úecmbei 2. 2004 • ju st out 21
i’iu ¡i i « m e w s
J ^ v e r y w o m a n 's J ^ e a lt h
The suit was brought by
who sought
ownership of the house he shared with his late
partner for 40 years. The government had
rejected his claim, arguing that the 1965 Inher
itance Law applied only to common law oppo
site-sex couples.
Activists said they believe the ruling may
lead to other decisions granting same-sex cou
ples ordinary matrimonial rights.
NIG ERIA
Nigerian President Olusegun O basanjo
called homosexuality “unnatural” Oct. 27. He
was speaking in support of African Anglicans’
denunciations of Gene
Robinson, the gay bishop
of the Episcopal diocese
of the U.S. state of New
Hampshire.
“I
wholeheartedly
salute
the
wisdom,
courage and resilience of
African bishops within
Nigerian President
the Anglican Com mu
Olusegun Obasanjo nion for standing so firm
calls homosexuality
ly against attempts to
"unnatural"
undermine our faith and
falsify G ods will and the word of God,” Obasan
jo told a meeting of African bishops in Lagos,
Nigeria. “Such tendencies are clearly unhihlical,
unnatural and definitely un-African.”
P ER U
Peru’s Constitutional Court overturned a law
Nov. 11 that prohibited gays in the military from
having sex, the Agence France-Presse news wire
reported.
The army had banned same-sex relations on or
off military bases under threat of imprisonment or
expulsion. The court said the ban was “completely
discriminatory" and unconstitutional.
S L O V A K IA
Slovakia’s government said . Nov. 3 it has
received “a 100 percent guarantee" from Euro
pean Union foreign affairs ministers that it will
not he forced to recognize same-sex partnerships
or marriages from other European nations,
Radio Slovakia International reported.
Slovakia was the only EU nation to make
such a request, and it reportedly will he granted
via an amendment to the Hague Programme, a
policy adopted Nov. 4 and 5 by the European
Council regarding cross-border security and
human rights issues.
“Slovakia has taken this measure unilateral
ly, which means that we will have different laws
in this area than the rest of the EU,” Foreign
Affairs Minister Eduard Kukan told The Slovak
Spectator newspaper.
SO UTH A F R I C A
South Africa’s first national gay radio pro
gram launched Nov. 10, reported Marketing-
Weh.co.za. The Tuesday Night Show airs on
Radio 2000 from 8 to 10 p.m.
"The aim ...is to present intellectual, stimu
lating and contemporary radio programming
and content that would not only appeal to the
greater gay and lesbian community, but also to a
significant straight audience," said executive
producer Maciek Mazur.
Unfortunately, Mazur said, advertisers seem
to he taking a “wait-and-see attitude” to the
show. He expects that to change once they hear
the program.
SW EDEN
Sweden’s new minister for equality, Jens
Orback, has come under fire from the National
Federation for Sexual Equality for trying to
sound supportive of gay couples.
“Let people live with whom they want," he
told a radio news program Nov. 15. “My grand
zazcH
mother’s wonderful sister lived in Canada. She
lived with a horse. I think it’s great. Let people
live with whom they want and how they want.”
The federation’s Soren Andersson told the
daily newspaper Expresse n: “If Orback equates
animal sex and homosexuality, he should resign.
It’s absurd to compare relations to domestic ani
mals with relations between people.”
P h ilip p a R ib b in k .M .D .
E liz a b e th N e w h a ll.M .D .
Compiled by R ex WOOCNER, 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.
B ren d a K e h o e .M .D .
za&H
S a lly H o ltz m a n .M .D .
L a u re l L e e .C .N .M .
Je n n ife r H e is e r .M .D .
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Jamaican dancehall singer Sizzla was denied
entry to the United Kingdom in early Novem
ber because his lyrics encourage murder of
homosexuals.
The Home Office cited public safety reasons
and lyrics such as “Shot battybwoy, my big gun
btxim," which translates as “Shot a queer, my big
gun went boom.”
The
London gay
group OutRage and other
activists have conducted
an extensive campaign
against several Jamaican
dancehall artists whose
Peter Tatchell of
music supports killing
OutRage with Green
gays.
Party leaders Jenny
They include Ele
Jones and Keith
phant Man (“Queers must
Taylor
be killed” ), Vybz Kartcl
(“Kartel puts one (a bullet] in a queer’s spine”),
Beenie Man ("I’m dreaming of a new Jamaica,
come to execute all the queers”), Buju Banton,
T.O.K., Bounty Killer and Capleton. jH
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TAIWAN
About 2,000 queers marched in the Gay
Pride parade Nov. 6 in Taipei, Taiwan.
Some carried signs demanding access to mar
riage. A bill to open marriage to same-sex cou
ples, drafted by the Cabinet, awaits action in
Parliament.
UNITED K IN G D O M
The United Kingdom’s Civil Partnership Bill
cleared its final hurdles Nov. 17 and 19— pas
sage in the House of Lords and royal assent.
The vote was 251-1 36. The measure passed
the House of Commons on Nov. 9 by a vote of
389-47.
Legally registered same-sex couples will
obtain marriage rights in areas that include acci
dent compensation, life insurance, immigration,
inheritance, intestacy, pensions, taxation, ten
ancy, spouse and child support and workplace
benefits.
“Finally, the House of Lords has recognized
that Britain is a tolerant 21st century nation,”
said Ben Summerskill, head of the gay lobby
group Stonewall. “For the first time, the front
benches of all three major political parties have
backed equality for gay people. That represents
a hugely positive change.”
The Coalition for Marriage Equality simulta
neously welcomed and denounced the bill.
“The fact remains that same-sex marriage is
illegal in the United Kingdom, and the Civil
Partnership Bill will remain a separate system for
those in same-sex relationships— almost equal,
yet oddly segregated from the rest of mainstream
society," said spokesman David Henry.
The coalition’s Terry Sanderson added: “The
government constantly tells us that equality is at
the top of its agenda, but repeatedly gay people
are given less than equality. This is a glaring
example of that.”
The first registrations likely will not take
place until next fall, after the United Kingdom’s
tax and benefits systems have been overhauled
to accommodate same-sex couples.
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