News

OVERLAND PARK, Kan. — A pair of Christian diners stiffed their 20-year-old server at Carraba’s Italian restaurant in Overland Park, Kansas, on the grounds that his homosexuality is “an affront to God.”

INDIANAPOLIS — Efforts to defeat an upcoming bid by Indiana lawmakers to add a same-sex marriage ban to the state constitution received a major boost this week when the Indianapolis Chamber of Commerce said it will oppose the ban.

DES MOINES, Iowa — Activist organizations spent $833,000 in Iowa last year trying to influence voters to decide whether to keep an Iowa Supreme Court judge who supported same-sex marriage, according to a new report that analyzed spending by special-interest groups and political parties.

The Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund has announced its annual “Races to Watch” list featuring openly LGBT candidates, naming 10 candidates involved in groundbreaking runs for political office this year. Victory has endorsed a total of 85 out candidates for 2013, an all-time high for an odd numbered year.

OKLAHOMA CITY — Darren Black Bear hasn’t thought too much about his upcoming nuptials. Maybe khaki pants, and he doesn’t mind if guests show up in Halloween costumes even though the wedding will be a rare sight: He and his partner are getting legally married in Oklahoma even though the state bans same-sex marriage.

LANSING, Mich. — Michigan governor Rick Snyder is so focused on jobs that he remains unable to articulate an opinion on whether he supports or opposes expanding civil rights protections based on sexual orientation.

WHEELING, Ill. — Gov. Pat Quinn says he’s not discouraged that Illinois lawmakers came away from two days of their fall veto session without tackling any of the major issues on their agenda.

VANCOUVER, Wash. — An 11-year-old boy who took a gun and ammunition to his middle school heard voices in his head telling him to shoot another boy that he thought was bullying his friend, police said in a court document released Thursday.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The Boy Scouts of America’s continued ban on gay Scout leaders has caused ripple effects in central Kentucky, where a United Way chapter has cut off nearly $100,000 in annual funding to a regional scouting council in response to the national scouting policy.

FALLS CHURCH, Va. — This fall’s races for governor in Virginia and New Jersey offer a revealing window into the fight for the future of the Republican Party.