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Monday, Dec 01, 2008
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Rex Wockner |
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| International News | |
| by Rex Wockner Canadian MP marries Liberal Canadian Member of Parliament Scott Brison and his partner, Maxime St. Pierre, got married Aug. 18 in Cheverie, Nova Scotia -- a town of 200 people on the province's western shoreline. Brison is the first federal politician to take advantage of Canada's legalization of full marriage for same-sex couples, which took place nationally in 2005 after eight provinces and one territory had legalized it on their own. Prior to the ceremony, Brison's spokesman told the Canadian Press wire service that the wedding was "a personal matter which is meant to be celebrated in private." Attendees reportedly included former Prime Ministers Paul Martin and Joe Clark, Liberal Leader Stéphane Dion, former Defense Minister Bill Graham, former New Brunswick Premier Frank McKenna and former Ontario Premier Bob Rae. Brison came out in 2002. He has said he is "not a gay politician, but a politician who happens to be gay." Full same-sex marriage also is legal in Belgium, the Netherlands, South Africa, Spain and the state of Massachusetts. Numerous nations grant registered same-sex couples some, most or all rights and obligations of marriage under registered-partnership, domestic-partnership or civil-union laws. They include Andorra, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Luxembourg, New Zealand, Norway, Slovenia, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. Greenland, a self-governing administrative division of Denmark, also has a civil-union law. In yet other nations, such as Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Mexico and the U.S., such rights are granted by city, state or provincial laws. Informal cohabitation of same-sex partners has become legally recognized in Austria, Colombia, Croatia, Hungary, Israel and Portugal -- and in parts of Australia, Italy and the U.S. Italian deputy mayor calls for 'ethnic cleansing of faggots' The right-wing deputy mayor of the northern Italian city of Treviso, Giancarlo Gentilini, plans to order police to carry out "ethnic cleansing of faggots." Gentilini said he is sick of gays having sex in a particular parking lot. "I will immediately give orders to my forces so that they can carry out an ethnic cleansing of faggots," he told local television. "The faggots must go to other [cities] where they are welcome. Here in Treviso there is no chance for faggots or the like." A video clip of the outburst was posted on YouTube. In response to the incident, hundreds of gay and gay-supportive demonstrators picketed City Hall on Aug. 11, calling for Gentilini's resignation. The remarks also were denounced by politicians from several parties, and prosecutors said they will investigate whether Gentilini's language violated criminal law. Tallinn pride parade deemed a success While many pride parades in eastern Europe attract aggressive political opposition or violent physical attacks from homophobic citizens, the fourth pride parade in Tallinn, Estonia, was a success Aug. 11. About 300 people marched through the historic Old City protected by police officers and private security guards. At the parade's midpoint, a small group of skinheads and ethnic Russians began following marchers, chanting, "No pride!" One counterdemonstrator was arrested. Last year, around 30 skinheads attacked the procession with sticks, rocks and eggs, injuring some 15 marchers, three of whom required hospital treatment. The parades in 2004 and 2005 were trouble-free. Thousands of people turned out to watch this year's march. 3,000 march in Tokyo About 3,000 people marched in Tokyo's sixth gay pride parade Aug. 11. The procession through the Shibuya and Harajuku neighborhoods featured floats, rainbow balloons and flags, and celebrants wearing G-strings and feather boas, reports said. Organizers said they hoped to create a climate where fewer GLBT people live in fear of coming out. Events in a park attracted about 5,000 celebrants for seminars, speeches, a flea market, food, live music and dancing. Hundreds march for marriage in Sydney Several hundred people marched on Sydney Town Hall Aug. 12 demanding legalization of same-sex marriage. Australia's national government specifically banned same-sex marriage three years ago, just prior to a federal election. As another election approaches, the government now has proposed banning same-sex couples from adopting children from overseas. "It's a clear pattern of the prime minister trying to garner votes from the conservative religious fundamentalists and in doing so seeking to scapegoat a particular section within our community," Greens Sen. Kerry Nettle told local media. Bulgarian gays gather in park to educate citizenry Members of the Bulgarian Gay Organization Gemini (BGO Gemini) gathered in Sofia's Actavis Park Aug. 11 to distribute brochures on gay issues and HIV prevention to the general public. The "Pink Point" project aims to correct "misconceptions" about gay people and deliver "accurate and fair information," said Gemini head Aksinia Gencheva. The group also has begun handing out condoms and safe-sex information at gay bars. Gay church launched in Malaysia Malaysia's first gay church held its initial service in a Kuala Lumpur hotel Aug. 12. About 80 people attended. The church -- loosely affiliated with the U.S.