The Latest - Washington Blade

'Don't Ask' repeal likely part of 2011 defense budget bill

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 02:53:00 EST

By CHRIS JOHNSON, Washington Blade

The effort to repeal “Don't Ask, Don't Tell” will likely come next year as an amendment to the Defense Department spending bill, rather than through a standalone bill, according to gay Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.).

Frank said in an interview with the Blade that repealing the 1993 law barring gays from serving openly in the military would happen as part of the fiscal year 2011 defense authorization bill.

“The House will take up and the Senate will take up ‘Don't Ask, Don't Tell' repeal,” he said. “That will again, like hate crimes, even more so, will have to be done, I believe ...

N.Y. marriage vote delayed- report

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 02:35:00 EST

By CHRIS JOHNSON, Washington Blade
The New York State Senate has delayed voting on a bill that would legalize same-sex marriage in the state, according to the New York Times.

New York Gov. David Paterson (D) called the New York Legislature into a special session on Tuesday and included a bill to legalize same-sex marriage on the agenda.

However, the Senate is not required to vote on items the governor puts on the agenda, and lawmakers reportedly decided not to take up the measure on Tuesday.

The Times reported that lawmakers decided t ...

D.C. marriage bill tweaked

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 05:09:00 EST

By LOU CHIBBARO JR, Washington Blade
D.C. Council member Phil Mendelson (D-At Large) released Monday a revised draft of the same-sex marriage bill that removes language that would have phased out city registration of new domestic partnerships.

Mendelson, who chairs the Council committee that has jurisdiction over the bill, also broadened the bill's exemption for churches and religious organizations to allow them to refuse to rent facilities or provide services for same-sex marriage ceremonies, even though such facilities and services are available to the general public.

The bill's original version was written by Council member David Catania (I-At La ...

NY Senate could vote on same-sex law Tuesday

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 04:47:00 EST

NEW YORK (AP)
Advocates for same-sex marriage are hitting New York's state capital hard, trying to sway the few votes needed for final legislative approval of the bill in a special session Tuesday.

This comes a week after a Maine referendum soundly repealed that state's new same-sex marriage law.

What appears to be a likely vote in New York is being forced by Gov. David Paterson who put it on the agenda of the extraordinary session he's calling for Tuesday.

Although he can require the Legislature consider the bill, Paterson can't compel lawmakers to vote. This makes for a rare moment in Albany when the outcome o ...

Supreme Court reinstates death penalty of Ohioan

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 04:35:00 EST

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP)
The U.S. Supreme Court has reinstated the death penalty against an Ohio man who strangled and stabbed to death a man he met in a gay bar in 1985.

Attorneys for Robert Van Hook had argued that the lawyers who represented him during the sentencing phase of his trial failed to do an effective job.

In its ruling Monday, the high court reversed a ruling by the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati.

Van Hook killed David Self in Self's apartment in Cincinnati before robbing him and fleeing to Florida, where he was arrested and confessed.

Van Hook's lawyer Keith Yeazel says anothe ...

Sweden's Lutheran Church ordains first openly gay bishop

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 03:11:00 EST

STOCKHOLM (AP)
Sweden's Lutheran church said Monday it had ordained its first openly gay bishop, just two weeks after it gave priests the right to wed same-sex couples.

Eva Brunne was ordained as bishop of Stockholm's diocese in a ceremony on Sunday.

She lives in a "registered partnership" with another woman, a civil union between gays used in Sweden before same-sex marriages were legalized this year. The couple also has a child.

"It is very positive that our church is setting an example here and is choosing me as bishop based on my qualifications, when they also know that they can meet resistance ...

Wone defendants challenge charges

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 01:15:00 EST

By LOU CHIBBARO JR, Washington Blade

Citing a flaw in the city's obstruction of justice law, attorneys for three gay men implicated in the murder of attorney Robert Wone filed a motion last week to dismiss certain charges against the men.

Attorneys representing Joseph Price, Victor Zaborsky and Dylan Ward say in their motion filed Nov. 5 that the city's obstruction of justice law — as amended by the D.C. City Council in 1995 — doesn't allow prosecutors to apply it to their clients in the Wone case.

“It is clear from the legislative history and District of Columbia case law that for purposes of obstruction of justice, there must ...

U.S. Attorney's office reps grilled at meeting

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 11:02:00 EST

By LOU CHIBBARO JR, Washington Blade
A prosecutor with the U.S. Attorney's office defended last week his handling of a gay-related murder case before an audience of LGBT activists who questioned the government's decision to charge the defendant with a misdemeanor assault rather than murder.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Kevin Flynn, a 20-year veteran prosecutor specializing in homicide cases, startled some of the activists at the Nov. 5 forum organized by Gays & Lesbians Opposing Violence when he said the “system worked” in the case of gay beating death victim Tony Randolph Hunter.

Flynn also elicited anger and disbelief from the forum's p ...

Vatican on Anglicans- celibacy rule unchanged

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 10:15:00 EST

VATICAN CITY (AP)
The Vatican on Monday confirmed that opening the door to married Anglican priests doesn't mean the Roman Catholic church is easing the requirement for celibacy for its clergy.

