Anti-Sodomy Laws Stay On The Books, Thanks To Bobby Jindal’s Hand-Picked Speaker Of The House
Republican U.S. Senator David Vitter (left) and Speaker of the Louisiana House of Representatives Chuck Kleckley
I’m certain that most of the people in the state of Louisiana are nice folks. I’m certain of that. But like every state, Louisiana has its share of obstinate, self-serving politicians. Really, there is no other term that describes perfectly a man who — ten years after the U.S. Supreme Court declared anti-sodomy laws unconstitutional — refuses to repeal his state’s anti-sodomy laws from the books.
Currently there are 17 states that still “ban” sodomy. Ban is in quotes because those bans are literally illegal. And yet they remain, and they enable unscrupulous law enforcement officials to illegally and unconstitutionally arrest decent law-abiding citizens for the “crime” of having sex — even with their legally-married spouse.
Recently, the East Baton Rouge, Louisiana Sheriff’s department was caught by a local reporter arresting gay men for the “crime” of flirting, hooking up, or dating. At least 12 men were the victims of an unconstitutional sting operation during which cops would pretend to be gay, ask men out, then arrest them. One story even included this horrifying scenario:
An undercover East Baton Rouge Parish sheriff’s deputy was staking out Manchac Park about 10 a.m. one day this month when a slow-moving sedan pulling into the parking lot caught his attention. The deputy parked alongside the 65-year-old driver and, after denying being a cop, began a casual conversation that was electronically monitored by a backup team nearby.
As the two men moved their chat to a picnic table, the deputy propositioned his target with “some drinks and some fun†back at his place, later inquiring whether the man had any condoms, according to court records. After following the deputy to a nearby apartment, the man was handcuffed and booked into Parish Prison on a single count of attempted crime against nature.
So let’s talk about Republican U.S. Senator David Vitter for just a moment. We all know that the Republican Senator from the great state of Louisiana was caught in 2007 with his pants down, figuratively, at least, paying to have sex with prostitutes instead of his wife Wendy, thanks to the infamous D.C. Madam scandal. And soon, it was revealed that Vitter’s extra-marital activities extended not just to the nation’s capitol, but to the happy fun time city of New Orleans. Senator Vitter refused to resign because, as he put it, “I believe I received forgiveness from God. I know I did from Wendy, and we put it behind us.” There are nasty rumors about his supposed diaper fetish as well. But, like the Pope said, who am I to judge?
But the only reason Senator David Vitter wasn’t arrested? The statute of limitations was up.
Yes, that’s right. Republican U.S. Senator David Vitter didn’t get arrested for hiring prostitutes  because the law said he couldn’t be. But at least a dozen men in his home state were arrested — in grave violation of their constitutional rights — despite the very fact that the law said they couldn’t be. Well, to be accurate, the Supreme Court said they couldn’t be, but not the law in Louisiana.
So let’s talk about Republican Governor of Louisiana Bobby Jindal, the man who in 2012 actually said that allowing same-sex marriage in his state was a slippery slope to overturning “Second Amendment rights.â€Â The man who, yes, partakes in exorcisms.
In 2012, Governor Jindal hand-picked state Rep. Chuck Kleckley to be the Speaker of the Louisiana House of Representatives.
“Chuck is a true conservative who will be a Speaker for all of Louisiana,” Governor Jindal said, and posted this glowing endorsement to his Office of the Governor of Louisiana website:
“He’s proven that he can work across geographical and partisan lines to do the right thing for Louisiana.
“Chuck has been a strong partner and a consistent supporter of efforts to cut taxes, reduce the size of government and help grow Louisiana’s economy. We’ve spoken to members of the House and Chuck’s support exceeds a majority of the House.
“I look forward to working with Chuck as we continue to make Louisiana the best place in the world to raise a family and start a career.â€
“Chuck is a true conservative who will be a Speaker for all of Louisiana.”
“Do the right thing for Louisiana.”
Apparently, doing the “right thing” for “all of Louisiana” doesn’t include repealing unconstitutional laws.
