Aug 01, 2008   | COMMENTS     

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — An unemployed man accused of opening fire with a shotgun and killing two people at a Unitarian church apparently targeted the congregation out of hatred for its liberal social policies and gay-friendly doctrine, police said Monday. Knoxville Police Chief Sterling Owen IV said a signed, four-page letter had been recovered from the SUV of shooting suspect Jim Adkisson, 58, by investigators. The letter specifically mentioned gays. Owen said Adkisson cited his “hatred of the liberal movement … liberals in general as well as gays,” the Knoxville News Sentinel reported. The church hosts meetings for Parents, Friends and Family of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG) and has a “gays welcome” sign. The shooting occurred Sunday during a children’s performance based on the musical “Annie” at the Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church. Two people were killed and seven wounded Sunday, and five remained in serious or critical condition Monday. No children were hurt. Adkisson, who is charged with first-degree murder, remained jailed this week under “close observation,” authorities said. Bail was set at $1 million. More charges were expected.

Mass. House kills 1913 law, enabling out-of-state gays to marry there

BOSTON (AP)  — Out-of-state gay couples should soon be allowed to marry in Massachusetts. The Massachusetts House voted 118-35 Tuesday to repeal a 1913 law that bans couples from marrying in the state if the unions would not be legal in their own states. The Senate also voted for the repeal earlier this month, and Gov. Deval Patrick has said he would approve it. Opponents say repealing the ban will turn Massachusetts into the “Las Vegas of gay marriage.” Some proponents say that is exactly what they want: allowing all gay couples to marry in Massachusetts will provide an economic boom for the state. It also will allow the state to compete with California. California recently approved gay marriage with no residency requirement.

Bias alleged in San Diego Bay shooting death of gay dancer

WEST HOLLYWOOD, Calif. (AP) — To police, Steven Hirschfield was violent and out of control when he clambered aboard a patrol boat sent to rescue him in the San Diego Bay during a gay Pride party. The 37-year-old bodybuilder, shirtless and wearing sneakers, seized an officer’s stun gun and beat him in the face, they say, before he was fatally shot while reaching for the officer’s weapon. Their account has left his grieving family in disbelief. Family members suspect Hirschfield, whom they described as deeply artistic and loving, was a victim of homosexual bias and a police cover-up. “He is not violent. I have not seen him hit anybody in my life,” his sister, Kristine Hirschfield, said at a news conference last week. “It doesn’t make any sense.” The family plans to file a federal lawsuit claiming Hirschfield’s civil rights were violated and conduct its own investigation into his death. Hirschfield was a dancer in the Circuit Daze harbor cruise, a July 19 dance party attended by about 900 revelers as part of the weekend’s Pride celebrations. The crew called the Harbor Police Department just after 11 p.m., about an hour into the cruise, to report a man overboard. Police say he refused help and, after finally climbing aboard a rescue boat, grabbed a stun gun and beat an officer in the face. A family attorney says Hirschfield may have fallen overboard and discounts the police assessment.

L.A. mayor pulls out of HRC event, cites ENDA

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa pulled out as keynote speaker for a gay rights group’s fundraising event scheduled last week following intense lobbying from transgender activists angry over the group’s stand on a federal gay rights bill. Villaraigosa was scheduled to headline the Human Rights Campaign dinner scheduled for July 26 in San Francisco. San Francisco city officials and many prominent gay rights leaders already had agreed not to attend the event, which had been billed as a fundraiser to help defeat a November ballot measure that would again ban same-sex marriage in California. Many transgender activists and their allies have been angry at HRC since last year, when its leaders declined to oppose a federal job discrimination ban that protected gays, lesbians and bisexuals — but not transgender people. Matt Szabo, Villaraigosa’s spokesperson, said the mayor’s decision was more a byproduct of the HRC controversy than a snub of the group itself. He canceled the night before the dinner. HRC’s Brad Luna said that the organization is committed to the civil rights of transgender people as well as gay men and lesbians.