A source for the Washington Blade has said that hate crimes legislation will likely be attached to a tourism bill which will be voted on by the Senate later this week.

Lawmakers are expected to pass the measure by amending S. 1023, or the Travel Promotion Act, said the source. The bill is geared toward establishing a national travel promotion program to communicate U.S. travel policies and to promote travel to the United States.

“The idea is that that will be an amendment to the tourism bill that’s going to be on the floor this week in the Senate, and we’re thinking that the vote will happen probably [Tuesday] or Wednesday,” said the source.

A press conference is expected later today.

Minister Leroy Swailes of Oxon Hill, Maryland put on quite a show at the Washington DC gay marriage hearings last week as he put forth his arguments against same-sex marriage, citing bestiality, pedophilia and the anti-Christ in a nearly 4 minute rant. While some may find his words disturbing, it also borders on the ridiculous and absurd. Watch the freakshow below…

Just one thing I want to know… who the hell applauded Swailes at the end of his remarks? Those are the ones I’m really worried about.

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.