NewsWrap for the week ending February 15th, 1997 (As broadcast on THIS WAY OUT Program #464, distributed 02-17-97) [Compiled & written by Cindy Friedman, with thanks to Brian Nunes, Jason Lin, Ron Buckmire, Graham Underhill, Rex Wockner, Lucia Chappelle and Greg Gordon, and anchored by Cindy Friedman and Jon Beaupre.] In Canada, the Conservative provincial government of Quebec announced this week that it will appeal to the Supreme Court a legal case key to the rights of same-gender couples. The ruling in question was made by the Ontario Court of Appeal in December in the case of a lesbian suing for support from an ex-partner she'd been financially dependent on. The court struck down Ontario's Family Law Act for its heterosexual definition of "couple", which grants unmarried heterosexual partners standing to sue for support in such cases, while denying that standing to lesbians and gays. Neither of the women wanted to pursue the case further, but the provincial government says it needs clarification from the Supreme Court because the ruling casts doubt on 90 other statutes using the same definition. The former New Democratic Party government had supported legal status for gay and lesbian couples equal to that of unmarried heterosexual couples, but the government switched sides when the Conservatives took over in 1995. In Germany, a Lutheran synod voted this week to bless gay and lesbian couples who have marriage-like relationships. Lutheran bishops have 30 days to review and possibly veto the landmark decision by the synod based in the northern town of Rendsburg. Mississippi this week became the 17th U.S. state in about a year and the first in 1997 to enact a law denying legal recognition to gay and lesbian marriages. Governor Kirk Fordice, who had previously tried to achieve the same end with a legally-questionable executive order, said as he signed the bill that "perverted" relationships didn't deserve insurance benefits. Only three Mississippi state legislators voted against the bill. The next states to enact similar laws are likely to be Virginia and Washington, while a number of other states are considering them as well. In Maine, a measure to deny legal recognition to gay and lesbian couples will appear on the state ballot in November. The group Concerned Maine Families, who previously sponsored a failed initiative against gay and lesbian civil rights protections in 1995, was able to gather many more valid signatures than were required to qualify for the ballot. It looks like the only possible barrier to the initiative's passage would be if the state legislature enacted the proposal first. Valentine's Day inspired a number of groups to demonstrate in favor of equal marriage rights for gay and lesbian couples. About 100 chapters of the National Organization for Women carried out actions across the U.S. ranging from showering legislators with political Valentines to same-gender weddings to marriage license applications by lesbian couples. The gay-affirming Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches held a mass commitment ceremony with about 150 gay and lesbian couples in Fort Lauderdale, Florida in conjunction with the annual Winter Gayla celebration there. For the third time, a U.S. federal appeals court has upheld the Clinton administration's so-called "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy banning open gays and lesbians from military service. The ruling came in the case of former Navy Petty Officer Mark Philips, a nuclear mechanical operator with an excellent record who was decorated for his service in Desert Storm. Under questioning by his superiors in 1992, before "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" had been established, Philips said he had had sexual relationships with civilian men while off-duty and off-base, and would continue to do so. No similar confession of heterosexual activity would lead to a discharge. Each of three justices of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals wrote a separate opinion, two upholding Philips' discharge. For the majority, Judge Pamela Rymer deemed the military policy against gays and lesbians was neither irrational nor merely prejudiced, while dissenting Judge Betty Fletcher wrote, "Gay men and lesbians are no less able and no more prone to misconduct than their heterosexual counterparts. Even in the military context, an entire class may not be singled out for disfavored treatment because of animosities towards that class." In Brazil this week, transvestite parades were the entertainment highlight for spectators of Rio de Janeiro's Carnival, but an act of bravery by participants. Police had sworn that no one would be allowed to ridicule the military, but they let the transvestites satirize the uniform by accessorizing it with mini-skirts and fishnet stockings. Other Carnival outfits included both cowgirls and cows as well as Cinderella lugging a giant condom in search of Prince charming. In Australia, a leading controversy at the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras has been an art piece intended as a reminder of the dual lives led by closeted gays and lesbians of the past. The 13-foot tall construction is consciously modeled after a Sydney landmark, the New South Wales War Memorial. That led the state president of one veteran's group to call it, "a deliberate attempt to