Just out., April 20, 2007, Page 19, Image 19

HOLLYWOOD VINTAGE
According to Ariel Herrera of Amnesty
International USA’s OUTfront Program, “Attacks
against LGBT people in Honduras are a scourge the
police should confront, yet the police are part of
the problem.”
Gays Attacked
at Jamaican Carnival
Mayor Vilhjálmur Th. Vilhjálmsson has offered
financial support for Pride festivities in
Reykjavik, Iceland.
hand of the Queen of Videy, a local drag queen and
member of the committee.
Turkish Queer Students Organize
for First Time
Fifteen students at Istanbul’s Bilgi University
have set up the nation’s first queer student dub,
Turkish Daily News reported March 29.
The Bilgi Gokkusagi LGBT Club applied for
and received official university approval. The club
meets weekly and is open to any student who
wants to fight homophobia. Planned projects
include a fanzine, forums, movies and workshops
with other student clubs.
Chief Italian Bishop's
Cathedral Defaced
Someone spray-painted “Shame on You
Bagnasco” on a Roman Catholic cathedral April 2
in Genoa, Italy, after Archbishop Angelo
Bagnasco, head of the Italian Conference of
Catholic Bishops, likened gay relationships to
incest and pedophilia.
“Why say ‘no’ to forms of legally recognized
cohabitation which create alternatives to the
family?” he asked. “Wliy say ‘no’ to incest? Why say
‘no’ to the pedophile party in Holland?”
The remarks came shortly after the bishops
conference instructed Catholic members of
Parliament to vote against Italy’s pending civil
union legislation. Reports said Bagnasco is now
traveling with a police escort for fear that angry
gays might attack him.
AMERICAS
Amnesty: Honduran Gay Activist
Beaten, Raped
Honduran gay activist Donny Reyes was
beaten by police and raped by fellow detainees at
a police station March 18, according to Amnesty
International.
The organization said Reyes, treasurer of the
Rainbow LGTB Association, was arbitrarily
grabbed from a taxi stand by police in Tegucigalpa
and kept for six hours in a cell where other
detainees, egged on by a policeman, repeatedly
sexually assaulted him.
“Look, I’m bringing you a little princess. You
know what to do," the officer said, according to
Amnesty.
Another of the six officers who took Reyes into
custody told him, “We have to disappear these
queers from here.”
Since then, Amnesty said, police have attempt­
ed to intimidate Reyes by parking outside the
association’s office. “He, and other members of the
organization he heads, may be in grave danger," the
organization said.
Three Jamaican gay men were attacked by a mob
April 2 at Montego Bay’s MoBay Nite Out carnival
event, The Jamaica Observer reported.
The men, one of whom was hospitalized,
angered other attendees when they took to a stage
and gyrated on each other, the newspaper said. The
crowd threw rocks and bottles at the men, and
when the men returned fire, the crowd lunged for
them, chased them down and beat them.
The attack follows a Feb. 14 incident in which
a mob surrounded a pharmacy in Kingston and
demanded that four gay men inside come out and
face punishment for being homosexuals. The crowd
formed after another shopper took exception to the
men’s presence and began screaming that “batty-
men,” or faggots, must be killed.
Cops fired tear gas into that crowd of 200 and
rescued the men, one of whom was hit in the head
with a rock while being escorted to a police vehi­
cle. But after removing the men from the scene,
officers disparaged them en route to, and at, the
police station, according to the Jamaica Forum for
Lesbians, All-Sexuals and Gays. •
One of the rescued men, J-FLAG leader Gareth
Williams, said officers hit him in the head and
struck him in the stomach with a rifle.
ASIA PACIFIC
Australian Pop Star Comes Out
Australian pop music star Anthony Callea, 24,
came out in newspaper interviews and on his Web
site March 27.
Callea’s No. 1 hit “The Prayer” is the biggest-
selling single in Australian chart history.
“Yes, I am gay,” Callea wrote on his Web site.
“But 1 want it clear that I am proud, happy, com­
fortable and confident in who 1 am. And I have no
issue with my sexuality.
“Things now feel right for me to share this part
of my life. 1 am content. I have been in a long-term
relationship with my partner, Paul, who has been
by my side for the past 2 1/2 years. Together we
have the love and support of our family, friends and
peers.”
In a 2004 interview, Callea had denied being gay.
“I know some people may feel deceived or
betrayed,” he said. “I hope you can find it within to
understand that coming out can be a very
troubling, confusing and emotional time.... For
some, coming out isn’t a big issue. For me, it was....
I hated myself.... I thought there was something
wrong with me and I couldn’t escape it or fix it....
1 lied, and for that, I’m sorry."
“1 have no issue with my sexuality now, but it’s
taken time to become confident with who 1 am and
happy with who I am," Callea told local media.
“I’m looking forward to living a life with no holds
barred and not worrying about having to say the
right thing.”
R ex WoCKNER has reported for the gay press smce
¡985. He has a bachelor’s degree m journalism from
Drake University and started his career as a radio
reporter.
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