Fulton County Superior Court Judge Constance Russell handed down the ruling that gay rights supporters who filed the court challenge in November 2004 had been eagerly awaiting, shortly after the constitutional ban was approved.

According to the Associated Press, Russell said “procedural safeguards such as the single-subject rule rarely enjoy public support.

“But ultimately it is those safeguards that preserve our liberties, because they ensure that the actions of government are constrained by the rule of law,” the judge wrote.

Jack Senterfitt, who issued a challenge to the amendment on behalf of gay rights organisation Lambda Legal, told the Associated Press that the ruling “protects the right of voters to make independent decisions on each independent issue.”

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Members of the gay protest group Soulforce Equality Riders were issued citations on the last stop of their 20 campus tour.

The group is touring the nation in an attempt to start a dialogue among institution notorious for their discrimination of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender, (LGBT) community.

Around 50 protesters arrived on buses at the gate of the U.S. Military Academy from the neighbouring town of Highland Falls. According to the Boston Globe, they were warned they risked federal charges if they tried to protest inside the campus.

After several trips through the gate, 21 members were cited by military police for entry to the property for unlawful purposes, a misdemeanour. Federal law prohibits protests on military installations.

“I felt it was definitely something I should be doing,” protester Chad Grandy, 20, of Michigan, who was among those ticketed, told the Globe. “To see government-sanctioned discrimination, it really bothers me.”

Several lawmakers have come forward in recent month to suggest the time has come to put an end to the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy, which was set by Congress and signed into law by President Clinton.

The policy allows gays and lesbians to serve in the armed forces if they abstain from homosexual activity and do not disclose their sexual orientation.

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In the appeal, Mr Falwell claimed a gay man from New York City improperly draws attention to his site by using a common misspelling of his name as the site’s domain name.

A federal judge first sided with the preacher on the grounds that Christopher Lamparello’s domain name was nearly identical to the trademark bearing Mr Falwell’s name and could confuse Web surfers.

Mr Falwell’s web site is primarily for his Virgina based ministries. According to the Associated Press, the site is more high-tech, with pictures of the minister, and sales material for books and videos.

In contrast, Mr Lamparello’s Web site is mainly in black and white, with no photographs or items for sale. On the site, he claims the minister is wrong in preaching that gay people are sinners who can change.

A disclaimer that runs along the top of Mr Lamparello’s site reads: “This Web site is NOT affiliated with Rev. Dr. Jerry Falwell or his ministry.”

This is not the first time Mr Falwell’s attorneys have fought over domain names. According to AP, three years ago, an Illinois man surrendered the domain names jerryfalwell.com and jerryfallwell.com when the reverend threatened a lawsuit for copyright infringement.

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Buckley Jeppson, 57, married Mike Kessler in 2004, but says senior church official recently told him his life is incompatible with the doctrine of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and that a disciplinary council would address the matter.

If Mr Jeppson, who lives with Mr Kessler in Washington DC, is excommunicated, it would be the first time a Mormon in a legal, same-sex marriage was punished by the church, according to a statement the gay advocacy group for Mormons.

Mr Jeppson said a senior leader of a group of Mormon congregations in the Washington area have been pressing him to resign his church membership for the past five months if he wanted to avoid further disciplinary action. Mr Jeppson told the Associated Press that is something he is not willing to do because he would never choose to deny his heritage and his faith.

A church spokeswoman said it is the policy of the Mormon church to allow only those in heterosexual marriages to be members.

The decision comes after a Wellington man was denied from making a donation after hearing about a national donor shortage and offering to help. Both he and his partner were told they could not donate sperm because they were gay.

Human rights experts argued that the policy was blatant and irrational discrimination.

Fertility Associates had said its clinics were happy to accept gay men as personal donors selected by the recipient couple or woman. However, they could not take gay donors for the general sperm bank.

The organisation said the rule stemmed from the early days of HIV. Despite routine testing of every sperm donation, gay men have continued to be banned from making donations due to their higher risk of carrying the virus.

Fertility Associates spokesman Richard Fisher announced last week that under further advice from the previous committee chairman that clinics are able to set their own risk parameters, he had decided to allow donations.

Mr Fisher said that Fertility Associates had been approached by the Human Rights Commission about its policy and began working through a process to screen potential donors in a non-discriminatory way, subjecting everyone to the same questions and testing regime.

He said he did not know to what extent the move would alleviate the sperm donor shortage.

He told Reuters there are 120 women or couples on the sperm donation waiting list at present.

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But his fellow lawmakers didn’t agree, voting 20-3 late Thursday to reject a proposal to impeach Ms Murdock.

