MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Gov. Jim Doyle vetoed a bill that would define marriage in Wisconsin as solely between a man and woman, saying state law already clearly prohibits same-sex marriage and the legislation was “mean-spirited.”

State law now defines marriage as a contract between a husband and wife, but supporters of the bill have warned that activist judges could interpret the language loosely and redefine marriage to allow gay couples to wed. They said the bill would ensure gay marriage would not be allowed or recognized in Wisconsin.

“This bill is just another example of the Legislature focusing its time and energy on divisive, mean-spirited bills that do nothing to grow Wisconsin’s economy, make health care more affordable and accessible, or improve our public schools,” said Doyle, a Democrat.

State Sen. Scott Fitzgerald, one of the bill’s authors, said he expects gay couples will challenge Wisconsin’s current statutes in court. He also said it was likely a gay couple would seek a marriage in another jurisdiction where it is legal and return to Wisconsin seeking legal recognition.

“We’re going to be in court, and those of us that are opposed to recognizing same-sex marriage have to cross our fingers and hope it doesn’t go to an activist judge,” said Fitzgerald, a Republican.

No state currently allows gay marriage, though Vermont allows civil unions between gays and California recently enacted legislation creating new rights for domestic partners. Two Canadian provinces have also legalized gay marriage.

In Massachusetts, the state’s highest court has yet to rule on a whether to legalize same-sex marriage.

The Supreme Judicial Court is still considering a lawsuit brought by seven gay couples against the state Department of Public Health in 2001, after their original requests for marriage certificates were denied.

DENVER (AP) — A private Baptist school barred from the state’s new voucher program has backed away from its policy threatening to expel openly gay students.

Silver State Baptist in Lakewood won approval from the Denver Public Schools board of education because of the change.

The new voucher law does not allow school districts to accept applications from private schools that discriminate against certain students.

The school’s old discipline policy said premarital sex, homosexuality and sexual perversion are reasons for automatic expulsion. The new policy states that “premarital sex and sexual perversion, between opposite and/or same sex students” are grounds for expulsion.

“We teach our children to love one another, regardless of differences among them,” Silver State Principal Rodolfo Gomez wrote in a letter to the board.

At the meeting, district staffers assured school board chairwoman Elaine Berman that an admittedly gay student would be allowed to attend the school.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Gov. Jeb Bush and the head of the state’s child welfare agency announced a plan to promote adoption through television ads and a streamlined adoption process.

The program, called the No Place Like Home initiative, seeks to find homes for nearly 2,100 children in state care waiting to be matched with a family.

The program “will result in more children in Florida finding a sense of life and belonging that they have sadly and tragically been deprived of the opportunity to enjoy,” said Department of Children & Families Secretary Jerry Regier. “Each child deserves a permanent family to love them and guide them.”

“Our No Place Like Home campaign and the new programs that will become an important part of DCF’s ongoing adoption initiative will help us find permanent, loving homes for the children who need them,” Bush said.

The state, however, won’t make it easier for gay and lesbian couples to adopt.

Bush said he wouldn’t support an effort to change Florida’s laws to allow gays and lesbians to adopt children. The state has the only law in the country that bans all gays from adopting children. A federal judge in Miami upheld the law, but the decision is being appealed.

ST. LOUIS (AP) — The Missouri Baptist Convention, long at odds with William Jewell College over the issue of homosexuality, has broken 150-year-old financial ties to the college.

Voters at the convention’s annual meeting in St. Louis struck Willliam Jewell from the convention’s 2004 budget. Last year, the convention gave $900,000 to the college, about 3 percent of the school’s annual budget. About 1,500 students attend the liberal arts college in Liberty, near Kansas City.

Roger Moran of Winfield urged ending support because William Jewell included a gay student among those to whom it had given awards and because the college allowed a production of The Vagina Monologues, a play about women’s sexuality and issues. Moran is research director of the six-member Missouri Baptist Layman’s Association and serves on the Southern Baptist Convention’s national executive committee.

Moran and other conservatives have hinted at shutting off Jewell’s funding since 1999.

College President David L. Sallee said, “It was a foregone conclusion; the only question was when.”

Although the Baptist money is not broken out from other college revenues, Sallee has said the school generally considers the convention’s funding a contribution to the financial aid granted to students affiliated with Missouri Baptists.

Anticipating the parting of ways, William Jewell cut 35 faculty and staff positions over the past three years, while focusing on ways to improve revenue by steps such as recruiting more students.

William Jewell’s $16.5 million budget for 2003-2004 assumes no funding from the convention next year.

CLEVELAND HEIGHTS, Ohio (AP) — Voters in this suburb became the first in the nation to give recognition to gay and straight unmarried partners.

With 98 percent of precincts reporting, Cleveland Heights voted 55 percent to 45 percent in favor of letting unmarried couples obtain a certificate from the city stating they are domestic partners.

The recognition would not be binding on courts, governments, hospitals or private companies, but supporters hope it will make it easier for couples to share employment benefits, inherit property or gain hospital visitation rights.

The vote marks the first time a domestic registry has been established through a ballot issue, according to the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force.

RUTLAND, Vt. (AP) — The Vermont Department of Health is enlisting hairdressers to spread the word about good health.

The Health Department invited a dozen Bennington County hairstylists, social service workers and health care providers to the West Mountain Inn in Arlington to discuss the health resources available to local women and ways of getting the message out, according to public health nurse Christine Bongartz.

Whether the subject is breast self-exams, HIV testing, smoking cessation, early childhood education or preventing domestic violence, few people are as well positioned as hairdressers to spread the word.

“We are counselors,” said Sharon Morrissey, owner of Sharon’s Style Shoppe in Manchester.

The hairdressers heard suggestions about ways to present information and improve public health.

“It’s really important for you ... to not be judgmental,” said Linda Campbell of the Project Against Violent Encounters. “You may be the only person (to whom) this woman has ever admitted to being abused.... It’s really important to let her tell her story.”

Hairdressers should look as well as listen, said Cynthia Himmel of the AIDS Project of Southern Vermont. She suggested that they be sensitive to evidence of “risky behaviors” by their clients.

“It’s really a fragile moment, a chance to say, ‘Are you really taking care of yourself?... Are you putting yourself at risk?’” she said.

The idea of involving hair stylists came from family nurse practitioner Mary McVean. She said a grateful patient had thanked her for her help, telling her she was invaluable.

“You’re like my hairdresser,” McVean remembered the woman as saying.

That’s how “Operation Hairspray” was born.

McVean acknowledged the role Morrissey and her colleagues played in the lives of their customers.

“Women come and tell you their deepest, darkest problems or complaints,” she said.