Tales of harassment led to discrimination law on perceived gender
MASON STOCKSTILL
Associated Press
LOS ANGELES - As an openly lesbian high school student, Mattye Dane had classmates call her names, threaten violence and throw things at her in hallways. But her complaints were brushed aside by teachers, so the 16-year-old dropped out.

"Every school I've been to, I've experienced problems," Dane said.

Such treatment inspired a 1999 California law requiring schools to protect students from discrimination based on sexual orientation or perceived gender. Similar laws have been adopted in about 10 other states.

But in Orange County, one school board has refused to incorporate the state's language into its policies, with a majority of members saying the measure is immoral, promotes transsexuality and could confuse children about gender roles.

The refusal has prompted state officials to consider withholding millions of dollars in funding from the Westminster School District.



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Bush support for same-sex marriage amendment divides Republican gays
Palm Springs, California-AP -- Some gay Republicans convening this weekend are saying openly that they have a problem supporting President Bush.


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New Gay Anglican Battle Erupts
by Peter Moore
365Gay.com Newscenter 
(London) Conservative Anglicans around the world still reeling after last year's appointment of a gay bishop in the United States went into shock Saturday with the news that another openly gay cleric was being appointed to one of the most prestigious positions in the Church in England.

Dr Jeffrey John is being named Dean of St. Albans and traditionalists say the appointment will be the straw that broke the camel's back and lead to a breakup of the faith.

Dr John was the target of an international attack last year when the Archbishop of Canterbury attempted to elevate him to a bishop. Led by conservatives in Britain and in Africa opponents of gay reforms in the Church launched an attack that included threats of breaking away and hate mail directed at both John and Archbishop Rowan Williams.

Dr John eventually withdrew his name as bishop assumptive of Reading saying he wanted to preserve church unity. In the United States, the American wing of the Anglican Church elected Gene Robinson as bishop of New Hampshire, an action that continues to have repercussions throughout the worldwide Church.

Gay police 'need stronger backing'
Rosie Cowan, crime correspondent
The Guardian
Brian Paddick, the UK's highest-ranking openly gay policeman, called yesterday for greater effort to deal with diversity in the force, after two gay officers were beaten up in a homophobic attack.

One of the two off-duty Metropolitan police officers required hospital treatment for a broken nose, and his partner was severely bruised, when they were assaulted in south London on Thursday night. A man, who is not a police officer, has been arrested.

But Mr Paddick, a deputy assistant commissioner at Scotland Yard, said: "The colleagues who came to assist them were very uncomfortable with the situation.

"Despite the progress since the McPherson report [on the Met investigation of the murder of black teenager Stephen Lawrence] much more needs to be done on all aspects of diversity.


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Gay Vice President?: Historians debate the private life of William Rufus De Vane King
By JAY REEVES
Associated Press Writer
As a U.S. vice president, William Rufus De Vane King was a "Jeopardy!" question waiting to happen.

Entombed under a huge oak tree in Selma, the city he helped found, the obscure King is best known as the only member of the executive branch sworn in outside the United States. He was inaugurated in Cuba in 1853 and died weeks later.
But with the nation debating gay marriage and civil rights for homosexuals, King is gaining new attention for another part of his life that local admirers would rather not discuss. According to some historians, rumors that circulated 150 years ago were accurate: King and James Buchanan, who years later would become the nation's 15th president, were a devoted homosexual couple.


Neither man ever married, yet they lived together for years in an arrangement that was fodder for critics and political opponents of the time, including Andrew Jackson, the seventh president.


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THOUSANDS MOBILIZE AGAINST FEDERAL MARRIAGE AMENDMENT UPON LAUNCH OF HUMAN RIGHTS CAMPAIGN MEETUP
By Myles Weissleder  
WASHINGTON - April 16, 2004 -- Over 7,000 fair-minded Americans signed-up to "Meetup" to oppose an anti-gay amendment to the U.S. Constitution during the week following the launch of the Human Rights Campaign's Meetup. HRC launched its new Meetup initiative Thursday, April 8, in partnership with Meetup.com -- dramatically expanding its grassroots organizing to oppose any efforts to write discrimination into the Constitution.
"No one wants discrimination written into our nation's founding document and fair-minded Americans across the country are speaking out," said HRC President Cheryl Jacques. "The early success of our Meetup initiative demonstrates the groundswell of opposition to using the Constitution to deny rights to any American."

Meetup.com is a free online service that organizes real-world gatherings of communities with common interests.
"Meetup exists to help everyone organize local group meetings. Being non-partisan, people Meetup about vastly different topics,"said Scott Heiferman, Meetup CEO.  "We're happy to help revitalize local community for everyone."

In the first week after launching, 7,413 people had signed-up at hrc.meetup.com to come together April 27, 2004, in 436 locales to take action against the Federal Marriage Amendment, an effort to permanently deny marriage rights to same-sex couples by amending the U.S. Constitution. At the first Meetup, participants will learn about the work that HRC is doing to defeat the amendment and will write handwritten letters to their Senators and Representative urging them to oppose any effort to write discrimination into the Constitution.

County to back same-sex marriage
Four of five supervisors say they'll vote for resolution supporting gay unions
By SPENCER SOPER
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
Sonoma County supervisors will dive into a national debate Tuesday by voting on a resolution supporting gay marriage. Supervisors Valerie Brown, Mike Kerns, Mike Reilly and Tim Smith say they will support the resolution, calling it a matter of fairness and equal rights for gay and lesbian couples.
"I think we have to stand up for civil rights," Smith said.


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Same-sex marriage ban passes from Senate
By Jeff Packham
OKLAHOMA CITY (cnhi) - One man’s “dark day” was another man’s “tremendous victory” Thursday as the Senate approved the Marriage Protection Amendment that would constitutionally prohibit same-sex marriages in Oklahoma.

The Senate passed the proposed amendment to the State Constitution by a wide margin — 38-7 — but not before a handful of members, including Senate President Pro Tempore Cal Hobson, D-Lexington, warned of the consequences.

Sen. Bernest Cain, D-Oklahoma City, said the proposal was nothing more than the Senate going back to the days of segregation. The actions of the Senate were compared with those of the political leaders in the Deep South.

“We know that was pure racism,” Cain said. “They were going to the Capitol and voting racist votes all the time.”

Two transgender murder cases remain unsolved
The summer of 2003 was a violent one for Houston transgenders
By BINNIE FISHER
When transgender activist Paige Mahogany tells prostitutes that the streets can be a deathtrap, she has recent history to back up her statements.

When Vanessa Edwards Foster goes to Washington D.C. this month to lobby for transgender inclusion in hate crimes legislation and tells senators and house members that it’s a matter of life and death, she can point to that same history.

The summer of 2003 was a violent one for transgender persons in Houston. By the end of the summer, two transgender persons had been murdered. Their cases remain unsolved.


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Md. lawmaker sabotages hate crimes bill
Equality Maryland hints at lawsuit demanding marriage
By JOE CREA
ANNAPOLIS, Md. — Maryland lawmakers killed two pro-gay measures in the final hours of this year’s legislative session, prompting a pledge from state activists to investigate filing a lawsuit seeking marriage rights for gays.

Conservative Republican state Sen. Alex Mooney (R-Frederick) succeeded in killing an expanded hate crimes bill by adding amendments to the measure that sought to protect an array of other groups, including nurses, veterans and lawyers. Critics decried Mooney’s failed amendments as making a “mockery” of the hate crimes bill.

“For someone who has publicly proclaimed his status as a survivor of domestic violence, I think it is shocking and appalling that he could be so uncaring about the violence we face,” said gay Del. Rich Madaleno (D-Montgomery County).

“He relishes the chance to play the spoiler because he thinks he’s being so smart by putting his perceived opponents on the hotseat by throwing these outrageous amendments protecting teachers, nurses, lawyers and veterans. And no one in the Senate challenged him by saying, ‘You know what senator, show me one case where a veteran was tracked down and beaten solely on the basis that they were a veteran.’”


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Quiet ministers' actions speak loudly
By MICHAEL HILL, Associated Press
POUGHKEEPSIE -- They speak softly. One quotes Camus from the pulpit, the other cites Tolkien. They are in their 60s. One is straight, the other gay.
Unitarian Universalist ministers Dawn Sangrey and Kay Greenleaf might seem like unlikely symbols in the fight over gay marriage. Yet criminal charges against the ministers for marrying gay couples in New Paltz last month place the two quiet women in the middle of the clamorous debate in a way they never quite intended.

"I said to myself, 'What are they going to do to two little old lady ministers?' " Greenleaf recalled.

The two women appear to be the first clergy nationwide to be prosecuted for marrying gay couples, according to advocates. They are accused of solemnizing marriages without a license -- the same charges brought against New Paltz Mayor Jason West for performing same-sex marriages.

Governor amends gay marriage, feticide bills
By BOB LEWIS
Associated Press Writer
RICHMOND, Va.
Gov. Mark R. Warner has amended bills passed by the General Assembly that deny gay couples the benefits of marriage, make killing a fetus a felony and allow people with high school educations to home-school their children

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Worcester clerk won't challenge gays
Declines to question applicant residency
By Jessica Bennett, Globe Correspondent
The Worcester city clerk said yesterday that he would not question gay couples seeking marriage licenses about their residency, becoming the second municipal official to ignore state officials who say gays from out of state will not be allowed to get married here.
ADVERTISEMENT

Worcester City Clerk David J. Rushford said he would not ask whether same-sex couples filling out marriage applications intend to become residents of Massachusetts, saying that city clerks "shouldn't have to become the marriage police."

