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APRIL 21. 2006
world
EUROPE
PM: Ireland Will Have Civil Unions
Irish Prime Minister Bertie Ahem said April 3
that his government is committed to full equality
for gay people and will try to create civil unions for
same-sex couples.
“Our sexual orientation is not an incidental
attribute,” Ahem said in a speech at the opening of
the new offices of the Gay and Lesbian Equality
Network. “It is an essential part of who and what
we are.... Sexual orientation cannot, and must not,
be the basis of a second-class citizenship.
“1 want to state clearly today that the govern
ment is unequivocally in favor of treating gay and
lesbian people as fully equal citizens in our society,”
he said. “Giving effect to this principle in legis
lation is necessarily complex and challenging.
Legislating tor civil partnerships requires thinking
through a host of related matters. The British Civil
Partnership Act...has 264 sections and 30 sched
ules. Moreover, our written constitution gives rise
to complexities that did not arise in rhe British
case. This challenge, however, is one that the gov
ernment is determined to meet. We are committed
to legislating on this issue.”
Scottish MP Marries
Member of Parliament Margaret Smith tied the
knot with her girlfriend, Suzanne Main, under
Scotland’s new civil partnership law March 31.
About
150
friends and family
members attended
the ceremony at
Edinburgh’s Apex
City Hotel. The
couple have been
together for three
years, before which
both were married
to men.
Scotland has
seen 233 civil part
nerships since the
law came into force
Member of Parliament
Dec. 20, according
Margaret Smith married her
to The Scotsman
girlfriend under Scotland's
newspaper.
new civil partnership law.
Greece Affirms Military Gay Ban
Greece’s armed forces affirmed March 28 that it
doesn’t allow gays in the military.
They are excluded under regulations that ban
people with “psychosexual or sexual identity
disorders.” Gay activists are protesting the ban
because in order to obtain a driver’s license in
Greece, one must present a document proving he
completed his compulsory military service—and,
as a result, some gay men reportedly have had
trouble getting a driver’s license.
Warsaw Closes Down
Prominent Gay Club
Polish gays staged five days of sleep-ins at the
Warsaw gay club and cultural center Le Madame in
late March after the City Council ordered police to
close it.
At times, more than 200 demonstrators took
part in the defense of the establishment. At 6 a.m.
March 31, however, when only 50 people were
inside the building, police conducted another raid
and shut it down.
Activists told blogger and Gay City News
contributor Doug Ireland that police beat some of
the club’s defenders who had chained themselves to
pipes and railings or went limp as they were hauled
away. The defenders regrouped across the street and
chanted, “It’s not over, it’s just the beginning,”
Ireland said.
The city, which owns the building, said the
club had to close because the city needs the space
for another use. But the Polish Green Party, whose
headquarters were at Le Madame, charged, “In
tact, the club has been closed because the right
wing government in Poland wanted to shut down
this meeting point for civil society where artists,
political activists, homosexuals, feminists and
globalization critics met."
MIDEAST/AFRICA
Another Cameroon Publisher
Jailed for Outings
Another newspaper publisher has been jailed in
Cameroon for printing lists of public figures and
celebrities alleged to be gay.
Nouvelle Afrique publisher Biloa Ayissi was fined
$7,319 and sent to prison for one year March 27 for
trying to out a prominent doctor and the minister
for parliamentary affairs. He plans to appeal the
defamation conviction.
On March 3, the editor of L'Anecdote was jailed
for four months and fined $1,833 for publishing the
same minister’s name on a long list of alleged
homosexuals.
Gays Win Inheritance Rights
in South Africa
South Africa’s Pretoria High Court ruled
March 31 that Mark Gory is the sole heir to his
male partner’s estate, the South African Press
Agency reported.
Judge Willie Hartzenburg declared the Intestate
Succession Act unconstitutional because South
Africa’s post-apartheid Constitution bans discrim
ination based on sexual orientation.
Gory’s live-in partner of two years, Henry
Brooks, died last year without a will. Brooks’ fam
ily reportedly then began raiding the couple’s
possessions and eventually forced Gory out of his
home and sold it.
Gory will now receive the proceeds from the
sale of the dwelling.
ASIA PACIFIC
Eunuchs and Gays
Rally in Bangalore
Several hundred gays and eunuchs rallied
March 31 in Bangalore, India, demanding equal
rights and repeal of the nation’s ban on gay sex.
The eunuchs—of which India has around
1 million—demanded access to marriage, adoption
and jobs. Some of India’s eunuchs (known as hijras)
are bom as such, but most are males who were
castrated before puberty.
Australian Capital Territory
to Enact Civil Union Law
The Australian Capital Territory will enact a
civil union law granting registered opposite- and
same-sex couples the rights and obligations of
marriage.
The government introduced the necessary
legislation March 28 in the ACT Assembly.
“Civil union legislation will give social and