-based, gay-oriented Metropolitan Community Churches -- is headed by the Rev. Ou Yang Wen Feng, who is believed to be Malaysia's first openly gay Christian pastor. He was ordained in May in the U.S. Advance media reports on the service caused Ou Yang to receive a flood of hate mail and nasty SMS text messages, he said. Ou Yang also was criticized by leaders of other Malaysian churches, who think gay sex is sinful. George Michael begins community service Gay pop singer George Michael began performing 100 hours of community service Aug. 13 as part of his punishment for driving while under the influence of drugs. He did some gardening at a London hostel for the homeless. "I'm just like everyone else. If you do something stupid you have to pay the price," Michael told the Daily Express. "I've been doing some gardening and really enjoyed it," he said. "I'll do whatever they want me to do. I don't want any special treatment." Michael, who also had his driver's license taken away for two years, was found last October slumped over the steering wheel of his SUV, drooling, sweating and blocking an intersection. He admitted he'd taken cannabis, and prosecutors said tests found evidence he'd consumed the club drug GHB (gamma-hydroxybutyric acid), the antidepressant Efexor and the sleeping pill Ambien. Michael's lawyer pointed out that GHB, found in Michael's system at 16 milligrams/1 milliliter, can occur naturally in the body at that level. Judge Katherine Marshall determined that "cannabis was not the cause of unfitness" and that "GHB was found, but I make no findings about the origin." |
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| "[I]f our Constitution really means what it says, that all are created equal, if it really means what it says, that there should be equality of opportunity before the law, then our brothers and sisters who happen to be Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual or Transgender should have the same rights accorded to them as anyone else, and that includes the ability to have a civil marriage ceremony."
-Presidential candidate Dennis Kucinich at the CNN/YouTube Democratic presidential debate, July 23. "How would I want my two daughters treated if they grew up and had a different sexual orientation than their parents? Good jobs, equal opportunity, to be able to retire, to visit each other, to be with each other, as other people do. So I feel very strongly, if you ask yourself the question, 'How would you like your children treated if they had a different sexual orientation than their parents?' the answer is, 'Yes, they ought to have that ability in civil unions.' I don't go so far as to call for marriage. I believe marriage is between a man and a woman." -Presidential candidate Christopher Dodd at the CNN/YouTube Democratic presidential debate, July 23. "I would do what is achievable. What I think is achievable is full civil unions with full marriage rights." -Presidential candidate Bill Richardson at the CNN/YouTube Democratic presidential debate, July 23. "I feel enormous personal conflict about this issue [same-sex marriage]. I want to end discrimination. I want ... equal rights, substantive rights, civil unions ... but I personally have been on a journey on this issue. I feel enormous conflict about it. As I think a lot of people know ... my wife Elizabeth spoke out a few weeks ago, and she actually supports Gay marriage. I do not. But this is a very, very difficult issue for me. And I recognize and have enormous respect for people who have a different view of it." -Presidential candidate John Edwards at the CNN/YouTube Democratic presidential debate, July 23. "I remember hearing [former GOP Sen. Rick] Santorum ranting about how homosexual marriage threatens heterosexual marriage. I could be wrong, but I think heterosexual marriage is threatened more by heterosexuals. I don't know why Gay marriage challenges my marriage in any way." -Elizabeth Edwards, wife of presidential candidate John Edwards, to Salon.com, July 17. "[W]e've got to make sure that everybody is equal under the law. And the civil unions that I proposed would be equivalent in terms of making sure that all the rights that are conferred by the state are equal for same-sex couples as well as for heterosexual couples. Now, with respect to marriage, it's my belief that it's up to the individual denominations to make a decision as to whether they want to recognize marriage or not. But in terms of, you know, the rights of people to transfer property, to have hospital visitation, all those critical civil rights that are conferred by our government, those should be equal." -Presidential candidate Barack Obama at the CNN/YouTube Democratic presidential debate, July 23. "My only ask was that if his [Dick Cheney's] daughter doubted my tolerance to her [Lesbian] orientation that I would hope that he would help make it clear to Mary that this is a - I was just worried about - the reason I'd federalized the issue [of same-sex marriage] is because I was worried about the courts' defining the issue and that we'd end up with de facto marriage that was not traditionally defined, I guess is the best way to put it." -President George W. Bush to Weekly Standard writer Stephen F. Hayes in his new book "Cheney: The Untold Story of America's Most Powerful and Controversial Vice President," as reported by The New Republic, July 16. "You know when we lost everything, it was the Gay people that came to my rescue and I will always love them for that." -Tammy Faye (Bakker) Messner on TV's Larry King Live, July 19. She died