"It's not part of marriage law to challenge people," Rushford said, adding that his intent was not to be defiant, but to seek clarification from state officials. "It's not part of the Massachusetts law, it's not part of the regulations, and it's not the process we've ever used."

The question of whether only gays who are Massachusetts residents will be allowed to get married May 17 is has touched off debate around the state, in part because it will ultimately shape how limited or large a pool of gay couples will receive marriage licenses here. Gay-friendly tourist areas favor the broadest approach, permitting nonresidents and residents to marry.

-National Gay and Lesbian Task Force Co-Sponsors March for Women's Lives; Asks Members Who Are Attending to Join LGBT Marching Contingent


Dear National Gay and Lesbian Task Force Friends:

The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force is proud to be a co-sponsor of the March for Women's Lives in Washington D.C. on Sunday, April 25th. To support our allies confronting the daily, continued assault on women's reproductive rights,
the Task Force is joining a large contingent of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT)people at the March and is asking all Task Force friends who are attending to join the LGBT contingent.

March Details:

- Assembly begins to gather at 10 am on National Mall between 3rd and 14th Streets NW (ask any March volunteer for the specific gathering location of "New York LGBT Center delegation.") The Task Force will be lining up with the Center and we'd love to have our members from across the country join and march with us. Look for our big National Gay and Lesbian Task Force banner!)

- March steps off at noon

- Rally and programs at 1 pm

Bus Details:

For buses and other carpool type of travel information, visit the March for Women's Lives Web travel info site at: http://www.marchforwomen.org/content/index.php?pid=69.


You will have to log in to access the information they've collected.

For those who will be traveling from the New York areas, the New York City LGBT Center, Empire State Pride Agenda, NARAL, and several other organizations are organizing buses to and from the march.

NYC LGBT Community Center is organizing three buses leaving from its Manhattan location (13th Street and 7th Avenue) at 6 am on April 25th. The buses will return to New York same day in the evening. To join, log onto http://www.gaycenter.org


to purchase tickets with a credit card, or to download a registration form that can be completed and sent in with payment. Tickets are $40 each and include roundtrip bus transportation, a DC MetroCard to cover transit to and from the March location, and a continental breakfast and boxed lunch. If you have any questions, please contact Anne Foerg at 212-620-7310 x294 or afoerg@gaycenter.org.

The Empire State Pride Agenda is organizing a bus that will depart for the March from 647 Hudson Street at 6:00 AM on the 25th and return on the same day. Tickets are $43 and include round-trip bus transportation, a round-trip MetroCard from the bus parking area to the March location, and a March for Women's Lives/Causes in Common tee shirt. Snacks and water will be provided, but it is recommended that riders pack their own lunch. For more information, please contact Chris Cormier at ccormier@prideagenda.org



or 212-627-0305.

NARAL-NYC has a number of buses leaving for the March between 5:30 and 6:00 am on the day of the March. Manhattan buses will leave from Union Square, Lincoln Center (66th & Amsterdam), and Armory (68th & Lexington). Brooklyn buses will leave from the Brooklyn Museum of Art and the Atlantic Avenue Subway/LIRR station. Queens buses will leave from the Central Y in Forest Hills. Seats are $40 a piece, with a DC MetroCard included in the ticket price and scholarships available for students and low-income individuals who can't afford the full $40. NARAL intends to leave Washington by 6:00 PM and return to NYC around 11:00 PM. Tickets can be purchased online at www.prochoiceny.org/marchforwomen.


For more information, please contact march@prochoiceny.org or 212-343-0114 x21.


For more detailed information, the main March For Women's Lives Web site is at http://www.marchforwomen.org/index.php


We look forward to seeing you there!

TASK FORCE DANGER SOLDIER KILLED, FIVE WOUNDED 4/15/2004
TASK FORCE OLYMPIA SOLDIER DIES 4/15/2004

Beyer hails Australian decision on sex change for teen
MASTERTON - Wairarapa's transsexual MP Georgina Beyer has hailed a landmark decision by an Australian family court to allow a 13-year-old girl to become a boy as "remarkable and brave".

Ms Beyer said although the girl was very young she presumed the judge had fully taken into account all the professional and medical advice available to him in making his decision.

Normally sex change candidates would have gone through puberty before any major decisions were made.

Ms Beyer said this could account for the judge delaying permission for the girl, known as Alex, undergoing reversible hormone treatment until she is 16, and surgery when she is 18.

PACIFICA
Father sues school district over harassment of his son
Classmates taunted ballroom dancer, 12, perceived as gay
Simone Sebastian, Chronicle Staff Writer
The father of a Pacifica seventh-grader has filed a $10 million lawsuit against the school district, saying that for two years administrators did nothing to protect his son as classmates taunted and abused him because they thought he was gay.

Mark Shaposhnikov said his 12-year-old son, an internationally competitive ballroom dancer and straight-A student at Ingrid B. Lacy Middle School, was repeatedly called "faggot," kicked and pushed by other students and had gum thrown in his hair.

The harassment peaked last year, when a few students began telling his son they were going to kill him, Shaposhnikov said.

"He was depressed, saying he hated his life and he was sorry he was born, " said Shaposhnikov, a 44-year-old small-business owner. "I trusted (school officials) to protect my son. But every time I ask them to do something, they do nothing."



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Decision Next Week In Oregon Gay Weddings
by 365Gay.com Newscenter Staff
(Portland, Oregon)  A judge in Portland, Oregon Friday said he would rule next week on the legality of same-sex marriage. 

Multnomah County began issuing marriage licenses March 3.  A the California Supreme Court ordered San Francisco to stop allowing gay and lesbian couples to marry, Multnomah is the only place in the court where same-sex couples can get marriage licenses.

Gov. Ted Kulongoski and state Attorney General Hardy Myers both appealed to Multnomah County to stop issuing the licenses until the matter is decided by a court.

The county has refused and under an agreement with opponents to gay marriage began a fast-track case to the state Supreme Court.


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Community That Tried To Outlaw Gays Issues Pride Permit
by 365Gay.com Newscenter Staff
(Dayton, Tennessee)  Officials Friday issued permits for the first gay pride event ever to be held in Rhea County, a small community in East Tennessee that made the news last month when it tried to pass a law making homosexuality illegal.

Rhea County commissioners voted unanimously to ask the state for the power to jail gays. The move drew national media attention, and galvanized the small local gay population. 

A week later commissioners reopened the issue after some members of the council claimed they had misunderstood what they were voting for. The motion was rescinded despite the objections of its author, Commissioner J-C Fugate, who said it was perfectly clear. We want to keep "homosexuals out of here.'' 

Gays quickly began organizing a Pride celebration as a means of visibility in the community, and opened a to promote it. 

Governor Warner Amends Gay Marriage, Feticide Bill
Richmond, Va. (AP) - Gov. Mark R. Warner has amended bills passed by the General Assembly that deny gay couples the benefits of marriage, make killing a fetus a felony and allow people with high school educations to home-school their children.
By a Thursday midnight deadline, he signed legislation that imposes harsh new penalties on drunk drivers, creates scholarship programs for schools shuttered in desegregation battles 40 years ago and allows Richmond voters to directly elect their mayor.

Warner vetoed only two minor bills, one of them at the request of its sponsor.
The gay marriage bill by Del. Robert G. Marshall, R-Prince William, denies the privileges of marriage to gay couples in "a civil union, partnership contract or other arrangement."

Warner's amendment applies the restrictions only to same-sex couples in a civil union and deletes partnerships or other arrangements.

"I do not support same-sex marriage," Warner wrote in a message explaining his amendment. But he expressed "grave doubts" about the bill's constitutionality because it could limit the right of all couples - gay and straight - to enter into contracts.

can anything more be said.... is there even language to describe this violence...

Arrest In TG Teen Shooting
by 365Gay.com Newscenter Staff
(New York City)  A 20 year old Brooklyn man was arrested Thursday and charged in the shooting of a 14 year old transgendered teen.

Police said that Jamel Stevens became enraged after discovering the 14 year old with whom he had sex was biologically male.

The teen, whose name is being withheld because of her age, was shot four times February 21 in the Bedford-Stuyvesant area. Police said she was struck twice in the left arm and once in each of her legs. The teen was hospitalized for a week at Kings County Hospital Center

The teenager had been living as a female for nearly a year, and police said she had engaged in sex with Stevens for cash. When Stevens bragged of his sexual exploit people in the neighborhood told him that the girl was born male.  He then went home and returned with a gun.

Judge to hear arguments on Ore. gay marriage case
Associated Press
A Multnomah County judge is scheduled to hear oral arguments Friday from both sides of the gay marriage issue.

Supporters and opponents filed briefs this week in a lawsuit which is expected to decide the issue on same-sex marriages. Portland is now the only major U.S. city still granting marriage licenses to same sex couples. The documents filed cite experts on human sexuality and explored the intentions of Oregon's pioneer founders.


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US LGBs take to streets over finance discrimination
Eric Johnston, Gay.com/PlanetOut.com Network
Gay activists organised demonstrations on Thursday evening in 38 US cities, to protest discrimination in the tax code against same-sex couples who cannot get married.

"The government takes our tax money but then refuses to treat us as equals before the law," said Robin Tyler, executive director of DontAmend.com -- The Equality Campaign, which organised the rallies.

Tyler said because gay couples cannot legally marry, the federal government forces them to enter into a "legal fiction of being single" on tax returns.

Demonstrations were planned outside post offices from Washington to Texas, from Massachusetts to Florida, and in every city in California where post offices were staying open late for last-minute tax filers.

