QUOTE OF THE DAY “I’m waiting on anything I can get: a taxi, a shuttle, a bus.” Stanley Gaines in Jersey City, N.J., one of many travelers stranded by a fast-moving storm that hit the Northeast on Tuesday Article, 1A
12 gays sue to undo Florida marriage ban
MIAMI BEACH, Fla. - Six gay couples filed a lawsuit Tuesday seeking to overturn Florida’s ban on same-sex marriage, the latest in a series of cases across the country that contend such prohibitions are unconstitutional and effectively relegate gay partners to second-class status.
The lawsuit was filed in Miami-Dade Circuit Court on behalf of the couples by Equality Florida Institute Inc., a civil-rights organization that works for fairness for gay, bisexual and transgender people. The lawsuit claims Florida’s gay-marriage ban violates the U.S. Constitution’s guarantees of equal protection and due process.
Florida voters upheld a ban on same-sex marriage in the state constitution in 2008. It states that in Florida “marriage is the legal union of only one man and one woman as husband and wife,” and no other unions can be recognized.
ACLU sues Utah for marriage recognition
SALT LAKE CITY - The American Civil Liberties Union has sued Utah regarding the issue of gay marriage, saying the official decision to stop granting benefits for newly married same-sex couples has created uncertainty.
The lawsuit filed Tuesday says the state has put hundreds of gay couples in legal limbo and prevented them from getting key protections for themselves and their children.
Utah governor’s spokesman Marty Carpenter responded by saying that Republican Gov. Gary Herbert “has said throughout this process that his responsibility is to follow the law. That is exactly what the administration is doing, and we respect the rights of those who disagree to take their grievances before a judge.”
The four married gay couples in the lawsuit are among more than 1,000 gay couples who rushed to marry after a federal judge in Utah overturned the state’s same-sex marriage ban Dec. 20. U.S. District Judge Robert Shelby ruled that the same-sex marriage ban violates gay couples’ constitutional rights. Those weddings came to a halt Jan. 6 when the U.S. Supreme Court granted Utah an emergency stay - something two lower courts had denied the state.
Court: Gayness no basis for jury rebuff
SAN FRANCISCO - A federal appeals court ruled Tuesday that potential jurors may not be removed from a trial during jury selection solely because of sexual orientation, extending to gays a civil right that the U.S.
Supreme Court has previously promised only women and racial minority groups.
A unanimous three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals held that striking someone from a jury pool because of sexual orientation constitutes unlawful discrimination. Its 39-page decision came in an antitrust and contract dispute between two rival drug companies about the price of a popular AIDS drug.
A lawyer for Abbott Laboratories used one of his allotted peremptory challenges to remove a potential juror who had referred to a male partner and having friends with AIDS during questioning. The jury that was eventually seated mostly ruled in favor of Abbott.
Because the gay juror was taken off the case without justification, the 9th Circuit reversed the 2011 verdict and ordered a new trial.
1 killed in Purdue University shooting
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - A Purdue University engineering student opened fire inside a basement classroom Tuesday, killing a teaching assistant and prompting officials to put the campus on lock down, police and the university said.
Cody Cousins, who is thought to have targeted Andrew Boldt inside the Electrical Engineering Building, surrendered to a police officer within minutes of the attack, Purdue Police Chief John Cox said.
Investigators were trying to determine a motive for the shooting, which happened about noon on the campus in West Lafayette, about 60 miles northwest of Indianapolis.
No one else was injured.
“This appears to be an isolated and intentional act,” Cox said.
Boldt, a 21-year-old senior and teaching assistant from West Bend, Wis., died at the scene. Cousins, a 23-year old senior, who police said has addresses listed both in Warsaw, Ind., and Centerville, Ohio, was being held on a preliminary charge of murder Tuesday night at the Tippecanoe County jail.
Front Section, Pages 4 on 01/22/2014