Judge overturns ban on gay marriages
DETROIT – Michigan’s ban on gay marriage is unconstitutional, a federal judge said Friday as he struck down a law that was widely embraced by voters a decade ago – the latest in a recent series of decisions overturning similar prohibitions across the country.
U.S. District Judge Bernard Friedman released his 31-page ruling exactly two weeks after a rare trial that mostly focused on the impact of same-sex parenting on children.
He noted supporters of same-sex marriage believe the Michigan ban was at least partly the result of animosity toward gays and lesbians.
“Many Michigan residents have religious convictions whose principles govern the conduct of their daily lives and inform their own viewpoints about marriage,” Friedman said. “Nonetheless, these views cannot strip other citizens of the guarantees of equal protection under the law.”
Soldiers fire on crowd in African republic
BANGUI, Central African Republic – Witnesses say Burundian peacekeepers in Central African Republic have fired on a crowd in the capital to disrupt anti-Muslim violence, injuring at least six people.
Congolese Maj. Flavien Mulumbe said his peacekeepers helped transport the injured to a hospital after the violence in the capital, Bangui, Friday afternoon. He said four of the six injured were younger than 16.
The incident began when a Muslim man tried to carry out a transaction at a bank but was attacked by an angry mob, prompting the peacekeepers to respond.
Associated Press
