Police quiz lawyer about gay murders :
 India News > New Delhi:


Police Monday questioned a lawyer who claimed to have met one of the two men suspected of murdering a USAID employee and his gay partner in the capital a week ago.

Senior police officers said the lawyer has called up the police to say that he knew one the suspected killers of USAID official Pushkin Chandra and his partner Kuldeep.  

"The man claimed he had seen the one of the killers," said a police officer.


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Gay marriage blocked from state ballot
Board of Canvassers also bars Nader, approves vote to control gambling expansion
By Mark Hornbeck / Detroit News Lansing Bureau


LANSING — Backers of a ban on same-sex marriage in Michigan will have to go to court to get their proposal on the November ballot, following the unexpected and stunning rejection of the group’s petitions by the Board of State Canvassers on Monday.

The Citizens for the Protection of Marriage could find themselves waiting in line for a court date with those who want to see third-party presidential candidate Ralph Nader on the ballot in Michigan. The board also denied Nader a spot on the ballot as an independent. Both issues failed on a 2-2 partisan vote with Republicans in favor and Democrats opposed. A majority vote was needed.

In a third major action, an initiative calling for state and local voters to approve any expansion of gambling in the state won the unanimous approval of the board. It will be Proposal 1 on the November ballot. But horse racing interests that want to place video slot machines at their tracks vowed to take legal action to block the proposal.

The setback for advocates of the gay marriage prohibition was easily the most surprising development of the contentious four-hour meeting. Opponents of the ban did not even challenge the petitions, and the vote not to certify came despite staff recommendations to approve the issue.



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Court hearing about gay marriage could be moot
Justices will hear arguments about same-sex marriage two weeks after state vote
PETER WONG
Statesman Journal


Two weeks after voters might decide the issue, the Oregon Supreme Court will hear arguments about whether state law allows same-sex marriages.

The court has scheduled a hearing for Nov. 17 about the legal challenge by nine same-sex couples, who are represented by a Portland lawyer cooperating with the American Civil Liberties Union.

State law, dating to 1862, defines marriage as a civil contract involving males and females 17 or older. The couples argue that the law denies them equal protection under the Oregon Constitution.

Similar challenges are pending in nine other states, including California and Washington


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Gay Festival, Yes, Proclamation, No
Mayor's Office Withdraws Designation Of Gay Pride Day


BAKERSFIELD-- -- There wasn't a lot of pride in Mayor Harvey Hall's statement Monday, withdrawing a proclamation that would designate Gay Pride Day in Bakersfield next month.

The Gay Pride festival is scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 4, and was suppose to feature a presentation by Hall.

But the mayor has changed his position, following what he calls "numerous e-mails, letters and telephone calls from many people objecting a proclamation designating Gay Pride Day in our city."

The statement expressed what Hall termed as disappointment, but said "he understands the feelings of the majority of our community."


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Gast trial postponed to Nov. 15
By CONNIE PARISH, Times Staff Writer


Sandy Clarissa Gast, who was scheduled to have her day in court today, will now have to wait until November.

Her trial before District Judge Frederick Stewart was delayed until Nov. 15 at the request of prosecutors.

But it won't be a jury that will decide whether she was guilty of false swearing when she applied in February for a license to marry Georgi Somers.
Instead, the decision will be made by a judge. Stewart in April denied the motion for a jury trial and determined it would instead be a trial to the court.

Topeka attorney Pedro Irigonegaray filed the motion for a jury trial on March 31, when he first appeared in court with his client. He is acting on behalf of the American Civil Liberties Union in representing the Leavenworth transsexual, who was accused of lying about gender on the marriage application.


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In Limited Ruling, Court Upholds Military Ban on Sodomy
By MICHAEL JANOFSKY


ASHINGTON, Aug. 23 - In the first test case involving the military since the Supreme Court struck down state anti-sodomy laws last year, the nation's highest military court ruled unanimously on Monday that under certain circumstances, the military's ban on sodomy was constitutional.


But the court, the United States Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces, steered clear of a larger question: whether protections offered by the Supreme Court's sweeping decision in Lawrence v. Texas last year apply universally to the military. That left open the possibility that civil rights groups might find another case to test the military's laws against consensual sodomy.

"The court ducked the issues in this case," said C. Dixon Osburn, executive director of the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network, which had filed papers in support of striking down the military prohibitions in the case decided Monday. "This leaves open for another day a case with a different set of facts to decide whether or not Lawrence applies to military personnel."

At least nine other cases involving acts of sodomy in the military are under appeal. Mr. Osburn said.


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Log Cabin urges GOP platform changes
PlanetOut Network


The largest U.S. group of gay Republicans has appealed to the platform committee for the upcoming GOP national convention to make the agenda more gay-inclusive.

Patrick Guerriero, the executive director of the Log Cabin Republicans (LCR), made the request -- on behalf of the "1,000,000 gays and lesbians who voted for George W. Bush in 2000" -- in a letter that was circulated on Friday.

The letter endorses current "Republican values of limited government, lower taxes, individual responsibility and a strong national defense," and urges the committee to strengthen language from the 2000 platform to recognize diversity as a "source of strength."


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US state's marriage ban goes to appeals court
Ann Rostow, Gay.com/PlanetOut.com Network


With less than a month to go before the US state's primary vote, civil rights activists in Louisiana are continuing to challenge the legal credentials of a proposed constitutional amendment that will outlaw same-sex marriage and "substantially similar" institutions.

According to complaints filed by the Forum for Equality, a political action committee (PAC) opposing the measure, the amendment failed to meet legislative deadlines, and it illegally forces Louisiana citizens to take an up-or-down vote on three separate issues contained in one proposal.

Further, the ban on same-sex unions is a violation of individual human rights, and placing the amendment on the primary ballot violates state law.

Constitutional amendments must be presented to the voters during a statewide election, but since the Sept. 18 primary affects only certain parishes, it is arguably not a "statewide" election.