“We want to do what’s right for faculty and staff here, but we want to do it in a manner that won’t be disruptive down the road,” University of Alabama President Robert Witt said, according to Tuscaloosa news.

Domestic partner benefits are already in place at sister schools University of Alabama at Birmingham and University of Alabama in Huntsville, where they are called “sponsored adult dependent benefits.” Administrators should know by the end of the year whether these benefits will be able to survive potential legal challenges.

Alabama started considering the benefits when the school realized that they were losing employees to other big research medical schools, such as Duke and Johns Hopkins.

Gay marriage is not legal in Alabama.

It’s another thing when a small-town congregation puts up billboards with the phrase “Great sex: God’s way” on rural highways to promote a sermon series. You can’t even legally buy beer in Cullman County, and a preacher is talking about S-E-X on Sunday morning?

Daystar Church, whose congregation has grown dramatically under pastor Jerry Lawson, has run up against the sensibilities of a conservative north Alabama community with a monthlong focus on sex.

Sex just isn’t an appropriate topic for church, some say, and others are upset over the church’s signs, which advertise the sermon series and accompanying Web site.

“It’s really stirred up the people here,” said Good Hope town clerk Joann Jones.

Evangelist Roland Belew, a self-described fundamentalist and former trucker who now preaches at a truck stop, said the whole idea goes against the teaching of New Testament apostles.

“Paul said preach the Gospel,” said Belew. “Talking about sex ain’t gonna get nobody to heaven.”

The controversy is a bit ironic considering the church’s overall point is about as straight-laced as they come: That God intends for sex to be enjoyed solely within a heterosexual marriage, and that anything else – adultery, pornography, homosexuality, even “sexual arousal” outside of marriage – is sin.

Churches have been talking about sex and sexual purity more often. In November, the Rev. Ed Young of the Fellowship Church based in Dallas drew nationwide attention by challenging married couples to have sex for seven straight days in the name of strengthening marriages.

But an expert who tracks evangelical Christianity, Larry Eskridge, said few are addressing the subject as directly as Daystar.

“It sounds like an example of one of those church-growth, market-savvy campaigns going out to an area where you wouldn’t normally see it,” said Eskridge, associate director of the Institute for the Study of American Evangelicals at Wheaton College in Illionis. “I could see where in that particular setting, that could raise some eyebrows.”

City Hall has gotten a few complaints about the church’s sexy signs from a handful of people like Belew, 71, who preaches in a trailer off Interstate 65.

Even the 22-year-old mayor, Corey Harbison, worries that the “great sex” message will force parents to talk about the birds and the bees with inquisitive young children before either is ready.

“I understand what they’re trying to do. I get it,” said Harbison. “(But) some people just aren’t ready for that. Good Hope is just a good old, country town.”

Lawson, the pastor at the center of the debate, said the purpose of his sermons and the billboards was to get Christian parents talking to their kids about sex before they learn too much immorality from TV or playground buddies.

“I think some people are kind of missing the point,” said Lawson.

Lawson is the lead pastor at Daystar Church, which is affiliated with the Church of God and draws about 2,000 people on Saturday nights and Sunday to its $5.7 million campus on a hilltop beside I-65. People come from as far away as the northern suburbs of Birmingham, 45 miles to the south.

The church’s attendance is slightly larger than the entire population of Good Hope, which has three other churches in its town limits and five others within a stone’s throw. The community is a mix of farm homes, middle-class subdivisions, mobile home parks and a few McMansions.

Daystar was a country church called Glory Hill Church of God when Lawson arrived nearly nine years ago. The church “relaunched” itself in the pattern of an urban megachurch in 2002 – there’s Starbucks coffee in the lobby and video screens everywhere – and took off.

“In the next seven years 100 people became 2,000 people,” said Lawson, who sports the hip, young megachurch look – short hair, a goatee and dark clothes, minus a tie.

The church has a second-hand clothes shop for needy neighbors, and Lawson said it sends out 100 volunteers at a time for local work days. Members even are trying to raise $10,000 to put new sod on the baseball field at the local high school.

But it’s the “great sex” series – timed to coincide with Valentine’s Day – that got people talking about Daystar. More than anything, people noticed the blue billboard along Alabama 69 with the “GreatSexGodsWay.com” Web address beside a drawing of a bride and groom.

Belew worries that vulnerable teenagers will get the idea from the sign that God says it’s OK for them to have sex.

“It’s a delicate subject. Preach the word of God and people will live right and get right,” said Belew, who has a big wooden cross and U.S. flag in his front yard.

The mayor said some longtime residents already were a bit leery of Daystar because it’s gotten so big so quickly, drawing members from other cities and dwarfing everything else in town. The focus on sex – particularly the billboards – turned some off even more.

Lawson said his sermons are more than marketing at Daystar, which dreams of opening satellite churches in big cities. The church needs to be out front on the topic of sex when even kids’ TV shows depict illicit relationships and homosexuality, he said.