Speaker of the House Chuck Kleckley “was asked Monday at the Press Club of Baton Rouge whether he would lead an effort to repeal the law,” the AP reports. “He said no.”
To be clear, anti-sodomy laws apply to everyone. So, by definition, married heterosexual couples engaging in oral sex are in clear violation of Louisiana’s invalid and unenforceable crime against nature statute — R.S. 14:89.
Last month, after the East Baton Rouge Sheriff’s department was caught arresting gay men illegally, they were quick to offer an apology. Their ludicrous excuse?
“This is a law that is currently on the Louisiana books, and the sheriff is charged with enforcing the laws passed by our Louisiana Legislature,†the Sheriff’s spokesperson initially said. “Whether the law is valid is something for the courts to determine, but the sheriff will enforce the laws that are enacted.â€
The sheriff has been asking the state legislature since last month’s revelation of illegal arrests, to repeal the law.
Speaker Kleckley says “no.”
When Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli had clearly gone overboard with insisting — all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court — that his state’s anti-sodomy laws be upheld, MSNBC anchor Lawrence O’Donnell insisted Cuccinelli, now the GOP gubernatorial candidate, be asked if he’s ever violated the law, even with his wife.
Well, Speaker Kleckley?
Have you?
Image by Chuck Kleckley via Facebook
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Related:
Sheriff Arrests 12 Gay Men For Sex Because Unconstitutional Anti-Sodomy Law Still ‘On The Books’
Louisiana Republican Announces Legislation To Ban Flying The Rainbow Flag
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Maine Democratic U.S. Senate nominee Graham Platner is under fire after releasing a video declaring that new allegations against him are false, yet he is “taking time to reflect” on a path forward.
Politico on Monday afternoon reported that a woman who dated Platner, Jenny Racicot, “says he forced her to have sex with him nearly five years ago despite her repeated objections, an allegation Platner denies.”
“Racicot said she had an on-and-off relationship with Platner,” Politico reported, “for more than two years before he entered her rural Maine home uninvited one night in late 2021, deeply intoxicated, and forced himself on her while she repeatedly told him to stop. She said she cut off contact with him after telling him the encounter was not consensual.”
In a video posted to social media eleven minutes after the Politico story dropped, Platner says, “I wanted to directly address the troubling, serious, and false allegations against me. Any accusation of nonconsensual behavior is categorically false.”
He said he and his supporters “were united in a love of Maine, a belief that our politics must change, in a focus on defeating Susan Collins.”
“So, regardless of the inaccuracy of the reporting, but mindful the political reality will inflict, we are taking the time to reflect on the best path forward for the state that I love, the people that I love, the movement I belong to, and the goal of defeating Susan Collins.”
“Those were the goals when we launched this campaign. And they remain my goals today.”
“Throughout it all, you never turned your back on me. And I will not turn my back on you now. Every one of you deserves to see that vision come to fruition and see Susan Collins defeated. And we will use every tool at our disposal to do so.”
The Bulwark’s Tim Miller, a political commentator who served as the communications director for the Jeb Bush 2016 presidential campaign, blasted Platner.
“I’m sorry but ‘we are taking time to reflect on the best path forward’ is not an option on the table,” Miller wrote. “Either it’s false and you campaign with vigor or it’s true and you get out / apologize to everyone you let down.”
Journalist Ryan Grim, commenting on Platner’s video, noted that Platner “strongly suggests he is considering dropping out. Already Troy Jackson and Chellie Pingree, both gubernatorial candidates, are being kicked around in Maine circles as potential replacements.”
Several others, including Puck News’ Peter Hamby, predicted Platner will be dropping out.
Platner had postponed several campaign events before the Politico story was published.
— Graham Platner for Senate (@grahamformaine) July 6, 2026
President Donald Trump is facing backlash after posting a video of children — including showing their unblurred faces — graduating from kindergarten, with some of the girls purportedly wearing hijabs.
