Gay 'marriage' ruling contested By Cheryl Wetzstein - THE WASHINGTON
TIMES - Published April 28, 2004 A bipartisan group of Massachusetts
lawmakers yesterday filed a lawsuit challenging the authority of the state's
highest court to legalize same-sex "marriage" through its rulings.
http://www.washingtontimes.com/functions/print.php?StoryID=20040427-105454-3249r
Delegates retain church’s
homosexuality stance By Linda Green and Kathy Gilbert*
The Rev. Eddie Fox watches General Conference vote on Paragraph 161G.
PITTSBURGH (UMNS) - Delegates to the United Methodist Church’s top legislative
body voted to retain the denomination’s statement that homosexual practice is
incompatible with Christian teaching.
http://umc.org/interior.asp?ptid=17&mid=4508
Romney sends letters to 49 other states about gay
marriage - April 29, 2004
BOSTON -- Gov. Mitt Romney sent a letter to leaders of the 49 other states
Thursday, telling them out-of-state gay couples will be barred from getting
married in Massachusetts unless officials in those states inform him that
same-sex weddings are permitted under their laws. For the rest of the
story......
http://www.boston.com/news/specials/gay_marriage/articles/2004/04/29/romney_sends_letters_to_49_other_states_about_gay_marriage/
DAVID KRAVETS - Associated Press - SAN FRANCISCO - The California Supreme Court plans to hear oral arguments May 25 on whether San Francisco's mayor had the authority to issue same-sex marriage licenses.
The seven-member court said Wednesday it would devote two hours to the arguments. Under court rules, the justices then must rule within 90 days.
The cases brought by Attorney General Bill Lockyer and the conservative Alliance Defense Fund focus almost exclusively on whether Mayor Gavin Newsom could issue same-sex marriage licenses by unilaterally declaring that such marriages should be lawful.
California law defines marriage as a union between a man and woman.
The high court stopped gay marriages at San Francisco's City Hall last month after 4,000 gays were wed, pending the outcome of the legal challenges.
Lockyer and the conservative group said upholding Newsom's actions would allow other government officials to subvert other laws.
for the rest of the story.... http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/breaking_news/8543237.htm
Romney seeks to halt same-sex marriage ruling
04/15/04 02:12 PM, EDT
Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney said Thursday he'll ask lawmakers to let him bypass the state attorney general and ask the state supreme court to stay its decision legalizing same-sex marriage.
FULL STORY
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) - The House agreed Thursday to allow the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission to expand casino gambling in the state, setting no limits on the number of licenses that could be approved.
The House voted 56-41 to approve the language added by the Senate. The bill now returns to the Senate for consideration of other minor changes.
The initial version of the bill approved earlier by the House had retained a 1998 moratorium on new casinos.
Rep. Danny Carroll, R-Grinnell, led the effort to impose a permanent moratorium, calling the vote a defining moment for the state.
"Let's draw the line now. Let's say, 'No, that's not the Iowa that we envision,'" Carroll said. "Let's maintain that image of who we are, the heartland, small towns, good schools, hardworking disciplined people with respect for this generation and the one coming."
Gambling opponents said gambling hurts families and businesses and only takes money from the most vulnerable.
Rep. Betty DeBoef, R-What Cheer, talked of the evils of gambling and predicted increased divorces, bankruptcy, child abuse and suicide in counties that build casinos.
"Gambling preys on the desperation of the poor," she said.
Rep. Delores Mertz, D-Ottosen, responded that gambling is not evil.
"If gambling is a sin, I'm going to go straight down under," she said.
Lawmakers representing the six counties that have approved gambling referendums said their constituents have spoken and those communities should be allowed to pursue casinos.
"If they are willing to make that investment, how dare we say in this chamber that they shall not have the opportunity to make that investment," said Rep. Marcella Frevert, D-Emmetsburg, who represents Palo Alto County, one of the counties that have approved a referendum.
Rep. Deborah Berry, D-Waterloo, said those philosophically opposed to gambling should put aside their personal beliefs.
"Think about what the people want and what is best for those particular counties that played by the rules, followed the rules, did the right thing and passed referendums to have gambling," she said.
The bill, which passed 39-8 in the Senate, establishes a new tax structure for casinos and implements new fees.
It requires the state's riverboats and Dubuque Greyhound Park and Casino to pay a tax rate of 22 percent. Prairie Meadows Racetrack and Casino in Altoona and Bluffs Run Casino in Council Bluffs would pay 24 percent unless they choose not to add table games.
The bill is the result of 14 weeks of wrangling over gambling.
Lawmakers were forced to take up the issue after the Iowa Supreme Court struck down the state's two-tiered tax on casinos and racetracks as unconstitutional.
The state was left owing about $128 million in overpaid taxes and faced losing another $40 million in expected revenue over the next couple of years. The state is appealing the ruling.
Under the bill, the racetracks will continue to hold about $11 million of the back taxes in escrow, allowing the state to continue its appeal based on that amount.
To make up for some of the lost revenue next year, the racetracks would pay a total of $22.6 million toward the Rebuild Iowa Infrastructure Fund. The riverboat casinos would pay a total of $30 million over two years, which would eventually be refunded through tax credits.
Millions more would be handed over to the state in fees charged to racetracks that implement table games such as poker and roulette.
The Senate must consider two amendments added in the House. One prohibits a riverboat casino from being built on the riverfront in downtown Des Moines. The other requires racehorses purses to be considered together and equally by the commission.
DES MOINES --- A bill that would allow prosecutors to
charge people responsible for the death of an unborn child with crimes as
serious as first-degree murder cleared the Iowa House Tuesday.