In asking a California judge to uphold a pro-gay marriage ruling, officials at City Attorney Dennis Herrera’s office compared offering domestic partnerships for gay couples to segregation.
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Friday, November 18, 2005
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — City attorneys and a dozen same-sex couples asked a state appeals court last week to uphold a judge’s ruling that same-sex couples have a constitutional right to marry. In a written argument to the Court of Appeal in San Francisco, City Attorney Dennis Herrera’s office said granting gay couples domestic partnerships, while denying them marriage, was similar to segregation. “A separate system of legal recognition for lesbian and gay couples and their children is no less demeaning than separate school systems were for blacks or separate military academies were for women,” it said. Lawyers for the 12 same-sex couples also filed briefs with the court that said: “By excluding lesbian and gay couples from marriage, the law cuts to the core of their dignity and full citizenship.” The court is expected to schedule a hearing for early next year to review San Francisco Superior Court Judge Richard Kramer’s March 14 decision. Kramer ruled that the state law defining marriage as a union between a man and a woman discriminates on the basis of sex and violates the fundamental right to marry the partner of one’s choice. He put his ruling on hold while it is appealed.
SALT LAKE CITY — The American Civil Liberties Union wants a judge to rule that Utah’s traditional marriage laws do not preclude cities from offering health benefits to gay couples, the Salt Lake Tribune reported. The ACLU filed a friend-of-the-court brief last week, asking Third District Judge Stephen Roth to allow Salt Lake City to offer domestic partner benefits to its employees. Dianna Goodliffe, a victim’s advocate in the police department, wants to sign up her lesbian partner of five years for health and dental benefits. “Dianna would like Salt Lake City to allow her to give the same protections to her family that married heterosexual employees are able to provide for their families,” the ACLU said in the brief.
BRATTLEBORO, Vt. (AP) — A Superior Court judge has dismissed a lawsuit by a former director of the embattled Brattleboro Community Television, ruling that there was no evidence she was fired because she is a lesbian. The board of BCTV voted 6-1 in July 2003 against renewing Robin Chaia Mide’s contract as executive director. Her lawsuit claims anti-gay discrimination, but a Windham Superior Court judge ruled that evidence didn’t support her claims. “That’s theoretically the end of it,” said BCTV lawyer John Mabie. Mide’s attorney, Norman Watts, said he interpreted the facts differently but respected the judge as thorough. Mide said she “strongly disagrees with the decision,” but has no plans to appeal the case to the Vermont Supreme Court. “I’m really glad the people who gave me such a hard time have been voted off the board,” she said. “If my case at all facilitated that, then I feel like I won.”
RENO, Nev. (AP) — A College Republicans leader at the University of Nevada, Reno has gone to court over a campus “kiss-in for justice” protest against military recruiters earlier this month. In a complaint filed in county court, group vice chair Matt Beiser accuses student protesters of intimidating and verbally abusing other students, who were trying to talk to recruiters at a UNR career fair. The complaint against the Queer Student Union and two anti-war groups seeks a restraining order and unspecified legal costs. “The idea behind it was that it’s not fair that those groups should be able to dissuade people from finding out about the military recruitment on campus,” Beisner told the Reno Gazette-Journal. The activists were protesting recruiters’ presence on campus as well as the Pentagon’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy on gay service members.
GRAND FORKS, N.D. (AP) — A hearing for a University of North Dakota choir director who is being fired was to resume this week. The hearing for Anthony Reeves began early last week and was then continued on Nov. 11. UND officials are still calling witnesses. Reeves’ attorney, Henry Howe, said he has about 30 witnesses to call. UND officials say Reeves demonstrated a pattern of unacceptable behavior, including failing to maintain boundaries with students. Reeves disputes the allegations and contends he is being fired because he is gay, and because of his attempt to adopt a 19-year-old gay student. A five-member faculty committee of tenured faculty members will make a recommendation to President Charles Kupchella, who makes the final decision.
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