By Norma Love, Associated Press Writer

CONCORD, N.H. (AP)

Gov. John Lynch told The Associated Press on Thursday he will sign legislation establishing civil unions in New Hampshire.
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New Hampshire thus will become the fourth state to adopt civil unions and the first to do so without first having a court fight over denying gays the right to marry.

“I believe it is a matter of conscience, fairness and preventing discrimination,” Lynch said in an interview.

Although Lynch had said previously he supports expanding health benefits to same-sex partners of state workers, he had declined to take a public position on civil unions. He came under fire from both sides for not weighing in — especially after the surprise delay last week of the Senate vote on the House-passed bill.

Some legislators had worried the Democratic governor might part company on the bill with Democrats who control the House and Senate for the first time in more than a century.

He said he announced his position on the bill after extensive discussions with lawmakers, including most of the 24 state senators.

“I wanted to see that healthy debate happen in the Statehouse,” he said.

The Senate votes on the bill next week, and Lynch said he is confident it will pass. It would authorize civil unions beginning next year.

New Hampshire will hold the earliest presidential primary next year, and candidates have been visiting the state regularly. Lynch said he doubts the enactment of civil unions would have any effect on the primary campaign.

At least one presidential candidate, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, issued a statement commending Lynch and the Legislature “for their commitment and support for the civil rights of gays and lesbians.”

Asked about political fallout in state races, Lynch said, “I don’t think that’s a relevant question. I think the question is what is the right thing to do for New Hampshire.”

State Republican Chairman Fergus Cullen disagreed.

“You’re kidding,” he said when first told of Lynch’s decision.

“The Democrats are going too far, too fast and Gov. Lynch is going along with them,” he said. “These are not the actions of a moderate governor.”

But Democratic state Rep. Bette Lasky, who shepherded the bill through the House, disagreed with Cullen.

“It’s never going too far when you give people their rights and I honestly believe that the majority of people in this state want to do just that and do not want to discriminate,” she said.

In the interview, Lynch noted his support for same-sex benefits when he was a trustee in the state university system. But he opposes gay marriage.

Asked why he opposes gay marriage but supports civil unions, Lynch said, “I still think marriage is between a man and a woman, but this prevents discrimination.”

Neighboring Massachusetts, the only state that allows gays to marry, did so after a court decision mandating it. Vermont and New Jersey also responded to court orders when they legalized civil unions.

Connecticut became the first state to legislate civil unions without court intervention two years ago. A lawsuit challenging Connecticut’s marriage law was pending, but legislators said they were not influenced by it.

The House passed the bill nearly 2-1 on April 4.

——

Associated Press writer Beverley Wang contributed to this report.

Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

 

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Today’s Headlines
Student Sues for Right to Hold Anti-Gay Event at High School
Fired Transgender City Manager Applies for New Job
NH Gov to Sign Civil Unions Bill

SARASOTA, FL (AP)

The Largo city manager who was fired after revealing his plans to have a sex change has applied for the same job in Sarasota.

Steve Stanton, 48, said he submitted his resume this week under his future female name, Susan A. Stanton, with an asterisk that the name change is pending.

“I really had not anticipated applying for a city manager job so quickly,” Stanton told the Sarasota Herald-Tribune. “But the opportunity has availed itself, and so we’ll see.”

Sarasota commissioners will review about 15 resumes for the job next month. Then they will narrow the group to eight candidates. Those applicants will be interviewed by commissioners.

If Stanton is among the final group, he said he will interview as Susan.

The Largo City Commission voted 5-2 in February and again in March to fire Stanton from the $140,000-a-year job he held for 14 years. Commissioners said it was Stanton’s judgment, not the revelation he planned a sex change, that prompted the votes.

Stanton had pleaded for an opportunity to show that being transgender wouldn’t interfere with his ability to do the job.

Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

NEWARK, N.J. (AP)

The president of a public high school’s Christian Club is suing for the right to hold an event at the school to air his anti-homosexuality views.

Jason Aufiero, a senior at Northern Highlands Regional High School, wants to hold a “Day of Truth” next week to present what he considers the biblical teaching against homosexuality.

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His lawsuit, filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Newark, is backed by the Alliance Defense Fund, a conservative Christian legal group.

