luna 20. 2003»
I 'iijiU iin e w s
IN TERN ATION AL
rchbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams,
leader o f the worldwide Anglican Com mu
nion, joined other church leaders in opposing
gay unions May 26, even though he personally
favors them. T h e primates who head the
denom inations 38 provinces took action at a
meeting in Brazil in hopes of averting a schism
in the church, which observers believe could he
tom apart by the issue of gay equality.
“T h e question of public rites for the blessing of
same-sex unions is still a cause of potentially divi
sive controversy,” the bishops stated. “There is no
theological consensus...therefore we, as a body,
cannot support the authorization of such rites.”
The bishop in Vancouver, British Columbia,
shirked church conservatives recently by approv
ing blessings of same-sex couples— and the first
ceremony took place May 29. A few other bishops
in North America reportedly have similar plans.
Williams reportedly supports the ceremonies
and, as a bishop, ordained openly noncelihate
gays. But amid intense criticism after his selec
tion as archbishop last year, he promised to toe
the anti-gay church line that was hammered out
at a 1998 bishops conference.
Vancouver-area Bishop M ichael Ingham
feels no such compunction. He discussed the
controversy before Michael Kalmuc and Kelley
Montfort ttxtk their historic vows at St. Mar
garet’s Cedar O u tage Church.
“This is not a marriage ceremony hut a bless
ing of permanent and faithful commitments
between persons of the same sex in order that
they may have the support and encouragement of
the church in their lives together under God,"
Ingham said. “T he church recognizes that homo
sexual couples face the same challenges and share
the same responsibilities as other people in living
out the costly demands of love. Our purpose is to
encourage and strengthen fidelity and mutual
supportiveness in family life, on which the stabil
ity of our wider society depends."
T h e Anglican Com munion includes the
Church of England, the U .S. Episcopal Church,
the Anglican Church of Canada and other
national Anglican churches around the globe.
T m J V V A I L A B L E , „
w h e n v n u are!
T h e winner is decided by the contest’s 160
million viewers, who telephone or text-message
their votes. They cannot vote for their own
country.
t.A.T.u. s biggest hit, "A ll the Things She
Said,” hit No. 1 in several nations earlier this
year. In the song’s video, Katina and Volkova
make out passionately.
T he singers have said they plan to marry
each other hut still have sex with men as well.
Russian journalists have claimed that the girls
really are heterosexual and that their manager,
Ivan Shapovalov, invented the lesbian shtick for
commercial reasons.
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Colleen Weed
U ZREKISTAN
police in Uzbekistan, a former Soviet repub
lic, arrested gay journalist and human rights
activist Ruslan Sharipov on May 26 and
charged him with committing homosexual acts,
a violation o f A rticle 120 of the criminal code.
Two o f his colleagues also were taken into
custody hut have not been charged. Human
Rights W atch said May 29 that Sharipov likely
has been targeted because o f his articles on
police corruption and human rights abuses.
“Sharipov s long-standing history of criticizing
government policy, combined with past harass
ment against him and his colleagues, raise strong
suspicions that this is a politically motivated
case," said Elizabeth Andersen, executive director
of Human Rights W atch’s Europe and Central
Asia division. “T hat the authorities would charge
him with committing homosexual acts, violating
his fundamental rights to nondiscrimination and
privacy, makes it doubly egregious.”
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SLOVAKIA
d o u g b e e b e .co m
iament passed a law forbidding employ
ers from asking an employee his or her sex
ual orientation, The Slovak Spectator reported
June 2.
Gay groups and European U nion officials
said they would continue to push for a total ban
on workplace discrimination based on sexual
orientation. Slovakia is scheduled to join the
EU in May 2004.
“It is progress, but it is not enough,” said
O nno Simons of the European
Commission’s Bratislava delega
tion. “T he EC definitely looks for
ward to [Slovakia approving] an
anti-discrimination law.”
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A U T O M O
apanese transsexuals who have
sex-change operations cannot
switch their gender in their fami
ly register, the Supreme Court
ruled June 2.
T h e register determines
one’s fundamental legal identity
in Japanese society. According to
The M ainchi Daily News, the
plaintiff, a female-to-male trans
sexual, argued that without the
change he would he unable to get
a job or get married, which vio
lates his constitutional right to
pursuit of happiness.
J
Latvians booed Russian lesbian pop duo t.A .T.u . when they
kissed May 25 during the Eurovision Song Contest
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R U S S IA
T
he Russian lesbian pop duo t.A.T.u. placed
third May 25 in the Eurovision Song C o n
test despite oddsmakers’ predictions that they
would win the wildly popular pan-European
competition. T h e contest was held in Latvia,
which won last year.
As they often do, t.A.T.u. s Lena Katina and
Julia Volkova kissed during their performance, elic-
iting some btxis from the largely Latvian audience.
They sang "Don’t Fear, Don’t Ask" in Russian.
Turkey took home this year’s trophy for
Sertab Erener’s “Every Way T hat 1 C an.” Bel-
gium’s Urban Trad came in second.
AUSTRALIA
he state of New South Wales, where Sydney
is located, will set the age of consent for gay
sex at 16, in line with the law for straight sex.
The Legislative Council voted 23-16 in favor of
the change May 27, following a 54-32 vote in the
lower house. New South Wales was the last Aus-
tralian state with an unequal age of consent. J H
T
L a ser S
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Compiled by R ex WOCKNER, who has reported
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.
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