NewsWrap for the week ending October 16, 1999 (As broadcast on This Way Out program #603, distributed 10-18-99) [Written by Cindy Friedman, with thanks to Graham Underhill, Chris Ambidge, Martin Rice, Brian Nunes, Jason Lin, Rex Wockner, Greg Gordon & Lucia Chappelle] Anchored by Cindy Friedman and Kevin Riley France's National Assembly this week gave final legislative approval to a bill establishing legal domestic partnership contracts. The contracts known as PACS, for Pacts of Civil Solidarity, are available to both heterosexual and same-gender couples. They confer essentially all of the benefits of traditional marriage in the areas of social welfare, property, finances, and taxation, but not parental, adoption or fertility rights. Although thanks to its Socialist majority the National Assembly vote of 315 - 249 differed by only one vote from the first vote taken on the bill in December, conservative opponents put up a tremendous struggle. They tried to block the PACS bill with delaying parliamentary tactics, literally hundreds of amendments, and amazingly long filibusters, as well as media campaigns and street demonstrations. And they haven't given up yet -- they're both asking President Jacques Chirac to force a further parliamentary review, and asking the Constitutional Council to nullify the bill as unconstitutional. But it seems most likely that those maneuvers will also fail, and that the first PACS will be sworn out after January 1, 2000. Some conservative leaders even apologized for having stirred up homophobia, after experiencing backlash from younger members of their own parties. A bill in the Philippines legislature to recognize gay and lesbian couples was protested by some 2,000 Roman Catholics last week. A "Prayer Rally for the Family" was organized by Filipino bishops, led by Archbishop of Manila Jaime Cardinal Sin, and joined by former President Corazon Aquino. Sin and other speakers argued that the bill would destroy the family, because children need both a father and a mother. The more liberal House has resisted Catholic pleas to withdraw the bill, but some conservative Senators have vowed to oppose it. The deadline is approaching in the six months the Supreme Court of Canada gave the province of Ontario to recognize gay and lesbian couples in its Family Law Act. Ontario Attorney General Jim Flaherty wondered publicly if the province would be able to change its laws by November 20, as the high court required in the landmark "M versus H" ruling. He expected to have a bill ready to present when the provincial parliament opens its session in the coming week, but the Government hadn't decided whether to change all 70 discriminatory provincial laws or just the specific section named by the Supreme Court. With only about a month to run the Government's bill through three readings and the formality of royal assent, Flaherty says making the deadline depends on the positions of opposition parties. But the largest opposition party, the Liberals, taunted the Government for dragging its feet and being afraid of the issue. In Britain's House of Lords this week, a motion was made to extend pension benefits to surviving partners of same-gender couples, only to be dropped by the Government. Gay and lesbian activists were bitterly disappointed and contested the Government's claims of what the measure might cost. A recent industry survey found that nearly 40% of private pension plans in Britain already recognize gay and lesbian relationships, compared to only 16% of government plans. The lobby group Stonewall said, "Lesbians and gay men pay substantial amounts to pension schemes from which their partners and families cannot benefit. There is no justification for this discrimination." British Prime Minister Tony Blair significantly reshuffled the lineup in his Cabinet this week. The first change announced was the appointment of Peter Mandelson to be Secretary of State for Northern Ireland. That Mandelson is gay has long been widely known, but he refuses to discuss it publicly. Mandelson had been forced to step down from the Cabinet ten months ago over ethics questions regarding a home loan, but Blair wasn't willing to be without his chief strategist any longer. Some people refer to Mandelson as the "Prince of Darkness," while one of his admirers said he made "Machiavelli look like Mary Poppins." Political leaders in Northern Ireland generally gave him a warm welcome, hoping the change would kickstart the stalled peace process there. Mandelson had previously been mentioned for the position of Secretary of Defense, but his sexual orientation was viewed as a conflict of interest for dealing with Britain's ban on military service by gays and lesbians. Blair's unanticipated choice for that job was Geoff Hoon, a little-known but fast-rising politician with a decade of service in the European Parliament and seven years in the House of Commons. In his first public remarks following his appointment, Hoon said unequivocally that the Ministry of Defense will lift the ban, and indicated that it might be only a matter of months. Britain's military chiefs want to keep the ban, but the