NAACP won't weigh gay marriage
The issue is nevertheless a hot one, pitting civil-rights convictions against Bible-based values.
Jim Remsen


When the NAACP opens its national convention here today, one of the hottest issues of the moment - same-sex marriage - will be nowhere on its agenda.

Gay-rights advocates have challenged African Americans to see the homosexual-marriage struggle as a modern-day civil-rights cause. And the timing for an open discussion or vote by the nation's premier civil-rights organization seems perfect: The U.S. Senate is debating the Federal Marriage Amendment, which would define marriage as solely a heterosexual institution.

But no one pushed to have the issue aired at the convention, said NAACP board chairman Julian Bond. And he, for one, is just as happy.

"It would be a healthy discussion to have," Bond said in a telephone interview. "But I would be fearful of what might happen" because "it very well could" cause moments of rancor - and a vote he would regret.



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Gay marriage split
Issue polarizes country in election year
By Aimee Heckel, Camera Staff Writer


Red, white and blue urgency plasters the "We Vote Values" Web site, advertising an online sermon tonight supporting a proposed constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriages.

The site encourages churches from across the nation to take a stand in what it calls "the battle for marriage."

To homosexual couples, it's a battle for equality. The Human Rights Campaign's home page invites gay-marriage supporters to "turn up the heat on Congress" through e-mails and advertising.

The Federal Marriage Amendment is intended to end legal and legislative efforts to recognize same-sex marriage by defining the institution as "only of the union of a man and a woman."


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Good Samaritan still on the mend
By Kevin Eigelbach
Post staff reporter

The Independence man seriously injured while helping a victim of gay-bashing has a long road ahead to recovery, his friends say.

Matthew Ashcraft, 19, came home from University Hospital on June 28, two days after he was hit on the head with a baseball bat outside Woolly's on Monmouth.

But he might headed back to the hospital because he can't keep any food down and still suffers migraine headaches, said a friend from Alexandria, Brian, who declined to give his last name.

Ashcraft suffered serious damage to his left ear, Brian said, and will probably need several surgeries to repair shattered bones. A police report said Ashcraft's injuries included a fractured skull, cranial bleeding and a blood clot on his brain.


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Israel's gay community steps out
By Barry Davis   June 27, 2004

   
Israel's liberal policy towards rights for homosexuals received a boost recently when Jerusalem was chosen to host WorldPride 2005. WorldPride is an international parade for lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgenders (LGBT) first held in Rome, Italy in 2001.

The event is overseen by InterPride - The International Association of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgendered Pride Coordinators. The decision to hold the parade in Jerusalem was made in response to a bid submitted to InterPride by the Jerusalem Open House (JOH) which provides services for the local LGBT community. Jerusalem's first local gay pride event was held successfully in 2002.

The choice of Jerusalem for the event reflects the coming-of-age of Israel's gay community, which is manifesting itself in many forms. 

The country's two largest cities - Tel Aviv and Jerusalem - recently held Gay Pride parades which reflect the struggle that Israel, as a democratic society, is facing regarding recognition of gays.