THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 2009
NEWS
7A
Paintin' pumpkins
Jerry Wang/KANSAN
Carson Marsh, 5, paints a pumpkin at the Union on Oct. 29, as part of SUA's Haunted Halloween Open House. Marsh was dressed as a bat for the Halloween festivities.
LEGAL
Man removed from sex offender registry
DETROIT — The Michigan appeals court ordered a man removed from the state's sex-offender registry Wednesday, saying it was cruel punishment for a young "Romeo" who had a consensual relationship with a teen and later became her husband.
Robert Diptaza's lawyer said there are other men like her client who are on the list and could be removed because of the decision.
"It'sa victoryfor common sense," Miriam Auker
of him with his hand on her breast and contacted authorities in Muskegon County.
Under Michigan law, the age of consent is 16. Dipiazza was given a break: A case of third-degree attempted criminal sexual conduct was erased after he completed a
In 2004, Dipiazza was 18 when he had a consensual sexual relationship with a girl who was nearly 15. A teacher saw a photograph
"It's a victory for common sense. Teens in romantic relationships shouldn't be labeled as sexual predators."
man, an attorney, said. "Teens in romantic relationships shouldn't be labeled as sexual predators."
MIRIAM AUKERMAN Attorney
NATIONAL
special probation in 2005. There was no conviction but he still was required to register as a sex offender.
Dipiazza lost a series of jobs when employers found his name on the registry, which is on the Internet.
The Muskegon-area man turned to food stamps to survive and was diagnosed with depression.
California canabis seizures jump drastically in one year
The court said the registry makes no distinction between people like Dipiazza and men convicted of rape.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
SAN FRANCISCO
Authorities reported a staggering jump in the number of marijuana plants seized in California's eradication effort, claiming a more than 50 percent jump over the previous year.
The Campaign Against Marijuana Planting seized 4.4 million plants in 2009, up from 2.9 million plants in 2008, according to state Department of Justice figures released Wednesday.
The state has reported a record number of seizures each year since 2002, when more than 354,000
plants were cut down. Agents cracked the one million mark in 2005.
This year's increase was due to the discovery of larger pot gardens and the use of better eradication strategies, state Bureau of Narcotics Enforcement spokeswoman Michelle Gregory said.
Marijuana advocates and some policy analysts have long accused the state campaign of inflating estimates of plants seized and their value on the street.
Increased use of helicopters is the main factor allowing agents to find and destroy more plants, she said.
Gregory said individual agents keep a tally as they cut down plants during each raid then analysts compile totals.
Agents seized 89 weapons and made 111 arrests during the raids that started in June and ended in October. More than 75 percent of the plants seized were grown on public land, officials said.
Shasta County in central Northern California topped the list of counties with more than 557,000 plants pulled from the ground. Lake County was second with more than 506,000 followed by Mendocino County with nearly 441,000 plants.
GAY RIGHTS
Supporters of same-sex marriage meet on the steps of City Hall, in Portland, Maine, Wednesday. Voters rejected the gay marriage law that was passed last May, 53 percent to 47 percent. Obama has been criticized for not stating his opinion on the issue.
Maine rejects gay marriage
Obama under fire for not speaking out enough on the issue
SAN FRANCISCO — Stunned and angry, national gay rights leaders Wednesday blamed scare-mongering ads — and President Barack Obama's lack of engagement — for a bitter election setback in Maine that could alter the dynamics for both sides in the gay-marriage debate.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Conservatives, in contrast, celebrated Maine voters' rejection of a law that would have allowed gay couples to wed, depicting it as a warning shot that should deter politicians in other states from pushing for same-sex marriage.
"Every time the citizens have voted on marriage, they have always sided with natural marriage," said
Matthew Staver, founder of Liberty Counsel, a Florida-based Christian legal group. "Maine dramatically illustrates the will of the people, and politicians should wake up and listen."
Gay activists were frustrated that Obama, who insists he staunchly supports their overall civil rights agenda, didn't speak out forcefully in defense of Maine's marriage law before
"The anti-gay forces are throwing millions of dollars into various unsubtle ads aiming at scaring people, so subtle statements from the White House are not enough."
EVAN WOLFSON Gay rights advocate
Tuesday's referendum. The law was repealed in a vote of 53 percent to 47 percent.
with the clarity and moral imperative that would have helped in this close fight," said Evan Wolfson of the national advocacy group Freedom to Marry. "The anti-gay forces are
"President Obama missed an opportunity to state his position against these discriminatory attacks
throwing millions of dollars into various unstable ads aimed at scaring people, so subtle statements from the White House are not enough."
The White House, asked about the criticism, had no immediate comment.
The marriage debate is simmering in at least a half-dozen states where a same-sex marriage bill is pending or where a court ruling or existing law is being eyed by conserva-
being eyed by conservatives for possible challenge.
Had Maine's law been upheld by voters, it would have become the sixth state to legalize gay marriage — and the first to affirm it by popular vote.
Lawrence G. Brown, the United States Attorney for the Eastern District of California, gestures to a map of the locations of 51 homes converted into high-tech marijuana nurseries. The number of marijuana plants seized this year grew more than 50 percent compared to last year
HPV Fact #12 Condoms may not fully protect against HPV.
There's something you can do. Visit your campus health center.