European Court of Human Rights found that it violates European guarantees of privacy. The United States Air Force has given the so-called "don't ask, don't tell" policy a new footnote -- "if you do tell, take it back." There was a surge last year in Air Force discharges for homosexuality, 65% of them at the Lackland training base in Texas. That moved the Air Force to try a new approach. Since March, if Air Force members make declarations of homosexual orientation, they are referred to legal counsel for a confidential session. If Air Force members recant within a few days of coming out, they may continue their careers without penalty or even a permanent record. This approach resulted in a dramatic drop in discharges at Lackland, to only 31 in the last seven months, compared to 195 in the same period last year. People who believe they've experienced discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity in Jefferson County, Kentucky will now have legal recourse. This week the County's Fiscal Court voted 3 - 1 to prohibit such discrimination in employment, housing and public accommodations. The County's Human Relations Commission can levy fines of as much as $50,000 against violators, although the Commission's rulings can be appealed to the Superior Court. With this week's vote following those in Louisville, Lexington and Henderson earlier this year, Kentucky has gone from zero to about one-fourth of its residents being protected from sexual orientation discrimination. National Coming Out Day was observed on October 11 in the U.S. and elsewhere with some 500 events. Spanish member of the national Congress of Deputies Miguel Iceta said, "I state publicly that I am gay." He's believed to be the first public official in Spain to come out. Iceta's move was applauded by gays and lesbians and by leaders of his own PSOE and other political parties. But one United Left coalition spokesperson accused Iceta's party of "sacrificing" him to win gay votes in Catalan's hotly contested regional elections. Iceta noted that if coming out gained votes, more politicians would do it. Perhaps the most notable coming out in the U.S. this week was the launch of G & L Bank, a new gay-owned Internet banking service targeting gays and lesbians. But after six years of work in preparation, including obtaining a federal charter, G & L's grand opening was somewhat dimmed by a competitor. On the same day, the Gay Financial Network announced its new partnership with an Internet banking leader, TeleBank. National Coming Out Day was first observed in the U.S. in 1988, but last year it became forever associated with the memory of bashing victim Matthew Shepard when he died October 12. This year National Coming Out Day was also the first day of jury selection in the trial of one of the suspects in the gruesome assault on Shepard, Aaron McKinney. So far it appears his attorneys will not contest that he attacked Shepard, but will attempt a mental impairment defense in hopes of avoiding the death penalty. Opening arguments are scheduled for October 25. Numerous vigils and demonstrations were held across the U.S. in connection with the Shepard anniversaries. The Interfaith Alliance reported more than 300 “Stop the Hate” events, many of them on the October 7 anniversary of the attack on Shepard. Shepard's parents were highly visible, including appearing at the Human Rights Campaign's annual gala with the parents of James Byrd, Junior, the African-American notoriously murdered in Texas by being dragged behind a pickup truck. Also featured at the gala was U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno, who called for enactment of the federal Hate Crimes Prevention Act, and also for education efforts to prevent bias-motivated crimes. The Hate Crimes Prevention Act -- or HCPA -- would make sexual orientation, gender and disability protected categories under federal hate crimes law, among other provisions. HCPA language was attached as a rider to a major appropriations bill in the Senate, but it has never come to the House floor. It's now before a House-Senate conference committee where Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott and other leading Republicans are trying to remove the HCPA, particularly the sexual orientation clause. President Clinton made two statements this week strongly urging passage, while openly lesbian Congressmember Tammy Baldwin made a plea for it from the House floor, specifically citing the personal distress her campaign volunteers had experienced as a result of the attack on Shepard. And finally... the religious-right's fifth annual National Coming Out of Homosexuality Day was observed with just one event. Televangelist Jerry Falwell spoke via satellite to an audience of about 60 in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park. Counter-demonstrators booed, hissed and screamed at Falwell's speech, and two men were arrested for hitting National Coming Out of Homosexuality Day chair "ex-gay" Michael Johnston in the face with a pie. Johnston denied any anger at the pie-tossers, and even joked that, "I think I'm going to call myself the Blueberry Martyr."