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Obama Supports Same Sex Marriage; More Syrian Violence

Aired May 12, 2012 - 16:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: All right, Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney delivering some advice to young voters today. He told graduates at Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia, their convictions are important, and he defended his position on marriage.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MITT ROMNEY (R-MA), FMR. GOV., PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Culture, what you believe, what you value, how you live, matters! Now, as fundamental as these principles are, they may become topics of democratic debate from time to time. So it is today with the enduring institution of marriage, marriage is a relationship between one man and one woman.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: A group of civil rights leaders including Reverends Al Sharpton and Joseph Lowry have written an open letter to African- American churches embracing the president's decision. It says "We cannot fight to gain rights for some and not for all." And in another part, it says "The president make clear that his support is for civil marriage for same-sex couples and he's fully committed to protecting the ability of religious institutions to make their own decisions about their own sacraments. There will be those who seek to use this issue to divide our community as a people, we cannot afford such division."

So the gay marriage debate is heating up across the country since President Obama changed his position Wednesday. CNN's Athena Jones joins us from Silver Spring, Maryland with the latest public reaction to the president's decision. So Athena, what more are you hearing there from that farmer's market?

ATHENA JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right. We have been here all day Fredricka talking to all kinds of people, more than a dozen people about their opinions on this issue. But before I get to that, I want to mention the latest national polling. Gallup released a poll late yesterday, it was the first poll, done national poll done since the president made his remarks on Wednesday.

That poll showed that 51 percent of people approved of the president's position on same-sex marriage, 45 percent disapprove. Now one of the big questions that's being asked this week and will continue to be asked is what kind of political impact the president making this declaration, taking this position, will have on his chances of re- election and on Romney's on the other side. The number of people who said that they're more likely to vote for the president is 13 percent. The proportion, I should say. Less likely, 26 percent, and still the vast majority of people, 60 percent, said it would make no difference in their vote. And you know, that's really what we found as we talked to - as I said, so many different people here today over the course of the day. We talked to people young and old, many people saying "Why is it such a big deal? I support the president coming out on the decision. Why did it take him so long?"

We spoke with a gay couple who said you know, they weren't mad that it took the president a while to come out in support of same sex marriage, but this is going to make them, maybe they would have supported him anyway, but now they're going to spend more time campaigning for him. I spoke with a woman of Uruguayan descent who said that she was all for it. I said we heard a lot of talk about the Latino community being less in favor of same-sex marriage, much like the black community.

And she said, "I think that's changing a lot." So a lot of different opinions. Most of the people though have been in favor of the president coming out on his petion. I should mention though that we're in a state, Maryland, that has legalized same-sex marriage. Governor O'Malley signed a bill here in March that would legalize same sex marriage starting in January of next year.

There are people who are opposed to that and they're trying to get this issue on the ballot and up for a vote. Most of the people we talk to here are against that. They said this is not an issue that should be put up to voters and they certainly would want to see that put down. So lots of opinions. Most of them pretty much in favor of what the president had to say. Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right. Athena Jones right outside Washington, D.C. in Silver Spring, Maryland.

All right. Thursday's bombings in Syria brought out protesters today. Syrians mourned dozens killed in twin bombings in Damascus. They carried the bodies through the streets in Hama. The government blames the violence on terrorists. Opposition leaders said several more were killed today. One by a sniper. Meanwhile, two Turkish journalists missing for two months and feared dead were released as part of a prisoner swap deal between Turkey and Iran today.

CNN's Anderson Cooper will be broadcasting from the Syrian/Turkish border Monday night. Tune in for "AC 360" at 8:00 Eastern time.

All right. Right now, protesters in Spain are facing a deadline. They were given until 4:00 p.m. Eastern time to get off the streets in Madrid. They took to the streets in many cities across Spain. They're angry about the bad economy and calls for more cuts in government benefits there. One of the reasons they're upset is that they can't find jobs. The national unemployment rate there is 24 percent.

And take a close look at this van as it travels through an intersection in China. Yes, you can't believe what you're seeing there. But that's a four-year-old girl that just fell out of that vehicle. And the dad jumping out to try and grab her. The problem is the dad is also the driver of the vehicle. So what happened to that van. It kept going without him. Until it hit a tree. Thankfully, the taxi driver who was following the van was able to stop just in time. Oh, my goodness. The child had some minor bruises. Extraordinary.

