Alabama pol threatens to out lawmakers" alleged affairs over gay marriage criticism

Alabama’s only openly gay lawmaker says if her colleagues don’t stop calling same-sex marriage immoral, she’ll publicly out her heterosexual colleagues she claims are having extramarital affairs.

State Rep. Patricia Todd said she was furious and disappointed by comments made after a federal judge struck down the state’s gay-marriage ban last week. 

“I’m sick of the hypocrisy,” the Birmingham Democrat said on Facebook. “If you start disparaging my community, and I know that you are not exactly the family values person that you put yourself out to be, well, then, beware.”

Todd has not identified by name anyone she is considering accusing.

U.S. District Judge Callie V. S. Granade’s order, issued Friday, potentially makes Alabama the 37th state where gay marriage is legal. She put the order on hold for 14 days to let the state appeal. The state wants the ruling to remain on hold until the Supreme Court takes up the issue later this year.

Republican House Speaker Mike Hubbard called Granade’s ruling outrageous and said Alabama would defend “the Christian conservative values that make Alabama a special place to live.” Todd said that was one of many statements that upset her, although she hasn’t accused Hubbard.

Hubbard said he considered Todd a friend and was sorry he upset her, but they have a “fundamental disagreement on allowing same-sex marriages in Alabama.” Hubbard later took down his statement from social media because, his spokeswoman said, she was constantly removing profane responses from people on both sides of the debate.

Todd was elected in 2006 to the Alabama House of Representatives, a body that passed the gay-marriage bans and where a legislator in 2004 proposed banning any textbooks and public school library books that suggested homosexuality was acceptable. Todd said she has been treated cordially through the years, but became fed up with the recent comments.

“It’s again making Alabama look stupid, but we can’t help ourselves,” Todd said.

Todd has yet to follow through on her threat, and has acknowledged that to do so risked slander.

“It was an attempt to say, ‘Hold your tongue and speak about the issues and not the emotional response you are trying to incite in people. And how dare you say that we are not family,’” Todd said.

Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore on Tuesday urged state probate judges not to give marriage licenses to gay couples if the district judge’s stay expires.

In a letter Tuesday to Gov. Robert Bentley, Moore denounced Granade’s decisions as judicial tyranny and said he was dismayed that some probate judges indicated they would give licenses to gay couples if the stay is lifted.

He said the rulings were nonbinding on Alabama courts and said he would advise probate judges that giving marriage licenses to same-sex couples would violate “the laws and Constitution of Alabama.”

Lifting the ban could lead to “marriages between multiple groups of people, whether they be men or women, or marriages within a family – incest,” he said. “We’ve got a lot of things that could occur because of this.”

Moore was removed as chief justice in 2003 when he ignored a court order to remove a Ten Commandment monument from the state judicial building. He was re-elected in 2012.

Richard Cohen, the head of the Alabama-based Southern Poverty Law Center, called Moore’s letter “outrageous.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

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Alabama pol threatens to out lawmakers" alleged affairs over gay marriage criticism

#MARINEHELDINMEXICO: Mom pleads with lawmakers for "despondent" Marine"s freedom - Full Coverage: Marine jailed in Mexico

The mother of the U.S. Marine imprisoned in Mexico after mistakenly crossing the border with three legally-registered guns told lawmakers Wednesday her son is rapidly deteriorating and pleaded with them to press for his return.

Jill Tahmooressi, whose 26-year-old son, Andrew, served two tours in Afghanistan, appeared before a House Foreign Affairs subcommittee to push her case for the U.S. to pressure Mexico to release him. The condition of Tahmooressi, who suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder from his service, has deteriorated since he was locked up March 31 on gun charges.

“My son is despondent, without treatment, and he needs to be home,” she said, her voice cracking with emotion.

The longtime nurse, who lives in Weston, Fla., recounted several emotional calls from her son, including one from Afghanistan, where he told her about blacking out after an IED exploded near him. Upon returning home, Andrew Tahmooressi abandoned his dream of becoming a commercial pilot because, he told his mother, “I can’t concentrate on the academic work.”

Then, on March 31, he called her from a Mexican border checkpoint to say he was in trouble.

“Mom, I got lost; I made a wrong turn,” Jill Tahmooressi recounted her son saying. “I’m at the Mexican border. You need to know this because I’m surrounded by Mexican military.”

Hours later, in another call, he told her, “Mom, I’ve been arrested, please secure me an attorney.”