Sister Of Slain Transgender Teenager To Testify
The sister of a murdered East Bay transgender teenager takes the stand in court today.
Three men are accused of killing Gwen Araujo in October 2002. In yesterday's opening statements, prosecutors argued a night of sex and drugs led to the killing. Prosecutors said the men "snapped" when they learned Gwen, also known as Lida, was biologically male. A pathologist is slated to testify Thursday


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Attack on gay man's home
Excrement has been smeared on the door and windows of a gay man's home in Londonderry.

It is thought to be the second homophobic attack in the city within the past week.

On Saturday night a gay man was attacked in the Queen's Quay area.

The latest attack took place on Thursday night

David McCartney of the support group, the Rainbow Project, said he did not believe it signalled a rise in these kind of attacks.

"The young man concerned believes that it is homophobic in its nature and he has been getting some verbal abuse in the area," he said.


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Silence promotes gay awareness
Sometimes speaking volumes doesn't require any words at all.

That's what 20-year-old Doug Meredith learned at this time last year.

He didn't shout hello to his peers at Northern Kentucky University. He didn't trade a few words with a professor after class. He didn't order a strong midmorning coffee.

For one day, Meredith remained completely quiet.

Instead of oral communication, he handed out cards that read:

"Please understand my reasons for not speaking today. I am participating in the Day of Silence, a national youth movement protesting the silence faced by lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people and their allies.



N.Y.ers like altar-native to gay nups
By JOE MAHONEY
DAILY NEWS ALBANY BUREAU CHIEF
ALBANY - A majority of New Yorkers support civil unions for gay and lesbian couples but balk at the idea of same-sex marriages, according to a new Quinnipiac University poll released yesterday.

The survey of registered voters statewide found that 52% would let same-sex partners formalize their relationships with a civil union law while 40% opposed the idea.

But when the 1,279 people surveyed were asked about giving homosexuals the right to a traditional marriage, only 37% came out in support of it and 55% opposed it.

"New York State voters ... are more liberal than the rest of the nation on this hot-button topic," said Maurice Carroll, director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute. "But even New York City voters oppose gay marriage."

In the city, home to one of the nation's largest gay communities, 47% gave the thumbs-down to same-sex nuptials and 42% said they would support them. Only 34% of city residents frowned on civil unions.


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Gay Republicans Urged To Convert
by 365Gay.com Newscenter Staff
(Palm Springs, California)  Hundreds of letters urging gay Republicans to switch party allegiance have begun showing up in mailboxes in the Palm Springs area. But, some people are wondering how organizers of the letter campaign found out who they were.  And, others say they don't know why they got the letters because they're straight.

The letters came from the Desert Stonewall Democrats and is aimed at people the group believes are opposed to President Bush's call for a constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage.

"We now have a president, the supposed leader of the free world, sanctioning discrimination in the Constitution of the United States of America," the letter states.

"This is nothing short of declaring war on our civil rights and dignity. It is obviously a political move of the worst type that will do nothing but attempt to divide our nation."

"As a registered GLBT Republican, you might be feeling especially betrayed by this sucker punch to the gut," the letter says.

Rally In NJ For Same Sex Marriages
WESTFIELD, N.J. Proponents of same-sex marriage want New Jerseyans to push for legislation that would make it legal.

A standing-room only crowd came out Thursday night to show their support and hear from several people involved in the cause, including New Paltz, N.Y., Mayor Jayson West, who performed weddings for 25 same-sex couples in February and now faces misdemeanor charges for officiating.

``This meeting is important because we need to make sure that issues stay in the forefront,'' West told a crowd of about 600 at Temple Emanu-El in Westfield. ``It's important to keep pushing for (the legislation).''

Other speakers included Louis Navarrete, 42, and Ric Best, 44, the two men who were married in Asbury Park last month after city officials granted them a marriage license, and seven same-sex couples who are plaintiffs in a lawsuit seeking recognition of gay marriage in New Jersey.


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Singapore halts activities of gay rights groups
Singapore isn't ready to accept gay rights groups, an official tasked with overhauling the country's conservative image said Thursday. "The vast majority of Singaporeans are not ready and will not accept the formation of groups who may...be seen to promote gay or alternative lifestyles," said Vivian Balakrishnan, a government minister of state for national development. Balakrishnan heads the "Remaking Singapore Committee," appointed by the government to help the Southeast Asian island nation shed its authoritarian reputation and market itself as a media and arts center. "To stridently go out and campaign [for] the registration of groups like this will actually be counterproductive to these groups at this point in time," Balakrishnan said. He was referring to People Like Us, a gay support group that was denied permission last week to officially register as a society.

'Humiliation' Turned To Manslaughter In Araujo Case
HAYWARD, Calif. -- A man accused of killing a transgender teen is guilty not of murder but of "classic manslaughter" brought on by the discovery that he had sex with a man, a defense attorney said Thursday

"It brought shame and humiliation, shock and revulsion," said attorney Michael Thorman, who is representing Michael Magidson, 23, one of three men charged with killing Eddie "Gwen" Araujo.

Araujo, 17, was beaten and strangled in October 2002 after her biological gender was roughly revealed by the people she thought were her friends.

The killing drew national attention to the issue of violence against people whose identity conflicts with their biology.

Prosecutor Chris Lamiero, making his opening statement Wednesday, called the death an execution and described Magidson as a tough guy with something to prove and the man who pulled the rope tight around Araujo's neck.

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Lawyer: Lust, Lies, Drugs Led to TG Death

HAYWARD (BCN) -- A prosecutor described for jurors Thursday a toxic combination of lust, ego, deception, alcohol and drugs that led to the brutal murder of Newark transgender teenager Eddie Araujo, who also was known as "Gwen" and "Lida."
In his opening statement in the murder trial of three young men accused of killing Araujo, 17, early in the morning of Oct. 4, 2002, Alameda County Deputy District Attorney Chris Lamiero said the defendants killed Araujo when they found out that the beautiful girl they had sex with actually was biologically male.

Michael Magidson, 23, of Fremont, and Newark residents Jose Merel and Jason Cazares, both 24, "thought that they were deceived, and the wages of Eddie Araujo's sin of deception were death," Lamiero said.

Speaking to jurors in the packed and tightly guarded 90-seat courtroom of Judge Harry Sheppard, Lamiero said Magidson, Merel and Cazares, along with a fourth man who has cut a deal with prosecutors in exchange for his testimony against the others, beat and strangled Araujo at Merel's home in Newark and then buried the body in a shallow grave in a remote area near Lake Tahoe.

The case has drawn national attention to violence against people who believe their identity is at odds with their biology.

Julie Dorf of a San Francisco-based group called the Horizons Foundation attended the trial Thursday, as did many other people interested in transgender issues. The group has served the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community in the Bay Area for more than 20 years, Dorf said, and today she issued a news release stating that Araujo's death shows the need for increased education around transgender issues, particularly for school-aged youth.

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Attorneys describe defendants as quiet, soft-spoken
By Michelle Locke
ASSOCIATED PRESS

HAYWARD – A defense attorney for one of three men charged with killing a transgender teen described his client as a quiet, even-tempered man caught up by ungovernable passions the night he discovered he had unwittingly had sex with a man.

"What followed was absolute pandemonium and chaos," said attorney Michael Thorman, who described the killing as "classic manslaughter," not murder.
Thorman is representing Michael Magidson, 23, who along with Jason Cazares and Jose Merel, both 24, is charged with first-degree murder in the death of Eddie "Gwen" Araujo.

A fourth man initially charged in the case, 20-year-old Jaron Nabors, pleaded guilty to manslaughter and has been promised a sentence of 11 years in exchange for testifying against his friends.

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Spain To Legalize Gay Marriage
by Malcolm Thornberry
365Gay.com Newscenter

(Madrid) Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero told Parliament Thursday that he intends to move forward with plans to legalize gay marriage and grant equal rights to gay couples.

"The moment has finally arrived to end once and for all the intolerable discrimination which many Spaniards suffer because of their sexual preferences," Zapatero said during a debate which will end with a vote to confirm him in office.

"Homosexuals and transsexuals deserve the same public consideration as heterosexuals," he said. "As a result we will modify the Civil Code to recognize their equal right to marriage with the resulting effects over inheritance, labor rights and social security protection."
The move follows a pledge Zapatero's Socialist party made to woo gay voters in the last election. Last month, immediately following the election, he repeated the pledge in a television interview. But, this is the first time, he has announced his intentions in Parliament.

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Gay And Lesbian Couples Protest

While many people are rushing to the post office to mail in their tax returns, members of Virginia's gay and lesbian community have gathered at a post office in Fredericksburg to protest.

The men and women gathered at the post office to protest what they say is taxation with discrimination. They carried signs with slogans saying "Tax me the same, treat me the same" and "Tax me, then marry me".

They tell 8News what they're protesting is a government's refusal to grant them the right to a civil marriage and the same tax breaks allowed heterosexual married couples.
Similar protests are being held in cities across the nation. However, it's believed the protest in Fredericksburg is the only one of its kind in Virginia.

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Silence spreads message of tolerance

On a spring day last year, Adam Wilson went to school determined not to talk.

He was trying to make a point.
Along with thousands of other high school students across the country, the Loy Norrix High School student was participating in the nationwide Day of Silence, an event meant to protest discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender students and their allies. Wilson, a member of the school's gay-straight alliance, wasn't going to say a word. He got part-way to his goal.
More than halfway into the day, though, he broke his silence because other students were taunting him, Wilson said.
"It's hard not to talk," the 17-year-old said. "I got fed up with the comments."
He thinks things will be different this year. On Wednesday, the junior will be among about 300 area high school students expected to participate in the 2004 Day of Silence.

