Friday May 25, 2007 SGN.org |
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Volume 35 Issue 21 |
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Thursday, Aug 28, 2008
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Rex Wockner |
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| International News | |
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MORE 'HOMOSEXUAL CONDUCT' ARRESTS IN IRAN Some of 87 people arrested in a May 10 raid on a private party in Esfahán, Iran, are to be charged with the crime of "homosexual conduct" (hamjensgarai), Human Rights Watch reported May 16. Witnesses said police and Basiji militia led the detainees into the street, stripped many to the waist and beat them until their backs and faces were bloody. Several suffered broken bones. There were four women among the arrestees and eight people who were accused of wearing clothes of the opposite sex. The women and some of the other detainees have been released but an unknown number remain jailed facing the homosexuality charges as well as charges of consuming alcohol, which is illegal. Family members have not been allowed to see the prisoners and they have been denied lawyers, HRW said. "When the authorities break doors and bones in the name of morality, the rule of law is reduced to a mockery," said HRW's Middle East division deputy director, Joe Stork. The Toronto-based Iranian Queer Organization (IRQO) said the party was a birthday celebration for a man named Farhad, and that Farhad's parents were among the detainees. IRQO said two people had jumped from second-floor windows in an attempt to escape the raiding officers "and were in bad condition." An IRQO dispatch dated May 13 said the jailed individuals are "Gay men" who are "under severe torture and in bad condition in the jail. ... Their lives are in danger." But IRQO later amended its statement, advising reporters not to call the raid a "Gay crackdown" until actual charges are filed. HUNDRED OF THOUSANDS PROTEST GAY UNIONS IN ROME Up to half a million people protested in Rome's St. John Lateran piazza May 11 against the national government's plan to pass a civil-union law for same-sex and other couples. The measure is pending in Parliament. Prime Minister Romano Prodi has promised to let MPs vote their consciences rather than the party position. The rally was organized mainly by Roman Catholic groups. Several hundred supporters of Gay unions staged a counterdemonstration in another piazza. PRIDE GETS OFF TO ROUGH START IN LITHUANIA Lithuania's first Gay pride celebrations got off to a rocky start May 14 when bus drivers in the city of Kaunas refused to drive buses displaying ads from the Lithuanian Gay League. The large ads, which ran the length of the buses and also appeared on the back, said: "A Lesbian can work at school," "A Gay man can serve in the police force" and "Homosexual employees have a right to be open and safe." A spokesman for the bus company said the drivers feared they would be mocked by friends and that the buses would be vandalized. After the company demanded a guarantee it would be reimbursed for smashed bus windows, the agency that placed the ads removed them. LGL President Vladimiras Simonko said he will file a complaint alleging sexual-orientation discrimination with the Ombudswoman for Equal Opportunities. The ads, which were set to run later on buses in the capital, Vilnius, cost more than $6,500 to produce and place, and were funded by the European Union and the Lithuanian government. After the Kaunas brouhaha, Vilnius Mayor Juozas Imbrasas promised to ban the ads' appearance there as well. "We tolerate people of any kind of sexual orientation; nevertheless, with priority for the traditional family and seeking to promote family values, we disapprove the public display of homosexualists' ideas in the city of Vilnius," Imbrasas said. The centerpiece of Lithuania's first pride events will be the display of a 30-meter rainbow flag in Vilnius' Savivaldybes Square on May 25. Other announced activities include seminars, panel discussions, cultural programs, a dance party and distribution of Gay-related information to the public. MOSCOW PARADE A GO DESPITE BAN Gays, Lesbians and their supporters plan to parade through Moscow on May 27 even though Mayor Yuri Luzhkov banned the event. Luzhkov has said Gay pride parades "can be described in no other way than as satanic" and will never be permitted while he's mayor. "The march, from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m., is planned to start close to Moscow's main post office and pass along Myasnitskaya Street to Lubyanka Square," said chief organizer Nikolai Alekseev. He said he expects up to 5,000 participants, including "foreign [and] Russian politicians and famous mainstream human rights activists." Last year, organizers canceled the city's first planned pride march after Luzhkov banned it. They instead tried to lay flowers at the Kremlin's Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and hold a protest rally across from City Hall. Participants in both small events were violently attacked by neofascists, skinheads, Christians and riot police. A lawsuit over last year's ban is pending before the European Court of Human Rights. In St. Petersburg, meanwhile, activists announced plans for that city's first pride parade to be held May 26 on