Triumphs, Defeats Mark Gay-Rights Battle

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Gay and lesbian activists are tearful in Washington state, joyful in Connecticut and angry in Texas after a series of legislative votes that reflect America's tumultuous, seesaw debate over whether to broaden or narrow their rights.

Connecticut, in a historic step last week, became the first state to approve marriage-like civil unions for same-sex couples without the prodding of a court order. However, on the same day the Texas House voted to bar gays from being foster parents; the next day the Washington Senate, by one vote, defeated a major gay civil-rights bill.

In Alabama, meanwhile, lawmakers considered a bill aimed at keeping books tolerant of homosexuality out of public schools. A despondent lesbian activist, Patricia Todd, told a House committee: "I feel you all hate us." Gay-rights leaders and their opponents tried to depict the contrasting events in a positive light.

"As in any civil rights movement, it's often three steps forward and two steps back," said Joe Solmonese of the Human Rights Campaign, the largest national gay-rights group. "Sometimes, we have all of that movement in the context of one week." He was particularly encouraged by the developments in Connecticut, where Republican Gov. M. Jodi Rell signed a civil union bill that reached her desk with bipartisan support.

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