Friday January 26, 2007 SGN.org |
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Volume 35 Issue 04 |
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Saturday, Sep 06, 2008
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Rex Wockner |
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| International News | |
| MEXICAN STATE PASSES CIVIL-UNION LAW The Mexican state of Coahuila, which borders Texas, passed a civil-union law for same-sex couples Jan. 11. The state Congress approved the measure 20-13. It was introduced by the centrist Institutional Revolutionary Party, or PRI, which ruled Mexico for more than 70 years until the election of former President Vicente Fox in 2000. Expressing support for the bill, Coahuila PRI Gov. Humberto Moreira said "it would be discriminatory not to ... respect the rights of every person regardless of sexual affiliation." The law extends most of the rights of matrimony to registered same-sex couples. Coahuila is known for mining and ranching. Its capital city is Saltillo. The only other locale in Mexico with a same-sex partnership law is Mexico City. That measure passed the city's Legislative Assembly 43-17 with 5 abstentions last November. It grants spousal rights in areas such as property, pensions, inheritance, medical decisions and co-parenting. Heterosexual couples and nonsexual couples also can register under the law. Other Latin American localities with same-sex civil-union laws include Buenos Aires, Argentina; the Argentine province of Río Negro; and the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul. MEXICAN GAY LEADER MURDERED The best-known Gay activist in Matamoros, Mexico, was found stabbed to death in his home Jan. 15. José Ernesto Leal López, 42, was killed just days after staging a press conference calling for the state of Tamaulipas, which borders Texas, to pass a same-sex partnership law similar to those passed in Mexico City and in the border state of Coahuila. Leal López also recently had demanded that Matamoros police stop allegedly arresting residents because of their homosexual orientation and charging them $84 to be released. But a police department spokesman said the killing appeared to be solely "a crime of passion," noting that there were no signs of forced entry and that there was blood throughout the house. On Jan. 19, the Hoy Tamaulipas Web site reported that openly Gay federal congressman David Sánchez Camacho, who serves on a congressional commission concerned with "vulnerable groups," had arrived in Matamoros to challenge the "crime of passion" theory. "Enough with wanting to solve this crime by saying it was passion and wanting to sweep it under the carpet when we could be facing an antiGay hate crime," Sánchez Camacho said. "We've come all the way to Tamaulipas to learn the realities of life for people like us on this border." Matamoros is across the Rio Grande from Brownsville, Texas. CZECH GAY GROUP SHUTS DOWN AFTER PASSAGE OF CIVIL-UNION LAW The Gay group that worked 17 years to pass a civil-union law in the Czech Republic has closed up shop, saying its work is done. Gay Initiative chairman Jirí Hromada told The Prague Post, "I don't want to say that everything has been accomplished, but our priorities have been achieved." More than 200 same-sex couples have taken advantage of the civil-union law since it came into force last July. The statute, which became law after the Chamber of Deputies overrode President Vaclav Klaus's veto, grants many of the rights and obligations of marriage but withholds equality in the areas of adoption, pensions, taxation and joint ownership of property. Other activist groups, including the Gay and Lesbian League, will pick up the slack resulting from Gay Initiative's dissolution. "The reality is that the [partnership] law is not ideal," the league's Martin Strachon told the Post. He said the group will seek parity with heterosexuals in the areas of adoption, property rights, income tax and fast-track immigration. GAYS PROTEST AT VATICAN About 150 Gays and Lesbians picketed the Vatican Jan. 13, protesting against Pope Benedict XVI's outspoken opposition to civil-union and same-sex-marriage laws. The protest marked the day nine years ago when a Gay man, Alfredo Ormando, set himself alight in St. Peter's Square to protest Roman Catholic homophobia. Ormando died 10 days later from his injuries. The Vatican has expressed hostility to the Italian government's promise to introduce a civil-union bill into Parliament by the end of January. The measure is expected to cover areas such as health insurance, health care decisions, hospital and prison visitation, inheritance, immigration, transfer of leases, and alimony. Prime Minister Romano Prodi told local media that such a law would be a "fundamental step forward." SOUTH AFRICAN SAME-SEX WEDDINGS FACE DELAYS South Africa became the sixth nation to legalize same-sex marriage on Dec. 1 but many Gay couples have been unable to tie the knot because a government