Evangelical Christians have begun staging Day of Truth events in response to the national “Day of Silence” that some districts hold to show support for gay students. That day is scheduled for next Wednesday at Northern Highlands; Aufiero wants to hold his event two days later.

“The problem is that the district has continued to put roadblocks in front of the Christian viewpoint on subjects that are already discussed in the school,” plaintiff’s lawyer Jeremy Tedesco told The Record of Bergen County for Friday newspapers.

The suit accuses Superintendent Robert McGuire and Principal John Keenan of violating Aufiero’s right to free speech and religious freedom.

McGuire, calling the suit “overkill,” said the district never tried to block the event but only wanted to address concerns about the content involved. He said that Aufiero’s parents declined an offer to meet with school officials.

“Knowing it could possibly upset others, we wanted to iron these things out,” he said. “But his attorneys feel there’s no need to go along with us on these procedural issues.”

Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

UNION, N.J., April 19 (UPI)

Former New Jersey Gov. James McGreevey, who resigned under a cloud, has a job teaching law, ethics and leadership at a state college. Kean University in Union quietly hired McGreevey part-time in November, The Star-Ledger of Newark reported Thursday. While the $17,500 annual paycheck is modest, the job could substantially increase McGreevey’s eventual pension by giving him more years with the state. McGreevey quit in 2004 after almost three years as governor, proclaiming I am a gay American. He said he had had an affair with a man he appointed to a state position, while the man in question denied the affair and said he was a victim of sexual harassment. It seems to me, Jim McGreevey teaching law and ethics is a little bit like Doctor Kevorkian teaching health maintenance, said New Jersey Republican Chairman Tom Wilson. But Kean President Dawood Farahi said that having a former governor willing to work for the university at such a low salary is an unbelievable opportunity for us.

Copyright 2007 by United Press International

CHICAGO April 18 (UPI)

A federal judge in Chicago has upheld a suburban high school’s ban on clothing with anti-gay slogans.

The Alliance Defense Fund had asked U.S. District Judge William T. Hart for a preliminary injunction allowing a Neuqua Valley High School student to wear a shirt saying “Be Happy, Not Gay” as part of a national effort Thursday to publicly oppose homosexual behavior, the Chicago Tribune reported.

A civil lawsuit was filed against the school after it banned Heidi Zamecnik of Naperville, Ill., from wearing the shirt last year.

The newspaper said the school district was willing to allow the students alternatives such as “Be Happy, Be Straight” but said the phrase “Be Happy, Not Gay” was like saying “Be Happy, Not Christian.”

Copyright 2007 by United Press International

 

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Today’s Headlines
Tension at High School Over Gay Rights
OR House Approves Gay-Rights Bills
Judge Upholds Ban on Anti-Gay Messages

SALEM, Ore. (AP)

Oregon’s gays and lesbians would win the benefits of marriage and protections against discrimination under landmark bills approved Tuesday by the Oregon House.

The two measures go to the Senate, where they are expected to win approval and be forwarded to Gov. Ted Kulongoski, a strong supporter who plans to sign both. Kulongoski called House passage of the bills “a great day for Oregon.”

With dozens of gay rights activists looking on from the upper galleries, the two measures won the unanimous endorsement of the House’s majority Democrats, with a few Republicans adding support.

One would enable same-sex couples to enter into contractual relationships that grant them the same benefits offered to married couples under state law. The bill refers to the relationships as “domestic partnerships.”

The other bill would ban discrimination against gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgendered people in employment, housing and access to public accommodations.

In 2005, the Democratic-controlled Senate passed legislation that contained elements of both bills. But Republicans who controlled the House then refused to let the issues come to a vote, saying that the marriage benefits bill, in particular, would violate the intent of Oregon voters who approved a constitutional ban on gay marriage in November 2004.

The results of the November 2006 election cleared the way for the proposals, as Democrats regained control of the House and kept their Senate majority. Under the domestic partership bill, same-sex couples would could receive the same benefits granted to married people under Oregon law. There are several hundred benefits, relating to inheritance rights, child-rearing and custody, joint tax filings, joint health, auto and homeowners insurance policies, visitation rights at hospitals and others.

