NewsWrap for the week ending February 26, 2000 (As broadcast on This Way Out program #622, distributed 02-28-00) [Written by Cindy Friedman, Lucia Chappelle and Greg Gordon, with thanks to Graham Underhill, Chris Ambidge, Martin Rice, Brian Nunes, Jason Lin, and Rex Wockner] Anchored by Josy Catoggio and Greg Gordon Fiji's change in administration has turned out not to be any change at all when it comes to the rights of the island's gays and lesbians. Last year the Opposition was defending the constitutional rights of lesbians and gays, but now that they are in power they're moving fast to eliminate those rights. The constitution ratified in July 1998 promises explicitly that no one may be "unfairly discriminated against, directly or indirectly, on the ground of his or her ... sexual orientation." But Attorney General Anand Singh has now said that it's "a mystery" how sexual orientation came to be included in the constitution at all. Last week Prime Minister Mahendra Chaudhry introduced a bill to delete "sexual orientation," define marriage in heterosexual terms only, and to make sodomy a criminal offense. Fiji's Human Rights Commission denounced the government's bill, particularly the sodomy section, as violating privacy rights under the nation's constitution and the Universal Declaration Of Human Rights. Human rights and gay and lesbian groups in the islands are lobbying hard against the bill, even though the power of the church makes it unsafe to go public. The suspect in three London nail-bombings in April 1999 that injured well over 100 people, including the bombing of Soho's gay Admiral Duncan Pub that killed three, pleaded guilty this week to three counts of "causing an explosion with intent to endanger life." On the three charges of murder, 23-year-old David Copeland said, "not guilty to murder but guilty to manslaughter," as his defense is claiming diminished responsibility. The case has been repeatedly extended for continued psychiatric testing. The prosecution was not prepared to accept Copeland's pleas, and another preliminary hearing has been scheduled for March 29; the actual trial is scheduled to begin June 4. The first bomb exploded April 17 in Brixton, a primarily Afro-Caribbean neighborhood, injuring 39 people. The second blast came April 24 in Brick Lane, the heart of London's Bangladeshi community, injuring seven people. The third was April 30, a Friday evening when Soho was at its busiest, creating a scene of absolute carnage at the Admiral Duncan. In addition to the three deaths, more than eighty people were injured, some requiring amputations to save their lives. Although several extremist groups claimed responsibility for the bombs at the time, police maintain that Copeland acted entirely alone. Edson Neris da Silva, who was fatally bashed by a gang of skinheads in a Sao Paulo Park February 6, is being referred to as Brazil's Matthew Shepard for the activism his death has inspired. The large candlelight vigil a week later was only the first in a series of demonstrations in both Sao Paulo and Rio De Janeiro to keep the incident from being forgotten. According to the Sao Paulo-based Diversity Association, at least two state-level bills have been drafted since the attack on da Silva to apply harsher penalties for homophobic hate crimes. A Pima County grand jury has indicted Gary Grayson on three felony counts in the stabbing of a gay University of Arizona student earlier this month, including attempted first degree murder. The Pima County attorney's office said that prosecutors will invoke Arizona's hate crimes statute, which was already invoked in the pretrial report and will be part of the prosecutor's presentencing report. Witnesses say during the attack Grayson shouted, "Jesus hates fags, and this is what all fags deserve." The Canadian government's omnibus bill to amend over 60 federal statutes to recognize same-gender couples passed another hurdle this week. Parliament overwhelmingly approved the bill on its second reading and sent it on to a committee for hearings. It seems clear now that opposition from the Reform Party and from more than a dozen dissidents among the ruling Liberal Party will not be enough to stop the measure, which was inspired by the Canadian Supreme Court's ruling in a lesbian separation case last year. The proposed law would give same-gender Canadian couples legal status equal to that of unmarried heterosexual couples. Both houses of the South Dakota state legislature have approved a bill to deny legal recognition to same-gender marriages from out-of-state, if there ever are any. In fact, the bill, which is expected to be signed into law by Governor Janklow, states that South Dakota will recognize any legal marriage performed outside the state except for those between two persons of the same gender. The state prohibited gay and lesbian marriages in 1996, but House Speaker Roger Hunt and the South Dakota Family Policy Council were spurred to further action by the possibility of same-gender marriages in Vermont following that state's Supreme Court ruling in December that same-gender couples there must be granted all the benefits of marriage that heterosexual couples enjoy. Colorado's House of Representatives gave its final approval this week on a bill that would also deny legal recognition to same-gender marriages