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THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 5. 2014
PAGE 9A
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Transgender student recants sexual assault report
A security guard talks to man at the gate outside of the Hercules Middle/High School campus in Hercules, Calif., Tuesday, March 4, 2014. Police on Tuesday were investigating reports of a brutal assault of a transgender teen. The 15-year-old student told officers that he was leaving a boy's bathroom at the school on Monday when three teenage boys pushed him inside a handicapped stall and physically and sexually assaulted him, Hercules police Detective Connie Van Putten said.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
SAN FRANCISCO - A transgender teenager who said he was beaten and sexually assaulted in a California high school bathroom recanted the story, police said Tuesday.
sorry, police said. The 15-year-old student at Hercules Middle/High School "admitted he fabricated the whole story" during an interview with a detective, Hercules police Detective Connie Van Putten said.
The teen, who is biologically female but identifies as male, had told officers he was leaving a boy's bathroom at the school Monday morning when three other boys pushed him inside a large stall and attacked him.
Officers took his statement and opened an investigation that included a sexual assault examination. But as the investigation continued, officers could not substantiate the facts of the boy's statement, including the time frame, and the he lacked any physical injuries to his head, face and hands, police said.
The student finally admitted he had made up the story during the follow-up interview with a detective Tuesday, Van Putten said.
"We investigated this thing as a true crime. We went at it full force until we found out there was no crime." Van Putten said. "So people should know if they believe they are a victim of a crime, we are going to give them our full attention."
The change left open the possibility that the teen could be charged with making a false criminal report, she said. Mario Trujillo, spokesman for the West Contra Costa Unified School District,
said school officials are less concerned with punishing the student than making sure he gets the support he needs to feel safe and comfortable at school.
"We recognize that life is complicated, and at the end of the day this is a request for help," Trujillo said.
The student's made-up account came as school districts across California are bringing their policies into compliance with a law that took effect Jan 1 guaranteeing students the right to use the bathrooms and locker rooms that match
Advocates who fought to get the law through the Legislature last year said the fact that the Hercules teen's story appeared to be untrue does not minimize the harassment that transgender students like him routinely face and the need for schools to work hard to address it.
"There is still an important piece of the story, which is that trans youth do face elevated levels of bullying and violence including physical assaults at school," said Carolyn
Laub, executive director of the Gay-Straight Alliance Network. "Even if this particular story isn't true, the school's response, to put in place plans for bringing the community together and addressing school safety and climate, is a good outcome."
the gender with which they identify.
Since November, Hercules High has been dealing with the fallout from an on-campus fight involving another transgender student and three girls that was captured in a cellphone video that went viral. The transgender teenager, Jewelys Gutierrez, a biological
male who identifies as female, was charged with misdemeanor assault and said she had repeatedly complained about being harassed at school before she fought back.
The West Contra Costa Unified School District also has been responding to criticism over its handling of sexual harassment involving students, including sexual assaults, inappropriate touching and verbal taunts. The U.S.Department of Education's Office of Civil Rights launched an investigation of the district after a female student was gang-
raped outside a homecoming dance at another high school in 2009,the year after another girl at a third high school was raped in a classroom by two classmates.
"West Contra Costa has had a lot of problems, but for today I'm glad that we don't have another problem, which would've been another problem that would've been a blight on this school district,"school board President Charles Ramsey said Tuesday after police concluded the latest incident had been fabricated.
NATIONAL
Republican group shows support for gay marriage
ASSOCIATED PRESS
SALT LAKE CITY — A group of Republicans has come out in support of legalizing gay marriage in Utah and Oklahoma, arguing that allowing same-sex unions is consistent with the Western conservative values of freedom and liberty once championed by Ronald Reagan and Barry Goldwater.
A group that includes former Sen. Alan Simpson of Wyoming and former Sen. Nancy Kassebaum of Kansas plans to file a friend of the court brief Tuesday to a federal appeals court in Denver that is reviewing same-sex marriage bans in Utah and Oklahoma, said Denver attorney Sean Gallagher, whose firm wrote the 30-page argument.
The full list of current and former Republican lawmakers signing the brief won't be available until it's officially sent to the court later Tuesday, but Gallagher said many prominent Republicans are re-examining their stance on gay marriage.
