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Our Wizard Behind The Equality Curtain

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Unless you have been living under a rock for the last 7 months, you undoubtedly have seen the lawsuits and court cases to advance equality that have sprung up throughout the United States. One by one, states are coming in on the right side of history and accepting all families, allowing them to join their love together in legally recognized marriage.

What you may not have seen, or what tends to get overlooked, is the magic that happens behind the equality curtain and the names of those who are working to make these cases successful. From drafting complaints to the never ending responses and appeals, there are many long hours that are given to advance equality in the courts. There is a whole list of people shepherding these cases down the road to equality. Lawyers who work without pay, keeping long hours, away from family, giving up their personal time, pushed to the limit. One such lawyer is Scott J. Spivey. (Photo above)

Scott is a local New Orleans lawyer who was born in Orlando. Scott moved to Alexandria in 1976, and graduate from Alexandria Senior High where he was a nationally ranked swimmer. He was offered scholarships by both Tulane and Dartmouth and appointments to all of the service academies except West Point, (They said that he was not physically fit because he couldn’t do the long jump.) He accepted the appointment to the US Coast Guard Academy in 1985, and graduated in 1990. He was commissioned as an ensign  in the Coast Guard and served on board the USCG Cutter BEAR WMEC 901.

In June 1992, Scott transferred to Coast Guard Command District 8, here in New Orleans.  In August of the next year, he began law school at Loyola Law School in the evening program, while serving as detachable law enforcement duty officer and on-call law enforcement duty officer with Operations . In January 1996, he resigned his commission and began clerking with local law firms and practicing criminal law as a law student under the now Judge Darryl Derbigny.  He graduated December 1996 and was licensed in 1997.

Scott practices multiple areas of law, including general civil practice with concentrations in business, commercial and real property transactions and litigation, contract preparation, business formation and dissolutions; federal and state workers’ compensation; property tax and business personal property tax appeals and sales; family business planning and litigation, wills and successions; immigration and customs enforcement defense; and traffic and criminal defense.

In July 2012, when my husband and I were contemplating the idea of suing the state of Louisiana to have our legal marriage recognized by the state, we didn’t know at the time that Scott would take on this fight singlehandedly. After putting out feelers to several lawyers, we got a response back. It was from our friend Scott, informing us that not only would he gladly take on our case, but much to our surprise, take it on PRO BONO.

There is much to be said about Scott, and still it would not be enough. Whether you needed a will, someone to represent you in court, or any other area that he can help in, Scott has always helped the LGBT community.

As Scott told us:

“I resigned my commission and became a lawyer because I wanted to advocate for those in need.  I wanted to provide the last line of defense to an individual’s rights and freedoms.  That can only be found in a court of law or with zealous legal advocacy.”

So it came as no surprise that he would risk his neck and reputation for our cause. (At the time, we were getting a lot of pushback from different organizations and public opinion, saying that it wasn’t the right time here in Louisiana to attempt this.)

Just this week, our original complaint and motion to amend was denied, forcing us to re-file a new case, naming as defendants those the judge considers are the “proper parties”. When this happened, two days earlier than expected, Scott did not waiver in his dedication, nor did he flinch at the court’s decision. He woke up the next morning and filed the appeal for the original motion to amend, then immediately filed a new complaint with the “correct” defendants, adding more work to his already full plate.

We, as Scott’s friends and plaintiffs, are grateful for the work that he is doing. Not just anyone would take on this colossal work load without anything in return. The payoff he sees in the distance goes far beyond money. It is the betterment of the LGBT community that he considers as his reward, someday being able to marry his partner legally.

Most of the praise that gets dished out by the media in these cases, talks about the brave and heroic plaintiffs who expose themselves to the world. But in my opinion, the praise should also fall upon the lawyers and their families, who endure just as much exposure.

I cannot begin to tell you how proud I am of what Scott is doing for us. He has reached out to several more organizations, and we are proud to say, is on the cusp of joining us with resources for our case. With the trend that is being set in red states like Utah and Oklahoma, Louisiana doesn’t seem like that far of a stretch for marriage equality any longer and people are taking notice. Finally we are starting to see support from some of the bigger guns in our nationwide community.

Our cases have a long way to go, and we know that Scott will work hard all the way to what we hope will be a victory for all families here in Louisiana. We knew when we started the journey, that it would not be a smoothly paved nor a short path; we will see it to the end

If you would like to follow our cases you can like us on Facebook and visit our website.

We appreciate your support and vow to continue our fight no matter where or how long it takes us!