However, those couples would be excluded from more than 1,000 benefits reserved for married couples under federal law, including Social Security, joint filing of federal taxes and others.

An opponent of the bill, Republican Rep. Dennis Richardson, said a fairer approach would be to pass a “reciprocal benefits” bill to allow a more limited range of marriage-style benefits to two people, such as elderly sisters, who live together.

“This bill is in fact marriage by another name,” the Central Point lawmaker said of the domestic partnership bill. “It creates special rights for gay and lesbian couples based on their sexual orientation.”

Another opponent, Rep. Greg Smith, R-Heppner, said he opposes the bill on moral grounds.

“There are some of us who view homosexuality in all of its forms as a sin,” Smith said.

But Rep. Sara Gelser, a Corvallis Democrat who has served as a Christian youth minister, said she strongly backs the bill on moral grounds because it offers rights to committed same-sex couples, many of whom are raising children.

“It allows us to offer protection to these families when they need it most,” Gelser said. The measure was sent to the Senate on a 34-26 vote, which included backing from Republican Reps. Vicki Berger of Salem, Chuck Burley of Bend and Bob Jenson of Pendleton.

The anti-discrimination bill was approved after backers said that while there are a dozen local ordinances offering civil rights protections to gays and lesbians, Oregon needs to have a law on the books to make it a uniform, statewide policy.

Rep. Diane Rosenbaum, a co-sponsor of the bill, said lawmakers had heard testimony about instances of discrimination, including from one Salem man who was fired from his job at a retail store for being “too gay.”

“Do we have the courage to confront that injustice?” the Portland Democrat said.

Richardson, the Central Point Republican, argued that the state shouldn’t offer civil rights protection to a group based solely on their sexual orientation.

“It is not in the best interests of the state to enshrine in Oregon’s bill of rights a behavior-based orientation,” he said.

The measure must return to the Senate because the House amended it to strengthen an exemption for religious groups.

The revisions make it clear that faith groups, including those not tied to a specific church or denomination, could avoid hiring or serving people based on their sexual orientation. Language also was added to make it clear that religious schools, day-care centers, camps, thrift stores, book stores, radio stations and shelters are exempted.

That measure passed 25-25, with Democrats being joined by four Republicans — Berger, Burley, Jenson and Rep. John Dallum of The Dalles.

Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

NEW CASTLE, IN (AP)

Tensions over a Day of Silence in support of gay rights led to a lockdown at New Castle Chrysler High School.

Superintendent John Newby would not confirm students’ claims that a student had threatened to take a gun to school Wednesday.

“We didn’t have a specific threat,” Newby said. He did say that a student was disciplined Tuesday for remarks made during a classroom discussion.
Students were taken to the New Castle Fieldhouse while police searched lockers Wednesday morning. No weapons were found. Police used metal detecting wands on students as they returned to class. Extra police officers remained at school throughout the day and access to the building was limited to three entrances.
About 150 of the 1,000 students at school left early, according to figures reported by the principal’s office. About 80 students did not show up for school. School officials said students would not be penalized for the unexcused absences.

The Day of Silence at New Castle Chrysler High School coincided with a national Day of Silence and aimed to support gay, bisexual and transgender students.

“People were in their shirts for it, people were in their shirts against it, and it just caused a lot of drama that I didn’t think was needed,” said student Kayla Boyles.

Tommie Barnes, mother of a freshman, said she also was concerned about potential conflict over today’s planned Day of Truth rebuttal to the Day of Silence. That also coincides with a national observance, this one planned by the Alliance Defense Fund. Its day is devoted to countering the “homosexual agenda” and presenting an “opposing viewpoint from a Christian perspective,” according to the fund’s Web site.
Barnes picked her daughter up at school early Wednesday and planned to keep her home today.
“I don’t want her singled out as a Christian who is against everybody, because she isn’t. She’s a good witness on her own,” Barnes said of her daughter. “We’re a very openly Christian family. I have a family member who is gay.”

Another parent, Ginney Bledsoe, came to pick up her son, a sophomore.
“He’s my son. I was really scared. I was watching CNN. With everything going on at Virginia Tech …. I know my son’s safe with me.”

Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.