The U.S. Department of Justice filed a motion late yesterday to dismiss a federal court case which calls for states to recognize same-sex marriages performed legally in other states, challenging the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). From SFGate.com:

The motion, filed late Thursday, argued the case of Arthur Smelt and Christopher Hammer does not address the right of gay couples to marry but rather questions whether their marriage must be recognized nationwide by states that have not approved gay marriage.

“Under the law binding on this Court, the answer to these questions must be no,” the motion states.

The case was originally filed last year in California State Court before heading to federal court. It claims violation of a number of federal rights including the right to privacy, the right to travel and the right of free expression under the First Amendment.

The government’s filing said the suit would fail under each of those grounds. While it addressed each argument, it claimed the suit should be dismissed for lack of standing by the plaintiffs to bring the claim in federal court.

What’s more startling, as discovered by John Avarosis at AMERICAblog, the DOJ motion cites cases involving incest and underage marriage to defend DOMA. Relevant cases underlined in passage below:

The courts have followed this principle, moreover, in relation to the validity of marriages performed in other States. Both the First and Second Restatements of Conflict of Laws recognize that State courts may refuse to give effect to a marriage, or to certain incidents of a marriage, that contravene the forum State’s policy. See Restatement (First) of Conflict of Laws § 134; Restatement (Second) of Conflict of Laws § 284.5 And the courts have widely held that certain marriages performed elsewhere need not be given effect, because they conflicted with the public policy of the forum. See, e.g., Catalano v. Catalano, 170 A.2d 726, 728-29 (Conn. 1961) (marriage of uncle to niece, “though valid in Italy under its laws, was not valid in Connecticut because it contravened the public policy of th[at] state”); Wilkins v. Zelichowski, 140 A.2d 65, 67-68 (N.J. 1958) (marriage of 16-year-old female held invalid in New Jersey, regardless of validity in Indiana where performed, in light of N.J. policy reflected in statute permitting adult female to secure annulment of her underage marriage); In re Mortenson’s Estate, 316 P.2d 1106 (Ariz. 1957) (marriage of first cousins held invalid in Arizona, though lawfully performed in New Mexico, given Arizona policy reflected in statute declaring such marriages “prohibited and void”).

The fact that States have long had the authority to decline to give effect to marriages performed in other States based on the forum State’s public policy strongly supports the constitutionality of Congress’s exercise of its authority in DOMA.

It’s deeply upsetting that the DOJ is defending DOMA at all, much less citing cases involving incest and underage marriage in the process. I suspect that many who have been vocal supporters of the President, who have been asking for patience on LGBT issues, are now feeling betrayed… myself included.

We can be loyal only for so long, before we become apologists.

UPDATE: Today happens to be the anniversary of  Loving v. Virginia, which overturned the ban on interracial marriage. Oh the irony. (again from Americablog).

Rockstar, Inc., the company that makes Rockstar Energy Drinks, has threatened to sue the LGBT blog The Bilerco Project for alleged inaccuracies in a post which called for a boycott of the popular product. The CEO of Rockstar, Inc. is Russell Weiner, son of the notoriously anti-gay radio personality Michael “Savage” Weiner. The claimed inaccuracies were that Rockstar Energy Drink was co-founded by Michael Savage and that he continues to reap profits from the company. From Bilerco.com:

Rockstar’s lawyer complained to me that [guest blogger] Michael’s article contained two inaccurate sentences and that the gist of the article was “Michael Savage is a filthy creep and he has deep connections with Rockstar energy drink.” While the attorney made it perfectly clear he agreed Savage was a disgusting pig, it was unfair to the company to link Rockstar with Savage just because Michael Savage’s son, Russell Weiner, is the current CEO of RockStar.

According to Rockstar’s attorney, Savage only advised his son on the drink and not the company. They dispute that Savage directly profits from sales of the energy drink as well.

