WASHINGTON: Native American Tribe Approves Same-Sex Marriage

A Native American tribe in Washington state has approved gay marriage.

On Monday, the Suquamish Tribal Council formally changed its ordinances to extend marriage rights to same-sex couples. The Suquamish ordinance means gay couples are afforded all the rights heterosexual couples are allowed on the reservation and other places in which gay marriages are allowed. The new law allows the tribal court to issue a marriage license to two unmarried people, "regardless of their sex," if they at least 18 years old and at least one of them is an enrolled member of the Suquamish Tribe. In 2009 the Coquille Indian Tribe in Coos Bay, Ore., became what many believed to be the first Indian tribe to marry a gay couple, two women from Edmonds, Wash. Michelle Hansen, Suquamish Tribal attorney, said the Suquamish ordinance does not have effect anywhere else unless that jurisdiction decides to recognize same-sex marriages conducted elsewhere.

(Tipped by JMG reader Daniel)

WASHINGTON: Native American Tribe Approves Same-Sex Marriage

A Native American tribe in Washington state has approved gay marriage.

On Monday, the Suquamish Tribal Council formally changed its ordinances to extend marriage rights to same-sex couples. The Suquamish ordinance means gay couples are afforded all the rights heterosexual couples are allowed on the reservation and other places in which gay marriages are allowed. The new law allows the tribal court to issue a marriage license to two unmarried people, "regardless of their sex," if they at least 18 years old and at least one of them is an enrolled member of the Suquamish Tribe. In 2009 the Coquille Indian Tribe in Coos Bay, Ore., became what many believed to be the first Indian tribe to marry a gay couple, two women from Edmonds, Wash. Michelle Hansen, Suquamish Tribal attorney, said the Suquamish ordinance does not have effect anywhere else unless that jurisdiction decides to recognize same-sex marriages conducted elsewhere.

(Tipped by JMG reader Daniel)

Seattle Murder Suspect: God Told Me To Rape And Murder Those Lesbians

A Seattle man on trial for the 2009 rape and fatal stabbing of a lesbian couple told the court that God had instructed him to commit the crime.

"I was there and I was told by my God, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, to attack my enemies, and I did so," Isaiah Kalebu said under questioning by one of his lawyers. The trial started three weeks ago, but the testimony was the first time jurors had seen Kalebu, who was previously so disruptive in court that the judge barred him from attending. He watched the trial via closed circuit television from another courtroom before indicating he wanted to exercise his constitutional right to testify in his own defense [snip] Kalebu is accused of slipping in an open window of the couple's home in Seattle's South Park neighborhood and repeatedly raping and stabbing them during a two-hour attack. One woman, Teresa Butz, died naked and blood-soaked in the street in front of her home as neighbors tried to help. Her partner survived and told the jury that Kalebu was the man who did it.

Kalebu was convicted of all charges (including first degree murder) and was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

RELATED: The woman who died of her injuries was the sister of multiple Tony Award winning Broadway actor Norbert Leo Butz, who last month won for his lead role in Catch Me If You Can.

Seattle Murder Suspect: God Told Me To Rape And Murder Those Lesbians

A Seattle man on trial for the 2009 rape and fatal stabbing of a lesbian couple told the court that God had instructed him to commit the crime.

"I was there and I was told by my God, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, to attack my enemies, and I did so," Isaiah Kalebu said under questioning by one of his lawyers. The trial started three weeks ago, but the testimony was the first time jurors had seen Kalebu, who was previously so disruptive in court that the judge barred him from attending. He watched the trial via closed circuit television from another courtroom before indicating he wanted to exercise his constitutional right to testify in his own defense [snip] Kalebu is accused of slipping in an open window of the couple's home in Seattle's South Park neighborhood and repeatedly raping and stabbing them during a two-hour attack. One woman, Teresa Butz, died naked and blood-soaked in the street in front of her home as neighbors tried to help. Her partner survived and told the jury that Kalebu was the man who did it.

Kalebu was convicted of all charges (including first degree murder) and was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

RELATED: The woman who died of her injuries was the sister of multiple Tony Award winning Broadway actor Norbert Leo Butz, who last month won for his lead role in Catch Me If You Can.