NewsWrap for the week ending October 30, 1999 (As broadcast on This Way Out program #605, distributed 11-1-99) [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 Leo Garcia In Canada, Ontario's provincial parliament this week gave gay and lesbian couples the same legal status as unmarried heterosexuals. To comply with the landmark Canadian Supreme Court ruling in the case of "M versus H," the parliament modified 67 provincial laws with an exclusively heterosexual definition of "spouse." But instead of simply changing that definition, the province's Conservative government created a new category called "same-sex partners". That preserved traditional language even though any legal distinction between "same-sex partners" and "spouses" would be unconstitutional. This was only one way in which the Conservatives expressed their distaste for the move forced on them by the courts. More than half of their caucus was absent for the vote, including Premier Mike Harris, and those who were present sat mute throughout the proceedings. The bill was rushed through with maneuvers including holding the second and third readings on a single night, and taking a voice vote without an official record of any individual member's position, although there was no opposition. However, Ontario's first openly gay Member of the Provincial Parliament, George Smitherman, devoted his maiden speech to celebrating the advance, which capped a decade of activism and legal struggles. Referring to people like his own Liberal Party Leader Dalton McGuinty, who now supports recognition of gay and lesbian couples after opposing a similar bill in 1994, Smitherman said, "What we have seen is that people, given more time, more information, can change their minds. ... Today, Mr. Speaker, we are setting a new place at the table. I think we can all walk out of this House tonight saying we have done the right thing for Ontario." In another victory for same-gender couples this week, Britain's highest legal authority, the Law Lords, recognized a gay male couple as a "family" for the first time. In a 3-to-2 ruling, they decided that Martin Fitzpatrick had the same right that a heterosexual survivor would, to retain the apartment he shared with his deceased partner for nearly 20 years. For the majority, Lord Nicholls said of tenancy succession under the Rent Act, "A man and woman living together in a stable and permanent sexual relationship are capable of being members of a family for this purpose. Once this is accepted, there can be no rational or other basis on which the like conclusion can be withheld from a similarly stable and permanent sexual relationship between two men or between two women." Even the dissenters were sympathetic to Fitzpatrick's situation, but they believed like the Court of Appeals before them that it was up to the Parliament, not the courts, to change the law. But the British Government will not be introducing another of activists' most sought-after reforms, repeal of the notorious Section 28, according to an insider report. The Thatcher-era statute prohibits local governments from devoting any resources to the "promotion" of homosexuality, particularly in schools. The Blair Government, which repeatedly promised the reform to gays and lesbians, is reportedly concerned that the entire Local Governments Act will be stalled by the House of Lords if Section 28 repeal is included. Activists had hoped to win repeal before next year's elections. Where the British Government is holding back, the new Scottish Executive is leaping forward. Scotland's First Minister Donald Dewar announced this week that repeal of Section 28 will be included in the Ethical Standards in Public Life Bill to be taken up in the coming year. He said that Section 28 "has always given deep offense" and is "a badge of shame." Guiding the bill's progress is Communities Minister Wendy Alexander, who is bringing heartfelt enthusiasm to the task. She believes that Section 28 has contributed to homophobia and anti-gay discrimination generally, but her primary concern is to free educators to combat homophobic harassment in schools. Three members of Britain’s direct action group OutRage! were arrested this week in a demonstration against Zimbabwe's notoriously homophobic President Robert Mugabe. Mugabe was visiting London on a brief shopping trip when the protesters jumped on his car. They said in a press release that they were attempting to make a citizen's arrest of Mugabe for his many human rights violations in Zimbabwe. London police viewed it differently. But Zimbabwe's own gays and lesbians took a more traditional approach to human rights this week, appearing before the Constitutional Commission. That body of about 400 has been holding public hearings around the country, seeking input for the first new national constitution since Zimbabwe gained independence in 1980. Only last week they had given a rather warm reception to an evangelical group which wanted criminalization of homosexuality and censorship of materials about it, enshrined in the constitution. But when three members of the group GALZ, Gays and Lesbians of Zimbabwe, came to testify, the delegates tried to drown them out with booing. Commission Chair Judge Godfrey Chiyausiku insisted that the gays had a right to a respectful hearing. Asking that the new constitution include a ban on anti-gay discrimination, Chesterfield Zamba said, "This is not a special right but just an acknowledgment of the existence of gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgendered people in Zimbabwe." Keith Goddard continued, "A sexual orientation clause in the new constitution does not mean the slippery slope down toward the acceptance of bestiality, or pedophilia, or sex in the streets or necrophilia or rape. We are asking for the recognition of consensual same-sex relations between two consenting adults in private." He said the civil rights protections would "end state prosecution and harassment" and help end homophobia and anti-gay hate crimes. Hate crimes were back in the headlines in the U.S. this week. President Bill Clinton mentioned the Hate Crimes Prevention Act, HCPA, in his veto message as he struck down a major spending bill it had been dropped from. The HCPA, among other provisions, would add "sexual orientation" as a category protected under federal hate crimes law. The Senate had attached it as a rider to the Commerce-State-Justice Appropriations bill, but the House did not, and a House-Senate conference committee dropped HCPA from the compromise bill. Most considered the bill to be dead for the year at that point, but there are some indications that the President might fight harder for it than had been expected. Trial proceedings began this week against Aaron McKinney for last year's bashing murder of gay University of Wyoming student Matthew Shepard. The prosecution presented its complete case in about four days, describing how McKinney and his friend Russell Henderson met up with Shepard at a Laramie bar, tied him to a fence outside of town, and brutally pistol-whipped him. Henderson already made a plea bargain and is serving two life sentences. McKinney could face the death penalty if the jury decides either that the murder was premeditated or that it occurred in the course of the robbery and kidnapping he's also charged with. The defense is not contesting that McKinney struck the fatal blows, but is trying to convince the jury that he acted in the heat of the moment, and should only be convicted of manslaughter. To do that, they are using a version of what's known as the "homosexual panic" defense -- that Shepard made a sexual advance to McKinney that triggered a few minutes of uncontrollable rage, because of McKinney's own history of sexual abuse and his use of alcohol and methamphetamine. Despite months of pre-trial conferences, this defense strategy came as a surprise to Judge Barton Voigt, who demanded that McKinney's attorneys provide legal justification for it. The case is expected to last another three weeks. On a happier note, French lesbian Amelie Mauresmo has won her first tournament on the Women's Tennis Association professional tour. It was the first WTA event ever held in Slovakia, the Eurotel Slovak Indoor held in Bratislava. It was quite a small tournament by WTA standards; Mauresmo, ranked number 11 in the world, was top seed and her prize was only $16,000. But it's still a career landmark for the 20-year-old in her second year on the pro tour. She holds the unique distinction of having beaten two different number-one-ranked players in major tournaments in a single season. And finally ... after winning a trophy in each of the first four years of Britain's National Television Awards, it looked like open gay Michael Barrymore might be going home empty-handed this week despite his nominations in three categories. But as it turned out, it was his night, as his colleagues presented the game show host with a videotaped tribute and a Special Recognition Award. Barrymore has faced personal challenges with his coming out, his divorce, and a long estrangement from his mother, who was there to see him take his award for the first time. His usual exuberance briefly choked with tears, Barrymore accepted his honor saying humbly, "I thought only the good boys and girls got these things."