Massachusetts Sues The Feds Over DOMA

Massachusetts is suing the federal government over a law that defines marriage as a union between a man and a woman. State Attorney General Martha Coakley filed the lawsuit in federal court in Boston. It says the federal Defense of Marriage Act interferes with the right of Massachusetts to define marriage as it sees fit.

The 1996 federal law denies federal recognition of gay marriage. Massachusetts was the first state to allow the practice. The Boston-based Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders has already sued over the federal law. It says it discriminates against gay couples and is unconstitutional because it denies them access to federal benefits that other married couples receive.

New Delhi Court Decriminalizes Homosexuality

Although legal pundits are divided on this, the law laid down by a 2004 SC judgment implies that homosexuals across the country may rest assured that they too are entitled to the benefits of the historic Delhi high court decision on Section 377 IPC. In Kusum Ingots vs Union of India, a three-judge bench of the Supreme Court had ruled: “An order passed on writ petition questioning the constitutionality of a Parliamentary Act, whether interim or final, will have effect throughout the territory of India subject of course to the applicability of the Act.”

Though under pressure from religious groups of all hues to appeal against the Delhi High Court order legalising gay sex, the Manmohan Singh government is unlikely to move the Supreme Court on its own. The opinion in the government on the fraught issue is far from settled and the Delhi HC may have spared it the tough task of coalescing divergent views into a position. In fact, Congress spokesperson Abhishek Singhvi indicated as much when he said that "the verdict has rendered legislative intervention meaningless".

Openly Gay Pendleton Marine Provost Found Dead

The body of an openly gay sailor was found in a guard shack outside of Camp Pendleton, a USMC base just outside San Diego. The case may be investigated as a hate crime. The body of Seaman August Provost of Houston, Texas, was discovered about 3:30 a.m. on the western edge of the base. The family was told that he was shot three times, had his hands and feet bound, his mouth gagged, and body burned. A “person of interest” was being held in the Navy brig at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar.

The victim's boyfriend said that Provost had been out to trusted friends in the Navy. Provost III, had complained a year before about being harassed for being gay and was advised to report and document the incidents, but the military did little to help.

Investigators have called the sailor’s death a random act unrelated to the his sexuality.

D.C. Set To Recognize Same-sex Marriages

The decision from Judge Judith Retchin to deny a preliminary injunction and grant the city’s motion to dismiss means there will be no referendum on the recognition statute, which will likely become law July 6 after a congressional review of the law is completed.

Congress is not expected to undo the legislation. Retchin determined that the D.C. Board of Elections and Ethics ruled properly that the proposed referendum, sought by a coalition of area clergy, was an improper subject for a ballot question because it would violate the city’s Human Rights Act. The act, she said, makes it “unlawful for the government to deny services or benefits based on membership in a protected category,” and there are some 200 rights and responsibilities conferred to married couples that are not given to legally recognized same sex couples.

San Diego Police Raid Lesbian Fundraiser

Congressional candidate Francine Busby was being hosted at the home of a lesbian couple in San Diego, where they and 30 guests raised funds for her campaign. A neighbor of the couple began shouting homophobic slurs over his backyard fence and then apparently called the police to complain about the noise. Cops responded with eight police cruisers and a helicopter, arresting the hosts and pepper spraying the guests.

Busby is seeking to fill the House seat vacated by GOP Rep. Duke Cunningham, who is in federal prison after being found guilty of corruption. She is demanding that San Diego police explain their actions at her event. Commenters at the Sign On San Diego story are calling for the firings of the involved police.

Ft. Worth Police Raid Gay Bar

Witnesses say that police arrived at the nightclub about 1 a.m. Sunday and arrested seven people and that one of those arrested suffered a fractured skull during the takedown and is at a Fort Worth hospital. About 75 people showed up Sunday afternoon at the Rainbow Lounge to make signs for the rally. Some of the signs read: "Give us Answers Now" and "We Have Rights Too."

Fort Worth police released a statement saying that the Rainbow Lounge was not the only bar targeted by six Fort Worth police officers and two agents from the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission and a supervisor. The group first went to the Rosedale Saloon and Cowboy Palace on Rosedale Street. Nine people were arrested, police report. The investigators then went to the Rainbow Lounge, where seven arrests were made, the police statement said.

Rainbow Lounge patron Chad Gibson, who suffered a head injury during what witnesses described as an unnecessarily rough arrest, is scheduled to be released from the hospital today.

Fort Worth Police Chief Jeff Halstead has ordered multicultural training for his officers.

March On Washington Set For October

Longtime gay activist Cleve Jones said that he has received approval for the "Equality Across America" march and rally on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. for Sunday, October 11, which is National Coming Out Day.

Same-sex Marriages Will Count In '10

Married same-sex couples will be counted as such in the 2010 census, Census Bureau officials said, reversing a decision of the Bush administration.

Spokesman For Chastity Bono Confirms FTM Transition

Chastity Bono began undergoing a sex change shortly after her 40th birthday on March 4.

Bono's spokesman, Howard Bragman, told TMZ, "He is proud of his decision and grateful for the support and respect that has already been shown by his loved ones. It is Chaz's hope that his choice to transition will open the hearts and minds of the public regarding this issue, just as his 'coming out' did nearly 20 years ago."

New Hampshire Becomes Sixth State To Approve Marriage Equality

Traditionally conservative New Hampshire became the sixth state in the nation to legalize same-sex marriage, after a bill was enacted by both the state House and Senate and then signed by Governor John Lynch.

Lynch said it was a New Hampshire tradition "to come down on the side of individual liberties and protections and that tradition continues today."