PHOENIX, Ariz. (AP) – Two Republican candidates for governor are seeking support from gay voters as they take stances at odds with two others over a proposed state constitutional amendment on marriage.

The proposed amendment, Proposition 107 on the Nov. 7 general election ballot, would define marriage as the union of a man and a woman and also prohibit state and local governments from giving legal status to other unions.

Candidate Gary Tupper has criticized the amendment, calling it unnecessary, intrusive and divisive.

“I support equal rights to all minorities,” Tupper said. “I don’t pick and choose which minorities I support. Our campaign is reaching out to folks the Republican Party has ignored for far too long.”

Fellow candidate Mike Harris spoke in defense of marriage during several public appearances last month, but more recently he came out against the amendment.

Civil partnerships with the same rights as marriage “would be ideal,” he said in an Aug. 14 campaign e-mail that expanded on comments he made in an interview with Echo Magazine, a gay publication.

The amendment “goes too far,” Harris said in the e-mail.

The other two GOP gubernatorial candidates, Don Goldwater and Len Munsil, support the amendment.

DENVER, Colo. (AP) – One of two proposals that would allow same-sex couples to register as domestic partners was withdrawn from the November ballot on Aug. 22 because backers said the other proposal would accomplish the same goal.

Coloradans for Fairness pulled Amendment 45, which would have changed the state Constitution to give registered domestic partners some of the same rights as married couples.

Still on the ballot is Referendum I, which would put domestic partnerships into state law, rather than into the constitution. It was placed on the ballot by the Legislature.

Coloradans for Fairness gathered signatures to place their proposal on the ballot partly to counter another measure that would have barred any government in Colorado from recognizing any relationship similar to marriage.

Backers of the anti-domestic partnership proposal failed to gather enough signatures to win a spot on the ballot.

“The simple question before voters this fall is whether we will provide basic legal rights for such things as hospital visitation, end-of-life decisions, inheritance of property,” said Sean Duffy, executive director of Coloradans for Fairness, which gathered more than 140,000 signatures for its proposal. “That’s the choice Referendum I gives us.”

He said Coloradans for Fairness offered its proposal to show that Referendum I would not allow same-sex marriage but provide committed same-sex couples with legal rights they lack now.

The move leaves seven initiatives and seven referenda on the November ballot, including two dealing with same-sex relationships: Referendum I and Amendment 43, which would amend the Constitution to define marriage as a union between one man and one woman.

NEW YORK (AP) – Nine gay characters are depicted in network-TV series scheduled for the 2006-07 season, a decrease from last year’s 10, the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation said.

Out of 679 series lead or supporting characters on the six major broadcast networks in the new season, roughly 1.3 percent are gay, lesbian or bisexual, according to the group’s annual study. The figure last year was 1.4 percent.

GLAAD analyzed the 95 prime-time comedies and dramas announced by ABC, CBS, Fox, NBC, CW and MyNetworkTV.

While the year-to-year numbers are relatively consistent, the prominence of the roles has been diminished, GLAAD found, with the exit of shows like “Will & Grace,” “Out of Practice” and “Crumbs.”

The nine gay or lesbian characters appear on eight different series.

New series GLAAD counted as “inclusive” include comedies “Help Me Help You” (ABC) and “The Class” (CBS), and dramas “Brothers & Sisters” (ABC), weeknight telenovela “Fashion House” (MyNetworkTV) and CW midseason entry “Hidden Palms.” These join returning comedies “Desperate Housewives” (ABC) and “The Office” (NBC), as well as the drama “ER” (NBC).

The five series with recurring gay, lesbian or bisexual characters include the new comedies “Ugly Betty” and midseason arrival “Big Day” (both ABC). These join returning comedies “The Simpsons” and “The War at Home” (both Fox), and the drama “Grey’s Anatomy” (ABC), the study found.

“It’s clear that the broadcast networks have a long way to go before they accurately reflect the diversity of their audience and our society,” said GLAAD president Neil G. Giuliano.

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) – The state’s HIV infection rate through the first seven months of the year was on pace with last year, when health officials saw what they described as a troubling spike in cases.

In 2005, South Dakota had 33 new cases of HIV, or human immunodeficiency virus, which causes AIDS. That was up from 19 the year before and the first time since 1995 that the state’s total topped 30 new infections.

South Dakota still ranks in the bottom 10 percent nationally when it comes to AIDS infection rates, but the increasing use of needles to inject methamphetamine, coupled with unsafe sex practices among young people, have pushed numbers higher.

