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About The skanner. (Portland, Or.) 1975-2014 | View Entire Issue (Dec. 12, 2012)
News Plot Santa Paws continued from page 1 should not have been able to obtain a secret warrant because there was no indication Abdul- Latif was involved in interna- tional terrorism. That motion was denied by a federal judge, who said investigators followed month, agents were watching Abdul-Latif while he worked as a janitor and while he attended a mosque with his wife and son. The FBI monitoring occurred just a few months after Abdul- Latif began posting YouTube proper procedures. That filing also showed that Abdul-Latif was being moni- tored by the FBI long before an acquaintance was recruited to take part in the plot reported it to investigators. In late January 2011, an agent ran a records search on Abdul-Latif and his wife, and by the following videos in which he expressed support for Islamist fighters. Federal authorities and Seat- tle police have credited the informant with bringing the plot to light. The informant, a repeat felon and convicted sex offender, was paid $90,400 for his cooperation. PHOTO BY SUSAN FRIED Abdul-Latif was being monitored by the FBI long before an acquaintance was recruited to take part in the plot reported it to investigators Clyde and his dog Lucas have their picture taken with ‘Santa Paws’ at the annual Seattle Animal Shelter Foundation holiday fundraiser held Saturday and Sunday, Dec. 8-9, at the Alexis Hotel in downtown Seattle. Vows continued from page 1 before the weddings began with her partner of 14 years, Deb Needham, 48. Monahan was wearing her uniform, and Needham was wearing an ivory dress and jacket and matching hat. They said they wanted to join the large wedding event at city hall because of the significance of the day. ``It’s not very private, but very historic,’’ Needham said, to which Monahan added, ``And very awe- some.’’ Some courthouses, including in King and Thurston Counties, opened right at midnight, and start- ed marrying couples. Private wed- dings are expected to take place across the state, as well as some other public events, including the marriage of two couples after the end of the first act of a Seattle Men’s Chorus performance at Benaroya Hall in Seattle. The Para- mount Theater in Seattle was also to host a large wedding reception for couples. Hundreds of gay and lesbian couples picked up their marriage licenses as early as 12:01 a.m. Thursday, but because of the state’s three-day wait- ing period, the earliest weddings could take place was just after midnight, early Sunday morning. In King County, home to Seattle, more than 600 same-sex marriage licenses were issued by Saturday. Robin Wyss, of Seattle, said that the wed- ding ceremony to her partner, Danielle space and there’s all of his love and appre- ciation,’’ she said. ``We’ve been thinking about this as more of a political celebration for all of Washington state, but obviously it’s very meaningful for us and our future child as well.’’ Couples in Maryland also started picking up marriage licenses Thursday, though their licenses won’t take effect until Jan. 1. Maine’s law takes effect on Dec. 29. There’s no waiting period in Maine, and people can start marrying just after midnight. Washington Gov. Chris Gregoire and Secretary of State Sam Reed certified the election results of Referendum 74 on Wednesday afternoon, and the law took effect at 12:01 a.m. Thursday. Same-sex couples who previously were married in another state that allows gay marriage, like Massachusetts, will not have to get remarried in Washington state. Their mar- riages became valid here as soon as the law Hundreds of gay and lesbian couples picked up their marriage licenses as early as 12:01 a.m. Thursday, but because of the state’s three-day waiting period, the earliest weddings could take place was just after midnight, early Sunday morning Yung, was ``more emotional than I thought it would be,’’ in part because Yung is five months pregnant. ``Our friends are here, it’s a beautiful took effect. The referendum had asked voters to either approve or reject the state law legalizing same-sex marriage that legislators passed earlier this year. That law was signed by Gregoire in February but was put on hold pending the outcome of the election. Nearly 54 percent of voters approved the measure. The law doesn’t require religious organi- zations or churches to perform marriages, and it doesn’t subject churches to penalties if they don’t marry gay or lesbian couples. Married same-sex couples will still be denied access to federal pensions, health insurance and other government benefits available to heterosexual couples because the 1996 federal Defense of Marriage Act, known as DOMA, bars federal recognition of gay unions. The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday said it will take up gay marriage sometime during the current term. Several pending cases challenge the federal benefit provision of DOMA, and a separate appeal asks the jus- tices to decide whether federal courts were correct in striking down California’s Propo- sition 8, the amendment that outlawed gay marriage after it had been approved by courts in the nation’s largest state. Law continued from page 1 federal law. Backpage.com sued separately. The organization said the Washington Legislature passed the law ``despite its obvious potential to curtail legitimate speech.’’ For example, the vague and overbroad statute threatened to impose felony liability not only on those directly engaged in illegal acts but also on those who ``indirectly’’ caused to be ``disseminated’’ any ``implic- it’’ offers for commercial sex acts. That could potentially affect services that merely provide access to information, like web hosts, ISPs, or online libraries, impeding their ability to operate,’’ the organization said in a statement. Attorneys for Backpage.com and the EFF The vague and overbroad statute threatened to impose felony liability not only on those directly engaged in illegal acts but also on those who ‘indirectly’ caused to be ‘disseminated’ any ‘implicit’ offers for commercial sex acts argued the state law came into conflict with the federal Communications Decency Act, which protects online service providers from the acts of its subscribers or users. McKenna said unless Congress makes changes to that federal rule, an appeal to uphold the state law would have been lengthy and costly. ``We disagree with Judge Martinez,’’ McKenna said in a statement. ``We do not believe that advertisements for a service illegal in every state _ prostitution _ are pro- tected by the Constitution. That part of his decision would likely be overturned upon appeal.’’ Contrary to McKenna’s statement, prosti- tution is legal in Nevada in licensed broth- els. As part of the settlement, Washington state will pay $200,000 to cover legal fees of Backpage.com and the Electronic Fron- tier Foundation. Phoenix-based Village Voice Media Hold- ings LLC owns Backpage.com. It also owned free arts weekly newspapers across the country, including New York’s Village Voice and the Seattle Weekly, but the news- papers were sold to a separate company ear- lier this year. December 12, 2012 The Seattle Skanner Page 3
