A United Methodist Church acquitted Rev. Karen Dammann of the charges of breaking church law by living openly as a non-celibate lesbian, reports the San Jose Mercury News. Dammann informed her bishop more than three years ago that she was living with her lesbian partner. The two were married in Portland, Ore., this month after the county began issuing marriage licenses.
Commissioners in Rhea County, Tenn., the site of the Scopes Monkey Trials in 1925, were in the news again for suggesting that the county may ban homosexuals from the county—charging them with crimes against nature, reports CBS News. The County Commissioners quickly reversed themselves and made no comments to the press.
The 56-member Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC), backed by the Vatican, hopes to block the United Nations (UN) initiative to offer health and other benefits to the same sex partners of UN employees, reports the Washington Post. Alireza Tootoonchian from Iran asked that the UN provide a clarification about the policy in writing. UN Secretary General Kofi Annan instituted a plan several months ago that extends benefits as long as the employee's home country would not object. The UN also recognizes polygamy—a marital practice held in some Islamic countries.
Two ministers have been charged civilly for performing marriage rites for same-sex couples, reports the Herald. Kay Greenleaf and Dawn Sangrey, both Unitarian Universalist ministers, were charged with the same crime as New Palz, New York, Mayor Jason West. The Human Rights Campaign's Mark Shields says charging a cleric with a civil crime like this may be a first.
The Pennsylvania House postponed or dropped several anti-gay proposals last week, according to the Post-Gazette, to avoid election-year fallout. A proposal to ban state-funded entities from providing health benefits to same-sex partners and to strengthen the state's Defense of Marriage Act will be postponed until after the April 27 primary. A proposal to make Pennsylvania the second state to ban adoptions by gay people has been dropped altogether.
The Colorado House may allow parents to make an individual decision whether their children will participate in sex education, reports the Coloradoan. Currently, most public schools in the state require that students take the classes that include discussions of 'alternative sexual lifestyles.' Proposals are on the table to remove those discussions. Currently, schools in Boulder and other cities in Colorado allow parents to remove students from sex ed classes.
The Christian Legal Society, a group of Christian academics, lawyers, and students, is suing Ohio State University over its right to discriminate in membership, reports the Advocate. The group's Ohio chapter says that the university hasn't acted on a request to deny membership to homosexuals, though a student leader of the organization said no gays have applied. The university has allowed the group to temporarily run with its discriminatory policy.
CNS News suggests rapper 50 Cent should have received more of a lashing from the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation for his recent comments in a Playboy interview. The rapper talked candidly about 'faggots' and 'homos' in saying he would not 'kick it' with them knowingly. GLAAD said they appreciated his honesty in talking about the murder of his bisexual mother and hope he'll take a chance to get to know the gay and lesbian community.
A Cleveland City Council hopeful will not get an immediate appointment because of his remarks against gay marriage, reports the Cleveland Plain Dealer. Patrick Corrigan was set to receive an immediate appointment to the council until two council members questioned the lawyer's commitment to all residents of the city. The former assistant U.S. Attorney said he considers marriage to be a 'natural law.' The deadline to apply for the $7,000-per-year city position was extended to allow for additional candidates.
Men who engaged in a fight with gay men in Morgantown, West Virginia, are charged with beating three gay men earlier this month, reports WJLA-TV. Norman Barb III, James Demidovich and John Erjavek were charged with battery after, the victims say, the three men uttered anti-gay slurs that caused a fight to break out.
Another pitfall from the federal Defense of Marriage Act—Veterans Affairs (VA) mortgage loan co-applicants can only be spouses, reports Gay365.com . Marilyn Riedel of Racine, Wis., a disabled veteran who served as an Army captain in charge of communications at Camp David, lives with her partner. Riedel, deemed 100 percent disabled, says she and her partner together would be able to qualify for a VA loan. But after applying for such a loan, the Wisconsin Department of Veterans Affairs declined her application because her co-applicant was not her spouse.
Gay writer Dan Savage reports in the March 11 The Stranger, in Seattle, on his legal marriage in that city—'Unfortunately, it's not a license to marry my boyfriend—the guy I've lived with for 10 years, the guy I started a family with, the guy I'm still crazy about—but a license to marry my coworker, Amy Jenniges. As much as I enjoy working with her, I'm not going to leave my boyfriend for Amy. ... So why did I apply for a marriage license ... ? To make a point about the absurdity of our state's
marriage laws.'
Donna Red Wing, long-time activist in GLBT communities, announced her candidacy for Colorado's General Assembly.