Marines arrested in antigay assault
According to Savannahnow. com, two Marines were arrested June 12 on misdemeanor battery charges for allegedly beating a gay man in Savannah, Ga.
Keil Joseph Cronauer, 22, and Christopher Charles Stanzel, 23, both stationed at the Marine Corps Air Station in Beaufort, S.C., told police they were being harassed by 26-year-old Kieran Daly, and that they were trying to get away from him.
Witnesses said Cronauer and Stanzel thought Daly was winking at them, so one of the men knocked Daly unconscious. Daly was found lying on the ground, with friends administering CPR. He was sent to Memorial University Medical Center and diagnosed with bruises on his brain.
While in the hospital, Daly said, “The guy thought I was winking at him. I told him, ‘I was squinting, man … I’m tired.’”
Cronauer and Stanzel were later released to Marine police.
Ill. treasurer expands DP benefits
Advocate.com reports Illinois state treasurer Alexi Giannoulias signed an executive order June 13 that will give gay and lesbian employees of his office the same domestic-partner benefits as married employees.
Those benefits include family and medical leave, the ability to take time off to have or adopt children and bereavement time on par with married workers, in addition to health-care benefits that same-sex partners already receive.
The office, which employees about 180 people, is the first Illinois state agency to adopt such a policy.
Giannoulias is also a candidate for President Obama’s former Senate seat, but said politics didn’t motivate the decision.
School crowns gay prom king and queen
Fox News reports two gay friends were voted prom king and queen by such a wide margin at a Hudson high school that the school didn’t bother choosing runners-up.
Seniors Charlie Ferrusi and Timmy Howard won their respective crown and tiara by a landslide June 5. They started thinking about running a month earlier and ran the idea past advisers and the principal, who gave their blessing.
The boys said one of the hardest parts of the experience was deciding who would be king and who would be queen.
— Larry Nichols