ARIZONA: Attorney General Tom “Sanctity Of Marriage” Horne Exposed As Adulterer

Joe.My.God. reports:

Arizona Attorney General Tom Horne, one of the state’s most vocal opponents of same-sex partner rights, has been exposed (by the FBI, no less) as an adulterer. 

Tom Horne caused more than $1,000 worth of damage when he clipped another car in a parking garage and just drove off, in order, according to FBI agents, to conceal an affair he was having with his passenger. Phoenix police records obtained Tuesday include detailed witness accounts by FBI agents who were following Horne, Arizona’s attorney general, on March 27 as part of a campaign finance investigation. They said they watched him back his borrowed vehicle into a white Range Rover in the parking garage of a Phoenix residential complex. FBI agents said that after the fender-bender, Horne and the woman, since identified as Carmen Chenal, who works for Horne, walked off and entered the residential area of the complex where Chenal lives.

In August, Horne filed a lawsuit with the U.S. Supreme Court, demanding that Arizona be allowed to repeal domestic partners insurance for state employees. In his suit, Horne claimed that rescinding benefits for gay employees would be good for Arizona tourism because doing so “furthers the State’s interest in promoting marriage.” In addition to the investigation into Horne’s campaign finances, there are charges that the employee he’s been adulterously fucking was hired despite having no qualifications for the job.

Moron Of The Week: Arizona’s Gov. Jan Brewer

For keeping on the hating Arizona’s minorities, This time? The Gays, by asking the Supreme Court to hear a discrimination case involving benefits for State employee’s same-sex partners. Of course to strip them from their rights.

ARIZONA: Gov. Jan Brewer’s Anti-Gay Benefits Crusades Leads To Resignation

Towleroad reports:

Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer has stirred the pot once again by asking the Supreme Court to hear a discrimination case involving benefits for state employee’s same-sex partners. 

Former Gov. Janet Napolitano had previously signed an executive order allowing benefits for state and university workers, but Brewer, a Tea Party conservative, reversed that decision.
Two federal courts have said that withholding benefits violates the Constitution, so Brewer thinks the Supreme Court should get involved, as if it doesn’t have enough potential gay cases on its plate.
Besides, Lambda Legal says it’s too soon for SCOTUS to consider the matter.
Tara Borelli is a staff attorney with the Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund, which filed the lawsuit challenging the law on behalf of gay employees.
She said it is inappropriate for the high court to consider overturning the injunction because the underlying case has not yet gone to trial. Borelli pointed out that the state has not yet introduced evidence about the cost-savings associated with eliminating benefits to same-sex partners, even though “that has been one of their primary justifications.”
“This case is about equal pay for equal work,” she said. “And we now have multiple judges who have looked at the case and have said Arizona simply has no good reason to deny important compensation for state workers that others can take for granted. We think this is about a desire to treat lesbian and gay state workers unequally.”
Democratic State Rep. Matt Heinz, who is openly gay, blasted Brewer’s decision last week, saying, “Since (Senate Bill) 1070 largely failed, Governor Jan Brewer decided to shift her efforts to legalize bigotry from one population to another.” He’s not the only state official who took umbrage with Brewer’s overreach.

The Arizona Daily Sun reports that Edwin Leslie, a hotelier who Brewer appointed to a state tourism board, stepped down in protest. “Your actions … are in direct conflict with your reiteration that all Americans are entitled to the same ‘inalienable rights,’” he wrote in his resignation letter. He also said that her actions will hurt Arizona’s tourism industry. 

“The state of Arizona derives considerable revenues from tourism and considerable revenues from the LGBT community members that visit our great state,” wrote Leslie, who is openly gay. “The tourism industry is critical to the state’s economy. I urge you to put aside the politics.”
He went on: “It is my hope that one day the state of Arizona leads the nation in extending benefits to LGBT families, allowing same sex marriage and adoption, and show that everyone is welcome in Arizona.”
Brewer’s office said it is “regrettable” Leslie “has opted to politicize his [resignation] in this manner.” They also said Brewer’s quest isn’t about discrimination, but about reining in power Napalitano let run wild.
“[This] is about the authority of Arizona’s duly elected officials to make budget decisions for this state,” said the governor’s spokesman.

