BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (AP) – Kern County supervisors refused July 8 to make it either harder or easier for same-sex couples to get married in their jurisdiction.

The Board of Supervisors unanimously rejected a proposal submitted by a conservative group that sought to make Kern the first California county to refuse to grant marriage licenses to gay couples since same-sex unions were legalized in the state on June 16.

The Campaign for Children and Families hoped the passage of such a measure in Kern County would embolden other counties to follow suit.

But supervisors declined to act on the measure after Bernard Barmann, the county’s lawyer, said it would be illegal for the county to adopt its own same-sex marriage ban.

The five-member board also let die a motion from Supervisor Don Maben to explore whether county employees who are willing to officiate same-sex weddings could be deputized for the duty by officials in neighboring San Bernardino County.

The Kern County clerk’s office stopped offering all marriage ceremonies the day before gay marriage became legal.

Clerk Ann Barnett said she made the decision because of cost and security concerns, although several supervisors said they suspected her personal views on same-sex marriage were the real reason.

In trying to persuade his colleagues to pursue the matter, Maben compared Barnett’s actions to segregated school districts that shut down rather than admit black students during the 1950s.

“You throw out everybody to shun a few,” Maben said. “I believe it’s morally wrong.”

Supervisor Ray Watson said he supported Barnett’s decision to stop offering wedding ceremonies even if was based on her moral beliefs.

“I’ve never been under the illusion that it is a financial issue,” Watson said.

HONOLULU (AP) – Hawaii tattoo artists and body piercers are seeking stronger laws to reduce the risk of spreading hepatitis or HIV through dirty needles.

They met with lawmakers Monday to discuss updating the 27-year-old licensing exam, which doesn’t even mention hepatitis, regulating body piercing for the first time and allowing traditional Hawaiian tattooing.

“We need to encourage the tattoo industry to create new habits,” said Sean McCready, owner of the Waikiki shop Tattoolicious. “We want to get everybody on the same page to protect against disease and contamination.”

Tattooists got involved with the lawmaking process in April when their protests helped scuttle a measure that would have deregulated the industry.

They worried that unsafe amateurs would start practicing tattoo art out of their homes, spreading bloodborne diseases and damaging the tattoo industry in Hawaii, which they said is the most tattooed state in the nation.

Health experts haven’t found evidence of any disease outbreaks in Hawaii caused by unsafe tattooing, said Larry Lau, the Department of Health’s deputy director for environmental health.

“Tattoos are dangerous,” said Dr. Alan Tice of The Queen’s Medical Center. “We have to be very careful and cautious. Tattooing is an ideal way to spread these bloodborne pathogens, and body piercing is too.”

Suggestions for new tattoo laws would require artists to have Hepatitis B immunization and proof of a negative tuberculosis test. Artists would have to pass an upgraded exam, and traditional tattooists would have to use disposable stainless steel needle heads or sterilized bone tools.

People wanting to give tattoos at conventions or cultural demonstrations would have to meet many of the same requirements.

Increased licensing and testing fees could be used to generate up to $50,000 to help the state government monitor the tattoo industry.

A body piercing bill would require shops to be clean and artists to take a test on sanitary practices. It would also ban tongue splitting, braiding, amputation, skin peeling and genital modification unless performed by a licensed medical doctor.

“It’s unusual for experts in a profession to ask for more regulation,” said Rep. John Mizuno, D-Alewa Heights-Kalihi, vice chairman for the House Health Committee. “The biggest concern was the health and safety of the public.”

BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) – The New York Civil Liberties Union July 9 sued a western New York health insurer on behalf of a same-sex couple who were denied spousal health care benefits after marrying in Canada.

The state Supreme Court lawsuit accuses Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Western New York of discriminating based on sexual orientation and of breaching its contract with the Cheektowaga Central School District, which employs one of the women.

“All we want is for our family to be treated fairly,” said Jeanne Kornowicz, a school psychologist in the school district. “It’s heartbreaking that we need to go to court so our family can find some security.”

Kornowicz married Joy Higgins in Canada in 2006, eight years into their relationship, and the couple have a 1-year-old daughter.

The NYCLU, in the lawsuit, refers to an appeals court decision in February that said same-sex marriages legal in other states and countries are entitled to recognition in New York. After that ruling, Gov. David Paterson issued a memo directing state agencies to recognize same-sex marriages performed elsewhere.

