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About Just out. (Portland, OR) 1983-2013 | View Entire Issue (June 2, 2000)
june 2.2000 ' rium 'inew s AUSTRALIA INDIA n a probable national first, a public-service announcement dealing with gay hate assault aired on television in the state of Tasmania in mid-May. The ad depicts a gay man talking about being the victim of a hate crime and ends with mes sages about public safety. The 30-second spot is part of a series of PSAs on safety in public places produced by the Com mon Ground Project. “Gay and lesbian people are at high risk of assault, both in terms of numbers of incidents and the violence of these incidents,” said project coordinator Lynn Lee. ne hundred ten gay and lesbian activists from around India gathered near Mumbai this month for a three-day conference titled Looking into the Next Millennium. Addressing the opening session, actress and television talk show host Kiron Kher urged: “You must fight for your rights. You need to make your intentions clear and come public with your sexual preferences rather than spoil another’s life.” Kher apparently was referring to opposite-sex spouses who unknowingly marry homosexuals. Dr. Alka Gogte of the Maharashtra District AIDS Control Society agreed that coming out is the answer. “No one will understand your problems till you speak for yourself,” she told the conferees. I CANADA anada’s broadcasting watchdog agency blasted U.S. radio talk show host Dr. Laura Schlessinger on May 10, saying her homophobic statements could ignite anti-gay violence. The Canadian Broadcast Standards Council denounced Schlessinger for calling gays “abnor mal,” "aberrant," “deviant,” “disordered,” “dys functional” and “an error.” She is “abusively discriminatory” and in violation of Cana da’s broadcasting code, the council said, adding that S c h l e s s i n g e r ’s anti-gay positions are “fatuous and unsustainable." The ruling requires radio sta tions to cease broadcasting any comments by Schlessinger that breach the broad casting code, CBSC head Ron Cohen said. Other programs that have faced crackdowns include The Howard Stem Show (which is now broadcast with a time delay to allow deletions), the Jerry Springer Show (also time-delayed) and Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, which was banned in Canada due to excessive violence. C tatistics Canada will count gay couples in next year’s census. All Canadians will be asked if they are living in a common-law partnership, defined as “two people of the opposite sex or of the same sex who live together as a couple but who are not legally married to each other.” A follow-up question requires the person fill ing out the form to define his or her relationship to the other people in the household, with one of the choices being “common-law partner (same sex) of person 1.” S O I t ' s SOUTH AFRICA n May 10, the gay magazine OUTright won the mainstream Mondi Paper Magazine Award for Best Fashion Editorials of 1999. “The impact of Daniel S Somerville’s two entries— ‘Episode 1 (and a half)’ and ‘Loop’ in OUTright—is so visually powerful that the judges’ deci sion was unani mous,” said judge Sue Grant-Mar shall. “The photog raphy, styling, layout, design and origi nality of the entries came together in a strong fash Daniel Somerville ion state ment. Men’s fashion is nearly always challeng ing, and Daniel and his team have broken new turf with their win.” O tíme TO R E ÍR E s h youR M EM O R y One With Heart 17298579 Martial Arts Institute SE 43rd & Hawthorne _______________________________ 231-1999 UNITED KINGDOM lasgow, Scotland’s City Council temporari ly suspended all funding of gay groups May 12 after a citizen filed suit charging the city with violating Section 28 of the Local Government Act, a 10-year-old United Kingdom law that prohibits cities from “intentionally promotling] homosexuality” or teaching "the acceptability of bom osexuality as a pretended family relation ship” in schools. Among the defunded groups are HIV Carers, the Gay and Lesbian Switchboard, the Glasgay arts festival, the MCT Theatre Company and the West of Scotland Lesbian and Gay Forum. G UKRAINE EGYPT uthorities arrested two men in Zagazig who were discovered to have gotten “married" by signing a private contract, the Cairo Times reported April 21. Mumin S., 38, was charged with a "violation of honor by threat.” His lover, Amir Mohammed Saber Abduh Ali, age 18 or 19, was charged with immoral and indecent behavior but was later released. According to the Times, Ali told police the relationship had been going on for a year and a half while he worked in the older man’s com puter games store. But Ali claimed the relation ship was not one of mutual consent because he had been “tricked” into it. Although the contract has no standing in the eyes of the law, Mumin S. faces up to six years in prison if convicted of forcing Ali to have sex against his will. A ovemment officials continue to beleaguer Jf the Our World Gay and Lesbian Center in Lugansk, the center reports. In the latest incident, the Tax Inspection agency ruled that the organization must pay 30 percent tax on grants it receives because it does not engage in educational, cultural, scientific and health care activities. Our World officers say their group does exactly those types of work and their grants should therefore be tax-free. They have filed suit to reverse the ruling. A year ago, Our World was denied govern ment registration as a nonprofit organization. The center sued, won and was registered. ■ Compiled by R ex WOCKNER, who has reported for the gay press since 1985. He has a bachelor's degree in journalism from Drake University and started his career as a radio reporter. Provfncetown, Pensacola, Palm Springs? Apply for a g & l internet Bank credit card to get out of town this summer. For qualified borrowers we offer a Platinum VISA or Platinum MasterCard with a 9 . 9 % APR and NO ANNUAL FEE Visit our web site at w w w .g lx iik .c o m or call 8 8 8 -2 2 6 -5 4 2 9 to see if you're eligible to receive this terrific cred it card rate that will last longer than your vacation or your tan! G A L Internet Bank . . . We re not only gay friendly, we re your first and ONLY gay bank! 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