NewsWrap for the week ending June 13th, 1998 (As broadcast on This Way Out program #533, distributed 06-15-98) [Compiled & written by Cindy Friedman, with thanks to Jason Lin, Graham Underhill, Brian Nunes, Martin Rice, Rex Wockner, Greg Gordon & Lucia Chappelle] Anchored by Leo Garcia and Cindy Friedman The highly publicized case of Master Chief Petty Officer Tim McVeigh, t= he=0Adecorated 18-year veteran the U.S. Navy tried to discharge based sol= ely on the=0A"gay" content of one of his America Online profiles, has end= ed in settlement=0Aagreements with both the Navy and America Online. The= Navy has admitted no=0Awrongdoing but has dropped its appeal in the case= , is allowing McVeigh to=0Aretire two years early with full benefits and = will pay his $90,000 legal fees.=0AAmerica Online is paying him damages i= n an amount that will not be revealed,=0Aand has both clarified its priva= cy policies and developed training for its=0Apersonnel on how to carry th= em out. Federal district court judge Stanley=0ASporkin had found earlier= this year that the Navy had violated the so-called=0A"Don't Ask, Don't T= ell" policy in its pursuit of McVeigh, and that both the=0ANavy and Ameri= ca Online had violated the Electronic Communications Privacy=0AAct. The = Navy has no plans to change its policies, procedures or training.=0ABut M= cVeigh's attorney Christopher Wolf believes the ruling, the first court= =0Afinding that a branch of the military had violated "Don't Ask, Don't T= ell" not=0Ato be struck down on appeal, would offer a precedent for the f= uture. Wolf=0Acalled the Navy=92s treatment of McVeigh intolerable: Christopher Wolf: "Throughout his 18 years of service he consistently wa= s=0Arecognized for his exemplary leadership skills, and dedication to the= mission=0Aof the U.S. Navy. Indeed, just this past May Mr. McVeigh was = promoted to the=0Ahighest rank for enlisted personnel, that of Master Chi= ef. So what the Navy=0Awas proposing to do to one of its very best was n= ot simply ironic, it was a=0Agross injustice." Saying he was "ready to move on to bigger and better things," McVeigh dec= lared=0Athat he was happy the case had been resolved on his terms. He sa= id, "I hope=0Ait sends a message that the rules and regulations that are = in place need to be=0Afollowed by the military." In another legal matter that sends a message, a Sydney gay man has been= =0Agranted custody of his son. He's believed to be the first gay father = in New=0ASouth Wales and only the second in Australia to be given custody= in preference=0Ato the child's mother. The unnamed father said he hoped= the ruling would=0Aencourage other gay parents, and apparently it alread= y has in one case. His=0Aattorney said the case showed that "good parent= ing is good parenting," that=0Athe courts have become more responsive, an= d that "gay people can have more=0Aconfidence in the recognition that the= y have rights." A Sydney local court=0Amagistrate found that the man and= his partner had created a stable and=0Aaffectionate home that would be g= ood for the seven-year-old boy, in contrast=0Ato the crisis-ridden home o= f his mother and her roommate, who has a number of=0Apsychological proble= ms. The 16-million-member U.S. Southern Baptist Conference took steps to pr= omote=0Aits anti-gay views of family during its national assembly this we= ek. It=0Aamended the Baptist Faith and Message statement for the first t= ime in 35 years=0Awith a definition of marriage as "the exclusive, perman= ent, monogamous union=0Aof one man and one woman." The traditional sex r= oles of male leadership and=0Afemale submission in marriage were strongly= stated while a proposal that would=0Ahave recognized unmarried and widow= ed people as part of the family was=0Adefeated. The Faith and Message st= atement now says, "Believers must resist=0Aany claims of legitimacy for = sexual relationships that biblically have been=0Adeclared illicit or per= verse. The perversion of homosexuality defies even=0Achildbirth, since = it negates natural conception." The Southern Baptist Conference went on to take specific aim at President= =0AClinton's executive order last month prohibiting discrimination based = on=0Asexual orientation in civilian federal employment, with a resolution= saying,=0A"Homosexual politics is masquerading today as civil rights, i= n order to=0Aexploit the moral high ground of the civil rights movement.