Mike vows he'll honor gay marriage


Mayor Bloomberg landed another left on the right yesterday, coming out strongly in favor of gay marriage - and vowing the city will perform same-sex wedding ceremonies, if allowed.

The Republican mayor used his weekly Sunday radio address on Memorial Day weekend to say he is "firmly opposed" to any constitutional amendment outlawing same-sex marriage.

President Bush and other prominent Republicans endorse the Federal Marriage Amendment, which defines marriage as between a man and a woman. The measure is set for a Senate vote next month.

"The U.S. Constitution should be something that unites, rather than divides Americans," said Bloomberg, a life-long Democrat who joined the GOP to run for mayor in 2001.

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Court: Transsexual woman can't see child
 
Woman who underwent sex-change operation appeals to High Court of Justice after Rabbinic Court cancels prior alimony agreement; appeal rejected 
Tal Eitan
 
The High Court of Justice rejected Monday an appeal made by a transsexual woman who demanded to cancel a prior Rabbinic Court decision which prevents her from meeting her nine-year-old daughter.

 
The judges decided that the woman, who was born as a male and underwent a sex-change operation a few years ago, did not utilize all theavailable legal procedures to the fullest. Her lawyer, Yonatan De-Paris, vowed to study the court's decision.

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J'lem court: City must fund gay center

The Jerusalem District Court has ordered the Jerusalem Municipality to pay the city's Gay and Lesbian Center NIS 350,000 for "cultural and social activities" held by the organization over the last three years, a court spokeswoman announced Monday.
The ruling was the second legal defeat for the municipality over the contentious issue in as many years. The decision was handed down in the wake of a petition submitted by the organization against the city, which, since 2003, had stopped allocating funds for the group out of its small cultural activities budget.