All right. An abused woman is sentenced to 20 years in prison for firing a warning shot. At least one lawmaker is saying the prosecutor overcharged the woman. Our legal guys are really passionate about this case as well.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: The case of a Florida woman sentenced to 20 years for firing a warning shot is stirring strong emotions. Marissa Alexander says she was trying to scare off her abusive husband during an altercation. A U.S. congresswoman, Careen Brown, confronted prosecutor Angela Corey after the sentencing.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My feeling is that your office initially overcharged her in this case. This is my feeling. This is my feeling. Let me -

We can't try it here.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, ma'am. That's why we're asking that it not be tried now and that the facts are going to be put out, and I told Mr. Lincoln Alexander I wanted to sit down with him. You can't tell people - I understand, madam.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There's no justification.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: It's a tough case. So let's bring in our legal guys. Avery Freeman is a civil rights attorney and law professor in Cleveland. Good to see you. And Richard Herman, criminal defense attorney and law professor joining us from Las Vegas. Good to see you as well.

All right. This is really something else. This is a different standard ground kind of case taking place in Florida. Marissa Alexander, you know, said she fired the warning shot to scare her husband. Then she ended up facing aggravated assault charges. Was convicted, sentenced to 20 years for that act. Avery, what went wrong here in the case of her defense?

AVERY FRIEDMAN, CIVIL RIGHTS ATTORNEY: Oh, my goodness. You want a laundry list? Fredricka, this is terrible. Number one, it does call into question the issue of stand your ground. I mean, if stand your ground has any meaning at all, it is when a degenerate husband or man decides to try to beat up a woman, and that is when in this case, Mrs. Alexander did what she should have done. She didn't shoot the guy. She fired at him as a warning, and now she's convicted of attempted murder. Because of mandatory minimum sentencing in Florida, Fredricka, this is a 20-year sentence even without any prior conviction, it really is a miscarriage of justice.

WHITFIELD: So Richard, why was this a failure in a stand your ground, you know, defense? Why is this not working in her case, even though it had already been substantiated that she was abused. Even the husband admits to abusing her and others several times.

RICHARD HERMAN, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Right, Fred. The biggest failure here was her lawyer. Horrible legal representation. Stand your ground says that you do not have to withdraw. You do not have to withdraw. If you are in serious fear of imminent harm or death, you can stand your ground and shoot. What happened here, Fred, was she had walked out of the house with the gun. Went to her car, realized she forgot her keys, went back into the house, and that's when she did that. That was the problem. The jury did not believe she was in reasonable fear of harm because she actually went back into the house, and that's why this jury came back fast. Twelve-minute verdict here, Fred. There was no discussion. Horrible. She had a three-year deal on the table. She rejected it. Horrible legal representation, I think.

WHITFIELD: So is there any recourse? You heard the congresswoman who said this was a case of being overcharged. This woman, Marissa Alexander was overcharged from the very start. Can that be enough or can that be grounds for an appeal, Avery? Might her attorneys be able to argue that or is it just too late to argue overcharged after the fact?

FRIEDMAN: Yes. It's too late. Look she was convicted beyond a reasonable doubt. I understand what the congresswoman did, that perhaps it was an overcharge, but it didn't matter. Whether it was lousy defense work, whether the prosecution did a great job, whether the witnesses were credible or not, on the facts, this case has very little chance of reversal on appeal, and again the legislatures from Tallahassee have taken away discretion from the judge. It is 20 years or nothing. It shouldn't be that way. The judge should have discretion and Florida is not giving -

WHITFIELD: And I wonder, Richard, quick on this one, because we do have another case we want to get to, the John Edwards' trial, but in this case, this was perhaps a prelude to what is going to be another high-profile case of stand your ground involving George Zimmerman, the Trayvon Martin case. Is this any kind of prelude, you know, kind of the appetite, or the feeling of the stand your ground defense in the state of Florida or in the courtroom.

HERMAN: I don't think so, Fred. At the end of the day, I don't think Trayvon Martin is going to be a stand your ground case. I think it's going to be a self defense case. But here, all they charged, Fred, was aggravated assault, the shooting of the gun was the aggravating factor. So that brought 10 years for assault, 20 years if it's aggravated. It's aggravated by the use of a gun. They didn't charge her with murder or attempted murder. That's the problem in this case. WHITFIELD: OK. Now let's talk about the John Edwards' case and now the defense is going to be presenting its witnesses next week. You know, John Edwards' attorneys tried to get this case dismissed. The judge said no, forget about it. We're going to continue on. I have to wonder, you know, Richard, does even that refusal of a dismissal, does it in any way impact the jurors' point of view or how the case will move forward at this point?