 

Photo via Facebook

Catch up on Derek’s previous posts on his lawsuit against the State of Louisiana:

The Benefits Of Marriage
Robicheaux vs. Caldwell – Why We Are Suing To Be Married In Louisiana
A Blanchard Family Christmas

 

derek penton Derek Penton, 35, is a native of Mississippi and a longtime resident of New Orleans.  He holds degrees in computer information systems and paramedicine.  After more than five years together, Penton and his husband, Jonathan Robicheaux, were legally married in Iowa on Sept. 23, 2012.

 

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News

LA Mayor a ‘Communist’ Alleges Fox News Host With Ties to Trump Nominee

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January 13, 2025

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Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, a six-term Democratic former U.S. Representative, is being branded a “solid communist” and a “communist sympathizer” by a Fox News host whose husband is a Trump cabinet nominee. The attack comes as the city deals with the massive wildfires that have killed 24 people and caused tremendous and historic damage to over 60 square miles of California. More than 12,000 structures reportedly have been destroyed and 92,000 people are under evacuation orders.

Fox News’ Rachel Campos-Duffy is married to former Fox News host and Republican former U.S. Rep. Sean Duffy, President-elect Donald Trump’s Transportation Secretary nominee. She has a history of throwing around the divisive “communist” label. On Monday, she joined the pile-on of attacks against the L.A. mayor.

“You know, listen, a lot of people have been talking about, you know, who’s to blame, you know, whether it’s [Governor] Gavin Newsom or the mayor,” Campos-Duffy told the right-wing channel’s viewers in what appeared to be prepared remarks. “A lot of people don’t realize that Karen Bass is actually, you know, we talk about these left wing, left wing policies.”

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“She has ties to communism —she was cutting sugar cane in Cuba, um, she’s had 15 trips to Cuba, met with Fidel Castro,” Campos Duffy continued. “She is a solid communist, so don’t be surprised that your policies make your city, um, look like this when you, when you put a communist, somebody, a communist and a communist sympathizer at the top of your um of the heap as the mayor of Los Angeles, it’s uh, not surprising. Um, they manage things— look at how Cuba’s managed and now look at this.”

Campos-Duffy, a devout MAGA supporter and longtime Trump defender, earlier this month called January 6 rioters “political dissidents,” a term traditionally reserved for individuals persecuted for opposing authoritarian or oppressive governmental authority or policies.

Bass has indeed has traveled to Cuba, according to multiple reports, and “spent part of the 1970s working construction in Fidel Castro’s Cuba with the Venceremos Brigade, a group that has organized annual trips to Cuba for young, leftist Americans for half a century,” The Atlantic reported in 2020.

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That was five decades ago, work that began when Bass was 19 and doing volunteer work.

“The best way to think of Bass’s politics at the time—and now—is ‘as a Black activist who was deeply concerned about what the activists are raising today: systemic racism,'” Bass told Edward-Isaac Dovere, when he wrote for The Atlantic. She added: “I was also deeply concerned on the international front about issues like apartheid in South Africa and supporting the independence movements in Africa. And a lot of times that did not align with U.S. policy.”

Bass has said point-blank she is not a communist.

“I’m not a socialist. I’m not a communist,” Bass told NBC News in 2020. “I’ve belonged to one party my entire life and that’s the Democratic Party, and I’m a Christian.”

Political commentator Keith Olbermann declared he hopes Mayor Bass sues Campos-Duffy “into the ground.”

Watch the video clip below or at this link.

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Image by Gage Skidmore via Flickr and a CC license

 

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Senator Suggests Unusual Interpretation of ‘Advice and Consent’ Responsibility

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13 hours ago

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January 13, 2025

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A freshman Republican Senator is promoting an unusual interpretation of the Senate’s role in the constitutionally mandated “advice and consent” responsibility.

U.S. Senator Katie Britt, elected in 2022, is the first woman Alabama voters have sent to the U.S. Senate. She gained national attention, and bipartisan criticism, after delivering the Republican response to President Joe Biden’s 2024 State of the Union Address. During her speech, Britt criticized President Biden’s immigration policies and referred to an incident involving human trafficking, suggesting in her remarks a woman had been sexually trafficked because of Biden’s policies. However, as NBC News reported, the incident occurred two decades earlier, in Mexico, not in the United States.

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At the time, even Republicans were outraged and mystified by her speech. One GOP strategist told The Daily Beast it was “one of our biggest disasters ever.” A Trump advisor told Rolling Stone, “What the hell am I watching right now?” as The Guardian reported.