Appearing with the distraught mother before the Western Hemisphere Subcommittee were television personality and former Navy Lt. Commander Montel Williams, who is also a former Marine, and Pete Hegseth, the CEO of Concerned Veterans for America and a Fox News contributor.

“We know for a fact that A’s time in this prison has been worse than his time in both tours of combat,” Williams said. “How dare we, how dare we as a nation, hesitate to get that young man back?”

The hearing took place just hours after Tahmooressi’s attorney, Fernando Benitez, told Fox News he plans to rest his case today, possibly opening the door for Tahmooressi’s release within a matter of weeks.

“We have more than enough for an acquittal,” Benitez said. He said a crucial development in the case came within recent days, when the prosecution acknowledged that Tahmooressi’s PTSD may have played a role in the immediate aftermath of his detention. That stipulation could pave the way to Tahmooressi’s release on humanitarian grounds, he said.

Lawmakers said it is outrageous for a U.S. ally to hold an ailing American on gun charges that clearly stem from an honest mistake. Tahmooressi was in the San Diego area to get PTSD treatment, and living out of his pickup truck when he mistakenly crossed the border at a poorly marked checkpoint. He immediately declared that the guns were among all of his possessions in the truck, according to Benitez.

“As a direct result of his honorable service in Afghanistan, U.S. Marine Sergeant Andrew Tahmooressi now suffers from combat-related PTSD,” said Rep. Matt Salmon, R- Ariz. “Tragically, instead of receiving the treatment he needs, he is being held in a Mexican prison.

“Our war hero needs to come home,” he added.

Hegseth, a former infantry officer in the Army National Guard who served tours in Afghanistan, Iraq and at Guantanamo Bay, said the administration needs to do more to bring Tahmooressi home.

“Shame on anyone, at home or abroad, who does not move heaven and Earth to ensure that those who given so much, receive the care they deserve,” Hegseth said.

Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Ed Royce, R-Calif., noted that the Obama administration traded five Taliban detainees held at Guantanamo Bay for the release of Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, accused of desertion by several men who served with him.

“Sgt. Tahmooressi is an American hero, whose wrong turn at the Mexican border has had the devastating effect of delaying his much-needed PTSD treatment for too long,” Royce said.

Royce said he and Salmon have been in contact with Mexico’s attorney general, who has the power to release Tahmooressi on humanitarian grounds. They said they impressed upon Jesus Karam that Tahmooressi had been diagnosed with PTSD by the VA San Diego Healthcare System just five days before his arrest.

“I am confident the humanitarian release of Andrew Tahmooressi will occur very soon,” Royce said.

More than 100,000 people have signed a petition asking the Obama administration to demand Tahmooressi’s release, prompting White House officials earlier this summer to ask Mexican authorities to quickly process the Marine’s case.

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#MARINEHELDINMEXICO: Mom pleads with lawmakers for "despondent" Marine"s freedom - Full Coverage: Marine jailed in Mexico

#MARINEHELDINMEXICO: Mom pleads with lawmakers for "despondent" Marine"s freedom - VIDEO: Montel: Marine case "ridiculously politicized" - Full Coverage: Marine jailed in Mexico

The mother of the U.S. Marine imprisoned in Mexico after mistakenly crossing the border with three legally-registered guns told lawmakers Wednesday her son is rapidly deteriorating and pleaded with them to press for his return.

Jill Tahmooressi, whose 26-year-old son, Andrew, served two tours in Afghanistan, appeared before a House Foreign Affairs subcommittee to push her case for the U.S. to pressure Mexico to release him. The condition of Tahmooressi, who suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder from his service, has deteriorated since he was locked up March 31 on gun charges.

“My son is despondent, without treatment, and he needs to be home,” she said, her voice cracking with emotion.

The longtime nurse, who lives in Weston, Fla., recounted several emotional calls from her son, including one from Afghanistan, where he told her about blacking out after an IED exploded near him. Upon returning home, Andrew Tahmooressi abandoned his dream of becoming a commercial pilot because, he told his mother, “I can’t concentrate on the academic work.”

Then, on March 31, he called her from a Mexican border checkpoint to say he was in trouble.

“Mom, I got lost; I made a wrong turn,” Jill Tahmooressi recounted her son saying. “I’m at the Mexican border. You need to know this because I’m surrounded by Mexican military.”

Hours later, in another call, he told her, “Mom, I’ve been arrested, please secure me an attorney.”

