Sevier v. Lowenthal

302 F. Supp. 3d 312
CourtCourt of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit
DecidedMarch 26, 2018
DocketCivil Action No. 17–570 (RDM)
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 302 F. Supp. 3d 312 (Sevier v. Lowenthal) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Sevier v. Lowenthal, 302 F. Supp. 3d 312 (D.C. Cir. 2018).

Opinion

RANDOLPH D. MOSS, United States District Judge

Plaintiff Chris Sevier, proceeding pro se , seeks the removal of "the Gay Pride Rainbow Colored Flag" from "the halls and public access way[s] of Federal legislative buildings." Dkt. 1 at 2 (Compl. ¶ 2). "[H]omosexuality," he says, "is a religion," id. at 16 (Compl. ¶ 32), which the public display of the gay pride flag impermissibly favors, id. at 28-30 (Compl. ¶¶ 65-76). According to Sevier, display of the flag violates the Establishment Clause, discourages him from lobbying Congress, and violates his rights to equal protection and substantive due process. Id. at 28-32 (Compl. ¶¶ 65-91). Sevier has made similar claims in, by his count, "more than [fifteen]" other lawsuits. Dkt. 25 at 3. In addition, Sevier asks that the Court "declare that the holdings in United States v. Windsor , ... and Obergefell v. Hodges , ... are intellectually dishonest and amount to acts of judicial tyranny and judicial malpractice." Dkt. 1 at 36 (Compl. Prayer for Relief).

Currently pending before the Court are Defendants' motion to dismiss, Dkt. 8, Sevier's motion for leave to amend his complaint, Dkt. 25, a motion to intervene, Dkt. 5, and numerous other motions. For the reasons explained below, the Court will GRANT Defendants' motion to dismiss, will DENY the motion to amend, will DENY the motion to intervene, and will dispose of the remaining motions.

I. BACKGROUND

Sevier's complaint consists largely of his views regarding homosexuality and criticisms of the Supreme Court's Obergefell decision. See, e.g. , Dkt. 1 at 3, 6, 10-28 (Compl. ¶¶ 5-6, 14, 19, 21, 23-31, 33, 35-45, 51-52, 56-58, 62-64). It also recounts Sevier's efforts to "put[ ] [Obergefell ] to the test" by marrying inanimate objects. Id. at 5 (Compl. ¶ 12); see also, e.g., id. at 22-23 (Compl. ¶¶ 49-54). The present action appears to focus, however, on the following allegations: Defendants, who are four members of the U.S. House of Representatives, have allegedly "authorized and installed [one or more] Gay Pride Rainbow Colored Flag[s]" in the hallways outside their offices, id. at 6-11 (Compl. ¶¶ 16-19), which Sevier "frequently encounter[s]," id. at 5 (Compl. ¶ 12). Given Sevier's "religious worldview" that "homosexuality is obscene, immoral, [and] subversive to human flourishing," id. at 5-6, 11-12 (Compl. ¶¶ 13, 21), he "[i]s offended by [the flags'] presence," id. at 4-5, 23 (Compl. ¶¶ 11, 55). The flags, he says, make him "feel[ ] unwelcome[ ]," id. at 5 (Compl. ¶ 12), because he does not "adhere to [Defendants'] particular *315religious orthodoxy," id. at 6 (Compl. ¶ 15).

The "religious ideology" that Sevier has in mind is homosexuality itself. See, e.g., id. at 16 (Compl. ¶ 32) ("[H]omosexuality is a religion ...."). He contends that "the [h]omosexual church" is "the largest denomination" of "the overall church of 'western expressive individualism postmodern moral relativism,' " id. at 2-3, 28, 29 (Compl. ¶¶ 4, 69, 74), which posits that "nobody's version of morality as a basis of law matters except for the private moral code that [the adherent] personally advocat[es]," id. at 12 (Compl. ¶ 22). In Sevier's view, then, the gay pride flag "is a 'religious symbol' for the homosexual denomination," id. at 2-3 (Compl. ¶ 4), and its "placement ... amounts to [Defendants'] endorsement of a particular religion," id. at 28 (Compl. ¶ 67).

The public display of these flags, moreover, allegedly "treats different sects within the church of moral relativism with different degrees of favorability." Id. at 24-25 (Compl. ¶ 59). Sevier says he belongs to "a less popular sect" of the church of moral relativism, id. (Compl. ¶ 59), which he calls the "machinist sect[ ]," id. at 29 (Compl. ¶ 72). As a "machinist," Sevier's "sex-based self-asserted identity narrative is that he prefers to be married to an inanimate object." Id. at 22 (Compl. ¶ 49). So, according to Sevier, unless Defendants "install a flag that represents people who self-identify as polygamists, machinists, zoophiles, and heterosexuals," id. at 21 (Compl. ¶ 47), their actions "treat ... the homosexual denomination of ... the church of moral relativism with disproportionate favor," id. at 29 (Compl. ¶ 72).

Based on these allegations, Sevier alleges violations of the Establishment, Equal Protection, and Due Process clauses. Id. at 28-32 (Compl. ¶¶ 65-91). He seeks an injunction requiring that Defendants remove the flags, or, in the alternative, "fly the [f]lags that represent the people in the zoophile, polygamy, and machinism sects [of] the overall church of moral relativism." Id. at 36 (Compl. Prayer for Relief). He also seeks declaratory judgments that (1) Defendants' display of the flags "is unconstitutional;" (2) that Obergefell and Windsor are "intellectually dishonest ... acts of judicial tyranny and judicial malpractice;" and (3) that "homosexuality is a 'religion' ... [that the] government cannot legally recognize." Id. (Compl. Prayer for Relief).

Sevier's initial lawsuit was filed on March 23, 2017, Dkt. 1, and on August 9, 2017, he filed a motion for summary judgment, Dkt. 4. On August 15, 2017, John Gunter Jr., Whitney Kohl, and Joan Grace Harley-"three self-identified polygamists" who appear to be coordinating with Sevier in this and other cases-moved to intervene as of right under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 24(a)(2), or alternatively, to intervene permissively under Rule 24(b)(1)(B). Dkt. 5 at 8. Gunter, Kohl, and Harley allege Equal Protection, Due Process, and Establishment Clause claims that are similar in form to those advanced by Sevier, although their allegations of injury focus even more on their opposition to gay marriage generally and their "feel[ing] deeply offended" by "[t]he Defendants['] display of the gay pride flag for self-serving political reasons." Dkt. 5 at 8-10, 21.

On September 22, 2017, Defendants-four members of the House of Representatives who have displayed the flags outside their offices-moved to dismiss under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(1) on the grounds that Sevier lacks standing and that the case presents a nonjusticiable political question; under Rule 12(b)(5) for insufficient service of process; and under Rule 12(b)(6) for failure to state a claim. See Dkt. 8. They ask also that the Court treat their motion to dismiss as an opposition to the motion to intervene and Sevier's *316motion for summary judgment. Id. at 10 n.2. Because Defendants' motion raises a number of threshold issues, the Court denied Sevier's motion for summary judgment as premature, Minute Order (Sept. 24, 2017), and ordered him to respond to Defendants' motion to dismiss, Dkt. 9. Instead, he filed two "affidavits" in support of his complaint. Dkt. 10; Dkt. 11. Then, on October 2, 2017, he moved to stay these proceedings pending the resolution of his motion to intervene in Masterpiece Cakeshop, Ltd. v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission , No. 16-111, a case currently before the Supreme Court. Dkt. 12.

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Bluebook (online)
302 F. Supp. 3d 312, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/sevier-v-lowenthal-cadc-2018.