“NewsWrap" for the week ending July 25, 2009 (As broadcast on "This Way Out" program #1,113, distributed 7-27-09) [Written by Greg Gordon, with thanks to Steve Pride, and Rex Wockner with Bill Kelley] Reported this week by Michele Pleasant and Leigh Moore Prejudice against gay men is fueling the HIV epidemic in sub-Saharan Africa, according to alarming research published this week in the respected British medical journal “The Lancet”. According to the Oxford University report, HIV infections for gay men in that region are 10 times higher than the average rate for the general male population. It noted that many men who have sex with men in several African countries often also have sex with women, keep their same-sex attractions a secret, marry, and have children. The report’s authors said the higher rates of infection are "driven by cultural, religious and political unwillingness to accept [gay men] as equal members of society". They said the prejudice leads to isolation, low self-worth, and risky sexual behavior. Lead researcher Adrian Smith told the BBC that, under such circumstances, "this group becomes extremely hard to reach." The report calls for increased education and resources to fight HIV in sub-Saharan Africa. According to the United Nations AIDS agency, of the estimated 33 million people who are HIV-positive, two-thirds live in that part of the world. India’s Supreme Court t his week refused to stay a landmark ruling by the Delhi High Court that a law making gay sex between consenting adults a crime is unconstitutional. In India, anyone may appeal lower court rulings in the Supreme Court. Two people, a popular television yoga guru and a noted astrologer, have challenged the July 3rd ruling that overturned Penal Code Section 377, a 148-year-old ban on gay sex established during British colonial rule. Traditional religious communities have also strongly opposed the ruling. Noting that there was “no threat of any consequences,” the court refused the request for a stay, and asked the Government to define its position on the matter before its next hearing on September 14th. Federal ministers have publicly expressed opposing views on the issue, but a Government spokesman said this week that it will meet the high court’s deadline. LGBT activists were delighted by the Supreme Court’s refusal to put the Delhi court ruling on hold. Many celebrated at what some described as a groundbreaking queer party, hosted by a liquor company at an upscale Delhi restaurant. Russia's human rights ombudsman V.P. Lukin met with members of the country’s LGBT Network on July 15th. They presented him with a "discrimination monitoring report". Lukin reportedly said that LGBT people are entitled to the same rights as anyone else and "if rights of specific people are violated due to their orientation, we are ready to protect their rights." LGBT Network Chairman Igor Kochetkov was very pleased with how the meeting went. "This is the first time a representative of the Russian government officially met with... Russian LGBT activists," Kochetkov said. "We can safely say that the results exceeded our expectations. We very much count on further collaboration with the ombudsman." Numerous cases are pending at the European Court of Human Rights over Moscow Mayor Yuri Luzhkov's repeated bans of Pride marches and other LGBT events. There are also cases against other Russian cities that have blocked similar events. Portugal’s LGBT people may prefer partying to politics. About 3,000 people participated in Lisbon's Pride parade on June 20th, making it the country's largest LGBT march to date. But a Pride party a week later attracted 4,000 people. Mayor António Costa joined the outdoor food, drink and music event near the Torre de Belém, the city's most prominent landmark. About a thousand people took part in the fourth Pride parade in Porto, the nation's second-largest city, on July 11th. That evening, some 2 thousand people showed up for the ninth Porto Pride party, which lasted until 8 a.m. About 150 people marched with Pride in the Maltese capital of Valletta on July 18th. Representatives of several political parties in the Mediterranean island nation joined trade union members and non-governmental groups in the march behind a banner that read “If you're not outraged you're no t paying attention.” Another banner criticizing the country’s dominant Roman Catholic Church proclaimed “I am for the separation of Church and State.” The parade was the highlight of a week of activities, which included a concert and a film festival, all sponsored by the Malta Gay Rights Movement. In other news, U.S. Navy officials have charged a fellow sailor with the murder of gay African-American Seaman August Provost at Southern California's Camp Pendleton on June 30th. 32-year-old systems