City takes stand for gay rights
Resolution slams proposed amendment as 'bigoted'
KATHERINE TAM THE OLYMPIAN
OLYMPIA -- The City Council went on record Tuesday in opposition to a constitutional amendment banning gay marriages, calling the proposal "bigoted" and a "red herring" that diverts national attention from other issues. "By supporting this resolution, we will be saying to our federal government that we wish to live in the real world of understanding and civil equality, not a make-believe world of denial and discrimination," Councilman Curt Pavola said.


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I wonder what makes a lawyer an expert on family and queerness.. .. I also found it interesting the range of head lines; Barney fank blasts congress, franks tell personal side, gay ban marriage debated... here is one from a city that want to ban a photography show... with an head line on an expert lawyer.. where to they get these people... besides what this*expert* said is pretty scary stuff...

Experts oppose amendment
Local attorney testifies in D.C.
By Michael Collins
Post Washington Bureau
WASHINGTON -- A Cincinnati family law attorney weighed in on the national debate over gay marriage on Tuesday, telling a congressional panel that a proposed constitutional amendment would have sweeping consequences on state laws that safeguard the well-being of families and children.


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Santa Cruz City Council votes to support gay marriage
By SHANNA McCORD
Sentinel staff writer
Without a word of dissent among themselves or from the public, the City Council approved a resolution Tuesday in support of same-sex marriage. The resolution, passed unanimously by the seven council members, includes honoring marriage licenses issued in San Francisco, writing letters of support to San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom and supporting San Francisco in its fight for the state to recognize same-sex unions. Some called the city’s resolution "long overdue." "This is a stunning moment in history," said bisexual Sherry Conable, 57. "It’s like the Rosa Parks movement. ... Let’s all step to the front of the bus and refuse to move."


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article with a conservative slant///

Senate panel hears debate on gay-marriage ban
By FAITH BREMNER
Gannett News Service
Proposed amendment
"Marriage in the United States shall consist only of the union of a man and a woman. Neither this Constitution, nor the constitution of any state, shall be construed to require that marriage or the legal incidents thereof be conferred upon any union other than the union of a man and a woman."
WASHINGTON -- Lawmakers, lawyers and ministers debated at a Senate hearing Tuesday whether a constitutional ban on same-sex marriages would help or hurt children or violate the civil rights of gays and lesbians.


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Adoption by gay couples helps stir marriage debate


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ACLU, gay couples sue to uphold same-sex marriage in Oregon
03/24/2004
By ANDREW KRAMER  / Associated Press
Legal disputes in Oregon over the legality of gay marriages will be put on the fast track to the state Supreme Court under a lawsuit that's being prepared by the American Civil Liberties Union. The civil rights group will bring the suit on behalf of nine gay couples from three Oregon counties, who intend to sue the state in Multnomah County Circuit Court for failing to register their same-sex marriages in the office of vital statistics. The lawsuit was expected by noon Wednesday.


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Gay unions may affect benefits
By Stephanie Armour, USA TODAY
The gay marriage debate could mean first-of-a-kind changes to employee benefit plans.


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TV show for deaf bans hand signs for gay, Jewish, Chinese


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Gay, lesbian couples to seek marriage licenses in the city
Members of gay and lesbian community plan to apply for marriage licenses Thursday at Fredericksburg City Hall
By JESSICA ALLEN
Date published: 3/23/2004
Cris Elkins and Gene Hannold have been in a committed relationship for 30 years. Elkins, a 60-year-old Fredericksburg resident, wants to make it legal, but the state of Virginia will not recognize his marriage to another man. "All we want to do is pledge our love, support and care for each other like everyone else," he said. "But we aren't getting the support from the community like regular heterosexual couples."


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Report: Military Gay Dismissals Down
By NANCY ZUCKERBROD
Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON -- The number of gays dismissed from the military under the Pentagon's "don't-ask, don't tell" policy has dropped to its lowest level in nine years as U.S. forces fought in Afghanistan and Iraq, according to a report by an advocacy group.

"You have to ask yourself, and you have to ask the Pentagon, why are the discharges going down?" said C. Dixon Osburn, executive director of the advocacy group and one of the report's authors. "When they need people, they keep them. When they don't, they implement their policy of discrimination with greater force."