3 Lutheran Congregations Defy Denomination & Appoint Openly Gay Clergy
by 365Gay.com Newscenter Staff
(Los Angeles, California) Two Lutheran congregations in Southern California and a third in Minneapolis this week announced they were defying Church law and appointing "non celibate" gay clergy.

The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, the fifth-largest Protestant denomination in the country, with 10,700 churches and five million members, forbids active homosexuals to be ordained or serve in the ministry. It does however ordain gays but requires them to be celibate.

The Reverend Jennifer Mason is scheduled to be installed Sunday at Central City Lutheran Mission in San Bernardino. The Reverend Daniel Hooper is set to be installed at Hollywood Lutheran Church on May second.

The Reverend Jay Wiesner is scheduled to be installed as pastor of Bethany Lutheran Church in Minneapolis on July 25th.
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Senate Approves Gay Marriage Amendment Measure
Bill Calls For Public Vote On Same-Sex Marriage Ban
OKLAHOMA CITY -- Oklahoma voters would decide whether to enact a constitutional ban on gay marriages under a measure approved Thursday in the Oklahoma Senate.
Senate Republican leader James Williamson offered an amendment to a bill on the Senate floor that would define marriage as only between one man and one woman and prohibit the state from recognizing homosexual marriages performed outside the state.

The amended bill, which passed on a final vote of 38-7, now heads to the full House for consideration. If approved, the issue will be placed on the November general election ballot. State law already prohibits gay marriage, but the constitution can only be amended by a vote of the people.

"I am thankful to the Senate's Democrat leadership for finally giving up their efforts to keep the people from voting on the marriage protection amendment," said Williamson, R-Tulsa. "All we wanted all along was for the Democrat leadership to allow an up or down vote on this issue, and to allow the Senate to work its will."

Doubt cast on ability of governor to win legislation
By Associated Press
Thursday, April 15, 2004
One analyst calls it the legal equivalent of a ``Hail Mary'' pass in football.

Governor Romney is seeking a delay in the May 17th implementation of gay marriage in Massachusetts. But before he can even ask the Supreme Judicial Court for such a delay, Romney must first get the Legislature to support the naming of a special counsel to represent him before the high court.

The odds do not seem to favor the governor.

Any legislation to stop gay marriage would likely face an uphill battle in the state Senate, where 22 of the 40 members voted against a constitutional amendment that would ban same-sex marriages.

Gay marriage amendment riles ACLU


FRANKFORT, Ky., April 15 (UPI) -- The American Civil Liberties Union and the Kentucky Fairness Alliance are considering a lawsuit to keep a same-sex marriage amendment off the Nov. 2 ballot.
The Kentucky Legislature this week approved a referendum on a proposed state constitutional amendment that would ban same-sex marriages and civil unions. The amendment did not need Gov. Ernie Fletcher's approval.
Voters will decide "yes" or "no" on an amendment reading: "Only a marriage between one man and one woman shall be valid or recognized as legal in Kentucky. A legal status identical or substantially similar to that of marriage for unmarried individuals shall not be valid or recognized."
Kentucky banned gay marriage in 1998 and amending the constitution would ensure the state would not have to recognize same-sex marriages performed elsewhere, the Lexington Herald-Leader said.

Poll: New Yorkers Oppose Gay Marriage, Approve Of Civil Unions
by 365Gay.com Newscenter Staff

(New York City) A new survey shows most people in New York state are opposed to same-sex marriage but, would support civil unions.
The Quinnipiac University poll released Thursday shows that 55 percent of voters reject gay marriage while 37 percent are in favor. But, 52 percent of those surveyed said they supported a civil union law with 40 percent opposed.
The poll not surprisingly showed that Democrats and independents were more likely to support same-sex couples. 70 percent of Republicans would deny gays the right to marry.
"New York State voters, driven by New York City's 58-34 percent support for same-sex civil unions, are more liberal than the rest of the nation on this hot-button topic," said Maurice Carroll, director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute. "But even New York City voters oppose gay marriage."

Mass. Gov. Seeks to Stop Gay Marriage
JENNIFER PETER
Associated Press
BOSTON - Gov. Mitt Romney said Thursday he will seek emergency legislation aimed at forestalling gay marriages, which are scheduled to become legal in Massachusetts on May 17.

The legislation would allow Romney to appoint a special counsel who would ask the state's highest court to delay its ruling on gay marriage. The governor said it would allow him "to protect the integrity of the constitutional process."

Democratic Attorney General Thomas Reilly last month rejected the Republican governor's request to seek a stay from the Supreme Judicial Court until November 2006, when voters may have a chance to weigh in on a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage and legalizing civil unions.

The man Romney hopes to tap as special prosecutor is retired state Supreme Judicial Court Justice Joseph R. Nolan, who has called the court's November ruling legalizing gay marriage an "abomination."

Gays, lesbians to protest for marriage equality
The Associated Press
While some Fredericksburg-area residents rush to the post office today to mail in their tax returns, some members of the gay and lesbian community will be standing at the corner protesting for marriage equality.

Fredericksburg resident Cris Elkins is coordinating the local "No Taxation With Discrimination" protest. He says gay and lesbian pay as much or more taxes as heterosexual couples, but "don't have the same legal rights as others."


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Initiative calls for ban on gay marriages

By David Branson, Daily Staff Reporter
Even after the state House of Representatives voted against a resolution that would effectively ban same-sex marriages in Michigan, a citizen movement is still set on banning those unions. The March 9 vote failed to mount a two-thirds majority by eight votes, but the amendment could still be voted on in the November election if a petition drive gathers enough signatures.

Citizens for the Protection of Marriage, a lobbying group in Lansing this week began distributing petitions to place the amendment on the Nov. 2 ballot. The group would need to collect 317,757 signatures by July 6, in which case the amendment would be added to November’s ballot and, if passed, would be written into the Constitution.



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Senate gives final passage to marriage amendment
By Bruce Schreiner
The Associated Press
FRANKFORT - The Kentucky Senate Tuesday gave its final consent for a proposed constitutional amendment that would ban same-sex marriages. Now the voters will decide the issue.

The Senate passed the measure 33-5, sending it to the November ballot. The proposal also would deny legal recognition of civil unions.


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6 same-sex couples sue to lift ban
Six same-sex couples are fighting Florida's gay-marriage ban, pushing the state into a battle fought nationwide.
BY CARA BUCKLEY AND GAIL EPSTEIN NIEVES
KEY WEST - Six same-sex couples and a gay-rights group are suing to reverse Florida's ban on gay marriage, thrusting the state into the politically explosive national battle well under way in California and Massachusetts.

The suit pits same-sex marriage advocates -- living in politically decisive South Florida, with its large gay population -- against the state's conservative governor, Jeb Bush, and his brother, President Bush, who advocates a constitutional amendment defining marriage as heterosexual union.

''I am under no illusion that this is going to be easy or quick,'' said Joan Higgs, 55, one of the plaintiffs in the suit, slated to be filed today in state court in Key West. ``I know we will prevail eventually. I just hope when I can marry my partner, I will still be alive.''



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Trouble for gays in black churches
Pastors say Bible prohibits homosexuality
By Frank Reeves, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Growing up in Memphis, Tenn., Donna Payne was the preacher's kid. Her father was a United Methodist minister. Her mother was active in the African Methodist Episcopal Church, a denomination founded in the early 1800s after white Methodists made it clear that black Methodists were not welcome in their congregations.


For Payne, church meant Sunday school, Christmas pageants, prayer meetings, gospel music and close friends who helped pay her college tuition. But even in this cocoon of love and acceptance, Payne didn't tell anyone she was a lesbian.

"The mothers of the church might say, 'See that guy playing the piano, he's a little funny,' " followed by snickers or rolling eyes, Payne recalled. "When people started dying of AIDS in the 1980s, no one would say the reason. They would say he died of pneumonia or cancer."

Eventually, Payne left the church where she'd grown up, convinced she couldn't be both Christian and gay. She later joined Metropolitan Community Church, a predominantly gay denomination.


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Man argues for gay marriage
By Kelly Wiese
Jefferson City — A gay man pleaded with state legislators Wednesday not to place a ban in the state Constitution that would bar him from marrying his partner of 11 years.

The House Committee on Children and Families heard the Senate version of legislation that would ask Missouri voters to define marriage as only between a man and a woman.

The committee did not vote on the proposed constitutional amendment. The House still must take a final vote on its proposed version to send it to the Senate before the session ends May 14.


~

Town: Zap 'defense of marriage' law in N.C.
 BY ROB SHAPARD : The Herald-Sun
CHAPEL HILL -- The Town Council voted unanimously Wednesday to ask state legislators to do away with North Carolina's "defense of marriage" law, which bans same-sex marriages.

The request is one of 10 bills that the council wants Orange County's state representatives to push for in the General Assembly. The Carrboro Board of Aldermen also has agreed to ask the county's legislators to seek a repeal of the state law.

Councilman Mark Kleinschmidt proposed making the request part of the council's legislative agenda, and he described it Wednesday as a way for the town to say, "Hell yeah, we're about fairness, we're about equality, we're about treating people fairly."

"If that means stepping out and making some noise, then give me the noisemaker," he said.

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Battle over gay rights
Rob Bradley/TECHNICIAN
The event, sponsored by the University Scholars Program and the Union Activities Board Issues and Ideas Committee featured gay rights advocate Elizabeth Birch, and Robert H. Knight, director of the Culture and Family Institute.

According to sponsors, the debate was originally intended to bring to light to the opposing sides of the controversial issue of gay marriage, but the speakers soon began to focus on moral and religious issues as well as the law.

this is hate.. and this is what is happening.. are you going to wake up to late amerkia...