Via chrisgeidner:

Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer (R) is asking to go back to the Supreme Court.

In a July 2 filing noted on the Supreme Court docket, lawyers for the governor have asked the U.S. Supreme Court to reverse a September 2011 decision of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit that had the effect of keeping same-sex partners’ health-care benefits in place in the state.

After the 2011 decision, lawyers for the state asked the Ninth Circuit to re-hear the case en banc, or by an 11-judge panel. On April 3, the Ninth Circuit denied the request, starting the 90-day clock for the governor to file a petition for a writ of certiorari asking the Supreme Court to take the case. 

The Ninth Circuit ruling, which upheld a trial-court ruling, kept an Arizona law from going into effect that, as the appeals court held, “would have terminated eligibility for health-care benefits of state employees’ same-sex partners.”

Paula S. Bickett, the chief counsel for Civil Appeals in Arizona Attorney General’s Tom Horne (R)’s office, is the counsel of record for the Gov. Brewer. Lambda Legal is representing the plaintiff couples, who have until August 6 to submit their response to the governor’s petition.

The case, Brewer v. Diaz, is No. 12-23 on the Supreme Court docket.

In addition to this case, the Department of Justice on July 3 asked that multiple challenges to the federal definition of marriage contained in the Defense of Marriage Act be heard by the Supreme Court. Additionally, a filing to request Supreme Court review of the Ninth Circuit’s decision striking down California’s Proposition 8 also is expected in the coming months.

ARIZONA: Gov. Jan Brewer Signs Law That Declares That Life Begins Before Contraception (WFT?) 

Dan Savage reports:

Arizona’s Republican governor, Jan Brewer, just signed a law—pushed by Arizona’s Republican-packed legislature—that declares that life begins before conception:

• Life starts earliest in Arizona, which now defines gestational age as beginning on the first day of a woman’s last period, rather than at fertilization. In practice, that means the state has banned abortions after about 18 weeks (20 weeks from the last menstruation) except in the case of medical emergencies…. The stipulation likely to be most widely felt is what experts are calling an effective shutdown of medication abortions. These nonsurgical abortions are usually performed within the first nine weeks of pregnancy, and account for between 17 and 20 percent of all abortions, according to the Guttmacher Institute, a reproductive-rights advocacy group. While women often take the pills at clinics and in their homes, the bill now mandates that a medical provider must have hospital privileges within 30 miles of where the procedure takes place.

What was Ann Romney saying on my teevee yesterday? Something about how we need to respect the choices women make—something like that?
Maybe Ann could give Jan a call.

Moron Of The Week: AZ’s Sheriff Paul Babeu

For being a living contradiction and for believing that he could get away with secretly fucking around with his allegedly illegal Mexican immigrant boyfriend and be only the second most racist and extremely vocal anti-immigration activists, at the same time.

Karma is a bitch, right?

CNN: Ex-Boyfriend Of Arizona Sheriff Babeu Speaks Out

ARIZONA: Sheriff Paul Babeu’s Press Conference 

ARIZONA: Anti-Immigrant Sheriff Accused Of Threatening To Deport His Boyfriend

Joe.My.God. reports:

Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu is considered Arizona’s second-most virulently anti-immigrant law enforcement officer after Maricopa County’s infamous Sheriff Joe Arpaio. That’s why jaws are dropping over a claim that not only is Babeu gay, but that he once threatened to deport his Mexican boyfriend. That’s probably gonna cause a wee bit of trouble for Babeu’s run for Congress.

The Phoenix New Times reports:

The 34-year-old from central Mexico charges that the sheriff’s lawyer warned against mentioning the affair with Babeu. DeRose said gossip about Babeu would focus attention on Jose, attention that could result in his deportation, Jose says. Melissa Weiss-Riner, Jose’s attorney, confirms her client’s account. She says she spoke directly to the sheriff’s lawyer, DeRose, about the Babeu camp’s threats that Jose could be deported if he “revealed the relationship.” She says DeRose falsely claimed that Jose’s visa had expired. “Jose came to our firm because he felt he was being intimidated, and he was in fear for his life,” Weiss-Riner says. “He wanted his legal rights protected.”

