NewsWrap
for the week ending November 29th, 1997
(As broadcast on THIS WAY OUT Program #505, distributed 12-01-97)
[Compiled & written by Cindy Friedman, with thanks to
Graham Underhill, Chris Ambidge, Rex Wockner, 
Greg Gordon & Lucia Chappelle]

Anchored by Tory Christopher and Cindy Friedman

  Ecuador's constitutional tribunal this week voted unanimously to strike down
the nation's sodomy law, which had provided for sentences of 4 to 8 years in
prison for homosexual acts between consenting adults.  The Human Rights
Commission of the Organization of American States had found article 516 of the
national penal code to violate the American Convention on Human Rights in
1994.  But earlier this year, a bar raid in the city of Cuenca sparked a new
level of gay activism, including the first filing of a formal complaint of
police abuse against a sexual minority.  A national coalition of gay and
lesbian organizations won a new level of public support for reform, including
the advocacy of the Governor of Azuay, Felipe Vega de la Cuadra, and
condemnation of the law by the head of the national Commission for
Constitutional Changes.  Both the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights
Commission and the International Lesbian and Gay Association organized
international pressure for reform.

  Sodomy repeal was argued this week in the Johannesburg High Court.  South
Africa's National Coalition for Gay and Lesbian Equality is trying to have
five statutes struck down as inconsistent with the new national constitution's
guarantee of equal treatment for gays and lesbians.  According to the
Coalition, arrests based on these laws have actually increased sharply since
the new constitution went into effect, from 350 in 1994 to 800 in 1996.  The
lawsuit seeks to have those arrests reviewed and set aside.  The lawsuit names
three public officials as respondents representing the government.  Although
one of them, Minister of Justice Dullah Omar, had delayed the hearing by
filing his opposition with the court, the national Human Rights Commission
brokered an agreement that led him to withdraw his opposition before the
hearing.  Even unopposed, the Coalition has the burden of convincing the court
to strike down the laws.  Their advocate Gilbert Marcus pointed out that the
law puts sodomy on a par with treason and murder, giving police special powers
to proceed without warrants and even allowing ordinary citizens to use
"reasonable force" to arrest those suspected of sodomy.  He said this reduced
gay men to the status of "unapprehended felons" instead of the equal treatment
they're entitled to under the constitution. 

  Nicaragua's sodomy law this month ended a gay marriage with the arrests of
both parties and all those who had witnessed the wedding.  One man had
obtained a fake birth certificate identifying him as female.  Police were
called in by a doctor treating their adopted baby, whom they now stand accused
of kidnapping.  The sodomy law provides for sentences of three years in prison
for homosexual acts between consenting adults.

  In Canada, the Manitoba Human Rights Commission ordered the provincial
government to extend spousal health insurance coverage to the same-gender
partners of its own gay and lesbian employees.  That decision capped 15 years
of legal wrangling led by gay provincial employee Chris Vogel, but the
government indicated that it will probably not appeal the current decision any
further.  Only Ontario and British Columbia are currently offering health
coverage to the same gender partners of their provincial employees.

  The gay-friendly remarks of two Church of England bishops have led two
parishes to reject their authority this month.  After Bishop of Newcastle
Martin Wharton suggested that committed gay and lesbian relationships were not
sinful, a parish in Jesmond, Northumberland refused his ecclesiastical
guidance.  The Saint Margaret's parochial church council in Tylers Green,
Buckinghamshire reacted to Bishop of Oxford Richard Harries' recent support
for equalizing the gay age of consent with that for heterosexual and lesbian
acts at 16 years, a position they call "absolutely unacceptable."  The Church
of England has not yet established an official position on the age of consent
question.

  A committee appointed by the Israel Broadcasting Authority this week chose
Dana International to represent the country at the 1998 Eurovision Song
Contest, but the far-right Shas Party is lobbying for a different selection
because Dana is a transsexual.  The chair of the selection committee described
Dana's song "Diva" as "far and away the best" of the 33 entries considered,
and even suggested that Dana's transsexual status might be a plus in the
competition Israel has lost so many times before.  But Shas Party Deputy
Health Minister Rabbi Shlomo Ben-Izri told the media that, "Dana is an
abomination.  Even in Sodom there was nothing like it."  After seven years of
moderate success as a singer, Dana shrugged off the criticism, saying, "People
in Israel don't know what drag is, they don't know how to appreciate it -- it
is a very primitive country sometimes."

