LOS ANGELES (AP) – Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa began his pledge to “marry as many people as possible” on June 23 when he officiated at his first same-sex wedding ceremony.

Villaraigosa was in Israel in June when the California Supreme Court’s ruling legalizing same-sex marriage took effect and counties began issuing gender-neutral marriage licenses.

On Monday he got deputized to perform marriages in the City Hall press conference room, then presided over the wedding of Oscar-winning film producer Bruce Cohen and his partner of five years, Gabriel Catone.

“Let me just say what an honor it is for me to officiate over the wedding of two friends,” Villaraigosa later said as he toasted the newlyweds with a glass of champagne.

Journalists outnumbered the couple’s family and friends in the room, and the celebration was briefly interrupted by a woman who declared her opposition to same-sex marriage before walking out of the room.

Cohen, 46, who co-produced the Oscar-winning drama American Beauty, said he had been planning a wedding ever since Catone, 35, proposed in September. He said he asked his friend the mayor to perform the ceremony after the May 15 court decision.

“We just couldn’t be more thrilled,” Cohen said.

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) – A Lake County school district has agreed to implement a comprehensive program to address anti-gay harassment to settle a complaint lodged by the family of a 14-year-old boy who said he was bullied.

The boy’s parents claim educators did nothing to stop the verbal taunting he received starting in third grade, and sought the help of the American Civil Liberties Union after a group of boys attacked him in a school locker room while yelling “fag” and “queer.”

Under the settlement announced June 25, the Upper Lake Union Elementary School District agreed to give anti-discrimination training to staff and students, outline disciplinary actions for harassment in its student handbooks and support the establishment of a gay-straight alliance club at its middle school.

OXNARD, Calif. (AP) – A 14-year-old charged with killing a gay classmate in Oxnard should be tried as a juvenile, his lawyer says.

The attorney for Brandon McInerney filed a motion on June 24 asking a Ventura County judge to move the murder case from adult to juvenile court. The attorney argues that a state law allowing the teen to be tried as an adult and face a potential life sentence is cruel and unusual punishment.

McInerney is accused of shooting 15-year-old Larry King at their Oxnard school on Feb. 12. He’s charged with first-degree murder and a hate crime.

NEW BEDFORD, Mass. (AP) – More than two years after a hatchet-and-gun attack inside a gay bar in New Bedford, an advocacy group has sponsored what it says is the Massachusetts port city’s first public Pride event.

The event Sunday drew more than 250 people and was sponsored by SouthCoast Equality.

In February 2006, 18-year-old Jacob Robida attacked three male patrons of Puzzles Lounge, a gay bar in New Bedford that has since closed, with a hatchet and then opened fire with a handgun.

He fled to Arkansas, where he killed a police officer and a West Virginia woman who was in his car. He then shot himself during a gunfight with Arkansas police.

Two New York filmmakers planning a documentary on the Puzzles rampage were among those attending Sunday’s celebration.

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (AP) – A local hospital is investigating a claim by a lesbian couple that a physician told them same-sex unions are contrary to his Christian beliefs.

The incident occurred at Spectrum Health’s South Pavilion in Cutlerville. Ashleigh Haberman notified Spectrum by e-mail that she and her partner, Erica Schaub, had gone to the urgent care center for treatment of Schaub’s lingering cold.

Schaub told The Grand Rapids Press for a report published Sunday that the doctor asked who she was in relation to Schaub, and Schaub replied they were “life partners.”

“She didn’t even have that out of her mouth before he said, ‘So, what do you guys feel about your ruling in California?”” Haberman recalled. “As soon as he looked at us, he knew we were gay, and he was looking for an opportunity to start that conversation.”

Haberman said they told the doctor they agreed with the ruling allowing gay couples to legally marry, and that they were married in Canada.

The doctor then allegedly said same-sex marriage “shouldn’t be called marriage” because it is a religious-based word and, as a Christian, he did not consider same-sex marriage legal, Haberman said.

Spectrum Health’s investigation probably will not be complete until sometime this week, spokesman Bruce Rossman said.

“We expect our physicians and staff to provide high quality care in a professional manner,” Spectrum said in a statement.

Rossman declined to identify the doctor, who did not return calls from The Press for comment.

Haberman said she and Schaub did not want the doctor fired and do not plan to file a lawsuit. “I didn’t want it to happen to somebody else,” she said. “I’m not asking him to be OK with it. I’m asking him to do his job.”

New York City (AP) Health officials are trying to persuade doctors to offer HIV tests to nearly every patient in a New York City community hit harder than most by AIDS.

Under a new program announced Thursday, officials have set an ambitious goal of testing a quarter million adults in the Bronx, one of five boroughs that make up New York City, within three years.

“We need every single individual to know their status,” said Dr. Monica Sweeney, an assistant health commissioner who specializes in HIV prevention.

Like dozens of other states, New York now requires doctors to obtain a patient’s written consent and provide a brief counseling session before giving them a test for the AIDS virus, a process that can take up to 20 minutes. That’s enough to deter doctors and nurses from suggesting HIV tests to patients routinely, according to the city.

Now officials want health clinics to offer the tests to anyone who seeks care, even for something as simple as a broken wrist.

Federal health officials recommended routine HIV testing for all Americans ages 13 to 64 nearly two years go, but the effort has stalled. Some doctors have questioned whether so much testing is necessary, or worth the bureaucratic cost.

HIV testing in the Bronx is already fairly widespread. Nearly 7 of 10 Bronx adults have been tested at least once in their lifetime. But as many as 250,000 adults have never been tested, and statistics indicate that many are diagnosed far too late.

AIDS killed 357 residents of the borough in 2006, about a third of all AIDS deaths in the city.

City health officials have also urged changes in state law that would do away with both the consent form and the mandated counseling sessions, arguing that they have little benefit. Those changes have been opposed by some AIDS activists.

“We find that period of time extremely useful,” said Marjorie Hill, chief executive officer of the Gay Men’s Health Crisis.

She said it gives doctors a time to talk with patients about ways to avoid HIV, or deal with an HIV infection.

WASHINGTON, D.C. (AP) – The Army has discharged a decorated medic who was deployed to Iraq despite acknowledging he was gay.

Darren Manzella, 30, said he revealed his sexual orientation to his military supervisor in August 2006, and was redeployed to Iraq anyway. He has since spoken out publicly several times about being a gay service member.

Manzella was discharged this month for “homosexual admission.” His commander’s discharge recommendation included a transcript of an interview he gave to television show “60 Minutes” in December 2007, in which Manzella said he is gay.

He did the same in a number of other interviews and even at a Washington news conference. The military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy prohibits active-duty service members from openly acknowledging they are gay or lesbian.

The discharge was effective June 10, a spokesman for the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network said in a news release. Manzella was traveling and not immediately available for comment.

The Army press office declined comment by phone Friday, but requested an e-mail query, which was submitted and awaiting response.

Manzella first told a military supervisor about his sexual orientation in August 2006 while he was stationed at Fort Hood, Texas, and working in division headquarters. Three weeks after Manzella made the revelation, his battalion commander told him an investigation had been closed without finding “proof of homosexuality.”

A month later, Manzella was redeployed to Iraq. Manzella and his supporters have said his case demonstrates how the military has been arbitrarily enforcing its “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy during the war.

Manzella enlisted in the Army in 2002. In Iraq, he provided medical care to other soldiers and accompanied his unit on patrols. He was awarded the Combat Medical Badge.

Manzella’s last assignment was to Fort Hood with the 1st Cavalry Division.