How Alabama politics are motivating a legal showdown over gay marriage
PBS News Hour – Jan. 9
In 2006, Alabama voters overwhelmingly passed a ban on gay marriage. Last month a federal court lifted that law, but the state’s supreme court chief justice ordered judges to ignore the ruling. The U.S. Supreme Court has refused an appeal to uphold the ban, allowing same-sex unions and setting up a legal showdown over state rights. Judy Woodruff talks to Joseph Smith of the University of Alabama.
NPR, Morning Edition – Jan. 9
WVUA (Tuscaloosa) – Jan. 9
Alabama gay marriages allowed after Supreme Court order
CNN.com – Feb. 9
Gay marriage is moving forward in the heart of the South on Monday after the Supreme Court denied a request from Alabama for a delay. The Supreme Court’s move makes Alabama the 37th state to allow gay marriage. It comes ahead of a decision expected later this year that could expand marriage rights to gay couples across the country. ” … Ronald Krotoszyniski, a professor at the University of Alabama School of Law, said that if a probate judge were to refuse to grant a license, the couple seeking to marry could go to federal court to seek enforcement of the district court order. “I think the federal court would respond favorably to the request and issue an injunction requiring the probate judge to respect the district court order. My guess, is that the probate judge would be subject to fines,” he said.
NBC 13 (Birmingham) – Feb. 9
NBC 3 (Sacramento, Calif.) – Feb. 9
Tri-State Homepage (Henderson, Ken.) – Feb. 9
Alabama judge’s objections to gay marriage raise echoes of 1960s race issue
Seattle Times (Wash.) – Feb. 9
Alabama’s chief justice built his career on defiance: In 2003, Roy Moore was removed from the bench for defying a federal court order to remove a boulder-size Ten Commandments monument from the state courthouse. On Monday, as Alabama became the 37th state where gays can legally wed, Moore took a defiant stand again, employing the kind of states’-rights language used during the Civil War and again during the civil-rights movement. He argued that a federal judge’s Jan. 23 ruling striking down the Bible Belt state’s gay-marriage ban was an illegal intrusion on Alabama’s sovereignty. And he demanded the state’s probate judges not issue any marriage licenses to same-sex couples … “My guess is, that is actually the way Roy Moore sincerely understands the federal-state relationship,” said Joseph Smith, a judicial politics expert at the University of Alabama. “He’s also an elected politician, and he knows who his constituency is.” Despite Moore’s protests, some analysts see parallels between his arguments now and those Wallace advanced in his own time. “It’s a very similar strain of ideology: the states’ rights, resisting the national tide, resisting liberal movements in policy,” Smith said.
U.S. Government starts “It’s on Us” Sexual Assault Campaign
WVUA (Tuscaloosa) – Feb. 9
The “It’s on Us” campaign has gone viral. This campaign urges people to take a pledge not to be a bystander to sexual assault. The director of the Domestic Violence Law Clinic at The University of Alabama, Tonya Cooper, says it can be difficult for victims to come forward.
Lullaby concert to be held Thursday at University of Alabama
Tuscaloosa News – Feb. 10
The University of Alabama’s Child Development Resources will host a lullaby concert from 5 to 6:30 p.m. Thursday. The free community event is designed for parents and children, newborns to 5-year-olds, to enjoy music and reading together. Entertainment will include the Stillman College Choir, a musical petting zoo, a planetarium, clarinet trio, violinist, guitarist and special guest readers. Families will also receive a free children’s book. Child Development Resources is at the Child Development Research Center, 651 Fifth Ave. E on the UA campus. For more information, contact Kristy Brown, the Child Development Resources’ training coordinator, at 348-4280 or kbrown@ches.ua.edu.
VIDEO: University of Alabama student dancers perform during dress rehearsal
Tuscaloosa News – Feb. 9
University of Alabama student dancers performed Giselle, Act II , during a dress rehearsal of the Alabama Repertory Dance Theatre on Sunday. Giselle was originally choreographed by Jules Perrot and Jean Coralli, but this performance is staged by Alabama’s Qianping Guo, with costume design by Molly Akin. The show runs Feb. 10-12 at 7:30 p.m., Feb. 13 at 5:30 p.m. and Feb. 14 at 2 p.m. in Morgan Hall on the University of Alabama’s campus. Tickets are $20 for Adults, $17 for UA Faculty/Staff/Seniors, $14 for UA Students/Children.
Bragg to speak on travel
Tuscaloosa News – Feb. 10
Pulitzer Prize-winning author and UA professor Rick Bragg will share his stories of his writing and travels from Miami to the Middle East at a lecture hosted by Alpine Living. The lecture will serve as the student-run travel magazine’s biggest fundraiser. “Professor Bragg has been so gracious to offer his time again for Alpine Living’s benefit,” said Anna Rae Gwarjanski, managing editor at Alpine Living. Bragg’s lecture will likely cover a broad range of topics related to writing and travel. “He is incredibly well-traveled and his storytelling abilities are second to none,” Gwarjanski said. “When I first heard him speak two years ago as a fundraiser for Alpine Living’s Spain edition, I was spellbound. I took notes, not for class, but because I didn’t want to forget any of the stories he told.”
Colleague of new HHS head tapped as Nebraska’s Medicaid director
Lincoln Journal-Star (Neb.) – Feb. 9
A second Louisiana official has been tapped for a top job in the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services. Calder Lynch, chief of staff to the head of Louisiana’s Department of Health and Hospitals, will serve as Nebraska’s Medicaid director pending approval from the Legislature, Gov. Pete Ricketts said Monday. The announcement came three days after Ricketts said he was appointing Courtney Phillips, now deputy secretary for the Louisiana department, as Nebraska’s next Health and Human Services CEO. Lynch, 29, has a bachelor’s degree from Louisiana State University. He is pursuing a Master of Health Administration from the University of Alabama and expects to graduate in August.