NewsWrap for the week ending January 8, 2000 (As broadcast on This Way Out program #615, distributed 01-10-00) [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 Leo Garcia and Cindy Friedman A gay and lesbian group in Belgrade has made the Serbian government's "enemies list." Because the group known as Arkadija or the Homophobia in Serbia project has received foreign contributions, the Milosevic government suspects it of funneling funds to other groups engaged in an international conspiracy to "destroy the country." At the end of December, the group's executive director Dejan Nebrigic was found murdered in his apartment. Although his associates believe the motive was a personal rather than a political one, the judge investigating the case has used it as an opportunity to explore what he views as Arkadija's "seditious" activities. Arkadija did participate in the Belgrade Peace Movement. U.S. military service by gays and lesbians was back in the headlines this week, as a topic in a series of debates among Presidential hopefuls. First Vice President Al Gore and his rival for the Democratic nomination, former Senator Bill Bradley, met in New Hampshire. Both men strongly support allowing gays and lesbians to serve openly. At the end of the debate, moderator Peter Jennings of ABC asked Gore if he would make support for that policy a "litmus test" for appointments to the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Gore said, "I would insist, before appointing anybody to the Joint Chiefs of Staff, that that individual support my policy. And yes I would make that a requirement." That caused a great outcry in the media from former military leaders, almost all of them past supporters of the former ban on military service by gays and lesbians. They objected to putting an individual's political opinions above military expertise in making those appointments. Gore felt driven to "clarify" his response in a news conference two days after his remark. There he said, "I did not mean to imply that there should ever be any kind of inquiry into the personal opinions of officers in the U.S. military. What I meant to convey was, I would not tolerate, nor would any Commander-in-Chief, nor would any President, tolerate orders not being followed. I didn't use that term 'litmus test.'" This seemed to make Gore's position identical to that Bradley had stated at the debate, that he would expect military leaders to follow the President's orders. Gore's presumed litmus test also made waves at the first of several debates among the six Republican Presidential hopefuls, also held in New Hampshire. Front-runner Texas Governor George W. Bush declared, "I'm a 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' man." Asked if he would appoint anyone to the Joint Chiefs who supported military service by open gays and lesbians, he said simply, "No." That would amount to a litmus test in reverse. Bush's strongest challenger, war hero and U.S. Senator from Arizona John McCain, said the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy is working and he would not change it. He called Gore's apparent litmus test "disgraceful." McCain is the only Republican hopeful to have met with the gay and lesbian group Log Cabin Republicans, and accepted a $40,000 donation from them. At the other end of the Republican spectrum, the hopefuls from the religious right, Gary Bauer and Alan Keyes were outraged. Bauer described Gore's statement as "idiotic" and as "requiring the Joint Chiefs of Staff to answer the demands of the gay rights movement in order to serve this country." Keyes said, "I pledge as President of the United States that I will return to the ban on homosexuals in the military" and accused those who did not share this position of irresponsibility. Democrats’ recent criticism of "Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell" has been sparked in part by the July bashing murder at Fort Campbell, Kentucky of Private First Class Barry Winchell, who was believed by his co-workers to be gay. Private Calvin Glover was convicted of Winchell’s premeditated murder. Winchell’s roommate Specialist Justin Fisher this week agreed to a plea-bargain as his court martial was about to begin. Originally charged for urging Glover to attack Winchell and as an accessory after the fact, Fisher pleaded guilty to obstructing the investigation by lying and by wiping the blood off the baseball bat Glover used to bash the sleeping Winchell. Fisher could face a maximum sentence of 20 years. Maine activists were excited to announce this week that the Roman Catholic diocese of Portland is endorsing their proposed initiative to add sexual orientation as a protected category under the state's human rights law. In 1997, the state's lawmakers had done just that, but a so-called "people's veto" repeal initiative struck down the law in a close vote in a special election. Governor Angus King has actively supported civil rights protections for gays and lesbians, but now insists on a referendum for such a law in order to "make it stick." Supporters