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Robicheaux et al. Navigating Judge Feldman’s Rough Waters

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Our own Derek Penton-Robicheaux, plaintiff in the Louisiana marriage equality lawsuit that had its request for summary judgement dismissed by a federal judge this week – the first federal court to rule against same-sex marriage since last year’s DOMA decision – shares his thoughts upon hearing the judge’s decision.  

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

EASTERN DISTRICT OF LOUISIANA

  

ORDER AND REASONS

 

Before the Court are cross motions for summary judgment. The Court finds that defendants in this passionately charged national issue have the more persuasive argument. The State of Louisiana has a legitimate interest under a rational basis standard of review for addressing the meaning of marriage through the democratic process. For the reasons that follow, plaintiffs’ motion for summary judgment is DENIED and defendants’ motion for summary judgment is GRANTED.

 

 

derek2.jpgThose were the first words I read in the order of our same-sex marriage case on Wednesday morning, at around 10:30 a.m. And with those words, came the feeling of someone kicking me in the gut.  Little did I know, those words alone wouldn’t be the cause of the worst pain that I would feel that day.

We were very busy on the ambulance that morning, part of the sacrifice that EMS personnel make in our duty to be there for others. I was not able to spend an emotional moment with my husband, to wrap my arms around him and say hey, it’s okay, we will keep going. I was in the middle of taking a patient to the hospital when the text came across my phone to check my email. It would be another 10 minutes before I would ever get to that email, but once I did, it set the tone for the entire day. The email contained the order from Judge Martin Feldman upholding Louisiana’s ban on same-sex marriage, the very same ban, which we have fought to strike down since July 16, 2014. Judge Feldman wrote in his order,

“It would no doubt be celebrated to be in the company of the near-unanimity of the many other federal courts that have spoken to this pressing issue, if this Court were confident in the belief that those cases provide a correct guide. Clearly, many other courts will have an opportunity to take up the issue of same-sex marriage; courts of appeals and, at some point, the U.S. Supreme Court. The decision of this Court is but one studied decision among many. Our Fifth Circuit has not yet spoken.”

 Feldman continued on, asking where the line would be drawn,

“Perhaps, in the wake of today’s blurry notion of evolving understanding, the result is ordained.

Perhaps in a new established point of view, marriage will be reduced to contract law, and, by contract, anyone will be able to claim marriage. Perhaps that is the next frontier, the next phase of some “evolving understanding of equality,” where what is marriage will be explored. And as plaintiffs vigorously remind, there have been embattled times when the federal judiciary properly inserted itself to correct a wrong in our society. But that is an incomplete answer to today’s social issue. When a federal court is obliged to confront a constitutional struggle over what is marriage, a singularly pivotal issue, the consequence of outcomes, intended or otherwise, seems an equally compelling part of the equation. It seems unjust to ignore. And so, inconvenient questions persist. For example, must the states permit or recognize a marriage between an aunt and niece? Aunt and nephew? Brother/brother? Father and child? May minors marry? Must marriage be limited to only two people? What about a transgender spouse? Is such a union same-gender or male-female? All such unions would undeniably be equally committed to love and caring for one another, just like the plaintiffs.”

And with those words, he cut every same-sex marriage so deep, with his archaic mindset likening us to incest, pedophilia, and polygamy. In those very words he disregarded every same-sex marriage in this state. It was the worse pain you can inflict on someone. Invalidating someone’s family, my family, saying to us you are less than equal, you are second class citizens. Never the less, I am not shocked nor am I surprised. He wrote on, leading one to believe that he doesn’t hold the view that homosexuals are born the way they are, rather so, they choose this “lifestyle”.

“This national same-sex marriage struggle animates a clash between convictions regarding the value of state decisions reached by way of the democratic process as contrasted with personal, genuine, and sincere lifestyle choices recognition.”

 You can read his full order here.

While we’ve always known this was a possibility, we held high hopes that our judge would follow in the footsteps of his colleagues who clearly, and rightfully so, disagree with him. Just one day after Feldman’s ruling, a three judge panel from the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals, in a unanimous decision, upheld the lower court’s decision striking two bans down in Indiana and Wisconsin. 

