NewsWrap for the week ending February 7th, 1998 (As broadcast on THIS WAY OUT Program #515, distributed 02-09-98) [Compiled & written by Cindy Friedman, with thanks to Graham Underhill, Brian Nunes, Jason Lin, Rex Wockner, Greg Gordon & Lucia Chappelle] Anchored by Cindy Friedman and David Hunt The Netherlands government this week granted registered same-gender couples rights and responsibilities completely equal to those of traditional married couples -- but decided as a result there was no need to extend existing marriage laws to include gays and lesbians. The one element of traditional marriage which had not been part of the new civil partnerships which became available January 1st was adoption rights. The cabinet gave them additional consideration because of their potential international implications, but has now decided to grant them. Now registered couples will be able to adopt together, and if a child is born after the partnership has been contracted, the non-biological parent will automatically be recognized as an adoptive parent. Lesbian mothers who have children before entering a partnership can have their children co-adopted by their partners. The government will reconsider opening legal marriage to gays and lesbians in about three years. The Canadian province of British Columbia had already given full adoption rights to same-gender couples, but this week it became the first jurisdiction in North America to give same-gender couples the same rights as common-law heterosexual couples for purposes of child custody, child visitation, and child and spousal support. The amendments to BC's Family Relations Act that went into effect this week were passed last year. Provincial Attorney General Ujjal Dosanjh announced the new law, saying, "Children don't choose their parents' living situation, and they shouldn't have different rights, depending on how their family is structured. Children have the right to expect adequate support, appropriate custodial access and continuing caring relationships with both parents regardless of sexual orientation and marital status." The Pretoria High Court this week rejected discrimination based on marital status and strongly affirmed gay and lesbian relationships, in ruling on South Africa's first lawsuit for domestic partners health benefits. The judge found that veteran police captain Jolande Langemaat had a "duty to support" her long-time partner Beverly-Ann Myburg, and so she also had a right to register Myburg to receive spousal health benefits. The judge found their relationship to be no different from that of a married couple, and ruled that the legally- married spouses only policy of the South African Police Service's health plan PolMed is illegally discriminatory. The judge also declaredthat it is time for South African laws to be changed to give full recognition to same-gender couples. The National Coalition for Gay and Lesbian Equality, which supported Langemaat's case along with the Police Service's Gay and Lesbian Network, celebrated the ruling as, "a direct challenge to all employwers, both in the private and public sector, to change their policies and abide by their constitutional and statutory obligations." But Washington state legislators this week sped in the opposite direction, acting in record time to join more than half of the states in the U.S. denying legal recognition to same-gender marriages another state may someday perform. In the space of just five hours, the legislature approved the bill, Governor Gary Locke vetoed it, and the legislature voted to override his veto. Although a substantial minority of legislators opposed the measure itself, enough of them were willing to shift their votes to make the veto override possible. If the veto had not been overridden, the marriage question would have gone before the voters in a ballot initiative, and legislators were eager to avoid having the issue clouding their re-election campaigns. Last year, the legislature had passed a similar measure, but there weren't enough votes to override Locke's veto. Openly gay state Representative Ed Murray urged the gay and lesbian community to take the marriage issue to the courts. The City of Chicago this week settled lawsuit brought by the American Civil Liberties Union which challenged the city's sponsorship of Boy Scout programs. While admitting no wrongdoing, the city formally agreed to withdraw all support as long as the Scouts continue to discriminate based on sexual orientation and religion. The lead plaintiff in the case was open gay Kevin Poloncarz, who is currently defying the Scouts' ban on gays to volunteer with a Legal Explorers group which is privately sponsored. The Chicago Area Council of the Boy Scouts of America is now in the process of finding private sponsors for 28 Cub Scout, Boy Scout and Explorer groups involving about 1,000 young men, for which the city had previously paid leaders and provided meeting space. The city also agreed to pay $20,000 in legal fees for the plaintiffs. Britain's ban on military service by known gays and lesbians has the Army answering to the Advertising Standards Authority for a possibly misleading recruitment campaign. In an effort to recruit more racial minority soldiers and dispel the Army's racist image, the current poster campaign is headlined, "The Army Can't Be An Equal Opportunities Employer Without You." In response to several complaints, the Advertising Standards Authority is making a formal investigation, which could lead to the campaign's withdrawal if the Army is found to have broken the rules. An Army spokesperson said, "We are not equal opportunity employers as far as homosexuals are concerned and that is a legal position. We don't employ homosexuals and the advertisement does not invite applications from homosexuals, nor does it lead anyone to suppose that we are inviting such applications. In that sense it is truthful to our employment policy." Britain's international intelligence-gathering unit MI6 this week sent two gay agents to a foreign posting for the first time. Until recently, the intelligence service had automatically excluded gays and lesbians as possible security risks, but recently it's been trying to bring more diversity to its staff of 1,800. In Australia, the New South Wales Police Commissioner's decision to allow gay and lesbian officers to march in this year's Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras parade -- in uniform on paid time -- has caused considerable controversy. The officers who choose to take up this offer will first have to undergo several hours of training from a marching expert. Objections came not only from Opposition politicians, but also from various police agencies. At least one New South Wales police station fears being understaffed as a result, while Queensland police believe the march will "disgrace the uniform" generally. But Commissioner Paul Whelan has stood firm on his decision, seeing it as an advance in community relations, and noting that the marching officers will be on active duty, prepared to respond to problems. And it may be a good thing to have some extra officers present, because religious conservative politician Fred Nile has promised to try to physically block the parade at Oxford street with his allies from Catholic and aboriginal groups. In New Zealand, there have been objections to posters put up in connection with Auckland's annual gay and lesbian HERO festival, which opened this week. The poster portrays a young boy with the caption, "Your child may be gay ... don't discriminate." Graham Capill, leader of the Christian Heritage Party, has called the ad "offensive in the extreme." He says it promotes what he calls the myth that sexual orientation is inborn. Festival organizers fired back that Capill is "living in the 19th century." It's also been an eventful week for those 900-some gays aboard the M.S. Leeward for a Caribbean cruise. As was widely reported, the Cayman Islands refused the ship the chance to dock for seven hours, in fear that the men would not be able to maintain "standards of appropriate behavior." When the cruise arrived at its alternate destination in Belize, it was met by a few dozen religious protestors, but also by numerous welcoming public officials and security escorts. The itinerary next called for landfall in the Bahamas at an island entirely owned by the Norwegian Cruise Line. About 50 religious protestors held a demonstration against the cruise entering the Bahamas, expressing concern for its impact on children even though its island destination is quite remote. When a storm came up preventing the cruise from landing in the Bahamas, the protesting clergy declared it was an act of God. Meanwhile, British Foreign Secretary Robin Cook met this week with the U.K.'s remaining dependent territories, including the Cayman Islands. Along with the Caymans, Anguilla, the British Virgin Islands, Montserrat, and the Turks and Caicos Islands are British overseas territories which still criminalize homosexual acts between consenting adults. Cook urged them to reform their sodomy laws in accord with Britain's international treaty obligations. And finally ... as President Bill Clinton welcomed British Prime Minister Tony Blair on his first official visit to the U.S., Clinton wanted to do something special, and so lined up open gay Elton John to provide entertainment at a grand White House dinner. Elton, a.k.a. Sir Reginald, was utterly unfazed by the crowd of 240, which included the cream of Hollywood as well as political dignitaries. He told reporters, "I'm used to playing anywhere. I'm not fussy. It's a bit like playing at a wedding reception."