  A run-off ballot this week made Cathy Woolard Georgia's first openly lesbian
or gay elected public official, as she unseated a 20-year incumbent.  Woolard
was elected to the Atlanta City Council by the 6th District, which is believed
to have the city's highest concentration of lesbians and gays.  Woolard, now a
management consultant, had served for seven years as National Field Director
for the gay and lesbian national group the Human Rights Campaign.  Open gay
Malcolm Gideons lost his bid for the District 1 seat in the same election.

  The International Network of Lesbian and Gay Officials held its 13th annual
conference last weekend in Philadelphia.  About 70 of its 250 members came
from Canada and the U.K. as well as the U.S. to discuss a range of human
rights and family issues.  The group has identified 130 gays and lesbians in
elected positions in the U.S. alone, aside from a much larger number of
appointees and civil servants.  Long-time Network member Wally Swan, who
currently sits on the Minneapolis Board of Estimate and Taxation, this week
announced his candidacy for Minnesota State Treasurer.

  Maine's initiative to repeal the state's new civil rights protections for
gays and lesbians came a step closer to the ballot this week, as a trial court
threw out almost all of activists' challenges to signatures on the repeal
petition.  It's not yet known if that decision will be appealed to a higher
court.

  The U.S. Supreme Court will be taking up the question of same-gender sexual
harassment for the first time this coming week as it hears arguments in the
case of "Oncale versus Sundowner."  This week, the high court agreed to hear
two other cases of interest: a test of whether the Americans with Disabilities
Act covers people with HIV who have not developed symptoms, in the case of a
Massachusetts dentist who would only provide care to a person with HIV in a
hospital setting... and a government appeal in the long-running case of the
so-called "NEA Four," three of whom are openly gay or lesbian, who were denied
grants by the National Endowment for the Arts based on a "decency" clause
imposed by the Congress.

  A total of six bombs were set this week at two Montreal area sites of
Biochem Pharma, the co-discoverer and North American manufacturer of the key
AIDS drug 3TC.  Two exploded at each site, with no injuries and little
property damage; the other two were detonated by police.  Although no official
statement has been made regarding motive, suspicion seems to be settling on
animal rights activists.

  U.S. President Bill Clinton this week signed into law the Food and Drug
Administration Modernization Act.  Some insiders believe it will have little
impact on consumers, serving only to codify some of the steps which have
already been taken to expedite access to AIDS drugs.  However, the AIDS Action
Council expressed concern at the loss of what it called "important patient
safeguards."  The Public Citizen's Health Research Group slammed the measure
as "good for corporate profits and bad for public health -- period."  Many
other countries tend to follow the FDA's recommendations on new treatments.

  December 1 marks the 10th observance of World AIDS Day.  In Australia,
Sydney observes an entire AIDS Awareness Week leading up to World AIDS Day.
The week kicked off with a symbolic funeral procession to the New South Wales
state house.  In Britain, Elton John is literally giving the shirt off his
back to AIDS charities -- except it's some 10,000 items of clothing and shoes,
enough that a special store was opened to sell them.  It's been a boon to
bargain hunters as well as fans, with designer labels going at ten percent of
their retail prices.  The collection has been estimated at a value of
2-1/2-million pounds new [about 4.2 million U.S. dollars], but the second-hand
sale is expected to raise about a half-million pounds [or almost $840,000].

  And finally ... Another World AIDS Day observance is billed as "the first
electronic march on Washington," the AIDS Action Until It's Over E-March.
President Clinton is helping to launch the year long virtual parade with a
video message at the AIDS Action website, www.aidsaction.org.  One press
release describes the electronic event as one that "will take most of the
headaches out of traditional marching," including the inevitable disputes with
police as to how many participated, and the unpleasant necessity of rows of
porta-potties.