One of those judges, a fellow Reagan appointee in 1981, Richard Posner, stated in his court “It was tradition to not allow blacks and whites to marry – a tradition that got swept away.” And that same-sex marriage bans were based on both “a tradition of hate and savage discrimination.”

While we were discouraged with Feldman’s ruling, we didn’t beat ourselves up over this setback. We joined other folks that afternoon at a rally put on by several organizations, in the iconic Jackson Square of the French Quarter. Along with all the others present, we know there is hope and there is a light at the end of the tunnel and we know that it’s not a train. The light is marriage equality for all.

It feels like yesterday we were setting off in new territory: the Robicheaux plaintiffs. Ours was the first federal same-sex lawsuit to be filed in Louisiana. We had nothing but the Windsor decision, but rightly so, it was the “winds” in our sails, pushing us into uncharted territory, at a time when there were no decisions in front of us lighting the waters. We traveled on a boat with a clear destination but with no map to guide us, only our love and the dream of equality in our hearts. Yes, we’ve hit some rough waters, but we stay the course and we keep going, with that new land in sight.

kiss.jpgAs I sit here and write this with an enlightened and no longer heavy heart, we prepare to file our notice of appeal to the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals. First and foremost, I would like to thank my husband for being the rock that he is. Without him, I don’t know where I’d be. I’ve loved you dearly since day one and cannot wait to renew our vows in front of our family and friends here in Louisiana when this marriage equality battle has been won. I’d like to thank our co-plaintiffs Courtney and Nadine Blanchard for jumping in this boat with us without hesitation. I can’t express how much you mean to us and people we consider family. I’d like to thank everyone who has supported us since the beginning, your kind words and shoulders to lean on have meant so much to us in those frustrating times. Your encouragement has kept me from pulling out my hair some days. I would like to say thank you, we love you, and we will get this done.

Please go like our Facebook page, share and encourage your friends to the same, we draw a great source of encouragement through that page, and you can find the most current updates there as well.

We also ask that you consider making a donation to help us continue our fight. Donations can be made on our website www.robicheauxvscaldwell.com on the donations page. There are many donation options and every dollar counts. If you know someone else who can make a donation ask them to donate as well.

As for us now, we move forward. We march on. I’ve said it time and time again, this is a long journey, on a long road to equality, and this is but a small bump in that long road. A friend of mine, Rikki Gee, pulled me aside on Wednesday night after the rally, and once we were done with our weekly game of primetime trivia, she gave me a quote of inspiration. The quote oddly enough, came from the 1991 movie “Necessary Roughness,” which I think fits perfectly. Equality is but a long game; we move forward. We may get knocked down, even pushed around, but in the end we will reach our goal. I’d like to leave you with that line, from my heart to all of your hearts, across the country and around the globe –

You’re hurt. You’re tired. You’re bleeding. I’m gonna make you a promise. We get into that end zone, you’re not gonna feel any pain.

 

 

 


derek_bio.jpgDerek Penton-Robicheaux, 36, 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, Derek and his husband, Jonathan Penton-Robicheaux, were legally married in Iowa on Sept. 23, 2012. The two are the first plaintiffs involved in the Federal Same-Sex Marriage Lawsuit in Louisiana, Robicheaux et al. v Caldwell.

 

 

Photos by Steven Mora 

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News

‘Blood on Your Hands’: Tennessee Republicans OK Arming Teachers After Deadly School Shooting

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10 hours ago

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April 23, 2024

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Republicans in the Tennessee House passed legislation Tuesday afternoon allowing teachers to carry concealed weapons in classrooms across the state, thirteen months after a 28-year old shooter slaughtered three children and three adults at a Christian elementary school in Nashville.

The measure is reportedly not popular statewide, with Democrats, teachers, and parents from the school, Covenant Elementary, largely opposed. The Republican Speaker of the House, Cameron Sexton, at one point literally shut down debate on the bill by shutting off a Democratic lawmaker’s microphone and then smiling.

