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GAY PEOPLE'S CHRONICLE January 1, 2010

www.GayPeoplesChronicle.com

Findlay man dies of injuries from Toledo bar fight

by Anthony Glassman

Toledo A gay Findlay man has died, six days after suffering severe head injuries when he tried to protect a friend in a fight outside a bar.

Marland Woods' December 19 death was ruled a homicide by Dr. Maneesha Pandey, deputy coroner for Lucas County.

A large group of people who got into an early Sunday morning altercation in Caesar's Showbar were ejected from the gay club.

The fight allegedly started after someone bumped into another person on the dance floor. Bar staff cleared the floor.

Outside, fighting started again, and Woods was protecting a female friend with whom he had gone to the club when he was knocked down and his head was stomped on, according to the Toledo Blade.

His alleged assailant, Norman Corggens, was arrested shortly afterward and charged with felonious assault. There is no word yet

on whether the charges will be increased following Woods' death.

Police do not believe the attack was a hate crime.

Woods lived in Findlay with his partner of ten years, Brian Hunker. The couple bought their house together in 2005 and celebrated a commitment ceremony in September.

Woods seldom went out to the bars because he worked long hours. The trip to Caesar's was only his second time out to the clubs in 2009.

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"He was such a homebody," his sister, Shonda Floyd, told the Findlay Courier. "This was only the second time this year he went to a bar and this happened to him."

"He never started any trouble," she continued. "He died trying to keep someone else from being hurt."

A candlelight vigil was held December 22 at the Greyhound bus station across the street from the bar, where Woods was

attacked.

Mexico City passes full same-sex marriage law

by Anthony Glassman

Mexico, D.F.-The legislature of the Mexican capital voted on December 20 to allow same-sex couples to marry and adopt children, just weeks after Washington, D.C. also approved same-sex marriage.

The Federal District of Mexico, more commonly referred to as Mexico City, is a megalopolis of 20 million people. Its legislature is controlled by progressives who turned aside opposition from the Catholic church in changing the laws.

The two issues were passed separately. In the first, the legislature voted by a twoto-one margin to define a civil marriage as

Looking back

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for Best Original Screenplay.

Penn poked fun at his own leftist politics and "dangerous" choice of roles in his acceptance speech.

"Thank you, you commie, homo-loving sons-of-guns," he quipped. "I did not expect this, but I, and I want it to be very clear, that I do know how hard I make it to appreciate me often. But I am touched by the appreciation and I hoped for it enough that I did want to scribble down, so I had the names in case you were commie, homo-loving sons-ofguns."

He went on to criticize both the Westboro Baptist Church who was protesting outside the Kodak Theater, as well as those who voted for California's marriage ban amendment just months before.

We will host the Gay Games

The biggest pro-gay news to hit Ohio, theagh, broke on September 27: Beating out Washington, D.C. and Boston, Cleveland will host the 2014 Gay Games.

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the "free union of two people," not just that of a man and a woman.

The second vote allowed same-sex couples to adopt children. This passed 31 to 24, with nine legislators abstaining. Mayor Marcelo Ebrard is expected to approve the legislation.

Legislators faced opposition to the proposals from members of the National Action Party, the conservative party led by President Felipe Calderon. The party has threatened to sue if Ebrard does not veto the legislation.

Mexico, D.F. legalized civil union two years, as well as abortion. The lifting of the

An estimated 12,000 athletes and 100,000 spectators will flood into Northeast Ohio in four and a half years to see a major slate of sporting events,

abortion ban brought a backlash from other Mexican states, but the civil union measure went largely uncontested, and only 680 couples have registered under it.

The city's legislature is dominated by members of the Democratic Revolution Party, known in Spanish as the PRD. The PRD's stances are often at odds with the rest of the nation, but far more in line with western European values.

