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About Just out. (Portland, OR) 1983-2013 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 7, 2005)
______________Miiuary 7.2QQ5 •jllSt Olltj 19 twnrmnews ans” and “contrary to public interest in general.” The Dec. 25 party, organized by Fridae.com and Jungle Media, was allowed in 2002 and 2003. In a statement, the police department said it permitted the previous parties because it had been assured they were not gay events. But, in fact, “patrons of the same gender were seen open ly kissing and intimately touching each other.” This year’s party had sponsorships from Heineken, Qantas, the InterContinental Singa pore Hotel and other big-name companies. N ew Z ealand P asses C ivil U nions L aw New Zealand’s Parliament passed a civil unions law for gay and straight couples Dec. 9 by a vote of 65-55. Registered couples will received the same rights and responsibilities as married people. Recent polling showed that New Zealanders opposed recognizing gay relationships by a mar gin of three to one. The measure takes effect in April. democracy from 1975 to 1979. But the legisla tors did not grant any monetary reparations, as requested by gay activist organizations. Some 5,000 people were detained under Franco for gay, lesbian or transsexual “acts or attitudes,” according to Antonio Ruiz, president of the Association of Ex-Social Prisoners. Hun dreds were jailed in “sexual re-education” cen ters, reports said. G ay R etirement H ome to O pen in B erlin A gay retirement home is set to open in Berlin’s gay Nollendorfplatz area in 2006, an apparent first for Europe. The Magnus Hirschfeld House will have 150 apartments, said Hans-Jürgen Esch, one of the developers. Tm.AVAII.ABLE,., whenyou are!” Careful and energetic handling of all your home financing needs MORTGAGE J Advocates 6700 SW 105th Ave., Suite 2(XI Beaverton, OR 97005 'loll Free (877) 82MX.XX) Fax (503) 297-0824 E-Mail: cx>Ueenw@rntgadvocates.coin www.mtgadvtxates.coin I ndian L esbian C ouple to D emand M arriage R ecognition Two young lesbians who “married” each other in India’s Punjab state say they will demand that officials recognize their union, Britain’s The Independent reported Dec. 11. “Raju” and “Mala” eloped from their homes in the Sikh holy city of Amritsar in late Novem ber, then returned, announced they had married in a Hindu ceremony and urged their families and the state to accept them. Raju’s mother, Ranjit Kaur, told local media: “It is humiliating for us and for humanity. We only wish they are joking.” Raju’s father demanded that police arrest the couple, but police said the women had not bro ken any law. EUROPE S paniards W ant C atholic C hurch to S tay O ut of P olitics Three-fifths of Spaniards want the Catholic Church to stop trying to interfere in politics, an Instituto Opina poll has found. The church has been particularly outspoken against the new Socialist government’s plans to legalize full same-sex marriage. It also dis approves of proposals to relax abortion restric tions and permit euthanasia. Pollsters asked 1,000 adults: “The Catholic Church has undertaken a campaign of protests against some of the government’s social reforms. Do you support or oppose this campaign?” About 60 percent said they oppose it, 29.2 percent said they support it, 9.9 percent were unsure, and 0.9 percent gave no answer. The margin of error was reported as 3.1 percent. Antonio Ruiz, head of group seeking repara tions from Spain for imprisonment under Franco S pain C ondemns past P ersecution of G ays Spain’s Congress of Deputies unanimously condemned Dec. 15 the persecution of gays dur ing the dictatorship of Gen. Francisco Franco from 1939 to 1975 and during the transition to Berlin retirement home for gays and lesbians Hirschfeld, one of the world’s first gay activists, founded Berlin’s gay Scientific Humanitarian Committee in 1897. Berlin has an estimated 75,000 gays and lesbians older than 65, the French Press Agency said. Home Essentials Visit us online at: www. reyreece. com or schedule your appointment Kitchen ♦ Bath ♦ Interior 503-256-3700 1-800-283-0592 7880 SW Capitol Hwy. 503.246.8263 in Multnomah Village REY REECE DEALERSHIPS VOLKSWAGEN-MITSUBISHI-USED 122nd & East Burnside www.reyreece.com P artner B ill P asses P olish S enate A bill granting registered same-sex couples some marriage rights passed Poland’s Senate by a vote of 38-23 with 15 abstentions Dec. 3. It now moves to the Sejm, the lower house of Par liament, where it may face strong opposition, says correspondent Slawek Starosta. The measure would grant gay couples spousal rights in areas such as taxes, hospital visitation and inheritance. A spokesman for the Polish Roman Catholic hierarchy said the measure is unconstitutional because Poland’s Constitution defines marriage as between a man and a woman. MIDEAST/AFRIC A I sraeli C ourt A ffirms M en ’ s R elationship Tel Aviv’s Family Court recognized a child support agreement drafted by a male couple, ovemiling a government decision on the matter, the Ha’aretz daily newspaper reported Dec. 7. The men, a couple for 19 years, impregnated a female friend, and one of the men legally mar ried her. The woman gave birth to twins, and the men then created a financial agreement with her for the babies’ care. Family Court Judge Yehuda Granit ruled that the government’s refusal to recognize the agree ment violated the Basic Law on Human Digni ty and Liberty. “One would expect an attorney general in a democratic society to work to adjust the law to the reality of life; to defend the rights of all members of society, regardless of their sexual ori entation; to be aware of existing and developing realities in society; and not to serve as an auto matic mouthpiece for those with conservative ideologies,” Granit wrote. 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