In the first reported court decision regarding federal recognition of a Canadian same-sex marriage, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Paul B. Snyder declined to allow an American same-sex couple married in Canada to file a joint bankruptcy petition as spouses, according to Gay City News. Finding that the federal Defense of Marriage Act ( DOMA ) , which specifies that only marriages between one man and one woman can be recognized by the federal government, required dismissing the petition, Snyder also rejected arguments that DOMA's application violates the applicants' constitutional rights.
Critics of Wisconsin Attorney General Peg Lautenschlager say her recent speech at a gay and lesbian pride rally compromises her ability to represent the state in issues related to same-sex marriage, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. However, Lautenschlager says her personal beliefs about civil rights for gays and lesbians do not influence her professional responsibilities or actions.
Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm and state Attorney General Mike Cox disagree on whether the state's constitutional ban on gay marriage also bars governments from providing domestic partner benefits to gay couples, the Washington Blade reported. Granholm spokeswoman Liz Boyd said that ' [ t ] his is about whether the constitutional amendment means what proponents said it means.'
Lambda Legal, in a release, touted the reversal of a temporary custody restriction placed by a judge in the Chancery Court of Jackson County that barred a Mississippi mother from letting her children to be in the presence of their aunt because she is HIV-positive. Lambda Legal represents Keri Rowell, who was granted an extension of the temporary custody of her three children in March 2005 contingent upon their being denied physical contact with their aunt, Tanya Wilkins, because Wilkins has HIV.
The Human Rights Campaign sent a letter to U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice asking her to condemn the recent execution of two gay teens in Iran as well as other human-rights abuses against LGBT people around the world. Two Iranian teenagers were allegedly hanged in a public square after reportedly being tortured for 14 months after being caught having consensual sex [ see story in World Roundup ] .
Presbyterians should look beyond the simple pro and anti positions in their ongoing dispute over homosexuality, according to a draft report advising the denomination on how to deal with its deep divisions over the issue, the Louisville Courier-Journal reported. The draft is subject to revision and represents only part of a final report.
A Tampa, Fla., father is on trial for killing his son for being 'gay,' according to Gay City News. Nysheerah Paris, the child's mother, testified that Ronnie Paris, Jr., 21—who was teaching his boy, also named Ronnie, 3, to fight—did not want his son to grow up to be a 'sissy.'
In Texas, a nightclub that once displayed a 25-foot gay pride flag over its doorway was nearly destroyed in what its owner is calling a 'hate crime' and investigators believe is an act of arson, according to the Brownsville Herald. Investigators said an unknown suspect or suspects broke in through the front door of Heart Rock, vandalized the club's interior, and started a fire. In related news, KTHV reported that police in Fayetteville, Ark., are investigating how a fire started that destroyed Studio 716, a gay bar that had once before been the target of an attempted arson.
San Francisco public health officials are planning to meet with a panel of HIV/AIDS experts to discuss lowering the city's official estimate of annual new HIV cases, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. Three new analyses show a significant reduction in the spread of the virus among men who have sex with men.
In Massachusetts, the governor's office has instructed hospitals to cross out the word 'father' on birth certificates for children of same-sex parents and substitute 'second parent,' angering municipal clerks, according to NY Newsday. A spokesman for Gov. Mitt Romney said that the certificates are perfectly legal.
The Pennsylvania Employees Benefit Trust Fund board voted unanimously to study the cost of extending health benefits to the same- and opposite-sex 'domestic partners' of state employees, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Determining the price tag would be the first step toward providing state benefits to workers' domestic partners.
The Eighth Ohio District Court of Appeals concurred with a lower court's decision that the Cleveland Heights domestic-partner registry is constitutional, The Gay People's Chronicle. In a unanimous opinion, the three-judge panel agreed that the registry is 'an act of self-governance.'
The Los Angeles City Council decided to name an intersection after an outspoken opponent of same-sex marriage but declined to pick up the tab for the ceremony, the L.A. Times reported. Gay Councilman Bill Rosendahl urged his colleagues not to waive the fees for the official dedication of 'Dr. Frederick K.C. Price Square.'
In San Francisco, a bar owner accused of racism closed down the city's only gay bar catering to a predominately Black customer base, according to Yahoo! News. Les Natali, the owner of the Pendulum, has faced two investigations for another bar he owns, SF Badlands. In April, the city's Human Rights Commission ruled that Natali enforced a stricter dress code on African Americans, demanded multiple forms of I.D. from them, and discouraged them from entering his bar.
In California, a federal grand jury indicted an Orange County physician and his former assistant on charges of deliberately providing inadequate amounts of HIV/AIDS-related medications or administering saline solution to HIV-positive patients instead of the proper drugs and billing insurance companies for the full cost of the treatments, according to the Los Angeles Times. Dr. George Kooshian and his assistant, Virgil Opinion, face 25 counts of health care fraud.
Police say two women told them another woman attacked them with a bat as they walked hand in hand in Kansas City.
