Discrimination

Jessica Clark and Natalie Vacha started planning their wedding as soon as the state Supreme Court overturned the ban on gay marriage. The Lancaster couple decided to splurge on a bash for their summer nuptial, complete with handmade bridesmaid dresses from red to purple and a seven-layer rainbow cake. It was Clark's job to book a florist. She scanned the Lancaster yellow pages and put in an order for bouquets made from rainbow frosted roses. But the florist declined.

A new women's organization is setting out to get Chris Matthews fired from his job on MSNBC, calling his treatment of women on his cable TV show sexist. The nonpartisan group, called the New Agenda, held its first meeting this week and established as one of several goals getting Matthews yanked from his long-running show, "Hardball with Chris Matthews." Matthews' contract is up for renewal next year. His plans are unclear.

A Los Angeles County prosecutor who alleged he was the victim of discrimination and harassment at work because of his sexual orientation will receive a $325,000 settlement in a lawsuit against the county. Deputy Dist. Atty. Michael Kraut alleged that some colleagues targeted him with anti-gay jokes and other comments, and that the district attorney's office retaliated against him when he complained by transferring him to its welfare fraud section. The county denied the allegations and said in court records that supervisors concluded Kraut had harassed other prosecutors in the office.

Re "Women, interrupted," Opinion, Nov. 9 Whoever thought a woman would win the presidential election in 2008 wasn't paying attention. A CNN poll in the spring showed that 76% of Americans believed the country was ready for a black president, but only 63% felt the same about a female president. Shirley Chisholm wasn't exaggerating when she said, "I've always met more discrimination being a woman than being black." Vinette Gleason Mission Viejo

Re "Prop. 8 foes puzzled by jurist's seeming reversal," Nov. 25 The argument to overturn Proposition 8 because it is a constitutional revision rather than an amendment is weak. Justice Joyce L. Kennard's vote to not hear the case should serve as a wake-up call that the strategy is misguided. Marriage equality supporters should not play the numbers game. Discrimination is wrong even if 90% of voters were to vote to prevent a group the right to marry because they choose to be Mormon or Muslim, or because they are infertile or "too old."

Britain will not exempt Catholic adoption agencies from new anti-discrimination laws that the church fears could force it to place children with gay couples, Prime Minister Tony Blair said. The adoption agencies will be granted a transition period, until the end of next year, to adjust to the new law, he said.

A sheriff's lieutenant filed a lawsuit Tuesday against Orange County Sheriff Michael S. Carona, alleging Carona retaliated against him for supporting a rival in last year's race to be the county's top lawman. In his 22 years in the department, Jeff Bardzik rose steadily, the lawsuit says, until he announced his support for sheriff's Lt. Bill Hunt's effort to unseat Carona.

More than 80 countries signed a United Nations convention protecting the rights of the world's 650 million disabled people. The convention will come into force 30 days after ratification by 20 nations, a milestone expected in 2008 or 2009. The measure requires ratifying nations to adopt laws banning discrimination on the basis of any form of disability, including blindness and mental illness.

Mothers, not only do you have your own day this Sunday, you also are the primary beneficiaries of a growing body of laws and court rulings that grant workplace protections to caregivers. California is among several states and cities that are passing or considering legislation banning job discrimination against workers with the responsibility of caring for children, aging parents or ill spouses.

A Northern California woman sued the operator of online dating service EHarmony, alleging the Pasadena company violated state law barring discrimination based on sexual orientation. Linda Carlson said she tried to use the website in February to meet a woman but couldn't because the site offers to find a compatible match only for men seeking women or women seeking men, according to her suit, filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court.