From TWORadio@aol.com Mon May 6 13:03:55 1996 Return-Path: Received: from emout07.mail.aol.com (emout07.mx.aol.com [198.81.11.22]) by mail6 (8.6.13/Netcom) id NAA10290; Mon, 6 May 1996 13:03:53 -0700 From: TWORadio@aol.com Received: by emout07.mail.aol.com (8.6.12/8.6.12) id QAA27162 for bnunes@netcom.com; Mon, 6 May 1996 16:02:50 -0400 Date: Mon, 6 May 1996 16:02:50 -0400 Message-ID: <960506160249_288311434@emout07.mail.aol.com> To: bnunes@netcom.com Subject: TWO wk of 5/6/96 promo + NewsWrap Status: RO ************************************************* The week of 05/06/96 on T H I S W A Y O U T the international gay & lesbian radio magazine * In NewsWrap : Constitutional breakthroughs are reported in South Africa, Canada and Hungary ... German Lutherans grapple with lesbigay issues ... three lesbian couples seeking marriage licenses go to court in New Zealand, while more U.S. states jump on the same-gender marriage ban bandwagon ... and several other stories [anchored by Cindy Friedman and Brian Nunes]. * They're moving out of the bars and onto the playing fields in Britain - in London, Rebecca Sandles samples queer tennis, football (soccer), volleyball and skiing ... Nigel Wrench talks with a local lesbigay sports organizer about the appeal of lesbigay athletics ... and the co-chair of the Federation of Gay Games talks about the 1998 Gaymes in Amsterdam. * Wishful thinking does not "change" make, notes queer author icon Patricia Nell Warren ("The Front Runner"), who warns against being short-"changed" by the "conformity" racket -- personal commentary paired musically with the classic "Crazy World" by diva Michael Callen. ---------------------------*---------------------------- NewsWrap for the week ending May 4th, 1996 (As broadcast on THIS WAY OUT Program #423, distributed 05-06-96) [Compiled & written by CINDY FRIEDMAN, with thanks to Brian Nunes, Bill Stosine, Jason Lin, Rex Wockner, Greg Gordon, Ron Buckmire, Andy Quan, Mary Salome, Sandor Borsos and Bjorn Skolander] SINCE THE FALL OF APARTHEID, SOUTH AFRICA HAS BEEN OPERATING WITH AN INTERIM CONSTITUTION. THE PERMANENT CONSTITUTION TAKES EFFECT MAY 8TH WITH ITS EXPLICIT PROHIBITION AGAINST DISCRIMINATION BASED ON SEXUAL ORIENTATION INTACT. SOUTH AFRICA'S BILL OF RIGHTS IS THE FIRST IN THE WORLD TO EXTEND CIVIL RIGHTS PROTECTIONS TO LESBIANS AND GAYS. THE SEXUAL ORIENTATION CLAUSE HAS BEEN CONSISTENTLY SUPPORTED BY NELSON MANDELA AND HIS AFRICAN NATIONAL CONGRESS AS WELL AS BY SOUTH AFRICA'S NATIONAL COALITION FOR GAY AND LESBIAN EQUALITY. PUBLIC SUPPORT WAS STRONG AS WELL: LETTERS TO THE CONSTITUTIONAL ASSEMBLY FAVORED PROTECTING GAYS AND LESBIANS BY 13-TO-1. THE ONLY POLITICAL PARTY TO OPPOSE THE MEASURE WAS THE AFRICAN CHRISTIAN DEMOCRATIC PARTY, ON THE GROUNDS THAT THE BIBLE PROSCRIBES HOMOSEXUALITY. IN CANADA, THE LONG-AWAITED BILL TO ADD SEXUAL ORIENTATION AS A PROTECTED CATEGORY UNDER THE NATION'S HUMAN RIGHTS ACT WAS INTRODUCED THIS WEEK BY JUSTICE MINISTER ALAN ROCK AND PUT ON A FAST TRACK. EVEN THOUGH PRIME MINISTER JEAN CHRETIEN ALLOWED MEMBERS OF HIS RULING LIBERAL PARTY TO VOTE THEIR CONSCIENCES, THE HOUSE OF COMMONS VOTED ITS APPROVAL IN PRINCIPLE BY A MARGIN OF MORE THAN 3-TO-1. THAT VOTE SENT THE BILL TO COMMITTEE, AND A FINAL VOTE IN THE HOUSE OF COMMONS IS EXPECTED IN THE COMING