Washington Blade - October 20, 2006

WASHINGTON (AP) - The Bush administration sought Oct. 10 to overturn a court decision that lets nonprofit AIDS groups apply for federal funding without signing a pledge opposing prostitution and sex trafficking. At least one of the groups, DKT International, Inc., has refused to sign the pledge because it helps distribute condoms to prostitutes and other sex workers in Vietnam. DKT last year sued the U.S. Agency for International Development, contending its free speech rights were violated by a 2003 law requiring that they explicitly oppose prostitution and sex trafficking to qualify for part of a $15 billion AIDS program. In May, U.S. District Judge Emmet G. Sullivan sided with DKT, saying the funding conditions insist that groups "parrot" the U.S. government's position on prostitution. But in the Justice Department's appeal, it called the funding condition "highly germane" to the overall goal of fighting the spread of AIDS and HIV. The case now heads to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. A date for arguments has not yet been set.

Supreme Court declines to hear Calif. marriage case

WASHINGTON (AP) - The Supreme Court refused to intervene Oct. 10 in a legal fight over same-sex marriage, declining an appeal from a gay California couple that was denied a license to wed. The justices declined without comment to take the case of Arthur Smelt and Christopher Hammer of Mission Viejo, Calif. The men had sought a marriage license in Southern California's Orange County in 2004 and, after they were turned down, filed a federal lawsuit that challenged federal and state laws against same-sex marriage. A U.S. District judge said the federal Defense of Marriage Act was constitutional but declined to rule on the state ban because a separate legal challenge is making its way through California state courts. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals agreed in May that the couple should await the outcome of the state court challenge. A week earlier, a California appeals court upheld the state ban on same-sex weddings. That case appears headed for the California Supreme Court.

Minneapolis settles several claims against lesbian fire chief

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - The city of Minneapolis has settled two of three harassment lawsuits against Fire Chief Bonnie Bleskachek. The City Council voted unanimously Oct. 6 to compensate firefighters Jennifer Cornell and Kathleen Mullen, and promote them to battalion chief. Both women had claimed in lawsuits against the city and Bleskachek that the chief retaliated against them by preventing their promotions to battalion chief and throwing out the results of an advancement test. Under the settlement, Cornell will receive $65,000 and Mullen, $29,000. A third lawsuit by firefighter Kristina Lemon that makes similar allegations is still in litigation. Bleskachek's lawyer, Jerry Burg, said his client threw out the test results because they were flawed - not because Cornell and Mullen passed while Bleskachek's partner failed, as alleged.

High school coach in Maine tests new gay bias law

BANGOR, Maine (AP) - A former Brewer High School softball coach has filed the state's first lawsuit alleging discrimination based on sexual orientation, claiming she was let go from her job because she is a lesbian. Kelly Jo Cookson, 44, of Clifton is suing the Brewer School Department and Superintendent Daniel Lee. The suit was filed Oct. 13 in Penobscot County Superior Court. Cookson claims the department decided not to rehire her after 14 years on the job because she is a lesbian. The complaint also alleges Lee slandered her when he told two parents that he "knew things about Kelly that I can't share publicly." Lee denied the allegations, saying Cookson was let go because of concerns about her performance. The lawsuit is the first filed under the law that last December added sexual orientation to a list of classes protected under the Maine Human Rights Act.

Boy Scouts face setback in Supreme Court

WASHINGTON (AP) - Six years after the Supreme Court ruled the Boy Scouts could ban gay leaders, the group is losing legal battles with state and local governments over its discriminatory policies. The latest setback came Oct. 16 when the high court without comment refused to take a case out of Berkeley, Calif., in which a Scouts sailing group lost free use of a public marina because the Boy Scouts bar atheists and gays. The action let stand a unanimous California Supreme Court ruling that the city of Berkeley may treat the Berkeley Sea Scouts differently from other nonprofit organizations because of the Scouts' membership policies. Two years ago, the court similarly rejected a Boy Scouts appeal of a case from Connecticut, where officials dropped the group from a list of charities that receive donations from state employees through a payroll deduction plan.

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