Appearing with the distraught mother before the Western Hemisphere Subcommittee were television personality and former Navy Lt. Commander Montel Williams, who is also a former Marine, and Pete Hegseth, the CEO of Concerned Veterans for America and a Fox News contributor.

“We know for a fact that A’s time in this prison has been worse than his time in both tours of combat,” Williams said. “How dare we, how dare we as a nation, hesitate to get that young man back?”

The hearing took place just hours after Tahmooressi’s attorney, Fernando Benitez, told Fox News he plans to rest his case today, possibly opening the door for Tahmooressi’s release within a matter of weeks.

“We have more than enough for an acquittal,” Benitez said. He said a crucial development in the case came within recent days, when the prosecution acknowledged that Tahmooressi’s PTSD may have played a role in the immediate aftermath of his detention. That stipulation could pave the way to Tahmooressi’s release on humanitarian grounds, he said.

Lawmakers said it is outrageous for a U.S. ally to hold an ailing American on gun charges that clearly stem from an honest mistake. Tahmooressi was in the San Diego area to get PTSD treatment, and living out of his pickup truck when he mistakenly crossed the border at a poorly marked checkpoint. He immediately declared that the guns were among all of his possessions in the truck, according to Benitez.

“As a direct result of his honorable service in Afghanistan, U.S. Marine Sergeant Andrew Tahmooressi now suffers from combat-related PTSD,” said Rep. Matt Salmon, R- Ariz. “Tragically, instead of receiving the treatment he needs, he is being held in a Mexican prison.

“Our war hero needs to come home,” he added.

Hegseth, a former infantry officer in the Army National Guard who served tours in Afghanistan, Iraq and at Guantanamo Bay, said the administration needs to do more to bring Tahmooressi home.

“Shame on anyone, at home or abroad, who does not move heaven and Earth to ensure that those who given so much, receive the care they deserve,” Hegseth said.

Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Ed Royce, R-Calif., noted that the Obama administration traded five Taliban detainees held at Guantanamo Bay for the release of Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, accused of desertion by several men who served with him.

“Sgt. Tahmooressi is an American hero, whose wrong turn at the Mexican border has had the devastating effect of delaying his much-needed PTSD treatment for too long,” Royce said.

Royce said he and Salmon have been in contact with Mexico’s attorney general, who has the power to release Tahmooressi on humanitarian grounds. They said they impressed upon Jesus Karam that Tahmooressi had been diagnosed with PTSD by the VA San Diego Healthcare System just five days before his arrest.

“I am confident the humanitarian release of Andrew Tahmooressi will occur very soon,” Royce said.

More than 100,000 people have signed a petition asking the Obama administration to demand Tahmooressi’s release, prompting White House officials earlier this summer to ask Mexican authorities to quickly process the Marine’s case.

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#MARINEHELDINMEXICO: Mom pleads with lawmakers for "despondent" Marine"s freedom - VIDEO: Montel: Marine case "ridiculously politicized" - Full Coverage: Marine jailed in Mexico

Bullish on venture capital: DBJ not solely relying on lawmakers

THE Development Bank of Jamaica (DBJ) is looking at working around current laws to enable the start-up of venture capital (VC) funds in 2014.

The state agency plans to provide seed capital for the establishment of such a fund next year, when it will invite investors wanting to pool their money and invest in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to participate.Now, the DBJ is mulling over recommendations from lawyers on new regulations and laws needed for a legal framework to govern VC funds.But having no control over the pace at which bills crawl through the legislature, the DBJ has to figure out how to use existing laws to make those investments happen in the near term.“Whatever the workaround that can be achieved in the next year we want to be able to put that in place so that any entity that wants to establish a venture capital fund can,” said Audrey Richards, who is leading the venture capital project for the development bank.“We do recognise that from an investment point of view, pension regulations and insurance regulations are still not clear whether these funds can invest, or how much they can put in venture capital,” she told the Jamaica Observer at its Monday Exchange held at its Beechwood Avenue headquarters in Kingston.Indeed, about $300 billion are invested in pension funds in Jamaica, so even a small percentage being directed towards SMEs could be substantial.Current regulations for collective investment schemes require that investors wanting to pool funds from others for investment would have to do so using unit trust or mutual funds, which Richards reckons would not be the “best place” for venture capital.“There is a new collective investment scheme regulation being put in place by the Financial Services Commission,” she said. “It is something we looked at and identified as one of the things that needs to happen very quickly.”Policymakers are also looking at modernising an antiquated Arbitration Act and work has begun on changes to insolvency laws, which the DBJ expects to see legislated over the next year.But the year 2016 remains a major goalpost for getting all the legal framework to put venture capital funds in place.With the backing of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), the DBJ aims to provide capacity-building for some 100 SMEs over the next three years, with at least 30 being ready to get venture capital, and at least five receiving financing from VC funds by 2016.And the state agency hopes to kick-start such funding with its own capital as early as next year.“We want to identify fund managers that DBJ can co-invest with, and these fund managers would undertake the investments in the SMEs or start-ups,” said Richards. “We are looking to invest with qualified fund managers over the next year.”It is still too early to determine how much capital will find its way in the first venture fund, but the Multilateral Investment Fund (MIF), the arm of the IDB that focuses on private equity, suggests that the minimum critical mass for VC funds in the region ranges between US$20 million ($2 billion) and US$50 million, depending on the size of the country.“This is needed to provide several financing rounds to SMEs and to retain skilled staff at the fund management company,” said a 2011 MIF report on building a local venture capital industry in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC). “Since every country in the LAC region has very few seed and VC funds, each fund should have enough capital to provide several rounds of financing to the best SMEs and not rely on there being other funds providing subsequent rounds, as happens in the US and other developed markets.”Audrey Richards, consultant on the Jamaica Venture Capital Programme. (PHOTO: NAPHTALI JUNIOR)

