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NY Same-Sex Sunday: Where To Get Married, Watch, Support – Or Protest

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On Sunday, July 24, same-sex marriage becomes legal in New York. Here’s a list of where and when you can register for a license, marry, protest with NOM and God Hates Fags, or show your support with LGBT activist groups.

In New York State, July 24 is the first official day same-sex marriage is legal, after Governor Cuomo signed his marriage equality bill into law last month. There’s a lot going on today, including over 823 expected weddings in just New York City alone! The radical, religion-based activist group, the National Organization For Marriage (NOM), and their partner-in-crime of refusal to observe separation of church and state, New York State Senator and Reverend Rubén Díaz, are holding protest rallies across the state. The Westboro Baptist Church, aka, “God Hates Fags,” is threatening to protest as well. Ah, the company you keep, eh, Maggie? Nothing like observing the sanctity of marriage by protesting it. Meanwhile, gay rights groups Queer Rising and Connecting Rainbows are showing support for all the same-sex couples marrying today by showing up for peaceful rallies.

READ: How Do Gay Couples Get Married In NYC?

NOM’s anti-gay hate rallies are scheduled for Manhattan, Albany, Buffalo, and Rochester. (You’ll remember NOM’s last anti-gay hate rally, in which a pastor called for genocide of gays.) In an offensive trip into constitutional fantasy land law, NOM is claiming that “Governor Cuomo and the New York Legislature imposed same-sex marriage on New York with no vote of the people,” and that “New Yorkers have been denied that right!” Note to NOM: no where does it say in the constitution that any individual has the right to vote on marriage. In fact, the framers — our founding fathers — believed in a representative democracy to ensure the rights of the minority were respected.

The Westboro Baptist Church — God Hates Fags — has posted their picket schedule as follows:

Marriage Bureau in Manhattan: 7:30-9:00 a.m.

Marriage Bureau in Brooklyn: 9:45-10:30 a.m.

Marriage Bureau in The Bronx: 11:15-12:00 p.m.

Governor Cuomo’s NYC Office: 3:00-3:30 p.m.

Gracie Mansion: 4:30-5:00 p.m., where Mayor Bloomberg will be officiating at the wedding of two of his senior staffers. Shame on you, God Hates Fags!

God Hates Fags and NOM will be protesting at Governor’ Cuomo’s NYC offices, 633 Third Avenue, between 40th & 41st Streets, starting at 3:00 p.m., and Connecting Rainbows has promised a counter-protest from 3;00-6:00, stating, “NOM is using this historic day as a platform to get their hate message into the media, to raise money to fund their hate group, including going so far as to announce their support for Sen. Ruben Diaz, Sr., a bigot.”

READ: Broadway’s “Hair” To Feature Same-Sex Weddings On Stage – One Night Only

Queer Rising is choosing to spend the day at the Manhattan Marriage bureau from 7:30 a.m. – 5:00 p.m., stating, “The Westboro Baptist Church is planning to spew their hate on the hundreds of same-sex couples getting married this Sunday. In an effort to denounce their hatred, we will be standing between the haters and the couples with rainbow umbrellas. Come join us and celebrate the love that will be present in New York this Sunday!!!”

For a list of where to get a marriage license, see the New York City or New York State marriage bureaus. (Remember, there may be a 24-hour waiting period.)

“In New York City, 823 couples signed up in advance to get marriage licenses on Sunday, and many of them were expected to marry in city clerk’s offices across the five boroughs,” writes The New York Times today. “Officials from more than a dozen cities and towns from Buffalo to Brookhaven said they would open their offices to issue marriage licenses on Sunday, and more than 100 judges across the state have volunteered to officiate at the couples’ weddings on the spot,” and adds, “a sampling of pastors in the New York City area found that most did not intend to discuss same-sex marriage in their sermons on Sunday. At St. Patrick’s Cathedral, the seat of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York, for example, the homilist planned to speak on other subjects. ‘There may not be much more to say at this point,’ Joseph Zwilling, a spokesman for the archdiocese, said.”

Meanwhile, starting after Sunday the 24th, you can get married for free (assuming you already have a license) in Central Park, Times Square, Washington Square Park, and these other locations.

 

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BREAKING NEWS

Trump Lawyer’s ‘Critical Evidence’ Will Help DOJ Make Decision to Charge ‘Without Significant Delay’: Former Prosecutor

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Donald Trump‘s attorney Evan Corcoran, who allegedly directed another Trump attorney to draft the false statement claiming all classified and sensitive documents had been returned, has been ordered to testify before a grand jury and hand over documents and records to Special Counsel Jack Smith in the Mar-a-Lago classified documents criminal investigation.

Trump appealed U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell’s decision ordering Corcoran to testify and hand over documents, including handwritten notes. The Appeals Court in light speed mode, rejected Trump’s appeal.

Corcoran will be testifying before the grand jury on Friday, CNN reports.