agency is moving too slowly in certifying celebrants. Reports said some marriage officers have heard nothing back from the Department of Home Affairs six weeks after submitting their applications to take the exam they must pass before marrying same-sex-couples. BUENOS AIRES MAYOR CONFIRMS HE'S STRAIGHT Buenos Aires' metrosexual mayor, Jorge Telerman, has again assured the city he's not Gay. "I laugh at the comments about my being Gay," he said Jan. 15 in an interview with La Nación. "I feel that homophobia is aberrant, but, even so, for those thinking about a dirty campaign [against me], I'm sorry to say that I'm not homosexual." But, he added, "every time I hear about antiGay discrimination, I have the urge to say that I'm homosexual." In an earlier interview, Telerman labeled himself "afrancesado," which translates as Frenchified or foofy. "[The word 'afrancesado'] just came out of me," he told La Nación. "And I never thought it would have the repercussions that it did. But it doesn't bother me. Even when my friends ask me if I'm Gay, I laugh." EUROPEAN TRANSGENDER COALITION REGISTERED Transgender Europe, a new coalition of 66 Transgender and transsexual organizations in 21 nations, was officially registered by Austrian authorities this month. "This is a major milestone towards the recognition of the rights of Transgender people," said Chairperson Justus Eisfeld. "Now Transgender Europe can apply for funding and make our voices heard on an international level." The group plans to fight for "legal recognition of the gender of trans people in the gender they live in, as well as nondiscrimination in all aspects of life, equal access to health care, and social acceptance." For more information: www.tgeu.net |
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| "I'm 53 years old. I grew up in a small town in the rural South. I was raised in the Southern Baptist church. And so I have a belief system that arises from that. It's part of who I am. I can't make it disappear. ... Do I believe they [Gays] should have the right to marry? I'm just not there yet -- me, I'm not there yet." --Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards to ABC News, Dec. 31. "I guess I come from a more eclectic background [than my husband] and so it's [same-sex marriage] less problematic, I think, probably for me. But I think both sides of this argument understand the desire for equality and equal treatment. I don't think there is anybody who is for or against it who doesn't understand it and I don't think there's anybody who is for or against it who doesn't understand the trouble people have. ... [I]t just seems something that they've not been around. Of course, they haven't because we haven't had it in this country." --Elizabeth Edwards, wife of Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards, to ABC News, Dec. 31. "I now believe that if Gay men and Lesbians served openly in the United States military, they would not undermine the efficacy of the armed forces. Our military has been stretched thin by our deployments in the Middle East, and we must welcome the service of any American who is willing and able to do the job." --Retired Army Gen. John Shalikashvili, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff from 1993 to 1997, writing in The New York Times, Jan. 2. "It is amazing how many politicians claim they support equal rights and oppose discrimination against Gays, but then favor a ban on same-sex marriage, oppose allowing Gays to serve openly in the military, even oppose adoption by Gay couples. ... I don't know about you, but I am getting a little tired of people who say they are for Gay legal equality -- except when they are against it, or saying they are against discrimination -- except when they are for it, and then using all sort of verbal evasions to wriggle out of acknowledging how anti-Gay they are." --Syndicated Gay-press columnist Paul Varnell, Jan. 3. "Senator John Edwards ... described same-sex marriage as 'the single hardest social issue' for him and said he had had a lot of 'personal struggles' over the issue. Oh, John, John, we feel your pain! How hard it must be for you to grant others the same right you have to marry the person you love. Edwards said he favored civil rights for Gays but that it was a 'jump for me to get to Gay marriage -- I am not there yet.' ... Apparently a civil marriage is not a civil right. And he has the effrontery to teasingly imply that he might change his position ('I'm not there yet') but suggests no sorts of reasons or criteria he would use in reevaluating his position. Apparently it is all just a mucky ooze of subjective feelings." --Syndicated Gay-press columnist Paul Varnell, Jan. 3. "Equal treatment of Gay couples will be a hallmark of the 21st century, just as racial equality before the law was a sea change in 20th-century America. Someday we'll look back and wonder what all the fuss was about, the same way we now shake our heads at laws that once banned inter-racial