Protest at Oak Park church following sermon opposing gay marriage
By Michelle Gallardo


(Oak Park) — Going to church on Sunday is not usually associated with controversy. However, Oak Park's Cavalry Memorial Church is at the center of one of this election year's most explosive issues, gay marriage.

Demonstrators turned out in front of the church Sunday to protest against Richard Bennett. He says he was a gay man who was able to change his sexuality and compares being homosexual to an illness such as drug addiction.

The speech ignited a lot of anger in Oak Park's gay community, especially after a sermon given Sunday morning by the church's pastor entitled: "the truth about same sex marriage."


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Elderly gay couple out of closet after 25 years
By Associated Press

CONCORD, N.H. - Mary Lou Fuller, 75, and Kay Amsden, 73, spent most of their 25 years together telling people they were just ``roommates'' or ``good friends.''

When they moved into Havenwood two years ago, they counted as ``a two-person household.''

All the titles fit, but now, in their twilight years, the women are calling themselves partners.

``I feel that advanced age has given me a new frame of reference,'' said Fuller, sitting in front of the home she and Amsden share with their dog, Rosey. ``A spiritual rite of passage, if you will, to speak up.


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Conservatives Turn On Schwarzenegger 
by The Associated Press


(San Francisco, California) The Rev. Lou Sheldon was less than thrilled that California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed  legislation requiring health insurance policies to offer equal coverage to partners of gay and lesbian workers.

Sheldon, a conservative activist and president of the Anaheim-based Traditional Values Coalition, grew more upset after Schwarzenegger approved legislation allowing hypodermic needles to be sold with no prescription as a way to slow the spread of AIDS.

But then, when Schwarzenegger approved a a bill Wednesday to expand the definition of hate crimes -- which conservatives fear will lead to prosecutions of those who condemn homosexuality -- Sheldon declared war. 

"Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger must not be too troubled by what he's called 'girlie men' because he's just signed a bill into law that maintains 'sex' in California to include drag queens, cross-dressers and transsexuals," Sheldon announced in a written statement. "Schwarzenegger has sided with the homosexual and drag queen lobby in muddying the biological realities of male and female."