HERMAN: Fred, the jury probably does not even know that they made a motion to dismiss the case. That's a motion that is made every time the government rests their case. But John Edwards must make a deal. He must cut a plea deal right now. He is going to be convicted if he does not. I believe that. And if he doesn't make a deal, Fred, I think he is such an ego maniac, I think he will absolutely get on the witness stand and try to persuade the jury.

WHITFIELD: Really? You do? That will be something else. Avery, do you believe that the prosecutors have done a good job trying to establish proving that he misused campaign funds, that he should be cutting a deal at this point?

He has no recourse?

FRIEDMAN: Well, on the one hand, I don't think - I think they're missing pieces. The key evidence, Alex (INAUDIBLE), the attorney who said that Bunny Mellon gave money for personal reasons, not for the campaign. Should he cut the deal? The evidence has really made the jury hate John Edwards. But if Abbe Lowell, the attorney, makes the argument to the jury in summation that look at what this is. The pieces are missing. Now, the defense is coming up this week, Fredricka. So we're going to learn a lot more. And I got to tell you, honestly, I have flip-flopped on this case. First I thought not a chance. The past week was good. Let's see what happens this week when we review this next Saturday.

WHITFIELD: Interesting. Prosecutors didn't call Rielle Hunter. Would the defense?

HERMAN: No, I don't think so. Fred, listen, the entire defense was this was to protect his wife from knowing. He got wind of this through the Iowa caucuses. Fred. He gave the word, "Shut her up. Move her, get rid of her." That's because he was running for president. Had nothing to do with his wife.

FRIEDMAN: His wife knew about her. It's not right.

HERMAN: The defense failed. His wife knew all about Rielle Hunter. The defense fails, his wife knew all about Rielle Hunter, The defense fails, Fred. I'm telling you, the jury is not going to buy it. This guy wanted to be president. He wanted to be supreme court justice. He was using that. He wanted to shut her up because he knew that information would destroy his presidential run.

WHITFIELD: All right. We're talking about another case, Avery and Richard have thoughts on another case. A woman is actually suing Southwest Airlines a second time after she claims she was told again that she was in their words, too fat to fly. And tomorrow, Dr. Sanjay Gupta is looking at the buzz about urban bee keeping on his show, "The Next List."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: many, many businesses have approached me to put bees on their roofs. But I only work with those whom I feel truly embrace the concept of wanting to be greener, wanting to help the environment. Wanting to raise awareness of the environment, and bees seem to be a very good way to do that.

Today, this is the first phase in the (INAUDIBLE) chef's garden. We're installing six beehives today and I would hope to be harvesting honey within a month. I have wanted to have bees on the roof and grow honey for years. And then when city counsel finally repealed the law, I was like, Oh my god, I don't know how. That's how Andrew and I got connected.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Can't wait to find out, how do you do that. Tune in tomorrow to watch "The Next List" or set your DVR for 2:00 p.m. Eastern time. And then tomorrow 2:30 Eastern time, I'll be joined by two pastors of predominantly African-American churches. Their very different views about President Obama's support of same-sex marriage.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: The U.S. Justice Department plans to sue Arizona sheriff Joe Arpaio over alleged civil right violations. According to the civil compliant, the sheriff's office has displayed a pattern of discrimination against Latinos which includes racial profiling, unlawful detention and searches and unlawful targeting of Latinos during raids. Arpaio spoke with CNN's Don Lemon yesterday and said the lawsuit is politically motivated.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SHERIFF JOE ARPAIO, ARIZONA: Thirty years of my life fighting the drug traffic with the Justice Department. Now they're going after me because I'm following the law, took an oath of office to do, and they want to get rid of this sheriff, want to monitor my office, take over my office for political reasons, and I'm not going to stand for it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Sheriff Arpaio and the legal maneuvering around him has been a keen interest to our legal guys for some time now. Avery Friedman in Cleveland and Richard Herman in Las Vegas, back with us. So quickly, Richard, you first. What is Arpaio's best defense going to be against the U.S. Justice Department?

HERMAN: His best defense Fred, he's following the letter of the law. He's not going outside the boundaries of it. Everything he did was consistent with the powers that he has. And he did nothing wrong. Immigration is a very difficult situation in his state. And he's doing everything he can to enforce it and make the people of Arizona safe. That's what his defense is going to be.

WHITFIELD: Avery, what do you see?

FRIEDMAN: Yes, even Richard doesn't buy that one. Look, the fact is that the statistics really make this case. Joe Arpaio better hold on to some of that pink underpants that he goes out and buys and look due west, because that's where the sun sets. This is a dead bang winner for the Department of Justice. It's the end of Sheriff Joe Arpaio.

WHITFIELD: Really?

