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Ugandan court invalidates anti-gay law

BY RODNEY MUHUMUZA

ASSOCIATED PRESS

KAMPALA, Uganda -- A Ugandan court on Friday invalidated an anti-gay bill signed into law earlier this year, saying the measure is illegal because it was passed during a parliamentary session that lacked a quorum.

The panel of five judges on the East African country's Constitutional Court said the speaker of parliament acted illegally when she allowed a vote on the measure despite at least three objections — including from the country's prime minister — over a lack of a quorum when the bill was passed on Dec. 20.

"The speaker was obliged to ensure that there was a quorum," the court said in its ruling. "We come to the conclusion that she acted illegally."

The ruling was made before a courtroom packed with Ugandans opposing or supporting the measure. Activists erupted in loud cheers after the court ruled the law is now "null and void."

The anti-gay measure provided for jail terms of up to life for those convicted of engaging in gay sex. It also allowed lengthy jail terms for those convicted of the offenses of "attempted homosexuality" as well as "promotion of homosexuality."

Frank Mugisha, a Ugandan gay leader, said the ruling Friday was a "step forward" for gay rights even though he was concerned about possible retaliation.

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Busted ASAP: Orlando man charged with grand theft, accused of predatory towing at 2014 Gay Days

ASSOCIATED PRESS

ORLANDO -- Authorities have arrested a man they say illegally towed cars during Orlando's 2014 Gay Days celebration.

Orange County Sheriffs deputies arrested 45 year-old Jason Combs for towing more than 100 vehicles between June 5 and June 9. The annual festivities draw tens of thousands to the area. The arrest comes after numerous complaints that Combs' ASAP Towing company targeted victims based on their sexual orientation.

Combs' attorney did not immediately respond to email and phone messages left by The Associated Press Saturday. Authorities say ASAP Towing made at least $16,000 towing the cars but lacked permission to do so. Investigators are also looking into collusion with cab companies who lined up to take the drivers to the tow lot. Combs is charged with 29 counts of grand theft auto.

Virginia police want photos of boy's erect penis - to help prove sexting case against the teenager

A 17-year-old boy from Manassas City, Va., is facing child porn charges, accused of sexting a video of his penis to his 15-year-old girlfriend.

From the Washington Post:

Manassas City police and Prince William County prosecutors want to take a photo of his erect penis, possibly forcing the teen to become erect by taking him to a hospital and giving him an injection, the teen’s lawyers said.

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Battery, attempted murder charges filed in shooting at UM campus

BY AYANA STEWART

ASTEWART@MIAMIHERALD.COM

A 35-year-old woman is facing felony charges after allegedly trying to shoot an employee inside the University of Miami School of Communication building Friday morning.

The incident happened around 11:45 a.m. on the final day of Summer A testing. According to Coral Gables police, Yasmien Love entered the building’s equipment room intending to kill a victim identified only as Landess. According to the university website, a man named Tod Landess works as a production equipment supervisor in the School of Communication.

Love has been charged with one count of premeditated murder, one count of aggravated battery and one count of discharging a firearm on school property. Police originally said no one was injured during the altercation, but according to the Coral Gables Police report, Love bit Landess and hit him with an unidentified object.

Love told police she arrived at the university with a gun and waited until Landess got to work. Then, they struggled over the gun and a round was discharged. She told investigators she wanted to kill herself in front of Landess because of their recent breakup.

Love identifies as female, but Coral Gables police identified her as a male on the affidavit. Police spokeswoman Kelly Denham said Saturday that Love’s driver’s license lists her gender as male, which is what the police based their report on.

“It’s a very delicate situation,” she said.

The altercation resulted in a temporary campus lock-down due to the firearm discharge. No other injuries were reported.

Hollywood stars boycott Beverly Hills Hotel over Sultan's ties to harsh new laws in Brunei

BY SANDY COHEN

AP ENTERTAINMENT WRITER

LOS ANGELES -- Hollywood is responding to harsh new laws in the tiny Southeast Asia nation of Brunei by boycotting the Beverly Hills Hotel.

The Motion Picture & Television Fund joined a growing list of organizations and individuals Monday refusing to do business with hotels owned by the sultan or government of Brunei. They're protesting the country's new Islamic Shariah criminal law that calls for punishing adultery, abortions and same-sex relationships with flogging and stoning.

The Motion Picture & Television Fund says it won't hold its annual Night Before the Oscar party at the hotel as it has for many years.

Brunei's Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah, who owns the Beverly Hills Hotel, has praised his country's new laws as a "great achievement."

"The decision to implement the (Shariah penal code) is not for fun but is to obey Allah's command as written in the Quran," the sultan said last week.

Brunei, a conservative country where alcohol is banned and Muslim courts already govern family affairs, began phasing in its version of Shariah that allows for penalties such as amputation for theft and stoning for adultery. Most of the punishments can be applied to non-Muslims, who account for about one-third of the 440,000 people in the oil-rich country.

The most severe punishments — flogging, amputation and stoning — are to be introduced over the next two years.

Others boycotting the Sultan's Dorchester Collection of hotels include Richard Branson's Virgin Group; the Hollywood Reporter, which traditionally holds a starry media breakfast at the Beverly Hills Hotel; and the Feminist Majority Foundation, which moved its annual Global Women's Rights Awards on Monday from the Beverly Hills Hotel to the nearby Hammer Museum.

Mavis Leno, co-chair with husband Jay Leno of the Global Women's Rights Awards, said the new penalties for adultery, abortion and homosexuality in Brunei "violate international law and have no place in civilized society."

