NEW ORLEANS (AP) – A same-sex couple in California has won a federal court ruling that their adopted son’s Louisiana birth certificate must bear the names of both adoptive fathers.

An attorney for Louisiana’s Vital Records Office argued that Louisiana law does not let even grandparents adopt jointly.

But a federal judge in New Orleans ruled Dec. 22 that Louisiana must give full faith and credit to the New York state court in which the boy was adopted. District Judge Jay Zainey ruled without a trial, saying the law is clear.

The boy was born in Shreveport, La. Oren Adar and Mickey Ray Smith of San Diego adopted him in April 2006, through Ulster County Family Court in Kingston, N.Y.

The state’s attorney did not immediately answer a query e-mailed Saturday about whether Louisiana will appeal.

ROCHESTER, N.Y. (AP) – A man who attacked a gay patron in a suburban Rochester bar drew a sentence of five and a half years in prison Dec. 23.

Jesse Parsons, 25, hurled a stream of anti-gay slurs at Lance Neve before beating him severely at a bar in Spencerport in March. Neve, 28, sustained fractures to his skull, nose, eye socket and jaw.

Parsons was initially charged with assault committed as a hate crime, which carries a sentence of five to 15 years. The hate crime component was dropped in a plea deal that called for a four-year sentence but the agreement was voided after Parsons made disparaging remarks about his victim at sentencing last month.

Returning to court Tuesday, Parsons apologized for his outburst and opted to stand by his plea in return for an extra 18-month sentence imposed by Judge Richard Keenan. In exchange for prosecutors dropping the hate crime, Parsons also agreed to pay Neve’s medical expenses of more than $24,000.

NEW YORK CITY (AP) – A tattoo parlor employee who claims he was assaulted and sodomized by New York City police officers has filed papers to sue the city and the police department.

Michael Mineo says he was attacked Oct. 15 in a subway station. Officer Richard Kern was charged with aggravated sexual abuse and assault; fellow Officers Alex Cruz and Andrew Morales were charged with hindering prosecution and official misconduct for allegedly covering up the crime.

All three pleaded not guilty.

Mineo filed a notice of claim in the first step to filing a lawsuit against the city. He seeks $200 million in damages for permanent and severe injuries.

The city’s Law Department is reviewing the papers.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) – A same-sex couple is asking the Tennessee Court of Appeals to lift a judge’s restriction in a child custody agreement that prevents the divorced mother’s partner of nine years from staying overnight.

The Tennessean reports The American Civil Liberties Union filed a brief Dec. 23 with the Court of Appeals in Jackson on behalf of Angel Chandler, a divorced mother with two kids.

Chandler said Chancellor George Ellis of the 28th Judicial District in West Tennessee imposed the restriction, called a paramour clause, in May without a request from her ex-husband and despite an evaluation that showed the children were not in harm’s way from their mother’s relationship. Ellis cited local law and precedent for the paramour clause, according to the appeal.

“This decision has been disruptive to our family,” Chandler said. “We lived together in a stable, functioning family, and this was rather shocking to all of us. This is about the person we choose to be with. The judge decided to interfere, and it’s had a very negative affect in our lives.”

After Ellis imposed the restriction, Chandler’s partner moved into a duplex near Asheville, N.C. Chandler and her daughter, now 13, moved into the opposite side of the same duplex. Chandler’s ex-husband has custody of their 15-year-old son and has remarried.

ACLU spokesman Paul Cates said the clause primarily affects lesbians and gays with children because same-sex civil unions are not recognized in Tennessee. Heterosexual couples can circumvent the paramour clause by getting married, Cates said.

“Unfortunately, this case is an all-too-familiar example of how unfairly lesbian and gay parents are treated in custody and visitation proceedings,” said Hedy Weinberg, executive director of the ACLU of Tennessee. “All the children’s health and welfare organizations have long recognized that lesbian and gay parents are just as capable of being good parents as straight couples, and their children are just as well adjusted. We’re hopeful the Tennessee courts will come to that realization, too.”

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) – A national gay rights group delivered six boxes containing 27,614 letters to Mormon church headquarters on Dec. 22.

The letters from members of the Human Rights Campaign ask church leaders to publicly support equality legislation in Utah.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints opposes same-sex marriage but has said it does not oppose civil unions or non-marriage legal rights for same-sex couples.

Utah lawmakers are expected to consider five bills proposing equal treatment or legal protections for the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community when the Legislature convenes on Jan. 26.

Church spokesman Scott Trotter says the letters were accepted and will be forwarded the appropriate office for review.

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP) – The University of Virginia’s Infectious Disease Clinic is piloting a text-messaging program in hopes of improving contact with HIV patients in rural areas.

The program was launched this summer when a social worker doing outreach work found that patients in rural areas missed appointments and fell out of treatment more often than those in urban areas.

As part of the program, patients are given cell phones that are limited to receiving texts, and calling health care providers and emergency contacts.

The program is structured to see if the cell phones help keep HIV patients returning to care in line with treatments for longer than six months.

Rebecca Dillingham, assistant professor in UVa’s department of medicine, says medication and keeping appointments are both important to treatment.