TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas is as reliably Republican as any state, but its capital city has taken a small step toward protecting gays and lesbians from discrimination. The Topeka City Council last week approved an ordinance prohibiting bias based on sexual orientation in city hiring or employment. Many activists had hoped the council would enact a broader ordinance against discrimination in housing, lending and private employment and were disappointed. Yet a few took a bit of comfort in the small progress they did perceive. Part of it was timing. Council action Nov. 16 came two weeks after President Bush carried Kansas with 62 percent of the vote, his re-election and GOP fortunes bolstered by support from conservative Christians. In Shawnee County, which is home to Topeka, Bush carried 54 percent of the vote. “We've just come out of an election that was very bruising to the gay community,” said Matt Foreman, executive director of the National Gay & Lesbian Task Force. “This small step by the Topeka City Council just shows that we are going to keep making progress.”

Va. lawmaker leads House move to support Boy Scouts
FREDERICKSBURG, Va. (AP) — U.S. Rep. Jo Ann Davis joined in the effort to reverse the Pentagon's decision to end support for Boy Scout troops sponsored by military bases. She has plenty of colleagues who feel the same way: By a 391-3 vote, the House on Saturday commended the Boy Scouts and condemned legal efforts to limit government ties to the group because of its requirement that members believe in God. The 1st District Republican has asked Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld to reconsider the concession to the American Civil Liberties Union, which Davis described in a statement as an “extreme group bent on pursuing a political agenda.” An ACLU lawsuit has challenged the relationship, saying the Defense Department shouldn't support an organization that discriminates based on religion because Scouts are required to believe in God.

Cincinnati convention board targets groups concerned about gay rights
CINCINNATI (AP) — City tourism officials are targeting groups that had previously taken their convention business elsewhere because of a charter provision banning laws protecting gay people from discrimination. Cincinnatians voted to repeal the 11-year-old Article XII this month after city and business leaders warned that it was harming the city's economy. Last week, the Greater Cincinnati Convention & Visitors Bureau sent letters to 200 groups that cited gay rights issues as a reason for not hosting meetings in Cincinnati. And bureau representatives are considering meeting with eight groups that canceled scheduled events in Cincinnati after voters approved the amendment in 1993. Those conventions had been expected to bring $25 million to the area. “We'll follow up with every group that canceled,” said Alan Welch, interim bureau president. Some groups say repealing the amendment could be the first step toward bringing their business back.

Gay marriage supporters accept ban, plan civil union push in Ore. instead
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Proponents of gay marriage are conceding that a voter-approved ban on same-sex marriage shuts the door to state-sanctioned nuptials between gay and lesbian couples — at least for now. But they are claiming that the ban does not invalidate the marriages of the 2,961 gay and lesbian couples who tied the knot in Oregon earlier this year, when Multnomah County briefly permitted gay marriage, before a judge stopped the practice. Nor does it shut the door to civil unions, according to legal briefs filed with the Oregon Supreme Court by the American Civil Liberties Union on Nov. 18. That contention is a scaled-back argument for gay rights advocates in Oregon, who had previously argued that marriage was the only avenue that could ensure full protection for gay and lesbian couples.

Amid debate on gay unions, some urge broader look at state of marriage
NEW YORK (AP) — “Protection of marriage” is now the watchword for many activists fighting to prevent gays and lesbians from marrying. Some conservatives, however, say marriage in America began unraveling long before the latest gay-rights push and are pleading for a fresh, soul-searching look at the institution. “When you talk about protecting marriage, you need to talk about divorce,” said Bryce Christensen, a Southern Utah University professor who writes frequently about family issues. While Christensen doesn't oppose the campaign to enact state and federal bans on gay marriage, he worries it's distracting from immediate threats to marriage's place in society. “If those initiatives are part of a broader effort to reaffirm lifetime fidelity in marriage, they're worthwhile,” he said. “If they're isolated — if we don't address cohabitation and casual divorce and deliberate childlessness — then I think they're futile and will be brushed aside.”

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