NOVEMBER 17, 2006 JUStOUt 21
ASIA/PACIFIC
China Gets First Gay Student Union
Sun Yat-sen University in Zhuhai, China, has
become the first university in the nation to formal
ly set up a gay student union, The South China
Morning Post reported.
The organization, called Happy Together, will
raise awareness of sexual minority issues and
provide HIV education, chairwoman Liao Mingzhu
said.
In Beijing, meanwhile, the city’s first gay clinic
opened Oct. 28, the Xinhua news service reported.
A project of the Chaoyang Chinese AIDS
Volunteer Group and the Chaoyang District
Disease Prevention and Control Center, the clinic
offers free, anonymous testing for sexually transmit
ted diseases and HIV as well as free treatment for
syphilis, gonorrhea and herpes.
Tory Member of Parliament Greg Barker was
People who test HIV-positive will be sent to outed by the British press.
free national treatment programs, which provide
antiviral drugs to 25,000 people in 31 provinces,
Kenya, Uganda, Nigeria, Tanzania and Ghana.
Xinhua said.
The bill allows for the “voluntary union of two
persons, which is solemnized and registered by
¡ either a marriage or civil union” without specifying
Aussie PM Supports Rights
for Same-Sex Couples
While he opposes same-sex marriage, and civil
union laws that too closely resemble marriage,
Conservative Australian Prime Minister John
Howard pledged Oct. 21 to work to grant gay
couples some legal rights.
Reports said the areas to be considered include
taxation, Medicare, pharmaceutical benefits,
pensions, elderly care, immigration and subsidized
military housing. The Weekend Australian news
paper said Howard expressed interest in the matter
after a quiet lobbying campaign by Liberal members
of Parliament.
r/j.1 a; i
South Africa Adopts
Same-Sex Marriage
South African lawmakers passed legislation rec
ognizing same-sex marriage Nov. 14 by a 230-41
vote amid criticism from both sides on the issue.
Gay rights activists say the bill does not go far
enough, while conservative groups warn the bill
will provoke “God’s anger" in a country where
homosexuality is taboo. Others, including the gov
erning African National Congress, found that the
bill extended basic freedoms to everyone.
The South African Constitution was the first to
prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual ori
entation, which provided a legal tool for activists
to push for marriage equality in such a conservative
country. Homosexuality continues to be illegal in
most sub-Saharan countries, including Zimbabwe,
whether they are of the same or opposite sex.
AMERICAS
Colombian Senate Approves
Civil Union Bill
Colombia’s Senate approved a civil union bill
Oct. 10 in a 48-40 vote.
The measure still faces action in the House and,
if it passed there, would need President Alvaro
Uribe’s signature. The bill, known as Project 130,
sets up a registration mechanism and grants regis
tered couples marriage rights in the areas of social
security, health benefits, pensions and joint owner
ship of property.
“Although there is still a long legislative road
ahead for the bill to become law, Colombian LGBT
advocates are elated and celebrating the fact that
this is the first time ever that a Colombian congres
sional branch has voted to recognize the rights of
gays and lesbians,” said New York City activist and
blogger Andrés Duque, a native of the South
American nation.
Mexico City Passes Civil Unions
The Mexico City Legislative Assembly passed a
civil union law for same-sex couples Nov. 9. The
vote was 43-17 with five abstentions.
The statute, which will take effect by March,
grants spousal rights in areas such as property,
pensions, inheritance, medical decisions and co
parenting. Heterosexual couples and nonsexual
couples also can register under the law.
The northern Mexican state of Coahuila,
which borders Texas, also is considering a civil
union bill. The legislation, introduced by the rul
ing Institutional Revolutionary Party, is supported
by Gov. Humberto Moreira, who said, “It would be
discriminatory not to...respect the rights of every
person regardless of sexual affiliation.”
Other Latin American localities with same-sex
civil union laws include Buenos Aires, Argentina;
Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil; and the Argentine
province of Rio Negro. ©
R ex WOCKNER has reported for the gay press since
Conservative Australian Prime Minister John
Howard pledged to grant same-sex couples
some rights.
1985. He has a bachelor’s degree in journalism from
Drake University and started his career as a radio
reporter.
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