Virginia Beach City Council Gun Vote Shows City is Not Ready for Prime Time

Gun rights extremist outside Virginia Beach City Council.

UPDATE:  Now per the Daily Press Hampton City Council is going to consider a similar resolution which has no legal impact and serves to show that some members of council are pandering political whores.  Most distressing is the fact that the three who initiated this resolution are people I thought had common sense and principles.

I lived in Virginia Beach for just shy of 20 years. The City of Virginia Beach is the most populous city in Virginia - although Fairfax County has a far larger population and it likes to claim that it is a sophisticated, first class city.  In voting to become a 2nd Amendment "sanctuary city," the Virginia Beach City Council demonstrated to the nation and the world that Virginia Beach is anything but a first class city and more akin to lunatic areas in Southwest Virginia.  To describe Virginia as "bush league" might in fact too flattering. Sadly, the city continues to be governed by a small town minded clique that continues to pander to right wing elements of its population.  I am saddened to note that Michael Berlucchi, the sole gay member of counsel voted for this batshitery.  The measure has not force of law and cannot override state law.  All this vote does is send a message that Virginia Beach is not a place that sane and reasonable people should want to visit.  It would have taken courage to stand up to gun extremist, and City Council proved devoid of courage.  The Virginian Pilot looks at the idiocy.  Here are excerpts:

Virginia Beach joined more than 100 localities in the state to affirm its commitment to the Second Amendment.

On Monday night, seven months after the mass shooting that left 12 dead and four more injured, the Virginia Beach City Council voted 6-4 in favor of becoming a Second Amendment Constitutional City. The council supported the symbolic message to encourage state lawmakers to not pass laws that some activists contend would infringe on the Constitution.

The council did not declare itself a gun sanctuary city, which is what gun rights activists sought. Gun sanctuaries direct law enforcement to ignore laws that put restrictions on the Second Amendment. Several council members said they did not want to direct officials to break the law.

Before the meeting even started, five council members — Bobby Dyer, Jim Wood, Rosemary Wilson, John Moss and Jessica Abbott — signed on to the resolution. Councilman Michael Berlucchi was the final vote to give it the boost to pass. Wood said the debate brought out the largest crowd he has seen in his more than 17 years on the City Council.

The council is expecting a big crowd again tomorrow when it will consider asking the General Assembly to allow cities the option to prohibit the public from carrying firearms in government buildings. The issue was deferred in June after the mayor said the council shouldn’t make decisions when the community is still grieving from the May 31 mass shooting. He feared acting quickly would cause polarization.

The mass shooting inspired Gov. Ralph Northam to call a special General Assembly session last summer. Republicans adjourned the session after 90 minutes without debating any gun control measures. Democrats captured both the House and Senate in November, so gun rights activists fear gun control measures could be enacted during the 2020 session.

Philip Van Cleave, the president of the pro-gun Virginia Citizens Defense League, accused Northam of declaring war on gun owners.

A few people, including Tommy Cerja, a 20-year-old Norfolk State University student, asked the council strike down the resolution. Cerja recalled how the city felt united after Something in The Water music festival in April. But then tragedy struck on May 31.

“Now we have a choice on how to respond,” the Virginia Beach resident said. “We can come together and heal as one or we can resort back to immoral political tactics by doubling down on guns and an irresponsible over commitment to the Second Amendment."

New Zealand To Ban Military-Style Semiautomatic Weapons

New Zealand's prime minister.

In a stunning display of what can happen when politicians are not bought and owned by the gun lobby, less than a week after it experienced a horrific mass shooting, New Zealand is moving to ban military-style semiautomatic weapons.  Meanwhile, in the USA where mass shootings are all too prevalent, Congress continues to fail to pass common sense gun control legislation.  While the Democrat controlled House of Representatives will try to change this sad reality, the political whores of the NRA and gun manufacturers in the Senate will likely kill any such legislation.  Huffington Post looks at the quick and dramatic action underway in New Zealand.  Here are article highlights (note the stiff fines and possible prison time for offenders):

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said Thursday that the country will ban military-style semiautomatic weapons in an announcement that comes just six days after shootings at two mosques in Christchurch killed 50 people.

