8 The Courier sun • JUly 2, 2015 for breaking news visit www.couriersun.com Queens lawmakers celebrate Supreme Court same-sex marriage decision BY ANGY ALTAMIRANO AND ROBERT POZARYCKI [email protected] @QueensCourier Same-sex marriage is constitutional, according to the U.S. Supreme Court. In a 5-4 decision issued on the morning of June 26, the court overturned state-imposed bans on same-sex marriage. The court ruled that gay and lesbian couples have the right to marry under the 14th Amendment through the Due Process and Equal Protection clauses. “The fundamental liberties” in the Due Process Clause “extend to certain personal choices central to individual dignity and autonomy, including intimate choices defining personal identity and beliefs,” according to the decision. Queens lawmakers and gay rights advocates – including City Councilman Daniel Dromm – expressed delight in the decision in statements issued on June 26. “Marriage is finally equal,” said Dromm, who is one of Queens’ two openly gay City Council members. “No longer will there be gay marriage or heterosexual marriage – just marriage. As someone who has been in the gay rights movement for over 40 years, it is difficult to express my sentiments. I never thought I would live to see this day. God bless America.” Councilman Jimmy Van Bramer, who is the second openly gay Queens City Council member, released a statement on June 26 together with his husband, Dan Hendrick. “Today’s Supreme Court Decision is a landmark ruling making marriage equality the law of the land. Make no mistake, this decision is historic and breathtaking in its recognition of the equality inherent in love,” Van Bramer said. “We have been moved to tears this morning, knowing that the pain and stigma of being unequal is lifted. Of knowing that our relationship and our love is recognized by our country and is just as valid, beautiful and equal as any other.” “Thanks to today’s ruling, same-sex couples across the country will no longer be treated as second-class citizens when it comes to issues regarding the family,” Queens Borough President Melinda Katz said. “This is a great day for those who believe in the dignity of all people.” “History will remember this day as a watershed moment, a day when ‘we the people’ took another major step toward justice in our enormous and enduring struggle to form a more perfect union,” said U.S. Rep. Joe Crowley. “When we passed the Marriage Equality Act in 2011, New York sent a message to the nation that it was time to end one of society’s greatest inequities, and I am thrilled to see the court join us on the right side of history,” Governor Andrew Cuomo said. “Today, we are proud New Yorkers and proud Americans. Today, progress marches on.” “One of my proudest moments as a legislator was my vote for marriage equality in New York State; today I am equally proud that the United States Supreme Court extended these rights to all Americans,” said Assemblywoman Aravella Simotas. “This ruling sends a strong message that bigotry and intolerance will not be the law of the land.” “Our country will finally afford millions of Americans the rights they have always deserved, but until now were unable to exercise,” said Mayor Bill de Blasio. “Today, this country is richer – filled with more equality, more acceptance, and more love than yesterday. And for the people of this city, where the movement for LGBT rights began in 1969 at the Stonewall Inn, we can be proud that we helped blaze the trail to this great victory.” The court was ideologically split in its decision, as Justice Anthony Kennedy – regarded as its most moderate member – sided in the majority with the court’s four liberal justices: Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan and Stephen Breyer. The conservative wing – Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices Clarence Thomas, Antonin Scalia and Samuel Alito – voted in the minority. Photo via Twitter/@Dromm25 Councilman Daniel Dromm (front, right) celebrates the Supreme Court decision in Jackson Heights. Man arrested after threatening to ‘kill a lot of people’ with bombs at JFK: DA BY CRISTABELLE TUMOLA [email protected] @CristabelleT A 64-year-old Manhattan resident is behind bars after he called in nearly a dozen bomb threats to JFK Airport this month, stating that he wanted to “kill a lot of people,” including police officers, prosecutors announced on June 29. Philip Ngom, 64, of West 116th Street, was arraigned Saturday on 11 counts each of first-degree falsely reporting an incident and making a terroristic threat. Ngom allegedly called 911 eleven times between June 9 and 24, sometimes more than once per day, and making a bomb threat, according to District Attorney Richard Brown. He reportedly threatened to plant chemical bombs and/or explosives containing nails at the south Queens airport. On June 17, Ngom phoned 911 around 7 a.m., claiming he had three chemical bombs in his BMW and threatened to drive his car to JFK, saying that “I am going to kill a lot of people at the airport today. It’s a pleasure to kill,” the district attorney said. About an hour later, he made another call, stating, “Muslims are on their way to place a bomb at JFK today.” During another call to 911, on June 21, he allegedly said that it was his mission to kill police officers and told the operator that “I have a naked police officer in the basement….I am going to kill a lot of officers tonight. I have three bombs I want to place at JFK Airport.” Ngom is currently being held on $750,000 bail and faces up to seven years in prison. “This individual’s alleged actions not only caused undue alarm and disruption to thousands of air travelers, but resulted in extensive police resources being wasted to investigate phony threats,” said Port Authority Chief Security Officer Belfiore. “Through the painstaking work of our PAPD detectives, we were able to track him down and will see that he is prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.” THE COURIER/File photo
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