Ultimately, Republican Rep. Ryan Williams’s legislation passed the GOP majority House as protestors in the gallery shouted their objections: “Blood on your hands.”

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The legislation bars parents from being informed if their child’s teacher has a gun in the classroom.

State Troopers were called to “prevent people from getting close to the House chambers,” WSMV’s Marissa Sulek reports.

“You’re going to kill kids,” one woman had yelled at Rep. Williams from the gallery on Monday, The Tennessean reports. “You’re going to be responsible for the death of children. Shame on you.”

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Democratic state Rep. Justin Jones said on social media, “This is what fascism looks like.”

“In recent weeks,” the paper also reports, “parents of school shooting survivors, students and gun-reform advocates have heavily lobbied against the bill, with one Covenant School mom delivering a letter to the House on Monday with more than 5,300 signatures asking lawmakers to kill the bill.”

The bill, which already passed the state Senate, now heads to Republican Governor Bill Lee’s desk. He is expected to sign it into law.

Watch the videos above or at this link.

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OPINION

Trump Complains He’s ‘Not Allowed to Talk’ as He Gripes Live on Camera

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12 hours ago

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April 23, 2024

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At the end of another short courtroom day that required barely three hours of Donald Trump’s time, the ex-president spoke to reporters inside Manhattan’s Criminal Courts Building to complain about a wide variety of perceived and alleged wrongs he is suffering, including, not being “allowed to talk.”

The ex-president’s presence was required only from 11 AM until just 2 PM. Judge Juan Merchan is overseeing Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s prosecution of the ex-president in a case that has already drawn a straight line through the “hush money” headlines to correct them to alleged criminal conspiracy and election interference.

Judge Merchan, for nearly two hours Tuesday morning, heard prosecutors’ allegations that Trump has violated his gag order ten times, and heard defense counsel’s claims that he had not.

It did not go well for the Trump legal team, with Judge Merchan toward the end of the hearing, during which no jurors were allowed, telling Trump lead attorney Todd Blanche, “You’re losing all credibility.”

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During the day’s hearing, jurors heard prosecutors’ lead witness, the former head of the company that publishes the National Enquirer tabloid, David Pecker, explain how he was working to help the Trump campaign.

“David Pecker testifies that, following his 2015 meeting with Trump and [Michael] Cohen, he met with former National Enquirer editor-in-chief Dylan Howard,” MSNBC’s Kyle Griffin reports. “Pecker outlined the arrangement and described it as ‘highly private and confidential.’ Pecker asked Howard to notify the tabloid’s West Coast and East Coast bureau chiefs that any stories that came in about Trump or the 2016 election must be vetted and brought straight to Pecker — and ‘they’ll have to be brought to Cohen.’ Pecker told Howard the arrangement needed to stay a secret because it was being carried out to help Trump’s campaign.”

Trump did not discuss any evidence against him with reporters, but he did complain about the gag order. And President Joe Biden. And the temperature in the courtroom. And his apparent attempt to stay awake, which has been a problem for him almost every day in court.

“We have a gag order, which to me is totally unconstitutional, I’m not allowed to talk but people are allowed to talk about me,” Trump told reporters, emphasizing the last word in that sentence.

“So they can talk about me, they can say whatever they want, they can lie. But I’m not allowed to say anything, I just have to sit back and look at why a conflicted judge has ordered me to have a gag order.”

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“I don’t think anybody’s ever seen anything like this,” Trump claimed, falsely implying no criminal defendant has ever had a gag order imposed on them previously. “I’d love to talk to you people, I’d love to say everything that’s on my mind, but I’m restricted because I have a gag order, and I’m not sure that anybody’s ever seen anything like this before.”

Trump then started to discuss the “articles” in his hand, what appeared to be dozens of articles he said had “all good headlines,” while implying they claimed “the case is a sham.”

Trump oversimplified the legal arguments attached to his gag order, as discussed with Judge Merchan Tuesday morning. The judge has yet to rule on prosecutors’ request to hold Trump in contempt.

