Same Sex Foes Stick Together | Political Corruption Easy Like Sunday Morn | Justice Willett Defends Tweets
November 16, 2017
WE'RE ALL IN THIS TOGETHER
|Richard Wolf with USA Today notes that when the Colorado “cake artist” brings his case to the Supreme Court next month, he’ll be joined by a close community of same-sex marriage foes. Wolf writes, “Over the past five years, they have suffered a nearly unbroken string of defeats at the hands of human rights commissions and local, state and federal courts. Again and again, authorities have ruled that merchants offering goods and services to the public must serve all comers. The losses have driven some same-sex marriage opponents out of business and cost others their standard of living and peace of mind. Their stories find little sympathy from the gay rights movement, whose leaders say the solution is simple: stop discriminating.”
EASY PEASY LEMON SQUEEZY
|The Supreme Court made it much easier for politicians to get away with corruption, and Zephyr Teachout with Vox is taking a look at how that plays into the case of SENATOR BOB MENENDEZ. “I do have a view, however, that the Supreme Court has been playing a shell game with corruption laws. It has stripped anti-corruption legislation of its power in two areas: campaign finance laws and anti-bribery laws. The public is left with few recourses against a growing threat of corruption. Whatever happens with this particular case, this is no way to do corruption law.”
TOP-ED
|For USA Today, Melinda Henneberger opines that the upcoming case out of California involving crisis pregnancy centers could promote free speech on both sides. She suggests, “Both sides in the debate argue that the other should do more to trust women. And maybe the decision in this case will help both sides follow their own advice.”
THE TWEETER LAUREATE OF TEXAS
|Yesterday at his confirmation hearing before the United States Senate Judiciary Committee, Texas Supreme Court JUSTICE DON WILLETT defended his past tweets about transgender people and same-sex marriage as mere jokes. Justice Willett has been nominated by PRESIDENT TRUMP to serve on the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals.
OTHER NEWS
Possible Gorsuch Recusal Complicates SCOTUS Review of SEC Judges
The National Law Journal“The U.S. Supreme Court’s handling of key cases challenging the constitutional status of SEC administrative law judges may hinge on the possibility that Justice Neil Gorsuch will recuse in one of the cases.”
Small Business Owners Say That Discrimination Against Queer People Is Bad For Business
Forbes“Fifty-percent of small business owners don’t agree that businesses or business owners should be able to deny goods or services to customers based on freedom of speech; over a third (34%) feel strongly so. Alternatively, more than a third (34%) of small business owners believe that businesses or business owners should be able to deny goods or services to customers based on their right to free speech, with 16% strongly in favor of businesses or business owners being able to deny goods or services to customers on these grounds.”