U.S. to work against foreign anti-gay laws
WASHINGTON –Troubled by an anti-gay movement in Uganda and across much of the world, the U.S. is launching a new effort to combat what Secretary of State John Kerry described Wednesday as a threat to human rights.
Comparing a harsh Uganda law to oppressive government crackdowns on German Jews in the 1930s and black South Africans during apartheid, Kerry said he was going to direct American ambassadors to look at “how we deal with this human rights challenge on a global basis.” He said 80 nations worldwide have anti-gay laws on some levels, and he called the one in Uganda which punishes gay sex with up to life in prison “atrocious” and “flat out morally wrong.”
Judge rules against Texas’ gay marriage ban
AUSTIN, Texas – A federal judge declared a same-sex marriage ban in deeply conservative Texas unconstitutional Wednesday but will allow the nation’s second-most populous state to enforce the law pending an appeal that will likely go to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Judge Orlando Garcia issued the preliminary injunction after two gay couples challenged a state constitutional amendment and a longstanding law. His ruling is the latest in a tangled web of lawsuits across the country expected to end up in the Supreme Court next year.
“Without a rational relation to a legitimate governmental purpose, state-imposed inequality can find no refuge in our United States Constitution,” Garcia wrote.
Joint chiefs head warns of Afghanistan threat
BAGRAM AIR FIELD, Afghanistan – Depicting a grim future for Afghanistan without U.S. help, the top U.S. military officer said Wednesday that Afghanistan’s refusal to sign a security agreement with the United States may make the fight more difficult this year, embolden the enemy and prompt some Afghan security forces to cooperate with the Taliban to “hedge their bets.”
Army Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, spent the day with his commanders and troops in Afghanistan working to manage the after-effects of President Barack Obama’s order Tuesday to begin actively planning for a total withdrawal of U.S. troops by the end of the year.
In back-to-back meetings, he urged them to focus on the considerable military work they have to do and not worry about next year.
Dempsey said the possible exit of all U.S. troops was making Afghan military leaders anxious and eating away at their troops’ confidence. He said he spoke with some Afghan leaders after the Tuesday announcement and they told him they were doing all they could to get the agreement signed.
Associated Press
