www.GayPeoplesChronicle.com October 10, 2008 GAY PEOPLE'S CHRONICLE
5
newsbriefs
Marriage licenses can now have 'groom' and 'groom'
San Francisco-State health officials say the words "bride" and "groom" will reappear on all California marriage licenses, starting next month.
In a notice posted on its web site, the California Department of Public Health says it is making the change because many couples still wanted the option of identifying themselves in traditional terms.
When same-sex marriage became legal in the state on June 16, the health department issued new gender-neutral marriage forms with the words "Party A" and "Party B" where "bride" and "groom" used to be.
The latest paperwork, which county clerks will be required to use starting Nov. 17, will have blank spaces for applicants' names and personal information next to the words "First Person Data" and "Second Person Data," each with boxes for checking "bride" or "groom." The boxes can be left blank.
Because "bride" and "groom" appear in both sections, couples can check the same title twice to reflect a union between two men or two women.
Eliminating "bride" and "groom" from marriage certificates was a step the department thought it had to take to comply with the California Supreme Court decision in May that legalized same-sex marriage, spokeswoman Suanne Buggy said
October 6.
But in the time since, state officials have looked for alternatives to satisfy couples who did not like the ring of "Party A" and "Party B," she said.
Priest comes out, opposes Prop. 8
Fresno, Calif.-A Catholic priest in Fresno has come out against a California ballot initiative that would outlaw samesex marriage in the state.
Father Geoffrey Farrow told parishioners at Saint Paul Newman Center Sunday he had been asked for advice about Proposition 8 and come to realize he had to go against the church.
He accused the state's bishops of meddling in political affairs.
Farrows also told a local television station before his remarks that he is gay.
Bishop John Steinbock of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Fresno says the diocese supports Proposition 8.
He says the ballot initiative is not about sexual orientation or legal rights, but a “reaffirmation of the nature of marriage."
He says Farrows has cleared out his office and his parish residence.
lowa court hears final marriage case
Des Moines, Iowa-The Iowa Supreme Court says it will hear arguments in the final case challenging a state's law banning gay marriage.
The court on Friday announced it will hear oral arguments in the case on Dec. 9. Both sides will be given 30 minutes to present their arguments.
The hearing follows Polk County District Court Judge Robert Hanson's Aug. 31, 2007, ruling that the state's law defining marriage as only between a man and woman was unconstitutional. The ruling stood long enough for one gay couple to get married before Hanson stayed his decision later in the day.
The national civil rights group Lambda Legal filed a lawsuit in Polk County in 2006 challenging the state's marriage laws on behalf of six same-sex couples who were denied marriage licenses in Iowa.
The case is the last in a series of state challenges to gay and lesbian marriage bans beginning with Hawaii, where an imminent supreme court ruling for same-sex marriage was trumped in 1998 by one of the nation's first ban amendments.
Since then, state high courts have ruled for full marriage in Massachusetts and California, for an alternate "remedy" in Vermont that spawned civil unions, and against marriage in New York, New Jersey, Washington and Maryland.
Connecticut's supreme court has yet to rule on a marriage case that had final arguments in May, 2007.
Governor vetoes Harvey Milk Day
Sacramento, Calif.-Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed a bill that would have made the birthday of gay political icon Harvey Milk a statewide "day of signifi-
cance.
In his veto message issued September 30, the governor said that while he respected the measure's intent, he thinks Milk's "con-
tributions should continue to be recognized
at the local level."
Conservative groups had lobbied Schwarzenegger not to sign the legislation, sponsored by Assemblyman Mark Leno of San Francisco.
Milk became the nation's first openly gay man to hold a prominent political office when he was elected to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors in 1977.
He and Mayor George Moscone were assassinated by fellow supervisor Dan White in 1978.
Circular logic exonerates minister
Pittsburgh-A church panel has ruled that a Presbyterian minister did not violate church law when she officiated at the wedding of two women near Pittsburgh.
The nine-member panel unanimously concluded September 30 that the Rev. Janet Edwards could not have performed a samesex marriage because neither the church nor the state of Pennsylvania recognizes gay marriage.
The commission also found no violation of Scripture.
Edwards has maintained that her decision to preside at the ceremony was a faithful expression of her call to ministry.
