Suspended cop sues N. J. on bias claim
Advocate.com reports a lesbian police officer is suing the state of New Jersey, claiming that authorities suspended her for sexually harassing another officer because of her sexual orientation.
State police Sgt. Christine Shallcross, 44, filed the lawsuit Dec. 13. She claims the state police conspired to violate her civil rights and discriminated against her.
Shallcross was suspended without pay when state trooper Alexis Hayes, 30, accused Shallcross of harassment in January 2009.
Hayes’ sexual harassment lawsuit against Shallcross was dropped months later.
In May, another lawsuit filed by Hayes against New Jersey state police Lt. Thomas King was also dropped. The suit alleged King got her drunk and raped her while they were on a funeral assignment in April 2009.
Civil-unions bill to be introduced in Colorado
The Denver Post reports Colorado state Sen. Pat Steadman plans to introduce a bill next year to legalize civil unions in the state.
Steadman, who is gay, said he expects his proposal to pass the Democratic-controlled Senate, but he’s not sure what kind of reception the idea will get in the Republican-controlled House.
In 2006, Coloradans passed a constitutional amendment against marriage equality. That same year, voters also rejected a referendum that would have granted the same rights as marriage to same-sex couples.
However, a recent poll showed 72 percent of Coloradans support “legal recognition.”
Pride banners cause flap in San Fran
The San Francisco Mercury News reports the future of rainbow flags that have flown for years along the main stretch of the city’s Castro District has come under threat as they bump against another city icon: lampposts with early 20th-century origins.
A neighborhood association contends the flags were illegally hung on the lampposts. City law only allows temporary banners on the posts, which were designated city landmarks in 1991, out of concerns the fasteners used to attach them could mar them.
The Mission Delores Neighborhood Association said the banners don’t belong on the posts permanently.
But others argue the banners define the neighborhood and are slowly being lost as they age and can’t be replaced. Only about a quarter of the original banners remain.
— Larry Nichols