NewsWrap for the week ending February 21st, 1998 (As broadcast on THIS WAY OUT Program #517, distributed 02-23-98) [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 In Britain, the celebrated case of seven gay men convicted under two discriminatory laws ended this week when they were given sentences with no jail time. They could have received sentences of as much as five years in prison, but instead received a range of probation terms and community service hours. The so-called "Bolton 7" had engaged in consensual group sex in a private home, which came to the attention of authorities only because a disgruntled tenant turned in a videotape they'd made. One of the laws used against them is a 1967 ban on sex between men "when more than two persons take part or are present"; there is no comparable law for heterosexual acts. The other is the age of consent of 18 years for gay sex, compared to 16 years for heterosexual and lesbian acts. One of the men in the group was 17-1/2 at the time of the party. Even though he himself was also charged with "gross indecency", two of the others were added to the national Sex Offenders Register for having sex with him. As a result, they have experienced job loss, vandalism, and arson. *Unidentified speaker at “Save The Bolton 7” Rally in Manchester: “This affects our liberties! Kissing your boyfriend in a public place is a homosexual act. If there’re other people present you can be arrested. If one of these men goes to prison, every gay man should be in the police station the next day insisting they are charged on the same offenses as them!” [crowd cheers fade out under:] The Bolton 7 received widespread public support, from several well-attended demonstrations by the direct action group OutRage! to letters demanding leniency from several hundred gays and lesbians around the world, openly gay actor Sir Ian McKellan, two Members of Parliam kably, the human rights watchdog group Amnesty International had declared that if any of the men were incarcerated, the group would adopt them as "prisoners of conscience." Amnesty rarely takes such action in its home country, and currently there are no "prisoners of conscience" in Britain. Zimbabwe's first post-colonial president, Canaan Banana, has filed for permission to leave his country despite 11 charges pending against him of sexual assaults and sexual harassment against other men. His case has been in limbo since September, awaiting a decision by the nation's high court as to whether he can receive a fair trial despite extensive media coverage of the sensational charges against him. As a condition of remaining at large while his case is in progress, Banana had been required to turn in his passport. His current filing says he must leave Zimbabwe for medical treatment, but the nature of the medical problem has not yet been made public. Before the charges were brought against him, Banana was a distinguished diplomat in African international affairs, and could be expected to easily find a home outside his country. It's an excellent time to exit Zimbabwe, which is teetering on economic collapse and plagued with riots by citizens unable to obtain food. Some of the rioting has been more political in nature, as veterans of the revolution that put Banana and current President Robert Mugabe into power learned that their pensions had been cut while government officials were lining their own pockets. Mugabe, the most vocal homophobe on the international stage, is busy negotiating a huge "golden parachute" deal in preparation for leaving office. Mugabe has been notably silent on the subject of the allegations against his long-time ZANU-PF colleague Banana since they became public a year ago. The U.S. military is violating its so-called "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy on service by gays and lesbians more than ever, according to the fourth annual report by the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network, SLDN. Even ntagon itself is forced to rely on SLDN's information, since it does no systematic tracking of its own on "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" issues. Policy violations by commanders have steadily increased over each of the four years since the policy went into effect, and SLDN found a 27% increase in violations overall from 1996 to 1997. Although each of SLDN's reports have called for training and clarification of the policy for those who must carry it out, command ignorance remains the largest part of the problem. The report says that, "Four years into 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell, Don't Purse', most leaders have not received or read a copy of the current regulations and guidelines, and most do not know what the limits are to gay investigations." In fact, of the 563 cases documented by SLDN in 1997, there was only one in which servicemembers had been trained on the limits of investigations. There have also been no disciplinary actions whatever against personnel who violated the policy in the last two years. The upshot is continuing witchhunts, gross invasions of privacy, an