Washington State Rep. Carlyle Introduces Petition Transparency Bill

Even though the religionist failed at taking away the everything-but-marriage rights in Washington state, they are still fighting a battle.

They are challenging state election rules that require the release of names and addresses of people who sign petitions.

A district court has already ruled against them. Of course the religionist appealed. In mid January The State Supreme Court will decide if they will hear the case or not.

In the mean time, State Representative Reuven Carlyle is introducing new legislation to clarify that petitions are public record.

Click here to read more from Rep. Carlyle's blog.

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VIDEO: Washington State Approve Ref 71 To Protect All Families

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Video: Washington State Ref 71 Petition Signature Fraud

Regarding Referendum 71 in Washington State:



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Assault Charges Dropped Against Georgetown Student

Backstory (original article)

WASHINGTON -- Prosecutors have dropped assault charges against a Georgetown University student accused in a possible hate crime beating near campus.

D.C. police arrested sophomore Phillip Anderton Cooney in connection with the early morning attack on Sept. 9, 2007, in the 1400 block of 36th Street Northwest.

The 19-year-old student from Texas was charged with assaulting another student while yelling homophobic slurs. The case was flagged as a potential hate crime based on the victim's sexual orientation.

Prosecutors said they dropped the charges because they did not think they had enough evidence to prove Cooney was the person who committed the assault.

full article

Victim calls attack hate crime; police still unsure

Olympia, WA: An assault that included anti-gay slurs is not being investigated as a hate crime, Olympia police said today.

Carl Wittenbrink, 22, said he was attacked outside the downtown Olympia YMCA last week.

The attacker swung a plastic grocery bag filled with something heavy at Wittenbrink and called him an anti-gay slur while yelling and cursing at him, the victim said.

“There’s a chance that’s just the kind of language he uses, but I think it’s very clear it was a hate crime,” Wittenbrink said, adding he’s purchased pepper spray for protection. “I want to believe this was an isolated incident and not an indication of something happening in Olympia, but I’m not willing to take any chances.”

full article

Washington House bill extends gay-couple benefits

OLYMPIA — The House on Friday passed a measure to expand the state's domestic-partnership law by granting same-sex couples more than 170 of the benefits and responsibilities given to married couples.

The bill passed 62-32 after very little debate and now goes to the Senate.

The measure adds domestic partners to sections of laws where previously only spouses were mentioned, including areas referring to probate and trusts, community-property and homestead exemptions, and guardianship and powers of attorney.

Rep. Jamie Pedersen, D-Seattle, sponsor of the bill, said the measure is the "next step" to provide financial security for all families in the state.

"Rarely do we have an opportunity in our work here to help so many people without spending a dime," he said.

The measure makes dozens of changes to state law, including requiring domestic partners of public officials to submit financial disclosure forms, just as the spouses of heterosexual officials do.

It also would give domestic partners the same spousal testimony rights that married couples have, allowing domestic partners the right to refuse to testify against each other in court.

Opponents argued that expanding the current law dilutes traditional marriage.

To be registered as partners, couples must share a home, must not be married or in a domestic relationship with someone else, and be at least 18.

In a provision similar to California law, unmarried heterosexual senior couples also would be eligible for domestic partnerships if one partner is at least 62. Lawmakers said that provision was included to help seniors who are at risk of losing pension rights and Social Security benefits if they remarry.

full article

Washington DC Campus Rallies Against Prejudice

Georgetown University: Students March to President's Office, Voice Demands

Sparked by a Sept. 9 hate crime that sent one student to the hospital, a protest organized by GUPride yesterday brought professors and student leaders together to speak against bias-related incidents at Georgetown.

According to the incident report from the Metropolitan Police Department, on Sept. 9, a student was assaulted by a man yelling homophobic epithets on the 3600 block of O Street. The victim later identified his assailant on Facebook as Philip Cooney (MSB ’10). Cooney has since been arrested for the crime but pleaded not guilty on Friday.

Members of GUPride tabled in Red Square from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. yesterday gathering signatures for a petition supporting reforms to university procedure for addressing future hate crimes. Scott Chessare (COL ’10), co-president of GUPride, said that the petition received approximately 750 signatures, over 10 percent of the undergraduate student body.

Gay basher has ties to Bush administration

Update: Charges dropped

A Georgetown University sophomore, implicated in a gay-bashing by a fellow student, has ties to the Bush Administration, PageOneQ has learned.

19-year-old Philip Anderton Cooney, pictured here in the spring of 2005, is the son of fallen Bush aide and American Petroleum Institute oil lobbyist Phil Cooney.

Phil Cooney was appointed chief of staff with the White House Council on Environmental Quality, suffering criticism for his lack of environmental experience. After his resignation and subsequent hire to a position with ExxonMobil, it was found that Cooney had reportedly tampered with data to support the Bush line on climate change.

Philip Anderton Cooney was identified by the victim and reported to police thanks to his Facebook profile, which contained a photograph. He is being charged with simple assault, which, as a hate crime, carries a jail sentence of up to 270 days, the Washington Post reports. On the morning of September 9, the victim says, he was attacked physically and verbally, including with anti-gay slurs, by Cooney while walking near 36th and O Streets in northwest Washington, DC.

Washington state submits entry to Gay Film Festival

"We are … GLBTQ," a documentary produced by two state agencies about gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and questioning youth involved in child welfare, will be screened during the 2007 Seattle Lesbian and Gay Film Festival.

The video has been entered in the juried, locally produced, short film category and will be screened Oct. 14.

Co-produced by Washington state's Department of Social and Health Services Children's Administration and Department of Information Services, the 28-minute film focuses on the lives of gay, lesbian and transgender youths in the state child welfare system.

It is being used by DSHS to train foster parents and kinship caregivers.

According to a national report by Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund, these youths come into contact with Child Protective Services more frequently than their peers because often they are targeted for family violence because of their sexual orientation or gender identities.

http://www.theolympian.com/stateworkers/story/219316.html

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March on Washington Sept. 29th

SEPT 29:
National March on Washington

SEPT 22-29:
Encampment in Front of Congress to STOP the War

Parallel Encampment and Demo
in Los Angeles

75+ Organizing Centers in 32 States
- 100 buses -find one near you!

http://www.troopsoutnow.org/
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Ex-football star pledges $1 million to gay students

David Kopay remembers the feelings of isolation, paranoia and loneliness in college, when he stayed deep in the closet. A star on the football team in the early 1960s, he was not about to come out.

Now nearing retirement, Kopay is giving back so that future gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered students will have resources to have an easier time on their own coming out journeys.

Kopay, the first NFL player to come out and author of the seminal 1977 autobiography "The David Kopay Story," has made a $1 million testamentary pledge to the University of Washington, his beloved alma mater. Kopay hopes the pledge, to be used for at-need LGBT students, will spur others to donate to the David Kopay Endowment. He will be honored at a special dinner Friday, along with others who have pledged at least $1 million.

http://outsports.com/people/2007/kopay0904.htm
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