WEEK. THE HUNGARIAN PARLIAMENT IS REPORTEDLY SET TO VOTE TO GIVE GAY AND LESBIAN COUPLES THE SAME LEGAL STANDING AS UNMARRIED HETEROSEXUAL COUPLES. HUNGARY'S CONSTITUTIONAL COURT RULED IN MARCH 1995 THAT FAILURE TO RECOGNIZE SAME-GENDER COUPLES VIOLATED THE NATIONAL CONSTITUTION, AND ORDERED THE GOVERNMENT TO "CEASE DISCRIMINATION WITHIN A YEAR". THE HUNGARIAN GOVERNMENT RESPONDED BY INTRODUCING THE CURRENT MEASURE, AND THERE SEEMS TO BE ENOUGH SUPPORT IN THE PARLIAMENT TO ENSURE ITS PASSAGE. THE RIGHT-WING SMALLHOLDERS PARTY HAS OPPOSED THE MEASURE, WITH ITS LEADER JOZSEF TORGYAN SAYING, "THE HUNGARIAN NATION IS IN DANGER OF EXTINCTION BECAUSE THE SOCIALIST-LIBERAL GOVERNMENT PROMOTES GAY MARRIAGES INSTEAD OF AIDING FAMILIES." BRITAIN'S HOUSING MINISTER HAS EXTENDED TO GAY AND LESBIAN COUPLES THE OPTION OF JOINT TENANCY EQUAL TO THAT OF LEGALLY MARRIED COUPLES. THIS WILL ALLOW ONE MEMBER OF A SAME-GENDER COUPLE TO RETAIN THEIR APARTMENT IF THE OTHER PARTNER DIES. IN NEW ZEALAND, THE AUCKLAND HIGH COURT HEARD ARGUMENTS IN A LAWSUIT BY THREE LESBIAN COUPLES SEEKING MARRIAGE LICENSES. THE COUPLES' ATTORNEY REASONED THAT DEPRIVING THEM OF THE CHOICE OF LEGAL MARRIAGE WAS DISCRIMINATION IN VIOLATION OF NEW ZEALAND'S BILL OF RIGHTS AND HUMAN RIGHTS ACT. THE ATTORNEY GENERAL'S OFFICE CLAIMED SAME-GENDER MARRIAGES WERE NOT PERMISSIBLE BECAUSE MARRIAGE EXISTS PRIMARILY FOR PROCREATION AND CHILD-REARING, AND THAT IT WAS UP TO THE PARLIAMENT RATHER THAN THE COURT TO CHANGE THAT. IN THE U.S., ARIZONA GOVERNOR FIFE SYMINGTON THIS WEEK SIGNED INTO LAW A MEASURE TO DENY LEGAL RECOGNITION TO GAY AND LESBIAN MARRIAGES PERFORMED IN ANOTHER STATE. ARIZONA IS THE 6TH U.S. STATE TO PASS A LAW IN ANTICIPATION OF POSSIBLE LEGAL SAME-GENDER MARRIAGES IN HAWAII FOLLOWING A TRIAL LATER THIS YEAR. HAWAII'S OWN STATE LEGISLATIVE SESSION ENDED THIS WEEK WITHOUT HAVING ENACTED ANY OF SEVERAL PROPOSALS TO FORESTALL THE COURT'S DECISION. A LAST-GASP EFFORT TO STOP SAME-GENDER MARRIAGES BY MEANS OF A CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT WAS BROUGHT TO A FLOOR VOTE IN THE SENATE, ONLY TO BE SOUNDLY DEFEATED. THE NEXT GOVERNOR TO DECIDE THE FATE OF A BILL TO REJECT ANOTHER STATE'S SAME-GENDER MARRIAGES IS ALASKA'S TONY KNOWLES. WHILE THERE ARE INDICATIONS KNOWLES MAY VETO THE MEASURE, IT HAD ENOUGH VOTES IN BOTH HOUSES THAT THE LEGISLATURE MIGHT OVERRIDE HIS VETO ON THE FINAL DAY OF ITS CURRENT SESSION IN THE COMING WEEK. THIS WEEK, KNOWLES SIGNED INTO LAW A BILL ALLOWING EMPLOYERS TO GRANT BETTER BENEFITS TO LEGALLY MARRIED COUPLES THAN TO UNMARRIED DOMESTIC PARTNERS, INCLUDING GAY AND LESBIAN PARTNERS. ILLINOIS' BILL TO DENY RECOGNITION OF ANOTHER STATE'S SAME-GENDER MARRIAGES HAS MOVED TO THE DESK OF GOVERNOR JIM EDGAR AFTER PASSING THE STATE HOUSE LAST WEEK BY A MARGIN OR MORE THAN 6 TO 1. A SPOKESPERSON FOR SOUTH CAROLINA'S GOVERNOR DAVID BEASLEY HAS SAID HE "ABSOLUTELY" SUPPORTS THAT STATE'S BILL AGAINST SAME-GENDER MARRIAGE, AND NOW HE'LL GET THE CHANCE TO SIGN IT INTO LAW: THIS WEEK THE SOUTH CAROLINA STATE SENATE FOLLOWED THE STATE HOUSE IN APPROVING THE MEASURE UNANIMOUSLY. TENNESSEE'S GOVERNOR SUNDQUIST HAS SAID HE'LL SIGN THE BILL THERE TO REJECT OTHER STATES' GAY AND LESBIAN MARRIAGES IF IT PASSES THE LEGISLATURE. TENNESSEE'S BILL HAS YET TO COME TO A