Apr 02, 2004   | COMMENTS     

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Republican in line to chair the Senate Judiciary Committee is not ready to endorse President Bush’s push for a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage, saying last week he will wait to see whether states act. Sen. Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania, a moderate facing a conservative challenger in the April 27 GOP primary, said marriage should be for heterosexual couples. Still, he refused to endorse a measure before the committee that would clear the way to try to amend the Constitution to outlaw gay marriages. The proposal is backed by the current chair, Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), whose term leading the committee expires at the end of the year. “If the states cannot adequately protect the institution of marriage between a man and a woman, I’m prepared to consider a constitutional amendment,” Specter told reporters. But “if you talk about a U.S. constitutional amendment, you’ve got to get ratification from 38 states,” he said. “And I think that Massachusetts may well solve the problem reasonably expeditiously.”

DNC elects five gays to convention committees
The Democratic National Committee elected members of its 2004 Democratic National Convention Standing Committees last week, including five gay or lesbian Democrats, the largest number of gays ever nominated and elected by the DNC to serve on the three committees. “With Friday’s elections, I am confident this year’s convention will be the greatest in our party’s history,” said DNC Chair Terry McAuliffe in a statement. “The active participation of GLBT Americans in the 2004 convention represents the strength and diversity of the Democratic Party and, together, we will all win in November.” The platform committee is responsible for drafting and recommending a proposed national platform to be approved at the convention and will meet this summer.

New N.J. partnership law presents challenges for officials
TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — With three months to go before New Jersey’s domestic partnership law takes effect, the state is still working out the details of how same-sex couples will register. The town clerks who will handle the process say they know little about it. After July 1, same-sex partners will be able to legally have many of the same rights as married couples, but details such as how much a registration will cost, what the certificate will look like and how many people may sign up for it are still unknown. Creating a new legal designation for gay couples has also created logistical difficulties, like revamping government forms that are now designed for a male and female union. It also means training clerks and registrars in the state’s 566 municipalities on how to administer it. “This is a whole new set of responsibilities to deal with a new social change,” said Bill Dressel, executive director of the New Jersey State League of Municipalities.

N.C. elementary school restricts access to book about gay prince
WILMINGTON, N.C. (AP) — A children’s book about a prince whose true love turns out to be another prince will be available only to adults in an elementary school’s library, a committee has decided. The book, called “King & King,” will be locked up at Freeman Elementary School in response to complaints by some parents, a school committee ruled last week in an 8-3 vote. The parents who initially complained after their first-grader brought home the book say the decision satisfies them. Michael and Tonya Hartsell said they never wanted the book banned. “It might be appropriate in certain situations,” Michael Hartsell said. “But a child of this age shouldn’t have a choice.” In the book, a queen tells her single son, Prince Bertie, that she had already been married twice at his age. The prince dismisses a line of eligible princesses before finally falling for Prince Lee. The final page of the book shows the two princes kissing with a red heart covering their lips.

Ariz. university revises bias policy to include gender identity
TEMPE, Ariz. (AP) — Arizona State University has revised its nondiscrimination policy to include “gender identity,” making it the fourth public university to adopt such protections. The amendment defines gender identity as “an individual’s personal sense of masculinity or femininity, includes external characteristics and behaviors such as dress, mannerisms, speech patterns and social interactions.” Transgender is an umbrella term for people whose gender identity differs from their anatomical sex and has nothing to do with sexual orientation, said E. Tristan Booth, a transgendered graduate student at ASU. If a professor or classmate were to harass a male student for dressing too feminine, such behavior would clearly violate the policy. The other three universities to include gender identity in their anti-bias policies are Ohio State University, the University of Iowa and the University of Washington.