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LANSING,
Mich.
(AP)
—
Local
governments
and
the
state
won’t
be
able
to
provide
benefits
for
same-sex
partners
of
employees
in
future
contracts
now
that
voters
have
approved
a
constitutional
ban
on
gay
marriage,
the
state’s
attorney
general
said
last
week.
In
the
first
legal
interpretation
of
Proposal
2,
Attorney
General
Mike
Cox
wrote
in
an
opinion
that
Kalamazoo’s
policy
of
offering
health
and
retirement
benefits
to
same-sex
partners
violates
the
amendment.
Voters
passed
the
measure
59
percent
to
41
percent
in
November.
Cox,
a
Republican,
said
his
decision
does
not
apply
to
existing
contracts.
In
the
absence
of
a
ruling
from
a
court,
the
attorney
general’s
interpretation
of
the
law
generally
is
binding,
Cox
spokeswoman
Allison
Pierce
said.
However,
the
Michigan
Court
of
Appeals
could
hear
a
Proposal
2-based
challenge
to
same-sex
benefits
early
next
month.
The
city
of
Kalamazoo
was
reviewing
Cox’s
opinion
and
issued
no
further
statement.
BURLINGTON,
Vt.
(AP)
—
A
man
will
be
allowed
to
continue
broadcasting
a
cable
television
show
that
celebrates
Nazis,
insults
blacks
and
gays
and
has
shown
videos
of
the
beheadings
of
hostages
in
Iraq.
The
board
of
the
Community
Access
cable
channel
decided
that
John
Long’s
show
is
ugly
and
confrontational,
but
he
has
a
right
to
produce
the
program
and
use
Channel
15
as
his
broadcasting
“soapbox.”
They
pointed
to
Vermont
Community
Access
Media’s
mission
to
support
“unfettered
free
speech”
and
“public
dialogue.”
Long
bills
himself
as
“Mr.
Happy.”
He
aims
his
Community
Access
television
program,
“How
Do
You
Like
Me
Now?”
at
what
he
calls
“scumbag”
liberals.
Four
viewers,
however,
said
Long’s
program
amounted
to
an
abuse
of
free
speech.
They
presented
the
board
with
a
petition
signed
by
250
other
viewers
demanding
“more
stringent”
programming
guidelines.
HELENA
(AP)
—
The
state
Board
of
Regents
unanimously
approved
a
new
insurance
policy
last
week
that
will
allow
Montana
university
system
employees
to
obtain
group
health
coverage
for
gay
and
lesbian
partners.
The
state
Supreme
Court
in
December
struck
down
the
board’s
previous
policy
that
prohibited
coverage
of
same-sex
partners
of
university
system
employees
and
allowed
coverage
for
married,
heterosexual
couples.
Supporters
praised
the
shift
in
policy
as
a
fair
and
necessary
adjustment.
“Students
overwhelmingly
were
in
support
of
extending
benefits,”
Regent
Kala
French
said.
“This
is
something
where
you
need
to
put
aside
your
feelings
personally
about
certain
lifestyles
and
do
what
you
feel
is
right
as
an
employer.”
Under
the
new
policy,
group
health
insurance
coverage
can
be
extended
to
one
adult
dependent
of
a
university
system
employee
at
an
additional
premium
of
about
$160
a
month.
SAN
FRANCISCO
—
Some
U.S.
Indian
tribes
are
debating
whether
to
accept
gay
marriage,
Reuters
reported.
“What
goes
on
in
Indian
nations
now
is
a
microcosm
of
what
is
going
on
across
the
country,”
David
Cornsilk,
a
Cherokee
who
represents
two
lesbians
in
a
prominent
case
before
an
American
Indian
court,
told
Reuters.
A
legislator
in
Navajo
Nation,
the
largest
Indian
reservation
in
the
country,
called
for
a
ban
on
gay
marriage
weeks
ago,
according
to
Reuters.
Native
Americans
have
traditionally
tolerated
gay
behavior,
but
that
attitude
changed
when
Europeans
arrived
in
North
America,
Reuters
reported.
“American
Indians
firmly
believe
from
forever
that
procreation
was
essential
for
survival,
but
you
could
play
with
anybody,”
Lester
Brown,
a
Cherokee
and
author
of
“Two
Spirit
People:
American
Indian
Lesbian
Women
&
Gay
Men,”
told
Reuters.
“Christianity
ruined
a
lot
of
it.
The
religious
groups
that
were
trying
to
proselytize
with
the
Indians
could
not
accept
those
different
people.”
Cherokee
leaders
now
are
set
to
debate
the
case
of
a
lesbian
couple
who
obtained
a
tribal
marriage
application
last
year,
prompting
the
tribe
to
ban
gay
marriage
and
then
refuse
to
recognize
the
union,
Reuters
reported.
SALT
LAKE
CITY
(AP)
—
A
prominent
Utah
gay
activist
and
philanthropist
has
agreed
to
match
$100,000
in
funds
to
help
resuscitate
a
financially
struggling
activity
center
for
the
state’s
gay
community.
The
pledge
from
Park
City
resident
Beano
Solomon
last
week
is
the
largest
individual
donation
the
Gay
Lesbian
Bisexual
Transgender
Community
Center
of
Utah
has
received
in
its
32-year
history.
The
Salt
Lake-based
facility
serves
as
a
meeting
place
for
about
30
different
groups.
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