Jeb Bush: States Should Determine Marriage Rights

Under the reasoning of likely GOP presidential candidate Jeb Bush, state bans on interracial marriage should still be valid.  Or at least that is the take away from his statements that states should be free to decide whether or not same sex couples should have the right to marry. As for the rights of citizens under the U.S. Constitution, Bush would simply brush those aside.  The position is akin to that of "states rights" advocates that long used that argument to support Jim Crow laws and other discriminatory state laws.  LGBTQ Nation has details.  Here are highlights:

As he considers running for president, former governor Jeb Bush is not offering supportive words about same-sex marriages coming to the state of Florida.

“It ought be a local decision. I mean, a state decision,” Bush told the Miami Herald on Sunday. “The state decided. The people of the state decided. But it’s been overturned by the courts, I guess.”

On Monday, Bush issued a follow-up statement, saying “We live in a democracy, and regardless of our disagreements, we have to respect the rule of law.”

He called for respect for those on both sides of the issue, including committed gay couples and “those of us who believe marriage is a sacrament and want to safeguard religious liberty.”

Bush’s comments are in line with past statements, but with same-sex marriage set to become legal in Florida on Tuesday, his remarks are sure to bring attention to his guarded approach to gay rights by both supporters and opponents of marriage equality.

As governor, he was against same-sex marriage but wasn’t publicly enthusiastic about the successful 2008 campaign to rewrite the Florida Constitution to define marriage as between a man and a woman.

Bush, who left office in 2007, said the change wasn’t needed, since state law already restricted marriage to heterosexual couples. Two years ago, he suggested in a PBS interview that gay parents could be held up as role models, even as he said “traditional marriage is what should be sanctioned” by the government.

 We truly do not need another Bush in the White House. Likewise, we don't need religion intertwined in the civil laws.

Arizona Super Bowl Host Committee Denounces Arizon Anti-Gay Bill

The furor over Arizona's "special rights for Christifascist" a/k/a the "turn the gays away" bill continues to grow and both of Arizona's U.S. Senators have called on Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer to veto the bill.  Similar bills have been introduced at the demand of Christofascist organizations and their political prostitutes in the Republican Party, but the uproar taking place in Arizona may make some of these states to rethink such legislation.   WTAR News looks at the controversy, including the denunciation of the bill made by the Arizona Super Bowl Host Committee.  Here are excerpts:

After the weekly media meeting for House Democrats at the capitol Monday, Democratic House Minority Leader Chad Campbell said Senate Bill 1062 could affect the 2015 Super Bowl in Glendale, Ariz.

"I think that the sports community is going to start looking at this and take a serious second look at whether or not they actually want to have the biggest sporting event in the world hosted in a state that is openly promoting, bigotry and discrimination," Campbell said, adding that bill really makes the state look bad.

Campbell went further, calling SB 1062 a "horrible bill."

"Both morally and economically it is a horrible bill," he said. "You're talking about really putting a sign on the front door of Arizona saying ‘We don't want a certain group of people here.'"

In a statement, the Arizona Super Bowl Host Committee said it does not support SB 1062.

We share the NFL's core values which embrace tolerance, diversity, inclusiveness and prohibit discrimination. In addition, a key part of the mission for the Arizona Super Bowl Host Committee is to promote the economic vitality of Arizona. On that matter we have heard loud and clear from our various stakeholders that adoption of this legislation would not only run contrary to that goal but deal a significant blow to the state's economic growth potential. We do not support this legislation. Instead, we look forward to continuing to promote the NFL's values while focusing on the economic momentum apparent in Arizona and capturing the positive worldwide attention associated with hosting Super Bowl XLIX.

Campbell compared SB 1062 to Arizona not recognizing Martin Luther King, Jr. Day back in the 1990s. 

"We have a history of the legislature passing bills that end up in court and then being tossed," he said. "Senate Bill 1070 is another great example of that."

SB 1062 would make it legal for a business to deny services on the basis of someone's sexual orientation. Gov. Jan Brewer has until the close of business Saturday to sign it into law or veto it.