National
National Briefs - June 27, 2008
By Associated Press
Jun 26, 2008 - 6:30:28 PM

LDS church urges California members to support marriage amendment
SALT LAKE CITY — The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is asking California members to join the effort to amend that state’s constitution to define marriage as being between a man and a woman.

A letter sent to Mormon bishops and signed by church president Thomas S. Monson and his two top counselors calls on Mormons to donate “means and time” to the ballot measure. A note on the letter dated June 20 says it should be read during church services on June 29, but the letter was published June 21 on several Web sites.

Church spokesman Scott Trotter said Monday, June 23 that the letter was authentic. He declined further comment, saying the letter explains the church’s reasons for getting involved.

The LDS church will work with a coalition of churches and other conservative groups that put the California Marriage Protection Act on the Nov. 4 ballot to assure its passage, the letter states.

In May, California’s Supreme Court overturned a voter-approved ban on same-sex marriage, saying gays could not be denied marriage licenses.


Conservative Christian activist’s daughter possible AG candidate in Ohio
COLUMBUS, Ohio — The daughter of a conservative Christian activist who helped spearhead Ohio’s ban on gay marriage is among the Republican Party’s top choices to run for attorney general in the November election.

Stephanie McCloud, of Reynoldsburg in suburban Columbus, served as chief counsel to former Attorney General Jim Petro and as an assistant deputy legal counsel to former Gov. George Voinovich.

Her father, Phil Burress, is president of Cincinnati-based Citizens for Community Values. Along with backing the 2004 gay marriage amendment credited with helping President Bush win re-election, the group has fought battles against pornography, abortion and strip clubs.

McCloud is among about 10 people still being screened to face Democratic state Treasurer Richard Cordray in the attorney general race this fall, said Jason Mauk, the state GOP’s political director.

Mauk said he was unaware of any formal discussions between McCloud and party chairman Bob Bennett but said she had been recommended by other party leaders.

“Certainly she has an impressive resume, having worked inside the attorney general’s office, and would bring the skill set necessary to restore integrity to the office,” Mauk said.

Former Attorney General Marc Dann, a Democrat, resigned in May amid a sexual harassment scandal in the office. He also admitted to an extramarital affair with an employee, fostering bad office behavior and hiring ill-qualified friends.


Catholic Archdiocese intervenes in Minneapolis church’s gay Pride service
MINNEAPOLIS — The Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis has told a liberal Roman Catholic church in Minneapolis that it can’t hold its annual gay Pride prayer service because the event goes against the teachings of the church.

St. Joan of Arc Church has held the prayer service for several years in conjunction with the annual Twin Cities Pride Celebration. The archdiocese, however, suggested that the church hold a “peace” service with no mention of rights for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people.

“That descriptor [LGBT] was not possible on church property. We suggested they shift it, change the nature of it a little bit, and they did,” archdiocese spokesman Dennis McGrath said. “The reason is quite simply because it was a LGBT pride prayer service, and that is really inimical to the teachings of the Catholic church.”

Officials with the Catholic Pastoral Committee on Sexual Minorities, an independent coalition promoting acceptance of gays in the Catholic church, said they consider the action an attack by Archbishop John Nienstedt, who took the helm of the archdiocese in May.

Nienstedt has said homosexuality is a disorder and is a leader in the campaign to persuade the Legislature to prohibit same-sex unions.


Gay debate may contribute to decline in Presbyterian Church membership
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) suffered its worst annual membership decline in decades last year.

The Louisville-based denomination reported 2.2 million active and confirmed members in 2007, a loss of 57,572 members and a 2.5 percent decrease from 2006. It’s the denomination’s largest membership loss in terms of numbers since 1981 and the steepest percentage loss since 1974, when it fell 2.7 percent.

The church has steadily been losing members since peaking at 4.25 million in the mid-1960s.

“Any decline in membership is a disappointment, to be sure, because those numbers represent members we know and love who are no longer part of our congregations,” said the Rev. Clifton Kirkpatrick, who is completing a 12-year term as stated clerk of the PCUSA.

Opinions differ about the cause for the decline, including controversies over homosexuality, low birth rates, an aging white population and a societal move away from institutions in general. Some congregations also have left for a more conservative Presbyterian denomination.


Gay rights advocates file suit to have amendment removed from ballot
SAN FRANCISCO — Gay rights advocates are asking California’s highest court to keep a measure that would again ban same-sex marriage off the November ballot.

Lawyers for Equality California filed a petition June 20 arguing that the initiative is invalid because it would revise the California Constitution, instead of amending it.

The petition also claims the measure should be disqualified because its effects were not made clear to voters who signed petitions to put it on the ballot.

The secretary of state has already certified the amendment for the fall election, so it can be removed only with a judge's order.


School district allows gay-friendly club rather than face lawsuit
RMO, S.C. — A South Carolina school district has voted to allow all student clubs rather than risk a lawsuit by banning a gay-friendly student organization.

But another part of the policy approved June 23 night by the Lexington-Richland School District 5 school board gives parents the option of not letting their minor children participate in any school club.

Another provision prohibits student clubs from discussing sexually explicit topics in keeping with the district’s abstinence-based curriculum.

The district had considered banning clubs that don’t relate to academics or sports to shut down a proposed group called the Gay-Straight Alliance.

Irmo High School principal Eddie Walker said last month he would quit at the end of the next school year because the group conflicts with his beliefs and religious convictions.


Lesbian couple complains about physician’s anti-gay comments
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — A local hospital is investigating a claim by a lesbian couple that a physician told them same-sex unions are contrary to his Christian beliefs.

The incident occurred at Spectrum Health’s South Pavilion in Cutlerville. Ashleigh

Haberman notified Spectrum by e-mail that she and her partner, Erica Schaub, had gone to the urgent care center for treatment of Schaub’s lingering cold.

Schaub told The Grand Rapids Press that the doctor asked who she was in relation to Schaub, and Schaub replied they were “life partners.”

“She didn’t even have that out of her mouth before he said, ‘So, what do you guys feel about your ruling in California?”’ Haberman recalled. “As soon as he looked at us, he knew we were gay, and he was looking for an opportunity to start that conversation.”

Haberman said they told the doctor they agreed with the ruling allowing gay couples to legally marry, and that they were married in Canada.

The doctor then allegedly said gay marriage “shouldn’t be called marriage” because it is a religious-based word and, as a Christian, he did not consider gay marriage legal, Haberman said.

Spectrum Health spokesman Bruce Rossman said, “We expect our physicians and staff to provide high quality care in a professional manner.”

Rossman declined to identify the doctor, who did not return calls from The Press for comment.

Haberman said she and Schaub did not want the doctor fired and do not plan to file a lawsuit. “I didn’t want it to happen to somebody else,” she said. “I’m not asking him to be OK with it. I’m asking him to do his job.”




These articles appeared in the Dallas Voice print edition June 27, 2008.



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