16.05.2011
RI civil union compromise wins little support
Gay marriage supporters told lawmakers that civil unions treat gay couples as second-class citizens. Opponents said the bill creates an easy steppingstone to full marriage rights for same-sex couples.
The bill would allow a gay couple to form a civil union granting all of the rights and benefits given to married couples under Rhode Island law.
The proposal was introduced after legislative leaders said gay marriage legislation lacked the votes to pass this year. But lawmakers searching for common ground in the General Assembly have so far only united both sides of the contentious gay marriage debate.
Neither side likes civil unions, they told lawmakers on the House Judiciary Committee, but for very different reasons.
"This is a cop-out," said Joseph Cavanagh, a Providence attorney and member of the National Organization for Marriage-Rhode Island. "It totally avoids the issue."
"This creates a separate status only for gay people to send a message that gay people are not worthy of the protections marriage provides," said Karen Loewy, an attorney with Gay & Lesbian Advocates and Defenders.
The sponsor of the civil union bill said both sides need to understand political reality.
"Both sides are acting like schoolchildren," said Rep. Peter Petrarca, D-Lincoln. "We either do nothing and let this thing continue to fester, or give same-sex couples the rights they deserve."
Petrarca said he believes many gay marriage supporters will quietly back the civil union bill, if only because gay marriage won't pass this year.
Still, some lawmakers say they're wary of supporting a compromise that seems to lack public support. Rep. Doreen Costa, R-North Kingstown, said she's received more than 300 emails and messages from residents on the civil union bill. Only two were in support.
"I think civil unions are just a no-win situation," she said.
The bill was filed after House Speaker Gordon Fox, D-Providence, said gay marriage legislation would not pass the General Assembly this year. Fox, who is openly gay, supports gay marriage but said it couldn't overcome opposition, particularly in the Senate where Senate President Teresa Paiva Weed, D-Newport, is a notable opponent. Paiva Weed has said she supports civil unions.
The civil union bill borrows heavily from similar laws recently passed in in Illinois, Delaware, Hawaii and New Jersey, as well as Rhode Island's existing marriage law. Five states now recognize gay marriage and several more have enacted some form of civil union law.
Gov. Lincoln Chafee, an independent who has urged lawmakers to pass a gay marriage bill, has said he would sign the civil union measure.
A leading gay marriage advocacy group, Marriage Equality Rhode Island, is working to resurrect the gay marriage bill. Ray Sullivan, MERI's campaign director, said he hopes the House will revise the civil union bill into a marriage bill when the legislation is debated on the House floor.
The House Judiciary Committee could vote as early as next week on whether to send the measure to the full House, according to Rep. Edith Ajello, D-Providence and the committee's chairwoman.
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Free MLB Umpire Camp to be Held for Marines at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina on Friday, May 13th
(PRWEB) May 12, 2011
As a part of the ongoing spirit of partnership with the United States military, Major League Baseball will host a free, one-dayfor the United States Marine Corps at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina from 9:30 a.m.—3:00 p.m. on Friday, May 13.
Among those who will be on hand to train attendees will be MLB Director of Umpiring and former Major League Umpire Randy Marsh; current MLB Umpire Supervisors Chuck Meriwether, Ed Montague, Steve Palermo, Charlie Reliford and Larry Young, all former Major League Umpires; MLB Umpire Supervisor Cris Jones; MLB Special Assistant for Umpiring Bruce Froemming; and MLB Director of Umpire Medical Services Mark Letendre.
The Major League Baseball Umpire Camps train both aspiring umpires at all levels and baseball fans alike.
Launched in 2006, the MLB Umpire Camps feature on-field training and classroom instruction, as well as lessons on rules enforcement and interpretation, game management, conditioning, nutrition, safety and equipment needs. The MLB Umpire Camp, which is scheduled for November 6-13, 2011, is held annually each November at the MLB Urban Youth Academy in Compton, California.
The free one-day Umpire Camp at Camp Lejeune is the latest in a series of steps that the MLB Umpiring Department has taken as a gesture to honor members of our nation’s military. Last August, a free one-day Umpire Camp was held at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar in San Diego, and in March 2009, during the World Baseball Classic, MLB and the Department of Military Affairs of the San Diego Padres organized a free one-day Umpire Camp for Marines at San Diego State University’s Tony Gwynn Stadium. More than 100 Marines attended each of these special MLB Umpire Camps, receiving instruction from MLB staff on all facets of umpiring.
In addition, in January 2010, Major League Baseball announced a collaboration with(MO), a leader in military-friendly education, on the development of a certificate of professional umpiring. Following the completion of online coursework in subjects relevant to sports officiating, the program incorporates a week-long training program at the MLB Umpire Camp in California.
For more than 30 years, Columbia College has helped military personnel, their family members andDepartment of Defense civilians earn college degrees during their service. One out of every four students at Columbia College is in the military or is a military dependent, and 18 of the institution’s 35 nationwide campus locations are located on military bases.
Several members of the MLB Umpiring staff, including Mark Carlson (U.S. Marine Corps), Laz Diaz (U.S. Marine Corps), Marsh (U.S. Army Reserve) and Montague (U.S. Navy), have military experience.
“Major League Baseball is proud to continue our partnership with the heroic members of the UnitedStates military,” said MLB Director of Umpiring Rich Rieker, who coordinates the MLB Umpire Camps. “Our staff has wonderful memories of each of the previous Umpire Camps for the Marines, and we look forward to providing another outstanding baseball experience to these brave young men and women.”
Contact: Major League Baseball Public Relations, (212) 931-7878.
The MLB Umpire Camps will be held from November 6-13, 2011 at the MLB Urban Youth Academy in Compton, California.Learn more by visitingor .
ABOUT COLUMBIA COLLEGE: Columbia College, a private, nonprofit liberal arts and sciences institution founded in 1851, educates more than 29,000 students each year and has more than 67,000 alumni worldwide. For more information visitor call Joanne Tedesco at 573/875-7207.Above, U.S. Marines run through umpiring drills during the one-day Umpire Camp at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar in San Diego in August 2010.
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$80K motorbike stolen in US found in Philippines
The custom-made chopper was found Tuesday by police in Cagayan de Oro city, said Jose Justo Yap, regional director for the National Bureau of Investigation.
Woods, a collector of custom-made vehicles, wrote the screenplay for "Swordfish," "Hitman" and "X-Men Origins: Wolverine."
His chopper was among 14 motorcycles, three all-terrain vehicles, two SUVs, a sports car, a shotgun and ammunition for assault rifles recovered by police in raids in Cagayan de Oro and nearby Bukidnon province, Misamis Oriental provincial police Chief Graciano Mijares said.
The U.S. FBI sought assistance in the recovery of Woods' motorcycle, Yap said.
An American private investigator representing Woods said the screenwriter was surprised that his motorcycle, which was stolen from the parking lot of his condominium in Houston, Texas, ended up half way around the world.
Woods was "really congratulatory. He is more than pleased," said the investigator, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the probe is ongoing.
Police are looking for a Filipino who was selling the motorcycle online, Mijares said.
Yap said the man faces illegal firearms possession and smuggling charges.
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