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Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell Repeal Possible
The election of US President-elect Barack Obama could lead to the repeal of the US military’s Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy, according to experts. Aubrey Sarvis, Servicemembers Legal Defense Network Executive Director, said that with Obama speaking out against the controversial military policy during his presidential run, hopes are high regarding a possible repeal of the 1993 policy, the San Diego Union-Tribune reported. “I think the election of Barack Obama is a sea change in terms of moving the issue forward,” Sarvis stated. “I think Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell can be repealed in the next Congress.”

Iowa Supreme Court Hears Same-Sex Suit
A pivotal same-sex marriage case takes the hotly disputed issue before the Iowa Supreme Court in a bid to move the debate into the Midwest, according to observers. The high court will hear oral arguments in Des Moines in a lawsuit filed by six same-sex Iowa couples. If the case is successful this way, it would be difficult to throw it out, because of complicated state law, USA Today reported. The case, Varnum vs. Brien, could make Iowa the first Midwest state to legalize gay marriage, the newspaper said.

New York City Officials Outraged Over Hate Beating
New York City leaders say they’re outraged over an incident in which a man mistakenly thought to be gay was nearly beaten to death by attackers. José Sucuzhanay, 31, an Ecuadorean immigrant and 10-year owner of a New York real estate agency, was attacked on a Brooklyn street by a group of men who allegedly shouted antigay and anti-Hispanic slurs. They pummeled him with a baseball bat after seeing him walking arm-in-arm with his brother, Romel Sucuzhanay, 38, The New York Times reported.

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