Gay student's picture vandalized
Homophobic slurs, swastikas are not
considered hate crimes under Idaho law
By Monica Price
Taylor Newbold sits back in his chair. His face doesn’t show much emotion. There is a familiarity in his voice as he recounts events, as if this is just one more story for the file. Newbold’s picture was defaced sometime during the first weekend of April.

Swastikas and the word “fag” were drawn over a picture of Bobbie Brady with Newbold’s name above. Office workers had created a bulletin board facing the stairwell near the student activities office door with a Brady Bunch theme; every character had an employee’s name next to it.

He was the first person to see the vandalism/hate crime when he opened up the office that morning. At first Newbold shrugged it off, “It’s something you get used to after years of high school,” he said. “We [student activities] are always trying to put on a good reflection of the student body here and if something like [this] happens, it’s hard not to react to it ... the people who did this are in the minority,” Newbold said.



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when will governments get is hands off our flesh..

Aussie government considers intervention in sex change case

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) - Australia's government is mulling whether to contest a landmark court decision that allows a 13-year-old girl to undergo sex-change hormone treatment, Prime Minister John Howard said Thursday.

The Family Court ruling announced Tuesday was the first time an Australian child has been given legal approval to undergo the treatment solely because of psychiatric issues.

The girl, who is in state care and has been identified only as Alex, will also receive psychiatric help but will not be allowed to undergo sex change surgery until she turns 18 and is legally considered an adult.

Family Court Chief Justice Alastair Nicholson said he felt the teen - who had been raised as a boy - understood the risks of the treatment.


~

Lesbian kiss cut from B.C. school play
By JEREMY HAINSWORTH
Canadian Press
NORTH VANCOUVER, B.C. -- Drama students say their school district is being homophobic after a play featuring a same-sex kiss was censored after the first night's performance.

Broken Theory, written by students in the drama program at Handsworth secondary school, had its debut at North Vancouver's 700-seat Centennial Theatre on April 1.

Drama teacher David Beare said it is about finding the meaning of utopia. One character finds the girl of his dreams and kisses her. Two lesbian characters then kiss.

"It was the most innocuous kiss," he said. "It was a peck like two sisters or a mother and daughter would do."



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Committee: Gay Pride flag to stay
By Noah R. Bombard / Staff Writer
The Bedford School Committee unanimously decided to leave the "Gay Pride" rainbow flag hanging in the John Glenn Middle School hallway. The decision came after a public hearing attended by approximately 200 people Tuesday night. A record turn-out, said officials.

The committee heard input from 40 individuals who volunteered to speak in both opposition and support of the flag.

Middle School Principal Thomas Campbell hung the flag, donated by a lesbian teacher, three months ago as part of a respect for differences and tolerance program that displayed 70 flags, most of the national, throughout the school.

"I'm disappointed, but not surprised," said Gail Valbona, who has been a vocal opponent of the flag and was one of the parents who actively sought time on the School Committee's agenda. "I'm disappointed because they still did not address the issues of age propriety and parental rights."


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Councilmen mixed on benefits
BY JOSEPH MORTON
Whether the Omaha City Council will grant limited benefits for police officers with same-sex partners still was unclear Tuesday, despite a city attorney opinion that the benefits would not violate the State Constitution.

Two council members support the benefits, while two oppose them. Councilman Frank Brown would not comment on the issue.


~

Prosecutor: Transgender teen executed

Make no mistake about it, Eddie's death was an execution.
-- Prosecutor Chris Lamiero
HAYWARD, California (AP) -- Prosecutors are presenting the slaying of a transgender teen as an "execution" by young men whipped into a fury by a deception that gnawed at their tender egos.

"They decided ... that the wages of Eddie Araujo's sin of deception were death," prosecutor Chris Lamiero said as the trial got under way Wednesday.


Araujo, 17, was beaten and strangled in 2002 in a slaying that has drawn national attention to violence against transgender people, or those who believe their sexual identity is at odds with their biology.


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GAY GARCONS SERVE UP BITTER SEX-HARASS DISH
By WILLIAM NEUMAN

Harassment was on the menu at the fancy Manhattan eatery Town, according to two gay waiters who charged yesterday they were abused by other staffers, including a saucy sommelier who would walk up behind them and shove the neck of a wine bottle into the seat of their pants.


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Finneran signals he won't try to block start of gay marriages
By Raphael Lewis and Frank Phillips, Globe Staff, 4/15/2004
House Speaker Thomas M. Finneran said yesterday he does not intend to stop gay couples from marrying in Massachusetts next month, leaving Governor Mitt Romney as the last Beacon Hill leader contemplating a legal strategy to block same-sex marriages.

Finneran, one of the most prominent and powerful foes of gay marriage in Massachusetts government, said there is a minor reference in the state budget proposal House Democrats released yesterday that calls for a report detailing the "revenue and expenditure impact" of gay marriage.

"I don't anticipate any other action," Finneran told reporters during a visit to the Globe's editorial board. The concise statement echoed one he uttered earlier this month at a meeting with the editorial board of the Worcester Telegram & Gazette, which reported that the speaker said, "Where it stands now, same-sex marriages will occur" once the ruling takes effect May 17.



~

Judge says no to Scout lease on Fiesta isle
Action is same as Balboa Park ruling
By Ray Huard
The Boy Scouts lease of a Fiesta Island aquatics center on city-owned land is just as unconstitutional as its lease of public land in Balboa Park, a federal judge ruled yesterday.

U.S. District Judge Napoleon Jones Jr. said the lease of the half-acre aquatics center violates the constitutional separation of church and state because the Boy Scouts is a religious organization.

The same judge ruled in August that the Boy Scouts lease of Camp Balboa, where it has its regional headquarters, was unconstitutional because the Scouts require members to profess a belief in God.


~

Gay Vice President?: Historians debate the private life of William Rufus De Vane King
By JAY REEVES
Associated Press Writer
SELMA, Ala. -- As a U.S. vice president, William Rufus De Vane King was a "Jeopardy!" question waiting to happen.

Entombed under a huge oak tree in Selma, the city he helped found, the obscure King is best known as the only member of the executive branch sworn in outside the United States. He was inaugurated in Cuba in 1853 and died weeks later.

But with the nation debating gay marriage and civil rights for homosexuals, King is gaining new attention for another part of his life that local admirers would rather not discuss. According to some historians, rumors that circulated 150 years ago were accurate: King and James Buchanan, who years later would become the nation's 15th president, were a devoted homosexual couple.

Neither man ever married, yet they lived together for years in an arrangement that was fodder for critics and political opponents of the time, including Andrew Jackson, the seventh president.

One Week to 2004 Day of Silence: 250,000 Students to Protest Bias Against Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Peers

To: National Desk, Education Reporter
Contact: Michelle Sims of the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network, 212-727-0135, ext. 138 or msims@glsen.org
NEW YORK, April 14 /U.S. Newswire/ -- The Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network, or GLSEN, is pleased to announce that an estimated record-setting 250,000 students in over 2,600 high schools and colleges in all 50 states are expected to take part in a Day of Silence to be observed on Wednesday, April 21. Due to some school calendars, students in some cities will be observing the Day of Silence today, April 14. The Day of Silence is a national student-led effort in which participants take a vow of silence to peacefully protest the discrimination and harassment faced by lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) youth in schools.
"It is with overwhelming pride and excitement that GLSEN once again prepares to coordinate the Day of Silence," said GLSEN Executive Director Kevin Jennings. "All of us at GLSEN are moved and inspired by the record-setting number of students who will be silently, yet powerfully, standing up for themselves, their peers and the ideals of safe and effective schools for all."

~

By Candace Sweat
Contributor to The Shorthorn

When Carl Runner got dressed Tuesday morning he didn’t realize the jeans he put on would make a statement.

That was until he got to class and noticed a flyer posted by the Gay, Lesbian and Bisexual Association.

GLBA hosted a Jean Jam on Tuesday encouraging all students to wear jeans in support of gay, lesbian and bisexual students.

The day-long event was unannounced before Tuesday and came as a surprise to many students who were already wearing jeans that day.

Supreme Court asks what to do with S.F. same-sex marriages
DAVID KRAVETS, AP Legal Affairs Writer
SAN FRANCISCO -- The California Supreme Court on Wednesday expanded its focus on the gay marriage dispute, wondering how it should treat the 4,000 same-sex couples who were wed before last month's halt to the spree.

The justices asked for a briefing for the first time on whether they should invalidate the same-sex marriages San Francisco City Hall performed here if they rule Mayor Gavin Newsom did not have the authority to issue the same-sex marriage licenses.
The justices, in a brief afternoon order, suggested there were several options open to the court, which is expected to hear the challenge next month or June.

Since the high court halted gay marriages here last month, it has focused the case solely on whether Newsom had the authority to override state law and dole out same-sex marriage licenses earlier this year.

~

San Francisco mayor denounced by local clergy over gay marriage
San Francisco-AP -- Clergy representing over 600 churches in the San Francisco Bay area have met with Mayor Gavin Newsom to denounce his decision to allow same-sex marriages.

After the meeting, the Reverend David Innes said Newsom has abused the power of his office by violating the laws of California, the laws of nature and the laws of God.
The Reverend Arthur McKay Junior, who heads the San Francisco Baptist Ministers Conference, says it's a moral issue rather than a civil rights issue.

The mayor responded that Christians have a right to their view of the Bible, but don't have the right to impose it on others. Newsom, who's Roman Catholic, says he disagrees with his church on this and other issues.

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Contact: Robin Tyler of www.dontamend.com, 818-893-4075 (North Hills), robintyler@aol.com Web: http://www.dontamend.com
News Advisory:

Los Angeles will join 37 cities across the nation to protest for equal marriage rights at post offices tomorrow (April 15).

