Nation & World News
Massachusetts court set to rule on gay marriages
If Massachusetts’ highest court
rules in favor of 14 homosexual
claimants, the state will be the first
in the nation to allow gay marriage
By Angela Couloumbis
Knight Ridder Newspapers (KRT)
BOSTON — Gloria Bailey and Lin
da Davies privately exchanged gold
and silver wedding bands 30 years ago
as a symbol of their commitment to
spend their lives together.
Since that time, the friendly, outgo
ing couple from the small town of Or
leans on Cape Cod have shared all
but one thing — the legal right to call
themselves a family.
But a much-anticipated ruling by
the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial
Court, stemming from a lawsuit filed
by Davies, Bailey and six other gay
and lesbian couples, could soon
change the political and social land
scape on the contentious issue of
same-sex marriage.
If the seven couples prevail, Massa
chusetts will become the first state in
the nation to grant gays and lesbians
the right to marry, giving them access
to a long list of tax, inheritance and
other benefits.
"That one little word — 'marriage'
— means so much, and we're not al
lowed to use it to describe what we
have," said Davies, 57. "1 love Gloria,
and I'm proud of being with her. And
I want people to know it."
Supporters of gay and lesbian rights
are holding out hope that the state's
highest appellate court will seize on
the momentum of recent victories for
their community — including the re
cent U.S. Supreme Court mling over
turning the Texas anti-sodomy law
and the decisions in two Canadian
provinces to legalize same-sex nup
tials — and rule in their favor.
"I've been in the movement for 25
years, and these past five weeks have
been the most thrilling and frighten
ing I can remember,'' said Matt Fore
man, executive director of the Nation
al Gay and Lesbian Task Force. "...
After all these years, we have the real
possibility of winning right here in
this country."
Currently, no state permits mar
riages between same-sex couples,
though legal battles to gain that right
have been fought in several states, in
cluding 1 Iawaii, Alaska and Vermont.
In Vermont, the state Supreme
Court in 1999 ruled that the state con
stitution entitled gay and lesbian cou
ples to all the protections and benefits
afforded by marriage. But it left it to
the legislature to decide whether to
permit those couples to marry. The
legislature in 2000 voted to create
"civil unions," which give same-sex
couples all the benefits of marriage ex
cept one: the actual right to marry.
1'he case stemming from Massa
chusetts seeks to go beyond what Ver
mont has offered — though support
ers of gay and lesbian rights
acknowledge that the high court
could follow in Vermont's footsteps.
But the lawsuit that sparked the legal
debate seeks full marital rights under
the Massachusetts Constitution.
Filed in a Massachusetts lower court
in April 2001, the suit argues that the
right to marry the person of one's
choice is protected under the state con
stitution. The suit also contends the
state cannot justify excluding gay and
lesbian couples from the institution of
marriage and the benefits it provides.
The case landed before the
Supreme Judicial Court this year, turn
ing Massachusetts into a testing
ground to determine how far U.S.
courts are willing to go to ensure
equal rights.
" Ihe Massachusetts state constitu
tion is the oldest functioning consti
tution in the world, and has very ex
pansive protections for liberty and
equality," said Mary Bonauto, the lead
attorney for the seven couples.
It the Massachusetts high court mles
in favor of the gay and lesbian couples,
the case cannot be appealed to the U.S.
Supreme Court, said 1 lariy Knox pro
gram director for Freedom to Marry,
which is working to secure same-sex
marriage in the United States.
The reason: The decision will be
based on an interpretation of tire state
constitution of Massachusetts, not the
Constitution of the United States.
"It would be a watershed mo
ment," Knox said, adding that a victo
ry in Massachusetts would prompt
couples to go there to marry, then re
turn to their home states and demand
that those governments — as well as
the federal government — recognize
the new marriage licenses.
Critics of the gay and lesbian mar
riage movement, who anticipate
Massachusetts will rule in favor of
same-sex marriage, are working to
pre-empt such a chain reaction of
events.
On the federal level, several mem
bers of Congress are sponsoring a pro
posed constitutional amendment to
outlaw same-sex marriages, a move
that, if passed, has the potential to
stop same-sex marriage lawsuits
around the country in their tracks
In 1996, Congress approved and
President Bill Clinton signed the fed
eral Defense of Marriage Art, defining
marriage in federal law as a legal
union between a man and a woman.
It did not outright ban same-sex mar
riages but allowed states to reject such
marriages performed in other states.
(c) 2003, the Philadelphia Inquirer.
Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune
Information Services.
Judge rejects NAACP suit filed against gun industry
The NAACP’s dismissed lawsuit
contended that firearm industry
practices particularly harmed
its principally black membership
By John Marzulli
New York Daily News (KRT)
NEW YORK — A federal judge in
Brooklyn threw out the NAACP's law
suit against the gun industry Monday.
Despite finding that gunmakers'
failure to stem the flow of illegal
weapons by retailers put the public
at risk, Judge Jack Weinstein threw
out the suit.
He said the civil rights group failed
to prove its main claim — that the in
dustry's practices had been particular
ly harmful to the NAACFs predomi
nantly black membership.
The NAACP "failed to show that its
harm was different in kind from that
suffered by any other person in New
York," Weinstein wrote in his 175
page decision.
But he added: "While (the gun in
dustry) is justified in disclaiming lia
bility for all these violent crimes and
the resulting injuries and deaths, that
is hardly justification for failure to
take elementary steps that... would
have saved the lives of many people."
Among the obvious steps would
be requiring retailers to stop selling
multiple guns to the same cus
tomers, he said.