The Holy See press office released rules and guidelines, known as an Apostolic Constitution, as part of efforts to make it easier for disillusioned, traditionalist Anglicans to cross over to the Roman Catholic fold.

Under the Vatican's initiative, Anglicans, turned off by their own church's embrace of openly gay clerics, women priests and blessing of same-sex unions, can join new parishes, called "personal ordinariates" that are h ...

Gay marriage foes win with message about schools

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 01:36:00 EST

SAN FRANCISCO (AP)
Gay marriage opponents pulled off another victory at the ballot box this week by using a tried-and-tested argument: Approve it and children will be taught homosexuality in school.

Voters seemed to be swayed by the message, both in Maine and in last year's gay marriage battle in California. And it has become an important part of the ever-evolving playbook of gay marriage opponents, who have now won 31 consecutive statewide ballot measures against the issue.

In Maine and California, voters were besieged with ad images of what would supposedly happen if same-sex marriage were legal: students going on a field trip to a l ...

Senate panel hears ENDA testimony

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 07:17:00 EST

By CHRIS JOHNSON, Washington Blade

A Senate hearing Thursday for the Employment Non-Discrimination Act alternated between tales of discrimination and wrangling over the bill's exemptions for religious groups.

The Senate Health, Education, Labor & Pensions Committee heard testimony on the bill that would bar job bias throughout the country against LGBT people in the workforce. It was the first Senate hearing on ENDA since 2002.

Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), the sponsor of the legislation in the Senate, said during the hearing that ENDA is necessary to ensure equal opportunity for all Americans in the workforce.

"We are on the path t ...

NY gov calls for session on same-sex marriage

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 04:53:00 EST

ALBANY (AP)
New York Gov. David Paterson is calling the Legislature back to Albany for a special session to cut the budget and possibly vote on legalizing same-sex marriage.

Paterson wants the Senate to give final legislative approval to same-sex marriage. But there's no guarantee there are enough votes to carry the measure, which has already passed in the Assembly.

While the Legislature must attend the extraordinary session called by Patersonfor Tuesday, lawmakers don't have to act on his agenda.

That agenda includes addressing a deficit of more than $3 billion with midyear cuts to school aid and health care, ...

Texas liquor board to make changes after bar raid

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 02:54:00 EST

FORT WORTH (AP)
Texas' liquor board plans to change the way it conducts investigations into excessive use of force allegations, the agency said Thursday, after its agents were accused of wrongdoing during a raid at a gay bar that left a customer with severe head wounds.

Fort Worth police, who assisted during the raid, also plan to change their policies on bar checks and public intoxication arrests in light of the raid, Police Chief Jeffrey Halstead said at a news conference across from the bar.

However, the investigation by the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission did not find that the bar was targeted because of its gay and lesbia ...

Running into 'a DOMA problem' in health care reform

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 12:24:00 EST

By CHRIS JOHNSON, Washington Blade
As gay rights supporters praise the House's recently unveiled health care bill for its LGBT and HIV/AIDS provisions, some acknowledge the Defense of Marriage Act could restrict benefits from flowing to LGBT people, depending on how the administration interprets the statute.

The $894 billion package, made public last week by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, compiled the work of three committees that produced health care bills. It includes a government-run insurance option that could extend coverage to about 36 million uninsured Americans.

Rep. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), the only out lesbian in Congress and an advocate for ...

N.J. legislators may face same-sex marriage push

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 09:39:00 EST

MOUNT LAUREL, N.J. (AP)
Although New Jersey's election produced an about-face in the governor's office on the gay marriage issue, both sides of the debate have been readying for a post-election battle in the Legislature.

Gay marriage advocates have regularly launched their campaigns in the lame-duck sessions between Tuesday elections and Jan. 12, when the session ends. But if New Jersey, one of a handful of states that offers civil unions, is going to adopt a law to legalize gay marriage anytime soon, lawmakers need to act quickly.

While Democratic Governor Corzine has said he would sign a gay marriage bill into law, Republican Chris Ch ...

Wash. supporters of gay rights hope lead holds

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 03:13:00 EST

OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP)
Washington state's new "everything but marriage" law was narrowly passing Wednesday, with about half of the vote still to be counted.

Referendum 71 asked voters to approve or reject the final expansion to the state's domestic partnership law, which grants registered domestic partners additional state-granted rights currently given only to married couples.

With about 50 percent of the expected vote counted, R-71 was leading 51 percent to 49 percent.

More than 380,000 ballots were left to be counted. Several counties, including King, the state's largest, were set to report additional result ...

Petition set for delivery to Mormon church leaders

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 12:52:00 EST

SALT LAKE CITY (AP)
Organizers of a petition drive to ask the Mormon church to reconsider its policies and political activism against gay marriage are set to deliver the documents to church headquarters.

The Foundation for Reconciliation has collected more than 2,000 signatures on the petition which has been circulating online since June.

About 50 people are expected to deliver the petition to the offices of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on Wednesday.