Gay rights activists are protesting - taxation with discrimination. "Want to Tax Us? Then Marry Us!" says Robin Tyler, the national chair of www.dontamend.com, whose group is helping to organize the protests all over the country.
When and Where: The Sherman Way Main Post office is open the night of April 15 for late filing, so the protesters will be in front of the post office at 5:30 PM.

LA Post Office - 15701 Sherman Way & Haskell (off the 405 freeway) at 5:30 p.m.

PHOENIX - Thousands of same-sex couples have married in California, Oregon and New York in recent months, producing court cases centering on one of the hottest social issues in the country.

But even before that, the same issue was already in Arizona's state court system because of a same-sex Phoenix couple's desire to formalize their union, something they're denied under current state law.

Though many of the people who got married in places like San Francisco were from outside California, Don Standhardt and Todd Keltner said that wasn't for them.
"We're Arizonans," Standhardt said. "That's why we're doing our case in Arizona."
Said Keltner: "We're rooted here. We want to have our (adopted) children here."
The 34-year-old Standhardt and the 37-year-old Keltner asked the Arizona Supreme Court on Dec. 8 to review a Court of Appeals decision that upheld Arizona's 8-year-old state law prohibiting same-sex marriages.

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Petition drive to get marriage amendment on Nov. ballot has begun
Coalition for a Fair Michigan vows to fight effort
By D'Anne Witkowski
Originally printed 4/15/2004 (Issue 1216 )
LANSING - A group calling itself Citizens for the Protection of Marriage has begun circulating petitions to get the anti-gay marriage amendment proposal on the Nov. 2004 ballot.

In order to be successful they would need at least 317,757 valid signatures by July 6.

The Associated Press reported that the Board of State Canvassers has not yet approved the petition form, though Secretary of State officials have reviewed the petition. The group is sure the petitions will be approved.
~

Penn. Supremes Hear Benefits Case
Wednesday, April 14th 2004
PHILADELPHIA -- Justices serving on the Pennsylvania Supreme Court were told Tuesday that the city of Philadelphia acted illegally when it extended benefits to registered life partners of public employees.

William Devlin, an evangelical Christian activist who runs the Urban Family Council, sued the city over a 1998 bill that grants benefits to registered "life partners" of public employees and also exempts such couples from discrimination and from paying property-transfer tax on sales to their partners.

Upheld by Common Pleas Court in 2000, the Philadelphia law was struck down by Commonwealth Court in 2002. The state Supreme Court agreed late last fall to hear the city's appeal.

Devlin's attorney, Dennis Abrams, argued that the city had overstepped its legal authority in creating life-partnership status. He maintained that only the state had the right to define marriage and that because the benefits provided by Philadelphia's law depend on a couple's having registered as life-partners, the benefits are improper.

Randall Terry shocked by son's coming-out
Randall Terry, the notoriously militant antiabortion activist and staunch opponent of same-sex marriage, said he is in "a state of shock" following his son's coming-out in the May issue of Out magazine. Terry said his 24-year-old adopted son, Jamiel, first told him he is gay two years ago but that he is very upset about the first-person article in Out and the $5,000 payment Jamiel told him he received for writing it. Terry said he did not bar Jamiel from his home after learning of his homosexuality. But his son is not welcome there now, he says, "because he betrayed our family's privacy...and he could sell us out again. He knows he is going to get his 15 minutes of fame because he's the son of a high-profile Christian leader who has fought against homosexual marriage," added Terry, who led the antiabortion group Operation Rescue in the 1980s and is now a radio talk-show host in Florida.
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EQUALITY CALIFORNIA ANNOUNCES STATEWIDE GRASSROOTS EFFORT TO PASS 2004 HISTORIC LEGISLATIVE AGENDA
Legislation on Marriage Equality, Hate Crimes, Employment Discrimination and Insurance Equality Moving Through Committee Process

SACRAMENTO – Equality California, California’s lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) advocacy organization, announced today that is mounting an unprecedented effort in support of the six major pieces of legislation EQCA is sponsoring this year. Equality California’s grassroots campaign in support of the bills is being supported by a broad coalition of civil rights, labor, religious, business and other community organizations. Working closely with Marriage Equality California Chapters throughout the State, EQCA is asking all supportive individuals and organizations to join together in a campaign that will include: educating the LGBT community and the public about pending legislation; meeting with legislators in their districts and in Sacramento; and contacting EQCA members and members of coalition partners in an all out effort to have more than 100,000 contacts made via emails, phone calls, personal visits, faxes and letters with elected officials by April 30th.

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Rhea County Gay Day organizers ask for help
Contact: Gary Giddings; 832-875-1673; info@gaydayrheacounty.com

DAYTON - Rhea County, Tennessee, site of recent attempts to outright ban homosexual persons and prevent them from living in the area is hosting Gay Day Rhea County planned for May 8, 2004. But the organizers need help.

Gary Giddings, event coordinator, wants to reach out and ask if there are those willing to come forward and assist him in this effort.

"We need your help. We need vendors to feed and water the crowd. We need a basic stage and sound system and sponsors or vendors to help pay for them", said Giddings. "We have not had much luck because it seems that many people have been reluctant to set up."

Rhea County residents or businesses can set up an eight square foot area free of charge. Local vendors will be responsible for getting their own permit from the City of Dayton. Outside vendors will be charged $10.00 for an eight square foot area along with a $25.00 fee if they want event organizers to get the city permit for them. Verifiable charities will receive a free set- up space, but will have to either get their own permit or pay a $25 fee for us to get one for them. Spaces are limited and must be paid for or reserved in advance. Details are available on their Web site referenced below.

Giddings further states that the City of Dayton Police Chief informed him that all businesses in Dayton will be closed that Saturday. All supplies will have to be imported to Dayton City Park, the site of the event. Dayton City Park is available to the group free of charge. The lakeside park has volleyball and baseball areas.
Rhea County Gay Day organizers ask for help

DAYTON - Rhea County, Tennessee, site of recent attempts to outright ban homosexual persons and prevent them from living in the area is hosting Gay Day Rhea County planned for May 8, 2004. But the organizers need help.

Gary Giddings, event coordinator, wants to reach out and ask if there are those willing to come forward and assist him in this effort.

"We need your help. We need vendors to feed and water the crowd. We need a basic stage and sound system and sponsors or vendors to help pay for them", said Giddings. "We have not had much luck because it seems that many people have been reluctant to set up."

Rhea County residents or businesses can set up an eight square foot area free of charge. Local vendors will be responsible for getting their own permit from the City of Dayton. Outside vendors will be charged $10.00 for an eight square foot area along with a $25.00 fee if they want event organizers to get the city permit for them. Verifiable charities will receive a free set- up space, but will have to either get their own permit or pay a $25 fee for us to get one for them. Spaces are limited and must be paid for or reserved in advance. Details are available on their Web site referenced below.

Giddings further states that the City of Dayton Police Chief informed him that all businesses in Dayton will be closed that Saturday. All supplies will have to be imported to Dayton City Park, the site of the event. Dayton City Park is available to the group free of charge. The lakeside park has volleyball and baseball areas.

~

Public Learning To Accept Gay Marriage
by 365Gay.com
(Rochester, New York) A new national poll shows that opposition to same-sex marriage is softening, although a majority of people are still opposed to the idea.
Fifty percent of those surveyed for a new Harris poll said they disapproved of same-sex marriage with 27 percent approving. That is a marked improvement from 2000 when Harris found only 16 percent would approve of gay marriage, and 1996 when just 11 percent approved. The new poll also found that when people were given the choice of marriage, civil unions, or allowing nothing, the public is split into thirds. Not surprisingly, when Harris looked only at those respondents who self-identified as being gay or lesbian 71 percent favored marriage as opposed to civil unions or no matrimonial rights.

DontAmend.com
37 Cities Across the Nation to Protest for Equal Marriage Rights at Post Offices on Tax Day!
 
TEXT:
*** PLEASE FORWARD WIDELY!! *** PLEASE FORWARD WIDELY!! ***
 
Protest on Thursday, April 15th
SEE THE END OF THIS MESSAGE
TO FIND INFO ABOUT THE PROTEST NEAREST YOU!
 
Stand up and send a clear message for equal rights: No Taxation With Discrimination!!
 
We are protesting on Tax Day because the government takes our tax money but then refuses to treat us as equals before the law.  It is an insult that politicians of either party could think its perfectly fine to take tax money from their Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgendered constituents and then not treat us equally. The central issue is equality or discrimination. Taking our tax money just pours salt on the wound of discrimination.
 
We are protesting at post offices around the country to highlight the extra pain we feel on tax day when the federal government forces many of us in committed relationships to enter into a legal fiction of being single - when we are actually couples, many in long-term relationships.  We demand equal respect for our relationships, and are angry that the government which taxes us refuses to grant us the marriage rights that others take for granted.
 
Our families are treated differently under the law, when in reality we have many of the same responsibilities, but without any of the legal obligations or benefits. According to the US Census data, 33% of gay male couples and 42% of lesbian couples are raising children compared with 51% of straight couples raising children. We all love our children and want to protect them just the same as any family would -- yet the government refuses our children and our families the same legal protections and tax advantages provided children of straight couples and that is wrong.  Older same-sex couples are denied Social Security survivor's benefits if one partner dies. The surviving partner is also denied automatic inheritance rights, potentially leaving him or her penniless.
 
