Local: Wil Haygood plans H.O.P.E Diversity lecture at SU

Shippensburg — Author of the best-selling book “The Butler: A Witness to History,” Wil Haygood, is scheduled to give an annual lecture at the Luhrs Performing Arts Center at Shippensburg University, according to Public Opinion.

His lecture, “Helping Our People Excel (H.O.P.E) Diversity Scholarship Program,” will start at 8 p.m. on Feb. 26, following a reception 4:45 p.m. and a dinner at 6 p.m.

Ticket prices for the lecture are $20; free for students with their university ID. Tickets for the dinner and lecture are $55, and for the VIP reception, dinner and lecture, tickets are $80.

Haygood is a Pulitzer Prize finalist and author. He wrote for the Washington Post as a journalist. His book follows the tale of a black servant working at the White House over the duration of eight presidencies.

Call (717) 477-1738 for VIP reception and dinner information.

You can order tickets for the lecture at luhrscenter.com or call (717) 477-7469.

Reservations are available until Feb. 18.

-Public Opinion

State: Proposed bill to outlaw parental rights to rapist

Harrisburg — A “bizarre loophole” in state law, as one Pennsylvania legislator said, allows a rapist to have legal parental rights to a child conceived by his victim.

On Feb. 9, a bipartisan group of legislators announced the introduction of legislation to change the loophole, according to CBS Philly.

Delilhah Rumburg, chief executive officer of the Pennsylvania Coalition Against Rape, said current state law gives a rapist the rights to his victim’s child if he chooses to raise him or her.

Rumburg urged lawmakers to take haste in changing the law and said the victim should not have to worry about their rapist being a part of their life.

The proposed legislation would not interfere with current laws that force a rapist to pay child support to their victim’s child when parental rights are discontinued.

Legislators previously introduced a similar bill, but their deadline to pass it during the last two-year session expired.

-CBS Philly

National: Gay couples marry in Alabama

Multiple counties in the state of Alabama started to grant marriage licenses to same-sex couples on Feb. 9, according to the New York Times.

Courthouses, including those in Birmingham, Montgomery and Huntsville welcomed gay and lesbian couples to obtain legal marriage.

According to the Human Rights Campaign, a gay rights group, at least 50 counties in Alabama out of its total of 67 did not issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples. A number of judges refused to grant licenses of this sort.

The first of weddings included Dinah McCaryer and Olanda Smith, who were married at the Jefferson County Courthouse by Judge Michael Graffeo of Circuit Court.

Last month, Callie Granade, a federal district court judge, ruled the ban on same-sex marriage in Alabama as unconstitutional. The ruling did not take effect until Feb. 6, in order to allow the state a chance to appeal.

-The New York Times

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