“Every semiautomatic weapon used in the terrorist attack on Friday will be banned,” Ardern said at a news conference.

Ardern said Thursday that the shooter used two legally purchased semiautomatic rifles that were modified with high-capacity magazines, “turning them into military-style semiautomatic weapons.” A suspect in the massacre, a white supremacist extremist, has been arrested.

A day after the shootings, Ardern pledged to change New Zealand’s gun laws and said she would announce plans within 10 days.

The ban includes military-style assault rifles, high-capacity magazines and tools to modify firearms, and the arms “will be categorized as weapons with an E-class endorsement” until legislation formally passes, according to Ardern. Most people in New Zealand likely do not have a license for that class of firearm, meaning an owner of such weapons would be breaking the law with the new categorization. Once legislation on the ban passes, which is expected, possessing such firearms will result in a $4,000 fine or three years in prison.

The ban is also supported by the opposition party in New Zealand, according to its leader. Parliament is hoping to create a buyback scheme in which gun owners will be compensated for returning their weapons. Ardern said weapon sales “should now cease” and expects stores to return their firearms stock to suppliers.

Police Minister Stuart Nash said Thursday that “owning a firearm is a privilege and not a right in New Zealand.”  Nash also said the full ban will go into effect in three weeks and that anyone who applies to buy a gun during that period is wasting their time.

The prime minister said her Cabinet will meet Monday to consider more changes to gun laws, saying there are still loopholes.

How inspiring to see politicians who put the safety of the public first rather than lining their pockets with campaign donations from the gun lobby. 

4th Circuit Court Lifts Stay On Order Granting Transgender Student Restroom Rights

Locally, the political whores on the Gloucester County School Board who have sold their souls rather than offend the sensibilities of hate and fear filled Christofascists suffered another loss today as the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit Court lifted its stay on its order finding in favor of high school student Gavin Grimm that granted transgender students restroom rights consistent with the Department of Education's reading of Title IX.   The stay had gone into effect when the Christofascists puppets on the school board filed a motion indicating the board's intent to appeal the 4th Circuit's ruling to the United States Supreme Court - which is likely to refuse the appeal if the Court remains split 4-4.  Of course, if the petition languishes and if Hillary Clinton wins the White House (and better yet, the Democrats retake control of the U. S. Senate) a nationwide ruling in favor of transgender rights might be in the future.  Blogger friend Joe Jervis reports on this development as follows:

A three-judge panel from the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals just denied the stay motion filed Wednesday by Virginia’s Gloucester County School Board, which seeks to thwart the federal mandate on transgender student rights. That filing two days ago had triggered an automatic stay on the pro-trans April order while the Court considered their demand. The vote today was 2-1. Equality Case Files has today’s ruling. The Fourth Circuit Court has jurisdiction over Virginia, West Virginia, South Carolina, and (hello) North Carolina.

The summary lifting of the stay - which means Gloucester County - and North Carolina - must comply absent a stay issued by the Supreme Court reads as follows:

Click image to enlarge

I only wish the School Board members would be required to pay all of the county's legal costs - and those of Grimm - out of their personal pockets.  

Gloucester County School Board Will Squander Money and Seek Rehearing En Banc

Transphobic, cowardly Gloucester County School Board

Rather that put the fiscal interests of Gloucester County taxpayers first and foremost, the Gloucester County School Board has opted to seek to appease a minority of religious extremists and file a petition for a rehearing en banc in the Gavin Grimm case - i.e., by the full 4th Circuit Court of Appeals.  Sadly, the move is not surprising given the general backwardness and knuckle dragging aspects of that county.  One can only hope that the petition is refused or that the en banc panel slams the school board's unconstitutional policy.  The Daily Press looks at this wrongheaded decision.  Here are highlights:

The Gloucester County School Board filed a petition Tuesday for a full 4th Circuit Court of Appeals review of the ruling issued last month in the lawsuit filed by a 16-year-old transgender student.