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Bullish on venture capital: DBJ not solely relying on lawmakers

Irish lawmakers agonise over abortion vote

DUBLIN Ireland (AP) — After decades of delay and months of argument, Ireland’s lawmakers agonised yesterday over government plans to pass an abortion bill for the first time in this predominantly Catholic country.

Prime Minister Enda Kenny acceded to lawmakers’ demands for an extended round-the-clock debate of the bill, which would authorise abortions for medical emergencies.His concession meant that the vote, long scheduled for Wednesday night, was pushed into the early hours of Thursday as lawmakers debated 165 potential amendments. The government rejected them all.Outside more than 100 anti-abortion protesters, who had spent the night reciting prayers with rosary beads beside the entrance to the Parliament building, vowed to spend a second night kneeling on the spot in hopes of inspiring lawmakers to rebel against Kenny. “Keep abortion illegal — babies can LIVE without it,” their placards read.But Kenny enjoys the largest parliamentary majority in Irish history, so the bill’s passage appeared certain. The bill already received overwhelming backing in an initial vote last week.While Ireland officially outlaws abortion in all circumstances, its laws on the matter have been muddled since 1992, when the Supreme Court ruled that abortion should be legal in cases where doctors deem a woman’s life at risk from continued pregnancy — including, most controversially, from her own threats to commit suicide if denied one.Six previous governments refused to back the judgment, citing the suicide grounds as open to abuse by abortion-seekers. But Ireland faced renewed pressure to pass legislation on medical-emergency abortions after the European Court of Human Rights ruled in 2011 that Ireland’s inaction meant that pregnant women in medical crises faced potentially dangerous delays in receiving terminations in neighboring England, where abortion was legalized in 1967.Still, Kenny’s government didn’t draft its abortion bill until after the legal limbo was widely blamed for killing a woman in an Irish hospital last year. In that case, a woman 17 weeks pregnant with her first child was diagnosed with a miscarriage, but doctors refused her pleas for an abortion and said they couldn’t act until the fetal heartbeat stopped. The delay contributed to her contraction of fatal blood poisoning.The bill proposes that one doctor’s opinion is sufficient for a woman in an immediate emergency to receive an abortion; a woman facing life-threatening complications would need two doctors’ support for an abortion; and a suicidal woman would need her threats to be verified as credible by three doctors — including two psychiatrists — for an abortion to be permitted.Kenny’s traditionally conservative party, Fine Gael, does face a damaging split, with at least five of his lawmakers most ardently opposed to abortion poised to vote against it — a rebellion that Kenny has promised to punish by barring them from re-election.One of the Fine Gael rebels, Peter Mathews, said the bill if passed would put Ireland on to a slippery slope toward easy access abortion.“That is a shocking reality: the gift of life being snuffed out,” Mathews said. “Wars and famines come and go, but abortion stays with a society and eats at its heart.”But left-wing lawmakers who want wider access to abortion denounced the bill as weak-willed and cowardly. They all intended to support the bill as a small first step toward achieving their goal. That side of the house includes Kenny’s coalition partners in the Labour Party and dozens of opposition lawmakers, including from the Irish nationalist Sinn Fein party.

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Irish lawmakers agonise over abortion vote