Lesbian couple sues city over alleged beating by police in Iowa
DES MOINES, Iowa A lesbian couple who claim they were beaten by police are suing the city of Osceola and two officers.
Ann Senior, 39, of Centerville, and her partner, Jessica Anderson, 25, have accused two police officers of beating them outside Rookies Sports Bar & Grill in 2005. The women had called police to report a threat of men harassing them, court records show.
The women claim the officers, Rich Thomas and J.J. Murray, used excessive force and assaulted them. They are asking a federal judge to order the city to reimburse them for their medical bills and compensate them for emotional distress suffered because of the officers’ “prejudice against homosexual individuals and a desire to inflict harm upon them.”
The officers have been with the Osceola Police Department for about two years, said Police Chief Marty Duffus. He said they are still working and have no disciplinary history.
Anderson was charged with public intoxication and interference with official acts. Senior faced similar charges, plus a disorderly conduct charge. Both pleaded guilty to the charges.
However, they maintain they weren’t intoxicated, saying they only plead guilty after authorities told them they would be released from jail if they did so.
High school transgender misses out on prom king crown, still makes history
FRESNO, California A transgender candidate for prom king made an elegant appearance to the Fresno High School dance in a tuxedo, but missed winning the title, school officials said.
Cinthia Covarrubias, 17, identifies as transgender, an umbrella term that covers all people whose outward appearance and internal sense of being male or female does not match their gender at birth. Gay youth advocates believe it was the first time in the U.S. that an openly transgender student had run for prom royalty.
School officials added the teen’s name to the ballot for prom king Thursday, April 19, reversing a previous district protocol allowing only males to run for king and only females to run for prom queen. The district’s lawyers had recommended the change to comply with a state law protecting students’ ability to express their gender identity on campus.
Although she did not win, supporters still hailed Covarrubias’ campaign as a major victory for gender expression on campus.
“I hope this opens up something new,” Covarrubias said.
Oregon Republicans protest presence of Democrat’s lesbian lobbist partner on House floor
SALEM, Ore. House Republicans raised a stink Monday, April 22, because a lesbian lobbyist sat with her partner state Rep. Tina Kotek at her desk on the House floor the week before during a lengthy debate about gay rights.
Kotek and labor lobbyist Aimee Wilson sat together as the House passed bills to give same-sex couples the benefits of marriage and to outlaw discrimination based on sexual orientation. Kotek kissed Wilson on the cheek after the bills passed.
On Monday, the House Republican leader complained that Wilson’s presence violated House rules that prohibit lobbyists from being on the House floor while the chamber is in session. The GOP lawmaker also asked House Speaker Jeff Merkley and the House chief clerk’s office to investigate the matter.
Wilson, who’s a political organizer for the main public employee union, Local 503 of the Service Employees International Union, said she felt it was important to sit with Kotek as the House debate the domestic partners bill. She also questioned the timing of the GOP criticism a week after the House debate.
Jury decides on life sentence for South Dakota lesbian convicted of murder
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. Two members of a jury that convicted a deaf woman from Sioux Falls of murder this week say it didn’t take long to decide Daphne Wright should not get the death penalty.
The initial tally on the question of life in prison or lethal injection was seven in favor of life and at least four jurors undecided, the Argus Leader reported Friday, April 20, in a copyright story.
One juror says none of them favored the death penalty, but another juror says one member of the jury initially felt Wright should be executed.
Jurors agree, however, that they showed Wright more mercy than she showed her victim, Darlene VanderGiesen, who was either suffocated or died from a blow on the head early in February 2006. Her body was chopped up with a chain saw and dumped in two locations.
This article appeared in the Dallas Voice print edition, April 27, 2007.