another state may someday perform. The Colorado Senate already passed a similar measure, and Governor Bill Owens has promised to sign the bill into law. Some 30 U.S. states have enacted similar measures. The Presidential primary campaign of Republican Senator John McCain has hit California, and shortly after his arrival he announced his support for Proposition 22, the so-called Knight Initiative to deny legal recognition to same-gender marriages performed in another state. McCain said that his support for the ballot measure was consistent with his opposition to same-gender marriages. McCain also pointed to his meeting with the gay and lesbian Log Cabin Republicans as evidence of his interest in broad support -- although he added that he certainly doesn't accept Log Cabin's whole agenda. While Log Cabin has generally embraced McCain's candidacy, it's hard to find any concerns on the lesbigay Republican agenda that he does accept. Log Cabin Executive Director Rich Tafel said the organization has "a profound disagreement" with McCain on the Knight Initiative, noting that many moderate California Republicans have come out against the measure. With less than 2 weeks before the March elections, the latest polls show support for Proposition 22 among likely California voters holding steady by a 52-to-39 percent margin. Meanwhile, the Vermont House Judiciary Committee, charged with implementing the state Supreme Court ruling, continued its work this week on drafting a politically-acceptable domestic partnership measure that would provide equal marriage benefits -- in all but name -- to Vermont’s same-gender couples. The Utah House of Representatives has voted overwhelmingly to deny both public and private adoptions to any household with an adult not related to the adoptive parent by marriage, blood or adoption -- effectively shutting out both same-gender and unmarried heterosexual couples. An essentially identical bill was passed by the Utah Senate last week. Even though Governor Mike Leavitt has been actively campaigning to increase the state's woefully inadequate number of adoptive and foster placements, he’s expected to sign this additional restriction into law. The bill was based on Utah's Department of Children and Family Services's current policy, which is already being challenged in court. In Mississippi, a House subcommittee has also passed a bill to prohibit adoptions by same-gender couples -- but it goes further by denying legal recognition to adoptions by gay and lesbian couples granted in other states. The bill is scheduled to be taken up by the full committee in the coming week. Its chances of enactment are considered strong. In Maine, a bill for the November ballot that would put the addition of "sexual orientation" as a protected category under the state's Human Rights Act cleared its first hurdle this week. The House-Senate Judiciary Committee approved the measure that would have the voters okay the prohibition of discrimination in employment, housing, public accommodations, and credit. It was a contentious meeting and the vote was close. Exemptions for religious groups and church-managed charitable organizations were added to win the endorsement of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Portland -- and presumably a larger share of the popular vote. However, the move also turned three committee members who support civil rights against the bill because the exemptions would allow job discrimination at church-related services such as day care centers and hospitals. In Ferndale, Michigan, an anti-discrimination ordinance passed by the city council in September was repealed at the polls this week by about one hundred votes. The council had included a long list of protected categories in the Human Rights Ordinance, but lesbians and gays were the target of the repeal campaign led by former mayor and councilmember Robert Paczkowski, the only dissenting vote in September. After leaving the council, he led the petition drive, supported by the anti-gay American Family Association, that put the repeal measure on the ballot. Craig Covey, a gay man who was elected to the Ferndale City Council after the ordinance was approved, is looking ahead to try again in about two years. And finally ... Martin Pfeiffer and Leslie Spillman have taken a lot of abuse trying to start a Gay Straight Alliance at their Baton Rouge, Louisiana high school. McKinley High Principal Almenia Freeman Warren initially rejected their request, but it was later discovered that the School Board had no policies that would prohibit the club. Then the Board got advice from the anti-gay Family Research Council on how to construct guidelines that might legally prohibit the club. Last week Pfeiffer and Spillman were hounded out of school by student demonstrators who oppose the Gay Straight Alliance. Despite it all, they’ve resubmitted their proposal. Warren says she has now learned more about the Equal Access Act, which requires that schools receiving federal funds allow clubs to meet without discrimination based on their content. While the Gay Straight Alliance’s application hasn’t been officially approved yet, Warren has said that the club can start if it follows the law and new school system rules. Pfeiffer and Spillman say they hope the group will be able to meet before the school year ends.