NY lawmaker objects to gay pride billboards
A Schenectady councilman is trying to remove a series of locally-sponsored billboards designed to combat the stigma and homophobia of being a black, gay man. City Councilman Joseph Allen insists he is not a bigot, but believes the billboards featuring men attending church or playing basketball, along with the slogan “I am gay,’’ put “the stamp of approval on a gay lifestyle.’’
NC House member wants HIV treatment curbed
North Carolina State Rep. Larry Brown says adults who get HIV through sexual behavior or drugs shouldn’t be treated at government expense. “I’m not opposed to helping a child born with HIV or something, but I don’t condone spending taxpayers’ money to help people living in perverted lifestyles,’’ Brown said. He believes there should be a higher priority on treatment for people who have diseases “with no fault of their own.’’
Justice Dept. outlines defense of DOMA
The U.S. Department of Justice has filed its opening legal brief for its appeal of a decision by a judge in Massachusetts who concluded that a portion of a federal law banning recognition of same-sex marriage is unconstitutional. The appeal follows two rulings in July by U.S. District Judge Joseph Tauro, who said the federal Defense of Marriage Act is unconstitutional because it interferes with a state’s right to define marriage and denies married gay couples an array of federal benefits given to heterosexual married couples. The appeal is expected to be heard by the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston.
