www.GayPeoplesChronicle.com April 24, 2009 GAY PEOPLE'S CHRONICLE

newsbriefs

Marriage fight is like abolition one, says N.Y. governor

New York City-Gov. David Paterson introduced a bill April 16 to legalize samesex marriage, comparing the effort to the fight for the abolition of slavery.

The proposal is the same bill the Democrat-controlled state Assembly passed in 2007 before it died in the Senate, where the Republican majority kept it from going to a vote. Democrats now control the Senate, but opponents are vowing to make sure this one fails, as well.

Same-sex marriage is a crucial issue of equal rights in America that cannot be ignored, Paterson said. He was joined by Mayor Michael Bloomberg, City Council Speaker Christine Quinn and other elected officials, as well as gay rights advocates and his wife, Michelle.

"For too long, gay and lesbian New Yorkerswe have pretended they have the same rights as their neighbors and friends. That is not the case. All have been the victims of what is a legal system that has systematically discriminated against them."

Paterson, who is black, framed the issue in sweeping terms, invoking Frederick Douglass and Harriet Beecher Stowe and drawing a parallel between the fight to eliminate slavery in the 1800s to the current effort to allow gay marriage.

"Rights should not be stifled by fear," Paterson said. "What we should understand is that silence should not be a response to injustice. And that if we take not action, we will surely lose."

Courts in New York have already ruled that same-sex marriages performed in other jurisdictions should be recognized, but state law is silent on the matter.

Boy hangs himself to stop the bullying

Springfield, Mass.—An 11-year-old student hung himself on April 6 after bearing daily anti-gay taunting by his classmates.

Carl Joseph Walker-Hoover, who did not identify as gay, is the fourth child of middleschool age to kill himself this year, according to the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network.

The others were in Chatham, Evanston

Iraq

Continued from page 1

activist Yina Mohammad told Alarabiya.net. But Khalaf Abdul Hussein of the legal affairs office of the Sadr City police station told Al Arabiya, "The extra-judicial killing of any citizen is a crime punishable by law. No one has the right to become a substitute for judicial authorities or executive authorities, and if there are complaints against individuals, there is law and there are police and there are government agencies. No group or class has the authority to punish people instead of the state."

However, he continued, "We, like everyone else, have heard rumors about these cases, but we can't comment on something that is not evidence, and there is no evidence for these crimes either in terms of motivation or in terms of the nature of the criminal acts. We do not know the motives of the killers and we do not know the intentions of those killed." A new vigilante group, Ahl al-Haq or "Followers of Truth," are being blamed for many of the attacks, and lists with the names

and Chicago, Illinois in February, the organization noted.

Despite Walker-Hoover's mother pleading with school administrators on a weekly basis to help her son, the bullying continued.

"As was the case with Carl, you don't have to identify as gay to be attacked with antiLGBT language," said Eliza Byard, GLSEN's executive director. "From their earliest years on the school playground, students learn to use anti-LGBT language as the ultimate weapon to degrade their peers. In many cases, schools and teachers either ignore the behavior or don't know how to intervene."

The child's death mirrors that of Eric Mohat, a heterosexual 17-year-old high school student in Mentor, Ohio who killed himself in 2007. His parents are now suing his school for failing to intervene to stop the torment.

CWRU to study LGBT home violence

Cleveland Researchers at Case Western Reserve University will study domestic violence in LGBT relationships this spring.

The research, in the Masters of Public Health degree program, will include an online survey and focus groups.

CWRU will work with the Cleveland LGBT Center, the MetroHealth LGBT Clinic and other community organizations to find participants.

The goals of the research are to assess the prevalence of LGBT domestic violence in the area and to determine what prevention and intervention programs are needed in greater Cleveland.

More information is available by calling 216-287-0147 e-mailing tmm36@case.edu.

Washington passes full DP law

Olympia, Washington-The Washington state legislature has passed an "everything but marriage" bill that grants same-sex couples all the rights and benefits the state offers married couples, except the word itself.

The House passed the full domestic partnership measure on a 62-35 vote on April 15. It now goes to Gov. Chris Gregoire, who is expected to sign it into law.

of men presumed to be gay were circulated around Sadr City.

Some victims of the glue torture made it to the hospital to seek treatment and were turned away, according to the leader of Iraqi-LGBT, a group founded in Britain by gay expatri-

ates.

Another video making the rounds in Iraq shows a 12-year-old boy being threatened with a stick. He is ordered to undress, and reveals women's underwear beneath his robe. When asked why he is dressed like a girl, the boy cries that he does it to make money, since he is the only source of income for his family.

"They kill the gays, they beat them up..

I have a lot of friends that have been killed15 or 16, something like that, too much," said a gay Iraqi man who was interviewed by BBC News. He would only give his name as Surour, to maintain his anonymity. "Life has become like hell, believe me, like hell. Whenever I go anywhere, there are checkpoints, and when they see us, they know about us, they detain us and question us, and they want to touch me, yes, to molest me."

FUNKTION

The larger, more powerful 2009 Scion xB

Experience

the Metro difference!

