Darnell “Dynasty” Young and his mother, Chelisa Grimes, are seeking unspecified damages. Young became the target of bullies after transferring last year to Arsenal Technical High School. The openly gay 17 year old was harassed by classmates who followed him home, spread rumors about his sexual activities, and threw bottles at him.
Young’s mother reported the harassment to school officials several times, but was told that administrators were powerless to act because her son wasn’t able to identify his tormentors. School principal Larry Yarrell is reported to have said, “If you wear female apparel, then kids are kids and they’re going to say whatever it is that they want to say. Because you want to be different and because you choose to wear female apparel, it may happen.”
Grimes gave him the stun gun for his protection. On April 16, after a group of students threatened to attack him, Young, frightened for his life, fired the weapon into the air, drawing the attention of school security personnel, who arrested him. In May, an arbitrator ruled in favor of expulsion, effective through January 2013. The district later reduced the penalty to allow Young to start classes in the fall, which must be attended at an alternative school.
The suit claims that the Indianapolis Public Schools discriminated against Young because, despite repeated complaints, they failed to protect him from bullies, who taunted him because of his sexual identity. “Rather than take effective measures to protect him, school staff told him that he was to blame for the harassment because of his appearance, and told him to change his dress and behavior to conform to stereotypical ideas of masculinity and to be less ‘flamboyant,’” the suit states.
]]>wing Indiana Family Institute were upset when they found out that, for the first time, the Indiana police force will march in the city’s gay pride parade.
According to television station WXIN FOX-59, Ryan McCann of The Indiana Family Institute warned:
“The majority of Hoosiers and probably the majority of folks in Indianapolis if they actually went to the gay pride parade and see the activities that goes on there would be shocked to see our taxpayer dollars going to have our men and women in uniform through the police and fire department march in that kind of a parade.”
IMPD spokesperson Linda Jackson says the department doesn’t think having officers march in the parade is controversial. “I don’t think it’s an issue of the politics or an issue of anything like that. This is a parade that we would participate in.”
]]>Perhaps no state more than California expresses the confusion over the topic of marriage equality in the United States.
The status of same-sex marriage in California is unique among the 50 U.S. states, in that the state formerly granted marriage licenses to same-sex couples, but has discontinued doing so. The period of granting such licenses began on June 16, 2008, due to a ruling by the Supreme Court of California based on an equal protection argument and ended November 5, 2008, due to the passage of Proposition 8, an amendment to the California Constitution that limited marriages to those between one man and one woman. Before the passage of Proposition 8, California was only the second state to allow same-sex marriage. Marriages performed prior to the passage of Prop 8 remain legally recognized and retain full state-level marriage rights.
On August 4, 2010, federal judge Vaughn R. Walker, a conservative judge appointed to the federal bench by President H.W. Bush, declared the ban unconstitutional but temporarily stayed his ruling. On August 6, 2010, both sides submitted legal briefs to Judge Walker arguing for or against a long-term stay of the ruling. On August 12, 2010, Judge Walker had scheduled to lift his stay. On August 16, 2010, 9th Circuit Court of Appeals granted the motion to stay, ordered expedited briefing on the merits of the appeal, and directed the parties to brief the issue of why the appeal should not be dismissed for lack of standing. On August 17, 2010, the same Ninth Circuit panel ordered appeals calendared for oral argument during the week of December 6, 2010, in San Francisco. The Ninth Circuit has now requested the California Supreme Court to rule on an issue related to whether the Ninth Circuit has jurisdiction to hear the case.
Same-sex marriage remains a contentious issue within the state, with samesex marriage supporters trying to get another ballot initiative in the 2012 election to return the state to granting marriage licenses to same-sex couples.
Currently, five states (Connecticut, Iowa, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont) and the District of Columbia do allow same sex unions.. However, the U.S. government does not recognize these marriages on a federal level. The states of New York, New Jersey, Maryland, and Rhode Island do not permit same-sex marriages, but do recognize same-sex marriages performed in other states.
California, Oregon, Nevada, Washington, Illinois, Colorado, Wisconsin, Maryland and Maine have bans on same-sex marriage but permit, on a state-by-state basis, certain rights such as limited rights or civil union rights. Thirty-one states have constitutional bans on same-sex marriage and/or civil unions of any kind, including Florida.
This year, there has been some movement along the lines of marriage equality:
RHODE ISLAND – The Rhode Island State House Judiciary Committee recently held hearings on a bill to permit same-sex marriage in that state.
The hearings on the bill included public statements: 137 people spoke in favor of the bill, 60 against. The next step is for the committee of vote on the bill which expected to pass which would then be passed on to the entire State House for discussion and vote.
HAWAII – The governor of Hawaii is expected to sign into law this week a civil unions law granting its residents full rights and privileges of marriage without actually using the term “marriage”. This bill will take effect January 1, 2012. In 1997, Hawaii was the first state to offer Reciprocal Beneficiaries which permitted same-sex couples access to a limited number of rights and benefits on a state level.
ILLINOIS – The governor of Illinois has signed a civil union law which will take effect June 1, 2011 giving its residents the full rights of marriage. Though there has been a momentum toward same-sex civil unions, there has also been movement against:
IOWA – Republican members of the Iowa House have proposed an amendment to the state’s constitution to say that “marriage between one man and one woman shall be the only legal union valid or recognized in this state.” Iowa already permits same-sex marriage. With a 60-40 Republican majority in the House, the amendment is considered certain to pass. However, it faces long odds in the Democratic-controlled Senate, where the leadership has consistently said they will never allow it to come up for a vote.
INDIANA – Republican lawmakers in Indiana have resumed pushing for a constitutional amendment that would shore up an existing state law banning gay marriage. A GOP-ruled House committee voted 8-4 along party lines recently to advance the proposal, which now moves to the full House for consideration. The amendment states that only marriage between one man and one woman is valid in Indiana, and prohibits civil unions by stating that a legal status “substantially similar” to marriage for unmarried people is not valid.
Bob Kecskemety is the News
Editor of the Florida Agenda.
Bob can be readed at
editor@FloridaAgenda.com