
一 | HELENA, Mont. -- A federal judge in Montana is continuing to block enforcement of a law that puts restrictions on drag shows and bans drag reading events in public schools and libraries, saying Friday that the law targets free speech and expression and that the text of the law and its legislative history "evince anti-LGBTQ+ animus.”The preliminary injunction, granted by U.S. District Court Judge Brian Morris, prevents enforcement of the law while a lawsuit filed on July 6 moves through the court process. Morris heard arguments over the injunction on Aug. 28.In briefs, the state argued “the Legislature determined sexually oriented performances and drag reading events to be indecent and inappropriate for minors,” and potentially harmful. Protecting minors from divergent gender expression is not the same as protecting minors from obscene speech, attorney Constance Van Kley argued for the plaintiffs during the Aug. 28 hearing.Montana law already protects minors from exposure to obscenities, the plaintiffs argued.“The state hasn't argued meaningfully that the speech targeted by (the new law) — beyond the obscenity already regulated — is potentially harmful to children," the plaintiffs argued in court filings.The state is not trying to establish a new obscenity standard in regulating drag performances, Assistant Attorney General Michael Russell said during arguments over the injunction. “We're arguing that they're indecent and improper for minors only,” and that the state has an interest to protect minors from that kind of conduct, he said.“No evidence before the Court indicates that minors face any harm from drag-related events or other speech and expression critical of gender norms,” Morris wrote in granting the injunction.Morris had granted a temporary restraining order against the law in late July, in time to allow Montana Pride to hold its 30th annual celebration in Helena without concerns about violating the law.The judge said the way the law was written would “disproportionally harm not only drag performers, but any person who falls outside traditional gender and identity norms.” He said the law did not adequately define actions that might be illegal and appears likely to ”encourage arbitrary and discriminatory enforcement."The law seeks to ban minors from attending “sexually oriented performances,” and bans such performances in public places where children are present. However, it does not adequately define many of the terms used in the law, causing people to self-censor out of fear of prosecution, attorneys for the plaintiffs argue. The law also made Montana the first state to specifically ban drag kings and drag queens — which it defined as performers who adopt a flamboyant or parodic male or female persona with glamorous or exaggerated costumes and makeup — from reading books to children in public schools or libraries, even if the performances do not have a sexual element. The law does not define terms like “flamboyant,” “parodic” or “glamorous,” Morris said in July.Enforcement can include fines for businesses if minors attend a “sexually oriented performance.” The law also calls for the loss of state licenses for teachers or librarians, and the loss of state funding for schools or libraries, that allow drag reading events to be held. It allows someone who, as a minor, attended a drag performance that violated the law to sue those who promoted or participated in the event at any time over a 10-year period after the performance. Montana’s law is flawed — like similar laws in Florida and Tennessee that have been blocked by courts — because it regulates speech based on its content and viewpoint, without taking into account its potential literary, artistic, political or scientific value, Morris found in July.The U.S. Supreme Court in 1972 set guidelines to determine whether something is obscene: Whether the work appeals to the prurient interest — a degrading or excessive interest in sexual matters; whether it depicts or describes sexual conduct in a patently offensive way; and whether the work lacks serious serious literary, artistic, political or scientific value.Like many Republican-led states, Montana’s conservative lawmakers have passed other laws targeting transgender people. The state's law banning gender-affirming medical care for minors has been blocked by a state judge. Montana's Republican-controlled legislature also passed a bill to define sex as only “male” or “female” in state law. That law was challenged this week, with arguments that it blocks legal recognition and protections to transgender, nonbinary and intersex residents.“It is absolutely impermissible for the government to deny benefits to a group of people on the basis of their straightforward hostility to them,” said Van Kley. In the “male” or “female” sex case, “there is pretty substantial evidence that the intent was to target transgender people,” Van Kley added.。 "What the revelations appear to show is that there was a close relationship between Joe Biden and his son, Hunter, and that there was likely high mutual awareness of one another’s business interests and, possibly, mutual support for some of these," said Joseph Oliver Boyd-Barrett, a professor emeritus at Bowling Green State University. "I don’t think the scandal has the power in itself of firing widespread outrage against Biden: there are just too many other things to be outraged about just now.",A review of Hunter Biden's personal calendar on the so-called "laptop from hell", which was abandoned by Hunter at a repair shop in Wilmington, Delaware, in April 2019, shows that the younger Biden and his business associate Eric Schwerin frequently met with then-US VP Joe Biden between 2008 and 2016. Hunter held at least 30 business meetings with his father either in the White House or the latter's vice-presidential residence, the Naval Observatory. Schwerin was reportedly invited to 21 out of the 30 confabs.,The New York Post found that all of the meets occurred days or even hours after Hunter's negotiations with high-profile foreign clients, prompting the media outlet to suggest that the younger Biden apparently discussed his business dealing with his father. The Post even goes so far as to not rule out that Hunter passed messages and requests from his clients to the then-vice president.,'Laptop From Hell': Hunter Biden's Calendar Suggests President Joe Was Well Aware of Business Trips17 July, 16:44 GMT,The latest revelation apparently has earmarks of an influence-peddling scheme, according to Charles Ortel, a Wall Street analyst and investigative journalist. What's more, Hunter's dealings with foreign tycoons and politicians have already been in the crosshairs of the US Department of Justice (DoJ) for quite a while.,"In theory, at least one US attorney has been investigating Hunter Biden and likely others for years, possibly in conjunction with a grand jury," said Ortel. "If this investigation is serious and objective, it must examine how Joe Biden and his family amassed so much wealth during decades of 'public service'.",However, "the practice of trading influence for off-market financial benefits is not confined to the Bidens or to Democrats alone," the analyst pointed out, asking rhetorically: "How did the Obamas, Bushes and Clintons become so wealthy?",At the same time, an in-depth investigation into the Bidens' shady conduct could also shed light on the unfolding Ukraine crisis, given Joe's role as Barack Obama's Ukraine appointee shortly after the 2014 coup d’état in Kiev, and Hunter's service at the Ukrainian energy firm Burisma at the time, according to Boyd-Barrett.,"It would be important, in a more rational polity – which of course this isn’t – to look very critically indeed at Joe Biden and Hunter Biden’s peculiar history with the 2014 coup and, subsequently, with Ukrainian energy interests, even marveling at the possibility that a private history with Ukrainian elites may have contributed to a fatally rash misreading of the events of February 24 and the lead-up to it," the professor said.,Talented Mr Biden: Hunter's Art Sales Reek of Pay-to-Play But DoJ Lost Sense of Smell, Analysts Say29 October 2021, 13:00 GMT,Laptop From Hell Exposure Comes Ahead of Midterms,The timing of the latest revelation comes as partisan strife for the control over the US Congress intensifies. The specter of the GOP jumping at the opportunity to use Joe's apparent involvement in his son's business activities to crush the Dems during the midterms and impeach the US president with a congressional majority has been raised.,While Republicans "may well, in effect, take control by next year," it is unclear whether they will double down on investigating the Bidens, especially given the mainstream press' reluctance to cover the issue, according to Boyd-Barrett.,The professor suggested that the GOP "could weigh the advantages earned them by the Durham investigation" instead. Special Counsel John Durham's indictments of former Clinton campaign lawyer Michael Sussmann and ex-MI6 agent Chris Steele's source Igor Danchenko are very important for the Republicans as they help debunk the Russiagate hoax and mainstream media lies about Donald Trump's "collusion" with Russia, according to the academic.,Durham's Probe: Hillary Clinton Sowed Dragon's Teeth by Peddling Trump-Russia Hoax, Analyst Says5 October 2021, 16:30 GMT,Could Joe Biden be Impeached?,House GOP Conference Chair Elise Stefanik previously signaled that she would subpoena Hunter Biden if Republicans win back control of Congress in the 2022 midterm elections. She noted that the Post's latest exposure appears to be yet more evidence of corruption.,While potential House investigations into the Bidens may indeed take place and even turn into impeachment hearings if the lower chamber is controlled by the GOP, the fate of this effort seems unclear, according to Ortel.,"Conservative, non-RINO [Republicans in Name Only] candidates now appear poised to win a wave election in 2022," he projected. "Things may change, but no current projections show Republicans reaching 67 out of 100 seats in the US Senate which is the number of votes required to convict an impeached person.",What's more possible, according to the analyst, is that the Democrats, already damaged by Joe Biden's incompetent domestic and foreign policies, will turn on him and force him out.,"Influence-shapers are far to the left of Joe Biden and mounting evidence shows they are done protecting Biden and rightly so," Ortel said.,If Joe Biden steps down, it's unlikely that the Dems will agree to see Kamala Harris replacing him, the analyst continued.,"Behind the scenes, major Democrat donors are trying to decide whether they can convince Michelle Obama to jump in and also to convince the Clintons to remain home with all their political and personal baggage packed up for good," he said, projecting that a new centrist Democrat presidential candidate could potentially emerge in order to fill Joe's shoes.。

二 |
Current article:http://kzno.maqiwenghepinyonghunpeng.cyou/news/20260826_8665.html
Published on:18:32:41
关于我们 | 我的网站 版权所有
Copyright ? 2019 我的网站 All Rights Reserved