The group call themselves "conservatives, moderates and libertarians who embrace the individual freedoms protected by our Constitution," embrace Reagan's idea of the Republican Party being a "big tent," and share Goldwater's belief that the party shouldn't "seek to lead anyone's life for him," according to a copy of the brief provided to The Associated Press.
"It is precisely because marriage is so important in producing and protecting strong and stable family structures that (we) do not agree that the government can rationally promote the goal of strengthening families by denying civil marriage to same-sex couples." the argument says in the conclusion.
BRIEF
Republican group
Washington, D.C., and 17 states, mostly in the Northeast, allow same-sex marriage. Others may soon follow depending on how federal appeals courts, and eventually the U.S. Supreme Court, rule on state bans that have been overturned.
Including Utah and Oklahoma, six federal judges have issued pro-gay-marriage rulings since the Supreme Court's decision in Windsor v. U.S. in
"...(we) do not agree that the government can rationally promote the goal of strengthening families by denying civil marriage to same-sex couples."
In Kentucky, Gov. Steve Beshear, a Democrat, announced Tuesday the state will hire outside attorneys to appeal a judge's decision granting legal recognition to same-sex couples married in other states and countries. That came as the state's attorney general, also a Democrat, announced that he would not pursue the case further.
June that struck down part of the federal anti-gay-marriage law. The latest came last week in Texas.
general in at least seven states — Virginia, Pennsylvania, California, Illinois, Oregon, Kentucky and Nevada — have
Democratic attorneys
declined to defend same-sex-marriage bans that have been challenged in court by gay couples.
U. S. Attorney General Eric Holder said last week that his state counterparts are not obligated to defend local laws banning same-sex marriage if they believe the laws violate the U.S. Constitution.
The gay marriage bans in Utah and Oklahoma were passed by voters in 2004.
The Denver-based 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeal has assigned the same panel of judges to review both cases, which are on a fast track, but has decided to hold two differ ent hearings.
They were overturned by separate federal judges in each state within a month of each other in December and January.
The appeals court must decide if it agrees with the federal judges in Utah and Oklahoma who ruled that the bans violate gay and lesbian couples' rights to due process and equal protection under the 14th Amendment.
The court will discuss Utah's case on April 10 and Oklahoma's on April 17.
Dozens of groups are expected to file friend of the court briefs before the Tuesday midnight deadline.
The American Military Partner Association and American Sociological Association have already filed.
The American Psychological Association and a group of religious organizations that include groups representing Episcopal, Unitarians and Methodists also plan to file briefs.
UPCOMING PROGRAMS @ THE DOLE INSTITUTE
NEW SERIES!
2014 Innovations Series: Drones
2014 Innovations Series: Drones This year the Dole Institute is launching the Innovations Series, which will focus on the crossroads between science, technology and public policy. Our inaugural event in the series is a two program series on drones. Join us to find out about the technology and many uses of drones - not just military, as well as ethical questions about their deployment. Co-sponsored by KU School of Engineering, KU's Engineering Student Council, Engineers without Borders and KU Robotics.
Part 1- Unmanned Drones: Soldiers without Uniforms 7:30 p.m. Thursday, March 6, Dole Institute Retired Naval Admiral Timothy Beard and Scott Winship, both currently of global security company, Northrop Grumman, will discuss the technological development military history, future capabilities and ethics of drones.
Part II - Branching Out: Exploring New Uses for Drones 7:30 p.m. Tuesday March 11, Dole Institute
7:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 11, Dole Institute Drones are often associated with military procedures. But Dr. Kurt Barnhart, director for the Applied Aviation Research Center of Kansas State University, KU assistant profesor of Aerospace Engineering, Shawn Keshmiiri, and local entrepreneur, Bill Donovan, will discuss applications of drone use that range from disaster relief to search and rescue, environmental studies and agriculture.
DON'T MISS...
An Evening with Cindy McCain 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 25, Dole Institute Though best known publicly as wife of '08 Presidential contender, Sen, John McCain, Cindy McCain is a very successful and strong leader in her own right. Find out about her experiences as Chair of Hensley & Company and her extensive work with a number of major charity organizations, as well as some stories from the campaign trail.
All programs are free & open to the public.
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