Federal judge orders Mobile probate judge to do his job, issue same-sex marriage licenses

First gay couple to marry in Mobile, Alabama. #ALmarriage http://t.co/zRHALOGrQT pic.twitter.com/OwYU6VUDaq
— Gabe Ortíz (@TUSK81) February 12, 2015

It's a good day to be gay, particularly in Alabama. Not only did Chief Justice Roy Moore get verbally ripped from one end to another during a CNN interview with Chris Cuomo, but less than an hour ago, a federal judge ordered the probate judge in Mobile, AL to begin issuing same-sex marriage licenses:

A federal judge on Thursday afternoon ordered Mobile County, Alabama to start issuing marriage licenses to gay couples, a ruling that could pave the way for other local officials across the state to follow suit.

In an eight-page decision, U.S. District Judge Callie V.S. Granade reiterated that the state’s ban on same-sex marriage had been struck down and clarified that Mobile County’s probate judge, Don Davis, had to adhere to that decision.

Shortly afterward, the Mobile county office that issues marriage licenses opened its windows, which had remained shuttered this week, to begin serving all couples.

Though Granade’s ruling only applies to Mobile County, gay rights groups hope it will provide clarity to probate judges in all 67 Alabama counties, more than half of whom refused to give out marriage licenses to gay couples this week even though same-sex marriage became legal in the state on Monday.

 . . .  It was Roy Moore, the state’s chief justice, who prompted the defiance of many probate judges by ordering them late Sunday not to issue licenses to same-sex couples.

'CNN's Chris Cuomo 'takes Roy Moore to church' during interview' & other Thursday midday news briefs

I heard a lot of positive buzz surrounding this interview. Apparently CNN's Chris Cuomo took Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore "to church." What do you think?

In other news:  

Coming Out At School Is Worth The Risk For LGBT Youth, Study Finds - Yes it is.  

NOM directly links its anti-gay, pro-discrimination cause to 1963 March on Washington - One wonders if NOM will complete the inaccurate analogy and find its own Bayard Rustin (i.e. the gay black man who coordinated the 1963 March on Washington). 

 Mississippi KKK Chapter Backs Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore In Anti-Gay Marriage Fight - Aw that's nice! Roy Moore has his own cheering section.

 Linda Harvey: This Valentine's Day, Fight Against LGBT Rights - Damn, Linda! Can't you do what the rest of us single people do on Valentine's Day - watch horror movies and porn.

The Erasure of 'Gay' From Black History & the Black Community Must Stop

Bayard Rustin

In celebration of Black History Month, the following piece I wrote and initially published by The Huffington Post is very appropriate. Throughout the piece are photos of famous lgbts of color:

As a gay African-American, I've heard the argument about how "you can't compare the gay civil rights movement to the African-American civil rights movement" more times than I care to count.
The constant so-called moral outrage of some African-American heterosexuals when the topic is mentioned has gotten me to the point where my mind automatically tunes out the monotonous drones of how supposed sinful homosexuals are "high jacking" the civil rights movement or how gays "can't compare their sin with black skin."

As such, I almost missed the epiphany which occurred two weeks ago.

Nell Carter

I was vaguely scanning comments on a conservative site by an anonymous African-American female as she went on and on about how gays were never subjected to slavery, segregation or declared three fifths a person. While the logical side of my mind was gathering up the customary argument of how wrong it was for disadvantaged people of any stripe to play the "Oppression Olympics," the emotional side of my mind struck immediately.

"This is the most ignorant crap I've ever heard," I thought. "Just where in the hell does she think gay black people were during slavery and segregation? On a spaceship orbiting the Earth? "

I was instantly struck by oddity of what I had thought. Not that my outrage wasn't coming from a place of truth, mind you, but how the simple fact never entered my mind that yes, gay people were subjected to slavery, segregation and racism because of our skin. Just as LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) people of color exist now, we existed back then. Then it suddenly struck me again that I've never recalled any acknowledgement of this fact during the myriad of discussions, I've read, listened to or seen regarding comparisons between the gay and civil rights movements.

And why is that?