ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) – The Anchorage Assembly will consider an ordinance banning discrimination against gays and lesbians in hiring, housing and education, but a city religious leader vows to fight it.

The Rev. Jerry Prevo of the Anchorage Baptist Temple says the proposal is an example of one part of the community trying to force its values on everyone.

Assemblymember Patrick Flynn supports the ordinance and says it’s time for Anchorage to stand up for all its residents.

He says it’s wrong to discriminate against people just because they happen to love and make a family with someone of the same gender.

A public hearing on the measure is set for June 9.

VENTURA, Calif. (AP) – A Ventura County judge says the family of a slain same-sex student can sue the foster home where he was living for wrongful death.

The Ventura County Star reported the ruling May 12. The judge issued the ruling the day before.

The lawsuit names nearly two dozen defendants, including the Casa Pacifica shelter, its chief executive officer and a psychologist who counseled 15-year-old Larry King.

King’s parents say that personnel at Casa Pacifica were negligent in counseling him to express his sexuality, which included wearing makeup and high-heeled boots. They allege the counseling placed the boy in danger.

King was shot twice in the head in February 2008 as he sat in English class at a junior high school in Oxnard. His classmate, 15-year-old Brandon McInerney, has been charged as an adult with murder.

SACRAMENTO (AP) – The state Assembly has passed a bill requiring prison authorities to consider inmates’ gender identity when making housing decisions.

Assemblymember Tom Ammiano, a San Francisco Democrat, says his bill is needed because studies show same-sex and transgender inmates are vulnerable to physical and sexual assaults behind bars.

He urged lawmakers to support his bill as a way to reduce prison violence. The bill was adopted on a 60-8 vote on Monday, with no lawmakers speaking against it. It now heads to the state Senate.

The Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation assigns housing based on inmates’ physical gender, even if prisoners identify themselves as transgender.

LAKELAND, Fla. (AP) – Florida must recognize same-sex couples’ adoptions that were granted in other states even though its laws bar granting such adoptions, a state appeals court ruled May 13.

A trial court erred when it wouldn’t recognize a former lesbian couple’s adoptions that had been completed when the women lived in Washington state, the 2nd District Court of Appeal ruled unanimously. Florida is the only state that prohibits all same-sex couples from adopting, but the judges said the U.S. Constitution requires it to give “full faith and credit” to the actions of other states.

While living as a couple in Seattle, Kimberly Ryan and Lara Embry each gave birth to one child. Each then adopted the other’s child as the second parent. They moved to Sarasota and then split up, originally agreeing to share custody.

Ryan then became engaged to a man and cut off contact between her biological child and Embry, saying that under her new Christian beliefs she didn’t think the relationship was good for the child. Embry sued for custody.

The lower court sided with Ryan, ruling that the Washington adoption had no legal standing in Florida because of its bans on same-sex adoption and marriage.

John Blue, who is representing Embry for the National Center for Lesbian Rights, said Wednesday’s reversal of that decision protects the legal bond between adoptive parents and their children and ensures the stability of those relationships across state lines.

Ryan’s attorney, Mathew Staver, said he plans to appeal to the state Supreme Court.

“Florida law does not allow homosexual adoptions, so logically they shouldn’t be recognized from another state,” said Staver, the founder and president of Liberty Counsel, a conservative Christian legal group.

The state is already challenging a Miami-Dade circuit judge’s ruling last year that its ban on same-sex adoption violates the equal protection rights for the children and their prospective same-sex parents.

SAVANNAH, Ga. (AP) – Republicans can reach a broader base by recasting same-sex marriage as an issue that could dent pocketbooks as small businesses spend more on health care and other benefits, GOP Chair Michael Steele said Saturday.

Steele said that was just an example of how the party can retool its message to appeal to young voters and minorities without sacrificing core conservative principles. Steele said he used the argument weeks ago while chatting on a flight with a college student who described herself as fiscally conservative but socially liberal on issues like same-sex marriage.

“Now all of a sudden I’ve got someone who wasn’t a spouse before, that I had no responsibility for, who is now getting claimed as a spouse that I now have financial responsibility for,” Steele told Republicans at the state convention in traditionally conservative Georgia. “So how do I pay for that? Who pays for that? You just cost me money.”

As Steele talked about ways the party could position itself, he also poked fun at his previous pledge to give the GOP a “hip-hop makeover.”

“You don’t have to wear your pants cut down here or the big bling,” he said.

Vermont and Iowa have legalized same-sex marriage in recent weeks, and a Quinnipiac University poll released in April found that 57 percent of people questioned support civil unions that provide marriage-like rights. Although 55 percent said they opposed same-sex marriage, the poll indicated a shift toward more acceptance.

The chief of the Republican National Committee has been criticized by some social conservatives in recent weeks after GQ magazine quoted him as saying he opposed same-sex marriage but wasn’t going to “beat people upside the head about it.”

Steele, a Catholic and former Maryland lieutenant governor, was elected chair of the committee earlier this year.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – The Senate Ethics Committee has unanimously rejected a complaint filed against a state senator who had urged county recorders to refuse to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples.

The panel voted 6-0 on May 12 to reject the complaint filed against Grafton Republican Merlin Bartz.

The complaint was filed by former Democratic legislator Ed Fallon, who argued Bartz had violated his oath of office by urging recorders to defy an Iowa Supreme Court ruling legalizing same-sex marriage.

Democratic Sen. Dick Dearden of Des Moines says he voted against the complaint because it was a free-speech issue.

Bartz says the dismissal was a weight off his shoulders.

LANSING, Mich. (AP) – Michigan lawmakers again are considering bills that would expand the definition of bias-motivated or hate crimes.

The legislation approved Wednesday by the House Judiciary Committee could make penalties stiffer if crimes were motivated by the victim’s disability, sexual orientation or status as a military veteran. It would add to Michigan’s current law covering crimes sparked by gender, national origin, race and religion.

A group called the American Family Association of Michigan is lobbying against including the sexual orientation provision. The group says it would give same-sexes special protections not provided to most other citizens.

The bill now goes to the House floor.

DULUTH, Minn. (AP) – The city of Duluth will soon begin permitting same-sex couples to register as domestic partners, which could make it easier for them to get domestic partner benefits.

The ordinance says domestic partners are defined as those who are “as committed to one another as married persons are traditionally committed.”

Councilor Jeff Anderson says his ordinance will make the city more inclusive and tolerant of homosexuals, but notes that it’s not just for same-sex and lesbian couples.

The City Council approved the policy Monday night on a split vote. It requires the city clerk to issue certificates to couples that meet certain criteria.

The certificates will cost $25 and should start being offered next month.

BAKER CITY, Ore. (AP) – Three Baker High School students have chartered a local club for the Same-sex-Straight Alliance to provide a safe haven for all students.

The high school club was approved about two weeks ago by the student council, which has authority to deny the formation of any club at the school.