It’s a long story complicated with confidentiality agreements, internet tomfoolery, and Babue’s alleged Adam4Adam profile. Read the entire article. You may recognize Paul Babue from his occasional appearances on Fox News and from his role in John McCain’s “Complete The Danged Fence” commercial.

UPDATE: Babeu has come out.

Arizona GOP congressional candidate Paul Babeu acknowledged Saturday he is gay but forcefully denied charges he threatened an ex-lover with deportation after their relationship soured. “All of the allegations are false except one, I am gay,” Babeu said. The nationally renown Pinal County Sheriff called a news conference to address the explosive story by The Phoenix New Times that he pressured a man only identified as “Jose” into signing an agreement to conceal their relationship or face deportation. The piece, posted late Friday, also includes text messages Babeu exchanged with the man and pictures he posted on online gay websites. Babeu repeatedly sidestepped questions about his personal life but acknowledged a relationship with the man in question. “What I do in my personal life and private life is my business,” he said.

After coming out, Babeu stepped down as Arizon co-chair of the Romney campaign, but says he will still pursue a seat in Congress. Have we had an open homocon in Congress yet?

RELATED: Joe Jervis reports that the openly gay politician that pretends to run for Gabriele Giffords’ House seat has a blurry past that could get in the way in his way to run for the US House of representatives:

Last month I blogged the news that openly gay Arizona state Rep. Matt Heinz (D) had announced his plan to run for the U.S. House seat vacated by Rep. Gabrielle Giffords. He may have some trouble coming, as buried in the Phoenix New Times expose’ of Sheriff Paul Babeu is a little tidbit that some voters may have a problem with.

Openly gay Tucson state Representative Matt Heinz was one of two Democratic lawmakers who broke ranks with the party in March 2011 and voted to give Babeu $5 million to combat border violence. Other lawmakers opposed the measure, in part, because Babeu’s county is at least 70 miles from the U.S.-Mexico border. The measure finally was pared down to $1.7 million and passed by the Legislature. About a week after Heinz’s nod to Babeu, the sheriff spent the night at Heinz’s home, text messages that Jose shared with New Times show. “I’m at Mat Heinz and his boyfriend for dinner & ice cream … we are going out to bar and … to their house. [Am] staying over,” Babeu texted to Jose at 1:04 a.m. last April 2.

We have no way of knowing what “staying over” actually means here, but you can bet that Babeu will be accused of fucking his way to that $1.7M grant. Would a heterosexual sheriff be allowed sleepover socialization with politicians who wield monetary influence over their agency? Of course he would. What a mess.

ARIZONA: Openly Gay State Rep Declares Candidacy For Giffords’ U.S. House Seat

Joe.My.God. reports:

“Moving forward I believe the best thing that we can do is to honor her strength, and conviction, and her leadership, by getting somebody, quickly, because we don’t have much time, into that seat who is going to carry forward in the tradition of moderate, bipartisan, common sense governance that she did so well for Southern Arizona.” - Openly gay Arizona state Rep. Matt Heinz, declaring his intent to run in the special election to replace Rep. Gabrielle Giffords.

If elected, Heinz would become the fifth openly gay member of the U.S. House. That number will change this fall with the retirement of Barney Frank and with Tammy Baldwin’s run for the Senate. Heinz says if Giffords’ district director wants to assume the remaining months of the current term, he’ll suspend his own campaign until November.

Catholic Lane’s (@catholiclane) Mary Kochan: “You Whiny Sniveling Atheist Are Pathetic!”

So, this whole rant from this lovely Catholic began when Freedom From Religion Foundation sued Arizona’s Governor Jan Brewer for having proclaimed a “Day of Praying”. So, the lovely Mary Kochan has a very moving message for us all:

Let’s get this straight.  The atheists are suing because they had to turn off the television to avoid the topic of religion or news announcements about the Day of Prayer.  They had to alter their conversation to avoid the topic of religion. This made them feel like “outsiders”.
Oh, boo hoo.
You whiny, sniveling, little, pusillanimous cowards.  You have the audacity to tell us Christians that we are “weak” and that our religion is a “crutch.”  You are supposed to be so “courageous”, venturing forth boldly into the existential mystery of being alone, facing with stoicism the nothingness that awaits you at death, priding yourself on your realism and self-reliance. You are a bunch of feeble fakers.
Yes, you are outsiders. Go start your own damn country.  This one was started by Christians, you puerile dimwits. It is Christians who established and largely Christians who fought and died to maintain the freedoms you enjoy. And Christians are still the majority. Apparently your vaulted belief system doesn’t equip you to handle being in the minority. That’s interesting, isn’t it? After all, this was and is a societal situation valiantly handled by millions and millions of Christians who suffered — and currently suffer — real oppression, violence, torture, economic deprivation, and cruel deaths.  But you have to go through turning off the TV once in a while and so your precious puny feelings are hurt. How delicate and frail your mental architecture is!
You are a pitiful joke. Trembling over the mere mention of God. Running like babies to court because of your brittle feelings. “Oh, but judge, but judge, I saw a cross and I just can’t stand it.”  “I heard someone say ‘Merry Christmas’ and it hurt my feelings.”  “I just can’t sleep knowing there is a manger scene at the courthouse.”  “The sight of the Ten Commandments makes me wet my pants.” Now we see how inadequate and feeble you really are. Rage, therapists say, is the flip side of helplessness. And so we see your rage against religion in the public square for what it is: a product of your own insubstantial internal resources. Go look at yourself in the mirror if you can bear the pathetic, contemptible sight of yourself. Our merest martyr shows you to be a wimp – fourteen-year-old Kizito of Uganda singing hymns while being burned alive. But you, you anemic, lily-livered worms – you quail at pushing the off button on the remote! Hah!

It’s kinda amusing to see how Christians are willing to play the Victim role along. It’s hard to imagine the kind of real oppression, violence, torture, economic depravation & cruel deaths (and I imagine Mary thinks it is all done by us atheist, right?). 

Now, I’d love that for once this loving Christians can bring themselves together and put things in perspective. They are now behaving like they way they see us and so much have criticized. Wanna see what’s actual brutality? Wanna see what can Bullying provoke? Have you ever stopped for a second and just reconsider how deep your hateful and bigoted words can cut? My guess is that you ain’t even interested to even try. But personally, I don’t give a fuck, cause until the USA and most of the Free World or Western Society keeps a separation between Church & State, we have the right to defend our views as much as you are of professing as many superstitious beliefs as you wish/need.

It’s funny how much Conservatives in America would protect the Second Amendment, but would totally twist the First Amendment by forgetting what their so praised Founding Father Thomas Jefferson wrote and meant.

USA: Gay Candidates Elected Across Nation

Joe.My.God. reports:

A small tidal wave of openly gay candidates have been swept into office today. In addition to those mentioned in earlier posts, here’s a recap of various contests.

New Jersey: First openly gay black GOP mayor in U.S. history.

North Carolina: First openly gay city council member for Charlotte.

Ohio: First openly gay city council member for Cincinnati.

Indiana: First openly gay city council member for Indianapolis.

Montana: Out lesbian city council member for Missoula.

Arizona: Daniel Hernandez, hero in Giffords shooting, elected to Tucson school board.

Arizona: Court Returns Partner Benefits To State Workers

Joe.My.God. reports:

In a slap to Gov. Jan Brewer, an appeals court Tuesday ordered Arizona to continue providing health care benefits to the same-sex partners of state employees.

Brewer, a conservative Republican, signed a bill in September 2009 that took away the benefits; former governor Janet Napolitano granted the benefits through an executive order. 

In their 13-page opinion, the three-member appeals panel in Phoenix said stripping the benefits would be counter to the constitutional right to equal protection. 

While Lambda Legal, which argued the case, hailed the decision, Brewer’s office was unsurprisingly displeased.

“In the governor’s opinion, this is a step in the wrong direction,” a Brewer spokeswoman told Reuters. 

At the order of then-Gov. Janet Napolitano, the State started to offer to domestic partners benefits in 2008.

Well, Brewer can suck it.

Tony Perkins Defends Arizona’s New Anti-Gay Adoption Regulations