LA Bill Banning Civil Unions
Dies on Senate Floor

Ed Anderson reports in the May 2 edition of the Times Picayune that a bill prohibiting Louisiana from recognizing civil unions that are performed in other states was killed on the Senate floor May 1.

Senators voted 17-15 for Senate Bill 232 by Sen. Heulette "Clo" Fontenot, R-Livingston, the second time in two weeks he has failed to get the required 20 votes needed to pass it. The week before, the Senate voted 17-16 to pass the measure.

Under Senate rules, Fontenot cannot bring the bill back another time. He ruled out trying to amend his bill onto another measure.

SB 232 would not allow state officials to recognize civil unions, performed in other states. Only Vermont allows civil unions. Fontenot has said three Louisiana Gay couples have taken advantage of the Vermont law and want to move back to Louisiana. He also said he is opposed to civil unions between heterosexuals, because those relationships destroy the institutions of marriage and family.

Two years ago, Fontenot persuaded lawmakers to pass the state's ban on same-sex marriages, but said that law does not address civil unions.

Opponents claimed the bill was vague and unenforceable. "What is a civil union?" asked Sen. Wilson Fields, D-Baton Rouge. "I don't know what a civil union is. We are not defining what a civil union is. I can't even explain what I think a civil union is."

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Straight Romance
on Queer As Folk Set?

According to the New York Post, there's a behind-the-scenes romance between two of the actors who play Gay characters on the Queer as Folk set. The offscreen affair of Gale Harold (Brian) and Michelle Clunie (Melanie) is "pretty hot," says an on-set source, while representatives of the show decline any comment on the matter. Just to keep things interesting, though, when asked what he might wear for a night on the town, The Village Voice reports that Harold responded, "If I'm dressing up, maybe a sharkskin suit. Or a microdress."