the following day, of lung cancer. "I feel great about it [being a Gay icon] because I feel that it's a platform for my purpose, which is to bring the love and music of Christ to all of my fans. And because they trust me, I think, they know my music is honest and they believe me to be honest, and perhaps, because of that, they will follow where I'm leading. I want to lead them to Christ and what he has for them, not what I have for them. I have no hell for anyone to go to. I want to lead them to him, I want to lead them to truth. ... I want to lead them to Christ, simply, and whatever he has for them." -Singer Gloria (I Will Survive) Gaynor to BBC Radio 4, July 13. The final sentence was a response to the question, "That doesn't necessarily mean to you that you see homosexuality as something sinful?" Gaynor paused before answering the question. "I don't give a shit. I've never cared about the Gay rumor. It's so stupid. It's funny because people are always infatuated with that. A lot of the guys that say that are the typical guys that are insecure with themselves. I've heard so many rumors about so many people being Gay that it's ridiculous. I've sure you've heard a million." -Singer Enrique Iglesias to the New York Gay magazine HX, July 7. "It's [Lesbians] such an insular community - at least, it is in LA. It's so very small - really, that six degrees of separation thing where so many women have slept with so many others and all know each other." -The L Word star Jennifer Beals to the British Lesbian glossy Diva, August issue. "The Gay community has been my constant supporter. I used to sing in wet bars at four a.m. - I am not even sure such bars exist anymore. Not only did they have respect for me but they also paid me well. I have had many, many setbacks, heartaches, losses and even though I have been very, very low I have never seen rock bottom and that is because when the rest of the world didn't want anything to do with me, the Gay community supported me, they literally kept me from a life on the streets. But for them I would not exist. They have been very faithful to me. God is faithful too. So it's God and the Gay community that have kept me here." -Dreamgirls original Jennifer Holliday to Ohio's Gay People's Chronicle, June 22. "I have been a supporter [of the Human Rights Campaign] for six years now. Basically the Gay community has been my sole source of survival, especially when I was really down and out. So this is my way of giving back. If lending my name can help them then that's great. I wish I have money of my own to give but I'm not wealthy." -Dreamgirls original Jennifer Holliday to Ohio's Gay People's Chronicle, June 22. "I had gastric bypass surgery and lost two hundred pounds. I had always assumed that all my problems were connected to my weight. And then when I lost the weight I realized I still had the problems. I didn't have a career, I didn't have a boyfriend, I can't get along with people. And even recently I have had many losses, many heartaches. I lost my mother to cancer, a couple of relationships that failed. But I am trying to move on. I am beginning to find out how to make it all work, hoping I will survive, that I will make it." -Dreamgirls original Jennifer Holliday to Ohio's Gay People's Chronicle, June 22. "It would be impertinent of me to comment on Singapore society but this happens to be a law [the Gay-sex ban] that I find personally offensive and I don't think it should be on the statute books because it inhibits my free behavior as an openly Gay man. I feel free to comment on behalf of people who do have to suffer laws which the British empire invented and left behind. The press like to talk to actors. They mustn't be surprised when actors talk back to them. We are privileged that we have access to the media and our opinions sometimes are reported and I appreciate that. But I only speak on things that I am an expert on. ... You won't hear me talk about my politics, you won't hear me talk about my vegetarianism, you won't hear me comment on the Iraq war. You'll only hear me talk about being Gay and being an actor. I am just public on those two issues." -Sir Ian McKellen speaking to Reuters in Singapore, July 19. "[T]he fire chief is Gay, the mayor has Gay senior staff, a City Council member and a state senator are Gay, a superior court judge is Gay, the county's district attorney and innumerable lesser officials: Gay, Gay, Gay. Forget 'Don't ask, don't tell.' In millennial San Diego, the motto these days is, 'Who knows, who cares?'" -Writer Eric Wolff in the San Diego weekly newspaper CityBEAT, July 18. "[W]hen you're single and you've finally made it past the age when you've felt both love's deepest tongue probings and also its most random horror-flick slashings, past the age when getting moronically drunk every weekend and hooking up is the ultimate goal and you've had enough sex to fill a thousand porn movies and everyone around you is no longer on some sort of giddy, wide-eyed first-adult-relationship must-get-married must-have-babies track of impossibly optimistic utopian desire, what it means, at least for me, is that you get to become this odd sort of sounding board - a blank slate of love's warped potential, a reason for others to extrapolate on the nature of love and life and sex and how goddamn difficult/wonderful/impossible it all really is." -Straight San Francisco Chronicle columnist Mark Morford, who frequently writes about Gay stuff, in his July 25 column. |
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