District court postpones military recruiting case
Decision goes against motion for summary judgment put forth by Penn students, profs
By jason schwartz


University Law School professors and students who are engaged in a lawsuit against the Department of Defense over the issue of on-campus military recruiting recently had their case move one step closer to trial.

An Eastern District of Pennsylvania U.S. district court judge ruled on Aug. 26 against the Penn coalition's motion for summary judgment -- which would have decided the outcome of the case without a trial -- and dismissed two counts from the suit.

Judge John Fullam said that it would have been premature to rule on the suit's remaining claims. He did, however, deny the DOD's motion asserting that the group of students and professors lacked the standing to bring suit.

The suit, known as Burbank v. Rumsfeld, was first brought in response to the Solomon Amendment of 1996 that requires universities to allow military recruiters on campus. The act states that universities must give military representatives the same access to students that private companies receive, in order to receive certain federal funding.


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Gay-marriage fights force P'town to ask for funds
CONOR BERRY
STAFF WRITER


PROVINCETOWN - To help pay the town's mounting legal bills from two lawsuits related to the legalization of gay marriage in Massachusetts, the board of selectmen has established a "Same-Sex Marriage Defense Fund."

The town is a plaintiff in one of the lawsuits and a defendant in the other.

To date, legal services provided by special Town Counsel Gretchen Van Ness have cost the town around $20,000, but the "special gift fund" has raised only $220. Town officials hope to use the tax-deductible donations to cover expenses from the lawsuits, rather than solely tap the town's legal budget.


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 Beyond the Democrats and Republicans...
Why is there no third party in the U.S.?
SHARON SMITH explains why the Democrats and Republicans have stranglehold over U.S. elections.


SINCE 1856, every U.S. president has been the candidate of either the Democratic or Republican Party. Despite their differences, these two parties share a fundamental stake in promoting the interests of big business and the economic, political and military dominance of the U.S. over the rest of the world.

Together, the Democrats and Republicans control both Houses of Congress and, since the end of the Second World War, have shared an average of 95 percent of the popular vote each election year.



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Lesbian couple go public to fight proposed amendment
GAY-MARRIAGE BAN WOULD DENY THEM RIGHTS, PAIR SAY
By Bruce Schreiner
ASSOCIATED PRESS


LOUISVILLE - A lesbian couple said they went public with their relationship yesterday to "put a face" on the consequences of a proposed state constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriages.

Standing side by side, Kim Peurrung and Beth Bates said they worried that the proposal could deny them privileges enjoyed by heterosexual couples.

"We would like to have the same constitutional protections that any Kentuckians have to pursue a relationship and not have to worry about what you can and can't have," Bates said as more than two dozen gay-rights activists gathered to denounce the proposed amendment.

Among their concerns are joint access to health insurance and whether they could make life-saving medical decisions for each other.



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Fliers On UOP Campus Called Discriminatory
Student: 'It was Repulsive That Someone Would Do Something Like This'


STOCKTON, Calif. -- Gay students at the University of the Pacific are mobilizing in response to defaced fliers that school officials call an act of discrimination.

The controversy started when a campus group made up of primarily homosexual, transgender and bisexual students posted fliers around campus. Fifty of those fliers were covered by another flier that featured a skull face and the message "Satan: the god of this world."


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State backs school on flag dispute
By Denise Dub, Globe Correspondent


A decision this summer by the state Department of Education supporting the display of the rainbow flag at Bedford's John Glenn Middle School appears to have settled a controversy that has divided the town.

In a finding dated July 26, the Department of Education said the school did not violate any laws by flying the flag, which is seen as a symbol of gay rights, or by holding a school assembly that included references to homosexuality. The letter was sent to school administrators and parents who brought the issue to the department's attention, but was not made public


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New Vietnam TV show tackles gay issues


HO CHI MINH CITY, Vietnam - Vietnam's favorite TV show, "The Crime Police," opens its new season this month by tackling a taboo topic and offering a lesson about tolerance. The plot is groundbreaking for this communist country where sex is mentioned only in whispers, homosexuality is still largely considered a disease, and the state tightly controls publishing and broadcasting.

The 10-episode story line is adapted from an award-winning novel titled "Mot The Gioi Khong Co Dan Ba," or "A World Without Women," which took Vietnam by surprise in 2000 when it became the first book to address gay issues in a serious manner.