Nevsky Prospekt, the main thoroughfare. City officials refused to authorize the march, saying it would interfere with other celebrations taking place that day, the eve of City Day, which marks the city's founding in 1703. Organizers now plan to apply for a permit for a different date. "Misconceptions about sexual minorities are widespread here," Alexandra Polyanskaya of the pride organizing committee told The St. Petersburg Times. "Gay people feel they need to show they are normal human beings." GAY PARTI QUÉBÉCOIS LEADER RESIGNS The openly Gay leader of Quebec's separatist Parti Québécois, André Boisclair, resigned May 8. The party suffered heavy losses in March's provincial election. Struggling not to cry, Boisclair, 41, told reporters, "My leadership has been questioned so intensely that I cannot begin the essential process of reflection that the party needs." Elected in November 2005 by a wide margin, Boisclair had hoped to hold "a referendum on the sovereignty of Quebec as rapidly as possible" if his party had beat the Liberals in the recent election. "Let us all work together to achieve the country of Quebec," he said at the time. In 1995, Quebec voters came within 1.2 percentage points of choosing to separate from Canada. The March election, however, saw gains by the right-wing party Action Démocratique du Québec, which favors greater autonomy for the province but not independence from Canada. AFRICAN ILGA MEMBERS GATHER IN JOHANNESBURG About 60 activists gathered in Johannesburg May 5-8 for the first African regional conference of the International Lesbian and Gay Association. Thirty-eight of the 85 nations that criminalize Gay sex are in Africa, ILGA said. "The ... mere existence [of such laws] reinforces a culture where a significant portion of the citizens need to hide from the rest of the population out of fear -- where hatred and violence are somehow justified by the state and force people into invisibility or into denying who they truly are," the organization said. ILGA is a worldwide network of 560 national and local GLBT organizations from 90 nations. |
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| by Rex Wockner "When we try to have an honest debate about the crises we face, whether it's on the Senate floor or a Sunday talk show, the conversation isn't about finding common ground, it's about finding someone to blame. We're divided into red states and blue states, and told to always point the finger at somebody else -- the other party, or gay people, or immigrants." --Presidential candidate U.S. Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., addressing the California Democratic State Convention, April 28 in San Diego. "Are you ready for a president again who actually respects science and believes we ought to listen to scientists on -- oh, let's say, global climate change and stem cell research? Are you ready for a government that treats all Americans with dignity and equality no matter who you are and who you love? Are you ready to replace cronyism with competence again?" --Presidential candidate U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., addressing the California Democratic State Convention, April 28 in San Diego. "I think that is left up to the individual business. I really sincerely believe that that is an issue that business people have got to make their own determination as to whether or not they should be." --Presidential candidate Tommy Thompson, former governor of Wisconsin, when asked during the May 3 Republican candidates' debate, "If a private employer finds homosexuality immoral, should he be allowed to fire a gay worker?" After he answered, Thompson was then asked, "So the answer is yes?" and he replied, "Yes." (Video: http://tinyurl.com/257krv) "I made a mistake. I misinterpreted the question. I didn't hear, I didn't hear the question properly and I apologize." --Gov. Thompson a day later, to the Associated Press. "The sex was good." --Dina Matos McGreevey, wife of now-gay former New Jersey Gov. James McGreevey, in her new book, Silent Partner. "It just hit me like a ton of bricks [when he came out to me]. I wasn't absorbing it. I just started to cry. ... I felt like my world had crumbled and my life was over. In the course of the three days of his explanation and confession to me, it was clear to me that he never loved me. ... No one ever said to me that he was gay. It's a cliché that the wife is always the last to know, and it's true. ... I'm not in denial, but I don't think he's simply gay. I think he's bisexual. I mean, he was married twice. He has two children. And, you know, I never saw him checking out men, but I certainly saw him checking out women. ... I want [other people in a similar situation] to know ... you have nothing to be ashamed of. You've done nothing wrong. Most of them, just like me, probably married their spouse because they fell in love with them." --Dina Matos McGreevey, wife of now-gay former New Jersey Gov. James McGreevey, in an appearance on Oprah Winfrey's TV show, May 1. In divorce papers, the ex-governor has claimed his wife "knew of my sexual orientation before our marriage" and "chose to either ignore it or block it out of her mind, even when questioned by her friends." "I think that arguments against gay marriage are just ridiculous! Who cares? People want to get married for the same reason