According to The Advocate, Thursday’s committee hearing was held near midnight in an attempt by Mr Dwyer to discourage attendance by the public or the news media.

Mr Dwyer is the same delegate who made a failed effort to get a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage on the November ballot.

Last week he attempted to urge his fellow delegates to follow his lead and take action, “I have kept my commitment to the citizens of Maryland that I would hold the court accountable, I have done my duty to protect and defend the laws of Maryland, and I have carried he ball to the end.

“At the end of the day, I am not responsible for my colleagues’ inaction, but the citizens of Maryland might want to remember this during November’s election.”

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King and the Clown, which tells the story of an effeminate male clown caught between the affections of a despotic king and a fellow performer, has sold more than 11 million tickets since its Dec. 29 premiere, a feat considering the country’s conservative climate.

According to MSNBC, even South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun has seen it. By contrast, President Bush said last month he’d yet to see the cowboy romance favoured to win the best-picture Oscar.

The surprise hit is about a troupe of entertainers condemned to die for an act mocking 16th-century King Yonsan, but who beg to be pardoned if they can make the king laugh with their racy skit lampooning him and his favourite concubine. The clowns succeed and become court jesters.

Kong-gil, the gentle-faced male clown who portrays the woman in the skit, draws the king’s attention. But according to reports, the gay story line is muted. The king and Kong-gil share one quick on-screen kiss.

Homosexuality has only recently gained some acceptance in South Korean society. It was still on a list of “socially unacceptable sexual acts” until April, 2004.

The success of King and the Clown comes as a huge surprise to the film’s director, Lee Jun-ik. He said he feels it comes from the audience’s enjoyment at seeing a window into palace life and the class differences between the aristocracy and lowly clowns, not because of the gay theme.

Actor Lee Jun-gi, who plays the clown Kong-gil, said he has enjoyed growing popularity because of the film. “I feel proud of creating a unique character,” he told the Associated Press. Hahn Chae-yun, director of the Korean Sexual Minority Culture and Rights Center, noted the touching story and film’s direction were the real reason for its success – but he said he hopes this film will open minds.

“I hope people’s views toward homosexual love could be more broad-minded, and treated the same as love between others, through this success of the movie,” Mr Hahn said.

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According to the Associated Press, the Washington Won’t Discriminate campaign began in response to two ballot measures seeking to challenge the new law, signed into law by Gov. Christine Gregoire last month.

The group’s website went live this past week, and organisers said they are starting to mobilise support across the state. Washington Won’t Discriminate is composed of members from groups including Equal Rights Washington and the Pride Foundation, as well as community leaders from around the state.

“We know it’s important to organise quickly and speak strongly and clearly about how wrong it is to put someone else’s rights up for a public vote,” said Anne Levinson, the campaign’s chairwoman.

A number of influential groups have already voiced their support, including the Washington Association of Churches and the Anti-Defamation League as well as some small businesses.

“The immediate task is to reach out to a broad coalition,” she said. “This is not going to be a Seattle-centric effort. This is a state-wide effort.”

The measure passed by the Legislature and signed by Ms Gregoire adds “sexual orientation” to a state law that bans discrimination in housing, employment, insurance and credit. The fight to get the bill into law spanned nearly 30 years.

Washington is the 17th state to adopt such laws covering gays and lesbians, and the seventh to protect transgender people.

The law is set to take effect in June, 90 days after the end of the Legislature’s session. But if opponent Jim Eyman gets enough signatures by the June 7 deadline for a referendum, the law will be frozen until a November vote on whether it should be overturned.

Additionally, Mr Eyman is pushing an initiative that would remove “sexual orientation” from the law completely and would ban state government from requiring quotas or other preferential treatment for any person or group “based on sexual orientation or sexual preference.”

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More than 30 students at Strathmore Secondary College rallied behind a 17-year-old senior named Stephanie after teachers at the school told her to change out of the t-shirt for class pictures.

Stephanie, who requested that her last name not be published, said she had worn the t-shirt with the slogan “Nobody knows I’m a lesbian” printed across the front to school on several occasions without concerns being raised by staff or fellow students.

“I’ve had it for ages,” she told reporters.

But Stephanie said things changed on school picture day when she was quickly asked to remove the shirt by faculty members.

“They said it was because certain parents would complain,” Stephanie said.

Her mother, Susan, said she had had the shirt printed for her daughter when she was about 15 years old. Susan said her daughter has always been brave enough to wear the t-shirt in public and particularly at school.

“I’m proud of her,” she said. “I love her and I don’t care what she is.”

