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March 27, 2009

GAY PEOPLE'S CHRONICLE 5

newsbriefs

Vermont Senate passes full marriage bill

Montpelier, Vt.-The Vermont Senate on March 24 gave its final stamp of approval to a bill that would allow same-sex couples. to marry in the state.

Lawmakers passed the measure in a voice vote with no debate.

Now the issue moves to the House, where a committee has scheduled a week's worth of testimony on the bill.

The measure would replace Vermont's first-in-the-nation civil union law with full marriage, beginning in September.

Gov. Jim Douglas has said he opposes the measure, but has declined to say whether he'll veto it if it gets to his desk or allow it to become law without his signature.

If approved, Vermont would join Massachusetts and Connecticut as the only U.S. states that allow gays and lesbians to marry.

Bills to allow same-sex marriage or remove gender-specific language in marriage laws have also been introduced in Maryland, Maine, Rhode Island, Minnesota, Illinois, New Hampshire and New Jersey. Iowa also saw such a bill, but it died in committee.

Hawaii is looking at civil union, as is many other states. Hawaii's bill passed the House, but is currently stalled in the Senate.

Prop. 8 repeal petitions get go-ahead

Sacramento, Calif.-The sponsors of a second ballot measure seeking to repeal California's ban on same-sex marriage have been cleared to start collecting signatures.

The secretary of state on March 20 gave the group Yes on Equality until August 17 to collect the nearly 700,000 signatures needed to qualify its initiative for the 2010 ballot.

If approved by voters, the group's proposed constitutional amendment would repeal Proposition 8, the marriage ban amendment which passed last November. The California Supreme Court is expected to rule soon on legal challenges to Proposition 8.

Earlier this month, two Southern California college students got permission to start circulating petitions for a separate initiative that would end all marriage as a statesanctioned institution and instead make couples gay or straight-eligible only for domestic partnerships.

Bishop angered by Boykin visit

Scranton, Pa.-A Roman Catholic bishop in northeastern Pennsylvania says he won't meet with officials from a Catholic university that hosted a visit by a gay equal rights advocate.

Bishop Joseph Martino says Misericordia University must first heed his request to publicly show how it keeps with Catholic teaching on sexuality.

Martino has demanded that Misericordia shut down its multicultural center be-

cause it hosted a February 17 visit by black gay author Keith Boykin, a former member of the Clinton White House staff. In response, Misericordia asked to meet with the bishop privately to discuss the matter.

The Diocese of Scranton said in a news release March 18 that no meeting will be held until Martino's demand is met. The diocese also referred to the event with Boykin as a "scandal."

Activist says Mormon church hid its role

Cuadra was convicted the previous week of first-degree murder and other offenses in the 2007 slaying of Bryan Kocis, head of Cobra Video, in his rural northeastern Pennsylvania home.

Another Virginia Beach man who prosecutors say worked with Cuadra pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in December. He is 35-year-old Joseph Kerekes, who authorities say was Cuadra's lover and business partner.

Salt Lake City-A California activist Asylum sought for Brazilian husband has added new allegations to his formal complaint accusing the Mormon church of understating the financial backing it gave to help pass a same-sex marriage ban in California.

Fred Karger, founder of Californians Against Hate, says the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints hid its role in establishing the National Organization for Marriage, a New Jersey group that campaigned last year for the Proposition 8 marriage ban.

Karger filed his supplemental complaint on March 19 with the California Fair Political Practices Commission, which already is investigating his earlier allegations against the church.

A spokeswoman says the church did not establish NOM and has already reported the $190,000 of in-kind contributions it made to the "Yes on 8" campaign.

Yes, she can wear a tux to the prom

Lebanon, Ind.-The Lebanon school district reversed its policy that barred a female student from wearing a tuxedo to her school's prom.

The unidentified 17-year-old Lebanon High School senior filed a lawsuit two weeks ago. Court filings said she is lesbian and does not wear dresses because she believes they represent a sexual identity she rejects. Superintendent Robert L. Taylor said

⚫ formal attire will be required at the prom, but the requirements won't be "gender-based."

American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana legal director Ken Falk, who was the girl's attorney, told the Indianapolis Star that the teen is pleased with the decision and will attend the April prom in a tuxedo.

Porn rival's killer gets life in prison

Wilkes-Barre, Pa.-A Virginia man convicted of killing a rival in the gay porn business will get life in prison because a Pennsylvania jury couldn't agree on whether he deserved the death penalty.

Luzerne County jurors could not reach a unanimous decision on March 16 on the punishment for 27-year-old Harlow Raymond Cuadra of Virginia Beach, Va.

Under Pennsylvania law, a sentence of life without parole is automatic in that situation.

Chiropractic Health Services, Inc.

Boston-Sen. John Kerry has asked the Obama administration to grant asylum to a gay man who was forced to return to Brazil after he married a U.S. citizen in Massachusetts.

Genesio "Junior" Oliveira has been separated from his husband, Tim Coco, since August 2007, when he left the country after his request for asylum and an appeal were denied.

Oliveira asked for asylum in 2002, saying he was raped and attacked by a physician as a teenager in Brazil and feared persecution because of his sexuality.

In a letter sent March 19 to Attorney General Eric Holder, Kerry said Immigration Judge Francis Cramer found Oliveira's testimony to be credible and his fear of living in Brazil genuine. However the judge denied the claim, saying the man "was never physically harmed" by the rape, the letter said.

Immigrants can apply for residency if they marry U.S. citizens. But the federal government does not recognize same-sex marriages under the Defense of Marriage Act, and Oliveira's request to remain in the United States based on his relationship with Coco was denied last month.

The couple met in 2002, when Oliveira was on vacation. He began the asylum process that year after returning to Massachusetts to be with the 47-year-old Coco.

The couple married in 2005 and bought a house together.

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After losing their appeal in 2007, Oliveira was given 60 days to leave the country. Aside from short trips and frequent video calls on the computer, the couple have not been together since. Oliveira was denied a visa to return to Massachusetts last year for the funeral of Coco's mother.

Oliveira now lives with his mother, helping her run a boarding house for students.

Compiled from wire reports by Brian DeWitt, Anthony Glassman and Patti Har-

ris.

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