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