Gay-suit petition by GOP berated
By Lornet Turnbull
Seattle Times staff reporter


A Thurston County Superior Court Judge yesterday blasted 22 Republican lawmakers who sought to intervene in a lawsuit against the state over gay marriage.

Saying the "train has left the station" in this watershed case first filed in April and set for a Sept. 2 hearing, Judge Richard Hicks told the attorney for the seven state senators and 15 representatives that allowing them to enter now would be disruptive.

"I suspect there is a tactic to have the date of the decision put off until some point in the future," Hicks said.

"This is not the Legislature seeking to intervene but certain legislators who may (subscribe) to a certain point of view. If I open this door, there will most certainly be others seeking to balance the table."


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U.S. judge tackles gay men's lawsuit over police use of force
By John Agar
The Grand Rapids Press


SAUGATUCK -- The attorney for two gay men blame a rabbit-eared cop for a ruckus over sexually suggestive comments and whistles toward the officer.

"Had this been a group of women making comments ... I would imagine the officer wouldn't have come up to them and talked about an apology," attorney Christine Yared said Thursday.

"There was no swearing, no solicitation, they were just joking around," she said.

But the attorney for Saugatuck-Douglas Police Department said the men swore at the officer and became disorderly in the 2002 confrontation in downtown Saugatuck.