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ACLU Takes On 'Unconstitutional' Arrest
As in the Larry Craig cruising case, the ACLU says the police overstepped their bounds and violated Penland's constitutional rights. Floridian ACLU lawyer Robert Rosenwald tells Express Gay News: The charge is brazenly unconstitutional. ACLU officials say Penland, who has been married for 17-years, could sue the police department, but most probably won't come out to do it. When news of the arrest broke earlier this month, Penland has stepped down as a youth counselor at St. Gregory's in Boca Raton and later resigned from the church entirely. He'll appear in court for a hearing on November 7th. |
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Romero and his constitution loving friends at the American Civil Liberties Union issued a "friend of the court" brief in disgraced Idaho Senator Larry Craig's defense. In a related-statement, ACLU executive director Romero said, The real motive behind secret sting operations like the one that resulted in Senator Craig’s arrest is not to stop people from inappropriate activity. It is to make as many arrests as possible – arrests that sometimes unconstitutionally trap innocent people. If the police really want to stop people from having sex in public bathrooms, they should put up a sign banning sex in the restroom and send in a uniformed officer to patrol periodically. That works. |
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Desperate to feed their collective habit, Mangini and Roberts started selling the illegal drug. And, as happens, landed in jail. |
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(Ha Ha...)
• Perez Hilton to be televised. Preemptive barf. • Gay Australian judge Michael Kirby asked PM John Howard to change his backward stance on gay benefits: "Johan has put up with me for 38 years, and if I died he’d get nothing." |
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Evans Get Nabbed For Signs
The ACLU swore St. Petersburg authorities were violating both the gays' and anti-gays' freedom of speech. The police didn't seem to care, however, because they arrested five people during this weekend's pride - four of whom were anti-gay priders and "violated" the free speech zones… |
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Documentary Goes To Prison
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Florida Officials Ponder "Free Speech Zones," ACLU Cries Foul
While this may sound like a perfectly fine idea, the ordinance will violate the Supreme Court's 1995 case, Hurley v. Irish American Gay, Lesbian and Bisexual Group. It its ruling, the Court ruled that St. Patrick Parade organizers can ban gays because a parade constitutes an expression of free speech. Gays, then, cannot interfere with the organizers' vision. Baker and Harmon, however, chose to ignore that ruling when they endorsed a new city ordinance allowing for unregulated "free speech zones". These zones will be determined on an event-to-event basis. In this particular case, not only would homophobes be allowed to bark their objections in the midst of the fag's festivities, gays can be arrested for expressing their opinion outside predetermined districts. |
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And Eastern Europe Got Worked Over
• Inside the steamy world of the LA's homo-hop club scene: Most clubs have kind of a clubby atmosphere. First Fridayz LA is more of a party, a gathering, social networking and dancing to hip-hop music. We do it at non-traditional gay clubs so someone who is not in the life or [someone who is] in the life can come and experience this without being intimidated. It’s not a traditional gay club.” • ACLU's gay executive director Anthony D. Romero on torture. • 20-year old former marine James Hardy pleaded guilty to strangling Raymond Catolico and then stuffing his body under a sink. Hardy's been sentenced to 15 years in prison. |
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That's what James Dustin (pictured) found out the hard way. It seem that they consider the risk of blood-to-blood contact between masseur and client to be so high, that Dustin has qualified as a "direct threat" to HIV transmission. As such, he can't get official permission to practice his sensual craft.
Obviously this is direct discrimination and, as they're wont to do, the ACLU has joined the fight in over-turning the HIV qualification. ACLU Legal Director Beth Littrell says, "Any administrative action that categorically denies people to practice their trade, that has no foundation in public safety and public health, is blatantly prejudicial." We have to ask: is the License and Permits Unit really concerned about blood-to-blood contact? We're more inclined to think they're worried about the semen. No one asks for a bloody ending, now do they? |