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About Just out. (Portland, OR) 1983-2013 | View Entire Issue (Feb. 7, 1997)
ju st out ▼ fsb ru a ry 7. 1®97 ▼ 5 Experience the Best w orld briefs We move to get you into your own home ARGENTINA Argentina’s second city, Rosario, banned dis crimination based on sexual orientation Dec. 20, reports correspondent Alejandra Sarda. Buenos Aires passed a similar law last fall. Rosario’s measure reads: “No discrimination involving exclusion in the name of or under the excuse of race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orienta tion, age, religion, ideology, nationality, physical appearance, psychological, social or economic condition or any other circumstance will be al lowed. AUSTRALIA Australia’s new family tax initiative, which took effect Jan. I, gives a rebate or tax credit to straight and gay couples with depen dent children when the parents earn less than $70,000, reported Capital Q. “This is an unusual move for the [govern ing] coalition where debate has centered on whether gay couples constitute ‘families,’ ” the newspaper said. T T ▼ An out lesbian was elected to the Western Australia state parliament in December. Liz Watson, a member of the Green Party, is Australia’s first openly lesbian MP. “I want to make it quite clear that I will speak out loudly on lesbian and gay issues,” Watson said during the campaign. “My commitment to the community is totally wholehearted.” Western Australia’s largest city and capital is Perth. CHILE The Chilean Senate’s Constitution, Legisla tion, Justice and Regulation Committee voted Dec. 16 to keep gay sex illegal. Article 365 of the Penal Code punishes private gay sex between adults with from 541 days to three years in prison. The matter now moves to the full Senate. Only two other Latin American nations— N icaragua and E cuador— ban gay sex. Nicaragua’s ban came into existence after the socialist Sandinistas were replaced by the conser vative regime of Violeta Chamorro. HONDURAS Honduran Vice Health Minister Enrique Zelaya has blasted Roman Catholic officials for using their clout to abort governm ent plans to distribute a million condoms at polling places. “The Honduran population continues having sexual rela tions outside marriage and these institutions that supposedly have centuries promoting this [fidelity] have not had any impact,” Zelaya said. “I think that continuing with the attitude of wanting to block out the sun with a finger doesn’t help at all in the fight against [AIDS].” Honduras has the highest AIDS rate in Central America. THE NETHERLANDS Holland’s same-sex-partnership legislation is expected to become law by January 1998. It will grant regis tered couples all the rights and obligations of matrimony except the right to adopt chil dren. Similar laws are in effect in Denmark/ Greenland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden. Holland also may open up regular marriage to same-gender couples. Parliament last year in structed the government to draft the necessary legislation by this coming August. IRAN Furniture courtfty o* S S Ä ,* • tfO fl ▼ ▼ ▼ New Zealand on Air, the public-broadcasting funding agency, in January allocated $56,000 for TV3 to broadcast Auckland’s 1997 gay HERO Parade, reports correspondent Mark Proffit. Agency head Chris Prowse said the whole nation should be able to see what is one of the country’s largest parades. It has been aired previously only in Auckland. Up to 200,000 people attended last year’s festivities. RUSSIA None of Russia’s $13.9 million 1996 AIDS- prevention budget was distributed, the federal AIDS Prevention Department has revealed. The reason: the government is broke. Some funds were made available for treat ment, however, said department spokesman Alexander Galiysov. The 1997 AIDS-prevention budget calls for less than half as much money as was proposed in 1996. Mortgage Professionals Dickinson Call today for Pre-approval (5 0 3 ) 2 7 4 -1 5 0 0 “Proudly Serving the Gay & Lesbian Community” NEW ZEALAND New Zealander Chris Amesen lived in the United States and paid into the Social Security system for 30 years, but the agency won’t pay his benefits unless he returns to the United States, reports Auckland correspondent Mark Proffit. Amesen would be happy to return, but he has AIDS and U.S. immigration law bans entry of foreigners infected with HIV. As the U.S. Consulate General in Auckland put it: Amesen falls into the category “other criminal, immoral, insane, mentally or physically defective aliens, those afflicted with loathsome or contagious diseases.” Amesen is sick and says he needs the money to buy drugs. New Zealand’s national health care system does not yet provide protease inhibitors, the new drugs that have given many people with AIDS a new lease on life. aa B g Thailand’s Rajabhat Institutes Council, which governs the nation’s teacher colleges, has barred homosexuals from enrolling at the 36 institutions under its control, reports the Bangkok Post. Spokesmen for the council said homosexuals set a bad example for students and have overly short tempers. Compiled by Rex Wockner 11520 SE 82nd Ave. Suite D .N S M IS S IO ÍIS 659-7089 S h u ttle to C la c k a m a s To w n e C e n te r w h ile c a r is in shop ! ■ Transm ission & Clutch service and repair ■ Free Towing (with major repairs within 15 miles) ■ N ationw ide W arranty ■ Interior & Exterior car steamcleaning & detailing ■ Shuttle Service available it s About Commitment, it s About Respect, it s About Rewriting history. it’s About ISTI Jime! Tanja Kostic “Experience the POWER of Women’s Professional Basketball!” SPAIN Spain now has the highest AIDS rate in Eu rope, 180 cases per 1 million residents. Italy is second with 101 per million, followed by France with 89 per million and Switzerland with 87 per million. THAILAND All visitors to Iran will be tested for HIV at border clinics, health officials said Dec. 26. Those who test positive will be “contacted” where they are staying. Mandatory testing is also being instituted for Iranians who go abroad for more than three months, said Deputy Health Minister Mohammad Esma’eel Akbari. T j Founders Funding Group 17 vs. Seattle 7:30 pm SEASON FINALE FAN APPRECIATION NIGHT > *. . ? - > •■ ■ ' " * ^ < ' . Feb. 20 vs. Colorado @ 7 pm Individual Game Tickets Available at all TicketMaster outlets and the Rose Quarter Box Office or charge-by-phone at (503) 224-4400 For groups of 15 or more call (503) 236-HOOP r*£23 AMMION IAMITIAU UAOUI m unvEsr