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Loading ...Gay suit against mayor moves forward
12.16.2008 11:14am EST
(Birmingham. Alabama) A federal judge has refused to dismiss a lawsuit by Central Alabama Pride against Birmingham Mayor Larry Langford.
The LGBT pride group in a lawsuit accuses Langford of violating its civil rights, saying that the mayor acted unconstitutionally when he barred city workers from hanging Pride banners on city property in June.The lawsuit claims the mayor has not restricted banner from other organizations and there was no rational basis to refuse the gay pride banners. The suit also said there is no criteria for hanging banners in Birmingham.
The group said in the suit that Langford subjected the group to religious discrimination in violation of the First Amendment and violation of the 14th Amendment’s equal protection clause.
The mayor called the suit a frivolous publicity stunt.
Langford said that he did not discriminate against anyone and that the city only hangs banners for groups sponsored by the city.
He also refused to sign a gay pride proclamation that was passed by city council in May and said at the time he would deny the group a parade permit.
The permit was eventually granted by the Birmingham Police Department and Langford did not interfere.
Earlier this month, Langford filed a motion to quash the suit.
In denying the motion Monday, U.S. District Judge Karon Bowdre said there was no valid reason for not allowing the lawsuit to proceed.
She also ruled that the pride group could amend its complaint to address deficiencies raised in Langford’s motion. The amended complaint must be filed before Dec. 22.
The lawsuit isn’t Langford’s only legal problem.
This month he was arrested on federal bribery and fraud charges.
The federal indictment said the charges were connected to a multibillion-dollar sewer bond deal that has driven the surrounding county to the brink of bankruptcy.
Langford, Montgomery investment banker Bill Blount and lobbyist Al LaPierre were charged in the 101-count indictment. The charges also include money laundering and filing false tax returns.
Langford is accused of receiving $230,000 in bribes from Blount, some of them routed through LaPierre, to influence the bond deals while Langford was president of the Jefferson County Commission. Blount’s firm made $7.1 million in fees from the bond work.
The three men have denied any wrongdoing.
Fascinating. This man’s good christian conservative morals drive him to refuse to allow queers to hang a banner…AND to steal, lie, cheat, accept bribes and harm hundreds of people through driving their county to bankruptcy.
Isn’t the influence of organized religion a wunnerful thing?
Hail the theocratic oligarchy that is the USA!
We’re number 38!! We’re number 38!!
Hmmm…doesn’t have quite the same ring as “We’re number 1!” does it?
This is proof that the mighty, the corrupt and arrogant in power, especially the one that commits felonies shall one day “be brought to their knees”.
Doesn’t matter if religious or atheist, gay unfriendly or not.
Examples, Langford, Blagojevich, Stevens, DeLay. One pro-gay and the rest antigay. It’s all the same, do a big enough crime, lose your political office one way or another, jail or no jail.
In the case of Blagojevich or some other pro-gay corrupt official “advancing his political career at all costs”, the GLBT community may in the short run, lose a “friend”, but in the long run GLBTsd will be better off from losing connection with a corrupt figure whose criminality and/or whose questionable “shady deals”, puts another “ill-afforded storm cloud” over the BLBT community that still has to struggle for its rights and gives another “black eye” to our community.
Poetic Justice for this fool – a good stint in a prison, where he will learn not about gay sex, but about male on male power rape. Not the mental kind done to gay people by characters like him, but the physical.
I know we shouldn’t wish brutality on people, but there is the other side of the argument, especially by people who just do a different kind of Brutality to their fellow citizens.
Assuming he is convicted and sent to xyz penitentiary, we should mail him a few dozen bottles of lube.