SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. (AP) — A California gay couple sued the Internet site Adoption.com, alleging the site won’t help them adopt a child because they are gay.

Michael and Richard Butler of San Jose, who legally changed their last names so they would be the same, have been domestic partners for about eight years and share a house, according to the suit.

After deciding to adopt and being certified by California to do so, they sought the services of Adoption.com, which lists the profiles of hundreds of birth mothers as well as qualified persons wanting to adopt.

The suit, filed in San Francisco County Superior Court, alleges the site has unlawfully rejected the Butlers’ application to join the site.

“This is a clear-cut case of discrimination,” said one of the couple’s attorneys, Neel Chatterjee.

A spokeswoman for Tempe, Arizona-based Adoption.com declined to comment.

The site’s legal director wrote in a letter to the National Center for Lesbian Rights, which is suing on behalf of the Butlers, that heterosexual couples are better suited to adopt than gays and lesbians.

“All of the scientific research that we have seen overwhelmingly supports the premise that children have a much greater chance of thriving in their lives ... if they are raised in a stable and traditional two-parent family,” said the letter, which was included in the suit.

LOS ANGELES, Calif. (AP) — A national gay magazine has named as its person of the year New Hampshire’s new Episcopal bishop, whose appointment has threatened to split the world Anglican Church.

The Advocate says the Rev. Gene Robinson is a symbol in the battle to move religion away from hatred and exclusion and toward love and equality. He is the church’s first openly gay bishop.

Robinson “has handled the resulting anger from conservative Christians with poise and eloquence,” the magazine said on its website, adding that he has maintained a “steadfast focus on his mission to open God’s church to all people on the margins.”

In an interview with the magazine, Robinson said he wants to make the most of the attention he is getting.

“As long as I’ve got the attention of the world’s media, I’m going to use it for the church and I’m going to use it for God,” Robinson told The Advocate.

PHOENIX, Ariz. (AP) — City police raided a social club where patrons openly engage in sex and jailed two of its operators on suspicion of violating a city ordinance, police said.

The raid is the second one this month targeting such businesses.

Authorities raided Chute Inc., a gay swinger’s club in Phoenix, and placed two managers into custody on suspicion of misdemeanor violations of the city’s ordinance against operating a business where live sex acts occur, police said.

Police said they did not shut down the club nor detain any of the club’s clients during the raid, because the city ordinance pertains only to operators of such a business.

The raid at Chute comes on the heels of a similar raid at Club Chameleon on Dec. 6. The manager of the club, which caters to heterosexual swingers engaging in sex, was also arrested on suspicion of a similar violation of the city ordinance.

The raids are hotly contested and have prompted legal challenges and bitter debates, with First Amendment advocates saying that the police are enforcing an unconstitutional ordinance that violates the right to free expression.

“They’re enforcing the law in a discriminatory manner, and they’re enforcing it simply to retaliate against people,” said Phoenix attorney Nicholas Hentoff, who represents Club Chameleon.

Hentoff also said authorities have avoided raiding gay sex clubs to dodge the perception that police are targeting gays.

But James Hays, an assistant city attorney, said the half-dozen swingers clubs in the region have been treated equally, regardless of affiliations with heterosexual or gay clients.

“We made an effort to ensure that our enforcement of a recognized group is not perceived as being targeted. At the moment, the homosexual clubs and the heterosexual clubs are being treated the same,” Hays said.

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Gay employees will be protected from workplace discrimination and harassment under policies recently adopted by Orange County Commissioners.

The new rules shield county workers from bias in hiring, promotions and on-the-job treatment because of their sexual orientation, the Orlando Sentinel reported.

County leaders said it was already their practice to be fair with all employees and applicants. The new policy simply puts it in writing.

“We have a long history in Orange County of not discriminating against anybody,” County Chair Rich Crotty said after the commission approved the policies by a 6-0 vote.

The city of Orlando passed a nondiscrimination policy for its workers in 2000. Later, gay activists successfully pushed for a controversial ordinance that extends that protection to workers employed by private businesses in Orlando.

“It’s a victory for Orange County employees,” said local activist Michael Slaymaker.

ATHENS, Ga. (AP) — An Athens woman who accused a Gwinnett County deputy sheriff of raping her because she is a lesbian has been arrested for allegedly stalking her former lover while armed with a handgun.

Athens-Clarke County police said the 21-year-old woman — who the Athens Banner-Herald was not identifying because she is an alleged rape victim — was arrested outside of her ex-girlfriend’s place of employment.

Police say she used her car to block another vehicle, in which her ex-girlfriend was either the driver or passenger, to prevent it from leaving.

A search of the woman’s car turned up a .357-caliber revolver concealed beneath clothing on the front seat, according to police. During questioning, the woman said she planned to shoot herself in front of her former lover, who ended their relationship a week earlier, police said.

The woman told officers she was in therapy for suicidal thoughts she’d been having since the alleged rape.

In October, prosecutors filed notice that they plan to seek extra prison time under the state’s hate-crime law in the case of Derrick McGriff, the former deputy who the Athens woman claimed raped her after they met in an Athens restaurant on June 9.

She alleges the then-deputy forced her at gunpoint to her apartment, where he raped her after making threats and derogatory references to her being a lesbian.

McGriff, 25, was suspended and then resigned from the Gwinnett County Sheriff’s Department following his arrest. He is free on $100,000 bond and under house arrest at the home of his parents in Hawkinsville.

His defense attorneys have said the alleged victim made up the story to conceal from her lover that she had consensual sex with a man.

McGriff was indicted Aug. 6 on charges of rape, false imprisonment, aggravated assault with intent to rape, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and violation of oath of office. His trial is yet to be scheduled.

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (AP) — The city’s effort to become a destination for gay tourists has attracted attention from a leading newspaper and a television network.

Bloomington was included this month on a USA Today list of cities with advertising campaigns geared toward gay tourists. The city was also mentioned on the NBC show “Saturday Night Live.”

During the “Weekend Update” segment, cast member Tina Fey highlighted cities that are trying to attract gay and lesbian travelers and mentioned Bloomington and its slogan, “Come Out and Play.”

Valerie Pea, director of the Bloomington/Monroe County Convention and Visitors Bureau, said “Come Out and Play” has been a city slogan for several years, though the official slogan is “Breakaway to Bloomington.”

Officials altered the “Breakaway” slogan slightly about three years ago, changing the color of the lettering in the city’s name from crimson to rainbow colors. The rainbow often is used to denote support for gay causes.

The visitors bureau is eager to bring gay and lesbian tourists to the city of 70,000 about 50 miles south of Indianapolis, Pea said, and she believes the recent publicity should help.

But some services, such as a gay bed-and-breakfast, still need to be put in place to promote the city to gay travelers, she said.