“It comes down to God saying the most healthy place for sex and the only right place for sex is within a marriage – one man, one woman, and one marriage,” Lawson said.

Ed Scarborough’s landscaping company is almost directly beneath one of Daystar’s “great sex” billboards. He doesn’t go to Lawson’s church, and he likes the idea behind the signs and the sermons. But still ….

“For Christian people I think it’s portraying the message God sent in the Bible,” Scarborough said. “But I do wonder if a non-Christian would get it.”

Central Alabama Pride accuses the mayor of acting unconstitutionally when he barred city workers last June from hanging the banners on city property.

The lawsuit claims the mayor has not restricted banner from other organizations and there was no rational basis to refuse the gay pride banners. The suit also said there is no criteria for hanging banners in Birmingham.

The group said in the suit that Langford subjected the group to religious discrimination in violation of the First Amendment and freedom of speech in violation of  the 14th Amendment’s equal protection clause

CAP has held a gay pride parade through the streets of Birmingham every year since 1987, and had its Pride banners displayed in accordance with city policy that attached banners for a variety of organizations when they have events taking place in the city.

The lawsuit alleges that as a result of the mayor’s refusal to allow city workers to attach CAP banners using city equipment CAP members were forced to subject themselves to extraordinary risks and dangers in order display their message.

“Mayor Larry Langford denied government benefits to Central Alabama Pride solely on the basis of his personal beliefs,” said Lambda Attorney Beth Littrell who represents CAP. “A government official cannot pick and choose which groups get government benefits or free speech rights.”

The City of Birmingham is represented by Liberty Council, a national anti-gay, conservative firm. It filed a motion to dismiss the case. There is no indication when a ruling on the motion will be handed down.

Langford has called the CAP lawsuit a frivolous publicity stunt. He said that he did not discriminate against anyone and that the city only hangs banners for groups sponsored by the city.

However in May, he refused to sign a gay pride proclamation that was passed by city council and said at the time he would deny the group a parade permit.

The permit was eventually granted by the Birmingham Police Department and Langford did not interfere.

The lawsuit isn’t Langford’s only legal problem.

In November he was arrested on federal bribery and fraud charges.

The federal indictment said the charges were connected to a multibillion-dollar sewer bond deal that has driven the surrounding county to the brink of bankruptcy.

Langford, Montgomery investment banker Bill Blount and lobbyist Al LaPierre were charged in the 101-count indictment. The charges also include money laundering and filing false tax returns.

Langford is accused of receiving $230,000 in bribes from Blount, some of them routed through LaPierre, to influence the bond deals while Langford was president of the Jefferson County Commission. Blount’s firm made $7.1 million in fees from the bond work.

The three men have denied any wrongdoing.

The LGBT pride group in a lawsuit accuses Langford of violating its civil rights, saying that the mayor acted unconstitutionally when he barred city workers from hanging Pride banners on city property in June.

The lawsuit claims the mayor has not restricted banner from other organizations and there was no rational basis to refuse the gay pride banners. The suit also said there is no criteria for hanging banners in Birmingham.

The group said in the suit that Langford subjected the group to religious discrimination in violation of the First Amendment and violation of the 14th Amendment’s equal protection clause.

The mayor called the suit a frivolous publicity stunt.

Langford said that he did not discriminate against anyone and that the city only hangs banners for groups sponsored by the city.

He also refused to sign a gay pride proclamation that was passed by city council in May and said at the time he would deny the group a parade permit.

The permit was eventually granted by the Birmingham Police Department and Langford did not interfere.

Earlier this month, Langford filed a motion to quash the suit.

In denying the motion Monday, U.S. District Judge Karon Bowdre said there was no valid reason for not allowing the lawsuit to proceed.

She also ruled that the pride group could amend its complaint to address deficiencies raised in Langford’s motion. The amended complaint must be filed before Dec. 22.

The lawsuit isn’t Langford’s only legal problem.

This month he was arrested on federal bribery and fraud charges.

The federal indictment said the charges were connected to a multibillion-dollar sewer bond deal that has driven the surrounding county to the brink of bankruptcy.

Langford, Montgomery investment banker Bill Blount and lobbyist Al LaPierre were charged in the 101-count indictment. The charges also include money laundering and filing false tax returns.

Langford is accused of receiving $230,000 in bribes from Blount, some of them routed through LaPierre, to influence the bond deals while Langford was president of the Jefferson County Commission. Blount’s firm made $7.1 million in fees from the bond work.

The three men have denied any wrongdoing.

A federal indictment said the charges were connected to a multibillion-dollar sewer bond deal that has driven the surrounding county to the brink of bankruptcy.

Langford, Montgomery investment banker Bill Blount and lobbyist Al LaPierre were charged in the 101-count indictment. The charges also include money laundering and filing false tax returns.

Langford is accused of receiving $230,000 in bribes from Blount, some of them routed through LaPierre, to influence the bond deals while Langford was president of the Jefferson County Commission. Blount’s firm made $7.1 million in fees from the bond work.

