I
may 19. 2000 * J o t M L
•i news
Y o ur donations and p u rc h a s e s at work in ’99.
AUSTRALIA
he attorney general of the Australian state
of Victoria, where Melbourne is located,
has introduced a hill to ban discrimination
against transgendered people.
The measure will outlaw bias based on gen
der identity in all areas of life except competi
tive sports and religion.
“This law is long overdue in Victoria,” Rob
Hulls told the Melbourne Star Observer. “Whilst
transgender people are not a large proportion of
the Victorian community, they are subject to
some of the most extreme forms of discrimina
tion and harassment.”
The legislation would protect pre- and post
operative transsexuals as well as transvestites,
Hulls said. He expects the hill to pass in the cur
rent session of the state Parliament.
T
B R AZIL
here were 169 anti-gay killings in South
America’s largest nation last year, the
Grupo Gay da Bahia reported May 2.
The murder rate was highest in the states of
Sao Paulo and Pernambuco, whose biggest city
is Recife.
“These statistics are only the tip of the ice
berg,” said anthropologist Luiz Mott, human
rights secretary of the Brazilian Association of
Gays, Lesbians and Transgender Persons and
author of the study.
“As there are no government statistics on
hate crimes, we can only base our information
T
5 8 6 people received bus tickets for day labor or medical appointments. 4 6 8
The International Gay and Lesbian Human
Rights Commission urges activists to protest the
crackdown with e-mails and faxes to Lebanese
President Emile Lahoud (opendoor@presiden-
cy.gov.lh), Prime Minister Salim El-Hoss
( marasem@pcm.gov.lb), Minister of Justice
Joseph Chaoul (minister@justice.gov.lb, jus-
tice2@justice.gov.lb), Defense Minister Ghazi
Zeaiter (cmdarm@lebarmy.gov.lb), Information
Minister Anwar Khalil (fax 011-961-1-342-
223), U.N. Ambassador Riad Tahharah (fax
202-939-6324), and to your local Lebanese
embassy or consulate.
N EW Z E A L A N D
he nation’s Roman Catholic Bishops C on
ference threw its support behind the idea of
gay registered partnerships April 26.
The bishops said a government-run same-sex
partnership registry would give gay couples the
equal rights they deserve in areas such as inher
itance and taxation.
“W e’re not saying that same-sex relation
ships are morally permissible but that we are
concerned about people’s human rights,” one
bishop told TVNZ.
T
U NITED K IN G D O M
he newly created Scottish Parliament has
1. passed its first pro-gay law, ScotsGay Maga
zine reported in its May issue.
The Adults with Incapacity Bill gives same-
sex couples the right to be consulted on the
received assistance obtaining state identification, a prerequisite for work. 3 0 3
people received utility assistance, preventing power from being sbut off. 1 ,8 6 1
people received personal bygiene items (those wbicb cannot be purchased
with food stamps).
3 9 1 people received family counseling. 3 6 5 people
received rent assistance. 1 8 0 people were provided emergency dental work.
5 ,9 6 9
people
receiv ed
W
food.
illia m
Thrift S to re
2 2 3 0 N W G lis a n
P o rtlan d , O R 9 7 2 1 0
(5 0 3 )2 2 2 -3 3 2 8
4 ,8 8 5
T
people received
H
em ple
clo th in g .
o u se
N ew Thrift S tore
2 4 1 9 N E S a n d y Blvd.
P ortlan d , O R 972 3 2
(5 0 3 )23 9 -8 77 7
F re e D on ation P ic k u p
1910 N W 23rd P la c e
Portland, O R 9 7 2 1 0
(5 0 3 )8 2 7 -4 5 8 0
24 years o f professional
expertise in representing
your best interests...
Deborah Betron
Broker,
CRB, GR1
Office: 503/287.9370
V mail: 503/699.8061
db@bridgetownrealty.com
...
on newspaper reports and the Internet,” Mott
added. “The data suggests that it would he more
realistic to conclude that one gay, lesbian or
transgender person is violently murdered every
day in Brazil, victim of machismo and homo
phobia.”
FRANCE
ays arc welcome in the French army,
spokesman Gen. Alain Raevel told the gay
magazine Têtu on May 4.
“The army that we are building is an exten
sion of society,” Raevel said. “We need to recruit
boys and girls for 400 different types of work.
The fact that they may be homosexual does not
concern us.”
He added: “The question is whether we want
a very tough army, and recruit only Rambos, at
the risk of seeing the army cut itself off from the
nation it is supposed to protect. O r shall we
have a less monolithic army that is really in a
kind of osmosis with the nation, and through
that gains its legitimacy. We have clearly chosen
the second option.”
LEBANON
estination, an Internet service provider in
Beirut, has been visited by police officers
demanding to know who operates a gay site on
its servers.
Members of the police vice squad claimed
that the Gaylebanon.com site— which provides
chat rooms and information on legal-reform
issues— is somehow criminal.
At press time, the police had given Destina
tion a few days to respond to their demands.
D
affairs of a partner who becomes incapacitated.
T he gay groups Outright Scotland and
Equality Network lobbied on the proposal for six
months, ScotsGay said.
aci Taylor, the new mayor of Aberystwyth,
Wales, appointed her lover, Felicity Roberts,
as her mayoress on May 5, the Britsh Broadcast
ing Corp. reported.
The two women, both 55, have been togeth
er for 20 years.
“It does take a lot of guts to make a decision
like this, but everyone has a place in society and
everyone is equal whether it is in terms of sexu
ality, race or culture,” Taylor said. “It shouldn’t
really be an issue. There are more important
issues, like getting a better life for people. [We]
have never hidden the fact we are together.
Everyone we know has accepted us as a couple.”
Conservative Party Chairman Aubrey
Palmer was taken aback by the announcement.
“It is going to cause quite a storm in Aberys
twyth, because it is not normally something we
associate with this town,” he said. "Things like
this don’t normally happen here. I think it just
degrades the position of mayor.”
Aberystwyth, population 8,636, is a holiday
resort, rural and regional services center, and a
principal stronghold of Welsh culture. It is home
to the National Library of Wales.
f i li l a m e tte S ta r
-
vis*
f tr y s t a f ò o ip flirt
J
S a r tia m i S p ir it
W hen only
Portland
Ofâe Cßest
will Jo.
Enjoy Sunday brunch, daily lunch or dinner on the Portland Spirit.
Perfect for out-of-town guests. Group bookings and private yacht rental.
Com m itm ent Ceremonies available.
R eserv atio n s and in fo rm a tio n ( 5 0 3 ) 2 2 4 - 3 9 0 0 o r ( 8 0 0 ) 2 2 4 - 3 9 0 1 .
V isit www.portlan dspirit .c o m
■ Com piled by R ex WOOCNER, who has reported
F rid a y E arly E s c a p e C ru ises — J u n e tk ro u gk S e p t e m b e r
for the gay press since 1985. He has a bachelor’s
degree m journalism from Drake University and
started his career as a radio reporter.
G if t C e r t if i c a t e s make great gifts!