FRIEDMAN: That's it, finished.

WHITFIELD: OK. All right. We'll see because we're still, you know, kind of at the tip of the iceberg on that case, aren't we?

FRIEDMAN: Absolutely.

WHITFIELD: All right. Let's move on to something else. This involves, you know, kind of a too big to fly kind of case. The woman's name is (INAUDIBLE). I think I'm pronouncing that properly. She is from New Orleans. She said "you know what? I have tried to fly Southwest at least a couple times now and they have discriminated against me because they say in their words, she's too fat to fly." So she's suing the airline because it's happened more than once, but the airline says, "You know what? We have a policy. A policy on the customers' size." So Avery, she's asking that they change their policy. What are the chances of that?

FRIEDMAN: Yes, you know what? I wonder how many guys from the NFL and NBA get tossed off of Southwest when they fly. Maybe it is because she's too heavy. She claims her lawsuit filed (INAUDIBLE) that her constitutional rights have been violated. Well, unfortunately, there is no constitutional right to be on an airport if you're heavy. Even Southwest, I don't think, knows what they're doing. They let her on, they let her off. They apologize, they denied her. The bottom line is this case has about as much chance as Sheriff Joe in federal court. It's going to be dismissed.

WHITFIELD: And Richard?

HERMAN: Yes, if you close your eyes, Fred, that's what she's going to receive in this case, nothing. She's getting nowhere on this. Southwest, look, they have policies in place. They try to enforce these policies. You have to buy a seat next to you, they'll give you a discounted fare. If the plane is not full, they'll give you the seat for free. But Fred, you have flown, Avery, you've flown, you know what it's like when you're being encroached. And look, I don't know what to say here. Maybe some of the policies, you know, it happens when they're checking on, when the woman goes to sit on the plane and she runs her ticket and the agent stands there and sees her and then has to confront her in front of everybody. I mean that's kind of humiliating. FRIEDMAN: Embarrassment.

WHITFIELD: Southwest has released this statement saying, you know, "We realize that it's a sensitive conversation and we train our employees to approach the situation as discreetly as possible. The policy is designed for the safety and comfort of all passengers onboard the aircraft and the best case scenario is for the customer to notify us of any special needs ahead of time." What would be the modifications. If they were to change their statement, you know, or their policy, what would it be? What do you suppose would, you know, appease the passenger?

FRIEDMAN: Only to be more discreet, I think. You could only be more discreet. Because the fact is that how are you going to judge everyone coming on. I mean if it's an NBA player or if it's a woman who is 5'4" and she weighs 400 pounds. I mean how is that going to work. It's just not going to.

WHITFIELD: All right. I love those legal guys every weekend. Avery and Richard with us. They're a dedicated duo.

All right. A campus mystery.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Good boy.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Tuffy may be a good dog and a great mascot at North Carolina state, but someone is poisoning his relatives.

And if you're leaving the house right now, just a reminder, you can continue to watch CNN from your mobile phone. You can also watch CNN live from your desktop. Just go to cnn.com/tv.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Some stories we're following for you. A mystery at North Carolina State University.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Good boy.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Two dogs related to Tuffy, the Wolf pack's official mascot were poisoned last week and had to be euthanized. A year ago, someone poisoned Tuffy's parents and two of his siblings, at that time, the dog survived. I talked with Sheriff Randy Cartwright about this troubling case.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RANDY CARTWRIGHT, SHERIFF: There's more than just because of being a mascot of the university. It's the heinous crime is to anybody who would poison an animal.

WHITFIELD: It is a heinous crime. But are you finding that other dogs are being targeted like these mascot dogs?

CARTWRIGHT: Well, we haven't had dogs targeted like this family has in our county.

WHITFIELD: So what are the circumstances. What is your understanding as to what the family is experiencing?

CARTWRIGHT: Well, what they have had happen is there's someone actually in the dark of the night is going into the backyard, dug a hole, and buried a bowl with fish food and an antifreeze in it to poison the dog.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: And then in Connecticut, police are searching the home of alleged mobster Robert Gentile. What they're looking for is a stash of stolen art worth hundreds of millions of dollars. The art was stolen from a Boston Museum more than 20 years go. It is the second time they have checked his home.

And Lebron James of the Miami Heat winning the NBA's Most Valuable Player award for the third time. But he probably trade it for the on thing that he doesn't have -- a championship ring. The league commissioner will give James the award tomorrow before Miami's playoff game with Indiana.

All right. That's going to do it for me, Fredricka Whitfield. Sanjay Gupta MD is next.

CNN NEWSROOM continues at the top of the hour with Don Lemon.