CANADA
he House of Commons voted 216-55 on
June 8 to define marriage as between a man
and a woman.
In an unusual move, the motion was sup
ported by the Liberal government even though
it was introduced by the opposition Reform
Party.
The vote came three weeks after the Cana
dian Supreme Court K
rewrote the definition |
of the word spouse to 8
include same-sex cou- a
pies. The 8-1 ruling &
could lead to hun- 2
dreds of provincial i
and federal laws being
revised to delete het
erosexist definitions
of spouse.
“This government
has no intention of changing the definition of
marriage or legislating same-sex marriage,” Jus
tice Minister Anne McLellan said before the
vote. “I fundamentally do not believe that it’s
necessary to change the definition of marriage to
accommodate the equality issues around same-
sex partners that now face us as Canadians.”
Reform Member of Parliament Gurman Gre-
wal told the House: “T he term marriage is a cor
nerstone of our public policy and ought not to
be unilaterally changed by the courts, by bureau
crats or by the cabinet behind closed doors.”
Openly gay MPs Svend Robinson and Real
Menard called the vote homophobic.
“The Reform Party doesn’t believe in equal
ity for gays and lesbians, period,” Robinson said.
“We have no choice but to recognize it as
discrim ination against gay persons,” said
Menard.
Meanwhile, results of an Angus Reid Group
poll released June 9 show that 53 percent of
Canadians believe gay and lesbian couples
should be allowed to get married. The survey
questioned 1,500 Canadians.
T
- 5 »
L
nder pressure from the Ontario Human
Rights Commission, the Toronto Transit
Commission has printed gay advertisements on
700,000 transit transfers— six years after the
group Toronto Area Gays and Lesbians bought
the ad space.
The ads promote counseling services. Transit
officials refused to run the ads until now because
they considered them controversial.
FIN LA N D
committee appointed by the minister of
justice recommended the nation enact a
registered partnership scheme for gay and les
bian couples.
O n June 1, the committee suggested regis
tered couples receive all the rights and obliga
tions of matrimony except access to adoption.
Similar laws are in effect, with minor differ
ences, in Denmark, Greenland, Iceland,
Netherlands, Norway and Sweden.
A
IN TERN ATIO N AL
new organization called Euroslavia hopes
to unite gays and lesbians from Slovenia,
Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Yugoslavia and
Macedonia (the nations of the former
Yugoslavia).
The group wants to demonstrate that homo
sexuality knows know borders, reports the
Swedish gay newspaper QX.
For more information, visit the Internet site
euroslavia.ses.nu.
A
T
N E T H E R LA N D S
he lives of openly gay men and lesbians in
the Dutch military have improved dramat
ically in recent years, a new Defense Ministry
study found.
Only one in 10 gay soldiers feels he or she is
shunned due to his or her sexuality—down from
more than 60 percent in 1992.
Eighty percent of military gays said their col
leagues are aware of their sexual orientation.
THAILAND
hirty gay and transvestite actors and
activists picketed the national govern
ment’s media office June 10 in protest against a
new directive to limit appearances by trans
actors and characters on television programs.
“The discriminatory order that you issued
will make me and other transvestite actors like
me lose our jobs and starve to death,” shouted
actor and dancer Prakom Pimthong, according
to Reuters.
T he order was issued by government
spokesman General Vichit Wuthihampol, who
said citizens had been complaining to Prime
Minister Chuan Leekpai via his Web site.
Transvestites are common on Thai prime
time soap operas and game shows, and the
nation is considered to be relatively tolerant of
gay and trans people.
T
TU R KEY
ore than 100 people turned out for the
Second Gathering of Turkish Gays and
Lesbians in late April in the capital, Ankara.
They came from Istanbul, Izmir, Denizli,
Adana, Qorum, Mersin Korfezi, Polatli, Bolu,
Kars, Nazilli, Aydin, Kayseri and Edime.
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For further information, send e-mail to
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UNITED KINGDOM
ven though it terminated a planned joint
venture with U.S. right-wing preacher Pat
Robertson, the Bank of Scotland is still being
punished by angry Scots.
O n June 7, the Manufacturing Science and
Finance Union dropped a multimillion-dollar
plan to market the bank’s credit card to its
420,000 members.
“Our basic philosophy as a union is to pro
mote tolerance in society. We cannot remain
associated with a financial institution that
appears to take this principle so lightly,” said
General Secretary Roger Lyons.
The bank abandoned its plan to offer direct-
banking services to viewers of Robertson’s 700
C lub television show and members of his Chris
tian Coalition after Robertson said on the show
that Scotland is a “dark land” where “homosex
uals are riding high in the media."
Gay men and lesbians had been the first
group to attack the bank over its deal with
Robertson.
Meanwhile, on June 9, Robertson resigned
from the board of directors of the British fashion
and fabric retailer Laura Ashley. London media
reports said the company was fearful of being the
next target of Robertson’s detractors.
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