Gay
U.S.
Rep.
Barney
Frank
(D-Mass.)
said
he
would
run
for
the
U.S.
Senate
seat
now
held
by
Democratic
presidential
candidate
John
Kerry
in
a
2005
special
election
if
Kerry
wins
the
presidency
this
year
and
if
Republicans
retain
control
of
the
House.
Frank,
who
is
gay,
is
in
line
to
become
chair
of
the
highly
influential
House
Committee
on
Financial
Services
if
Democrats
win
control
of
the
House
in
the
2004
congressional
elections.
Frank
discussed
his
plans
for
a
possible
Senate
race
at
a
June
26
appearance
before
the
National
Lesbian
&
Gay
Journalists
Association’s
annual
conference
in
Brooklyn,
N.Y.
He
said
becoming
chair
of
the
House
financial
services
committee
would
give
him
an
unprecedented
opportunity
to
help
shape
U.S.
policy
on
a
wide
range
of
domestic
and
international
issues,
including
housing,
banking
and
urban
development.
Thus,
if
Democrats
win
control
of
the
House,
Frank
said,
he
would
forgo
a
run
for
the
Senate.
But
most
political
observers
believe
the
Republicans
are
likely
to
retain
control
of
the
House.
Over
the
objections
of
Massachusetts
Gov.
Mitt
Romney,
a
Republican,
the
Democratic-controlled
Massachusetts
Legislature
is
completing
work
on
a
bill
to
strip
Romney
of
his
authority
to
appoint
someone
to
fill
a
vacant
Senate
seat
for
a
two-year
period
before
the
next
scheduled
statewide
election.
The
bill
would
clear
the
way
for
Frank
and
other
Democrats
to
run
for
Kerry’s
seat
in
a
2005
special
election.
Frank
and
his
domestic
partner,
Sergio
Pombo,
marched
together
on
Fifth
Avenue
in
New
York’s
June
27
Gay
Pride
Parade.
BOSTON
(AP)
—
A
deeply
divided
gathering
of
the
nation’s
mayors
could
not
reach
consensus
Monday
on
a
proposed
resolution
opposing
a
federal
constitutional
ban
on
same-sex
marriage.
The
U.S.
Conference
of
Mayors
voted
46
to
44
to
table
the
resolution,
and
an
attempt
to
revive
it
was
also
defeated,
47
to
45.
Stamford,
Conn.,
Mayor
Dannel
Malloy,
a
Democrat
running
for
governor,
and
an
opponent
of
a
constitutional
amendment,
said
he
believes
the
mayors
wanted
to
avoid
the
issue
in
a
year
many
of
them
are
seeking
reelection.
The
close
votes,
Malloy
said,
also
indicate
“there
is
no
broad-based
support
in
the
nation
to
amend
the
Constitution
of
the
United
States
to
discriminate.”
The
resolution
was
co-sponsored
by
three
Democratic
mayors
—
Thomas
Menino
of
Boston,
Richard
Daley
of
Chicago
and
Gavin
Newsom
of
San
Francisco.
JEFFERSON
CITY,
Mo.
(AP)
—
In
churches
and
homes
in
cities
big
and
small,
the
campaign
for
and
against
an
Aug.
3
ballot
measure
that
would
add
a
gay
marriage
ban
to
the
Missouri
Constitution
is
playing
out
person-to-person
instead
of
over
the
air.
The
proposal,
Amendment
2,
will
offer
the
nation’s
first
statewide
vote
on
same-sex
marriage
since
the
highest
court
in
Massachusetts
ordered
that
state
to
allow
it,
sparking
a
national
debate
on
the
issue.
While
there
may
be
TV
and
radio
ads
in
the
future,
the
campaign
in
Missouri
is
focused
foremost
on
getting
people
to
go
to
the
polls
—
and
persuading
them
to
bring
along
friends.
The
Coalition
to
Protect
Marriage
in
Missouri,
a
group
supporting
the
ballot
measure,
has
distributed
hundreds
of
fliers
to
be
placed
in
church
bulletins
around
the
state.
The
Constitution
Defense
League,
a
group
opposing
the
amendment,
has
been
holding
house
parties
and
campaigning
door-to-door
twice
weekly
in
St.
Louis,
Kansas
City,
Springfield,
Columbia
and
St.
Joseph.
PORTLAND,
Ore.
(AP)
—
Sponsors
of
an
initiative
that
would
ban
same-sex
marriage
like
their
chances
of
getting
the
proposed
constitutional
amendment
on
Oregon’s
fall
ballot.
The
backers
said
last
week
that
they
might
submit
as
many
as
130,000
valid
signatures
to
the
state
Elections
Division.
It
takes
100,840
signatures
to
get
on
the
ballot.
The
extra
signatures
would
provide
a
cushion
against
duplicate
names
and
signatures
from
unregistered
voters.
The
signatures
are
due
July
2.
“Signatures
are
pouring
in
every
day,”
said
Tim
Nashif,
political
director
of
the
Defense
of
Marriage
Coalition.
Nashif,
however,
wouldn’t
guarantee
that
his
group
would
gain
a
spot
on
the
ballot.
The
state
has
been
scrutinizing
each
petition
sheet
for
signing
and
dating
errors.
Recent
enforcement
of
signing
and
dating
requirements
has
cost
sponsors
of
other
initiatives
perhaps
thousands
of
signatures.
“We
have
a
team
checking
for
what
we
know
are
the
secretary
of
state’s
rules,”
Nashif
said.
CEDAR
RAPIDS,
Iowa
(AP)
—
The
Iowa
Board
of
Educational
Examiners
backed
off
of
a
proposal
to
add
sexual
orientation
to
anti-discrimination
language
in
its
conduct
codes
for
licensed
educators.
Board
members,
who
met
here
June
25,
said
alternative
phrasing
will
still
provide
some
protection
to
gay
students.
Some
board
members
thought
lawmakers
would
delay
adoption
of
the
rules
or
object
to
the
changes
altogether
if
the
phrase
“sexual
orientation”
remained
in
proposed
code
revisions.
The
language
appeared
in
a
new
code
of
educators’
rights
and
responsibilities,
and
a
revised
code
of
professional
conduct
and
ethics
that
the
board
has
worked
on
for
2
1/2
years,
documents
show.
