Gay sex ban to stay
MSNBC. com reports the ranking Republican and Democrat on the Kansas state House Judiciary Committee intend to leave a law criminalizing gay sex on the books, even though it’s unconstitutional.
The law limits sex acts between same-sex partners. A 2003 U.S. Supreme Court decision striking down a similar law in Texas indirectly nullified the Kansas law, but the Legislature must vote to repeal it.
Reps. Lance Kinzer (R) and Jan Pauls (D) said on March 10 it wasn’t necessary to remove the law. Kinzer says the law is unenforceable and no one is being harmed by it.
Homophobic Utah Sen. retires
Advocate.com reports antigay Utah state Sen. Chris Buttars said March 11 that he was retiring immediately due to “human frailty.”
Buttars, 69, has been suffering from health problems including diabetes.
In February 2009, Buttars was removed from the Utah Senate Judiciary, Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice Committee and the Senate Judicial Confirmation Committee for making homophobic remarks. In the documentary “8: The Mormon Proposition,” Buttars said gays are “the greatest threat to America,” and compared them to radical Muslims.
DOMA activists held
GayPeoplesChronicle.com reports five Ohio activists were arrested March 9 after staging a sit-in outside of U.S. House Speaker John Boehner’s 8th Congressional District office in West Chester.
The five members of LGBT group GetEqual were charged with trespassing after sitting outside the speaker’s office. They had refused to leave after being denied entry to Boehner’s office, where they attempted to deliver a petition urging him not to defend the Defense of Marriage Act.
The five are to appear in court March 29.
They were part of a rally protesting Boehner’s March 4 announcement that he would defend DOMA.
— Larry Nichols