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Friday, September 05, 2008
DES
MOINES
(AP)
—
Looking
back
on
their
first
year
of
marriage,
Sean
Fritz
and
Tim
McQuillan
speak
of
their
new
puppy,
visits
with
friends
and
divisions
of
labor.
Fritz
does
the
dishes
and
McQuillan
handles
the
laundry.
They
also
speak
a
bit
more
reluctantly
about
their
status
as
Iowa’s
only
legally
married
same-sex
couple.
Since
their
marriage
on
Aug.
31,
2007,
during
the
single
day
when
gay
marriage
was
legal
in
Iowa’s
most
populous
county,
the
two
have
become
spokespeople
for
the
issue
in
the
Midwest.
McQuillan
said
that
public
role
is
difficult,
but
he
knows
it’s
important.
“We’re
doing
this
because
we
have
a
responsibility.
There’s
people
we
know
who
would
like
to
get
married
and
I
feel
like
it’s
more
of
our
civic
duty,”
he
said.
“And
if
we’re
the
people
to
actually
do
it,
that’s
fine,
but
I
wouldn’t
want
to
wish
it
on
anybody
else.”
Although
they’ve
passed
their
first
anniversary,
the
legal
standing
of
the
men’s
marriage
isn’t
secure.
Their
marriage
was
prompted
by
Polk
County
District
Court
Judge
Robert
Hanson’s
ruling
that
a
state
law
allowing
marriage
only
between
a
man
and
a
woman
violates
the
constitutional
rights
of
due
process
and
equal
protection.
McQuillan
and
Fritz
were
the
only
couple
to
get
married
before
Hanson
stayed
his
decision.
Now
the
case
is
in
front
of
the
Iowa
Supreme
Court.
The
Supreme
Court
is
expected
to
hold
oral
arguments
in
the
fall
and
could
issue
a
decision
next
year.
Just
what
would
happen
to
Fritz
and
McQuillan’s
union
is
unclear,
and
will
depend
on
the
wording
of
the
court’s
ruling.
Calif.
prisons
prepare
to
accommodate
gay
weddings
SAN
FRANCISCO
(AP)
—
Now
that
same-sex
couples
can
get
married
in
California,
state
prison
officials
are
trying
to
figure
out
what
that
means
for
gay
inmates.
No
prisoners
so
far
have
sought
to
arrange
weddings
with
same-sex
partners
since
the
state
Supreme
Court
granted
same-sex
couples
the
right
to
wed
as
of
mid-June,
according
to
Michele
Kane,
spokesperson
for
the
California
Department
of
Corrections
&
Rehabilitation.
Nonetheless,
department
lawyers
are
drafting
guidelines
to
bring
the
state’s
33
adult
prisons
into
compliance
with
the
court’s
ruling
that
same-sex
couples
must
be
treated
the
same
as
opposite-sex
couples
under
the
California
Constitution,
Kane
said.
What
they
have
determined
so
far
is
that
would
mean
allowing
gay
inmates
to
marry
someone
on
the
outside,
but
not
a
fellow
prisoner
—
the
same
rules
that
apply
to
straight
inmates,
according
to
Kane.
Prison
officials
were
concerned
that
allowing
two
men
or
two
women
in
the
same
prison
to
get
married
would
pose
safety
and
security
concerns,
according
to
Kane.
Boston
police
make
arrest
in
suspected
hate
attack
BOSTON
(AP)
—
Boston
police
have
arrested
a
28-year-old
Framingham
man
accused
of
beating
three
gay
men
and
their
female
friend
in
a
suspected
hate
attack.
Fabio
Brandao
was
apprehended
Aug.
29
and
charged
with
assault
and
battery
with
a
deadly
weapon.
A
police
spokesperson
said
detectives
are
investigating
the
attack
as
a
possible
hate
crime
and
additional
charges
are
possible.
The
attack
happened
early
Aug.
24
in
Boston’s
South
End
as
the
victims
were
leaving
a
club.
The
victims
told
police
they
were
walking
home
when
four
men
shouted
anti-gay
slurs
and
attacked
them.
Police
said
one
man
was
beaten
to
the
ground.
A
second
suffered
a
gash
above
his
right
eye.
Hawaii
college
settles
gay
housing
lawsuit
HONOLULU
(AP)
—
The
University
of
Hawaii
has
settled
a
discrimination
lawsuit
by
a
gay
couple
that
claimed
the
school
wouldn’t
allow
them
to
return
to
the
housing
area
they
had
previously
lived
in
because
it
was
reserved
for
married
couples.
The
university
revised
its
policy
on
family
housing
to
include
same-sex
couples
as
a
result
of
the
settlement.
The
policy
took
effect
for
the
2008-2009
school
year.
A
$5,000
settlement
was
also
reached
for
Joseph
O’Leary
and
Phi
Ngo,
who
have
since
moved
to
Virginia.
“What
the
university
is
doing
is
fair,
and
both
the
university
and
clients
are
happy
with
the
outcome,”
said
attorney
Brian
Chase
of
Lambda
Legal
Defense
&
Education
Fund,
a
national
civil
rights
organization.
Chase
said
he
believes
the
suit
is
the
first
against
a
public
university
involving
housing
for
same-sex
couples.
From
staff
and
wire
reports
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