediate
if Walker's ruling were to stand, he could immediately get "married"
if the law passed, doesn't that mean straights would not be receiving equal protection under the law?
No it doesn't because every person has a gender identity the law would protect. Also, it will still be illegal to discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation, whether straight or gay or in between -- that protection is already in Maryland's non-discrimination law.
sorry, but that's not reality
when advocates push these laws, the emphasis is always on the potential victimization of the minority
and in practice, the law shifts the benefit of every incident to the minority party
case in point: if a couple of gay teens beat up a straight patron of McD's, you'd never hear about it
regardless of the fact that Baltimore has a law prohibiting discrimination based on sexual preference
discrimination laws do, in fact, lead to unequal protection under the law
On Wednesday morning, the White House released President Barack Obama's long form birth certificate.
The document indicates that Obama was born in the state of Hawaii and thus is eligible to serve as president. The release comes in the wake of some raising skepticism over his place of birth.
Donald Trump reacted to the release of President Barack Obama's long-form birth certificate by the White House on Wednesday morning.
Speaking at a press conference in New Hampshire, the potential presidential contender said that he's "proud" in light of the disclosure. He added, however, "it is rather amazing that all of the sudden" the document surfaces. He suggested it should be inspected to ensure its authenticity.
In recent weeks, Trump has captured headlines and sparked controversy with his persistence in raising doubt over the president's birthplace.
"Today I'm very proud of myself, because I've accomplished something that no one else has been able to accomplish," said Trump on the release of the president's birth certificate, according to NBC News. "I want to look at it, but I hope it's true. ... But he should have done it a long time ago."
"I'll admit this: I did not know that Mitt Romney is refusing to produce his birth certificate until I read acolumn by Joan Vennochi in the Boston Globe blowing the lid off this important story. It turns out that we don't even know Mitt Romney's real name! And Romney's spokesman bobs and weaves like Muhammad Ali to avoid telling the truth and exposing this conspiracy! From Vennochi:
"His first name is "Willard,'' after the hotel magnate J. Willard Marriott, his father's best friend.
His middle name comes from his father's cousin, who played quarterback for the Chicago Bears from 1925 to 1929. That cousin's name was "Milton'' and his nickname was "Mitt'' -- a totally understandable preference for a football player or a presidential candidate. But what does the birth certificate belonging to the presidential candidate actually state?"
Four years ago, I asked Romney spokesman Eric Fehrnstrom to settle the matter.
"It's Willard Mitt Romney on the birth certificate,'' he replied, via e-mail.
Could I see it? I asked. "Sure. He was born in Detroit. City Hall should have it,'' he e-mailed back.
Birth records are restricted in Michigan and only a person or parent named on the record, or a legal guardian or representative can request a copy. "That shouldn't be a problem for an old reporter like you,'' Fehrnstrom responded. It was.
Long story short: Mitt Romney still has not produced a "certificate of live birth." And we know for a fact that as a young man he spent years living in a foreign country that looks down on America. A country that is intimately familiar with colonial thinking. I trust that the more than 1,000 people who posted comments on my story about Donald Trump and his "birther investigators,' and the 100 or so who senturgent emails, are vigilantly working to bring this Romney conspiracy to light, and I just haven't realized it."
http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2011/04/wheres-mitt-romneys-birth-certificate/237323/
Before and if the GOP nominates Romney, then absolutely he will need release his birth certificate. Until then, he doesn't need to, in my opinion.
4/25/11 Newsmax.com
"Billionaire real estate developer Donald Trump says he recently was told that President Barack Obama’s birth certificate is missing. While declining to reveal Monday to CNN’s Anderson Cooper how he received the information, Trump said Obama’s lack of a birth certificate would be a shame, since he would like to take the president on “one-on-one.”
“Well, I've been told very recently, Anderson, that the birth certificate is missing,” Trump said in an interview for “Anderson Cooper 360,” to be aired Monday night. “I’ve been told that it’s not there and it doesn’t exist — and if that’s the case it’s a big problem. I’ve just heard that two days ago from someone — I don’t want to say who.
“I’ve been told it’s not there — it’s missing."
Inquiring minds want to know who is this mysterious source the Donald trusted and paid to go to Hawaii to check out the the President's birth certificate but wrongly determined it is missing. Will this investigator be offered a seat in a Trump administration, or an ambassadorship overseas maybe?
It appears the Donald's money bought him some bad information from a source he trusted. Will the Donald continue to protect his trusted investigator from media inquiries about how the investigation led to such an incorrect conclusion?
What a "joke candidate" (h/t Karl Rove at http://www.mediaite.com/tv/karl-rove-birther-issue-turned-donald-trump-into-a-joke-candidate/) the Donald and his money are!
http://www.mediaite.com/tv/shep-smith-fox-news-can-confirm-the-president-of-the-u-s-is-a-citizen-of-the-u-s-period/
In all the blather over the "birther" issue, it seems that everyone has missed the legal fact that to be a "natural born citizen" of the United States, you have to be born in the United States or be born to an American parent overseas. That is why, I recall, there was no impediment to George Romney's run for the presidency in 1967.
For those of you too young to remember, Michigan Gov. George Romney (Mitt's dad) decided to run for president as a moderate (a true moderate) candidate in the Republican Party. He was actually born in Mexico, where his parents were then residing. (I have some vague recollection of hearing that they were on the run, escaping from anti-Mormon discrimination; but maybe they were missionaries. But the reason for their being in Mexico is irrelevant to my point.)
The consensus legal viewpoint, particularly pressed by Republicans, was that George Romney was a "natural born" American citizen because his mother was an American citizen. Since no one, no matter how batty, has suggested that Ann Dunham was not Barack's mother or that she was not really born in Kansas, the whole discussion about the Hawaii birth certificate has been even sillier than it has been played in the media. Even if college freshman Dunham had somehow left Hawaii right after her marriage and had given birth in Kenya, her son would still have been a natural born American citizen.
I haven't fully researched the law here, but if someone has legal authority to the contrary, please let me know.
"Inquiring minds want to know who is this mysterious source the Donald trusted and paid to go to Hawaii to check out the the President's birth certificate but wrongly determined it is missing."
maybe it was missing because they had the original in the White House private quarters
Now that he has been publicly embarrassed as a liar and a clown, what should be the Donald's next step?
1) Admit he never had any investigators in Hawaii who "can't believe" what they're discovering.
2) Admit he was wrong about learning that Obama's birth certificate was "missing" from Hawaiian records.
3) End his fake campaign in shame and disgrace.
4) Claim the birth certificate Obama presented today was forged or illegitimate in some other way.
5) Give himself praise and credit for causing Obama to release the document.
Did anyone doubt the Donald would do anything but cover up his naked spots with a really bad comb over?
Now that Obama has released his long form birth certificate, World Daily Net CEO Joseph Farah should do as he promised on President Obama's birthday, August 3, 2009, (http://www.wnd.com/?pageId=105840), namely "donate $10,000 to the birth hospital listed on the [President Obama's long form birth certificate] document." The Kapi‘olani Medical Center is waiting for the promised donation.
1) Admit he never had any investigators in Hawaii who "can't believe" what they're discovering.
***************
Here Trump may have been literally telling the truth. His investigators "can't believe" that they were discovering that Obama was, in fact, born in Hawaii -- since what they were being paid to find was evidence to the contrary.
I know that is not what Trump intended to convey, but literally........
if you guys think this whole incident will benefit Obama, you're crazy
still
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