marriage. ... The whole threat-to-marriage argument against Gay unions never made sense. Stable, monogamous relationships are an important building block of a strong society, and we ought to support them. Why shouldn't that premise apply to Gay couples? How can extending legal protections to them cause harm to anyone else?" --The San Jose [Calif.] Mercury News in a Jan. 8 editorial. "It's a decidedly American concept that in America, it's still perceived that being Gay is bad and that being Gay and out in Hollywood will hurt your career. That's a false concept that I don't believe. I don't buy into it. I'm not going to perpetuate it because it's not true. I dare you to name one person who came out and their career went to the ---- after. If anything, it will help. All the comings-out have helped." --Mario Lavendeira of PerezHilton.com fame to the Los Angeles Daily News, Jan. 6. "Coming out and being Gay may actually help some [actors] who don't have careers. At least it's something to promote and you have an audience to start with. You can get work at one of the Gay networks and have something to bring to the table instead of being another out-of-work actor in Los Angeles or New York." --Paul Colichman, creator and CEO of the here! TV pay channel, to the Los Angeles Daily News, Jan. 6. "[F]or so long, everyone was so worried about it [coming out]. 'Will it hurt my [Hollywood] career?' 'Is that all people are going to talk about?' 'Will the audience care?' The fact of the matter is, we are now at a place where it now doesn't matter. You can come out, acknowledge your sexuality and move on." --Actor Chad Allen (Dr. Quinn: Medicine Woman, End of the Spear) to the Los Angeles Daily News, Jan. 6. "I've marched on Washington three times: twice for reproductive freedom and once for Gay and Lesbian rights, and it was very empowering for me. The political side of this has been important to me for a very long time." --Actress Cybill Shepherd, now starring on The L Word, to Los Angeles' Lesbian News, January issue. "First of all, my brother is Gay. So I grew up with a Gay brother and nothing surprised me about the issues in the script. I know how it feels to be thought of as 'different' as a deaf person, and I also know my brother's experience. No one should tell us who we should be with or shouldn't be with. It's as simple as that. There should be no judgment, no attitude toward the community because we all live the same life. The only difference is who we choose to be with." --Actress Marlee Matlin, now starring on The L Word, to Los Angeles' Lesbian News, January issue. "I have come to realize, having played the part, the inequality is striking. It is actually shocking to me. I had no idea about the rights that are not afforded to Gays and Lesbians. I think that because I am playing a Gay woman, I started to take it really personally when I read stories about it to become aware of issues." --The L Word actress Jennifer Beals to Los Angeles' Lesbian News, January issue. "I bike everywhere. It can be kind of amusing, arriving on a bike in black tie -- but it's just so enormously efficient. You're never late to anything on your bike. It's the only exercise I really have. ... I can't exist in LA. I don't drive. ... I am always waiting for a friend to come pick me up. It's too frustrating. I am just too much of a control queen." --Village Voice columnist Michael Musto to PlanetOut.com, Jan. 6. "I've had a few [boyfriends] and had one earlier this year for about six months and it was pretty sweet. But the more he was looking for a life partner, the more frightened I became -- and it kinda destroyed the whole thing. I could have a more casual relationship, but he basically wanted a wife. You know, I am the last person for that. I've spent too many years developing my way of life -- and my hours." --Village Voice columnist Michael Musto to PlanetOut.com, Jan. 6. "I don't even want Kevin Spacey to come out anymore. He's not really a noteworthy celebrity anymore. So he really missed the boat. And as much as Jodie Foster has never come out and said, 'Hey, I am straight,' she has never come out and expressed her private issues. I would just love for her to take a stand. That would make a huge difference in the world." --Village Voice columnist Michael Musto to PlanetOut.com, Jan. 6. "It is urgent that pro-family citizens -- Republicans, Democrats and independents alike -- contact their U.S. Representative and Senators, as well as President Bush, to state their opposition to passage of all pro-homosexuality 'sexual orientation' bills in the new Congress. At the top of the 'Gay' wish-list is ENDA, which we are calling the 'ENDA-Our Freedom' Bill because it would use federal power to force businesses to support and subsidize homosexuality and gender confusion ('Transgender' lifestyles: think men in dresses, using female restrooms)." --From a Jan. 5 e-mail alert from "Americans For Truth." |
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