FLOOR VOTE. SIMILAR BILLS HAVE NOW BEEN INTRODUCED IN NEW YORK AND PENNSYLVANIA, AND IT'S RUMORED THAT FLORIDA'S MEASURE MIGHT BE RESURRECTED IN THE CLOSING MOMENTS OF THAT STATE'S LEGISLATIVE SESSION. MORE THAN HALF THE STATES IN THE U.S. HAVE CONSIDERED BILLS AGAINST SAME-GENDER MARRIAGE THIS YEAR. IN THE NETHERLANDS THIS WEEK, DESPITE THE PARLIAMENT'S RECENT SUPPORT OF LEGAL DOMESTIC PARTNERSHIPS, A COURT IN AMSTERDAM REJECTED PETITIONS BY TWO LESBIAN COUPLES SEEKING LEGAL CO-ADOPTION OF THEIR CHILDREN BY THE NON-BIOLOGICAL PARENTS. IN HAMBURG, GERMANY, LUTHERAN BISHOP MARIA JEPSEN ACCEPTED HER CHURCH'S FIRST PUBLIC BLESSING OF A SAME-GENDER COUPLE, SAYING, "ALL PEOPLE ARE IN NEED OF BLESSING" AND ANYONE SEEKING "GOD'S WORD OF COMFORT" SHOULD NOT BE REFUSED. HOWEVER, JEPSEN ADDED THAT THE BLESSING SHOULD NOT BE UNDERSTOOD "IN THE SENSE OF MARRIAGE" OR REINTERPRETED FOR POLITICAL PURPOSES. ALSO IN GERMANY, THE GOVERNING BOARD OF THE NORTH ELBIAN EVANGELICAL LUTHERAN CHURCH ISSUED A STATEMENT ON "MARRIAGE, FAMILY AND OTHER LIFESTYLES". IT SAID THAT THE CHURCH HAS A DUTY "TO UNRESERVEDLY AFFIRM MARRIAGE AND ITS SPECIAL IMPORTANCE", BUT ADDED THAT AFFIRMING MARRIAGE DID NOT HAVE TO MEAN DEPRECATION OF OTHER LIFESTYLES. IN LATVIA, THOUGH, THE SYNOD OF THE EVANGELICAL LUTHERAN CHURCH OVERWHELMINGLY APPROVED A RESOLUTION CALLING HOMOSEXUALITY A "DEADLY SIN", DENYING ANY POSITION IN THE CHURCH HIERARCHY TO OPENLY ACTIVE GAYS AND LESBIANS, AND DENYING COMMUNION TO ACTIVE GAYS AND LESBIANS WHO DON'T REPENT THEIR SEXUAL BEHAVIOR. CANADA'S INTER-CHURCH COMMITTEE ON HUMAN RIGHTS IN LATIN AMERICA HAS RELEASED A REPORT ENTITLED "VIOLENCE UNVEILED: REPRESSION AGAINST LESBIANS AND GAY MEN IN LATIN AMERICA". THE TORONTO-BASED SOCIAL JUSTICE COALITION OF CHRISTIAN GROUPS DID EXTENSIVE RESEARCH IN LATIN AMERICA TO DOCUMENT THE VIOLENCE COMMITTED AGAINST GAYS AND LESBIANS THERE BOTH BY DEATH SQUADS AND BY POLICE AUTHORITIES. THE REPORT'S AUTHOR BILL FAIRBAIRN SAID, "THESE ABUSES ARE SYSTEMATIC, THEY TAKE PLACE IN A CONTEXT OF DEEP-SEATED, VIOLENT HOMOPHOBIA AND THEY MUST BE RECOGNIZED AS A FUNDAMENTAL HUMAN RIGHTS ISSUE." THE COMMITTEE CALLED ON LATIN AMERICAN GOVERNMENTS TO DISMANTLE THE DEATH SQUADS AND SANCTION OFFENDING POLICE OFFICERS. IT ALSO CALLED FOR CHURCHES AND OTHER ORGANIZATIONS TO REVIEW THEIR OWN POLICIES TOWARDS SEXUAL MINORITIES AND ENSURE THAT THEY DO NOT PROMOTE INTOLERANCE. BUT IN EGYPT, THE ACCUSED MURDERERS OF TWO GAY MEN SAY THEIR ATTACK WAS ORDERED BY THEIR NEIGHBORHOOD RELIGIOUS GROUP. THE CAIRO NEWSPAPER AL AHRAM AL MASSA'I DID NOT NAME THE RELIGIOUS GROUP THAT SUSPECT TARIQ HANAFI SAID ISSUED HIM AN EDICT BEFORE THE STABBING MURDERS OF A GAY COOK AND A GAY PAINTER. HANAFI AND THREE OTHER SUSPECTS SAY THAT THEY HAVE NO REGRETS FOR STABBING THE TWO GAY MEN DOZENS OF TIMES BECAUSE THEY "DESERVED TO DIE". IN CANADA, THERE'S A VICTORY FOR VANCOUVER'S LITTLE SISTERS BOOKSTORE IN ITS LONG-RUNNING LEGAL BATTLE WITH CANADA CUSTOMS, WHICH HAS OFTEN SEIZED THE STORE'S IMPORTED GAY AND LESBIAN MATERIALS AS BEING "OBSCENE". IN A FOLLOW-UP TO A JANUARY FINDING THAT CANADA CUSTOMS HAD SINGLED OUT LITTLE SISTERS IN A DISCRIMINATORY FASHION, THE BRITISH COLUMBIA SUPREME COURT HAS ORDERED PAYMENT TO LITTLE SISTERS OF $170,000 FOR ATTORNEYS' FEES AND $110,000 