OAKLAND (AP) – A federal appeals court has ruled that the city of Oakland acted legally when it pulled down a flyer posted by two city employees who had formed a religious club to promote “the natural family, marriage and family values.”

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Monday upheld a federal judge’s dismissal of a lawsuit two years ago by Regina Regerford and Robin Christy, who worked in Oakland’s Community and Economic Development Agency.

After other workers founded a Gay and Lesbian Employees Association in 2002, Regerford and Christy formed the Good News Employee Association and displayed a flyer promoting the group as a “forum for people of faith” to express their views “with respect for the natural family, marriage and family values.”

A supervisor removed the flyer six weeks later after an employee complained it contained homophobic statements and violated the city’s anti-harassment policy.

Regerford and Christy sued, but in February 2005 a federal judge dismissed the claim, ruling the two had other ways to communicate their views and the city was entitled to enforce its ban on harassing gay and lesbian employees.

The three-judge appellate panel upheld the dismissal of that lawsuit. The court ruled that government agencies can restrict free speech in the workplace if the decision serves “legitimate administrative interests” and the interference with employee speech is outweighed by the agency’s need to maintain “the efficient operation of their office.”

WEST DES MOINES (AP) – Gov. Chet Culver on Monday signed into law an anti-bullying measure, adding sexual orientation and gender identity to the list of factors for which students can’t be harassed.

“This bill makes it clear Iowans are committed to providing protection against intolerance in every Iowa school,” said Culver. “This bill simply says that bullying, threats, intimidation and intolerance have no place in our public education system.”

The governor traveled to a suburban high school to sign the measure. He was joined by lawmakers, school administrators and civil rights leaders from around the state.

The measure he signed establishes a state policy banning school employees, volunteers and students from harassing or bullying students, and puts in place a long list of items for which students must be protected. The list includes issues like race and gender, but most of the controversy surrounding the measure came because of the inclusion of sexual orientation and gender identity.

“Now that we have the policy, we must all work together to give our educators and administrators the training and tools necessary to eliminate bullying in our schools forever,” Culver said in a statement accompanying his signature.

The measure had been a top priority of civil rights advocacy groups, who argued that harassment of GLBT students is common. The Iowa Pride Network, a statewide advocacy group, said it conducted a 2005 study that found 83 percent of openly gay students reported being harassed because of their sexual orientation.

The measure Culver signed into law also puts into place a requirement that schools file reports about any incidents involving harassment. Backers said that would give state education officials a better grip on the extent of the problem.

MONROE (AP) – A sex offender who admitted having sex with a 14-year-old girl and exposing her to the virus that causes AIDS got the maximum 20-year sentence.

Henry Lee Bass must serve two 10-year sentences – for carnal knowledge of a juvenile and intentional exposure to HIV – one after the other, Judge Carl Sharf said Wednesday.

Bass was charged with two counts of each crime, and pleaded guilty last month to one count of each. In 1992, he was convicted of molesting a juvenile and carnal knowledge of a juvenile.

He was arrested in May after Monroe police found the girl outside a homeless shelter. She said she had been living with Bass and another man at Bass’ home because her parents were jailed. Her mother had been staying with the men until she was booked on unrelated drug charges.

BOSTON (AP) – Twelve gay and lesbian veterans who were dismissed under the military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t’ Tell” policy asked a federal appeals court Wednesday to reinstate their lawsuit challenging the policy.

In arguments before the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, one veteran compared the policy to government-sanctioned discrimination against blacks.

“Systematically in the military today, gays are being harassed, hounded, harmed,” former Army Capt. James Pietrangelo II told the court. “This is segregation all over again.”

But Gregory Katsas, a lawyer for the government, said the policy is a way to protect military unit cohesion and reduce sexual tension. He said similar concerns about romantically involved heterosexual couples led the military to create separate housing for men and women.

“Congress’ rationale … is that that kind of coupling creates problems,” he said.

The “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy prohibits the military from asking about the sexual orientation of servicemembers but requires discharge of those who acknowledge being gay or engaging in homosexual activity.

The veterans, who served in the Army, Navy, Air Force and Coast Guard, argued in their lawsuit that the policy violates their Constitutional rights to privacy, free speech and equal protection.

U.S. District Judge George A. O’Toole threw out the suit in April, citing the broad authority given to Congress in establishing the country’s military policies and the in-depth Congressional hearings on the policy before it was established in 1993 under the Clinton administration.

The Servicemembers Legal Defense Network appealed O’Toole’s ruling on behalf of the veterans, arguing that, at a time when the military is having recruiting difficulties, it is discharging distinguished service members because they are gay.

The Bush administration has argued in court documents that the policy “rationally furthers the government’s interest in maintaining unit cohesion, reducing sexual tensions and promoting personal privacy.”

“Don’t ask, Don’t Tell” has been upheld by appeals courts in several other jurisdictions but has never been ruled on by the 1st Circuit. The three-judge panel did not immediately rule.

The justices peppered lawyers on both sides with questions, including asking whether the policy had a chilling effect on speech. Katsas said only service members who are found to have a propensity to commit homosexual acts can be discharged. But Pietrangelo said an inquiry can be triggered by something as simple as marching in a Pride parade.

“That’s exactly how it operates – to chill speech,” he said.

The 12 former servicemembers are seeking reinstatement in the armed forces. Pietrangelo, a former JAG officer, is among the plaintiffs and was allowed to participate in the oral arguments before the court.

DETROIT (AP) – A newspaper has decided to drop columnist Ann Coulter following the conservative pundit’s use of a derogatory word to describe Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards during a speech last week.

The Oakland Press of Pontiac elected to stop running Coulter’s columns after she used the word “faggot” to describe Edwards, a former senator from North Carolina. The decision was reported Wednesday by the trade publication Editor & Publisher.

“She’s really gone into the realm of wanting to be, whatever, a personality, a celebrity flame-thrower,” Glenn Gilbert, the paper’s executive editor, told The Associated Press on Thursday. “The reason we wanted her, we wanted a conservative columnist. She’s obviously betrayed conservatives.”

Coulter was quoted last week during a speech to the Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington as saying: “I was going to have a few comments on the other Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards, but it turns out you have to go into rehab if you use the word ‘faggot,’ so I – so kind of an impasse, can’t really talk about Edwards.”

Kathie Kerr, a spokesperson for Universal Press Syndicate, which distributes Coulter’s columns, said Thursday the service has no plans to stop offering the author’s columns. She said the columns are distributed to about 100 clients, four of which have decided to stop running them.

“All of our clients and newspaper editors know better than we do what they should and should not run,” Kerr said. “They know their communities better than we do.”

Gilbert said the Press hasn’t officially announced its decision to readers. The newspaper, which has a daily circulation of about 65,000, began running Coulter’s weekly columns last fall, he said.

CHAPEL HILL (AP) – Democratic presidential hopeful John Edwards says Jesus would be appalled at how the United States has ignored the plight of the suffering, and that he believes children should have private time to pray at school.

Edwards, in an interview with the Web site www.beliefnet.com, said Jesus would be most upset with the selfishness of Americans and the country’s willingness to go to war “when it’s not necessary.”

“I think that Jesus would be disappointed in our ignoring the plight of those around us who are suffering and our focus on our own selfish short-term needs,” Edwards told the site. “I think he would be appalled, actually.”

Edwards also said he was against teacher-led prayers in public schools, but he added that “allowing time for children to pray for themselves, to themselves, I think is not only OK, I think it’s a good thing.”