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José María Mendiluce (right) is running for mayor of M adrid, Spain
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S P A IN
associated with adoption by homosexuals, then
the chances of heterosexual couples to adopt
panish Member of the European Parliament
children are compromised.”
and Madrid mayoral candidate José Maria
To avoid such conflicts, some European
Mendiluce came out in the January issue of the
nations that allow gay adoption restrict same-
gay magazine Zero.
sex couples to babies bom in that country.
A member of the Green Party, the 51 -year-old
Gays who enter a Swedish registered part
said he had been closeted because of “cowardice"
nership
now lack only two rights that are avail
and to protect his career. “The gay community can
count on me to defend our rights together,” he said, i able to heterosexuals: access to artificial insemi
nation technology and access to marriage itself.
T he mayoral election is in May. Paris and
Only the Netherlands lets same-sex couples
Berlin both have openly gay mayors.
marry under the same laws as straight people.
R U S S IA
TH E N E T H E R L A N D S
he St. Petersburg U nion of Journalists
Dutch lesbian couple had a clone baby
refused to let gay activists hold a press con
Jan. 3, according to Clonaid.
ference in the city’s House of Journalists on
Organization head Brigitte Boisseliei^said the
Dec. 10, International Human Rights Day.
parents want to remain anonymous. She offered
“I can’t stand gays," said union president
Vladimir Ugryumov, editor of the daily newspa no proof for her claims.
“If we assume sexuality is genetic, then the
per Vechemy Peterburg. “1 don’t mind lesbians
that much. I don’t think the intimate life of cer hahy will he the same sexuality as the parent,"
Boisselier told 365Gay.com. “Perhaps this will
tain people has anything to do with human
prove one way or the other the debate over nur
rights, and 1 don’t think sexual questions should
ture vs. nature.”
he discussed in the public arena."
Clonaid also has failed to provide proof of its
Russia legalized gay sex in 1993, hut some
claim that the world’s first cloned human was
activists say there has been minimal societal
bom in December. T he parents are wavering on
progress since then.
whether to allow DNA testing, Boisselier said,
because legal steps taken in Florida, where the
GERM ANY
birth announcem ent was made, could lead to
ermany’s Blind Date television show is doing
3 a gay epistxle. According to a Jan. .3 report the child being taken away from them.
Clonaid was founded in the Bahamas in
by .Ananova.com, bachelor Markus will choose a
date from among Andreas, Patrick and Maik.
1997 by Claude Vorilhon, who leads a religious
sect, the Raelians, that -believes interplanetary
“My friends think it’s great for me to go public
like that, and my boss even collects newspaper
visitors created life on Earth. The Raelians see
clippings about the show,” Markus said. Host
cloning as a step toward eternal life.
Jcxirg Pilawa said that if viewer response is favor
able, prixlucens might do a lesbian episixJe as well.
S W A Z ILA N D
Imost four of every 10 adults in the small
SW ED EN
/
African nation of Swaziland are HIV-posi-
weden’s main gay
tive, Prime Minister Sibusiso Dlamini said Jan. 2.
rights group might
The rate is similar to that of Botswana,
set up its own adoption
which has been pegged as having the world’s
agency. Same-sex cou
highest HIV rate— 38.8 percent of adults.
ples secured adoption
Swaziland, population about 1 million, is a
m ountain kingdom situated between South
rights in June hut con
tinue to he ostracized by
Africa and Mozambique.
the nation’s six adop
tion agencies, National
TH A ILA N D
Soren Andersson
Federation for Sexual
t the request of lesbian activists, Thailand's
Equality president Soren Andersson told the
Mental Health Department has issued a
daily newspaper Metro Dec. 27.
statement informing the nation that gay people
“The adoption agencies have made their
are not mentally aberrant and should be regarded
views clear," he said. “We are now very serious as normal, Bangkok’s The Nadon reported Dec. 27.
ly discussing the possibility of creating an inde The agency based its position on the World
Health Organization’s International Classification
pendent adoption agency.”
A spokeswoman for the agencies claimed the
of Diseases, which also sees gays as normal.
nations that provide babies for adoption in Swe
“Homosexual men and women are becoming
den won’t cooperate if the children are to be
increasingly more visible in Thai society in all
raised by same-sex couples.
occupational and professional groups, although
“In many countries, homosexuality is ille many more in same-sex relationships choose to
gal,’’ Annika Gmenewald said. “O nce Sweden is keep their private lives under wraps,” The Nadon
T
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