denigrate the sacrifices of so many men and women who lost their lives in defending this country." In Barranquilla, Colombia, gays and lesbians had been barred from marching with other social groups at the Carnival celebration by a declaration from the local Roman Catholic Archbishop. On February 1st, they proceeded to parade as usual in defiance of the ban. Later that night, Carnival organizers relented under the pressure of protests, so now the gays and lesbians can be a part of the Grand Parade and traditional Battle of the Flowers, as well as electing their own Carnival Queen -- of whatever gender. New Zealand's annual HERO festival began on February 7th in Auckland. Activities will climax with a parade on February 23rd. In Australia, a documentary of the 1996 Perth Lesbian and Gay Pride Festival and Parade recently topped the ratings for its late-night timeslot while drawing only one complaint. Despite -- or perhaps because of -- a disclaimer that the content included adult themes, strong coarse language, and nudity, about 50,000 people tuned in, which is quite a few for Western Australia at 11:30 PM. The broadcast had big-time advertising support, including ads from Toyota, Daihatsu and Pepsi. In Ireland, the politician credited for repeal of sodomy laws there in 1993 has resigned from politics. Conservative former Justice Minister Maire Geoghegan-Quinn was thought likely to become Ireland's first woman prime minister, but recent reports about her son's school problems convinced her she didn't care to sacrifice her privacy to intrusive media. In Thailand, the Education Minister who has staunchly defended an anti-gay policy is now under fire for alleged bribing of Members of Parliament. Sukhavich Rangsitpol has been a leading advocate for a new ban on gays and lesbians attending teacher training universities. He says the distribution to 144 MP's of cash-filled envelopes were intended as Chinese New Year gifts. Tom Stoddard, the U.S.' leading gay legal activist through some crucial years, died this week of AIDS-related illness at the age of 48. Stoddard was executive director of the Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund from the U.S. Supreme Court's landmark 1986 decision upholding state sodomy laws through the 1993 military controversy, when he moved to the short-lived Campaign for Military Service to focus directly on the Clinton administration's ill-fated efforts to lift the ban on open gays and lesbians in uniform. Much of his legal work was devoted to protecting the civil rights of people with HIV and AIDS, and he served a term on the board of the American Foundation for AIDS research. He's survived by his partner Walter Rieman. Openly gay singer-songwriter Elton John had been the only entertainer confirmed to appear at the celebration of Hong Kong's return to China, but this week he backed out of negotiations. It seems the concert organizers had not gotten an exemption from strict noise abatement laws there, and so were thinking of having all 40,000 spectators in the Hong Kong stadium listen to the show on headphones. Openly lesbian rock star Melissa Etheridge got her Valentine a little early this year as her partner Julie Cypher gave birth to Bailey Jean Cypher on February 10th. Mother, daughter and co-parent all came through in great shape. David Bowie, once the gender-bending pioneer of pop music fashion, this week celebrated the unveiling of his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, at a busy location outside the Hollywood Entertainment Museum. Bowie enjoyed himself and told the crowd of several hundred spectators to walk on his star if he made any more bad albums. And finally -- stop me if you've heard this one -- but the lead character the sitcom "Ellen" is going to come out as a lesbian. We know you've been hearing this since September, but this time she really is -- well, it's almost final, anyway: reportedly a script is awaiting final approval from the upper echelons at Disney and ABC. Unidentified sources say that script has the character played by Ellen DeGeneres coming out to the latest in her string of therapists, to be played by talk show star and producer Oprah Winfrey. GLAAD, the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, believes that letters could encourage ABC and Disney to finally proceed with this long-awaited step. What's heartening about the latest episode in the continuing Hamlet-like dithering over "Ellen"'s sexual orientation is that a date has been set ... and no, it's not April Fool's Day -- it's April 30th, during the ratings sweeps. ----------*------------- Sources for this week's report included: The Associated Press; The Boston Globe; The Hollywood Reporter; The New York Times; Reuters News Service; The Sun Herald (Biloxi, Mississippi); The Seattle Times; The Sydney Morning Herald (Australia);; The Tacoma (Washington) News-Tribune; United Press International; USA Today; The Washington (DC) Post; Queer News Aotearoa (New Zealand); The Westside Observer (Perth, Australia); and cyberpress releases from the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (U.S.); The American Civil Liberties Union; PR Newswire; The Forum on the Right to Marry (U.S.); The Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund; The National Organization for Women; and the Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches.