Audubon Center celebrates 30 years with activities, studio tour Local News, C-1
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DOMA decision sets off changes at church
Prep football: Los Alamos looks to shake its demons Sports, D-1
Sunday, August 25, 2013
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The Tyrone Copper Mine is one of several large copper pit mines in New Mexico. COURTESY PHOTOS
Some rewriting bylaws to avoid gay weddings By Travis Loller
The Associated Press
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Worried they could be sued by gay couples, some churches are changing their bylaws to reflect their view that the Bible allows only marriage between one man and one woman. Although there have been lawsuits against wedding industry businesses that refuse to serve gay couples, attorneys promoting the bylaw changes say they don’t know of any lawsuits against churches. Critics say the changes are unnecessary, but some churches fear that it’s only a matter of time before one of them is sued. “I thought marriage was always between one man and one woman, but the Supreme Court in a 5-4 decision said no,” said Gregory S. Erwin, an attorney for the Louisiana Baptist Convention, an association of Southern Baptist churches and one several groups advising churches to change their bylaws. “I think it’s better to be prepared because the law is changing. America is changing.” In a June decision, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a provision of the federal Defense of Marriage Act that defined marriage as between a man and a woman for purposes of federal law. A second decision was more technical but essentially ushered in legal gay marriage in California. Kevin Snider is an attorney with the Pacific Justice Institute, a nonprofit legal defense group that specializes in conservative Christian issues. His
Please see CHURCH, Page A-5
Popular site reopens Starting Monday, visitors to Bandelier National Monument will be able to climb to the Alcove House again. LOCAL NEwS, C-1
COPPER RULE
CONTROVERSY Proponents: Revised rules would streamline permitting process and protect groundwater better than current regulations BY STACI MATLOCK THE NEW MEXICAN
A
state water quality commission will soon vote on a proposed copper mining rule that some experts say violates state law, could upend New Mexico’s long efforts to protect groundwater and would give other industries in the state a loophole to pollute aquifers. Currently, state law prohibits pollution of groundwater above water quality standards by any industry, but the Environment Department has provided some exceptions through variances. The proposed new rule would let copper mine operations contaminate groundwater without variances, as long as the contamination was contained and fully removed up to state standards before the mine closed. Specifically, the change would allow Freeport-McMoRan Copper and Gold to contaminate groundwater beneath any of its Southern New Mexico mining properties, as long as it followed the containment and cleanup regulations. The copper mining industry and the Cabinet secretary for the state’s Environment Department contend the rule will streamline the permitting process and is more protective of groundwater than current regulations.
Please see COPPER RULE, Page A-4
The Santa Rita Mine is a large open-pit copper mine in the Silver City area.
Is King’s dream a reality? In changed city, yes and no INSIDE
By Sharon Cohen
The Associated Press
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — When he boarded a Greyhound bus on his way to Princeton University, Glennon Threatt promised himself he’d never come back here. As a young black man, he saw no chance to fulfill his dreams in a city burdened by the ghosts of its segregated past. Helen Shores Lee left Birmingham years earlier, making the same pledge not to return.
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Calendar A-2
u Tens of thousands march on National Mall ahead of anniversary. PAgE A-2
A daughter of a prominent civil rights lawyer, she wanted to escape a city tarnished by Jim Crow laws — the “white” and “colored” fountains, the segregated bus seating, the daily indignities she rebelled against as a child. Both changed their minds. They returned from their
Classifieds E-9
Opponents: Changes would upend years of efforts to protect groundwater and would pave way for other industries to pollute aquifers
Lotteries A-2
self-imposed exile and built successful careers — he as an assistant federal public defender, she as a judge — in a Birmingham transformed by a revolution a half century ago. This week, as the nation marks the 50th anniversary of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have A Dream” speech, there may be no better place than Birmingham to measure the progress that followed the civil rights leader’s historic call
Please see DREAM, Page A-6
Neighbors C-7
Opinions B-1
Today
Obituaries
Sunny to partly cloudy. High 83, low 59.
Not all home improvement projects boost the value of a house on the market.
Stephen Phillip Easley, 60, Aug. 14 Walter Gallegos, 83, Las Cruces, Aug. 20 Eleanor Gene Keesing, 88, Aug. 5 Silvia E. Ortiz, 59, Rio Rancho, Aug. 22 Lore Ribas, 87, Ojo Sarco, Aug. 17 Anthony M. Russo, 82, Santa Fe, Aug. 22
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Interim Editor: Bruce Krasnow, 986-3034, bkrasnow@sfnewmexican.com Design and headlines: Kristina Dunham, kdunham@sfnewmexican.com
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39th annual Santa Fe Bluegrass and Old Time Music Festival Headliners Claire Lynch Band and Foghorn Stringband, New Mexico bands include Hard Road Trio, Lost Howlin’ Coyotes and the Bill Hearne Trio, 9 a.m.-4 p.m., Santa Fe County Fairgrounds, 3229 Rodeo Road, $15-$40 in advance at southwestpickers-festival.org More events in Calendar, A-2 and Fridays in Pasatiempo
Six sections, 76 pages 164th year, No. 237 Publication No. 596-440