boise

Micron Technology Inc. decided Tuesday to amend its company policy so employees can no longer be fired on the basis of their sexual orientation. The move comes after The Advocate revealed last week that the Boise, Idaho, company's board of directors had ignored an unprecedented 55% shareholder vote in favor of adding both sexual orientation and gender identity to its nondiscrimination policies.

What they didn't know before moving to Idaho could fill a house, and in many ways it does. The kitchen table holds stacks of legal papers. Medication bottles litter a nearby countertop. The two-story home Robert Ryan, 42, shares with his partner, Ralph Martinelli, 53, overlooks the quaint suburb of Eagle, west of Boise, a rural landscape of ruddy hills that doesn't seem quite as welcoming as it once did. A 2,400-mile move west once seemed like a chance at a fresh start; instead it has delivered some hard lessons, especially about moving from a state that recognizes same-sex unions to one of the 21 states that don't.