However an archived version of the Rockstar website seems to suggest otherwise (archive has been blocked and is no longer available):

“I was very fortunate to have been raised by two of the leading herbalists in the world, Dr. and Mrs. MICHAEL WEINER, Ph.D. … From my earliest walking days, I remember exploring the jungles of the South Pacific on expeditions WITH MY PARENTS. … MY FAMILY HAS taken that spirit and experience – their lifetime journey – and DEVELOPED the most complete, most unique, most powerful, and most honest energy beverage ever created: ROCKSTAR.” – CEO RUSSELL GOLDENCLOUD WEINER

Russell Weiner’s mother, Janet Weiner, wife of Michael Savage, happens to be CFO of Rockstar, Inc. And while Michael Savage may not be “directly” reap profits from the company, the household likely does.

The Bilerco Project is not alone in being targeted by Rockstar’s legal team. They have also contacted a number of other websites about the disputed claims and were successful in shutting down a Facebook group with over 12,000 members that had also called for a boycott of the drink.

Since when is it illegal to call for a boycott? Christian anti-gay groups do it all the time.

At a State Department briefing yesterday Department Spokesman Ian Kelley condemned acts of violence against gays and lesbians in Iraq.

Well, let me say that, in general, we absolutely condemn acts of violence and human rights violations committed against individuals in Iraq because of their sexual orientation or gender identity. This is an issue that we’ve been following very closely since we have been made aware of these allegations, and we are aware of the allegations.

Our training for Iraqi security forces includes instruction on the proper observance of human rights. Human rights training is also a very important part of our and other international donors’ civilian capacity-building efforts in Iraq. And the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad has raised and will continue to raise the issue with senior officials from the Government of Iraq, and has urged them to respond appropriately to all credible reports of violence against gay and lesbian Iraqis.

Video of the question and answer begins at the 20:50 mark.

Violence toward gays and lesbians in Iraq has been on the increase in recent months, many tortured or murdered by local militias or by their own relatives for shaming their families. Prominent religious leaders like radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr continue to condemned homosexuality in the harshest terms, inciting the violence.

The growing violence seems at odds with a statement made last April by John Fleming of the State Department: “In fact, it’s [homosexuality] immaterial to Iraqis … Frankly, there are other issues they’re concerned about like basic survival, getting food and water. It’s a luxury for the average Iraqi to worry about homosexuality.”

While homosexuality is not against the law in Iraq, it is forbidden by Islam.

Yesterday a security guard was murdered at the Holocaust Museum in Washington by 88-year-old White Supremacist James W. von Brunn. A WWII veteran, von Brunn was author of an online book called “Kill the Best Gentiles,” and posted to rightwing websites questioning Barack Obama’s birth certificate and citizenship, a standard if tired meme pushed by the right.

A few weeks ago Dr. George Tiller was murdered in his church by anti-abortion activist Scott Roeder for performing late-term abortions. Though quickly denounced by leaders of the pro-life  movement, posters on rightwing sites heaped praise on Roeder for his actions just as many pro-lifers suggested that the murder, while a horrible act, was justified in order to save more unborn babies. The number and intensity of threats to abortion clinics have also increased in the days since Tiller’s murder.

Only a day later a Muslim convert shot and killed an army recruiter for political and religious reasons in Arkansas. Many on the right soon painted Abdulhakim Mujahid Muhammad (formerly Carlos Bledsoe) as a leftwing extremist out of a need to balance the accusations leveled against Scott Roeder.

Extremism always seems to thrive during economic hardship, as people turn to religion and guns as sources of strength. Extremism was very much on display during the election as McCain/Palin supporters paraded their racism views for all the world to see, while the candidates and their their advocates did nothing to tone down the rhetoric. In fact they often seemed to encourage it.

So where does that leave us? A few isolated incidents or a fertile climate which is now breeding domestic terrorists?

Perhaps the answers lie in the controversial DHS reports that warned of domestic terrorism from both rightwing and leftwing extremists. Widely panned on both the right and left when released, with every murder the reports seems to take on a little more legitimacy. Even on Fox News. Watch the clips below:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hh6DiYA0TOg[/youtube]

Props to Shepard Smith for calling it like it is.

While I am hopeful that these acts are not symptoms of a much larger, growing problem, nothing in media leads me to believe otherwise. The growing hate and intolerance on display by the rightwing and people of faith gives me a lot of pause, as they target gays, people of color and anyone with a contrary point of view.