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About Just out. (Portland, OR) 1983-2013 | View Entire Issue (April 2, 2004)
aprii 2.2004 * fWTîmnews Dykes on hikes and aborigines led the parade followed hy Monica Hingston, openly lesbian cousin of Sydney Roman Catholic Cardinal George Pell. “1 accepted the invitation to he part of the Mardi Gras parade because it was one more step on the way to saying, ‘Look, we’re here, we’re not going away,’ ” she told the ABC. S P A IN ongtime Spanish gay activist Jordi Petit, a former secretary general of the Internation al Lesbian and Gay Association, has received the Catalonia Institute of Human Rights’ 27th annual Solidarity Prize. The award was presented in the Catalonian Parliament in Barcelona hy Parliament Presi dent Ernest Benach and Justice Councilor Josep Maria Vallès. “1 understand that this award, which I proudly receive for my work, is a recog nition of the volunteers in the G L B T move ment over these 26 years of democracy in Spain,” Petit said. L Q uebec L egalizes S ame -S ex M arriage fa b u lo u s fo o d e3 flow ero he highest court in the Canadian province of Quebec, following in the footsteps of Ontario and British Columbia, legalized full same-sex marriage March 19. T he court said prohibiting gay men and lesbian from marrying violates the nations Charter of Rights and Freedoms. “This is a great day for Quebec and a great day for Canada,” said Bob Gallagher, national coordi nator for Canadians for Equal Marriage. “Now same-sex couples can marry in provinces that rep resent over 70 percent of Canada’s population." Unlike in British Columbia and Ontario, where couples, including foreigners, can buy a license and marry the same day, Quebec requires a 20-day waiting peritxl between the acquisition o f a license and the wedding itself— for residents and foreigners alike. Thus, the first weddings are expected to take place on, or sometime after, April 7. The first couple expected to marry are Michael Hendricks and René Le Boeuf, who were the plaintiffs in the lawsuit that led to the decision. However, the 20-day delay can be waived if arrangements are made in advance with the individual who will conduct the marriage, said a spokesman for Egale, Canada’s national queer lobbying organization. “T h e floodgates seem to be open, and it looks like Canada is going to become the first North American country that has equal mar riage, and this is wonderful,” Hendricks told reporters. Gilles Marchildon, Egale executive director, said: “W e’re ecstatic. Three-fourths of Canadi ans now have access to full equality.... Hope fully, the other provinces will start issuing licenses now, as well, instead of waiting for fed eral legislation. There is nothing standing in the way of that.” The federal government has said it supports last summer’s rulings that legalized same-sex marriage in Ontario and British Columbia and will introduce legislation to open up marriage nationwide, but it has yet to act except for sending four procedural questions to the C ana dian Supreme Court. The fourth question, which was added Feb. 20, had the effect of delaying the Supreme Court s consideration of the matter until O cto ber. No action is expected in Parliament until the court answers the questions. Quebec has offered same-sex civil unions, which extend all the provincial rights of mar riage, since 2002. riage’...but it is the equivalent,” said Tania Bampi, a spokeswoman for the state court admin istration. A national civil union measure has been stalled in Congress for several years. said the site’s founder, Keith Griffith. “Using the IP address will gain access, but, alas, most resi dents of the country will be hard-pressed to know to do that. Our Thailand forum has always been popular, so this is a depressing development. At least it means one less country I’ll feel a need to visit, or revisit in this case.” T Z IM B A B W E Spain’s outgoing conservative government has accused gay director Pedro Almodovar of slander amed gay Spanish movie director Pedro Almodovar has been threatened with a “slander and libel” lawsuit by Spain’s outgoing conservative government, which was ousted in the March 14 elections. Speaking March 17 at a movie screening, Almodovar said: "We have to understand some thing terrifying. The PP [the conservative Pop ular Party] was about to, at midnight Saturday, bring about a coup d’état. I don’t want to be polite or delicate— I’m not trying to throw stones— but you have to see how the PP has been operating.” Almodovar was referring to a rumor that the night before the election, the PP asked King Juan Carlos to postpone the voting in the wake of the March 11 terrorist bombings of Madrid trains, which killed 201 people and injured 1,500. The PP has called the rumor a “colossal lie.” The bombings have been widely credited with turning the tide against the PP, which had been expected to win re-election, in favor of the Socialist Workers Party. Outgoing PP Prime Minister José Maria Aznar has strongly supported the U.S. war on Iraq despite polls indicating a majority of Spaniards do not. That support has been blamed for the train bombings, which are believed to have been carried out by the al-Qaeda-linked Moroccan Islamic Combatant Group. F resident Robert Mugabe, 80, erupted against gays again March 5. Speaking at a church ceremony in celebra tion of his own long life, he said: “I’m morally revulsed by homosexuality. Let us never enter tain the theory that man and man can form a family. It’s Adam and Eve, not Adam and Adam, Eve and Eve.” P TH A IL A N D T he U.S.-hased Web site CruisingForSex.com appears to have been blocked by the govern ment of Thailand and cannot be accessed from within the nation’s borders. Among other things, the popular site lists quasi-public places where men cruise for sex— such as nature areas, restrooms, adult video arcades and the like. Thai cruisers can circumvent the apparent bkx:k by typing the site’s Internet Protocol address (65.240.96.131) into their Web browser’s address line and hitting enter. Only the name CmisingForSex.com is bkx:ked, not the underlying numerical address. “It appears we have the great distinction of being blocked by the government of Thailand," I design help you throw your party o f a Lifetime! Specializing in celebrations of: ~ individual expression ~ home parties ~ outdoor & unique venues —RW - special event planning & management event coordination 2140 E. Burnside 503-232-0232 fetepdx.com S O U TH KOREA T wo gay activists got hitched March 6 at a Seoul cafe in what was called South Korea’s first public gay “marriage.” Lee Sang-chul, 36, and Park Jong-geun, 32, read vows and exchanged rings in front of friends and the media, the JoongAng Daily newspaper reported. “I want my lover to receive medical insur ance and other benefits that he could have if we were legally married,” Lee said. The couple tried to register their marriage with local officials— the only legal procedure necessary to marry in South Korea— but they were turned away. DENM ARK N ewspapers and magazines in Scandinavia have been reporting on a new Norwegian Ixxik that mentions rumors that Danish Queen Margrethe IPs husband, Prince Henrik, is gay. Journalist Liv Berit Tessem’s book Royal Reporter—Journalist in Fairy Tale Land? states, “It is a public secret that Prince Henrik prefers young men." She has defended her decision to report the rumor, telling the Norwe gian newspaper Ver- dens Gang, “If you have to write a book about being a royal reporter, it is a natur al thing to write about all the minors that the royals are entangled in.” JH B R A ZIL A judicial panel in the southern state of Rio Grande do Sul, where Porto Alegre is locat ed, iastituted same-sex civil unions March 3. Couples can register at any notary public office and will receive the bulk of matrimonial rights— including in areas such as adoption, child cus tody, inheritance, pensions and insurance. “This is not going to be called ‘gay mar- catering You ’ve (finally) tied the knot now it’s time to celebrate! Is Denmark’s Prince Henrik (left, with Margrethe II) secretly a queen? Com piled by R ex WOCKNER, who has reported for the gay press smee 1985. He has a bachelor's degree m journalism from Drake University and started his career as a radio reporter. When an ordinary R ealtor sim ply won't do... 3144 SE Belmont Portland, OR 97214 office: 503-238-7617
