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AMERICAS
Rio G ays P rotest F unding
for
E x -G ay P rograms
ing tree which, by way of progressive interpreta
tion, accommodates and addresses the realities
of modem life.”
In response to the ruling, the government
said it will intnxJuce a same-sex marriage bill in
Parliament promptly. It is expected that the
measure will pass.
As the Canadian government prepares to
legalize same-sex marriage nationwide, court
cases continue in some of the three provinces
and two territories where same-sex couples still
cannot marry.
Hundreds of queers protested Dec. 7 outside
the Rio de Janeiro state Legislative Assembly
against a proposal to fund programs designed to
turn gays straight, Britain’s The lnde[>enilent
reported.
The plan was drafted hy legislator Edino
Fonseca, a fundamentalist Christian.
“There exist people who want a new direc
tion—an exit from homosexuality to hetero
sexuality,” he said. “Those who opt for this don’t
have any support.”
Rio is considered to be one of South Ameri
ca’s gay-friendliest cities, but activists say funda- ; N orth K orea R eports Z ero HIV
mentalist Christians have increased their num C ases , C laims I t H as N o G ays
North Korea said in December that it still
bers and strength in recent years. The city bans
anti-gay discrimination and recognizes same-sex
has no HIV or AIDS cases—and doesn’t have
any homosexuals, either.
partnerships, The Independent reported.
But the secretive, isolated nation did say
N ewfoundland L egalizes
that 27 foreign workers who tested HIV-positive
were sent home at their own requests.
S ame -S ex M arriage
Another Canadian province legalized
“The DPRK [Democratic People’s Republic
same-sex marriage Dec. 21. The province of of Korea] is rhe sole country on the earth that
Newfoundland and Labrador joins British
has no AIDS-related patient so far,” said Han
Columbia, Manitoba, Nova Scotia, Ontario,
Kyong Ho, director of the Ministry of Health’s
Quebec, Saskatchewan and the Yukon Territo Central Hygienic and Anti-Epizixttic Center,
ry in granting gay couples full access to the
in an interview with the Pyongyang Times
newspaper.
institution.
Two lesbian
“As a medical worker I feel sure that there
couples had sued
will not (xzcur a case in the DPRK in the future,
for the right to
either,” Han said. “The DPRK...encourages the
population to have a noble viewpoint towards
marry, and the
Newfoundland
love, marriage and family, and observe a sound
Supreme Court
lifestyle. The country has neither licensed and
declared,
as
private prostitutes nor homosexuals and drug
addicts.” Han said “socialist morality” will keep
courts had else
where, that the
AIDS at bay.
federal
man-
“The socialist system in the country has
Newfoundland
newlyweds
woman defini
nothing to do with any socioeconomic back
tion of marriage Pottle and French
ground giving rise to all descriptions of
violates Canada’s
immorality and depravity,” he told the Times.
Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
“The sound lifestyle prevailing in the society
Plaintiffs Jacqueline Pottle and Noelle
will be upgraded more and more as the people’s
French wasted no time in tying the knot. They
standard of ideology and culture is on the rise
walked from the courthouse to the vital statis and education on the socialist morality devel
tics office in the Government Services Center,
ops. It is crystal clear that AIDS can never pen
acquired their marriage license and got hitched
etrate into this environment.”
two days later.
It is not possible to independently verify
“I’m sure there will be some legal and social
“news" from North Korea. The nation is notori
benefits. But for us, it’s about that next level of ous for its inadvertently humorous propaganda,
commitment—that lifetime commitment we
and it maintains strict controls on the move
can now make in front of our families and our
ment of foreigners within its territory, journal
friends,” Pottle told a group of journalists.
ists included.
The mayor of Gander, Newfoundland, refus
es to be part of this historical occasion.
S ingapore B ans G ay P arty
“It’s not right for two people of the same sex
Singapore’s police department and Home
to be married, and I will refuse to do any same-
Affairs Ministry banned a gay circuit party
sex marriages,” Mayor Claude Elliott told the
called SnowBall.04, saying it would be “un
Canadian Broadcasting Corp.
acceptable to the large majority of Singapore-
The federal government plans to pass legis
lation this month to extend same-sex marriage
to the jurisdictions where it is not yet allowed:
Alberta, New Bmnswick, the Northwest Terri
tories, Nunavut and Prince Edward Island.
Canada has no residency requirements for
marriage, and foreign couples can buy a license
and marry the same day—except in Quebec,
where there is a 20-day waiting period.
ASI A/PACIFIC
C ourt C lears P ath
for N ationwide L egislation
Asked for its thoughts on the matter by the
federal government, Canada’s Supreme Court
declared unanimously [Tec. 9 that there are no
obstacles to nationwide legalization of full
same-sex civil marriage.
“Several centuries ago it would have been
understixxl that marriage should he available
only to opposite-sex couples,” the court wrote.
“The recognition of same-sex marriage in sever
al Canadian jurisdictions as well as two Euro
pean countries belies the assertion that the
same is true today.... Our constitution is a liv- ! Revelers at SnowBall.03