Weinstein's decision follows a
two-month trial that concluded in
May with an advisory jury clearing
45 gun manufacturers and distribu
tors of negligence.
The NAACP had sought sweeping
reforms of laws regulating the sale of
guns, but no monetary damages.
On Monday, the group's lawyer,
Elisa Barnes, proclaimed the ruling a
"moral victory."
She said the ruling paves the way
for lawsuits pending against firearm
manufacturers filed by the city and
state because the judge indicated that
neither would have to show a partic
ular group had been hurt.
"We carried the ball 99 yards, and
now it's up to the city and the state
to carry it across the goal line," said
Matthew Nosanchuk, another plain
tiff s lawyer.
A spokesman for the gun industry
hailed the ruling, despite Wein
stein's criticism.
"We are not interested in Judge We
instein's personal opinion or rumina
tions on public policy," said Lawrence
Keane, vice president of the Newtown,
Conn.-based National Shooting
Sports Foundation.
"The industry should never have
had to defend itself against such a friv
olous lawsuit," Keane said.
(c) 2003, New York Daily News.
Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune
Information Services.
Tuition
continued from page 1
"From a policy perspective, there
are no classes that we don't have to
pay for," Lussier said.
Although some students will have
to pay more next year, students lead
ers were happy with the board's deci
sion to delay the implementation of
plateau changes until winter term.
"It's a huge victory from where we
were a week and a half ago," ASUO
Legislative Associate Gabe Kjos said.
He added that ASUO will use the ex
tra time to educate students about
the changes and how they will be af
fected. Student leaders will also meet
with administrators to discuss new
ways to attain funding and more fi
nancial aid for students.
Since the changes will not be im
plemented until January 2004, how
ever, schools will face financial short
ages in the fall.
"Our concern is that postponing
the decision will mean that we might
not be able to offer all course sec
tions," Frohnmayer said. The Univer
sity expects to be $400,000 short in
the fall, which translates to about 60
lost classes in winter and spring terms.
Oregon Student Association Exec
utive Director John Wykoff said uni
versities should stop using "shock
therapy," such as threatening to cut
classes, to deal with the financial
problems. He said they should think
of another, more important cut.
"There is a cut, and it's students, be
cause some of them won't be able to
finish their education," Wykoff said.
He said while schools may believe stu
dents will continue to fill the class
rooms, they need to think about what
type of students will have access to ed
ucation. Those with higher income
may continue to trickle in as lower-in
come students are forced out.
Wykoff added that it is time to find
ways to mitigate the damage of the tu
ition increases for students who are “fi
nancially on the maigin." He said insti
tutions perceive tuition as a source of
revenue, adding that the plateaus were
being eliminated or changed to raise
funds, not to create more equity be
tween part-time and full-time students.
Kjos had similar sentiments
about ending the plateau system,
saying its elimination would have
been "catastrophic."
However, Frohnmayer said some of
the acrimony surrounding the changes
to the plateaus was "entirely unjusti
fied," especially in relation to the Uni
versity. Stating the University had start
ed implementing changes to its plateau
a year ago, Frohnmayer said the "pa
rade of horribles" put forward by stu
dents at other universities had not been
experienced at the University.
He added that the University intends
to cushion the effects of the tuition in
creases by re-evaluating financial aid
packages for low-income students.
Contact the reporter
at ayishayahya@dailyemerald.com
Candidate
continued from page 1
withdrawing from both the World
Trade Organization and the North
American Free Trade Agreement.
Kucinich said his administration
would also support the Kyoto Ac
cords and enforcing other environ
mental regulations.
"As citizens of this planet, we have
a right to breathe clean air and drink
clean water," Kucinich said.
The presidential candidate also
criticized the media for unbalanced
coverage of issues such as the Iraq
war, saying he was concerned with
media concentration.
"There's a sense that we're not get
ting the truth," Kucinich said. He said
as president he would file suit to
break up "monopolies in the media."
According to Kucinich's campaign
Web site, he has found support from
a variety of individuals, including
Mahatma Gandhi's grandson; coun
try singer Willie Nelson and Ben Co
hen, co-founder of Ben and Jerry's
Homemade, Inc. Ralph Nader, the
Green Party's presidential candidate
in 2000, has also endorsed his views.
Kucinich first entered the national
spotlight when he was elected mayor
of Cleveland at the age of 31, becom
ing the youngest person to lead a ma
jor American city. After serving as a
state senator for two years, he was
elected to the U.S. House of Repre
sentatives in 1996.
College Republicans Chairman Jar
rett White said he disagreed with
many of Kucinich's points, saying
Kucinich, with his anti-war views,
would not be the right person to lead
the country.
"1 think he would make this coun
try a dangerous place to live," White
said. "Terrorists would not take the
United States seriously with Kucinich
as president."
White added that Kucinich and
other Democratic candidates are tak
ing advantage of the situation in Iraq
to propel their own campaigns.
"Now that we have a little turmoil
in Iraq, Kucinich and other Democ
rats are getting on board to bash
Bush," White said.
Emily Vedaa, a senior majoring in
international studies, said she liked
Kucinich's progressive views, adding
that other Democratic Party candi
dates seemed too moderate. Vedaa
said it was encouraging to see a lot of
people supporting Kucinich.
"The Democrats are going
nowhere," Vedaa said. "I think
(Kucinich) is taking the true meaning
of democracy and going with it."
Contact the reporter
at shoikeda@dailyemerald.com.
_____ . .:
LAMATSERING
CREATING PEACE
In Times Of Turmoil
Tuesday, July 22 at 7 p.m.
BROWSING ROOM, KNIGHT LIBRARY
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