TUESDAY, FEB. 5, 2002
STATE
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN = 5A
Court rejects young adult's appeal of sodomy law
TOPEKA — The Kansas Court of Appeals has rejected a challenge to a state law punishing young adults who have sex with underage partners more harshly if those partners are of the same gender.
The Associated Press
A three-judge panel ruled against Matthew R. Limon, who was seeking to overturn his sentence of 17 years and two months in prison for having sex with an underage boy in February 2000, when Limon was 18.
The case attracted the attention of the American Civil Liberties Union, which argued the law discriminates against homosexuals, and the DKT Liberty Project, a Washington group with a Libertarian philosophy, which said it represented gender discrimination.
Had either Limon or the other boy been a girl, the maximum sentence would have been one year and three months in prison.
represented a genius.
But in an unsigned opinion issued Friday, Appeals Judges Henry W. Green Jr., David S. Knudson and G. Joseph Pierron Jr. said the U.S. Supreme Court has held that states may treat homosexual acts differently than heterosexual ones.
"Neither does this decision deal with the wisdom of the statute involved, as that is left to the Legislature in our governmental system, with its separation of powers," the appeals panel wrote.
Limon still may appeal the decision to the Kansas Supreme Court.
In 1999 and 2000, Limon was a resident of the Lakemary Center, a school for developmentally disabled young people in Paola.
In February 2000, he performed a sex act with another boy, identified only as M.A.R. who was one month shy of his 15th birthday. Initially, their encounter
was consensual.
The year before the incident, legislators had enacted what became known as the "Romeo and Juliet" law. Named for Shakespeare's fictional young lovers, its goal was to separate consensual teenage sexual relationships from cases in which older adults exploited young children.
It lessened the penalties for unlawful but consensual sexual relations in which one person is under 19 and the other person is between 14 and 16, if their ages are less than four years apart.
The law also ended the requirement that the people convicted in such cases register as sex offenders with local law enforcement officials after their prison terms end.
However, the law applies only when the young sexual partners are of the opposite sex.
Limon was charged and convicted by a judge under an older criminal sodomy law. His juvenile record contained a similar offense from 1998, making his sentence in the latest case more severe.
The ACLU has said four states have laws that could have a similar result under the same circumstances: Alabama, California, Texas and Virginia.
"The argument that it is not made at homosexuals cannot be made with a straight face," the appeals panel said in its decision.
However, the Court of Appeals judges cited a 1986 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that upheld a Georgia law criminalizing consensual sodomy.
"There is no present indication that the decision would be different today," the Kansas judges wrote.
WICHITA — Thousands of Kansas families have returned to their homes after their electricity was restored, but for thousands more it may be days before the power is turned back on.
The Adjutant General's Office said yesterday that about 107,900 Kansas homes were still without power at the latest official count Sunday.
Parts of state still without power
Most customers should have power on by midweek, but some of the hardest hit places — particularly Olathe, Emporia and Arkansas City — may not get electric service until the end of the week, said Kent Myers, spokesman for Westar Energy, the state's largest electric provider.
Westar Energy had roughly 11,000 customers still without power yesterday. Myers said. It has 1,200 people working on restoring power, including crews
But life was returning to normal for thousands of others after last week's three-day ice storm disrupted power for as many as 400,000 people. Ice is blamed for the deaths at least two Kansans in a traffice accident last week.
from Iowa, Nebraska and Colorado.
With power restored to many areas, the American Red Cross has closed 25 of the 28 shelters it had opened throughout the state during the power outages. Shelters remained open yesterday in Arkansas City, Wellington and Garnett.
At least 3,000 homes were without power in Olathe and 3,400 in Arkansas City yesterday. Another 1,900 are without power in Emporia. Outages numbering in the hundreds each were also reported in Mission, Humboldt, El Dorado, Independ-
dence, Fort Scott and Pittsburg.
"Some of these smaller municipalities are having a real rough time," Myers said. "It is kind of hard to get people back up when you have that kind of devastation throughout the state."
Gov. Bill Graves declared a state of disaster for 22 Kansas counties, and three other counties declared a local state of emergency as well.
"The first night all you could hear were sirens running, trees breaking and transformers exploding," said Martha Pate, Red Cross day shelter manager in Arkansas City. "The second night it was pretty much tree branches and transformers and an occasional ambulance. Yesterday afternoon when I went out, it was chain saws. And last night it was generators."
Bill could hike costs for disabled services
The Associated Press
TOPEKA — Some parents and advocates for the disabled and mentally ill are concerned about a bill allowing a state agency to impose fees for services to children.
The Department of Social Rehabilitation Services wants the authority to impose fees because of the state's financial problems. SRS officials estimate the agency could raise $1.7 million for the next fiscal year.
But critics say the fees would keep some parents from seeking services for their children, or make those services too expensive for families already facing extraordinary costs in caring for disabled or mentally ill youngsters.
The Senate Ways and Means Committee heard testimony on the bill yesterday but postponed a scheduled
QUESTION Lori Ellis of Circleville, whose 16-year-old son receives therapy for mental illness and is in a jobs program, said she might have to cut back on services if SRS imposes fees.
vote because members had too many questions.
"It's not that my husband and I are unwilling to pay for services," she told the committee. "We feel we do that already."
SRS Secretary Janet Schalansky said yesterday that in the face of the budget problems, her agency wants to
The bill is a small part of legislators' efforts to close a projected $426 million gap between expected revenues and spending commitments for fiscal 2003, which begins July 1. A separate bill in the Senate would cut state spending immediately and carry the cuts into fiscal 2003.
charge for in-home services for the mentally ill and disabled and for programs designed to keep families together.
"Our philosophy behind this was to get some shared responsibility," Schalansky told the committee.
SRS has not proposed a schedule of fees yet, but advocates are worried they could be high for some families. Ellis told legislators she'd heard her family might have to pay $1,000 a month — an impression SRS officials tried to dispel.
lawrence plastic surgery
Breast Augmentation/Body Contouring
Remember the New Year's resolution you made to look better for spring break and summer? We can help you achieve the look you've always wanted in time for the swimsuit season. Join us at our free seminar on:
Thursday, Feb. 7, 2002, 7pm
1112 W. 6th Street, Suite 220
Please RSVP to 843-7677
Scott T. Thellman, M.D.
John W. Keller, M.D
The University of Kansas - School of Fine Arts - Lied Center
The BleuJacket - The Kansas City Star - Kies's Audio/Video present
Half-Price tickets available for KU Students
PROJIO © OLEG INCORTEV
GOOD SEATS STILL AVAILABLE!
KIEF'S Home Theater System
TheStar
The*Star
THE MATTER OF MARRIAGE
STUDENT
SENATE
www.stonanline.com
Tickets on sale at the Lied Center
Ticket Office (785) 864-ARTS
and via our website, lied.ku.edu
tickets.com
ticketmaster
(785) 234-4545
(816) 931-3330