Stephanie said she understood the concerns by school officials but she was disappointed by the school’s request to remove the t-shirt. She said she would wear the t-shirt to school again when things had calmed down.

A number of other seniors showed their support for Stephanie by wearing t-shirts to school the following day with similar slogans. They included “Nobody knows I am bulimic,” “Nobody knows I’m pregnant” and “Nobody knows I’m on steroids.”

Stephanie said she was shocked by the amount of support she had received.

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Samuel Alito, President George Bush’s second Supreme Court pick, narrowly won confirmation in the tightest race victory since Clarence Thomas was appointed to the court in 1991.

Mr Alito opposed legalised abortion and gay rights as a young lawyer but now says he will approach the issues with an “open mind,” won his seat with a 58-42 Senate vote.

The vote was mostly along party lines. According to USA Today, Sens. Robert Byrd of West Virginia, Kent Conrad of North Dakota, Tim Johnson of South Dakota and Ben Nelson of Nebraska were the only Democrats to support Alito. Sen. Lincoln Chafee of Rhode Island was the only Republican to vote against confirmation.

“A vote for this nomination is a vote against maintaining the fundamental rights and liberties of ordinary Americans,” Vermont Senator Patrick Leahy said before the vote. “It’s a crucial nomination, one that can tip the Supreme Court radically.”

During the confirmation hearings, Senator Russell Feingold (D-Wis.) questioned Mr Alito on his 2001 vote on the 3rd US Circuit Court of Appeals to strike down a public school policy that prohibited discrimination toward people based on sexual orientation or other personal characteristics.

In the case, Mr Alito ruled that the First Amendment only protects people against harassment regarding religious beliefs.

Mr Feingold asked during the hearings whether he felt the First Amendment might also protect gay students against harassment. He said only that the policy he struck down read the amendment too broadly.

But Mr Alito then noted that in another case he had ruled in favour of a New Jersey student who wanted attend a high school outside of his neighbourhood because he had been subjected to homophobic harassment.

“With the Supreme Court confirmation of Judge Alito, Americans are threatened with an unprecedented erosion of our rights,” Human Rights Campaign Executive Director Joe Solmonese said following the confirmation. “Our opportunity to get back on the road to equality comes this November. The senators who stepped up today to protect fairness by voting against Judge Alito’s confirmation were acting on America’s fundamental promise of equality. It’s time the halls of Congress were packed with fair-minded leaders.”

© 2006 GayWired.com; All Rights Reserved.

D.C. council member Jim Graham told the Washington Post that he is: “seriously considering” introducing a bill that would legalise marriage for gay and lesbian couples who live in the district.

Analysts believe it could be a difficult piece of legislation to push through. The Federal government has final say over D.C. and would probably veto such a measure.

“Not doing what you believe in is a very uneasy feeling,” Mr Graham, one of two openly gay council members said yesterday.

David A. Catania, who is the other gay council member and who quit the Republican Party over its opposition to gay equality, told the newspaper: “If the district trots out too far, we become a cause celebre for Congress to whip on.”

A better strategy, he said, is to: “try to make sustainable advances instead of ideal advances.”

Meanwhile, the new plan being considered by the council would expand tax and inheritance benefits. It gives partners powers of attorney, the ability to sue for negligence, and immunity from testifying against one another.

The bill would also legalise the equivalent of prenuptial agreements and alimony-like obligations if a break-up occurs.

Full legal recognition for gay couples was introduced across Britain last month.

Massachusetts Attorney General Thomas Reilly “simply got it wrong” in September when he certified VoteOnMarriage’s marriage amendment for a petition drive, said Gary Buseck, legal director of Gay Lesbian Advocates Defenders (GLAD), which filed its lawsuit before the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court.

Article 48 of the state constitution says citizens cannot use constitutional amendments to reverse judicial decisions. The sole purpose of the marriage amendment, Mr Buseck said, is to reverse the court’s 2003 decision to legalise same-sex marriage in Massachusetts.

The marriage amendment anti-gay activists are now pushing for would allow marriages only between one man and one woman.

Johanna Schulman, president of GLAD’s board of directors, is listed as the case’s plaintiff. Mr Reilly and William F. Galvin, secretary of the state, are named as defendants.

GLAD will ask the court to find that Mr Reilly erred when he certified the amendment for a signature drive. It also asks the court to block Mr Galvin from taking any “further steps” to get the proposal on a ballot.

Earlier this year, backers of the VoteOnMarriage amendment collected about 170,000 signatures, roughly twice the number needed.

