In Brief

Staff Reports

Federal Judge Rules Denial of Same-Sex Benefits is Discrimination

SAN FRANCISCO -- Chief U.S. District Judge James Ware has ruled on that the denial of insurance benefits to same-sex couples is discriminatory. Ware wrote in his opinion;"the denial of insurance benefits based on the sexual orientation and gender...violated the federal court's guarantee of a "discrimination-free workplace."

According to the San Fransisco Chronicle, this DOMA related new ruling involves Christopher Nathan, a law clerk for U.S. Magistrate Maria Elena James. Nathan, 38, of San Francisco, married Thomas Alexander, 39, in a ceremony performed by James in 2008, when same-sex marriages were legal in California. Later, voters approved Proposition 8, overturning the state Supreme Court ruling that had legalized same-sex marriages.

But when Nathan tried last year to enroll Alexander in the federal government's health insurance plan, he was turned down by the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts because the 1996 law bars federal recognition of same-sex unions.

Ware's ruling creates a problem for the court's Chief Clerk Richard Wieking. Wieking pointed out that directives from the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts require federal court clerks to comply with the Defense of Marriage Act. Weiking told the Chronicle that he will turn the matter of compliance with Ware's ruling over to the Administrative Office.

On Wednesday, a Massachusetts appeals court heard arguments involving yet another challenge to the 1996 law.

According to the Washington Blade, the Gill v. Office of Personnel Management case challenged DOMA’s definition of the word ‘marriage’ as meaning only a legal union between one man and one woman as husband and wife, and the word ‘spouse’ referring only to a person of the opposite sex who is a husband or a wife."

The First Circuit Court of Appeals is expected to rule on Gill v. Office of Personnel Management within a couple of months.

MPAA Lowers Rating to PG-13 For The Documentary Movie Bully

Alex Libby from 'Bully' The Weinstein Company

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA -- An announcement made Thursday by the film production and distribution Weinstein Company that after weeks of conflict with the Motion Picture Association of America, the controversial film Bully will be released with a PG-13 rating.

A spokesman for the company in its New York offices said that it would re-edit the film, the edits will consist of removing three of the movie’s six F-words. However he said; "These edits do not involve a key scene in which teenager Alex Libby was verbally harassed on a school bus."

He also noted that; "the new rating, which came about with the great support from MPAA Chairman Chris Dodd, grants the schools, organizations and cities all around the country who are lined up and ready to screen BULLY, including the National Education Association and the Cincinnati School District, the opportunity to share this educational tool with their children."

The movie was made in an effort to instruct young people, particularly middle and high schooler pupils, that violence and harassment of their peers or others is not acceptable behaviour.

Support for the film has come from every aspect of society, one review noting that the film should be required viewing for everyone ages 8 to 18.

In a recent interview with the McClatchy-Tribune News Service, the movie's director, Lee Hirsch, says he makes no apologies for the film's heart wrenching honesty.

"It's very different from the days when "The Andy Griffith Show" was dealing with it, and yet bullying is still the same. What's changing are attitudes about it. In the past, my father was saying, "That's life, kid. Suck it up. Stand up for yourself." The sense was that this was a rite of passage. People are challenging that," Hirsch said. 

 Bully is scheduled to open nationwide on April 13th.