Same-sex marriage bill
may prevent civil unions
AUSTIN, Texas (U-WIRE) - New language added to a bill banning same-sex marriage under the Texas Constitution on Monday would also prevent same-sex couples from entering into civil unions and may do more than that, opponents warn.
The House Committee on State Affairs debated House Joint Resolution 6 long into Monday night. The committee had not made a decision at press time.
The bill's author, state Rep. Warren Chisum, R-Pampa, said he feared the judiciary would overturn the state's statutory definition of marriage as a union between one woman and one man.
Chisum said gay rights advocates are using the courts to challenge such laws in 13 states.
Federal bill might omit
drug question on FAFSA
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AMES, Iowa (U-WIRE) - Congress is examining whether a past drug conviction should determine a student's financial aid status.
A national organization of college students, Students for a Sensible Drug Policy, is the driving force behind the congressional proposal to have the question removed from the Free Application for Federal Student Aid.
Question 31 on the FAFSA asks if the applicant has ever been convicted of possessing or selling illegal substances. If the applicant has been convicted, aid can be cut.
Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., introduced a bill in March to remove the question from the FAFSA.
Beer tax proposal brews
controversy in Wisconsin
MADISON, Wis. (U-WIRE) - Drinking beer and paying taxes are two things Wisconsinites do a lot.
So it should come as little surprise that a proposal to increase taxes on beer has tapped strong feelings about the best way to fund alcohol abuse treatment programs in the state.
The Daily Cardinal reported Friday that Rep. Therese Berceau, D-Madison, had proposed an increase on beer taxes that amounts to about two cents per six-pack of beer or $1 per barrel. Berceau explained her reasoning Tuesday.
"We haven't done anything on beer since 1969, and we do need money for treatment programs," Berceau said. "It seems two cents a six-pack is not too much to ask to direct toward alcohol treatment programs."
Magazine gives Stanford
top ranking for Hispanics
STANFORD, Calif. (U-WIRE) - Stanford University was named the best university for educating Hispanic students in the nation in last month's issue of Hispanicmagazine.com. Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Harvard and Duke ranked second, third and fourth.
The top-25 listed schools were required to have a Hispanic enrollment of at least 7 percent and were ranked based on their academic quality, according to the Web site. Hispanic students comprise 12 percent of Stanford's undergraduate student body.
