Richfield teen charged with attempted murder

 
 
Authorities charged a 16-year-old boy Friday with attempted murder in the shooting this week of a man (sic) in Minneapolis after a sexual encounter.

Carlos M. Harris of Richfield allegedly shot Marceil McCloud, 19, of Minneapolis, outside a home in the 2700 block of 16th Av. South. McCloud was listed in serious condition at Hennepin County Medical Center with four gunshot wounds.

According to a criminal complaint, witnesses to the shooting told police that McCloud is a transvestite prostitute. Police and court records show he was arrested in 2003 and 2004 for prostitution and loitering and received a stayed jail sentence in July for prostitution



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PLEASE WRITE THE EDITOR...
Here is my letter to the editor



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Brazil gay denied lover's career
By Steve Kingstone
BBC, Sao Paulo


A candidate for mayor in Brazil's local elections has been told she cannot run for office because she is in a same-sex relationship with the outgoing mayor.

The landmark decision was announced on Friday by the country's higher electoral court.

Under Brazilian law, mayors cannot be followed in office by relatives, to avoid allegations of nepotism.

The decision is part of a trend which has seen same-sex relationships become increasingly acknowledged by courts.

In a unanimous decision, the court annulled the candidacy of Eulina Rabelo, who was running for mayor in the small town of Viseu in northern Brazil.


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Same-sex marriage bill stalled
Legislation held until next fall, cabinet document indicates
Timing suggests fear of divisive debate within Liberal caucus
TONDA MACCHARLES
OTTAWA BUREAU


OTTAWA—The governing Liberals expect a swift decision from the Supreme Court of Canada on the proposed same-sex marriage law but plan to delay bringing the bill to Parliament until fall 2005, a leaked cabinet document indicates.

The document is silent on the reasons for such a delay. The bill would then have to go through study by a parliamentary committee before a vote. Under that scenario, a vote could be delayed up until 2006.

The timeframe suggests Prime Minister Paul Martin, who campaigned on protecting Charter rights, is reluctant to rush in to a divisive debate within his own party while it is in a precarious minority position. Even though Martin has only 135 Liberal seats in the Commons, most in the Bloc Québécois and New Democrat caucuses could be expected to support a same-sex marriage law, as they did last year in the case of a simple motion related to the issue. However, in that same vote, more than 50 Liberals broke ranks with the government.


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Court reinstates MB harassment suit
Gay ex-cop will be given the chance to prove that police department was a hostile workplace.
By Larry Altman
Daily Breeze


A state appellate court has reinstated a gay police officer's lawsuit against the Manhattan Beach Police Department based on testimony about an anti-gay atmosphere inside the organization, including allegations that its chief and high-ranking officials routinely used slurs to refer to homosexuals.

The 2nd District Court of Appeal ruling reverses a lower court ruling decision to dismiss the suit filed by former Sgt. Shawn Shelton. The appellate court based its opinion on testimony alleging that Chief Ernest Klevesahl and officers on the force used terms such as "faggot," "queer" and other crude phrases to refer to homosexual men, and "dykes" and other coarse words to describe lesbians.

"This evidence is sufficient to raise a triable issue whether there was an anti-gay atmosphere within the department evidenced by the repeated and regular use of crude and derogatory slurs," the court wrote in a recently released opinion. "If true, the use of such vulgar and derogatory terms by peace officers sworn to serve the public and enforce the law is severe conduct. A trier of fact could conclude that the regular, repeated and routine use of anti-gay slurs over an extended period of time was pervasive."


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Baldwin against gay marriage ban
By Rebecca Zeifman
The Capital Times/Medill News Service


WASHINGTON -- U.S. Rep. Tammy Baldwin, D-Madison, took to the House floor to voice her opposition to an amendment that would effectively ban gay marriage in the United States.

Baldwin spoke out Thursday against the Marriage Protection Amendment, a ruling that would have defined marriage in the Constitution as "solely the union of a man and a woman."

The bill died after the House failed to achieve the two-thirds majority required to send a constitutional amendment to the 50 states.

Baldwin, the only openly gay woman in Congress, has been a vocal opponent of the amendment since the resolution was introduced. On the House floor Thursday afternoon, Baldwin said that the definition of marriage should be a state-determined issue and does not belong in the Constitution.


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Slashed tires lead to charges
The severity of the charges may change if it is determined the parking lot slashings are hate crimes motivated by antigay prejudice.
By CHRIS TISCH, Times Staff Writer


LARGO - Prosecutors will consider charging two men with hate crimes after their arrests Friday morning in connection with tire-slashings outside a gay pub in Largo.

Police said the two men made antigay comments inside the Sports Page Pub on Thursday night. As the men left, a bartender followed them outside and told them not to return.

But police said the men came back and slashed the tires of two cars parked outside the pub. Police later arrested the men on two charges of criminal mischief.


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Gay marriage ban headed for passage
Religion and moral issues play a large role in support
BY DAWSON BELL
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER


Buoyed by strong support among people who attend religious services, a proposal to amend the Michigan Constitution to define marriage as the union of one man and one woman is supported by a clear majority of voters, a Free Press poll shows.

In the poll of 830 registered voters conducted Sept. 22-28, support for Proposal 2 was at 53 percent, with 40 percent opposed and 6 percent undecided. Among likely voters the margin was even greater, at 56 percent to 39 percent.