HONOLULU (AP) – Gay rights advocates in Hawaii are joining in a nationwide protest of the California vote that defined marriage as between a man and a woman.

About 400 people held signs in front of Honolulu’s city hall Nov. 15 before marching to the state Capitol. About 45 more people attended a similar rally on Maui.

Demonstrators chanted slogans saying, “Gay, straight, black, white, we all want our civil rights” and held signs proclaiming “Separate is not equal.”

Hawaii doesn’t have civil unions or same-sex marriages.

In 1998, 69 percent of Hawaii voters supported an amendment to the state Constitution that gave the Legislature the power to reserve marriage for opposite-sex couples.

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) – A school district in the state where HIV-positive Ryan White fought for the right to attend school two decades ago is being sued by the family of middle school student, who says she was bullied so badly after telling a friend she had the virus that she was forced to leave school.

The federal lawsuit filed Nov. 18 against Washington Township Schools says the girl was subjected to name-calling and harassment at Westlane Middle School and that school officials did little to stop it.

In one instance, the lawsuit says, the 14-year-old’s soccer coach asked the girl if she had AIDS, then told her the team could use her HIV status to its advantage because “the other team will be afraid.” Someone left a note on her locker that said, “No AIDS at Westlane.”

The girl, “on an almost daily basis, endured continuing harassment, teasing, name calling and bullying by her fellow students,” the lawsuit said.

A school official said he had not seen the lawsuit and could not comment on it. An attorney for the family declined to elaborate on the case.

The lawsuit says the girl was diagnosed with the virus that causes AIDS in 2006. It does not specify how she contracted the virus.

She confided her condition to a friend in March 2007, and the bullying began shortly thereafter as word spread throughout the school.

The girl’s mother met with school counselors in April 2007 to complain about the harassment, but school officials took no action other than warning the students involved, the lawsuit said. The mother met with counselors three more times in 2007, and a friend of the girl’s also reported the bullying.

After one meeting that included the girl’s doctor, a school official told the girl’s mother she would like the girl to attend Westlane but “could not promise to protect her,” the lawsuit says.

The girl withdrew from the school in September and is being home-schooled.

Superintendent James Mervilde said he couldn’t comment on the lawsuit but said the district prohibits bullying and harassment and has policies with specific precautions for cleaning up and handling bodily fluids.

“Since Ryan White, our policies have been straightforward,” Mervilde said.

White, who died in 1990, contracted HIV through a blood transfusion to treat his hemophilia. He drew national attention to the plight of children with HIV in the 1980s when as a 13-year-old he was banned from a school near Kokomo.

Jeanne White Ginder, White’s mother, now speaks to groups about HIV and AIDS awareness and said including AIDS and HIV education in school is just as important as teaching about any other disease.

“There is no need to panic,” she said. “People need to know it’s not a death sentence.”

BALTIMORE (AP) – Baltimore’s oldest nonprofit organization assisting those infected with the AIDS virus is closing its doors.

The Health Education Resources Organization on Maryland Avenue, also known as HERO, has helped people with HIV/AIDS since 1983. A notice in its windows says it is closing Nov. 26.

No reason for the closing was given in the notice and calls from WJZ-TV have not been returned.

HERO offers case management, housing services, drug abuse counseling and legal services, besides physical and mental health care. Many of the clients are homeless or have been homeless.

HERO serves about 3,000 people annually.

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) – The Institute for Peace Studies at Rocky Mountain College has announced that Billings contractor Terry Fettig is the recipient of this year’s Jeannette Rankin Peace Award.

The award is given each year to a Montanan or person with Montana ties for his or her work toward peace on local and global levels.

Cindy Kunz, administrator of the institute, says Fettig was chosen because of his work with AIDSpirit Montana, a nondenominational group that provides support and spiritual services for people diagnosed with HIV and AIDS, as well as his work with Hope 2 One Life, a faith-based group that promotes clean water, education and health care in Africa.

The awards ceremony was held Nov. 14.

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) – A former Memphis police officer faces civil rights charges in the jailhouse beating of a transgender prostitution suspect that was captured on video.

An indictment, unsealed Nov. 19, accuses Bridges McRae, 28, of using unreasonable force by repeatedly striking Duanna Johnson with his fist and handcuffs in the intake area of the Shelby County Jail.

Johnson, a biological male who lived as a woman, was being booked on a prostitution charge. A videotape of the beating was broadcast on Memphis TV and online in June, leading to McRae’s firing. His former partner, James Swain, 25, was also fired.

Johnson, 43, who had a long history of prostitution arrests, was shot to death on a Memphis street by an unknown assailant earlier this month. The killing is still under investigation and no arrests have been made.

McRae pleaded not guilty at a brief hearing before a federal magistrate and was released without bond. No trial date was set. He is charged with violating Johnson’s civil rights while in a position of authority, an offense that carries a maximum punishment of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

McRae declined comment as he left the federal courthouse. His lawyer, Ted Hansom, said McRae was “in a scuffle” with Johnson, who stood 6-foot-5, and was doing what he had to do to defend himself.

Johnson was knocked bleeding to the jailhouse floor but was not seriously hurt.

The beating and Johnson’s murder have drawn the attention of advocates for gay and transgender rights, including the Human Rights Campaign, a national group that has called on the Memphis Police Department for a “commitment to treating transgender people with respect and fairness.”

AUSTIN (AP) – The University of Texas now has its first and only gay fraternity.

Delta Lambda Phi, a nationally recognized gay fraternity, was inducted at UT earlier this year.

Russell van Kraayenburg, president of the fraternity, brought up the idea to open a gay fraternity to the UT Greek community six months ago.

“Everyone’s been so supportive on campus,” he said. “There’s not been a single person I’ve talked to who’s been against the idea or even questioned the idea.”

Members complained that a lot of fraternities exclude gays at UT.

“I would go through West Campus and see all the other fraternities and I just kind of knew in my mind, I was like, I can’t be in that fraternity,”‘ said UT student Ryan Yezak, who’s now one of seven members of the gay fraternity.

MONTPELIER, Vt. (AP) –Vermont Senate Majority Leader John Campbell says he’s been threatened because of his plan to introduce a bill in January to legalize same-sex marriage.

The Windsor County Democrat says he received a call at the Statehouse Nov. 19 by a woman who threatened to blow up his house.

Campbell says the woman didn’t give her name.

Campbell says the call is disturbing. He says you can never tell if the call is from someone giving an emotional reaction or if it’s serious.

Vermont was the first state in the country to offer same-sex couples civil unions. Now some believe the state should offer same sex marriage.

Campbell says police are investigating the threat.