Tampa Bay man gets six months for shooting BB gun at gay marcher in St. Pete Pride parade

ASSOCIATED PRESS

CLEARWATER, Fla. -- A Tampa Bay area man has been sentenced to six months in jail for shooting a gay man with a BB gun during a gay pride parade last summer.

A Pinellas County judge sentenced 21-year-old Cornelius Davis on Wednesday. He pleaded guilty last week to felony battery. He initially faced a charge of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon.

Police say Davis was yelling homophobic slurs at a group of men marching at St. Pete Pride last June when he fired the BB gun at them. One man was hit, but officials said he wasn't seriously injured.

Davis later acknowledged that he was upset by how little clothing some of the marchers were wearing.

Brunei embraces strict Islamic laws, including stonings for homosexuality, amputations for theft

ASSOCIATED PRESS

BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN, Brunei -- Brunei on Thursday embraced a form of Islamic Shariah criminal law that includes harsh penalties, a move slammed by international rights group as a step backward for human rights.

The tiny Southeast Asian nation began phasing in a version of Shariah that allows for penalties such as amputation for theft and stoning for adultery and homosexuality. Most of the punishments can be applied to non-Muslims, who account for about one-third of the 440,000 people in the oil-rich country.

Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah has introduced the law as a "great achievement" for Brunei.

"The decision to implement the (Shariah penal code) is not for fun but is to obey Allah's command as written in the Quran," he said in a speech Wednesday to announce the launch first phase of the law.

From Thursday, Brunei citizens can be fined or jailed by Islamic courts for offences like not performing Friday prayers, pregnancy out of wedlock, propagating other religions and indecent behavior.

More severe punishments such as flogging, amputation of limbs and stoning for offences such as theft, adultery and sodomy will be introduced in phases over the next two years.

The US-based Human Rights Campaign, which promotes lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender equality, condemned the changes as "draconian," saying the death penalty for gay sex, the eighth nation in the world to have such a law, was "horrific and sickening."

Complete HRC statement:

HRC Condemns Government of Brunei’s Decision to Soon Allow Death Penalty for Same-Sex Activity

WASHINGTON –– The Human Rights Campaign (HRC) condemns today’s decision by the government of Brunei to allow a series of draconian penal code reforms to take effect that will soon include stoning as a possible punishment for engaging in same-sex activity.
“LGBT citizens in many countries around the world remain persistent targets of harassment, arrest, violence, and torture for simply being who they are,” said Ty Cobb, director of Global Engagement at the Human Rights Campaign.  “The decision by the government of Brunei to soon become the 8th nation to allow the death penalty against LGBT people is horrific and sickening.”  
In October 2013, Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah––who is the absolute ruler of Brunei and is considered one of the world’s wealthiest people––announced that he was amending the nation’s criminal laws and introducing amputation, flogging, and stoning as possible punishments for a variety of so-called offenses.

These changes were scheduled to be implemented in three phases beginning on April 22, but were temporarily put on hold by the government of Brunei earlier this month.  But according to a royal degree issued today, the first of three phases of implementation will now begin tomorrow.   The second phase, which will allow amputation as a possible punishment for some crimes will take effect later this year, and the third phase, which will allow stoning as a possible punishment for same-sex activity, will begin in 2015.

In April, the United Nations Commission on Human Rights condemned the penal code reforms, saying it was "deeply concerned" and that stoning was considered to be "torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment" under international law.

The Human Rights Campaign is America's largest civil rights organization working to achieve lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender equality. By inspiring and engaging all Americans, HRC strives to end discrimination against LGBT citizens and realize a nation that achieves fundamental fairness and equality for all.

12 states including Florida still ban sodomy a decade after Supreme Court court ruling

BY LAUREN LANGLOIS

ASSOCIATED PRESS

BATON ROUGE, La. -- A dozen states including Florida still have anti-sodomy laws on the books 10 years after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled they are unconstitutional.

One such state is Louisiana, where gay rights groups contend police have used anti-sodomy laws to target gay men. But state lawmakers sided with religious and conservative groups in refusing to repeal the law last week.

Of 14 states that had anti-sodomy laws, only Montana and Virginia have repealed theirs since the Supreme Court ruling, said Sarah Warbelow, legal director for the Human Rights Campaign, a national gay rights organization.

Warbelow says that in addition to Louisiana, anti-sodomy laws remain on the books in Alabama, Florida, Idaho, Kansas, Michigan, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Texas and Utah.

The Supreme Court ruled in Lawrence v. Texas in 2003 that it is unconstitutional to bar consensual sex between adults, calling it a violation of the 14th Amendment.

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Miami-Dade police: Sex offender tried to burn trailer because he despises lesbian couple

BY CHARLES RABIN AND MARIA PEREZ

CRABIN@MIAMIHERALD.COM

Braulio Valenzuela-Villanueva is a registered sex offender who lives in the River Park Trailer Court. In the trailer next door live two women and eight children.

Early Saturday morning, the combustible living arrangement exploded and ended with the arrest of Valenzuela-Villanueva. He is charged with attempted second-degree murder, arson and a hate crime.

Miami-Dade police say a video camera caught Valenzuela-Villanueva setting fire to a mattress that was leaning against the women’s trailer.

Though no one was injured, the family had to be rousted from bed by neighbors who were awakened by the smoke. Police said Valenzuela-Villanueva and his neighbors had an “ongoing feud.”

“Although he did not admit setting the fire, he stated that he despised the two adult victims for the simple fact that they were lesbians,” according to the arrest affidavit. “According to the defendant, every time he saw them kissing he felt a deep repugnance and in his opinion, they did not deserve children.”

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