organizational climate that both threatens gays and lesbians and fails to protect them from homophobic assaults, and discharges that waste the public's investment in training personnel. While SLDN counted increasing numbers of the "don't ask", "don't pursue" and "don't harass" elements of the policy by command, "don't tell" violations by the servicemembers themselves dropped virtually to zero: gay and lesbian servicemembers seem to have learned that there is safety only in absolute secrecy. Briefly, in other news ... in Canada, the Vancouver-area Surrey School District announced this week that it's spending more than C$100,000 to defend its ban on three gay-themed children's books. The right-wing-dominated school board feels it's worth the price even though it will necessitate "sacrifices in education throughout the district." "Asha's Mum", "One Dad, Two Dads, Brown Dad, Blue Dad" and "Belinda's Bouquet" all portray children of non- traditional fa thout ever using the terms "lesbian", "gay" or "homosexual". Pope John Paul II spoke out again this week against those who "want same-sex unions recognized as families," saying they "threaten the very characteristics of the family." He called on a group of bishops visiting from Spain to "proclaim with pastoral firmness the truth about marriage and the family, as God made it to be." A committee of the Iowa state House this week voted its approval of a bill to deny legal recognition to same-gender marriages that another state may someday perform. The bill next moves to the House floor. A simple majority of the Wyoming state Senate this week approved a hate crimes bill including sexual orientation as a protected category. However, because this is a budget session and the measure is a non-budget bill, a 2/3 supermajority was needed for the bill to be considered. It will be reintroduced next year. The former leading homophobe of the U.S. House of Representatives, California Republican Bob Dornan, is making a run to regain his former seat. The House had just voted to drop its investigation of his allegations of voter fraud in his 1996 loss to Democrat Loretta Sanchez. In Ypsilanti, Michigan the City Clerk has approved one proposed anti-gay ballot measure but rejected another. The church-led group Citizens Opposing Special Treatment had circulated petitions for both initiatives, but neglected to identify itself as their sponsor. That was okay in the case of the measure to repeal the city's new civil rights law protecting gays and lesbians from discrimination, but not for a city charter amendment to proactively prohibit any such laws from being enacted in the future. Houston, Texas Mayor Lee Brown this week issued an executive order prohibiting discrimination against gays and lesbians in the provision of city services and in the employment of city personnel. Right-wing talkshow hosts sparked a spate of protesting phone calls to Brown's office, but when the City Council met, those who turned out t The Association of Panamanian Homosexuals has declared itself "a powerful political force to compete against the Democratic Revolutionary Party and the Arnulfista Party." The group has 75,000 members and is lobbying to establish an area in Panama City where gays and lesbians can safely conduct business and recreational activities. In New Zealand, Auckland's annual HERO parade came off without a hitch, despite widespread power outages in the area and a Christian group's threat to blockade the march. Well over 100,000 people were there to see some 75 floats. Jenny Shipley became the first New Zealand Prime Minister ever to attend the event, and kicked it off with a call for participants to take pride in their sexuality and the diversity that enriches the country. Hungarian activists this week announced the opening of their country's first hotline for gays and lesbians, Gay Switchboard Budapest. A small group of volunteers offer information at no cost in Hungarian, English and German for four hours every day of the year, and will also respond via fax or e-mail. The Swiss Parliament has been considering adding gays and lesbians as a protected category under the human rights segment of a new national constitution. Some politicians liked the term "lifestyle," but a majority in one house would agree only to a statement that "no one is to be discriminated against." The Swiss national gay and lesbian groups Pink Cross and L.O.S. are not satisfied with this generic approach and continue to lobby for specific recognition. Also in Switzerland, the gay swimming club in Geneva has won official recognition as a member of the national swimming organization. This allows the team to participate in all official competitions. And finally ... it's been almost a year and a half since Britain's King's Cross Steelers became the first officially sanctioned gay rugby club. At the end of January, the Surrey League team achieved another "first" when they finally won a game. Commending his team members' dedication, elers' Chair Rob Hayward: “We’re now looking for 2 in a row!” [*tape cuts courtesy of BBC Radio 5 Live's "Out This Week"]