HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (AP) – The law that bans the sale of sex toys, but not their possession, in the state of Alabama is again being challenged.

Michael Fees, a Huntsville attorney, represents a group of 10 people, all of whom have been fighting the state’s ban on selling sex toys since the law was enacted in 1998.

In a motion filed with a U.S. District Judge Lynwood Smith, Fees argued that a U.S. Supreme Court decision banning the criminalization of gay sex based on privacy issues also protects his clients’ right to buy and sell sex toys.

He argued that the state law is an unwelcome intrusion into his clients’ bedrooms.

If Smith decides to overturn the law, it will mark the third time he has done so.

In 1999, Smith ruled against the law only to have it reversed by the 11th Circuit Court after the state attorney general’s office appealed his decision.

In 2002, Smith again ruled against the law, but a three-judge panel of the 11th Circuit overturned him. The judges, however, sent the case back to Smith to review some other issues, including whether states have the right to legislate morality.

OPELIKA, Ala. (AP) – More than 700 mourners gathered for the funeral of Sgt. Christopher James Taylor, who was killed in Iraq in a mortar attack.

Taylor, 22, of Opelika, died July 24 in Balad, Iraq. The Army soldier was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 41st Field Artillery, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division at Fort Stewart, Ga.

Between 700 and 800 people gathered at Greater Peace Baptist Church for a memorial service, led by the Rev. Clifford E. Jones.

“We come to celebrate a hero in our midst,” Jones said in his opening prayer.

“I pray that as his children grow, they may have as memories the knowledge that their dad gave all in the cause of freedom. We pray for strength for his family.”

Taylor is survived by his wife, Janina Taylor; his two children, Xavie’r Taylor and Aaliyah Taylor; his parents, a brother and a sister.

Commanding General Maj. Gen. Benjamin Freakley presented Janina Taylor with four posthumous awards in her husband’s honor – the Bronze Star, Purple Heart, Good Conduct Award and Combat Action Badge.

“What is remarkable to me as I read letters from his fellow soldiers, he was not only revered as a man, but was revered as a leader,” Freakley said. “He was a role model to his family, a role model to this community, a leader in our army and a servant to this nation.”

Mourners processed to Motts Church of Christ Cemetery, where Taylor was buried with full military honors.

Local residents waved American flags and signs as the funeral procession passed by, marking a stark contrast to a group demonstrating in a designated area outside of the Greater Peace Baptist Church.

About 15 protesters from Westboro Baptist Church, in Topeka, Kan., chanted anti-gay rhetoric, mocked patriotic songs and waved signs bearing slogans such as “God hates you” and “America is doomed.” Among the protesters was Margie Phelps, daughter of WBC pastor and anti-gay activist Fred Phelps, who spearheads the group and says it protests at soldiers’ funerals to attract attention.

Most funeral attendees and local residents turned their backs on the protesters, and several formed a line in front of the demonstrators’ designated area to partially block the group from view. Several protesters attempted to move around the citizens, but police officers ordered the demonstrators to stay within the specified region.

Mourner Michael Carswell, 16, said he was disgusted by the protest and considered it an insult to Taylor’s memory.

“That’s like digging him up and desecrating his grave – and he’s not even in the ground yet,” Carswell said.

PHOENIX (AP) – A group opposing Arizona’s same-sex marriage initiative claims it’s well on its way to a multimillion-dollar television and radio advertising campaign.

Meanwhile, supporters of the initiative have been collecting signatures since May and say they’re confident state voters will approve the constitutional change in November 2006.

Len Munsil, president and general counsel for the Center for Arizona Policy, said opponents’ fund-raising efforts are putting more pressure on his group to spread its message.

But Munsil added that public opinion is on the side of protecting the sanctity of marriage.

Members of the opposing group, the Arizona Together Coalition, said they quickly matched a $25,000 pledge by a southern Arizona Realtor and are close to securing an additional $250,000 donation.

The group consists of more than 20 political, civil rights and religious groups, and believes it can raise $2 million or more, said Steve May, the coalition’s treasurer.

May said the group’s goal is to reach every potential voter in Arizona.

The proposed amendment defines marriage as between a man and a woman. It would also prohibit cities, towns and counties from giving legal status to unmarried couples.

Proponents need at least 183,917 by July 2006 to put the issue on the Nov. 7, 2006, ballot.

Backers of the initiative say the institution of marriage is at stake because they fear judges might eventually allow same-sex marriages.

Critics say the measure will leave hundreds of families without health insurance and other government benefits.