See or Call Jim Greenfield

New & Used Sales & Leasing Toyota and Scion Certified

METRO TOYOTA SCION

14A

mc@metrotcyota com W. 137th & Brookpark Road OFF 1-480

metrotoyota com www.motrosc orchio.com

38 Years of

Sales & Service Excellence!

216-267-7000

The bill expands on previous domestic partnership laws by adding reference to partnerships alongside all remaining areas of state law where currently only married couples are mentioned. The statutes range from labor and employment rights to pensions and other public employee benefits.

In the U.S., gay and lesbian couples can marry in Vermont, Iowa, Massachusetts and Connecticut. California, Oregon, New Jersey and New Hampshire have laws similar to the new Washington one; the two Eastern states call it "civil union."

D.C. votes to recognize vows

Washington, D.C.-The District of Columbia council voted unanimously on April 7 to recognize same-sex marriages performed in other jurisdictions.

The vote was held the same day that the Vermont legislature overturned a gubernatorial veto to implement full same-sex marriage.

The district already allows domestic partnerships, and a final vote on the measure is expected at the May 5 meeting.

"We are now taking the issue directly to Congress, and no one else can do that," council member Jim Graham told the Washington Post. Under federal law, Congress has the final approval over laws in the District of Columbia.

Councilor David Catania, who like Graham is openly gay, plans to introduce legislation allowing full same-sex marriage in Washington, D.C. soon.

"I feel really heartened by this vote," Catania said. "I am obviously proud to be a part of the legislature of this city. I fully expect if we go forward, when we go forward, on marriage equality we will have a super-majority in support of it."

Colorado gets limited partner law

Denver-The governor signed a bill that will make it easier for unmarried couples to leave property to their partners.

Gov. Bill Ritter signed House Bill 1260 on April 9. It allows any two, unmarried adults to become one another's designated beneficiary, granting them a number of rights.

They include being able to make funeral arrangements for each other, receive death benefits and inherit property without a will.

The bill was backed by gay and lesbian groups. Supporters say it will also help seniors who don't marry for financial reasons and people who can't afford a lawyer to draft a will.

Opponents argued that voters rejected a proposal to create domestic partnerships, which included some of the same rights. The law will take effect July 1.

Senegal releases nine gay men

Dakar, Senegal-A court in Senegal struck down the convictions of nine men found guilty of homosexual acts, a lawyer for the defendants said.

Assane Dioma Ndiaye said the appeals court in Dakar, the capital, overturned a January decision convicting the men and sentencing them to eight years in prison. Ndiaye said the judge rul that prosecutors lacked proof of wrongdoing, and the men were to be released on April 20.

Court officials and state prosecutors weren't available for comment.

Senegal, a predominantly Muslim nation, is one of 38 countries in Africa that criminalize homosexuality, human rights campaigners say. The European Union and various U.N. agencies had called for the men's release, saying criminalizing homosexuality hindered the fight against HIV.

McCain predicts GOP 'civil war'

Washington, D.C.-Meghan McCain, the daughter of former Republican presidential candidate Sen. John McCain, spoke at the Log Cabin Republicans' banquet at their annual convention on April 18, and predicted a civil war in the party.

The younger McCain, who said she has her father's 'heartburn-inducing' ability to say what he thinks almost whenever he wants," said, "There are those who think we can win the White House and Congress back by being 'more' conservative. Worse, there are those who think we can win by changing nothing at all about what our party has become. They just want to wait for the other side to be perceived as worse than us."

"I think we're seeing a war brewing in the Republican Party," she continued. “But it is not between us and Democrats. It is not between us and liberals. It is between the future and the past. I believe most people are ready to move on to that future.

Since the election, Meghan McCain has made the rounds of talk shows and posts columns on the Daily Beast website, where she has taken to task many conservative pundits like Ann Coulter. She has also criticized those who say they want President Barack Obama to fail.

"When someone says they 'hope the president succeeds,' they say it with the hope that the country gets better, the economy improves and people can feel safe, confident and free to live their lives as they choose," McCain told the crowd. "And may I add in full equality with each other. I believe most people get that, and more people are getting it everyday.”

Her father's former campaign manager, Steve Schmidt, also spoke during the convention, urging Republicans to drop their opposition to same-sex marriage.

Compiled from wire reports by Brian DeWitt, Anthony Glassman and Patti Harris.

WENDY S. ROSETT ATTORNEY AND COUNSELOR-AT-LAW

DOMESTIC PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENTS DESIGNATED HEIRS WILLS TRUSTS POWER OF ATTORNEY GUARDIANSHIP COLLECTION Defense♦ DEBT COUNSELING ✦ FORECLOSURE MEDIATION/DISPUTE RESOLUTION

MENTAL HEALTH JUVENILE ✦ SPECIAL EDUCATION LANDLORD/TENANT DUI TRAFFIC PERSONAL INJURY

EVENINGS/WEEKENDS ✦ (216) 491-2125 ♦ East Side/West Side

Chiropractic Health Services, Inc.

DAVID A. BUDNY, D.C.

16900 DETROIT AVE

LAKEWOOD, OHIO 44107 216-228-6622

Dedicated to your wellness