“President Trump posted a captionless video of graduating kindergarteners on Truth Social on Monday, goading his supporters into verbally attacking little children simply for being Muslim,” The New Republic reported. “The clip is from Gateway STEM Academy, a majority-Black K-8 public charter school in St. Paul, Minnesota. It shows about 21 children in caps and gowns on stage singing a song together. Most of the girls are wearing hijabs.”
The original post of the video which Trump reposted reads: “Public school in St. Paul, Minnesota. Every girl is in a hijab … in kindergarten.”
Trump did not add any comments. TNR called the post “Islamophobic, weird, and creepy,” while noting that the comments section of Trump’s post was filled with calls “by racist, xenophobic MAGA supporters” to “deport the children and ban hijabs.”
TNR also noted that it “should come as no surprise that Trump isn’t above attacking children who just learned how to read, but this post is still particularly discomforting—and will certainly contribute to the already potent level of anti-Muslim sentiment in the U.S. and in Minnesota.”
Critics blasted Trump.
“There is something deeply unsettling about the president of the United States—the most powerful person in the world—going after kindergarten schoolchildren in Minnesota because they wore hijabs, as Trump has done this morning on his website,” The Bulwark’s Sam Stein wrote.
One social media commentator wrote, “Trump posted an unblurred video of more than a dozen Muslim kindergartners to Truth Social, exposing the children’s faces while targeting them for their religion.”
Another added, “Trump is a bigot. The president took to Truth Social to attack kindergarteners in hijabs. These are little kids. The president isn’t just a bigot, he’s also a coward.”
The original video was posted to the X social media platform in June.
U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) at the time commented, “If you are in a public school in America, you should be speaking english.”
Image via Reuters
President Donald Trump’s apparent efforts to delay releasing the $5.8 million civil judgment to E. Jean Carroll are being met with a warning by the journalist’s legal team, who suggest there could be a legal maneuver for Trump to employ to forgo paying the judgment in either of the two cases he lost.
According to The Guardian, on July 4, U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan ordered Trump to release the $5.8 million judgment, which is in escrow, to Carroll by this coming Tuesday — or explain why he would not do so.
Carroll’s attorneys think Trump may be trying to buy time to mount another legal strategy, telling the judge that Trump’s request for an extension “appears to be little more than yet another play for time.”
“The case is separate from Trump’s appeal of a Manhattan civil jury’s 2024 award of $83.3m to Carroll for defamation,” The Guardian explains. “But her lawyers have suggested a legal scenario in which the president might seek to conjoin the cases and further delay payment of both.”
Carroll’s attorney Roberta Kaplan (no relation to the judge) wrote, “We can only assume that defendant is seeking … to buy time so he can try to concoct some new basis to put off paying plaintiff presumably in connection with his forthcoming petition and motion for a rehearing.”
Trump’s former attorney, Justin Smith, in one of his final acts, wrote to the Supreme Court suggesting that his client would be appealing the $83.3 million civil judgment.
Smith argued that the Supreme Court “may wish to consider the petitions together,” given they involve the same parties.
The larger judgment case involves possible questions of presidential immunity, and that has Carroll’s attorneys concerned.
“A conjoined case, Carroll’s lawyers fear, could result in both judgments being wiped out,” The Guardian reports.
The president has also made clear he is no fan of Judge Kaplan, after the jurist made several rulings that “angered” Trump.
“What else can you expect from a Trump Hating, Clinton appointed judge, who went out of his way to make sure that the result was as negative as it could possible be,” Trump wrote on Truth Social in 2023, “speaking to, and in control of, a jury from an anti-Trump area which is probably the worst place in the US for me to get a fair ‘trial’.”
Image via Reuters
Platner Scorched Over ‘Taking Time’ Video After New Accusation
Trump Sparks Fury Online After Posting Unblurred Video of Muslim Kindergartners in Hijabs
One Legal Maneuver Threatens to Undo Everything E. Jean Carroll Won
Inside the Group Helping MAGA Voters Walk Away — And What Finally Pushed Them
