Philly Boots Scouts Over Gays

Battling city over eviction for barring gays

(NEWSER) - The Philadelphia chapter of the Boy Scouts of America is locked in a legal battle with the city over the group's refusal to enroll gays. Philadelphia gave the Scouts an ultimatum to quit their historic city-owned headquarters—or pay a new fair-market annual rent of $200,000. The Scouts have responded with a federal civil rights lawsuit and are digging in for a long battle, reports the Philadelphia Inquirer. More»

Jennifer Tyrrell launches petition for policy shift

(NEWSER) - Earlier this month, a Cub Scout den leader and mom was removed from her post because she's gay. Now she has launched a campaign to change the organization's policy. When Jennifer Tyrrell became a leader in Bridgeport, Ohio, she was aware of the Boy Scouts' rules against openly-homosexual members, but a Cubmaster told her it wouldn't be an issue at the local level. "He said they would stand hand in hand with us and stand behind us all the way," she tells MSNBC . More»

Gay-rights case he opposed doesn't ring a bell

(NEWSER) - Rick Perry drew a blank yesterday when asked about a Supreme Court landmark decision that struck down Texas' anti-sodomy law during his time as governor. Perry—who defended the law ahead of the Lawrence vs Texas case, and mentioned it in his latest book—said he didn't know about the case when an audience member at an Iowa campaign stop asked him how his support of the law squared with his support of limited government, the Austin American-Statesman reports. More»

Prop. 8 case could set stage for Supreme Court battle

(NEWSER) - California’s ban on gay marriage gets another day in court: The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals will hear arguments related to August's ruling that Prop 8 is unconstitutional today, likely moving the issue closer to the Supreme Court, the Wall Street Journal reports. There won’t be new evidence or witnesses presented to a trio of judges, who will focus on legal issues involved—including whether backers of the ban have legal grounds to fight a lower court’s decision that called it unconstitutional. More»

(AP) - The Supreme Court has turned down a challenge to the Defense Department policy forbidding gays and lesbians from serving openly in the military, granting a request by the Obama administration. The court won't hear an appeal from Army Capt. James Pietrangelo II, who was dismissed under the "don't ask, don't tell" policy. More»