Married gays can still be discharged
The Des Moines Register reports gay military servicemembers who are legally married in Iowa can still be discharged from the Iowa National Guard under a federal law that prevents homosexuals from openly serving.
The federal ban, known as “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” and approved by Congress in 1993, takes precedence over the Iowa Supreme Court ruling in April that legalized same-sex marriage.
The Iowa National Guard is prevented from implementing the recent marriage ruling for its personnel because it is a federal military organization.
Court allows school to expel lesbians
The San Francisco Chronicle reports the California Supreme Court left intact on April 29 a lower-court ruling that said a private school could expel students it believed were lesbians.
The court denied review of an appeal by the parents of two girls who were expelled from a high school in Riverside County. A lawyer for the parents said the ruling would allow private schools to discriminate against students on any basis they chose.
In 2005, the two juniors at California Lutheran High School in the town of Wildomar were expelled.
In January, the Fourth District Court of Appeal in San Bernardino said the school is not a business but a social organization entitled to follow its principles.
No bathroom breaks for gay students
Advocate.com reports 15 students protested outside a Frankfort, Ky., high school on May 1 after an official advised teachers to bar gay students from leaving class to use the restroom.
Franklin County High School assistant principal Karen Buzard sent the e-mail after two female students were reportedly seen kissing in a bathroom.
A statement on the school’s Web site said the directive was “that certain students should not be allowed to leave the classroom during class because they had been in violation of school rules. All students have time between classes to use the facilities.”
Protesters waved rainbow flags and signs that read, “Honk if you’re gay” and “We have a right to pee.”
— Larry Nichols