are confident that the state legislature will agree to place the question on the November 2000 ballot, where King and others believe the larger turnout for a Presidential election will approve the civil rights measure. Although the Portland diocese negotiated amendments to the proposal that would seem to respond to each concern opponents had raised, the groups that sponsored the repeal -- the Christian Civic League and Christian Coalition of Maine -- still intend to campaign against the measure. In nearby Vermont, the state legislature opened this week, tasked by the state Supreme Court with giving gay and lesbian couples all the benefits of legal marriage. The House Judiciary Committee will begin work in the coming week and plans in the course of two weeks to decide whether to create domestic partnerships or to extend the existing marriage law to include same-gender couples. Although the first reaction of many legislators had been to go with domestic partnerships, some leading lawmakers are urging that equal marriage rights be given full consideration. The Vermont Freedom to Marry Action Committee has hired two lobbying firms to push for same-gender marriage. In an unusual move, Vermont activists have asked that those who live outside the state not contact the Governor or legislature, because so many calls have come in that lawmakers are becoming annoyed. California's new statewide domestic partnership registry opened with the new year and 71 couples signed up the first day. The only state to have established a similar registry is Hawai'i, although several states offer domestic partner benefits to their own employees. California's registry is limited to same-gender couples and to heterosexual couples over the age of 62. Registry qualifies state workers for domestic partner benefits and makes it possible for local governments using the state's benefits system to extend those benefits as well. For other couples, the only tangible benefits are a certificate and recognition as a family member for purposes of hospital visitation. Some of the registries in a dozen cities and four counties in California offer more, but activists hope that more benefits can be added to the statewide registry in the future. Belgium's new domestic partnerships also went into effect with the new year. The so-called Statutory Cohabitation Contracts are open to all couples, regardless of gender or sexual relationship. Like the California registry, the Belgian contracts are almost entirely symbolic, with the law detailing at length what they do not do. Couples can develop their own separate binding legal agreements regarding their mutual responsibilities, but these do not win them government recognition for purposes of any legal or financial benefits enjoyed by married couples. In Kenya, a local magistrate has approved a divorce between two women. Despite President Daniel arap Moi's claims that same-gender relationships are "against African tradition," the Kisii people of southwestern Kenya have a tradition allowing a post-menopausal widow with no sons to marry a young woman in order to produce an heir. That's because Kisii women have no inheritance rights and cannot continue their family line. So when elderly Nyoero Ongori's husband died, she married young Mary Orang'o, expecting by tradition to dictate what man would father their child. But in their eight years of marriage, Ongori charges, Orang'o "beat me up, beat my daughters and never brought a son to the house." When village elders failed to resolve this situation, Ongori went to the civil magistrate, who signed a certificate of divorce and ordered Orang'o out of the house. However, the legal status of the divorce may be in dispute, since Kenya does not recognize same-gender marriages. In fact, the national sodomy law, while not enforced, provides for a 14-year prison sentence. And finally, the Indian town of Katni by an overwhelming margin has elected a "hijra" mayor. The hijras are considered a third gender with their own institutionalized social role, and include castrated men, hermaphrodites, transgenders, and effeminate gay men. Newly elected mayor Kamla Jaan reportedly campaigned with the message that since both male and female politicians had failed the voters, it was time to give a hijra a chance. -----------> immediately following "NewsWrap" outro: <---------- Updating our "NewsWrap" story, a military court has sentenced Army Specialist Justin Fisher to 12-1/2 years in prison following his plea bargain to reduced charges in the beating death of Private Barry Winchell at Fort Campbell, Kentucky. Winchell’s mother and stepfather denounced the deal, saying that they couldn’t understand why the most serious of the charges against Fisher had been dropped as part of the plea bargain. C. Dixon Osburn, co-executive director of the Service Members Legal Defense Network called the sentence "a travesty". "We're left with huge questions about why Ft. Campbell cut this deal," he said. According to Osburn, Fisher will be eligible for parole in about four years.