BOSTON (AP) — The state’s attorney general has won a civil rights injunction against a Lynn man charged with assaulting two gay men outside a Boston nightclub.

The preliminary injunction issued by Suffolk Superior Court Judge Catherine White bars James Alevizos, 28, from threatening, intimidating, coercing and communicating with the two men he allegedly attacked last spring.

“These victims were subjected to prejudice and hatred in the course of walking along a Boston street,” Attorney General Thomas Reilly said in a statement. “My office stands ready to hold accountable those who violate the civil rights of other individuals.”

Alevizos’ attorney, Mark Miliotis, questioned whether the authorities had done their “due diligence” in investigating the allegations against his client.

He said there was a “significant issue” as to whether Alevizos had been correctly identified as the attacker and “I think that there’s a risk of the miscarriage of justice here.”

Alevizos is free on bail after pleading innocent earlier this month to two counts of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, two counts of assault and battery and two counts of civil rights violation with injuries.

Prosecutors allege that Alevizos verbally and physically assaulted two men at about 2:30 a.m. on April 28 as they were leaving “gay night” at the Avalon nightclub in the city’s Fenway section. Several other unidentified men also joined in the attack, prosecutors said.

One of the victims was knocked unconscious in the attack, while the other suffered a broken jaw and fractured cheekbone that forced him to take medical leave from college.

DENVER (AP) — A private Baptist school will appeal a decision by Denver-area school officials to reject its voucher-program application because the school would expel homosexuals.

“The rejections by Denver Public Schools and Jefferson County officials are unfair and contradict the purpose of the state voucher plan,” said Rodolfo Gomez, principal of Silver State Baptist School in Lakewood.

DPS board members rejected Silver State’s application, citing its discipline policy calling for automatic dismissal for premarital sex, homosexuality and “sexual perversion.”

Under the state voucher program, a school board can reject a private school’s application if it advocates or fosters unlawful behavior or teaches hatred of a person or group.

“The board’s interpretation of the statute is that a school cannot promote hate,” DPS school board president Elaine Berman said. “We believe that this school’s policy toward various groups does promote hate and discrimination.”

Jefferson County school board members rejected Silver State’s application for similar reasons.

Gomez said his school has not received formal notices of denial, but plans to appeal any rejection.

He said an openly gay student would be “counseled as to the Biblical understanding as to what it is that is appropriate and inappropriate in that situation.”

He said the 202-student school has not had an openly gay student in its 39-year history.

“Because we don’t have a history, I would say we would treat it like other students caught with a smoking problem,” Gomez said. “We work with them through the process and once we see they don’t have any desire to correct the problem or they don’t want to deal with it appropriately, then we make those determinations” about expulsion.

Private schools whose applications to participate in the voucher program are rejected have 30 days to appeal to the state Board of Education, which is expected to begin hearing appeals in December.

MILFORD, Conn. (AP) — Two men charged with beating a gay man at a neighborhood picnic in Shelton last year have accepted a plea deal that will mean no prison time.

George Hamilton, 42, of Shelton, and Bryan Wendland, 25, of Stratford, were given suspended six-year prison terms after pleading no contest to assault charges stemming from the attack.

Both men also received probation with special conditions, including diversity training and community service.

The attack occurred during a Labor Day picnic at Hamilton’s home.

According to a lawsuit filed by the victim, Hamilton called the man a “faggot” and demanded he leave the party. The lawsuit claims Hamilton then began kicking and punching the victim and Wendland joined the attack.

The victim suffered two concussions, a torn spleen, a damaged liver, three broken ribs, vision damage and memory loss.

Edward Gavin, Hamilton’s attorney, said there were a number of issues involved, including that the defendants had no criminal records.

“Things aren’t always what they seem,” Gavin said. “Upon a fair review of the case, everyone agreed the victim was not attacked as a result of his sexual orientation.”

Kerry Gleason, the victim’s attorney, said his client is “not thrilled with the outcome of the case, but recognizes the state’s position.”

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — An 18-year-old student has sued a private Christian school, alleging he was expelled three days after he told a teacher he was gay.

Jeffrey Woodard said a teacher pulled him out of Bible class at Jupiter Christian School in August and asked him in confidence if he is gay.

When Woodard answered “yes,” a school official called his mother, Carol Gload, and told her Woodard could not attend an upcoming school retreat unless he and Gload met with the school to talk about Woodard’s sexual orientation, according to the lawsuit.

Gload said the school told them Woodard could get counseling for his “problem,” voluntarily withdraw from the school or be expelled.

“I didn’t think Jeffrey needed therapy,” Gload said. “So when I explained he doesn’t need help for anything, he knows who he is, they ... expelled him.”

The suit was filed in Palm Beach County circuit court.

School President Richard Grimm did not return phone calls. He said he could not comment on the issue because it involves private information about a former student, but he said the school’s policies are based on biblical values.

Karen Doering, an attorney with the National Center for Lesbian Rights in Tampa, said the school did nothing illegal.

“Unfortunately, in the state of Florida, discrimination based on sexual orientation is not specifically prohibited by any law,” Doering said. “When it comes to public schools, it is clear the Constitution protects youth based on sexual orientation; however, that does not apply to private schools.”

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — For so long, discussing the health of gay men meant one topic: AIDS.

That was not the case during a summit on gay men’s health issues, sponsored by the Utah AIDS Foundation, Planned Parenthood and members of the gay community.

The goal was “to expand the notion of gay men’s health beyond HIV,” one of the coordinators, David Ferguson, said.

“For about 20 years, gay men’s health has been equated with a person’s HIV status. We’re not minimizing HIV, but gay men deal with lots of issues: relationships, spirituality, substance abuse,” he said.

About 160 people attended the summit, up from 100 over the past two years.

Topics addressed by speakers included aging and HIV, fitness, substance abuse, sex in public places, self-hypnosis and relationships.

Kristen Ries, an infectious disease physician at the University of Utah Health Sciences Center, touched on other health issues that affect homosexuals during her keynote address.

Gay men, for example, use drugs, alcohol and tobacco at a higher rate than the general population and also have a higher incidence of anxiety, suicide and depression.

“I understand how that comes about when you think about their childhood,” Ries said in regard to the difficulty of coming out and dealing with homophobia.

The summit was meant to address the total man, and HIV was not ignored.

Ries said she is deeply concerned about the increase of HIV-positive gay men.

In 2002, 151 men tested positive for HIV at the clinic. This year, the same number of men tested positive by the end of July.

According to the Utah Department of Health, about 1,780 people were living with HIV or AIDS in Utah, as of 2001.

“Young people think there’s a cure,” Ries said. “And believe it or not, some people haven’t heard about it [HIV]. It’s a sad situation that’s going on across the country.”