Month: December 2022

The House of Representatives passed a bill on Thursday that provides federal protections for same-sex and interracial marriage. Called the Respect for Marriage Act, the measure won bipartisan support in the Democratic-led House, after the lower chamber passed this summer a version of the bill with backing from 47 Republicans. The House vote to give final approval to the legislation was 258 to 169, with one Republican voting “present.” Thirty-nine GOP lawmakers joined all Democrats in supporting the bill.

The Respect for Marriage Act now heads to President Biden’s desk, where he is expected to sign it into law. It had passed the Senate 61-36.  Mr. Biden said the measure’s passage will provide peace off mind to LGBTQI+ and interracial couples now guaranteed federal protections.  The White House said in a statement: “Congress has restored a measure of security to millions of marriages and families. They have also provided hope and dignity to millions of young people across this country who can grow up knowing that their government will recognize and respect the families they build.”

The legislation requires the federal government and all states to recognize marriages if the pair was wed in a state where the union was legal. It also cements protections for interracial couples, ordering states to recognize marriages regardless of “the sex, race, ethnicity, or national origin of those individuals.” It also repeals the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act, which recognized marriage as “only a legal union between one man and one woman as husband and wife” and refers to the word spouse as “a person of the opposite sex who is a husband or wife.”

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President Joe Biden announced Thursday that WNBA star and Olympian Brittney Griner has been released from a Russian prison in a one-for-one prisoner exchange. Griner, the 32-year-old center for the Phoenix Mercury, was arrested at a Moscow airport in February after arriving in the country with cannabis oil in her luggage. She was found guilty of smuggling narcotics into Russia in August and sentenced to nine years in prison. Griner’s arrest came shortly before the start of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February.

The POTUS tweeted: “Moments ago I spoke to Brittney Griner. She is safe. She is on a plane. She is on her way home.”  Later during remarks from the Roosevelt Room of the White House alongside Vice President Kamala Harris, Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Griner’s wife, Cherelle Griner, Biden said exchange took place in the United Arab Emirates after months of negotiations: “This is a day we worked toward for a long time. We never stopped pushing for her release. It took painstakingly intense negotiations.”  The President added: “These past few months have been hell for Brittney and for Cherelle and her entire family and all teammates back home. People across the country have learned about Brittney’s story, advocated for her release, stood with her throughout this terrible ordeal and I know that and I know that support meant a lot to her family.”

Russia’s foreign ministry said in a statement that Griner was released in exchange for the U.S. release of international arms dealer Viktor Bout. In its statement, the Russian foreign ministry said the United States “categorically refused to engage in dialogue” on the inclusion of Bout in the prisoner exchange, but added, “Nevertheless, the Russian Federation continued to actively work to rescue our compatriot.”  Bout, known as the “Merchant of Death,” was serving a 25-year prison sentence for selling weapons that U.S. prosecutors said were intended to be used to kill Americans.

The one-for-one exchange means that former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan, who has been in Russian custody since 2018, was not part of the deal. Whelan was arrested at a Moscow hotel in December 2018 and convicted of espionage charges, which the former security executive has denied. He is serving a 16-year hard labor sentence at a Mordovia prison camp. Biden said negotiations for his release remain ongoing:“We have not forgotten about Paul Whelan, who has been unjustly detained in Russia for years. This was not a choice of which American to bring home. … While we have not succeeded in securing Paul’s release, we are not giving up. We will never give up …We remain in close touch with Paul’s family, the Whelan family, and my thoughts and prayers are with them today. They have to have such mixed emotions today and we’ll keep negotiating in good faith for Paul’s release.”

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Atlanta police announced two teens have been arrested in connection to the deadly shooting that killed a 12-year-old and 15-year-old, and wounded four others, near Atlantic Station on Nov. 26. The shooting happened after groups of juveniles were escorted off the Atlantic Station area property for disorderly behavior and violation of curfew. Gunfire broke out triggered by a dispute among the juveniles, according to police. Killed in the shooting were 12-year-old Zyion Charles and 15-year-old Cameron Jackson.

Atlanta Police Deputy Chief Charles Hampton Jr. said in a live streamed press conference Wednesday:  “One was a 15-year-old and another was a 16-year-old. One of those individuals was apprehended in New York with the assistance of our fugitive team as well as the U.S. Marshals,  This case is still very active.”

The arrested teens are charged with two counts of murder, aggravated assault and a gang-related charge, according to police. Hampton said the two teens in custody for the shooting were students in Atlanta Public Schools:  “It’s a tragic situation … We take these cases — as all homicides — seriously. We’re pleased to announce we were able to make arrests.”  Hampton added that there are people depicted in a video of the shooting that police “are still working on,” and believes they will have additional charges in the case.

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The family of Patrick Lyoya, a Black man and Congolese refugee shot and killed by a Michigan police officer in April, filed a civil lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan on Wednesday against the city of Grand Rapids and the officer charged in the shooting. The 26-year-old Lyoya was fatally shot in the back of the head by Grand Rapids police officer Christopher Schurr following a struggle as Lyoya attempted to flee a traffic stop on April 4 on the city’s southeast side. The 31-year-old Schurr has been charged with second-degree murder in the case and is slated to stand trial in 2023.

The 12-page complaint claims Schurr violated Lyoya’s civil rights when he pursued Lyoya on foot and did not wait for backup before using lethal force. The family is seeking financial damages for Lyoya’s death, per the complaint.  Attorneys Ayanna Hatchett and Ven Johnson wrote in the complaint: “Schurr’s actions demonstrated a reckless disregard of his legal duties, as well as a substantial lack of concern for whether death or injury would result from his actions,”  adding Schurr’s actions “demonstrated a malicious risk of harm and an indifference to the consequences of his actions.” The lawsuit also says the city of Grand Rapids created a culture of excessive force by not appropriately responding to complaints against GRPD officers made in prior years.

Lawyers for Schurr maintain he was acting with appropriate use of force during the shooting. Schurr was initially placed on paid administrative leave before being fired after the second-degree murder charge was announced by Kent County Prosecutor Chris Becker in June. After the Grand Rapids Police Department and city officials released footage of Lyoya’s shooting on April 13, protesters held several demonstrations and marches calling for accountability from the city’s police. Footage included video from Schurr’s body-worn camera, a surveillance camera from a nearby home and the cell phone of the passenger with Lyoya.

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