HIV, HPV pioneers win Nobel Prize
Stockholm-Two French scientists who discovered the AIDS virus and a German who defied convention in showing a viral cause for cervical cancer shared the Nobel Prize in medicine on October 6 for breakthroughs that have led to lifesaving drugs and a vaccine.
Francoise Barre-Sinoussi and Luc Montagnier of France were cited for their discovery of HIV in 1983. They shared the award with Germany's Harald zur Hausen, who found that certain human papilloma viruses cause cervical cancer, the second most common cancer among women worldwide.
Zur Hausen discovered that two types of HPV promote cervical cancer, bucking a prevailing idea that blamed a different kind of virus. He made the viruses available to the scientific community. That led to the development of HPV vaccines to prevent cervical cancer. Vaccination is recommended for millions of young women and girls in the U.S.
Zur Hausen will get half of the $1.4
FUNKTION
See or Call
Jim Greenfield
The larger, more powerful 2008 Scion xB
Experience the Metro difference!
New & Used Sales & Leasing Toyota and Scion Certified
METRO TOYOTA SCION
jimg@metrotoyota.com www.metrotoyota.com
www.metroscionohio.com
38 Years of
Sales & Service Excellence!
W. 137th & Brookpark Road OFF 1-480 216-267-7000
million prize, while the two French scientists split the other half.
The discovery the AIDS virus by Montagnier and Barre-Sinoussi was crucial to understanding the biology of AIDS and how to fight it, the Nobel Assembly said in its citation. Since the scientists' work in the early 1980s, millions of people with HIV are still alive thanks to new drug treatments.
The announcement of the Nobel winners was notable for one scientist who was not named: U.S. researcher Dr. Robert Gallo, who almost 25 years ago also claimed credit for the discovery of HIV and who played a big role in research of the disease.
The dual claims led to a high-profile dispute between Gallo and Montagnier. They agreed publicly in 1987 to share the discovery credit equally, as part of a settlement of patent claims for an AIDS blood test. But Gallo later said he'd found that his lab's cultures had accidentally become contaminated with AIDS virus from Montagnier's lab.
Pittsburgh diocese departs church
Monroeville, Pennsylvania-Clergy and lay members of the theologically conservative Pittsburgh diocese voted overwhelmingly October 4 to break from the Episcopal Church.
The count after Saturday's vote was 240 in favor of leaving the church and 102 against. Six other ballots were abstentions and two others were declared ineligible.
The Pittsburgh diocese is one of several that disagree with the U.S. church over Bib-
lical teachings on salvation and other issues, including homosexuality.
The Diocese of San Joaquin in Fresno, California, was the first to leave the national church, in 2006. Dioceses in Quincy, Illinois, and Fort Worth, Texas, also are set to vote next month on leaving.
The Pittsburgh diocese was led for 11 years by Bishop Robert Duncan. He was removed from office by the national church's House of Bishops last month.
Duncan is among the leaders of a national network of theological conservatives who are breaking away from the liberal denomination in a dispute over Scripture. The long-simmering debate, similar to others going on in the mainline Presbyterian, Methodist and Lutheran denominations, erupted in 2003, when Episcopalians consecrated the first openly gay bishop, V. Gene Robinson of New Hampshire.
Clergy and lay members on both sides of the aisle before the vote were impassioned. Several opposed to splitting from the national church acknowledged disagreeing with its more liberal teachings. But, generally, they said staying in the church is only way to remedy those teachings.
The breakaway Pittsburgh diocese will align with the like-minded Anglican Province of the Southern Cone in South America, which already recognizes Duncan as a bishop and has already welcomed the San Joaquin diocese into its fold.
Compiled from wire reports by Brian DeWitt, Anthony Glassman and Patti Harris.
Chiropractic Health Services, Inc.
DAVID A. BUDNY, D.C.
16900 DETROIT AVE LAKEWOOD, OHIO 44107 216-228-6622
Dedicated to your wellness
Rainbow World Travel (216) 228-6990
Lesbian and Gay Tours and Destinations
Leisure and Business Travel Carol Beck
For Information Contact: 14601 Detroit Ave. Lakewood, OH. 44107 e-mail: cbeck40@hotmail.com
Susan M. Weaver
Attorney at Law
• Bankruptcy
•
•
Estate Planning
DUI
Injury
"Personalized Solutions for
all Legal Matters"
Free Initial Consultation
Please make a note of our new number (216) 373-2555
Offices in Cleveland & Rocky River