The three men have denied any wrongdoing.

Langford already is facing a federal civil lawsuit accusing him of violating the civil rights of a gay pride group.

Central Alabama Pride accuses the mayor of acting unconstitutionally when he barred city workers from hanging the banners on city property in June.

Central Alabama Pride claims the mayor has not restricted banner from other organizations. The suit also said there is no criteria for hanging banners in Birmingham.

The group said in the suit that Langford subjected the group to religious discrimination in violation of the First Amendment and freedom of speech in violation of  the 14th Amendment’s equal protection clause

Langford said that he did not discriminate against anyone and that the city only hangs banners for groups sponsored by the city.

The mayor called the suit a frivolous publicity stunt.

Langford refused to sign a gay pride proclamation that was passed by city council in May and said at the time he would deny the group a parade permit.

The permit was eventually granted by the Birmingham Police Department and Langford did not interfere.

He still says he opposes gay pride celebrations and signing gay pride proclamations, but denies that he discriminates.

Central Alabama Pride accuses the mayor of acting unconstitutionally when he barred city workers from hanging pride banners on city property in June.

In a motion filed with the U.S. District Court in Birmingham, Langford’s attorneys said the group cannot show it suffered any harm and as a result the case should not be allowed to moved forward.

The motion said that the pride celebration went on as planned.

Central Alabama Pride in its lawsuit claims the mayor has not restricted banners from other organizations. The suit also said there is no criteria for hanging banners in Birmingham.

The group said in the suit that Langford subjected the group to religious discrimination, violation of the 14th Amendment’s equal protection clause, and violation of the freedom of speech. 

Langford said that he did not discriminate against anyone and that the city only hangs banners for groups sponsored by the city.

The mayor called the suit a frivolous publicity stunt.

“The parade took place as planned, and all of plaintiff’s decorations were hung,” the motion filed by his attorney said.

“In essence, the parade of 2008 was the same as all other years. Plaintiff does not claim that having to hang the banners itself in any way injured the parties either physically, mentally or emotionally. In other words, plaintiffs cannot point to a concrete and particularized injury.”

Langford refused to sign a gay pride proclamation that was passed by the city council in May and said at the time he would deny the group a parade permit.

The permit was eventually granted by the Birmingham Police Department and Langford did not interfere.

He still says he opposes gay pride celebrations and signing gay pride proclamations, but denies that he discriminates.

A judge has yet to rule on Langford’s motion.

The lawsuit by Central Alabama Pride accuses the mayor of violating the organization’s constitutional rights when he barred city workers from hanging the banners on city property in June.

Court papers filed by the group claim the mayor has not restricted banners from other organizations and there was no rational basis to refuse the gay pride banners. The suit also says there is no criteria for hanging banners.

The group says in the suit that Langford subjected the group to religious discrimination in violation of the First Amendment and freedom of speech in violation of  the 14th Amendment’s equal protection clause 

Langford told the Birmingham News that he did not discriminate against anyone and that the city only hangs banners for groups sponsored by the city.

The mayor called the suit a frivolous publicity stunt.

But Langford refused to sign a gay pride proclamation that was passed by city council in May and said at the time he would deny the group a parade permit.

The permit was eventually granted by the Birmingham Police Department and Langford did not interfere.

He still says he opposes gay pride celebrations and signing gay pride proclamations.

“The bottom line is I don’t condone the lifestyle and what they were asking me to do in my official capacity as mayor was to issue a proclamation which in essence endorsed the gay lifestyle,” Langford told The News.

“If I had issued such a proclamation, I would in essence be saying that God’s position is wrong and I wouldn’t dare take a position against God. So as opposed to suing me, they need to be suing God, and the last time I checked, he can defend himself. End of story.”

And Langford issued a warning to the Pride group.

“They better win the lawsuit,” Langford told the paper. “If not, I am going to sue them for harassment.”

The woman was charged and tried under her birth name – Jimmy Maurice Lewis II – of robbing the Alabama Credit Union in Huntsville. Police said that Lewis intended to use the money from the robberies to finance her sex reassignment surgery.

Witnesses said a woman handed a teller at the Alabama Credit Union branch a note demanding $20,000 in $100 bills.  In it, she warned the teller not to make any sudden moves, leading people in the bank to believe she was armed.

Surveillance cameras showed the robber to be a woman, but police matched the images to an Alabama driver’s license in the name of Jimmy Lewis. The photo on the license showed Lewis as a male.

Lewis was arrested in January at Los Angeles International Airport when she stepped off a flight from Mexico.

Lewis pleaded not guilty but declined to testify in her own defense. The jury deliberated just over a half hour before returning a guilty verdict and Lewis will be sentenced Dec. 11.

But that may not be the end of her troubles. She awaits trial for other bank robberies in Texas and Tennessee.

Following her arrest for the Huntsville heist police in Texas and Tennessee filed charges for similar robberies.