Free Republic

In the eight years since the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that states may not criminalize private homosexual conduct, courts and legislatures across the country have struggled to define gay rights. The debate changed for both sides after a watershed 2003 Supreme Court ruling in a case that originated in Houston. The court voted 6-3 to guarantee privacy rights for gay men and lesbians - reversing a 1986 decision that permitted states to outlaw homosexual acts, even in homes. The Houston man at the center of the groundbreaking decision died last month of a heart condition. John Geddes Lawrence was 68....

George Hislop, a pioneer in the battle to win survivor benefits for widowed same-sex partners, has died at the age of 78. When Hislop's longtime partner died after years of contributing to the Canada pension plan, Hislop applied for a pension but was turned down. He fought the decision and spent the last 19 years trying to get the rules changed. Earlier this year, Hislop declared victory and in August he said he received his first cheque from the government. "George was a leader in the lesbian and gay community in fighting discrimination and demanding equal respect," said Douglas Elliott,...

Cops are probing if a Brooklyn teenager whose severed arm and legs were dumped inside a subway tunnel last week was killed by a man he met over the Internet, law enforcement sources said yesterday. Rashawn Brazell, 19, was hacked to pieces after he vanished from his Bushwick apartment on Gates Ave. on Feb. 17 where he lived with his parents, cops and friends said. ...Cops believe Brazell, an aspiring fashion designer, may have gone to meet a man he met on the Internet for a romantic liaison, the sources said. ...