“NewsWrap"
for the week ending May 16, 2009
(As broadcast on "This Way Out" program #1,103, distributed 5-18-09)
[Written by Greg Gordon, with thanks to Rex Wockner with Bill Kelley]

Reported this week by Tanya Kane-Parry and Chris Coleman

  About 40 activists were arrested by riot police in Moscow on May 16th as they attempted to hold a peaceful LGBT rights rally that had been banned by city officials.  No injuries were reported in initial coverage of the confrontation, which gained greater worldwide attention as Moscow hosted the finals of the Eurovision Song Contest, a popular continent-wide talent competition, later that night.
But a Pride march that had been banned by officials in the Latvian capital of Riga was held peacefully and without major incident on the same day.  A last-minute court ruling overturned the ban literally one day before the march.
About 500 LGBT people and their supporters wore pink in Singapore’s first-ever rights rally on May 16th, a day ahead of the globally observed IDAHO � the International Day Against Homophobia.
Several government-supported IDAHO events were also held in the Central American nation of Costa Rica.
We’ll have more on these developing stories next week.

  Some 70 LGBT activists staged a "silent flash mob" action in the Russian city of St. Petersburg in late April.  Members of the group Coming Out and the Russian LGBT Network taped their mouths=2 0shut in a “day of silence,” walking the city's main street handing out explanatory leaflets and "silent cards."
Organizers said that about 4,000 pieces of literature were distributed during the 90-minute action.  They reported in an English-language statement that "The reaction of passersby was extremely positive,” and that they didn’t find many leaflets in the trash.

  A group of LGBT people marched in Kirov, Russia on May 3rd to protest discrimination in the workplace.
Organizers called it "the first action of LGBTs in Kirov." They carried flags and banners and chanted "Love is not a crime" and "Homophobia is fascism."
The march ended when riot police arrived and the participants scattered.  Many marchers blended in among other pedestrians.  Some were detained by police, then later released. 

  LGBT activists in Lebanon held a rare demonstration on May 10th in downtown Beirut.  Several dozen people carried rainbow flags and signs in Arabic, English, and French.  The action was organized by HELEM, which is the Arabic acronym for “Lebanese Protection for Lesbians, Gays, Bisexuals, Transgenders, and Queers”.  The word "helem" is also Arabic for "dream."  The group is unique in the Arab world.  It operates a walk-in LGBT community center in an ornate French colonial building near downtown Beirut.
The demonstration launched HELEM’s new campaign to repeal Article 534 of Lebanon's penal code, which prohibits sexual relations that "contradict the laws of nature" and carries a one-year prison term.

  In other news, Uruguay appears poised to lift its ban on open gays and lesbians serving in the armed forces.  National Defense Minister José Bayardi signed a decree lifting the ban this week.
The policy barred people with “open sexual deviations” from attending military academies.  It also listed homosexuality as among the "mental illnesses and disorders" that make a person unsuitable to join the armed forces.  It’s been in place since a military coup in 1973.
President Tabaré Vázquez is expected to validate the decree.  He signed a congressional bill in 2007 that created civil unions for same-gender couples who’ve lived together for at least 5 years.  That made Uruguay the first Latin American country to legally recognize gay and lesbian unions.

  Meanwhile, President Barack Obama appears to be going slow on his oft-repeated campaign promise to repeal the U.S. military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy, which has been in force since 1993.  More than 12,000 gay and lesbian servicemembers have been discharged under “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” including dozens of Arabic language specialists that even the Pentagon admits it urgently needs.
The latest high profile linguist to be fired is U.S. Army Lieutenant Dan Choi.  The Iraq War veteran helped found Knights Out, a group of openly gay and lesbian graduates of=2 0West Point.  He was formally notified of his dismissal this week after coming out on MSNBC’s “Rachel Maddow Show”.  The letter told Choi, in part, that “you admitted publicly that you are a homosexual, which constitutes homosexual conduct.”
White House National Security Advisor James Jones told the Sunday morning ABC-TV news show “This Week” that the administration is holding “preliminary discussions” about changing the policy, but that "We have a lot on our plate right now.”
An openly gay Army officer has released a hand-written letter she received from Obama in response to a letter she had written to him condemning “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”.  “I am committed to changing our current policy,” he wrote.  “Although it will take some time to complete (partly because it needs congressional action) I intend to fulfill my commitment!"

