Tag Archives: Montana

BREAKING: Montana! Montana! Montana!

Read the ruling. The Court hereby DECLARES that Montana’s laws that ban same-sex marriage, including Article XIII, section 7 of the Montana Constitution, and Montana Code Annotated section 40-1-103 and section 40-1-401, violate Plaintiffs’ rights to equal protection of the laws as guaranteed by the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. The Court PERMANENTLY …

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MONTANA: Federal Judge Cancels Gay Marriage Hearing, Will Likely Rule Shortly

Via the Bozeman Daily Chronicle: A U.S. District Court judge has vacated a hearing in a lawsuit filed by four couples who seek to overturn Montana’s ban on same-sex marriage. Judge Brian Morris had originally set a hearing for federal court in Great Falls on Thursday, Nov. 20, after the plaintiffs’ lawyers filed a motion for summary judgement in their …

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MONTANA: AG Tim Fox Fights On

Montana Attorney General Tim Fox is continuing to defend his state’s ban on same-sex marriage with a response brief that compares gay nuptials to incest and polygamy. The brief also makes the usual blah-blah procreation argument, but primarily focuses on the level of scrutiny issue. Dig into the full brief at Equality Case Files.

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MONTANA: Republican Steve Daines Wins Seat Held by Retiring Sen. John Walsh

Walsh was appointed to replace Democratic Sen. Max Baucus, who retired earlier this year before the end of his term. Walsh then dropped out of the race after plagiarism charges resulted in the revocation of his master’s degree. State Rep. Amanda Curtis was then chosen to run in Walsh’s place. Another Senate pickup for the GOP.

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Editorial Of The Day

From Montana’s Great Falls Tribune: One after another, federal appeals courts, including the 9th Circuit that covers Montana, have thrown out gay marriage bans in other states, and Montana’s position will be overturned. Why? Because that stance discriminates against gays, lesbians and others. It is unfair to these folks, regardless of some Americans who disapprove of their sexual orientation. The …

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Matt Baume: Marriage News Watch

Clip recap: “The number of states with marriage has gone up yet again this week. Only a handful of states are still trying to defend their marriage bans, and they’re quickly running out of ways to delay their inevitable loss. A straight couple in Kansas has filed a new anti-gay lawsuit, and it’s nuts. A federal judge just ruled against …

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MONTANA: Court Sets November 20th Date For Immediate Marriage Hearing

Montana and South Carolina are fighting to be the last state to fall after the huge victories of two weeks ago.

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Tweet Of The Day – Evan Wolfson

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MONTANA: ACLU Files For Summary Judgment In Marriage Equality Case

Via ACLU Montana: In one of the last remaining steps for Montana to become a marriage equality state, the ACLU of Montana today filed a motion for the U.S. District Court of Montana to rule in favor of four same-sex couples suing for marriage. “We don’t think there are any material facts in dispute, and so the case can be …

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MONTANA: Anti-Gays Sue To Overturn Non-Discrimination Ordinance In Bozeman

Earlier this month the mayor of Billings, Montana cast the deciding vote to reject a proposed LGBT non-discrimination ordinance. Buoyed by that victory, haters are pointing their horns at a similar bill that was passed in Bozeman just a few weeks ago. The complaint filed by attorney Michael San Souci in District Court this week asks the court to declare …

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Perkins Cheers Defeat Of Billings Bill

“It was well after 3:00 a.m., but to people in Billings, Montana, it was never too late to stand up to the forces of political correctness. Thanks to Mayor Tom Hanel, that’s exactly what the largest city in the state did — beating back a dangerous bathroom bill that would have literally opened the doors of Billings’s public showers, locker …

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MONTANA: Local Haters Celebrate Rejection Of LGBT Rights Bill In Billings

“We are so thankful for your faithful prayers and your unwavering support to defeat this ordinance. Please consider sending a quick email to the council members and Mayor Hanel, who voted against the ordinance, thanking them for standing strong in the face of much adversity.” – The Montana Family Foundation, who will host Fox News reporter Todd Starnes at its …

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MONTANA: GOP Billings Mayor Casts Deciding Vote Against LGBT Rights Bill

Via the Billings Gazette: Saying he doesn’t believe Billings is ready for a nondiscrimination ordinance, Mayor Tom Hanel cast the decisive vote just past 3 a.m. Tuesday to defeat the long-debated measure. Hanel said he applied a standard from Rotary International to help him reach his decision: “I needed to ask myself, is this fair to everyone, beneficial to everyone? …

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Editorial Of The Day

From the editorial board of Montana’s Billings Gazette: Is it OK for a good worker to be fired because her employer learned she is lesbian? Is it right for a landlord to refuse to rent to otherwise qualified tenants because they are gay? Should local businesses be allowed to refuse service to people because they appear to be transgender? The …

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MONTANA: GOP State AG Asks Federal Court To Uphold Same-Sex Marriage Ban

GOP Montana Attorney General Tim Fox has asked a federal court to uphold his state’s ban on same-sex marriage because it does not discriminate against gay people. Fox, in documents filed in federal court in Great Falls, denied all the allegations brought by the four gay couples who filed the lawsuit in May. The move was not unexpected, as Fox …

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Matt Baume: Marriage News Watch

Clip recap: “More than sixteen and a half million Americans gained marriage equality last week, with decisive victories in Oregon and Pennsylvania. We have brand new lawsuits in the last few states that needed one. And the National Organization for Marriage has suffered even more losses this week.”

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MONTANA: First Marriage Suit Filed, Dem Gov. Steve Bullock Welcomes Action

Via the Associated Press: Four gay couples are suing Montana over its constitutional ban on same-sex marriage. That leaves North Dakota and South Dakota as the only two states with gay marriage bans and no lawsuits seeking to overturn them. The Montana lawsuit was being filed Wednesday in federal court in Great Falls, with help from the Montana ACLU. It …

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Four States Left

Via Good As You.

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MONTANA: Catholic Diocese Files For Bankruptcy Over Sex Abuse Suits

Montana’s Roman Catholic Diocese of Helena yesterday filed for bankruptcy protection as it settles molestation lawsuits filed on behalf of hundreds of children. “The settlement here will be as much help financially as we can offer to claimants,” the spokesman, Dan Bartleson, told NBCNews.com. “And the bankruptcy puts us in a place at the diocese where we can care for …

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Antonin Scalia: The Courts Should Not Invent New Minorities With Special Rights

Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia blathered his usual crapola before a room packed with wingnuts in Montana yesterday. “It’s not up to the courts to invent new minorities that get special protections,” Scalia said to the audience at a Federalist Society event in Bozeman, Mt., presumably talking about the Court’s recent rulings on marriage equality. When the Court ruled against …

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