july 7.2000 - Ju st M it 17
news
This is the fourth year the fliers have been
distributed. Criticism, according to Martinez,
has been minimal.
FLO RIDA
ast July, Ocala resident George Stephens
Finley, 58, struck his former wife’s dog with
a plastic vacuum cleaner wand hard enough to
fracture the dogs skull. He then threw the dog
against a tree. He did all this because he thought
the dog, named General Lee, was gay.
The comatose dog was euthanized after
being taken to a veterinarian.
According to The Associated Press, Finley
was convicted June 22 of felony animal cruelty
and sentenced to six months in jail and 100
hours of community service. He was also
ordered to pay a $500 fine and take an anger
management course.
During the trial, the prosecutor said that Fin
ley was furious because General Lee, a neutered
male, attempted to engage in sexual activity
with a younger male dog.
Finleys attorney said he struck the animal
accidentally.
Before he was sentenced Finley said, “I’m
truly sorry for all of this. It’s a stupid thing I did,
and I’m very, very sorry for it.”
L
least six months. Opposite-sex domestic part
ners are not included in the plan.
The automakers expect the cost of extending
coverage to be minimal.
According to David Murphy, Ford’s vice
president of human resources, the extra benefits
will cost less than $5 million a year. Ford cur
rently spends $2.4 billion a year on health care.
The United Auto Workers union provided
the push for the new coverage. During last fall’s
contract talks, the union extracted pledges from
the companies to study the issue.
NEW M EXICO
avid Tully, 71, allegedly drove a van toward
people at a June 10 gay pride parade, struck
one person with the vehicle and called people
“[expletive] faggots.” He now faces four charges
of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and
one count of aggravated battery with a deadly
weapon.
D
IL L IN O IS
r f
he Illinois Republican Party rejected an
JL attempt by right-wing members to adopt
anti-gay planks in the party’s platform.
“We commend the Illinois Republican Party
for resisting the right-wing attempt to promote
bigotry in the party’s platform,” said Rick Gar
cia, director of Equality Illinois. “Clearly, gay
bashing is not acceptable to Illinois Republi
cans. Fairness and decency have triumphed over
bigotry and prejudice.”
All of Illinois’ Republican constitutional
officials support legislation banning discrimina
tion based on sexual orientation. The party has
welcomed the participation of gay men and les
bians.
The Illinois platform committee rejected a
plank that called for opposition to gay-inclusive
anti-discrimination laws. The committee also
rejected a plank that defined marriage as
between a man and a woman.
Republicans in some other states have adopt
ed anti-gay platforms. In mid-June, the Texas
Republican Party adopted a platform that states
“homosexual behavior is contrary to the funda
mental unchanging truths that have been
ordained by God.”
N A TIO N A L
he United States’ traditional Big Three
automakers announced in June that they
will offer health care coverage to same-sex part
ners of all their U.S.
employees.
■ * M
M.
This action by
General Motors, Ford
Motor Company and
DaimlerChrysler will
cover approximately
466,300 hourly and
salaried employees.
Reuters
reports
that coverage of med
ical, dental and pre
scription dmg costs is
*
**
set to begin August 1.
Plans will vary from
automaker
to
automaker.
Employee eligibili
ty
requirements
include being of the
same sex and having
shared a "committed
relationship” for at
T
f . fk ♦
I X it
+ V
One With Heart
Martial Arts Institute
SE 43rd & Hawthorne
231-1999
No one was hurt in the incident, and Tully
was released from jail after posting a $22,500
bond.
In an interview with the Albuquerque Jour -
rial, Tully said he wasn’t trying to run anybody
over and didn’t yell any insults.
Police Sgt. Paul Heh saw a white van “going
after the people in the parade at Central and
Monroe,” according to a complaint filed in Met
ropolitan Court.
“Sergeant Heh stated he sounded his siren,
but the driver did not stop,” the complaint says.
“Sergeant Heh stated he saw the van [back up]
and then go towards the people on the side
walk.” •
Heh yelled at Tully to stop and “had to reach
into the van and put it in park to stop the van,"
the complaint alleges.
Said Tully: “I was the one who got shouted
and screamed at. I was minding my own busi
ness, crossing the road.”
TEXAS
state appeals court ruled June 8 that the
state’s sodomy law was unconstitutional. It
threw out the case against two Houston men
who were arrested in 1998 while having sex
inside a home. The court’s vote was 2-1.
According to The Asstx;iated Press, the 14th
Court of Appeals said the law violated the Texas
Constitution by making it illegal for same-sex
partners to engage in an activity that is legal for
opposite-sex partners.
“The simple fact is, the same behavior is
criminal for some hut not for others, based sole
ly on the sex of the individuals who engage in
the behavior,” wrote Justice John S. Anderson.
Texas has had a sodomy law since 1860;
criminal penalties for opposite-sex partners were
eliminated in 1974.
A
■ Compiled by K ristine C hatw OOD, a Portland-
based free-lance writer and longtime Just Out con
tributor.
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