FOR EXPERT WITNESS COSTS. THE COURT ALSO ISSUED AN INJUNCTION RESTRAINING CANADA CUSTOMS FROM KEEPING A SPECIAL "LOOKOUT" ON STOCK HEADED FOR LITTLE SISTERS. THE BOOKSTORE CURRENTLY HAS AN APPEAL IN PROCESS CHALLENGING THE CONSTITUTIONALITY OF CUSTOMS' AUTHORITY TO SEIZE MATERIALS ON GROUNDS OF SUSPECTED OBSCENITY. AND FINALLY ... U.S. SYNDICATED GOSSIP COLUMNIST LIZ SMITH HAS REVEALED AN UPCOMING BOOK OF THE COMPLETE LYRICS OF NOEL COWARD, INCLUDING 70 NEVER BEFORE PUBLISHED. AMONG THE NEWLY-DISCOVERED WORKS IS WHAT'S DESCRIBED AS COWARD'S GAY VERSION OF THE SONG "MAD ABOUT THE BOY", WHICH OPENS WITH THE COUPLET: "PEOPLE I ANNOY, THEY CALL ME MYRNA LOY". Sources for this week's report: Reuter News Service; The Daily Telegraph/London; Queer News Aotearoa; The Honolulu Star-Bulletin; The Anchorage Daily News; The Charlotte (North Carolina) Observer; The Chicago Tribune; U.S.A. Today; The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America's "World Scan"; Xtra! West/Canada; Deutsche Presse Agentur/Germany; The San Jose (California) Mercury-News; and press releases from The International Gay & Lesbian Human Rights Commission, The Arizona Human Rights Fund, The Hawaii Equal Right to Marry Project, the Boston-based Forum On the Right to Marry, and The Inter-Church Committee on Human Rights In Latin America. ======================================================== THIS WAY OUT airs on over 85 public/community radio stations throughout the U.S. and Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the U.K., Denmark, Sweden, and on Costa Rica-based global shortwave station Radio For Peace International (RFPI). For a complete Station Carriage List and/or more information, write to THIS WAY OUT at P.O. Box 38327, Los Angeles, CA 90038-0327, or e-mail your request to TWOradio@aol.com . ---------*----------- For lots of other information about THIS WAY OUT (including audiocassette subscription information), please visit our continually-updated WORLD WIDE WEB home page! Find it on the Queer Resources Directory ... Our page is at: http://www.qrd.org/qrd/www/media/radio/thiswayout --------------------------*----------------------------- "THIS WAY OUT" IS ALWAYS LOOKING FOR NEWS & FEATURES FROM THE LOCAL COMMUNITY! If you're a broadcast journalist who can provide news and/or feature material of interest to the worldwide lesbigay community, please let us know! We can't provide any financial compensation -- only "international radio stardom" (wider exposure of a well-produced piece), and appreciation from our global audience and our volunteer production staff! Please email Coordinating Producer Greg Gordon at TWOradio@aol.com if you've got programming to share. Thanks. ======================================================== Some "THIS WAY OUT" operating expenses are funded by grants from THE C.P. ESTES GUADALUPE FOUNDATION, THE GILL FOUNDATION, THE KICKING ASSETS FUND OF THE TIDES FOUNDATION, and by individual donations from listeners worldwide. Special thanks to UNCOMMON CLOUT Visa cardholders who have designated THIS WAY OUT as one of several nonprofits to receive a percentage of their chargecard purchases. THIS WAY OUT is a tax-exempt 501(c)(3) nonprofit under the corporate name of OVERNIGHT PRODUCTIONS, INC. *************************************************