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SATURDAY • OCTOBER 11 • 2014
First same-sex union granted in Kansas Whether it will stand hangs in balance as state Supreme Court ruling puts licenses in limbo and ACLU files federal lawsuit By Peter Hancock Twitter: @LJWpqhancock
The American Civil Liberties Union filed suit Friday in federal court in Kansas City seeking to overturn the Kansas Constitution’s ban on same-sex marriage. The suit, filed on behalf of two lesbian couples in Douglas and Sedgwick counties, capped a day of hectic activity in the issue of
gay marriage in Kansas. Around 8:30 a.m., one samesex couple in Johnson County became the first in Kansas to receive a marriage license and be wed. Within hours of that, Attorney General Derek Schmidt filed a petition with the Kansas Supreme Court seeking to block state courts from issuing any
THE FIRST samesex couple married in Kansas, Angela and Kelli, pose in front of the Johnson County courthouse in Olathe. The two women, who did not wish to be identified by their full names, were issued a marriage license before 9 a.m. Friday and were married immediately afterward.
WHAT’S NEXT? A federal judge will decide early next week whether the Kansas Supreme Court’s stay on gay marriage will continue after the ACLU filed a lawsuit on behalf of two same-sex couples, including one from Douglas County.
Please see UNION, page 5A
Liz Dickinson/Piper Lucy Photography, courtesy Equality Kansas
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Home sales still strong, expected to stay that way By Chad Lawhorn Twitter: @clawhorn_ljw
Nick Krug/Journal-World Photo
SPOTLIGHTS SHINE ON JAYHAWKS FANS as they wait with anticipation while the team is introduced during Late Night in the Phog on Friday at Allen Fieldhouse. For more photos, go to KUSports.com/latenight2014.
More than two weeks before Kansas University’s men’s basketball team plays its first exhibition of the 2014-15 season, Jayhawks fans got a sneak peek at Friday’s Late Night in the Phog, which included head coach Bill Self dressed as flashy No. 1 pick Andrew Wiggins. SPORTS, 1C, 4C-5C
Lawrence’s real estate market in 2014 has cooled down some from its red-hot pace of the last couple of years, but sales are still strong and expected to be even stronger in 2015, local real estate agents were told by a Wichita economist on Friday. Lawrence home sales are projected to grow 3.8 percent in 2015, according to the latest forecast from Stan Longhofer, director of the Wichita State Center for Real Estate. The bigger question for 2015, though, may be whether Lawrence is poised for significant job growth. Longhofer said some preliminary statistics show the number of jobs in Douglas County have made some significant gains. “It is still early, but it looks like some new job growth we haven’t seen in quite some time,” said Longhofer, who was invited by the Lawrence Board of Realtors to provide a real estate forecast to its members. The numbers from the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics show that in 2013 there was an average of 46,391 people working in Douglas County during 2013. That’s up about 1.5 percent, or about 700 jobs, from the average in 2012. But more encouraging is that a good amount of that job growth showed up in the last quarter of 2013, and the first report for 2014 shows an even greater rate of job growth. The first quarter numbers show the average number of jobs in Douglas County is up 2.9 percent from the first quarter of 2013. Please see HOMES, page 2A
KU’s Sexual Assault Task Force sets schedule for rest of year By Sara Shepherd Twitter: @saramarieshep
Kansas University’s Sexual Assault Task Force outlined its schedule for the rest of the school year Friday, including a goal to present recommendations to the chancellor in April. Friday’s meeting was the second for the task force, which Chancellor Bernadette Gray-Little ordered in September amid
accusations that KU is failing to adequately investigate sexual assault and punish alleged assailants. Even though the group is scheduled to Gray-Little finalize recommendations late in the spring semester, task force co-chair-
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gram. Proposed guest speakers at task force meetings include representatives from GaDuGi SafeCenter and Willow Domestic Violence Center, KU Office of Institutional Opportunity and Access and organizations that deal with victim support. The task force spent most of Friday’s meeting in executive session with Rachel Rolf, an attorney for KU. Rolf said that portion of the
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woman Alesha Doan said she hopes members will begin making suggestions sooner. Doan is chairwoman of the Department of Women, Gender and Sexuality Studies and an associate professor of political science. The group’s tentative calendar features a field trip to the U.S. Army Sexual Harassment/Assault Response and Prevention Academy at Fort Leavenworth, to learn about the Army’s pro-
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meeting would be closed to the public because of attorneyclient privilege, as she would be giving task force members legal advice. Agenda items covered were KU’s jurisdiction, sanctions for on- and offcampus crimes and jurisdiction of KU’s Code of Student Rights and Responsibilities. — Enterprise reporter Sara Shepherd can be reached at sshepherd@ljworld.com or 832-7187.
Is Kansas next? Courts struck down voter ID laws in Texas and Wisconsin heading into the weekend in a case of judicial dominoes that could tip to Kansas. Page 5A
Vol.156/No.284 26 pages