I wanted to get married. They want to do it in front of their friends and family. They want it to be a legally binding thing. They want to have that commitment. The idea that there's some moral issue about it is so ridiculous." --Wonder Woman actress Lynda Carter writing in Instinct magazine, May issue. "This legislation would create equal legal protection and responsibilities for all individuals who seek to marry or have their marriage protected in the state of New York. Strong, stable families are the cornerstones of our society. The responsibilities inherent in the institution of marriage benefit those individuals and society as a whole." --New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer as he and Lt. Gov. David Paterson submitted legislation to legalize full marriage for same-sex couples, April 27. "This bill guarantees that the inalienable right to the pursuit of happiness will be protected equally for all individuals in the state of New York. This is an important step in the fight for civil rights for all people." --New York Lt. Gov. David Paterson as he and Gov. Eliot Spitzer submitted legislation to legalize full marriage for same-sex couples, April 27. "I feel that if I had been more mysterious about my own sexuality and played it a little more ambiguous, I probably would have sold more records and had more supporters, and sometimes I do bemoan the fact that I didn't go that route." --Out singer Rufus Wainwright to AfterElton.com, April 22. "I'm aware that I was representing, in certain ways, a minority, and my greatest wish was to make [Kevin] -- not just believable and not a cliché -- but an entertaining character as well. Which is what any actor's job is. I hope I don't sound like a complete asshole at the moment." --British actor Matthew Rhys, who plays the gay character Kevin Walker on the ABC-TV series Brothers & Sisters, to Instinct magazine, May issue. "When gay fans approach me, after they say how much they love Kevin, the next question inevitably is about Sally Field and what she's like to work with and how much they adore her work from Steel Magnolias and Soapdish, so I realize the magnitude of Sally's standing as a gay icon." --British actor Matthew Rhys, who plays the gay character Kevin Walker on the ABC-TV series Brothers & Sisters, to Instinct magazine, May issue. "I am the first openly gay congressional committee chairman, which means I am the first openly gay or lesbian person in American history to have significant governmental powers. A lot of very important people in the country and in the world are going to have to deal with me on equal terms, which will be very helpful in dealing with the prejudice against gay people. This is a big deal because this chairmanship oversees legislation on banking, securities, the Federal Reserve, the World Bank, the New York Stock Exchange -- hard-edged bastions of conservatism." --Openly gay U.S. Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., who became chairman of the House of Representatives' Financial Services Committee in January, to Out magazine, May issue. "There are probably five or seven [closet cases] in the [U.S.] House and at least three senators." --Openly gay U.S. Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., to Out magazine, May issue. "I wish to acknowledge that I did formerly have a four-year relationship with Jeff Chevalier. ... My initial witness statements [in a behind-the-scenes court case attempting to keep this news story from being published] contained an untruthful account about how I first met Jeff. ... These allegations will result inevitably in considerable media attention for both myself and BP. ... I have therefore informed the board of BP that I intend to stand down as group chief executive with immediate effect." --BP (formerly called British Petroleum) chief executive John Browne, 59, quitting his job May 1 after he was outed by London media as having been in a relationship with a 27-year-old man he met through an escort service. "On Monday 23 April we lost the first President of Russia, Boris Yeltsin, a man who, risking his life, gave freedom to us -- a man who underpinned the democratic values of contemporary Russia. The Russian gay community will always remember Boris Nikolaevich Yeltsin as a man who put an end to almost sixty years of criminal prosecution for male homosexual relations. The law that he signed in April 1993 came into force on 27 May 1993. This day entered into the Russian history of the LGBT movement. 27 May was chosen as the date for the conduct of the first-ever gay pride march in Moscow last year." --Gay activist and journalist Nikolai Alekseev writing at GayRussia.ru, April 23. "Sero-sorting -- condom-free sex between people of the same HIV status -- is a big reason why [San Francisco has seen a marked decrease in new HIV cases]." --Gay writer Andrew Sullivan on his blog, April 28. "At the same time that sero-sorting has been widely adopted in SF, HIV-infection rates are dropping. And who deserves credit for this 'prevention success'? Average, rank-and-file, commonsensical gay men that adopted the practice without any 'institutional support.' Credit shouldn't go to AIDS prevention orgs." --Gay writer Dan Savage on his blog, April 30. |
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copyright Seattle Gay News - DigitalTeamWorks 2007