But a spokeswoman for Blue Cross & Blue Shield said state law is unclear.

Gay marriage is not legal in New York, and the Court of Appeals has said it can only be legalized by the Legislature.

“The law in New York state is unclear as to our obligation in this situation,” Blue Cross spokeswoman Karen Merkel-Liberatore said. “We are awaiting guidance from either the Legislature and/or our regulators as to how we should proceed.”

According to the lawsuit, Kornowicz applied for spousal health care benefits for Higgins after learning about the February Appellate Division’s ruling in a similar case in Monroe County.

The school district sought to grant Kornowicz’s request but was told by the insurance company the application was denied.

“As spouses and parents, Jeanne and Joy deserve the same protections that every other family in New York state enjoys,” said Donna Lieberman, NYCLU executive director. “Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Western New York must follow the laws of New York State and treat them as they do every other married couple.”

NEW YORK (AP) – Genre Magazine, the nation’s longest-running gay men’s lifestyle magazine, enters the second phase of its brand refresh activity this week, with the launch of a nationwide TV advertising campaign with Logo, the gay and lesbian network owned by Viacom’s MTV.

The campaign will run throughout the end of the year, staying true to the magazine’s core goal of providing readers with the most current information on the areas of interest that matter most to them: fitness, fashion and lifestyle. The Genre/Logo collaboration is the first in a series of upcoming partnerships that are designed to reach today’s savvy gay consumers through a variety of interactive channels.

“We believe that both television and online advertising play a critical role in the magazine branding cycle. The growth of technology and associated television and online media in recent years has provided a huge opportunity for Genre to extend its established brand message to a vast number of new ‘eyeballs,’” said William Kapfer, Genre Magazine’s vice president and publisher. “In a climate where so many consumer magazines are experiencing a decline in readership, we’ve continued to steadily grow our numbers through our non-stop effort to create and deliver high-impact, feature-rich advertising campaigns that both speak to our audience and translate outside the print product.”

“We are thrilled that Genre is partnering with Logo to connect with our shared and highly loyal audience who is looking for the very best in entertainment in print and on television,” said Lisa Sherman, executive vice president and general manager of Logo. “Genre knows their audience and we’re sure that advertising on Logo will deepen the already strong bond they have with their readers.”

Genre Magazine is published monthly, with regular features on relationships, health, fitness, fashion, automotive and travel. The 30-second television commercial will run nationally on Logo and is available online at www.genremagazine.com.

FAYETTVILLE, N.C. (AP) – Some Ft. Bragg military wives say they’ll oppose a fundamentalist church’s plan to celebrate the death of a pregnant dead soldier.

The Fayetteville Observer reported Wednesday a Kansas church plans a “gospel picket” on the death of 23-year-old Army Spc. Megan L. Touma, of Cold Spring, Ky. Police Sgt. John Somerindyke says Westboro Baptist Church is seeking a city permit for July 16.

The church has organized harassment of mourners at funerals of soldiers killed in Iraq and Afghanistan, saying war casualties are divine revenge for America tolerating gays and lesbians.

The newspaper said no messages could be left at the church’s telephone number.

Touma was found dead at a Fayetteville motel June 21. No arrests have been made.

Danell Shafer of Fort Bragg Mommies says they will oppose the church’s picket.

CLEVELAND (AP) – The rate of syphilis is surging in Ohio’s most populous county.

The Cleveland and Cuyahoga County health agencies said July 8 that 52 people were diagnosed with the sexually transmitted disease in the nine-month period that ended in March. That’s double the 26 cases that were reported from June 2006 through June 2007.

The higher rate works out to 5.1 cases per 100,000 people.

Public health leaders have responded with screening and awareness campaigns. The higher rate may be due to syphilis getting less public attention and research funding than HIV in recent years.

The national syphilis rate also has risen. In 2006, more than 36,000 new cases were reported in the United States, up nearly 12 percent from the prior year.

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) – South Carolina’s state tourism agency has dropped out of an effort to attract gay tourists.

The State newspaper of Columbia reported Monday the Parks, Recreation and Tourism Department had joined a campaign tied to Pride week celebrations in London that included ads saying “South Carolina is so gay.”

The newspaper says Atlanta, Boston and New Orleans were also part of the campaign.

