HOWELL, Mich. (AP) — Two ninth-grade students who painted an anti-gay message on a rock in their school’s courtyard have been suspended for at least 10 days and might face criminal prosecution, the school district said last week. Meanwhile, three seniors who in response painted the word “love” over the message and elsewhere on school grounds were suspended for the rest of the school year. Initially, they had been suspended for 10 days. The three seniors won’t be allowed to take part in their graduation ceremony or any other senior activities. On May 8, the three seniors and a sophomore used spray paint to cover the words “God hates fags” scrawled on a rock near the high school entrance. The sophomore also was suspended for 10 days. Although the rock is frequently painted by students, the students also spray-painted the word “love” more than 25 times around the flagpole and more than 25 times on sidewalks on the north side of the building. Howell Public Schools said it had identified the two students who painted the first, anti-gay message but did not identify them. The two students face punishment for violating the school’s hate literature and vandalism policies.
ASHEVILLE, N.C. (AP) — A political organization for gay Republicans ran a television commercial during the state Republican Party convention here urging North Carolina’s GOP to be more inclusive. The Log Cabin Republicans, which were barred by current GOP Chair Ferrell Blount from setting up a table at last year’s convention, paid to broadcast the ad through last weekend on Asheville’s cable television system. “Our commercial has a simple message — the GOP can be an inclusive majority party uniting all North Carolinians or
it can be an intolerant party hijacked by the radical right’s divisive social agenda,” Chris Barron, the group’s political director, said at a news conference in Asheville. Barron’s group decided against asking for a table at this year’s convention. Instead, they spent from $4,000-$5,000 to air the 30-second ad during the convention’s three days.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Student journalists sued their Bakersfield high school district last week in an effort to keep the school’s principal from censoring student newspaper articles on homosexuality. The suit, filed by the American Civil Liberties Union, requests an emergency order to allow the paper to publish the stories in The Kernal’s year-end May 27 issue. “The Kernal staff, along with the gay students we interviewed, we have lost our voices,” said the paper’s editor, Joel Paramo, a plaintiff in the case filed in Kern County court. East Bakersfield High School Principal John Gibson said he blocked publication because he is worried about violence on campus. “It’s not about gays and lesbians. It’s about student safety,” he said. Paramo, however, said the principal’s decision “regrettably sends the unmistakable message that school officials would rather students keep closeted about their sexual orientation.” The articles include photos and interviews with gay students discussing their sexual orientation.
WASHINGTON — Early election victories have made 2005 a strong year so far for gay political candidates, according to the Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund, a political action committee based in Washington, D.C. In a news release, Victory Fund officials said three gay candidates took new political offices last week, while two more advanced to general elections. Leaders with the committee also were active in the campaign of Barbara Baier, who became the first openly gay official in Nebraska when she won election to the Lincoln, Neb., school board, the release noted. In addition, the group supported Elena Guajardo, winner in the primary for an open seat on the San Antonio City Council, and Mary Jo Hudson, who kept her seat on the Columbus, Ohio, City Council, officials said in the statement. “Gays and lesbians deserve equal access to the American dream and we will never get from here to there without having a voice and a vote in the halls of government,” Chuck Wolfe, Victory Fund’s president and CEO, said in the release.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Commissioners in North Carolina’s most populous county voted to add “sexual orientation” to its nondiscrimination policy despite vehement objections from Republicans. The new policy means Mecklenburg County cannot discriminate in hiring and personnel decisions on the basis of sexual orientation, in addition to race, color, sex, religion, national origin and age. The change was approved 6-3 last week. Republican Dan Bishop said Democrats provoked controversy over the policy change to draw attention from a planned tax increase. Commissioners Chair Parks Helms said Republican reaction to the agenda item showed why it was needed. “This is to say who we are,” he said. “This is what we believe?” Other North Carolina counties and cities have passed similar anti-discrimination policies, and two counties — Durham and Orange — offer domestic partner benefits.
From staff and wire reports