Opponents had sought a referendum on the legislation instead of its passage by legislators, citing their own surveys showing overwhelming opposition to the changes. However, an independent survey

Five months after voters in California ended same-sex marriage in the state, the Iowa Supreme Court made their own state the first in the Midwest

Lisa Hazirjian, right, and her partner Michelle Kaiser enjoy a sunny but nippy day in Baltimore on their way to the presidential inauguration.

ranging from open-water swimming in Lake Erie to rodeo at the Summit County Fairgrounds. Cleveland's bid was the only one to include rodeo.

A combination of central location and inexpensive accommodations undoubtedly bolstered the Cleveland Synergy Foundation's bid, which was also helped by a last-minute pledge of $700,000 from the city of Cleveland. The effort was also assisted by Cleveland, the city's convention and visitors bureau, as well as that of AkronSummit County, Mayor Frank Jackson's office and the Greater Cleveland Sports Commission.

"The city of Cleveland is prepared to roll out the welcome mat to the LGBT athletes, their families and spectators from around the world," said Jackson. "Fans of the Gay Games will find that Cleveland is a great place to celebrate sports and culture and that we have tremendous assets and amenities for them to enjoy."

Marriage wins, and a loss

Nationally, it was another year when same-sex marriage was in the spotlight.

to allow gay nuptials, ruling that there was no justification in discriminating against the state's same-sex couples.

"We are firmly convinced the exclusion of gay and lesbian people from the institution of civil marriage does not substantially further any important governmental objective,” Justice Mark Cady wrote in the April 3 opinion. "A statute inconsistent with the Iowa Constitution must be declared void, even though it may be supported by strong and deep-seated traditional beliefs and popular opinion.

It was also the first time in United States history that a state supreme court issued a unanimous ruling in favor of same-sex marriage.

A month later, Gov. John Baldacci of Maine signed a law allowing same-sex marriage in his state, despite earlier reticence on whether or not he would veto the legislation.

Unfortunately, in the general election six months later, voters in Maine issued a "people's veto," halting the law before it could take effect.

New Hampshire lawmakers passed a marriage bill in early June. That law takes effect on January 1, bringing to

by the La Reforma newspaper showed the populace fairly evenly divided on the mat-

ter.

"For centuries, unfair laws prohibited marriage between whites and blacks, between Europeans and Indians, said Victor Hugo Romo, a PRD legislator. "Today, all the barriers have disappeared."

"Mexico City has put itself in the vanguard," he continued, according to the Los Angeles Times. "This is a historic day."

In addition to Mexico, D.F. and Washington, D.C., all of Canada allows full samesex marriage, meaning the capitals of the three largest North American nations will all allow gay nuptials.

five the number of states with full marriage plus the District of Columbia law passed in December.

Equality laws cover over half the

nation

Also in June, Delaware became the 21st state to pass a sexual orientation antidiscrimination law. It only took an hour between the time it passed the state House of Representatives and the Senate's approval. In earlier sessions, the Senate had killed the bill.

Of those 21 states, 14 also protect for gender identity, although Delaware's new law does not. Washington, D.C. also protects its citizens from discrimination by sexual orientation or gender identity.

Ohio has no law in place, but a bill to enact one passed the House in September, going farther than any similar one has before. It now awaits Senate action.

Over half of the people in the U.S. now live in a state, county or city with sexual orientation protections, and over a third live in an area with gender identity ones. This includes a fifth of Ohioans covered by local laws in 17 cities, including the Akron and Bowling Green ones passed in 2009. Attacks on the community

In addition to the repeal of Maine's marriage law, there were other attacks on the LGBT community, some of them much closer to home, others farther away, but also much more literal.

On March 6, two young men returning to the University of Cincinnati when they ran into three high school friends of one of the two youths. The trio attacked the men when they found out that the other one was gay, even beating their old classmate, who tried to protect his friend.

A protest against the attacks and the university's slow response to them drew 150 people on March 19. It took the school 12 days to issue a campus alert; by then, police had already arrested two suspects in the assault.

In July, three gay men were attacked in related assaults in Columbus, believed to have been carried out by the same group of toughs.

As Red, White and Boom, the city's Independence Day celebration, was letting out, two men walking alone and another who lagged behind his friends as he was texting on his cell phone were

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