KELSEYVILLE
Hotcakes for Heroes this weekend
Operation Tango Mike and the Kelseyville Lions will co-host “Hotcakes For Heroes” on Sunday, December 11. The breakfast will feature hotcakes, along with choices of sausage, eggs, biscuits and gravy. Beverages include juice and coffee. You may also order the deluxe version, by simply requesting “the works.”
Operation Tango Mike volunteers will take orders and serve patrons.
Santa will join us for breakfast, so bring your camera. The event will run from 8 to 11 a.m. at the Kelseyville Lions Club, 4335 Sylar Lane, with a suggested donation of $8.
Proceeds benefit Operation Tango Mike in the ongoing effort to ship monthly care packages to deployed military personnel.
Operation Tango Mike is approaching 20 years of supporting the troops and having shipped more than 25,000 care packages to deployed military personnel.
Currently, monthly shipping fees alone average nearly $2000. Coupled with the increasing costs of care package supplies, the all-volunteer non-profit spends in excess of $4,000 per month to send the much needed and appreciated care packages.
For further information call 349-2838 or e-mail operationtangomike@mchsi.com.
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LAKE COUNTY
Lake Family Resource Center (Lake FRC) announces the Holiday Food Program.
With generous donations from our community, Brunos and Foods Ect. We will once again be offering gift cards instead of food boxes.
Northshore residents will receive a food gift card to Bruno’s Shop Smart, while Southshore will receive a food gift card to Foods Etc.
“The Christmas food giveaway is very important to our community and we’re happy to help.” Darling said, adding “We feel very blessed to be part of the Lake County community and we do all that we can to support it.”
Throughout the year, people can make money donations to any West America Bank into the Holiday Food Program account and those donations are used the following year to provide the holiday meals. This year, 400 cards will be distributed to the Southshore and 400 to the Northshore.
Lake FRC offers services in child and youth development, health and wellness, family and community education, family and community violence prevention, intervention, and treatment while also overseeing the Lakeport Senior Center.
This year, Southshore residents can receive a card at the drive-through event on December 17th at Burns Valley School parking lot from 9am until all 400 gift cards are gone. Southshore includes residents of Glenhaven, Clearlake Oaks, Spring Valley, Clearlake and Lower Lake.
Northshore residents, which include Kelseyville, Finley, Lakeport, Upper Lake, Nice and Lucerne, can receive a card at the drive-through event on December 18 from 9am until all 400 cards are gone. This event will be at Lake FRCs Lakeport office located at 896 Lakeport Blvd. This is a first come first serve offering. Please bring your ID and proof of residence. One card per household regardless of family size.
We want to thank Dennis Darling owner of Food Ect. and Bruno’s Shop Smart for their generous matching gifts that allow us to increase the dollar value of each individual gift card.
For more information, please contact Stacy Bethel at 707-279-0563 or reach out by emailing info@lakefrc.org.
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WASHINGTON
Thompson votes to pass respect for Marriage Act, Enshrine Marriage Equality into law
On Thursday, Rep. Mike Thompson (D-St. Helena) voted to pass H.R. 8404, the Respect for Marriage Act. This legislation enshrines into federal law marriage equality for same sex and interracial couples.
“Every American deserves equal rights and equal justice, and that includes the right to marry who you love,” said Thompson. “The Respect for Marriage Act is a major victory for the values we hold most dear as Americans: freedom, dignity, and equality. When President Biden signs this bill into law, we will see equal protections for Americans to marry who they love in case the extremist Republican-controlled Supreme Court follows through on the threat to strip another fundamental freedom away.”
The Respect for Marriage Act:
- Enshrines Marriage Equality for Federal Law Purposes: The bill requires, for federal law purposes, that an individual be considered married if the marriage was valid in the state where it was performed. This gives same-sex and interracial couples additional security that they will continue to enjoy equal treatment under federal law as all other married couples – as the Constitution requires.
- Repeals the Discriminatory Defense of Marriage Act: The Supreme Court effectively rendered the Defense of Marriage Act of 1996 inert with its landmark decisions in United States v. Windsor and Obergefell, holding that marriage equality was a constitutional right. This unconstitutional and discriminatory law, however, still officially remains on the books. Therefore, this bill would repeal this statute once and for all.
- Provides Additional Legal Protections from Individuals Seeking to Undermine Marriage Equality While Acting Under Color of State Law: The bill prohibits any person acting under color of state law from denying full faith and credit to an out-of-state marriage based on the sex, race, ethnicity or national origin of the individuals in the marriage. The bill also provides the U.S. Attorney General with the authority to pursue enforcement actions and creates a private right of action for any individual harmed by a violation of this provision.
While marriage equality remains constitutionally protected, the Supreme Court’s reasoning in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization to justify overturning the right to abortion could be used in the future to threaten other fundamental rights, including the right to marriage equality. In fact, in a concurring opinion in Dobbs, Justice Clarence Thomas explicitly called on the Supreme Court to reconsider its decisions protecting other fundamental rights, including the right to same-sex marriage recognized in Obergefell. And although Justice Thomas did not mention the right to interracial marriage, that right relies on the same constitutional doctrines as the right to same-sex marriage, and therefore, could be vulnerable to a legal challenge.
This bill originally passed the House on July 19 by a broad bipartisan vote. On Nov. 28, 2022, the Senate passed H.R. 8404, the Respect for Marriage Act with an amendment affirming current law protecting all religious liberty and conscience protections and ensures that the bill does not allow the federal government to recognize polygamous unions as marriages.
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