  Peru’s government has issued new regulations banning service by gay and lesbian police officers that officials say will improve the sagging image of the national police force.  In a culture strongly imbued by “machismo,” however, openly gay or lesbian police officers are a rarity in the South American country.
The new rules stipulate that any police officer who engages in homosexual relations “and because of their actions cause scandal, or denigrate the institution's image," will be fired.  Married heterosexual police officers who commit adultery will be “suspended indefinitely”.  Other rules target bribery and pro-labor activity among police officers.
The regulations were issued by Interior Minister Mercedes Cabanillas, whose heavy-handed tactics have reportedly earned her the nickname “Thatcher,” after former Conservative British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.
Peru’s Supreme Court overturned a ban on lesbians and gays in the police and military in 2004, so critics believe that the new rules will eventually be overturned as unconstitutional.

  A lesbian couple was denied a marriage license by a Moscow official this week based on Russian law that only recognizes marriages of heterosexual couples.
Irina Fedotova and Irina Shipitko, both in their early 30s, expected the rejection.  It was the first such effort by a same-gender couple in Russia.
The would-be brides, who’ve been together for 5 years, told reporters that they plan to get married in Toronto, Canada in a few months.  They then plan to test a provision of Russian law that recognizes marriages registered abroad, but doesn’t specify gender.

  In U.S. matrimonial news, it looks like New Hampshire will become the latest state to open marriage to gay and lesbian couples.  Democratic Governor John Lynch, who’s said he personally opposes the move, nevertheless promised to sign the marriage equality bill passed by the legislature if it strengthens legal protections for religious institutions opposed to same-gender marriag e.  He wants language to make it clear that religious groups wouldn’t be forced to perform those marriages, provide benefits to same-gender couples, or be sued for discrimination.  As of this report it seemed likely that both houses of the New Hampshire legislature would accept Lynch’s proposed changes.

  The Democratically-controlled New York state Assembly passed Governor David Paterson’s marriage equality bill this week by a vote of 89-to-52 after 3 hours of emotional debate.  The same body passed a similar measure in 2007 by a smaller margin of 85-to-61, but it stalled in the Republican-controlled Senate, whose leadership refused to bring it to the floor.
The Democrats now control the Senate, but only by 2 votes.  Majority leader Malcolm Smith supports the bill, but has said he won’t allow floor debate there until he’s confident that there are enough votes to pass it.  A handful of Democrats are on record as opposed to the measure, so it appears that at least a few Republican votes will be needed.  The current legislative session ends in June.

  The Wisconsin Supreme Court agreed this week to consider whether the 2006 state constitutional ban on same-gender marriage was properly put to voters.  The amendment, which passed with nearly 60 percent approval, changed the constitution to define marriage as a union between a man and a woman, and prohibited legal recognition of any union that is “identical or substantially similar to20marriage.”  The lawsuit claims that by asking voters 2 questions � whether to ban samme-gender marriage and to also ban civil unions or domestic partnerships � the ballot measure violated a state law that limits referendumss to one subject.
State law already defines marriage as a union between a man and a woman.  However, activists believe that if the high court invalidates the amendment, legislative or judicial efforts to recognize the right of same-gender couples to marry would be strengthened.

  And finally, comedian and actor Wanda Sykes and her wife Alex have become the proud parents of twins, according to a story posted at “People-dot-com”.  Sykes controversially hosted last week’s annual White House Correspondents Dinner, and co-stars in the CBS-TV comedy “The New Adventures of Old Christine”.
Alex gave birth to the twins, Olivia Lou and Lucas Claude, on April 27th.  All 3 are said to be at home and doing well.
The couple married on October 25th in California when it was temporarily legal there.  Like some 18,000 other same-gender couples who tied the knot after the state Supreme Court ruled for marriage equality last May, they await the high court’s decision on the constitutionality of Proposition 8, which took that right away in November.  Sykes came out publicly during a Las Vegas rally against the passage of the measure later that month.  In addition to upholding the voter-approved constitutional amendment, Prop osition 8 defenders also want the high court to annul those 18,000 marriages.  A ruling is expected within the next few weeks.



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