We demand nothing less than full and equal marriage rights. Some have suggested that we settle for "civil unions" or "domestic partnerships," but both of these measures fall far short of full equality. It is absurd in principle to attempt to erect a "separate but equal" marriage-like institution and segregate gays into it. Few would seriously suggest that women, or any racial or religious minority accept less than full legal equality; it is insulting that some think that Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual or Transgendered people would or should settle for anything less. As a practical matter, given that thousands of federal and state laws use the word "marriage" to confer rights and responsibilities to couples, it would be a Herculean task to retrofit those thousands of laws to accommodate a "separate but equal" institution for gays, rather than simply grant equal access to the institution of marriage.
 
Please join the Tax Day protest nearest you and send a clear message to the politicians of both parties: No Taxation With Discrimination!
 
 
Book Alert: Fantastic reading on the subject of same gender marriage!
 
This week a new book WHY YOU SHOULD GIVE A DAMN ABOUT GAY MARRIAGE by Davina Kotulski, Ph.D., has been released that will help carry the message even further. Why You Should Give a Damn About Gay Marriage is a timely book that will help people understand the 1,138 federal ways and the hundreds of state ways that same-sex couples are relegated to a second-class citizenship. The book will open your eyes to the myriad of injustices that same-sex couples face like being denied the right to visit our partners in the hospital outside of California, even if we are registered California domestic partners, the extra fees we pay for our car insurance, rental cars, homeowners and health insurance. But, it is not just for California, but deals with federal rights.  It will anger you when you see how much money a same-sex survivor is denied by the Social Security Administration no matter how long they were partnered, but a newlywed of only one year and even a heterosexual divorced spouse can lay claim to these thousands of dollars. After going to the www.ssa.gov to find out how much your partner will be denied, you will be propelled to action and you will be qualified after reading this book to speak eloquently on the 1400+ rights and protections we are denied.

Outlook 12/12/03 writes "Kotulski's Why You Should Give a Damn About Gay Marriage, from Advocate Books, presents a staggeringly succinct argument that will open the eyes of even the staunchest foe of gay marriage."

Yes, the book addresses the 1,138 federal rights that come with marriage.

The book is available on-line at www.alyson.com, www.amazon.com, and your local bookstore.
We here at dontamend.com think this book is a great tool for activists, organizers,
and all people who believe in full civil rights for our community.
 
Here is the current list of cities planning actions on Tax Day, Thursday, April 15th:
 
Athens, GA
11 am
Main Post Office
115 E. Hancock Ave, Athens
Info:  OurHope@aol.com
 
Atlanta, GA
4:30 pm until dusk
Pharr Road Post Office, Atlanta
(near the intersection of Pharr Road and Piedmont Road)
Co-sponsored by DontAmend Atlanta and Marriage Equality Georgia
Info: atlantadontamend@aol.com
 
Austin, TX
Information forthcoming
Info: randall@lgrl.org
 
Bakersfield, CA
5 pm til ?
Main Post Office
3400 Pegasus Drive, Bakersfield, CA
Info: call 661-835-3545 or e-mail bakersfield@marriageequalityca.org
 

Bisbee, AZ
4 pm
Cooper Queen Station Post Office
Main Street, Bisbee, AZ
Info: jbengel80@yahoo.com
 
Boston, MA
5:30 pm
Fort Point Post Office (behind South Station)
Boston, MA
Info:  dontamendmass@cemarion.com
 
Charleston, WV
7-9 pm
Main Charleston Post Office
1002 Lee Street E.
(meet on the Washington Street side, on the corner of Dickinson & Washington Streets)
Cosponsored by Appalachian Metropolitan Community Church and West Virginia Foundation for Equality
Info: Earthleabear@yahoo.com or charlieboiwv@aol.com
 
Chicago, IL
5:30 pm
Main Post Office
433 W. Harrison Street (just west of the Chicago River)
Sponsored by Equal Marriage NOW!
Info: questions@equalmarriagenow.org or phone 773-243-2576
 
College Station, TX
4 pm
College Station Main Post Office
2130 Harvey Mitchell Pkwy S, College Station, TX
Info: faithbiwerks@yahoo.com
 
Davis, CA
11:30 am - 1 pm and 3 - 4 pm
Davis Post Office
(corner of Poleline and Fifth Streets)
Info:  yolo@MarriageEqualityCA.org
 
Duluth, MN
5:30 pm
Duluth Main Post Office
2800 W. Michigan Street
Info: anichols@d.umn.edu
 
Fredricksburg, VA
5-7 pm
Fredricksburg Main Post Office
600 Princess Anne Street
Fredricksburg, VA
Info: lgreen555@aol.com
 
Ft. Worth, TX
6 pm
Jack D. Watson Post Office
4600 Mark IV Parkway
Fort Worth
(exit Loop 820 at Mark IV Parkway, and drive south about half a mile)
Info:  JamesCoates@sbcglobal.net
 
Houston, TX
6 pm
6 pm at the Main Post Office
401 Franklin Street (@ Bagby), Downtown Houston
Info: houstondontamend@aol.com
 
Indianapolis, IN
5-7 pm
Indianapolis Main Post Office
125 W. South Street, Indianapolis
(southwest corner of South Street & S. Capitol Ave)
Info: Indy@DontAmend.com
 
Kansas City, MO
5:30 pm
Main Post Office
315 W Pershing Rd, Kansas City, MO
Info: dontamendKC@hotmail.com
 
Long Beach, CA
5:30 pm
Post Office
2300 Redondo Avenue, Long Beach, CA
(between Pacific Coast Highway and Willow Street)
Info:  daveys35@aol.com
 
Los Angeles
5:30 pm
15701 Sherman Way & Haskell (off the 405 freeway)
Contact: Robin Tyler, National Co Chair, rtdontamend@aol.com
Co-sponsored by DontAmend.com, Metropolitan Community Churches, Marriage Equality California (MECA), California Freedom to Marry, Southern California Women for Understanding
 
Louisville, KY
5:30-7:30 pm and 9:30-11:30 pm
Louisville Main Post Office
1420 Gardiner Lane, Louisville, KY
Sponsored by the Justice Ministry of the Metropolitan Community Church Louisville
Info: MCCLJustice@aol.com or MCCLville@aol.com
 
New York, NY
6 pm
Steps of James A. Farley Post Office
421 Eighth Avenue
(between 31st & 32nd Streets)
Info: rzacchi@marriageequalityny.org
 
Northern Los Angeles County
5:30 pm
43824 20th Street West  (corner of 20th & J-12)
Lancaster, CA Post Office
Info: AntelopeValley@DontAmend.com
 
Oakland, CA
5:30 pm
Post Office at 1675 7th Street
Oakland, CA
(right off the West Oakland Bart Station)
Info:  mmckay@marriageequalityca.org
 
Odessa, TX (GWB Country!)
4 pm
Main Post Office
200 N. Main Street
Odessa, TX
Info: Aguyinodessa@hotmail.com
 
Oklahoma City, OK
5 - 6:30 pm
Across the street from the Main Post Office
S 5th and Harvey, Oklahoma City
Info: jcraig23@cox.net
Co-sponsored by the Interfaith Diversity & Equality Association and The Peace House
 
Palm Springs, CA
6 pm, meet at the Desert Pride Center
March starts at 6:30 PM
March from the Pride Center to Village Fest
Bring banners, signs and your best loud voice!
Info: info@equal-protection.org and www.equal-protection.org


Philadelphia, PA
5:30 pm
30th Street Station Post Office
(2970 Market St)
Phlildelphia, PA
Info:  dontamendphilly@hotmail.com
 
Reno, NV
5:30 pm
Main Post Office
2000 Vassar Street, Reno, NV
Info: Angela34Brooks@hotmail.com
 
Sacramento, CA
9 pm - 12 midnight
LOCATION CHANGE!!!!
WEST SACRAMENTO - 3775 Industrial Blvd
Info: sacramento@marriageequalityca.org
 
San Diego, CA
San Diegans Against Marriage Discrimination, The San Diego LGBT Community Center and Equality California are hosting a press conference at 10:30 PM at the Midway Post Office (Midway Drive in Point Loma). Info: AJ Davis 619.692.2077, ext 212 or adavis@thecentersd.org.
 
San Francisco, CA
9 pm-11:30 pm
San Francisco Main Post Office
1300 Evans Street (off 3rd St, near Candlestick Park)
Sponsored by Marriage Equality California
Info: molly@eqca.org
 
San Gabriel Valley, CA
5:30 pm until ?
City of Industry Post Office
15421 E. Gale Avenue
City of Industry, CA
Info: teeslady@hotmail.com
 
San Jose, CA
5:15 pm
Post Office - Willow Glen
1750 Meridian Avenue, San Jose
Info: mara@maramcwilliams.com
 
Santa Barbara, CA
4-5 pm
Main Post Office
836 Anacapa Street, Santa Barbara
Sponsored by the Pacific Pride Foundation
Info: janet@pacificpridefoundation.org
 
Sarasota, FL
4:30 - 7:30 pm
Main Post Office
1661 Ringling Blvd
Sponsored by the United Federation of Metropolitan Community Churches
Info: Trinity1SRQ@aol.com
 
Seattle, WA
5:30 pm, Main Seattle Post Office
301 Union Street (3rd Ave & Union)
Downtown Seattle
Info: SeaWADontAmend@aol.com
 
Spokane, WA
5:30 pm
The Garland Post Office
1903 W. Garland, Spokane
Info:  Ballantz@cs.com
 
Tampa Bay, FL
5:30 pm
Main Tampa Bay Post Office
(located at the airport)
Tampa, FL
Info: dontamend@tampabay.rr.com
 
… AND GET READY FOR THE BIG PROTESTS ON OR JUST BEFORE MONDAY, MAY 17TH!!
 