State epidemiologist Lon Kightlinger called it a “worrisome” trend when he announced the figures earlier this year, and he says now that the problem isn’t going away.

“There are a number of cases that have been connected with meth use,” Kightlinger said. “Certainly not all, but enough to make it a concern.”

HIV is a sexually transmitted disease and also is spread through direct contact with blood; drug users who share dirty needles spread the disease that way.

People infected with HIV do not have AIDS until they develop serious symptoms. People can be infected with HIV but remain healthy for years.

South Dakota’s cumulative HIV and AIDS cases, dating to 1985, now stand at 511. There are 296 South Dakotans living with HIV or AIDS; almost three-quarters of them are men.

In the 118 cases diagnosed from 2001 through 2005, 36 percent acquired HIV through heterosexual sex, 33 percent from male-to-male sexual contact and 20 percent from illegal drug use. The source of the disease in the remaining 11 percent is not known or was not given, Kightlinger said.

An estimated 151 South Dakotans diagnosed with AIDS have died. The disease depletes the immune system and eventually renders the body defenseless against infections.

BRATTLEBORO, Vt. – A lesbian couple who entered into the nation’s first same-sex civil union have officially split up.

Carolyn Conrad and Kathleen Peterson, both of Brattleboro, had entered a civil union shortly after midnight on July 1, 2000, the day Vermont’s first-in-the-nation law went into effect.

Conrad, 35, filed to end the union in October and later obtained a restraining order against her partner, saying Peterson punched a hole in the wall during an argument and threatened to harm a friend.

A judge granted the request for a dissolution on Aug. 23.

“It’s a heartbreaking situation for any couple,” Conrad told the Brattleboro Reformer.

The couple had been in a relationship for five years before Vermont began offering same-sex couples the rights and benefits of marriage.

Beth Robinson, chairwoman of the Vermont Freedom to Marry Task Force, said the union’s end shows that the state’s civil union law is working.

“One of the goals was to create a mechanism to protect people in a relationship and create a mechanism to help people dissolve relationships,” she said. “Same-sex relationships are no different than heterosexual relationships. Sometimes they last, sometimes they don’t.”

More than 7,500 civil unions have been formed in Vermont since the end of 2004 and 78 have been dissolved.

MADISON, Wis. (AP) – Forty-eight percent of likely Wisconsin voters favor a state constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage while 40 percent oppose the measure, according to a statewide poll released Aug 18.

But the poll paid for WISC-TV of Madison and conducted by Research 2000 showed 12 percent were not sure.

The telephone poll of 600 likely voters was listed as having a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.

The amendment would declare that marriage is between one man and one woman and that unmarried individuals cannot be granted a legal status similar to marriage such as civil unions pioneered by Vermont.

It has been approved in two consecutive legislative sessions and only needs voter approval Nov. 7 to take effect.

Supporters have said the amendment would defend marriage from legal challenges seeking to grant same-sex couples the right to marry, such as one that was successful in Massachusetts. Critics have said the amendment is not needed because state law already defines marriage as between a husband and wife.

The poll showed that men who responded favored the amendment 51 percent to 38 percent with 11 percent not sure, compared with women favoring it 45 percent to 42 percent with 13 percent not sure.

Democrats polled opposed the amendment 52 percent to 39 percent, with 9 percent not sure, while Republicans favored it 65 percent to 20 percent with 15 percent unsure and independents opposed it 50 percent to 38 percent with 12 percent not sure.

CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) – In Wyoming last year, at least three people who died or showed up at a doctor’s office never knew they were infected with the virus that causes AIDS, according to the Wyoming Department of Health.

Wyoming health officials were hoping that National HIV Testing Day would raise awareness about the need to be tested for HIV.

“The bottom line is HIV can affect people from all walks of life, and it is important to be aware of your status,” said Rob Johnston, HIV prevention coordinator at the state Health Department. “Once you have the facts, you can get help and take precautions to avoid spreading the disease.”

Leon Solis, an HIV/AIDS counselor at the nonprofit Pathfinder in Cheyenne, said the number of people tested for HIV had dropped from 30-40 people a month about eight years ago to maybe five per month.

“Numbers everywhere, as far as testing, are low,” he said. “I’m struggling to get people tested.”

Solis said he hopes the drop in testing is because people are more educated about HIV and are making wiser decisions as a result.

According to the state Health Department, 194 people in Wyoming have been diagnosed with HIV.

Pamela Reamer Williams, director of the Wyoming AIDS Project, said she believes HIV is spread in Wyoming mainly by people who don’t know they are infected.