As same-sex marriages began last week so did Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney's campaign to challenge clerks who approve them, reports Reuters. After losing legal battle after battle, Romney's last-ditch effort was to insist that a 1913 law be interpreted to ban marriages of out of state couples. Several community clerks said they would not ask residency questions that were previously not asked of heterosexual couples. Romney referred eight cases to the state Attorney General to investigate possibly prosecuting the clerks who issued the licenses. Couples began marrying a week ago today, after a three-day waiting period. The state senate overwhelmingly approved the repeal of the 1913 law, but the state house and the governor must still agree.
Meanwhile, in California, that state's highest court was expected to hear oral arguments yesterday in the case attempting to answer the question of whether San Francisco mayor Gavin Newsom misused his power by authorizing the issuance of some 4,000 marriage licenses to same-sex couples until the court ordered the city to stop in March. Legal experts believe Newsom will lose the battle that, some say, would allow local officials to disregard state law as they see fit. But few are predicting whether the justices will comment on the thousands of marriages already performed.
In New York, 2,000 gay marriage supporters marched across the Brooklyn Bridge to show solidarity in the fight for equal rights, reports NewsDay. New York Attorney General Eliot Spitz said that although New York does not specifically allow for gay marriage, the state would likely recognize marriages performed in other states.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ruled that new regulations regarding gay sperm donors would take effect yesterday, reports AFP. The new rules affect agencies that collect tissues, blood and sperm and require that the agencies ask if male donors have had sex with other men in the last five years or if donors have used injected drugs. If the answer to either question is yes, the new rules require that the donation be refused. The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force criticized the move as unscientific and said that even the International Red Cross accepts blood donations from gay men.
Jumping on the Fred 'God Hates Fags' Phelps protesting bandwagon, the Ku Klux Klan was expected to show a small force at Dollywood Theme Park this weekend, reports the Tennessean. A spokesman for the Klan said 20 or so members, not in formal dress, would protest homosexuality outside the park like they did in Newport, Tenn. city council meetings. Dollywood was the site of a Tennessee Gay Day.
A gay-rights group in Wisconsin is calling on employers to step up to the plate and provide equal benefits for domestic partners. Action Wisconsin used funds from several benefactors to send a new report to 340 human resource managers in Northeast Wisconsin. While the group says 90 employers in Wisconsin already offer such benefits, 14 of the state's top 20 employers do not offer benefits. The University of Wisconsin is one of two Big Ten schools that does not offer the benefits.
A lesbian is running of a city council seat in Atlanta, Ga., reports the Southern Voice. Gay councilmembers are nothing new, though. The open position on the council for which openly gay Keisha Sean Waites is running, was opened when the council president, openly gay Cathy Woolard, left to run for U.S. Senate.
The Hispanic AIDS Forum of New York is suing its former landlord, saying that the group's lease was not renewed because of complaints from other tenants that transgender clients were using the 'wrong' bathroom, reports NewsDay. The group argued before the supreme court's appellate division that the landlord's non renewal of a lease amounted to discrimination. Lawyer's for the landlord said that New York law did not protect transgender people from discrimination in 2000 when the complaints occurred.
Pop icon Madonna is expected to make an anti-war statement this summer in her new tour that kicks off in Europe, reports WebIndia. Her new show is expected to show 'gory' images of death and destruction in Iraq in addition to a lesbian orgy.
Is the Salvation Army the next Boy Scouts of America? 365Gay.com reports that the Salvation Army may be willing to give up $70 million in New York City funding if the city passes a law that would require organizations that do business with the city to offer domestic-partner benefits. The City Council approved the measure which is now awaiting a signature from the mayor—who says he'll veto the bill. Support in the council may be strong enough, however, to override the veto. And a Salvation Army insider said they would not change their policies to accommodate homosexuals.
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