Galvin certified more than 123,000 signatures in December. The amendment must now be approved twice by politicians before it can go before voters in November 2008. If the amendment is passed, backers say, it would not nullify existing same-sex marriages.

More than 6,500 same-sex couples have “married” since the earlier decision came into effect in May 2004.

A spokesman for Mr Reilly said yesterday that although the attorney general doesn’t support the marriage amendment personally, he thinks that allowing it to proceed was the right decision.

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Archbishop of Edinburgh, Cardinal Keith O’Brien, is also set to launch an attack on the Scottish Executive for cutting the minimum separation period of divorce.

In his New Year’s Day homily at St Mary’s Cathedral in Edinburgh, the cardinal said that during 2006, he would urge the Executive in particular to give “unequivocal support” to marriage.

He also said he would criticise changes in society which have “promoted alternative lifestyles whilst undermining values which for generations have been treasured”.

Legislation allowing civil partnerships came into effect across the UK in December. The Cardinal claimed in his homily that the family remains “the basic social unit” to be recognised, protected and promoted as the most vital building block of society.

“Sadly, we live at a time when the truth of marriage and family is obscured and distorted,” a statement from the cardinal read. “When our lawmakers condone and endorse trends in society, which are ultimately ruinous of family life, we are entitled to question their motivation and condemn their behaviour.”

The cardinal’s comments follow a call last week from Pope Benedict XVI to the British Government to acknowledge “the indispensable role of stable marriage and family life” for the good of society.

The Executive defended its stance to update the law, writing: “In the modern world – while marriage remains the dominant family form – parents divorce, couples co-habit, and children are born to unmarried parents. We need family law to reflect this reality – to make sure that everyone, and particularly every child, is protected.”

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Antonio Alonso, who is the magistrate for the town of Pinto, said he resigned because he believes that gay marriage is unconstitutional: “It is impossible for me, as a magistrate, to present an appeal for unconstitutionality against the law which allows these marriages.

“I am resigning because it is morally impossible for me to marry homosexual couples, and I can therefore not apply that law.”

There have been three applications for same sex marriages in Pinto since the new law came into effect.

The magistrate refused to marry the first gay couple on October 10. That couple, Marcus Hon and Raúl Robles, finally got married in Canada on November 7.

There have been two other applications for same sex marriage in the town since then. The judge refused to officiate at both of them and neither went ahead.

Attitude toward gay marriage in Spain has been mixed since the law went into effect this summer. The largely Catholic state has been historically liberal with regard to social issues, but members of the church have caused uproar in recent months.

Ray Martinez, 31, was charged with capital murder in the beating death of Craig Ceson, 46. Ceson’s body was found in his apartment near Love Field. An autopsy showed he died from head injuries.

There was no sign of a break-in and police said that Ceason’s car had been stolen. The vehicle was later found in Fort Worth. At the time Martinez was charged he was already in jail on theft charges.

Police say at this point there is nothing to indicate Martinez is connected to any of the other six gay homicides over the past five years, but investigators are continuing to probe the possibility.

The possibility of a link was first suggested by the LGBT newspaper The Dallas Voice and Dallas City Council member Ed Oakley.

The most recent victim, 28-year-old Samuel Jarnigan Lea, was a student at the University of Texas at Arlington. His body was discovered Oct. 31 inside his apartment near the campus. Police say that it appears he knew his killer and invited him to his apartment, but there are few clues in the case. Like Ceason’s case, Lea’s car is missing.

Police believe they may have a suspect in Lea’s killing but no hard evidence. He also may be involved in at least one of the other killings, that of Lawrence Wheat, who served on the Dallas Plan Commission. Wheat was found dead in his Dallas loft in June, 2004.

“Because I can no longer honestly represent, explain and defend the church’s teaching on homosexuality, I feel I must resign,” Rev. Bob Pierson said in an e-mail Wednesday to administrators and students at St. John’s and the nearby College of St. Benedict.

The Vatican released a statement last month that it was toughening its stand against gay candidates for the priesthood, advising that men with “deep-seated” gay tendencies or who “support so-called gay culture” shouldn’t be admitted to seminary or ordained.

Others with “transitory” homosexual inclinations can be accepted if they have “clearly overcome” them for three years, according to the release as reviewed by Reuters.

Several gay priests are now questioning whether they can continue serving the church.

Rev. Leonard Walker quit his parish assignment in Mesa, Arizona. And Rev. Thomas J. O’Brien, a Jesuit retreat director from Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, disclosed his sexual orientation publicly, saying the Vatican document promotes “bigotry.”