= Homosexuality is=0Aimmoral, contrary to the Bible and contrary to trad= itional Judeo-Christian=0Amoral standards, and the open affirmation of h= omosexuality represents a sign=0Aof God's surrendering a society to its = perversion." It denounced what it=0Acalled "special legal protection" an= d "endorsement" of homosexuality and=0Alegal sanctions against those who= believe its practice is immoral. An=0Aamendment to that resolution call= ing on the President's own congregation to=0A"discipline" him if he doesn= 't withdraw the order was only narrowly defeated. Two more Members of the British Parliament publicly identified themselv= es as=0Agay men this week, bringing the House of Commons' total to five g= ay men and=0Aone lesbian. Both Gordon Marsden of Blackpool South and Dav= id Borrow of=0ARibble South made their announcements to their local newsp= apers in preparation=0Afor debate later this month on lowering the age of= consent for sex between men=0Afrom 18 to 16 years, which is the age of c= onsent for heterosexual and lesbian=0Aacts. Borrow said simply, "I think= it is appropriate at this point to be=0Ahonest with the people of South = Ribble." Marsden, who has actively advocated=0Afor the civil rights of l= esbians and gays, said he'd never made any attempt to=0Ahide his sexual o= rientation, but insisted that, "I'm a politician first and a=0Agay man se= cond. I am not a single-issue MP." Canada's Reform Party took up a full day of parliamentary debate this w= eek=0Awith a motion to condemn a court ruling extending equal pension rig= hts to=0Asame-gender couples. That ruling was made in April by the Ontar= io Court of=0AAppeals, and the government has given no indication whether= or not it will=0Afile an appeal before its deadline later this month. R= eform leader Preston=0AManning insisted that the party was merely pursuin= g its top goals of curbing=0Ajudicial activism and positively affirming t= he family. Members of other=0Aparties definitely saw the motion, in the = words of openly gay Bloc Quebecois=0AMP Real Menard, as reflecting "the h= omophobic tradition of the Reform Party,"=0Awhile New Democrat Judy Wasyl= ycia-Leis said Reform was "trying to put a=0Arespectable veneer on plain = and simple bigotry" through "silly comments and=0Atwisted rationalization= s." But another Canadian official, Toronto Mayor Mel Lastman, announced thi= s=0Aweek that for the first time he will march in the city's lesbian and = gay pride=0Aparade. Calling it "the most difficult decision I have ever = had to make" and=0A"politically ... a loser," Lastman concluded that, "I = cannot justify saying=0AI'm the mayor of all the people of Toronto if I d= on't participate." Although=0Ahe hopes to set an example of acceptance, = particularly for parents struggling=0Awith their children's sexual orient= ation, he remains a little squeamish about=0Athe possibility of seeing na= ked men and women at the event, and said,=0A"Hopefully, they won't be aro= und when I'm there." Five more alleged victims testified this week in the trial of Zimbabwe'= s=0Aformer President Canaan Banana on 11 counts of sexual assaults and ha= rrassment=0Aagainst other men. They were two bodyguards and a cleaner wh= o worked at the=0AState House during Banana's 1980's Presidency and two y= oung men who were=0Aapproached by Banana within the last few years, one h= is gardener and the other=0Aa man who hoped Banana could get him a job. = Three of the men described Banana=0Afirst asking them to dance with him, = as was also the case for the first victim=0Ato testify, Jefta Dube. The = cleaner said that Banana twice locked the door,=0Apushed him down, and as= saulted him. The job-seeker was able to present=0Awritten invitations to= visit Banana, but while Banana gave him some money each=0Atime they met,= he never did get a job. Dana International, the Israeli transsexual who won the international= =0AEurovision Song Contest, pleaded not guilty this week to charges of as= sault=0Aand disorderly conduct. At a cafe performance in late 1995, Dana= allegedly=0Apushed one waitress and threw a bottle of water at another. = The next hearing=0Awill be in January. Dana also reportedly refused an = invitation to become the=0Afifth Spice Girl in the wake of "Ginger Spice"= Geri Halliwell's resignation=0Afrom the group. And finally, speaking of the Spice Girls, since Halliwell left there's = been=0Aa sudden surge of popularity for a group of transgender imitators = in Thailand=0Aknown as the Spice Gays. They still have a "Ginger Spice",= transsexual Akanit=0ARattanavichit, who won Halliwell's role because she= has the largest breasts in=0Athe group. Appropriately enough, the audie= nce favorite of the songs in the=0ASpice Gays set is "Wannabe."=0A