BATTLE OVER SAME-SEX MARRIAGE
Gay activists mark a grim anniversary
Brutal 1998 slaying left legacy of pain and hope in Laramie
Rona Marech, Chronicle Staff Writer


Laramie, Wyo. -- Wednesday was an emotional anniversary for Dave O'Malley. "Everything started a few hours from now, not too far from where we're standing," he said.

Six years ago, O'Malley was in charge of the detective division of the Laramie Police Department when the death of Matthew Shepard outraged the nation and inspired a wave of soul-searching about anti-gay violence.

Shepard, a 21-year-old gay student at the University of Wyoming, was lured from a bar the night of Oct. 6, 1998, by two young roofers who pretended to be gay. They tied Shepard to a wooden ranch fence, beat him unconscious and left him there. Shepard died the next week; his killers were convicted of murder.

O'Malley has gray hair, watery eyes and a quick laugh -- but he gets quiet and serious when he talks about how Shepard's death changed him.


~

Judge strikes monument vote
Religion: Decision blocks Nov. 2 referendum on Ten Commandments, backers plan appeal
By Adam Rush
Idaho Press-Tribune


BOISE -- A judge dealt another setback to supporters of a Ten Commandments display at Boise's Julia Davis Park.

A coalition of religious groups had wanted voters to consider a referendum that would compel the city to place a Commandments monument in the downtown park. Backers collected thousands of signatures to secure a spot on the ballot.


~

Economic boycott planned for Friday
By ABIGAIL KLINGBEIL
THE JOURNAL NEWS


Dale Duncan became a gay rights activist earlier this year, when he and his partner were watching President Bush on television.

"When the president stepped up to the microphone and said, 'We want to have a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage,' we decided we had to do something," said Duncan, a middle school music teacher who lives in Atlanta.