Pierson, the chaplain and director of campus ministry, said in the e-mail that he is gay and celibate. He said he did not accept several elements in the Vatican document, including the assertion that homosexuals are “objectively disordered.”

“I am not an infallible person, but I cannot remain silent about my disagreement in conscience with this document, or the church’s teaching on homosexuality,” said the priest.

Pierson said his resignation will come into effect on January 15th 2006. He will remain a member of the monastic community at St. John’s Abbey, which is on the campus but technically separate from the university.

University spokesman Michael Hemmesch said the school regretted Pierson’s decision but “we must respect his personal conscience.”

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The Christian Democrats, the second largest group in the three-party government, refused to support the legislation, arguing that it damaged the traditional perception of the family.

However, many Communist Party deputies sided with Mr Paroubek’s left-wing Social Democrats, the main government party, to approve the bill, which could face a rough ride in the opposition-dominated Senate.

According to a lower house press official, 86 of the 147 deputies present voted in favour of the law while 54 were against and the rest abstained. Fifty-three others were not present during the vote.

The Prime Minister, Mr Paroubek supported the law, though he could not attend because of a European Union summit.

The new rules allow same-sex couples to officially register their relationship. It also allows access to information on the health of a gay partner.

If the Senate rejects the legislation, the lower house can override it with an absolute majority of 101 in the 200-seat lower house.

Earlier this year, Spain legalized gay marriage. The Netherlands and Belgium also both allow gay marriage whist the first gay marriages will be held in Britain this week.

© 2005 GayWired.com, All Rights Reserved

Attorney General Tom Reilly and fellow Democrat, Deval Patrick, made appearances in Boston, while Republican Lt. Gov. Kerry Healey headed west for appearances in Boylston and Holyoke.

Romney has been a controversial figure in politics since publicly denouncing the legalization of same-sex marriages in Massachusetts last year. When same-sex marriage became legal last May, Romney invoked a 1913 law prevented town clerks from issuing licenses to couples who do not reside in Massachusetts.

The law says that the state cannot marry an out-of-state couple if that marriage would be “void” in the couple’s home state. It had been created to prevent interracial marriages. The law is now under appeal.

Romney has spent much of this year travelling across the country weighing support for a presidential bid. In a February speech to Republican Party members in Spartanburg, South Carolina, Romney lambasted Massachusetts’s highest court, which paved the way for gay marriage, accusing the justices of striking “a blow against the family.”

Several days later, in Utah, he declared “America cannot continue to lead the family of nations around the world if we suffer the collapse of the family here at home.”

Reilly, who has a solid record on gay rights issues, wasted no time to take direct aim at Healey, branding her as out-of-touch with most Massachusetts residents, and a co-conspirator in the supposed shortfalls of the Romney administration.

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Members of the National House of Traditional Leaders unanimously agreed during a three-day conference in Hazyview, Mpumalanga, that the endorsement disappointed them.

“We are of the belief that, based on viewpoints of rural communities, this (ruling) will cause same-sex married couples to be ostracized, which is something that is not promoted by the institution and might lead to victimization and violence,” said NHTL spokesperson Sibusiso Nkosi.

Nkosi said that the leaders believed that same-sex marriages were at variance with African culture, and the decision went against the mandate of the NHTL to protect and promote the customs of communities that observe customary law.

“Traditional leaders have vowed to make it their mission for the coming fives years to campaign against this wicked, decadent and immoral western practice,” he said.

According the Reuters, Nkosi said the house would study the Constitutional Court’s judgment and decide on the steps to take in order to challenge the ruling.

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A teacher at the school said in an e-mail to a parent that 1,200 copies of the November edition of The Limelight newspaper were recalled because of the advertisement by the gay support group Common Roads.

Common Roads’ ad said it was an adult-supervised support group for LGBT youths that meets weekly. The Limelight was eventually distributed to students Dec. 2 without the ad.

Student editor Evan Macy said he was never formally told of the reason for the decision, which he said constituted discrimination.

“Symbolically, it’s a gesture against the gay community, and that’s offensive,” Macy told the Lancaster Intelligencer Journal. “I really think the reason they did it is they were uncomfortable and afraid of backlash.”

Superintendent Robert Frick did not immediately return telephone messages left at their offices Friday by The Associated Press.

An e-mail from the paper’s faculty adviser Adam Zurn to Macy’s mother, Karyn, attributed the decision to District solicitor Robert M. Frankhouser Jr., who would not return calls by The Associated Press.

“I understand that Evan is disappointed. I am, too,” Zurn wrote. “I would have liked for things to turn out differently.”

Macy said he is collecting signatures on a protest petition that he plans to present to the school board.

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