In April, a panel of three judges ruled in favor of Gavin Grimm who is challenging a bathroom use policy imposed by the School Board that requires transgender students to use either a private bathroom or the restrooms assigned to their birth gender. Grimm was born female but identifies as a boy.

In a lawsuit filed last June, Grimm said the high school is violating Title IX and the Constitution by refusing him access to the boys' restroom.

The en banc review the School Board seeks would be a rehearing of the case by all nine judges on the appeals court. The three-judge panel voted 2-1, in Grimm's favor, to send the case back to a federal judge in Norfolk. Federal Judge Robert Doumar refused to issue a preliminary injunction that would have required the schools to let Grimm use the boys' restrooms while his discrimination lawsuit proceeds.

If readers want more information on these transphobic cowards, go here.

Ted Cruz and Mike Huckabee Whore Themselves to Kim Davis Followers

Money grubbing whores

If one wants to the degradation that has overcome the Republican Party, look no farther than Mike Huckabee - a snake oil peddling pastor who wants to put the Bible over the Constitution - and foreign born Ted Cruz.  Yesterday at a rally for four times married Kim Davis, there were few limits to how low either man would stoop to pander to the ugliest and most ignorant elements of the GOP base.  It was a frightening spectacle to behold in terms of the ignorance and bigotry that defined the crowd.  Perhaps the only humors part was when a Huckabee staffer blocked Cruz from sharing the stage with Huckabee who did everything but wear a sign that proclaimed that he is lower than a tawdry whore.   A piece in Salon looks at the spectacle and the goal of Huckabee and Cruz, each of whom are desperate to capture the knuckle dragging, Bible beating GOP primary voters.  Or are they?  Is it instead all about money and staying in demand on the wingnut speaking circuit?  Here are column excerpts: 

The best part of Kim Davis’s release from jail on Tuesday was how, well, campy it all seemed.

The entrance to “Eye of the Tiger.” The almost comical ecstasy of Davis’s skyward pose. In another light, it might have been a “Flashdance” outtake.

Is Mike Huckabee a “Flashdance” fan? Somehow it doesn’t seem to jibe with his whole deal. But there he was, right next to Davis, holding her hand, grooving on the rapturous reception. And why not? Huckabee had worked hard to get to that prime position. Had it not been for a crafty aide, he might have had to share the stage with Ted Cruz, his rival for the Republican presidential nomination. Luckily, the aide physically blocked Cruz from reaching Davis in time to join the fun.

[T]he cause that Kim Davis is fighting for is a doomed one. Her deputies have pledged to defy her if she continues to insist that they refuse to issue marriage licenses to gay couples. Nearly every single demographic group is becoming more comfortable with gay marriage, including young evangelicals. In their desperation to claim a piece of Davis’s fleeting celebrity, Huckabee and Cruz looked like nothing so much as the Japanese soldiers who refused to surrender after World War II had ended.

[B]oth of them are dyed-in-the-wool Christian conservative homophobes who don’t believe in equal rights for LGBT people. Fair enough. But Huckabee and Cruz are supposedly running for president as well, which means that they’re ostensibly trying to appeal to a somewhat broader section of the electorate than the dwindling numbers who are cheering on Kim Davis.

Here’s the thing, though: Neither man is actually running for president—not seriously, anyway.

Huckabee has long since stopped trying to become president; we’re talking about a man who declined to run in 2012 so that he could keep hosting a weekend show on Fox News. He’s the perfect symbol of the way in which the Republican primary has come to resemble a giant sack with a dollar sign painted on it. It doesn’t matter to Huckabee if he loses; what matters is that he keeps his name in the conversation so that he can maintain his extracurricular business activities. . . . There’s more money to be made pandering to the edges of the evangelical fringe.

Cruz actually has a day job, so he’s not as thirsty for cash. But he’s still targeting the same fanatical followers as Huckabee. Since he first stepped on the national stage, Cruz has made a career out of cheerfully destroying the Republican party from within. His fellow GOP senators loathe him to no end, but he’s already decided that they’re a constituency he doesn’t need to worry about. The run for the presidency is just his way of cementing his place at the top of the far-right food chain.