RELATED: ‘National Security Implications’: Former DOJ Official Speculates on Ruling Ordering Trump Attorney to Hand Over Docs

One former top DOJ official, Brandon Van Grack, says the “Special Counsel is about to get access to the most critical evidence in the case. Should allow DOJ to make a charging decision without significant delay.”

He did not define what “without significant delay” means in terms of days, weeks, or months.

Van Grack served at Main Justice for eleven years, including as a lead prosecutor in Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation, and later, as the Chief of the DOJ’s Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) Unit.

“The announcement from a panel of three judges in the appeals court – less than a day after Trump sought to put Corcoran’s testimony on hold – adds momentum to the special counsel investigation as it seeks to secure evidence that could make or break a federal criminal case against Trump,” CNN explains. “The Justice Department has successfully argued in court that prosecutors have enough evidence that Trump’s interactions with the lawyer were part of a possible crime that they can pierce the confidentiality of the conversations between the two.”

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BREAKING NEWS

‘National Security Implications’: Former DOJ Official Speculates on Ruling Ordering Trump Attorney to Hand Over Docs

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A former top Dept. of Justice official says a federal judge’s expedited ruling ordering an attorney for Donald Trump to testify against his client before a grand jury and hand over documents very well may be related to “national security.”

U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell ruled that DOJ Special Counsel Jack Smith had successfully made the case Donald Trump may have committed a crime, via his attorneys, in his classified documents case. That finding allowed her to invoke the crime-fraud exception, and order Trump attorney Evan Corcoran to testify before the grand jury investigating the ex-president’s unlawful retention and refusal to return hundreds of classified documents.

Former FBI General Counsel Andrew Weissmann, who also worked for Special Counsel Robert Mueller and headed the DOJ’s Criminal Fraud Section, Wednesday afternoon on MSNBC said it’s possible Judge Howell’s expedited decisions were related to national security.

Tuesday night Judge Howell ordered DOJ to provide information by 6:00 AM Wednesday.

READ MORE: Jim Jordan’s Attack on Manhattan DA Will ‘Backfire’ and Allow Democrats to Expose Coordination With Trump: Columnist

Trump appealed Howell’s ruling, and Wednesday afternoon the Appeals Court denied his appeal related to the documents, Politico reports.

“I’ve never seen anything that quick. It’s very hard to know why. I have to say, to me, when I think about what can be a plausible reason– and this is pure speculation – is that there must be something in the papers that gave the judges concern about national security implications, because it’s such a short timeframe.”

“The reason this is a bombshell is you could end up with Evan Corcoran as a key, fundamental witness against Donald Trump in an obstruction of justice case and a false statements case,” Weissmann adds.

According to Politico, Wednesday’s appeals court ruling “effectively permits the Justice Department to circumvent Trump’s attorney-client privilege after a lower-court judge found that the documents likely contain evidence of a crime.”

NEW: Trump Lawyer’s ‘Critical Evidence’ Will Help DOJ Make Decision to Charge ‘Without Significant Delay’: Former Prosecutor

 

This article was updated to correctly spell Andrew Weissmann’s last name.

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RIGHT WING EXTREMISM

Trump Appeals After Judge Agrees With Special Counsel on Crime-Fraud Exception and Requires His Attorney to Testify

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Donald Trump’s attorneys have appealed a ruling that requires one of his lawyers to testify before a grand jury investigating his unlawful removal, retention, and refusal to return classified documents from the White House.

Attorneys for the Special Counsel “said there is evidence of a deliberate effort not to turn over all the material covered by the subpoena,” The Washington Post reports, citing people familiar with the matter.

U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell had reportedly agreed with Special Counsel Smith that there is sufficient evidence proving Donald Trump may have committed a crime via his attorneys, and ruled his attorney must testify before a grand jury. The ruling, which was not made public, was handed down Friday night, NBC News reported Wednesday afternoon.

Judge Howell “ruled in favor of applying the ‘crime fraud’ exception to Trump’s attorney-client privilege and ordered Trump lawyer Evan Corcoran to testify before the federal grand jury.”

READ MORE: ‘On Standby’: Experts Say Manhattan Hush Money Grand Jury Delay ‘Not All That Surprising’

Trump’s attorneys have already appealed the ruling.

“People familiar with the matter said an appeals panel has already begun reviewing the decision, after Trump’s lawyers appealed,” The Washington Post adds. “The extraordinarily quick timeline suggests that the judges — all nominated by Democratic presidents — intend to rule swiftly.”

Trump could take his case all the way to the Supreme Court, but The Post says it’s “not clear he would have a much better chance of success there.”

According to an NBC News report from October, Corcoran directed another Trump attorney, Christina Bobb, to sign the letter claiming a thorough search of Mar-a-Lago had been made and all classified or “sensitive” documents had been returned. That was proven untrue after federal agents, executing a search warrant, recovered hundreds of documents with classified markings.

NEW: ‘National Security Implications’: Former DOJ Official Speculates on Ruling Ordering Trump Attorney to Hand Over Docs

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