The state agency said Thursday it would not pay a fee of nearly $5,000 to participate in the ad campaign.

Director Chad Prosser says an agency advertising manager had signed off on the contract proposed by the state’s London advertising coordinator.

Prosser says the agency will require more review of future overseas advertising.

Greenville Sen. David Thomas called for an audit, after learning of the matter.

AUSTIN (AP) – School officials in Austin aren’t “gonna pay for this year’s Rent.”

Concerned by the content in the smash pop-rock musical, the Austin Independent School District halted $10,000 in planned assistance for what is expected to be the first licensed high school production of Rent in Texas.

The school version of the musical includes scenes involving drug use, HIV, prostitution and homosexuality but is more toned down than the Broadway production.

Student performers say the show will go on beginning Thursday, minus the props and costumes since the production lost the district’s financial support.

“While Rent may be very well received in some campus communities, it is obvious that this is not at all the case in many others,” John May, the district’s interim administrative supervisor of fine arts, wrote in a May e-mail.

May said top administrators and principals who had seen the original version of Rent expressed concerns over content. He said he did not ask what, specifically, they found objectionable.

M. Scott Tatum, the technical theater director at McCallum High School, told the Austin American-Statesman he thinks the objections are less about the musical’s drug use and AIDS than homosexuality.

“This is Austin. We’ve had a lesbian sheriff and have gay and transsexual people running for office all the time,” Tatum said. “It’s 2008. To pretend we don’t have gay kids or that kids don’t face gay issues is just silly.”

May, who said he personally doesn’t have a problem with Rent, said he did not receive an official copy of the script until June. He said it probably would not have been a problem if Rent had been done next year, giving the district more time to review the script.

The production will be held at McCallum High School under a rule that campus productions only need approval from the school principal.

J.P. Ponce – a 16-year-old cast as “Angel,” a gay man who dies of AIDS – said he and the actor playing his character’s boyfriend had planned to just kiss on the forehead on stage.

“But for the last night, we’re going to do it all out, just to rub it in the district’s face,” Ponce said.

WHEELING, W.Va. (AP) – A report from the West Virginia HIV/AIDS/STD Program shows that 780 West Virginians have died of AIDS in the past 23 years.

The program’s 2007 year-end report also says there have been 1,528 AIDS cases in West Virginia since 1984, when the state started keeping records of the disease. Currently, about 748 West Virginians are living with the disease.

Loretta Haddy, director of the state Division of Surveillance and Disease Control, says the Mountain State’s prevalence of AIDS is much lower than many other states because West Virginia doesn’t have large metropolitan areas.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says more than 1.1 million people nationwide have AIDS.

TACOMA, Wash. (AP) – The Pierce County Council is being criticized for failing to adopt a proclamation supporting a Pride event.

GLBT community advocates have spoken against the council, calling its action discriminatory.

Usually proclamations – in which government leaders show symbolic support – rarely face opposition in council meetings. But when a proclamation for Out in the Park was proposed to go on the agenda, four Republican council members voted against adding it.

Those who voted against the proclamation say the item was introduced too late.

Council member Calvin Goings says the snub was embarrassing for the council.

WASHINGTON (AP) – The Washington region’s largest provider of HIV/AIDS services is selling its administrative offices.

The Whitman-Walker Clinic has agreed to sell the property at 14th and S streets in northwest Washington to developer JBG for $8 million. Officials say the deal will allow the organization to eliminate debt and focus more resources on patient care.

The clinic’s staff will move to its Elizabeth Taylor Medical Center, a block away.

James Iker, JBG’s managing director, says the company plans to build apartments and shops on the site.

In 2005, a budget crisis forced Whitman-Walker to lay off staff and close its Maryland office.

WISCONSIN RAPIDS, Wisc. (AP) – Wisconsin authorities say they’ll investigate whether a man accused of kidnapping two young men and sexually assaulting them might be linked to other cases.

Investigators arrested 46-year-old Edward Lanphear of the Town of Saratoga on July 9. He’s accused of holding two men in his house, stripping them, beating them and sexually assaulting them several times.

Lanphear’s attorney disputes the allegations.

Wood County Sheriff Thomas Reichert says his agency will conduct an “exhaustive” investigation into Lanphear’s background and cross-reference him with other missing persons cases. He says other law enforcement agencies likely will do the same.

Online court records show nothing for Lanphear except a divorce.