Eighteen states have amended their constitutions defining marriage as between a man and a woman, and 17 other states are considering the matter – of which Alabama, South Dakota and Tennessee already placed a constitutional amendment on the 2006 ballot.

Arizona law prohibits marriages involving same-sex couples, but they are not banned by the state constitution.

The goal of the proposed amendment is to ensure that no judge in Arizona rules in favor of same-sex marriage.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) – Addressing the question of whether gays and lesbians should be allowed to adopt children in Kansas has been added to a legislative study committee’s list of things to do.

Rep. Willa DeCastro, R-Wichita, said she scheduled a hearing Sept. 14 of the Joint Committee on Children’s Issues with adoption the only item set for discussion. Earlier, DeCastro said she wasn’t planning for her committee to discuss the issue “anytime soon.”

The panel will hear from staff about current adoption laws in Kansas, as well as from the Kansas Children’s Service League, which is contracted by Social and Rehabilitation Services to handle adoptions of children in foster care.

DeCastro said her decision wasn’t based on any pressure from House leadership or other legislators.

“I said from the onset, from the beginning, that I would accommodate them,” DeCastro said, referring to the leadership.

Rep. Steve Huebert, R-Valley Center, asked legislative leaders last month to put adoption criteria on the list of topics to be studied before the Legislature begins Jan. 9. He believes adoption should be limited to homes with a mother and father.

His proposal has received criticism from gay and lesbian advocacy groups, and many lawmakers said they weren’t eager to take on such an emotional issue.

State law is silent on whether gays and lesbians can adopt foster children. Unmarried couples can’t adopt foster children jointly.

An unmarried individual can adopt a child and live with another person, but only the person who adopted would have legal custody.

Last year, 627 foster children were adopted in Kansas, and about half that number were placed in homes through private adoptions. SRS says the number of foster children averages about 4,500 per month, but it doesn’t keep track of whether foster parents are gay or lesbian.

LANSING, Mich. (AP) – Attorneys for 21 same-sex couples and Gov. Jennifer Granholm asked a judge to rule that Michigan’s constitution does not prevent governments and universities from providing health insurance and other benefits to partners of gay and lesbian employees.

Circuit Court Judge Joyce Draganchuk heard arguments centering on a constitutional amendment approved by voters last year. It made the union between a man and a woman the only agreement recognized as a marriage “or similar union for any purpose.”

Republican Attorney General Mike Cox issued a legal opinion in March saying those six words bar public employers from offering domestic partner benefits in future contracts.

But an attorney for the couples said health insurance is simply a benefit of employment and argued that granting it in no way recognizes a union similar to marriage. Deborah Labelle also said backers of the ballot proposal consistently claimed it was only about marriage – not benefits.

“This goes way beyond the stated purpose of the amendment … and far beyond the drafters’ and voters’ intent,” she said of Cox’s interpretation.

Eric Restuccia, an attorney representing Cox, said the amendment’s wording is plain and accused Granholm and the couples of ignoring the “for any purpose” wording.

In March, the American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan sued on behalf of the 21 couples, who either receive health coverage from public employers or expected to get it.

The Granholm administration has decided not to offer state employees same-sex benefits, included in new labor contracts, until a court rules on their legality. Kalamazoo has announced it will eliminate same-sex benefits as of Jan. 1.

TRENTON, N.J. (AP) – Besides writing a tell-all memoir, former Gov. James E. McGreevey is working on an article about poverty in America, according to two published reports, which cited friends of the Democrat whose rising political career came crashing down with his disclosure of a gay affair.

In the year since his stunning Aug. 12, 2004, announcement, McGreevey has forged new alliances and worked on the article by journeying with a new colleague to the hamlet of War, W.Va., population 900, The Record of Bergen County and The Philadelphia Inquirer reported.

Marsha Timpson, a social worker who lives near War, escorted the pair, who tape-recorded interviews with residents of McDowell County, a coal mining area that teemed with 100,000 people during its boom days of the 1940s and ’50s.

“Jim came in here to the county and wanted to talk about poverty in our area, and we went to see some people. They talked about the health problems and the poverty and how hard is it is to find a job,” Timpson told The Associated Press. “I liked Jim a great deal, and I consider him a friend. I have nothing but the highest regard for him.”

These days, McGreevey’s life is a long way from the governor’s mansion in Princeton and the spotlight that shone on his soul-baring confession, made during a nationally televised news conference.

He and his wife, Dina Matos McGreevey, have separated. She bought a home in Springfield, where she lives with the couple’s daughter, Jacqueline. McGreevey, 48, lives in an apartment in Rahway. Neither has filed for divorce.

