Man gives chilling account of Durham slaying
By BENJAMIN NIOLET, Staff Writer
DURHAM -- One of the suspects in the killing of Sean Ethan Owen told police how he and two other Durham men wanted to steal a car, found their intended victim on a gay chat line and lured him to his death along the banks of the Eno River. Matthew Lawrence Taylor, 16; Shelton Deangelo Epps, 21; and Derrick Arness Maiden, 18; have been charged in the February killing and remain jailed. Their cases are likely to be heard soon by a grand jury. But at a bail hearing for Taylor this month, the first detailed account of the killing became public. The account reveals the three used the gay telephone chat line as a hunting ground, but what began as a robbery plot ended in a violent death.


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Gay, lesbian taxpayers to march for equality
Gay and lesbian community to march on City Hall in Tax Day protest
By JESSICA ALLEN
While some Fredericksburg-area residents rush to the post office tomorrow to mail in their tax returns, some members of the gay and lesbian community will be standing at the corner protesting for marriage equality.

"We pay the same taxes and want the same benefits as heterosexual couples," said Fredericksburg resident Cris Elkins, who is coordinating the local "No Taxation With Discrimination" protest.

The event is a follow-up to area residents' march last month to Fredericksburg Circuit Court, where four same-sex couples applied for marriage licenses and were denied them.

That March 25 demonstration expressed opposition to the proposed constitutional amendment prohibiting gay marriage that President Bush has recently endorsed and a state resolution not to recognize such relationships that Virginia legislators passed last month.


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Gays To Protest On Tax Day, No Taxation With Discrimination
posted by :: William Rosen ::
Highlighting the fact that the government takes tax money from Lesbians and Gays, and yet refuses to grant equal rights such as the right to marry, activists with the DontAmend.com network are planning protests around the country on April 15, Tax Day.

In Kansas City, MO, the protest will be at 5:30 pm at the Main Post Office, 315 W. Pershing Road.

DontAmend.com was formed to prevent a proposed amendment to the Constitution which would ban same gender marriages. The Network worked with local organizations around the country on February 14th to host more than two dozen rallies demanding full, equal legal rights for Lesbians and Gays.

"When you take tax money from a group of people and then turn around and say they don't have the same legal rights as others, that's discrimination, pure and simple," said William Rosen, coordinator of the Kansas City DontAmend.com group. "People are going to have to make a choice: stand on the side of equality, or support continued discrmination."


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Many evangelicals oppose U.S. ban on gay marriage
Poll shows about half prefer that state laws address the issue
By Frank Langfitt
Sun Staff
WASHINGTON - As President Bush reaches out to his conservative Christian base by supporting a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage, a poll released yesterday shows that more than half of the nation's white evangelicals oppose such a measure.

According to the survey, 52 percent would prefer to rely on state laws to prevent gays from marrying rather than altering the U.S. Constitution. In addition, only 48 percent of white evangelicals said a candidate's support for gay marriage would disqualify him from receiving their votes.

The findings, in one of the most comprehensive polls of evangelicals in years, don't rule out the issue of gay marriage as a potent tool to get out the conservative Christian vote for Bush in November.

But they suggest that white evangelicals, a key constituency that overwhelmingly opposes same-sex marriage, are more complex and share more mainstream positions than some political analysts believe.


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African bishops mull 'gay' funds
Anglican church bishops in Africa are meeting in Kenya to decide whether to continue receiving money from western churches that ordain gay bishops.

Anglicans have split over the issue with African traditionalists opposing the appointment of gay bishops. Although two-thirds of Anglicans are in the developing world, the wealth of the church still resides in the West. The work of African churches is, to a large extent, funded by donations from rich Western congregations. The BBC's Ishbel Matheson in Nairobi says the implications of severing financial ties over a contentious article of faith will need to be carefully considered.


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Zanzibar outlaws homosexual acts
Zanzibar's parliament has passed a bill that outlaws homosexuality and lesbianism.

The bill imposes stiff penalties which include up to 25 years imprisonment for those in gay relationships.

The overwhelmingly Muslim Indian Ocean island is a key tourist destination on the East African coast.

The attorney-general said they were determined to prevent Zanzibari culture from being corrupted. The president is expected to approve the bill into law.