Luckily, none of this will matter too much in the long run. The Japanese soldiers eventually had to concede that they’d lost the war, and Huckabee, Cruz and even Kim Davis herself face the exact same fate.

A cynical analysis?  Perhaps.  But I suspect it is 100% on target.

Calls for Investigation Increase Over Bribes Accepted by Senator Puckett

Phillip "I'm a Sleazy Whore" Puckett

Usually it is the Republicans who sell themselves out as if they were cheap tawdry whores to the highest bidder.  Sadly, Virginia State Senator Phillip P. Puckett (D-Russell) has proved that the Republicans do not have a monopoly on those  who are sleazy whores and willing to sell their souls and morality for the right price.  Of course, Puckett prostituted himself in exchange for a six figure job and a judgeship for his daughter promised by Republicans. It goes without saying that Puckett needs to be investigated for accepting bribes.  As for his daughter, if she accepts an appointment engineered by the GOP controlled House of Delegates she will have provided prima facie evidence that she is unfit for judicial office.  Adding to the irony is the fact that one of the engineers of Puckett's self-prostitution is Terry Kilgore, brother of closeted failed gubernatorial candidate Jerry Kilgore (Kilgore set mu gaydar off even more than Ralph Reed).  Here are highlights from the Washington Post (per statements made on Rachel Maddow's show, the FBI may be about to investigate the apparent bribery):

Republicans appear to have outmaneuvered Gov. Terry McAuliffe in a state budget standoff by persuading a Democratic senator to resign his seat, at least temporarily giving the GOP control of the chamber and possibly dooming the governor’s push to expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act.

Sen. Phillip P. Puckett (D-Russell) will announce his resignation Monday, effective immediately, paving the way to appoint his daughter to a judgeship and Puckett to the job of deputy director of the state tobacco commission, three people familiar with the plan said Sunday. They spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter.
 
The news prompted outrage among Democrats — and accusations that Republicans were trying to buy the Senate with job offers in order to thwart McAuliffe’s proposal to expand health coverage to 400,000 low-income Virginians.

Del. Scott A. Surovell (D-Fairfax) said Republicans were unable to win the policy argument about Medicaid expansion, so they have resorted to other means.

In a statement, McAuliffe (D) acknowledged that Puckett’s resignation had created “uncertainty” for his plan to expand the federal-state health program for the poor to 400,000 uninsured Virginians. But he contended that he still had a majority of the Senate on his side.

Del. Terry G. Kilgore (R-Scott), chairman of the commission, confirmed that its executive committee is expected to meet and consider appointing him, perhaps this week.

Kilgore disputed the notion that Puckett was resigning in exchange for the tobacco commission job, but he said the resignation made Puckett available to take the position, which involves awarding economic development grants funded by the national tobacco litigation settlement. Puckett’s salary would be determined by the commission, Kilgore said.

Puckett’s exit does not immediately sink McAuliffe’s chances in the Senate because three moderate Republicans in that chamber support expansion. But some of McAuliffe’s Senate allies have recently signaled their discomfort with the idea of letting the Medicaid push trigger a government shutdown.

And the resignation will come as two prominent Democrats are out of Virginia. Saslaw is in California visiting his newborn grandchild. Sen. Janet D. Howell (D-Fairfax) is leaving on Thursday on a trip to South Africa that is expected to last through June 24. But she said she will return earlier if she is needed.

A pox on Puckett and his daughter.  I truly hoe a corruption investigation ensues and that BOTH their careers end up going down the proverbial toilet.

GOP Senator Introduces Bill to Legalize Anti-Gay Discrimination

The lengths that Republican elected officials will go to in order to pander to the Christofascists who demand special rights over other citizens is at times shocking.  How else to describe Republican Senator Mike Lee's introduction of a bill offering a religious “license to discriminate” against gay people and same-sex marriage.  The bill is disingenuously called “Marriage and Religious Freedom Act” and instead of guarantying religious freedom for all, it provides special rights for far right Christians who want to exempt themselves from public accommodation laws and other non-discrimination laws.  As I have said before, NO ONE is as selfish and self-centered as the "godly folk," many of whom would have made dutiful Nazis had they lived in 1930's and 1040's Germany given their utter disregard for the humanity of others.   As for Lee, one has to wonder why he simply doesn't have "I'm a whore" or "I'm a liar" tattooed across his forehead.  It is also telling that a veritable who's who of anti-gay hate groups has endorsed the bill.   The New Civil Rights Movement looks at this very troubling bill.  Here are excerpts: 