technician Jonathan Campos allegedly shot Provost as he was serving sentry duty, and then tried to burn the guard shack along with Provost's body. The 29-year-old Provost was out to his close friends and family, but told them he had been harassed in recent months for being gay. His family joined by LGBT activists and some local officials ha has suggested that his sexual orientation may have motivated the murder. But Navy officials are refusing to call the killing a hate crime. They said Provost never reported any problems. He would have been reluctant to do so, however, under the U.S. military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy. Petty Officer Campos is being held at the Miramar Marine Corps Air Station near San Diego, where he awaits a hearing that will determine whether there is sufficient evidence to warrant a trial. The Fort Worth, Texas City Council requested a federal investigation this week int o the violent raid on the Rainbow Lounge on June 28th the 40thh anniversary of the Stonewall Riots that netted 7 patrons at thee gay bar for public drunkenness, injured 3, and left one man with a serious head injury. Under the rare request, the U.S. Attorneys Office in Dallas would conduct its own interviews and possibly subpoena reluctant witnesses, going beyond its previous agreement to review internal investigations being conducted by the Fort Worth Police Department and the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission. David Mack Henderson, a member of Fairness Fort Worth, told City Council members that key witnesses are refusing to speak to investigators for fear of retaliation. "These are people who can speak to the chronology of events and the levels of force employed during the arrest[s]," he said. "Despite our best efforts, they're scared to death of sharing information about what they saw." There’s been no word to date from the U.S. Attorneys Office about whether it would act on the City Council’s request. Protests continue in Salt Lake City, Utah following the trespassing arrests of a gay couple after one kissed the other as they walked on the public plaza outside the Mormon Temple. The walkway bordering the temple is owned by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, and security guards called police to remove the couple because their behavior violated Mormon Church policy. Church officials claimed that the men were doing more than kis sing, but the couple has strongly denied that. A second consecutive weekend “kiss in”, held on July 19th on the plaza, drew over 200 protesters, again including several supportive heterosexual couples. Counter-protesters, led by a group called America Forever, held signs criticizing gay people for “leading a persecution movement against American religions.” There were shouting matches between both sides, but no arrests. According to the “Salt Lake Tribune,” police reported “a roll-by kiss given to one female counter-protester by a man wearing in-line skates,” but he moved too quickly across the plaza grounds to be apprehended. About 30 gays, lesbians and their supporters also held a kiss-in outside the Mormon Temple in San Diego, California on July 22nd in support of the Salt Lake City couple. And finally, popular Black gay novelist E. Lynn Harris died on July 24th in Beverly Hills during a promotional tour for his latest book, “Basketball Jones,” about a professional NBA player and his gay lover. Initial reports said the probable cause of death was heart failure. Harris worked in corporate America for 13 years at IBM, Hewlett--Packard and AT&T but quit his sales career to become a fullttime writer. As a pioneer in Black gay fiction, he was the first to write about “the down low” ostensibly heterosexxual Black men who secretly have sex with other men. Harris originally sold his books out of the back seat of his car at salons and beauty parlors around Atlanta when no mainstream publisher would distribute them. He began in 1991 with his self-published “Invisible Life”, which was picked up 3 years later by Anchor Books. Harris became a prolific and successful writer. He eventually published 10 more novels and a memoir, “What Becomes of the Brokenhearted” most of them published by Random House, and all butt one becoming “New York Times” bestsellers. His fans included many heterosexual women, who said they identified with the emotions Harris wrote about in his novels. Harris loved his alma mater, the University of Arkansas and its Razorbacks sports teams. He was the school’s first Black male cheerleader and its first Black yearbook editor. He was also well known in the literary community for his support of emerging new writers. Harris once told our Steve Pride on this program: [Harris sound bite] E. Lynn Harris had celebrated his 54th birthday on June 20th.