Organizer Cheryl Nunn of Santa Cruz, Calif., says the petition is a reaction to the Salt Lake City-based church's support for Proposition 8, a 2008 ballot initiative tha ...

Dejection fills ballroom after gay marriage vote

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 10:36:00 EST

PORTLAND, Maine (AP)
Cecelia Burnett and Ann Swanson had already set their wedding date. When they joined about 1,000 other gay marriage supporters for an election night party in a Holiday Inn ballroom, they hoped to celebrate the vote that would make it possible.

Instead, they went home at midnight, dejected and near tears after a failed bid to make Maine the first state to approve same-sex marriage at the ballot box.

"I'm ready to start crying," said Burnett, a 58-year-old massage therapist, walking out of the ballroom with Swanson at her side. "I don't understand what the fear is, why people are so afraid of this change.

Analysis- Maine a harsh loss to gay-marriage drive

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 10:07:00 EST

(AP)
The stars seemed aligned for supporters of gay marriage. They had Maine's governor, legislative leaders and major newspapers on their side, plus a huge edge in campaign funding. So losing a landmark referendum was a devastating blow, for activists in Maine and nationwide.

In an election that had been billed for weeks as too close to call, Maine's often unpredictable voters repealed a state law Tuesday that would have allowed same-sex couples to wed. Gay marriage has now lost in all 31 states in which it has been put to a popular vote — a trend that the gay-rights movement had believed it could end in Maine.

"Today ...

Kalamazoo voters approve anti-discrimination law

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 08:39:00 EST

KALAMAZOO, Mich. (AP)
Voters in Kalamazoo have approved a measure banning discrimination based on sexual orientation or identity. With all precincts reporting Tuesday, the ordinance had 7,671 votes in favor to 4,731 opposed.
The ordinance will add gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgender individuals to an existing Kalamazoo city ordinance banning discrimination in housing, employment and public accommodations.
There are about 72,000 residents in the southwestern Michigan city.
Similar measures are on the books in more than a dozen other Michigan communities.
...

Maine voters reject marriage law

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 10:15:00 EST

By CHRIS JOHNSON, Washington Blade

The loss of same-sex marriage rights in Maine is being called a devastating blow to the gay civil rights movement, triggering criticism of President Obama and discussion about whether national LGBT groups need to rethink their strategy.

On Tuesday, Maine voters approved a “people's veto” of the law that legalized same-sex marriage in their state, abrogating the statute before any such unions could occur. With about 87 percent of precincts reporting Wednesday, voters appeared to have approved the initiative, known as Question 1, with 53 percent of the vote.

The loss in Maine echoes a ...

Chiefs reach settlement with Johnson

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 02:00:00 EST

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP)
The Kansas City Chiefs have reached a settlement with Larry Johnson and agreed Monday to withhold only one week's pay for making gay slurs instead of two.

The settlement saved the two-time Pro Bowl running back about $315,000. His agent, Peter Schaffer, had threatened to take the matter to arbitration.

The Chiefs refused any comment other than to say they had finalized the settlement. Schaffer told the AP on Saturday night the agreement had been reached and needed only to be signed.

Originally, the Chiefs suspended Johnson for two weeks until Nov. 9, including this week's ga ...

Ore. gay rights activists aiming for new vote

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 01:54:00 EST

SALEM, Ore. (AP)
Gay rights backers kicked off a voter education campaign Monday aimed at eventually overturning Oregon's ban on same-sex marriage.

Evan Wolfson of the national gay rights group Freedom to Marry said Monday he thinks "hearts and minds are changing" and that Oregon voters will at some point be willing to reverse their 2004 vote banning same-sex unions.

With states such as Massachusetts and Iowa now allowing gay and lesbian couples to marry, he said, people around the country "are realizing there is no good reason to exclude them from marriage."

"They are seeing with their own eyes familie ...

Georgetown students rally after attacks

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 10:01:00 EST

By LOU CHIBBARO JR, Washington Blade

More than 150 students participated in a candlelight vigil Monday night at Georgetown University to draw attention to three anti-gay incidents, including assaults against two students and the posting of an anti-gay message on the door of the campus gay resource center.

The university's Department of Public Safety reported that two unidentified males struck a female student with her book bag and knocked her to the ground on Canal Road near the entrance to the campus at about 9:10 p.m. Oct. 27. The DPS reported in a statement that the assault took place after the two suspects noticed the woman was wearing a shirt &ldqu ...

Gay marriage supporters press case

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 08:48:00 EST

By LOU CHIBBARO JR, Washington Blade
For the second week in a row, witnesses supporting a same-sex marriage bill far outnumbered opponents at a D.C. City Council hearing that was expected to hear testimony from more than 160 people and last into the evening.

Similar to the first hearing on the bill held Oct. 26, many witnesses for and against the Religious Freedom & Civil Marriage Equality Amendment Act of 2009 gave emotional accounts of how the proposed bill would have a profound impact on their lives and their religious faith.

Andrew Hertzberg, a gay D.C. man who sat at the witness table next to Andy Rollman, his domestic partner, startled some in the ...