JANUARY 20, 2006
"So, the one night
stand worked?"
• •
Court Clears Gay Marchers
Courts in Poznan, Poland, refused in late
December and early January to begin criminal pro
ceedings against 75 people who were arrested at a
Nov. 29 Gay Pride march that had been banned by
Mayor Ryszard Grobelny, the Campaign Against
Homophobia reported Jan. 5.
The marchers were charged with taking part in
an illegal gathering.
A few hundred people joined the demonstra
tion. They were harassed by members of the group
All Polish Youth, who shouted “Let’s gas the fags”
and “We’ll do to you what Hitler did with Jews.”
Warsaw’s Gay Pride parade also was banned by
local officials last year and the year before. Mayor
Lech Kaczynski, who is now Poland’s president,
called last year’s planned march “sexually obscene.”
An improvised parade took place June 10 anyhow,
with more than 2,500 participants.
Marriage Battle Hits Estonia
An update to Estonia’s family law is set to ban
same-sex marriage and block recognition of same-
sex marriages from elsewhere.
Several nongovernmental organizations have
banded together to fight the legislation and to
demand passage of a civil partnership law for same-
sex couples.
In a letter to government officials, the organiza
tions state: “We demand you...stop ignoring the
issues and problems of same-sex families and help
to develop a more tolerant and equal society, an
appropriate society of a member state of the
[European Union]...4 [percent] to 6 percent of
Estonian society has sent a clear message of having
a strong need for an institution that would define
the partners’ rights and obligations in same-sex
families. Family...means love, safe home, socially
secured position, common values of humanity, pro
tection of children and assets—what kind of coun
try would not want to support such an initiative?”
Activists elsewhere are asked to join the cam
paign. Contact Lisette Kampus at lisette@diversity.ee.
AMERICAS
Kissing Gays Kicked Out
of Los Cabos Hotel
A gay couple from Mexico City say security
guards from the Hotel Presidente InterContinental
in Los Cabos beat them up and threw them and their
luggage into the street last month after they briefly
kissed in the swimming pool, Reuters reported.
The couple said the guards told them, “We don’t
like faggots.” But a hotel spokesman claimed Gerardo
Eliud, a 27-year-old public relations officer, and Samir
Habdu, a 24-year-old air steward, were evicted for
making “inappropriate advances” to other guests.
The couple filed a criminal complaint against
the hotel for assault and for alleged theft of belong
ings. They also plan to complain to Mexico’s
national human rights commission, Reuters said.
Man Chased by Bashers Drowns
A Jamaican gay man, Nokia Cowen, drowned
Dec. 28 after he jumped into Kingston’s harbor
while being chased by gay-bashers, according to the
Jamaica Forum for Lesbians, All-Sexuals and Gays,
the country’s best-known gay group.
“In an attempt to flee this mob, the young man
jumped into the Kingston harbor and perished
because he could not swim,” the organization said.
“JFLAG condemns the prevalence of incidents
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Bishop Fred Henry of Calgary, Alberta,
suggested politicians should opt for martyrdom
rather than support same-sex marriage.
Ï
such as this and...we implore the highest members
of government to clearly indicate that violence
based on sexual orientation, both perceived and
actual, is unacceptable in Jamaica.”
Anti-gay violence is unusually common in
Jamaica. In another recent incident, leading AIDS
activist Steve Harvey was murdered Nov. 30 in
Kingston. According to police, at least four
assailants forced their way into his home and
abducted him in his Jamaica AIDS Support compa
ny car. His body was found in a rural area with gun
shot wounds to the back and head.
Gay activists in Jamaica and elsewhere also
have been fighting a years-long battle with several
famous dancehall reggae singers whose lyrics,
activists say, support anti-gay violence or, in some
instances, the killing of homosexuals. Among those
targeted by the protests have been Elephant Man,
Vybz Kartel, Beenie Man, Buju Banton, T.O.K.,
Bounty Killer, Capleton and Sizzla.
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Bishop Suggests Politicians
Consider Martyrdom
The Roman Catholic bishop of Calgary, Alberta,
has suggested that Catholic politicians should opt for
martyrdom rather than support things that contra
dict church doctrine, such as same-sex marriage, The
Globe and Mail reported Jan. 9.
“Catholic politicians have a duty to be morally
coherent. They cannot live as spiritual schizophren
ics,” Bishop Fred Henry told the Zenit Catholic
news agency. “All Catholic politicians would do
well to imitate the example of St. Thomas More,
who by his life and death taught that man cannot be
separated from God, nor politics from morality.”
More, chancellor to King Henry VIII, was exe
cuted in 1535 for refusing to acknowledge the king,
rather than the pope, as head of the English church.
Canada is one of five nations where same-sex
couples have access to full marriage. As the nation
debated the issue in recent years, Prime Ministers
Paul Martin and Jean Chretien, both Catholics,
made clear distinctions between their personal faith
and their political duty to ensure that all Canadians
are treated equally.
“[This] is about the Charter of Rights,” Martin
said in June 2005 after the House of Commons vot
ed 158-133 to legalize same-sex marriage nation
wide. “In a nation of minorities, it is important that
you don’t cherry-pick rights. A right is a right.”
In 2004, Henry said Chrétien might go to hell
because of his support for gay marriage. “He’s putting
at risk his eternal salvation,” the bishop said. ©
Compiled by REX WOCKNER, who has reported for
the gay press since 1 985 . He has a bachelor's degree
in journalism from Drake University and started his
career as a radio reporter.
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