Georgia teen Kerry Pacer, a lesbian who tried to launch a gay-straight alliance at her high school last year, is one of several students suing their school because it blocked their efforts.
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Friday, March 03, 2006
ATLANTA—The
ACLU
of
Georgia
filed
a
federal
lawsuit
this
week
against
the
White
County
school
system
in
north
Georgia,
alleging
high
school
administrators
violated
the
federal
Equal
Access
Act
last
year
by
banning
all
non-curricular
school
clubs
as
a
way
to
keep
out
a
gay-straight
alliance.
Kerry
Pacer,
a
17-year-old
lesbian
who
tried
to
launch
a
gay-straight
alliance
in
her
north
Georgia
high
school,
is
one
of
several
students
now
suing
the
school
for
blocking
their
efforts.
The
suit
alleges
the
White
County
school
system
violated
the
federal
Equal
Access
Act
that
guarantees
when
a
school
allows
any
non-curricular
student
group
to
form,
it
must
then
allow
all
such
groups
and
must
treat
the
groups
equally.
Peers
Rising
In
Diverse
Education
(PRIDE),
the
gay-straight
alliance,
was
founded
at
White
County
High
School
by
Kerry
Pacer
and
another
teen.
One
day
after
filing
of
the
suit,
the
Georgia
Senate
revived
and
passed
a
bill
that
would
require
parental
approval
for
all
non-academic
clubs;
a
less
stringent
measure
has
already
passed
the
House.
The
gay-straight
alliance
was
founded
at
White
County
High
School
by
Kerry
Pacer
and
another
teen.
The
lawsuit
alleges
the
school
district
violated
Pacer’s
rights
by
suspending
her
for
wearing
an
"I
love
lesbians"
T-shirt
to
school.
Tenn.
court
refuses
to
block
anti-gay
amendment
vote
NASHVILLE,
Tenn.
(AP)—A
judge
last
week
upheld
the
way
lawmakers
took
up
a
resolution
banning
gay
marriage
in
Tennessee,
rebutting
plaintiffs’
claims
that
the
Legislature
did
not
follow
the
rules
in
preparing
the
amendment.
The
ACLU
of
Tennessee
had
filed
a
lawsuit
charging
that
the
state
failed
to
meet
notification
requirements
as
outlined
in
the
Tennessee
Constitution,
which
states
an
amendment
must
be
published
six
months
before
the
General
Assembly
election.
The
text
of
the
amendment
was
published
by
the
secretary
of
state
on
June
20,
or
four
months
and
11
days
before
the
Nov.
2,
2004,
election.
The
amendment
passed
the
Legislature
overwhelmingly
in
2005
and
will
be
voted
on
Nov.
7
in
the
statewide
general
election.
But
Davidson
County
Chancellor
Ellen
Hobbs
Lyle
ruled
that
the
"publication
requirement
was
met
and
the
plaintiffs
were
not
injured."
French
court
allows
gays
second-parent
rights
PARIS—Both
members
of
a
gay
couple,
and
not
just
the
one
who
is
the
biological
parent,
can
exercise
parental
authority
over
a
child,
France’s
high
court
ruled
last
week,
Reuters
reported.
The
Cour
de
Cassation,
which
interprets
French
law
but
does
not
hear
trials,
said
in
its
verdict:
"The
civil
code
is
not
opposed
to
a
mother,
as
sole
holder
of
the
parental
authority,
delegating
all
or
part
of
the
duties
to
the
woman
with
whom
she
lives
in
a
stable
and
continuous
union."
The
ruling
may
open
the
way
for
more
debate
on
gay
marriage
and
the
adoption
of
children
by
gay
couples,
which
still
is
illegal
in
France.
According
to
the
court,
the
right
for
such
couples
to
joint
parental
authority
depends
on
the
circumstances
that
require
such
an
arrangement
and
must
be
in
the
child’s
best
interests.
California
execution
stalled
for
man
who
plotted
with
gay
cousin
SAN
FRANCISCO
(AP)—State
officials
last
week
postponed
indefinitely
the
execution
of
a
condemned
killer,
saying
they
could
not
comply
with
a
judge’s
order
that
a
medical
professional
administer
the
lethal
injection.
Prison
authorities
called
off
the
execution
after
failing
to
find
a
doctor
or
other
person
licensed
to
inject
medications
to
give
a
fatal
dose
of
barbiturate.
Morales,
46,
was
condemned
in
1983
for
killing
17-year-old
Terri
Winchell,
who
was
attacked
with
a
hammer,
stabbed
and
left
to
die
half-naked
in
a
vineyard.
Morales
had
plotted
the
killing
with
a
gay
cousin
who
was
jealous
of
Winchell’s
relationship
with
another
man.
The
cousin
was
sentenced
to
life
in
prison
without
parole.
Appeals
court
nixes
part
of
Georgia
obscenity
law
ATLANTA—A
federal
court
ruling
last
week
struck
down
a
portion
of
Georgia’s
obscenity
law,
but
the
effect
of
the
decision
remains
unclear.
A
three-judge
panel
of
the
Atlanta-based
U.S.
Court
of
Appeals
for
the
11th
Circuit
ruled
Feb.
15
that
the
law
restricted
the
right
of
businesses
to
advertise.
"Distributors
of
sexual
devices
are
forbidden
unqualifiedly
from
advertising
their
products,
even
when
the
market
they
seek
to
reach
consists
of
those
consumers
lawfully
entitled
to
purchase
those
products,"
the
ruling
stated.
The
state
has
not
decided
if
it
will
appeal
the
ruling,
according
to
Russ
Willard,
communications
director
for
the
attorney
general’s
office.
The
law,
passed
in
1968,
restricts
the
sale
of
sex
toys
"designed
or
marketed
as
useful
primarily
for
the
stimulation
of
human
genital
organs."
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