WASHINGTON
—
Speaker
of
the
House
Nancy
Pelosi
intervened
on
behalf
of
the
country’s
only
openly
lesbian
member
of
Congress
who
encountered
difficulty
getting
her
partner
on
a
military
flight
for
a
fact-finding
trip
to
Europe,
Politico
reported
this
week.
U.S.
Rep.
Tammy
Baldwin
(D-Wisc.)
encountered
difficulty
when
she
attempted
to
arrange
for
her
partner,
Lauren
Azar,
with
whom
she
exchanged
vows
in
1998,
to
accompany
her,
Politico
reported.
Members
of
Congress
are
allowed
to
take
their
spouses
on
military
flights
if
room
is
available
or
other
“protocol
purposes”
dictate
as
such.
Pelosi
contacted
Defense
Secretary
Robert
Gates
on
Baldwin’s
behalf
and
after
dashing
off
a
letter
authorizing
the
trip,
Azar
was
set
to
go,
the
paper
said.
Pelosi’s
aides
said
she
was
simply
asking
the
defense
secretary
to
follow
a
precedent
established
by
previous
House
Speaker
Dennis
Hastert,
Politico
reported,
who’d
allowed
Azar
to
go
on
previous
trips.
Some
Hill
insiders
speculated
to
the
paper
that
the
brouhaha
may
have
been
caused
in
part
by
the
existence
of
“Don’t
Ask,
Don’t
Tell,”
the
U.S.
military
policy
that
prevents
gays
from
serving
openly.
TOPEKA,
Kan.
(AP)
—
Instead
of
picketing
by
members
of
Topeka’s
Westboro
Baptist
Church,
around
400
people
targeted
the
church
in
a
Sunday
protest
of
their
own.
Organizers
said
the
event,
dubbed
the
“Million
Fag
March,”
drew
participants
touting
messages
of
compassion
and
tolerance
for
gays.
The
church
is
known
for
its
anti-gay
message
and
picketing
of
the
funerals
of
soldiers
killed
in
Iraq
and
Afghanistan.
Gay,
straight
and
trans
picketers
hugged,
danced
and
cheered
as
passersby
honked
their
support
for
the
protest
at
Gage
Park
in
Topeka.
Organizer
Chris
Love
of
Leavenworth
said
he
got
the
idea
for
the
march
after
Westboro
members
picketed
actor
Heath
Ledger’s
memorial
service
(Ledger
was
straight
but
won
fame
playing
a
gay
role
in
“Brokeback
Mountain”).
SACRAMENTO
—
With
just
a
few
weeks
left
to
qualify
for
the
ballot,
proponents
of
a
constitutional
amendment
banning
same-sex
marriage
are
reporting
that
they
have
gathered
881,000
of
the
1.1
million
signatures
needed,
according
to
a
report
by
the
Gay
&
Lesbian
Alliance
Against
Defamation.
The
Equality
for
All
campaign
continues
to
fight
the
signature-gathering
drive
and
has
called
on
the
gay
community
and
other
supportive
Californians
to
help
stop
the
initiative.
The
“protectmarriage.com”
campaign
called
on
volunteers
and
paid
signature
gatherers
to
turn
in
their
petitions
by
Tuesday,
but
petitions
can
be
turned
in
as
late
as
April
21
and
still
count
toward
qualifying
the
amendment
for
the
ballot.
Because
the
proposed
ballot
initiative
would
change
the
state
constitution,
the
legislature,
which
in
2005
and
2007
passed
marriage
bills
Gov.
Arnold
Schwarzenegger
vetoed,
would
be
prohibited
from
passing
another
bill
in
the
future.
And
since
constitutional
amendments
take
precedence
over
legislation
and
limit
the
authority
of
courts,
current
cases
that
might
lead
to
marriage
would
be
stopped
or
reversed.
The
California
Supreme
Court
is
considering
a
same-sex
marriage
case.
STATE
COLLEGE,
Pa.
(AP)
—
State
College
Mayor
Bill
Welch
presided
over
a
commitment
ceremony
for
four
gay
couples
last
weekend.
The
state
does
not
legally
recognize
same-sex
marriages
or
civil
unions.
But
Welch
led
a
ceremony
March
29
at
Penn
State
University
for
two
gay
and
two
lesbian
couples.
More
than
500
people
cheered
for
the
couples
after
the
event,
which
looked
very
much
like
a
wedding.
The
couples
exchanged
vows
and
rings,
and
sealed
their
pledges
with
kisses.
A
Penn
State
student
group
called
Orthodox
Christian
Fellowship
protested
outside
by
singing
softly
and
holding
plaques
depicting
Jesus.
The
Pennsylvania
Family
Values
Coalition,
which
is
a
conservative
Christian
group,
held
a
rally
elsewhere
on
campus
to
support
traditional
marriage.
DES
MOINES
(AP)
—
A
gay
rights
organization
will
file
legal
arguments
in
an
Iowa
case
that
will
decide
whether
the
state’s
ban
on
same-sex
marriage
is
legal.
Lambda
Legal
is
a
New
York-based
group
that
has
spearheaded
a
same-sex
marriage
drive
across
the
country.
It
planned
to
file
the
arguments
April
4
in
a
lawsuit
on
behalf
of
six
gay
and
lesbian
couples
who
were
denied
marriage
licenses.
Polk
County
attorney’s
office
officials
have
said
lawmakers
should
decide
the
issue.
