Man who killed gay Wyoming student seeks sentence reduction
The Associated Press


(LARAMIE, Wyo. (AP) - The lawyer for one of the men convicted of murdering gay college student Matthew Shepard says his client was denied effective legal assistance during trial.

Russell Henderson's lawyer has filed a motion alleging Henderson's rights were violated because public defenders did not tell him of the rights he would lose and those he would keep if he pleaded guilty.

Henderson, who is serving two life sentences, pleaded guilty in 1999 to felony murder and kidnapping to avoid a possible death sentence.

Lawyer Tim Newcomb, who did not handle Henderson's defense at trial, had earlier filed a motion saying his client's rights were violated after he pleaded guilty because the defense team allegedly did not discuss his right to appeal within 30 days.


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Man arguing for same-sex marriage wins Great American Think-Off
The Associated Press



NEW YORK MILLS, Minn. (AP) — A New York man who argued in favor of same-sex marriages won the Great American Think-Off late Saturday.

"I feel that same-sex marriages should be allowed because we all benefit when no one is excluded," said Robert Lerose, 44, a writer from Uniondale, N.Y.

In addition, he said, that when gays are allowed to marry "they will only strengthen the bonds between themselves and their communities and that can only be good for our country."

Lerose won the title of America's Greatest Thinker and $500 when an audience of about 400 chose his argument over three others, including two who argued against gay marriage and another contestant who took spoke in favor it.



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Opponents of gay marriage turn to churches for grassroots support
By SARAH LINN  / Associated Press


Ken Keeley spends his Sunday mornings at church — not just to worship, but to collect signatures for a ballot measure that would amend Oregon's constitution to ban gay marriage.

Keeley, one of roughly 2,000 members at the evangelical Beaverton Christian Church, describes himself as "not that political."

But he says the issue of same-sex marriage — and what it means to much of Oregon's religious community — drove him to join the petition drive.

"When everything's OK, you don't have a tendency to act," Keeley said. "But it gets to the point where you get concerned, and you have to act."