As DontAmend.com announced several months ago, we are working with groups and individuals around the country to celebrate May 17th, the first day that Massachusetts will begin issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples!!  If you would like to organize a rally in your town on or just before May 17th, please write to RTDontAmend@aol.com
 
We CAN win equal marriage rights if we organize NOW!!!

there's a survey at this site with the question:
Do you think anti-gay groups should be allowed to post fliers around the University of Louisville campus? Yes / No

the yes's are winning... this is sick... truly. sick.. go vote and screw up there results..

Anti-Gay Fliers Posted On U Of L Campus
School Allows Free-Speech Expression
LOUISVILLE -- Anti-gay fliers posted around the University of Louisville are asking students to vote for the marriage amendment.

The fliers, considered offensive to some students, greeted them as they went to class Wednesday morning, WLKY NewsChannel 32's Julia Harding reported.

The colorful fliers claim to list facts and statistics about homosexuals, suggesting that more homesexuals have AIDS and commit murder than those who are not gay.

"It's just weird to see that stuff, but they have the right to do that," U of L student Ben Beiting said Wednesday. "They're the facts. You can't dispute the facts."

Whether they're factual or not, another student said she's ignoring the fliers, Harding reported.

"I don't even pay attention to them," Stephanie Allgier said. "It's just another piece of information flying around campus. They have information everywhere."

A University of Louisville spokeswoman said that while the fliers do have a negative message, they are allowed to be posted in designated places.

"It just sounds like they're against gays," U of L student Jill Andres said. "They're totally anti-gay."

The timing of the controversy is interesting because the school also has been dealing with fliers posted by the Ku Klux Klan in recent months. The school ultimately decided the KKK postings are a free-speech issue, Harding reported.

"I don't think it affects that many people," Andres said. "I wouldn't have even seen (the anti-gay flier) if you hadn't said something to me."

The fliers are allowed to be posted in designated spots on campus, but those posted on trees and doors were taken down by 9:30 a.m. Wednesday, per university policy.


~

Study casts doubt on
Freudian idea of homosexuality

An old Freudian idea that’s contributed to beliefs that homosexuals aren’t fit for marriage should be scrapped, according to a new study by California State University, Sacramento child development professor Mark Biernbaum that will appear in the May/June Journal of Homosexuality.

Contrary to Freud’s theory, gay and lesbian individuals are not psychologically immature, according to Biernbaum’s study. They haven’t simply failed to grow into mental adulthood, which Freud believed caused them to seek partners of the same sex much like children seek playmates of the same sex.

Biernbaum found instead that gay and straight 18- to 25-year-olds with similar backgrounds responded almost identically to a questionnaire designed to test psychological maturity. That finding also rules out the idea that immaturity makes homosexuals more prone to mental illness.

“You can’t make the link between psychological immaturity and homosexuality. It doesn’t exist,” Biernbaum says. “Yes, gay people do seem to be much more at risk for mental illness, but I think it must be due more to societal factors than psychological factors.”


~


House committee discusses gay marriage amendment
KELLY WIESE
Associated Press
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. - A gay man pleaded with state legislators Wednesday not to place a ban in the state Constitution that would bar him from marrying his partner of 11 years.

The House Committee on Children and Families heard the Senate version of legislation that would ask Missouri voters to define marriage as only between a man and a woman.

The committee did not vote on the proposed constitutional amendment, however, and its chairwoman said she wasn't sure if there is enough time left in the legislative session to take a vote on sending the bill to the House floor, especially with a House version also moving. The session ends May 14.

The House still must take a final vote on its proposed amendment to send it to the Senate.

Moseley Braun emphasizes the importance of individual action
People also asked Moseley Braun about her opinions on specific political issues. When asked about her views on San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsome’s recent sanctioning of gay marriage, Moseley Braun replied that it was “brilliant,” and that she sees gay marriage in the same terms as interracial marriage.


~

Filibuster ends with promise to hear gay marriage motion
By John Greiner
Senate leaders diffused a potential hours-long filibuster Tuesday by agreeing to hear a proposed constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriages in Oklahoma.

Oklahoma already has a law prohibiting people of the same sex from marrying.

A proposed constitutional amendment is to be heard later by the Senate. If it clears the Legislature, it would have to be approved by Oklahoma voters.


~

Supporters of gays, lesbians fear smear campaign
By John Cheves
FRANKFORT - With a proposed state constitutional amendment on the Nov. 2 ballot to ban same-sex marriages and civil unions, gays, lesbians and their friends imagined the worst yesterday -- a statewide advertising campaign depicting homosexuals as perverts to be shunned by society.

"It could get very, very ugly in the next six months. I hope it's not, but the amount of hate we saw was hard to take," said Jennifer Crossen of Lexington, a member of the Kentucky Fairness Alliance.

Crossen was referring to scenes at the Capitol repeated several times in recent weeks as hundreds of noisy and sometimes angry protesters jammed the halls to cheer and jeer legislators about the Senate bill that carried the proposed amendment.


Opponents of same-sex marriage finally won at about 11 p.m. Monday, when a bitterly divided House voted 85 to 11 to approve the bill. The House Democratic majority had tried to avoid a public stand on the issue, but finally relented to pressure from religious groups.


~

Men vow marriage license fight
By Pervaiz Shallwani
PHILADELPHIA | A New Hope couple denied a marriage license last month say they will challenge Pennsylvania's marriage law, regarded as among the toughest in the country by same-sex couples wanting to legalize their relationships.

Stephen Stahl and Robert Seneca are the first couple to announce they will fight the law in court. They decided last week to appeal Bucks County's denial of a license.

Man gives chilling account of Durham slaying
By BENJAMIN NIOLET, Staff Writer
DURHAM -- One of the suspects in the killing of Sean Ethan Owen told police how he and two other Durham men wanted to steal a car, found their intended victim on a gay chat line and lured him to his death along the banks of the Eno River. Matthew Lawrence Taylor, 16; Shelton Deangelo Epps, 21; and Derrick Arness Maiden, 18; have been charged in the February killing and remain jailed. Their cases are likely to be heard soon by a grand jury. But at a bail hearing for Taylor this month, the first detailed account of the killing became public. The account reveals the three used the gay telephone chat line as a hunting ground, but what began as a robbery plot ended in a violent death.


~

Gay, lesbian taxpayers to march for equality
Gay and lesbian community to march on City Hall in Tax Day protest
By JESSICA ALLEN
While some Fredericksburg-area residents rush to the post office tomorrow to mail in their tax returns, some members of the gay and lesbian community will be standing at the corner protesting for marriage equality.

"We pay the same taxes and want the same benefits as heterosexual couples," said Fredericksburg resident Cris Elkins, who is coordinating the local "No Taxation With Discrimination" protest.

The event is a follow-up to area residents' march last month to Fredericksburg Circuit Court, where four same-sex couples applied for marriage licenses and were denied them.

That March 25 demonstration expressed opposition to the proposed constitutional amendment prohibiting gay marriage that President Bush has recently endorsed and a state resolution not to recognize such relationships that Virginia legislators passed last month.


~

Gays To Protest On Tax Day, No Taxation With Discrimination
posted by :: William Rosen ::
Highlighting the fact that the government takes tax money from Lesbians and Gays, and yet refuses to grant equal rights such as the right to marry, activists with the DontAmend.com network are planning protests around the country on April 15, Tax Day.

In Kansas City, MO, the protest will be at 5:30 pm at the Main Post Office, 315 W. Pershing Road.

DontAmend.com was formed to prevent a proposed amendment to the Constitution which would ban same gender marriages. The Network worked with local organizations around the country on February 14th to host more than two dozen rallies demanding full, equal legal rights for Lesbians and Gays.

"When you take tax money from a group of people and then turn around and say they don't have the same legal rights as others, that's discrimination, pure and simple," said William Rosen, coordinator of the Kansas City DontAmend.com group. "People are going to have to make a choice: stand on the side of equality, or support continued discrmination."


~

Many evangelicals oppose U.S. ban on gay marriage
Poll shows about half prefer that state laws address the issue
By Frank Langfitt
Sun Staff
WASHINGTON - As President Bush reaches out to his conservative Christian base by supporting a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage, a poll released yesterday shows that more than half of the nation's white evangelicals oppose such a measure.

According to the survey, 52 percent would prefer to rely on state laws to prevent gays from marrying rather than altering the U.S. Constitution. In addition, only 48 percent of white evangelicals said a candidate's support for gay marriage would disqualify him from receiving their votes.

The findings, in one of the most comprehensive polls of evangelicals in years, don't rule out the issue of gay marriage as a potent tool to get out the conservative Christian vote for Bush in November.

But they suggest that white evangelicals, a key constituency that overwhelmingly opposes same-sex marriage, are more complex and share more mainstream positions than some political analysts believe.


~

African bishops mull 'gay' funds
Anglican church bishops in Africa are meeting in Kenya to decide whether to continue receiving money from western churches that ordain gay bishops.

Anglicans have split over the issue with African traditionalists opposing the appointment of gay bishops. Although two-thirds of Anglicans are in the developing world, the wealth of the church still resides in the West. The work of African churches is, to a large extent, funded by donations from rich Western congregations. The BBC's Ishbel Matheson in Nairobi says the implications of severing financial ties over a contentious article of faith will need to be carefully considered.


~


Zanzibar outlaws homosexual acts
Zanzibar's parliament has passed a bill that outlaws homosexuality and lesbianism.

The bill imposes stiff penalties which include up to 25 years imprisonment for those in gay relationships.

The overwhelmingly Muslim Indian Ocean island is a key tourist destination on the East African coast.

The attorney-general said they were determined to prevent Zanzibari culture from being corrupted. The president is expected to approve the bill into law.