Republican Senator Mike Lee of Utah has just introduced legislation offering a religious “license to discriminate” against gay people and same-sex marriage. The so-called “Marriage and Religious Freedom Act” is a direct response to the Supreme Court striking down Section 3 of DOMA, a direct challenge to recent news the IRS may tighten rules governing non-profits, and a direct response to Lee’s suggestion that the President will issue an executive order that would force churches, religious institutions, and non-profits to recognize or even consecrate same-sex marriages.

The legislation would make it legal for any individual, business, and any religious institution to discriminate against a person who is LGBT, who is in a same-sex marriage, or even any person who engages in pre-marital sex.

“This bill protects the rights of individuals and organizations from religious discrimination by the federal government,” Lee said in a statement. “Those who believe in the traditional definition of marriage deserve respect and tolerance.  It is critical that we clarify the law to ensure that their fundamental civil liberties are not at risk.”

Ironically, Lee has signed on as an original co-sponsor Louisiana Senator David Vitter, whose involvement with a D.C. prostitution ring is legendary.

Also on board are Senators Tom Coburn (R-OK), Orrin Hatch (R-UT), Jim Inhofe (R-OK), Pat Roberts (R-KS), and, of course, Marco Rubio (R-FL).

Think Progress notes “the implications for this legislation are numerous, but could allow businesses to discriminate against employees with a same-sex spouse, government officials to discriminate against same-sex couples filing their taxes jointly, or religiously affiliated hospitals discriminating against patients with same-sex spouses.”

Senator Lee’s website notes his “’Marriage and Religious Freedom Act’ has been endorsed by the United States Conference Of Catholic Bishops, Family Research Council, National Organization For Marriage, Heritage Action, Concerned Women For America, The Ethics And Religious Liberty Commission Of The Southern Baptist Convention, and Liberty Counsel Action.”

National Organization for Marriage Implies Being Gay Is Incompatible with Being Americanble

For those who have followed the National Organization for Marriage's  ("NOM")always disingenuous claims that the organization's sole concern is to "protect marriage," learning that NOM is now alleging that being gay is incompatible with being a patriotic American  will come as no surprise.  NOM's true agenda has ALWAYS been to denigrate gay citizens and depict us as being "other" and/or a threat to normal society.  Metro Weekly looks at NOM's latest foul anti-gay propaganda campaign which is merely an extension of its campaign to depict us a should be pedophiles and much worse.  Here are excerpts:

 

In a fundraising email sent late Wednesday hours before 4th of July celebrations kick off across the nation, the National Organization for Marriage (NOM) implied being an American and being LGBT or pro-LGBT are incompatible.

"We're a republic founded on the principles of religious liberty, freedom and democracy, endowed by our Creator with inalienable rights. We're a nation where citizen rights come from God, not from government, and where the people are sovereign, not politicians or judges," NOM President Brian Brown wrote in an email to supporters. "But those principles are under siege, by the culture, by our federal government and, increasingly, by the US Supreme Court."

Attached to Brown's email was a simple image of an American flag juxtaposed next to an LGBT Pride flag with the caption, "Which Banner Will You Choose?" -- seemingly implying that a choice must be made between being an American and being LGBT or pro-LGBT.

NOM's fundraising email comes one week after another set of losses for the organization, when, on June 26, the Supreme Court ruled in two cases to strike down Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act and return marriage equality to California.

"If we do not fight back against these governmental attacks on our fundamental right to act in the public square in support of the truth of marriage as God created it, then none of our cherished liberties and rights are safe," Brown wrote.

Calls to NOM's offices for comment on the implication that being American and LGBT are mutually exclusive[were not returned].

NOM. Brian Brown, Maggie Gallagher and NOM's financiers in the Vatican and the Knights of Columbus are despicable.