“So I put an article in and then somebody’s name is mentioned somewhere deep in the article and I end up in violation of a gag order,” he told reporters, apparently referring to his posts on Truth Social with persecutes say violated his gag order. “I think it’s a disgrace. It’s totally unconstitutional. I don’t believe it’s ever – not to this extent – ever happened before. I’m not allowed to defend myself and yet other people are allowed to say whatever they want about me. Very, very unfair.”

“Having to do with the schools and the closings – that’s Biden’s fault,” Trump said, strangely, as if the COVID pandemic were still officially in process. “And by the way, this trial is all Biden, this is all Biden just in case anybody has any question. And they’re keeping me, in a courtroom that’s freezing by the way, all day long while he’s out campaigning, that’s probably an advantage because he can’t campaign.”

“Nobody knows what he’s doing. he can’t put two sentences together. But he’s out campaigning. He’s campaigning and I’m here and I’m sitting here sitting up as straight as I can all day long because you know, it’s a very unfair situation,” Trump lamented. “So we’re locked up in a courtroom and this guy’s out there campaigning, if you call it a campaign, every time he opens his mouth he gets himself into trouble.”

Watch below or at this link.

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News

Biden Campaign Hammers Trump Over Infamous COVID Comment

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15 hours ago

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April 23, 2024

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Four years ago today then-President Donald Trump, on live national television during what would be known as merely the early days and weeks of the COVID-19 pandemic, suggested an injection of a household “disinfectant” could cure the deadly coronavirus.

The Biden campaign on Tuesday has already posted five times on social media about Trump’s 2020 remarks, including by saying, “Four years ago today, Dr. Birx reacted in horror as Trump told Americans to inject bleach on national television.”

Less than 24 hours after Trump’s remarks calls to the New York City Poison Control Center more than doubled, including people complaining of Lysol and bleach exposure. Across the country, the CDC reported, calls to state and local poison control centers jumped 20 percent.

“It was a watershed moment, soon to become iconic in the annals of presidential briefings. It arguably changed the course of political history,” Politico reported on the one-year anniversary of Trump’s beach debacle. “It quickly came to symbolize the chaotic essence of his presidency and his handling of the pandemic.”

How did it happen?

“The Covid task force had met earlier that day — as usual, without Trump — to discuss the most recent findings, including the effects of light and humidity on how the virus spreads. Trump was briefed by a small group of aides. But it was clear to some aides that he hadn’t processed all the details before he left to speak to the press,” Politico added.

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“’A few of us actually tried to stop it in the West Wing hallway,’ said one former senior Trump White House official. ‘I actually argued that President Trump wouldn’t have the time to absorb it and understand it. But I lost, and it went how it did.'”

The manufacturer of Lysol issued a strong statement saying, “under no circumstance should our disinfectant products be administered into the human body (through injection, ingestion or any other route),” with “under no circumstance” in bold type.

Trump’s “disinfectant” remarks were part of a much larger crisis during the pandemic: misinformation and disinformation. In 2021, a Cornell University study found the President was the “single largest driver” of COVID misinformation.

What did Trump actually say?

“And then I see the disinfectant, where it knocks it out, in a minute,” Trump said from the podium at the White House press briefing room, as Coronavirus Task Force Coordinator Dr. Deborah Birx looked on without speaking up. “Is there a way we can do something like that? By injection, inside, or almost a cleaning, ’cause you see it gets in the lungs and it does a tremendous number on the lungs. So it would be interesting to check that. You’re going to have to use medical doctors, right? But it sounds interesting to me.”

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Within hours comedian Sarah Cooper, who had a good run mocking Donald Trump, released a video based on his remarks that went viral:

The Biden campaign at least 12 times on the social media platform X has mentioned Trump’s infamous and dangerous remarks about injecting “disinfectant,” although, like many, they have substituted the word “bleach” for “disinfectant.”

Hours after Trump’s remarks, from his personal account, Joe Biden posted this tweet:

Tuesday morning the Biden campaign released this video marking the four-year anniversary of Trump’s “disinfectant” remarks.

See the social media posts and videos above or at this link.

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