Marine Corps: Study gay ban but don’t hurt force

(Washington) The Marine Corps commandant said Wednesday that the ability of U.S. troops to fight and win wars must trump other concerns as the nation considers whether to let gays to serve openly in the military.

In testimony before a House committee, Gen. James Conway said he supports a Pentagon assessment …

Prop 8 backer stands by views on pedophilia

Lawyers for two same-sex couples challenging California’s ban on same-sex marriage plan to wrap up their case Friday following the incendiary testimony of a proponent who said he thinks gays are more likely to be pedophiles and that allowing them to wed would lead to the legalization of polygamy and …

Day 2: Is Prop 8 like the Anita Bryant crusade?

(San Francisco) Attorneys challenging the California ballot measure that banned same-sex marriage painted the “Yes on 8” campaign as a modern day copycat of Anita Bryant’s late 1970s campaign to “Save the Children.”

Through testimony by gay history scholar George Chauncey of Yale University, the plaintiffs’ legal team discussed, in U.S. …

Prop 8 trial: Historian says marriage about more than procreation

(San Francisco) A Harvard professor testifying in a case challenging California’s gay marriage ban said Tuesday that procreation is historically not the only function of marriage.

In her second day of testimony, Nancy Cott, a U.S. history professor and the author of a book on marriage as a public institution, disputed …

Dept. of Justice testimony on ENDA: Pass it now

Thomas E. Perez, head of the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice, testified before a Senate committee that the Obama Administration supports ENDA.

He said, “The Administration strongly supports fully-inclusive legislation that prohibits discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity.”

Perez thanked Congress for passing the Matthew …

Larry King’s killer to be tried as adult

After testimony about his ties to neo-Nazis, the boy who shot a gay classmate will stand trial as an adult.

Neo-Nazi ideas blamed in gay Oxnard teen’s slaying

July 22 marked the third and likely final day of testimony in the pre-trial hearing of a boy accused of gunning down a gay classmate at an Oxnard junior high school.

Prosecutors contended Tuesday in Ventura County Superior Court that the boy, Brandon McInerney, was motivated at least in part by neo-Nazi beliefs.

McInerney was 14 and Larry King was 15 when King was fatally shot during a computer lab class on Feb. 12, 2008. McInerney was acquainted with local neo-Nazis and kept a notebook with elaborate drawings of Nazi symbols and regalia, according to testimony from an investigator. McInerney, now 15, has been charged as an adult with first-degree murder.

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Boy accused of killing gay classmate bragged he had guns at home, police say

Oxnard junior high school student Brandon McInerney bragged that he had guns at home if he ever wanted to kill someone, a police investigator testified at the youth’s pretrial hearing today in Ventura County Superior Court.

McInerney made the comment to another student at E.O. Green Junior High in Oxnard sometime before walking into the classroom and allegedly gunning down gay classmate Larry King on the morning of Feb. 12, 2008, said Oxnard police Sgt. Kevin Baysinger.

“Brandon said if he ever wanted to kill anybody, his dad had a bunch of guns and he had the capability,” Baysinger told the court. Other witness testified that McInerney, then 14, and King had been feuding over King’s alleged romantic overtures toward McInerney.

McInerney was clearly irritated after King, 15, reportedly said, “Baby, I love you,” the day before the shooting occurred, based on interviews with students. Other students reported similar threats, he said.

McInerney reportedly told one of King’s friends the day before the shooting, “Tell Larry goodbye because you’re not going to see him again,” Baysinger said. Other students reported similar threats, he said.

The testimony came during the first day of a pretrial hearing to determine whether the case should go to trial.

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Sotomayor avoids saying whether marriage should be issue for federal courts

Sen. Charles Grassley had a testy exchange Wednesday with Judge Sonia Sotomayor about the federal government’s authority over marriage law.

During the Iowa Republican’s second turn at questioning the Supreme Court nominee, Grassley referred to a 1972 Supreme Court decision, Baker v. Nelson, in which the justices declined to consider a gay-marriage case. He asked whether she thought federal courts lacked authority to hear civil-rights cases involving marriage.

Sotomayor said the issue is pending in several courts, before Grassley cut her off.

“I thought I was asking a very simple question,” he said.

He ticked off a list of cases Sotomayor had referenced as precedent during her testimony on Tuesday. “You said these are precedents,” Grassley continued, raising his voice. “Now, are you saying to me that Baker v. Nelson is not a precedent?”

“It’s not that I’m attempting not to answer your question, Senator Grassley,” she said.
Grassley interrupted again, “Why are you hedging on this?”

Finally, Sotomayor said it had been since law school that she had reviewed the case, prompting Grassley to move on to another topic.

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The Des Moines Register

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