SAFE BlogArchive

Darnell Forte is accused of slapping a woman he lived with. To try to get a domestic violence charged overturned, his lawyer has raised a wider issue, claiming a conflict between Ohio's new constitutional amendment defining marriage and the state's domestic violence law.

Opponents of the amendment banning gay marriage, among the nation's broadest, feared the measure would be used to try to curtail all sorts of rights for unmarried people, and they say the domestic violence case in Cleveland is one such attempt.

A news release from Prattville Police  indicates Sandra Thompkins dragged her husband 415 feet to the bottom of the hill.  Smith says he saw it all and ran down the hill to see if he could help.