Oct 08, 2004   | COMMENTS     

CHARLESTON, S.C. — Rep. Jim DeMint, a Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate from South Carolina, said during a debate this week that gay men and lesbians should not be allowed to teach in public schools, the State newspaper reported. DeMint, facing off against Democratic candidate Inez Tenenbaum, said government should not endorse homosexuality and “folks teaching in school need to represent our values,” the State reported. Tenenbaum, who is the state’s education superintendent, called DeMint’s stance “un-American,” according to the State. After the debate, DeMint said he would not require teachers to openly state they are gay, but he said if they were “openly gay, I do not think that they should be teaching at public schools,” the State reported. Tenenbaum, on the other hand, told reporters, “The private life of our teachers should stay private. I was shocked to hear him say that.” Gay rights advocates in the state were not surprised by DeMint’s position, the State reported.

Gay marriage battle heads to Pa. court
PHILADELPHIA — A Bucks County judge was set this week to hear arguments over a Pennsylvania law that bans same-sex marriage, the Intelligencer reported. Two gay men from New Hope who unsuccessfully tried to apply for a marriage license earlier this year are being sued by a group of state legislators, according to the newspaper. The two men had discussed a possible challenge to the state’s Defense of Marriage Act, but have not yet done so, the Intelligencer reported. The defense and some legal experts contend the case should be thrown out because the men have not yet actually challenged state law, according to the newspaper. “Where’s the case? You ask almost any lawyer about it and they say, ‘Huh?’” Larry Frankel, legislative director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania, which is helping represent the men, told the Intelligencer.

Gays have new patient visitation rights in N.Y.
ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — Hospitals, nursing homes and other health care facilities cannot prohibit gay and lesbian domestic partners from visiting loved ones under a bill signed into law Oct. 1 by Republican Gov. George Pataki. The governor said visitation rights should not be affected by the sexual orientation of patients or visitors. “This new law will ensure that no patient in a hospital or nursing home is denied the comfort of being with their loved ones when they need them the most,” Pataki said in a statement released by his office. The state’s Patient Bill of Rights gives patients the right to authorize family members or other adults to get priority to visit them. Under the legislation, which takes effect immediately, domestic partners, people who are covered under a patient’s health insurance and other employment benefits and people who are “mutually dependent” on patients are guaranteed visitation rights at health care facilities.

Gay Fla. congressional candidate’s name must remain on ballot
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Gay voters in Florida’s District 22 who were disappointed when Jim Stork dropped out of the race for Congress will get a chance to vote for the gay former mayor of Wilton Manors, Fla., after all. In the latest bizarre twist in the Stork saga, the state’s election board ruled Sept. 29 that the gay Democrat’s name will appear on the November ballot because he did not notify officials in time to remove it. The ruling also means that the Democratic Party cannot appoint a candidate to run in Stork’s place, after he dropped out citing a recently diagnosed heart condition. Dawn Roberts, director of the Florida Department of State’s Division of Elections, ruled that Florida law requires a candidate seeking to withdraw from a race to notify the state in writing, under oath, “on or before the 42nd day before the election,” which was Sept. 21. Stork did not provide official notification until Sept. 24, Roberts wrote.

Ore. city considers trans protections
EUGENE, Ore. (AP) — Local activists and some city staff want anti-discrimination laws to include protections for transgendered people, and are hopeful that a new mayor and City Council will lead the way. The issue surfaced two years ago when Mayor Jim Torrey, who is not seeking re-election, threatened to veto a package of revisions to ...