The former governor has largely stayed out of the public eye, brushing aside requests for interviews, including ones from The Inquirer, The Record and The Associated Press. Friends say McGreevey will accept a job with a nationally known public policy organization by the end of the summer.

He made the Appalachia trip in January with gay rights advocate David Mixner, who was also a top fund-raiser for former President Bill Clinton.

“I grew up in poverty. With my personal experience and the governor’s excellent record on the issues and knowledge of existing programs, it just seemed like a good fit,” Mixner, a southern New Jersey native, told The Inquirer in an e-mail.

The poverty article does not have a publisher, but McGreevey hopes to place it with a major magazine. Mixner said the article is in a final draft.

Celebrity publisher Judith Regan announced McGreevey would write an autobiography, describing his struggle with his sexuality and faith, “from the expectations he faced as a young man to the divided persona he created in order to meet them.”

McGreevey’s journey to Appalachia was part of a wide-ranging exploration of public-policy issues, including education and health care, said Scott Widmeyer, a media consultant and gay rights advocate with whom McGreevey has struck up a friendship.

Widmeyer specializes in helping politicians return to private life and counts among his clients former Vice President Walter Mondale and former New Jersey Gov. Thomas H. Kean.

Widmeyer has retained McGreevey for some paid consulting work on educational issues.

“Jim’s been through some rough times, but he’s put his life back together and he’s going to be unstoppable. He’s getting ready to reclaim his life,” Widmeyer told The Record.

McGreevey has had several meetings with foundations and think tanks. He’s also held issue-oriented discussions with politicians, including U.S. Rep. Barney Frank, the openly gay Massachusetts Congress member.

“He’s a great asset,” Frank told The Inquirer.

Laura Pople, president of the New Jersey Lesbian and Gay Coalition, said she and McGreevey are working to develop counseling programs for young lesbians and gays.

“Jim’s coming out is encouraging many young people who were too afraid to do the same. They need support,” Pople told The Record.

NEW YORK (AP) – Kanye West says “gay” has become an antonym to hip-hop – and that it needs to be stopped.

During an interview for an MTV special, the 27-year-old rapper launched into a discussion about hip-hop and homosexuality while talking about “Hey Mama,” a song on his upcoming album, Late Registration.

West says that when he was young, people would call him a “mama’s boy.”

“And what happened was, it made me kind of homophobic, ’cause it’s like I would go back and question myself,” West says on the show, “All Eyes on Kanye West,” which aired last week.

West says he changed his ways, though, when he learned one of his cousins was gay.

“It was kind of like a turning point when I was like, ‘Yo, this is my cousin. I love him and I’ve been discriminating against gays.’”

West says hip-hop was always about “speaking your mind and about breaking down barriers, but everyone in hip-hop discriminates against gay people.” He adds that in slang, gay is “the opposite, the exact opposite word of hip-hop.”

Kanye’s message: “Not just hip-hop, but America just discriminates. And I wanna just, to come on TV and just tell my rappers, just tell my friends, ‘Yo, stop it.’”

West’s sophomore album hits stores Aug. 30.

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) – Mayor Rocky Anderson and City Councilmember Jill Remington Love are separately exploring ways to offer insurance and other benefits to employees’ domestic partners, including siblings and parents, with whom they live.

“I’ve always been in favor of equal benefits for employees, regardless of sexual orientation,” Anderson said.

He said he would sign an executive order launching the benefits if city attorneys determine that it does not require City Council approval.

Love didn’t know Anderson was interested in the idea until recently.

“I’ve wondered why the mayor hasn’t been working on it,” she said. Love was quoted in a copyright story in The Salt Lake Tribune.

She doesn’t want the debate to be just about gay rights. She says it’s about fairness “to our employees.”

“Good employers across the country are expanding their benefits,” Love said.

Because of the council’s conservative bent and the near-constant tension between the mayor and council, Valerie Larabee, executive director of the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender Community Center of Utah, suspects it may be difficult to get a domestic-partner plan approved by the council.

Anderson mentioned the idea during his 2003 re-election campaign. But he said he was initially advised that extending benefits might be impossible.

Love said she made inquiries about expanding benefits after she was elected in 2001, but was told it would be too costly. This summer, she directed council staff to research the concept and found almost half of Fortune 500 companies offer benefits to gay and lesbian partners, along with 11 states, 295 colleges and universities (including the University of Utah) and 129 city and county governments.

“It was time to ask the question again,” she said.

Councilmember Carlton Christensen, who helped defeat an ordinance that banned discrimination against employees based on sexual orientation, said the benefits proposal “would have to have a broader inclusion than just gay couples. I would hope the fiscal impact would be minimal.”