Anti-gay measures threaten democratic rights
Ballot initiatives seek to bar same-sex marriage
By Don Knowland


On November 2, election ballots in eleven US states, including Michigan, Ohio, Georgia and Oregon, will include initiatives to outlaw same-sex marriage. Other states, such as Missouri, have already voted such bans into their constitutions.

The Bush administration last February came out in support of a federal constitutional amendment that would define marriage solely as “a union between a man and a woman.” The proposed amendment is designed to prevent individual states from recognizing same-sex marriages.

Such an amendment would nullify the recent ruling of the Massachusetts Supreme Court, which held that denying marriage to same-sex couples violated their constitutional right to equal protection under the law and their fundamental right to marry whomsoever they pleased. Under that ruling, gays have been free to marry in Massachusetts since May.

The Socialist Equality Party opposes all efforts to limit the rights of gay persons, including the right of same-sex couples to marry. Involved here is a basic questi


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Sudan army raids camps in Darfur


The Sudanese army has raided two refugee camps near Nyala in Darfur denying access to humanitarian agencies, the United Nations says.

The operation occurred as fighting was reported 20km north of Nyala.

Government forces moved in after reports of imminent militia attacks and to evict people pretending to be refugees to get food, the UN says.

More than 1.5 million people have fled their homes in Darfur and some 70,000 have been killed in the conflict.


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Tributes pour in for murdered gay man
Ben Townley, Gay.com UK


Tributes for David Morley, the man beaten to death in an apparently homophobic attack last weekend, have been pouring in, along with condemnations of his killers.

Morley, a survivor of the Admiral Duncan nail bombing, was killed after being brutally beaten by a gang of teenagers early on Saturday morning.

The attack was part of a series of beatings that occurred on London's South Bank, with police believing the two teenage boys and two young women involved were motivated by homophobia.

Since the news was announced yesterday, leading voices in the gay community have spoken out against the attacks.


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Red tape only for gay parents
The Virginian-Pilot


It’s not enough for the commonwealth of Virginia to officially disapprove of homosexuals, apparently. Now the state wants to go out of its way to make lives difficult for gay couples who don’t even live here.

A Virginia infant adopted by a gay couple in another state can’t get the Old Dominion to issue a new birth certificate reflecting the child’s new parents. That matters because an accurate birth certificate is the touchstone document for everything from school admission, to medical care, to a driver’s license, to a passport.

Issuing a new birth certificate after an adoption is a relatively routine administrative procedure.


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Fake calls tell voters Kerry supports gay marriage


LANSING (AP) — Some Michigan voters have received phone calls falsely claiming that Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry would make gay marriage legal, Kerry’s Michigan campaign said yesterday.

Both Kerry and his running mate, U.S. Sen. John Edwards, oppose gay marriage and say marriage should be limited to a man and a woman. Kerry has said he supports civil unions.

In a recording of a phone call played for The Associated Press, a young woman says: “When you vote this Tuesday remember to legalize gay marriage by supporting John Kerry. We need John Kerry in order to make gay marriage legal for our city. Gay marriage is a right we all want. It’s a basic Democrat principle. It’s time to move forward and be progressive. Without John Kerry, George Bush will stop gay marriage. That’s why we need Kerry. So Tuesday, stand up for gay marriage by supporting John Kerry.”


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Gay rights move applauded
By Ayo Johnson


The Bermuda Rainbow Alliance is celebrating Government’s decision to amend the Human Rights Act to prohibit discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation. A human rights and gay support group formed specifically to pursue the sexual orientation amendment, the Alliance has been campaigning publicly and privately for the amendment for the past three years.

And, while it is strictly not a “gay rights” issue – straight people will be protected from discrimination as well – the amendment is of greater immediate significance to members of the gay community who are more likely to suffer discrimination based on their orientation.

Alliance head Nikki Bowers said yesterday that she wept when she read the news in Monday’s paper. “I wept this morning when I read the headline ‘Gays to get human rights protection’. This is an important first step by the government of Bermuda that indicates that they recognize gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered Bermudians as citizens deserving of the same rights as the dominant population,” she said.

“Contrary to popular opinion this is an issue of equal rights, not special rights.
“Presently, we experience job and housing insecurity as we can be fired or evicted because of our real (or perceived) sexual orientation, without recourse.”


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Gay Murder - Music Blamed


Police investigating the homophobic murder of David Morley are examining a link with “murder music”.

The London Evening Standard today reports how detectives are examining lyrics of acts like Buju Banton, Elephant Man and Beenie Man. Scotland Yard's Racial and Violent Crime Task Force is currently investigating eight reggae acts.


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Local row breaks out over gay adoption stance
Ben Townley, Gay.com UK


A row has broken out in Bedfordshire, after a councillor in charge of children's services claimed children should only be adopted by "happily married heterosexual couples".

Conservative Cllr Madeline Russell made the remarks in a local newspaper, but has angered lesbian and gay groups throughout the region.

They say that such opinions are outdated and should not be made during National Adoption Week, which is intended to increase the number of foster and adoptive parents.

The row follows a new campaign from Bedfordshire County Council, which calls for people of all backgrounds to come forward and adopt children.


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Hate fliers found on driveways
By Jennifer Roy / Tribune Staff Writer


WALTHAM -- More hate literature has turned up in Watch City neighborhoods, this time from an Arkansas-based group known as White Revolution.

     Detective Sgt. Tim King said the literature, which states African-Americans and Hispanics make up the majority of HIV/AIDS cases and contains a membership application for White Revolution, turned up in driveways on Overlook and Pine Vale roads sometime Friday night.


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If Gay Marriage Amendment Clears Polls, Debate Heads To Court


ATLANTA -- Georgia voters will decide today whether to amend the state constitution to include a gay marriage ban.

But even if overwhelmingly approved, court challenges could prevent the matter from being settled.


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Dailies Overwhelmingly Come Out Against "Anti-Gay" Amendments, GLAAD Finds
By E&P Staff


NEW YORK Daily newspapers in 11 states with "anti-gay" constitutional amendments on the Nov. 2 ballot are editorializing against the measures by more than 10-1, the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) is reporting.

"When you look at newspaper endorsements and editorial pages, the vast majority of them are calling on voters to defeat these amendments," said GLAAD Executive Director Joan M. Garry in a statement.

As of Oct. 31, GLAAD has tracked a total of 73 newspapers that have published endorsements on the Nov. 2 ballot initiatives. A total of 67 daily newspapers are opposed to the local amendments, with only five in support: The Augusta (Ga.) Chronicle, The Oklahoman (Oklahoma City), The News-Review (Roseburg, Ore.), The Winchester (Ky.) Sun, and the Daily News (Bowling Green, Ky.)

All five of those newspapers supporting the amendments are also endorsing President Bush. But many other Bush backers are breaking against the amendments.


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Students walk out against measure
About 60 show for UND rally activities; hundreds more gather in F-M area
By David Dodds
Herald Staff Writer


Jessica Buri walked out of class about 11:10 a.m. Monday.

It was five minutes before the exact time UND students had been asked to walk out in opposition to a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage that appears on North Dakota election ballots today


Buri, a sophomore from Bismarck, joined about 60 other people for a demonstration in the school's quad behind Twamley Hall. She said supporting the cause outweighed the looks she might have got walking out in the middle of class.