This weekend, Britt spoke with CNN’s Jake Tapper about President-elect Donald Trump’s cabinet nominees. Senate Republicans are beginning hearings this week, CBS News reports.

Senator Britt, an attorney, told Tapper that Trump’s “great nominees” will be on Capitol Hill, where they will “have the opportunity not only to make their case” to the members of various committees, “but they’ll have their opportunity to make their case to the American people of why they are best, where they are best suited to move President Trump’s agenda forward.”

In contrast, Senator Angus King (I-ME) recently outlined his view of the Senate’s role in evaluating cabinet nominees. In an op-ed last week, he wrote that a president’s “advisors, and especially Cabinet Members, must be qualified for the sake of the people they represent.”

“My position on Cabinet nominees has always boiled down to two priorities: the candidate needs to be experienced and capable, and not have a stance that is hostile to the department or bureau they would be leading,” Senator King added. “The framers of our Constitution set up a Senate confirmation process as a check on the executive branch to make sure that all parts of government are working by the people and for the people.”

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Senator Britt appeared to suggest alignment with Trump’s goals should be a key qualification, telling Tapper that she and the Senate will see if they “are best suited to move President Trump’s agenda forward.”

Tapper continued to press her.

“Why would you think somebody who’s willing to lie about the election results in Pennsylvania is going to restore integrity in the Justice Department the way that you are calling for?” Tapper asked.

After a brief pause, Britt replied: “Look, Jake, I’ve had very direct conversations with each and every one of these nominees that I’ve had the opportunity to sit down with. I take my duty as a United States senator seriously, Article Two, Section Two, mandates that I do.”

“We have an obligation both to the American people and to the president, to ask these tough questions. I asked that question very directly. And with each and every nominee, the answers that I have been given with them, has satisfied me that they’re gonna move forward in that direction.”

Watch the video below or at this link.

READ MORE: Trump Trying to Buy Back His DC Hotel Seen as ‘Magnet’ for Conflicts of Interest: Reports

 

Image via Shutterstock

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Wildfire Relief Tied to Debt Ceiling? Trump, GOP Spark Outrage After Mar-a-Lago Meeting

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15 hours ago

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January 13, 2025

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House Republicans, especially the California delegation, are facing sharp criticism after spending portions of the weekend with President-elect Donald Trump at his Mar-a-Lago resort and residence. They reportedly discussed ways to take the unprecedented approach of tying passage of relief funds—for the Golden State’s historic wildfire disaster—to raising the debt ceiling, as the fires continue to burn and the death toll rises to 24 people.

“Of the nearly two dozen House Republicans who attended the Sunday dinner at Mar-a-Lago, where this option was discussed, several are caucus leaders and appropriators with major influence in upcoming budget reconciliation and government funding negotiations,” Politico reports. “Trump also discussed the wildfires Saturday night with a group of House Republicans from California, New York and New Jersey.”

According to J.D. Wolf of MeidasTouch News, the California GOP members of Congress “chose to leave the state at its most vulnerable moment,” and “have drawn criticism for abandoning their … state during the crisis, opting instead to join Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago.”

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“California [GOP] Representatives Jay Obernolte, Tom McClintock, Kevin Kiley, Doug LaMalfa, Darrell Issa, Ken Calvert, Vince Fong, and Young Kim were spotted in a photo with Trump this weekend when they could have been back home seeking ways to help even if the fire isn’t in their district,” he declared. “Instead, these lawmakers have prioritized meeting with Trump over exercising leadership in their home state. Their absence sends a troubling message to their state.”

In a stern rebuke, Wolf added: “In doing so, they have not only abandoned their duty to Californians but also cast doubt on their priorities and dedication as elected officials.” He also wrote: “Californians are left wondering if these leaders will ever prioritize their needs over political maneuvering.”

One House Republican from California was “not invited,” according to Politico’s Meredith Lee Hill.

“But all the talk of unity at Mar-a-Lago this weekend only went so far – Trump did not invite David Valadao (R-Calif.), 1 of the 10 House Rs who voted to impeach after Jan. 6, to the mtg of CA, NY and NJ GOP members.”

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Valadao’s presence would have made sense. Hill reports he is a caucus chief and senior appropriator.

Trump, who has a history of trying to withhold relief aid to California, has been accused of politicizing the tragedy, which Politico notes, “could become the costliest natural disaster in U.S. history.”

It may become even more costly.

The Associated Press reports, “firefighters are preparing for a return of dangerous winds that could again stoke the flames on Monday.”

Over the weekend, on his social media website, Trump reposted this:

View the social media post above or at this link.

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Image via Reuters

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