Issue 29 Volume 41
FRIDAY July 19, 2013 FREE! 25¢ in bookstores & newsstands
Celebrating 40 Years!
Candidate Ratings Sec 1, Page 5
Seattle Gay News SEATTLE’S LGBT NEWS & ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY
House Republicans surrender on marriage AP Photo / Alex Brandon
BLAG withdraws from bias suit in wake of DOMA decision
by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer Lawyers for the House Republican leadership have said their clients will no longer defend laws that define marriage in exclusively opposite-sex terms.
that two sections in Title 38 dealing with veterans’ benefits violate their equal protection and due process rights because they define “spouse” as “a person of the opposite sex.” The case was originally filed by Servicemembers Legal Defense
“The House has determined, in light of the Supreme Court’s opinion in Windsor, that it no longer will defend that statute.” In a July 18 court filing, lawyers for BLAG – the Bipartisan Legal Advisory Group set up by Republicans to defend DOMA in court – asked permission to withdraw as a defendant from a suit challenging DOMA and Title 38 of the U.S. Code. The plaintiffs, Army National Guard Maj. Shannon McLaughlin and her wife, Casey, argued
House Speaker John Boehner
Network (now known as OutServe-SLDN). In a July 17 filing, the plaintiffs argue that Windsor – the case in which the U.S. Supreme Court ruled a similar provision of DOMA unconstitutional – “is plainly dispositive,” meaning it invalidates the Title 38 language as see blag page 9
Her Majesty approves Being killed because Queen Elizabeth OKs marriage bill, which now becomes law by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer
Why Trayvon Martin matters to the LGBT community file photo
Photo by Dan Kitwood / Getty Images
Proponents of same-sex marriage outside the Houses of Parliament
Britain’s House of Commons Speaker John Bercow announced on July 17 that Queen Elizabeth II had given her “royal assent” to the country’s Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Bill. Royal assent is the last step necessary for the bill to become law, and same-sex marriages are expected to begin in the summer of 2014. Unlike bill-signings by the U.S. president, the queen’s assent does not take place in a public ceremony. The House of Commons finished its work on the bill, adopting some amendments proposed by the House of Lords, on July 16. Lords passed the measure on July 15 after weeks of debate. Lords who supported the measure wore pink carnations for the final vote. The House of Commons passed the bill on May 21. Although the bill was proposed by the Conservative–Liberal Democratic coalition government, the opposition Labour Party leadership also backed the proposal.
of what you are
Trayvon Martin
by Shaun Knittel SGN Associate Editor
The shooting of Trayvon Martin is a national tragedy that has left many Americans stunned and saddened. George Zimmerman, CONSERVATIVES DIVIDED a volunteer neighborhood watchPrime Minister and Conserva- man of a Florida community, was acquitted of all charges in the see uk marriage page 21 death of 16-year-old Martin, who
was confronted by Zimmerman as he walked to his father’s home in a gated community. Zimmerman, who admitted to fatally shooting the unarmed Black teenager, was not initially arrested or charged. After nearly six weeks of public outcry, prosecutors charged Zimmerman with see martin page 8