NewsWrap for the week ending August 26, 2000 (As broadcast on This Way Out program #648, distributed 08-28-00) [Written by Lucia Chappelle, with thanks to Andres Duque, Graham Underhill, Chris Ambidge, Brian Nunes, Jason Lin, Rex Wockner, Greg Gordon & Cindy Friedman] Anchored by Cindy Friedman and Chase Schulte Saturday night festivities at Cape Town's The Bronx gay bar turned to terror when a car bomb exploded outside, shattering windows and injuring five people. None of the injuries were considered serious. It's Cape Town’s second bombing of a gay bar in less than a year, following the November blast at the nearby Blah bar. But it's not only a problem for gays -- the Western Cape has suffered a total of sixteen bombings in the last two years. Police have had little success in identifying perpetrators, although right-wing vigilantism is widely suspected. Ronald Louw of South Africa's National Coalition for Gay and Lesbian Equality said, "It would be short-sighted of the gay community to feel that we are the targets, when there have been so many bombs not directed at gay venues. ... This shows a need for all communities to work together to find the culprits, not to withdraw into our little cliques." A statement from Annie Leatt, director of the Triangle Project, called on "all the people of Cape Town to reject the reactionary forces and hate that lie behind this act," but cautioned the gay community "to be extra vigilant and aware so that we can protect our community from acts of violence such as these." Violence drove a young Mexican gay man whose gender presentation is feminine to flee to the U.S., where this week he was finally granted asylum by a federal appeals court in California. Geovanni Hernandez-Montiel, now 21 years old, had been ejected from school, forced to undergo so-called "conversion" therapy, thrown out by his family, assaulted by strangers so badly that he required hospitalization, and continually harassed, detained and beaten by police, who also twice sexually assaulted him. When Hernandez-Montiel filed for asylum in the U.S. in 1995, the immigration judge accepted that he had been persecuted, but believed Hernandez-Montiel could avoid that persecution if he simply changed his feminine dress and manners. The Board of Immigration Appeals agreed that Hernandez-Montiel was persecuted not for his homosexual orientation but for his gender presentation, which it also believed he could change. But this week the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals threw out those rulings, stating that, "This case is about sexual identity, not fashion." The court accepted that Hernandez-Montiel's "female sexual identity is immutable because it is inherent in his identity; in any event, he should not be required to change it." Transsexual attorney Shannon Minter of the National Center for Lesbian Rights called it "a groundbreaking decision" and "a powerful recognition of the links between sexual orientation and gender identity." Although the U.S. has granted asylum from homophobic persecution since 1990, this was the first time a federal court affirmed that practice, and the first asylum case in which a federal court recognized sexual orientation as an "immutable characteristic." But while Hernandez-Montiel has found a haven in the U.S., there's a new outrage for his compatriots back in Mexico. By a decision of the city council of Aguascalientes, the Ojo Caliente beach has been posted with a sign prohibiting access "to dogs and homosexuals." The city's Director of Regulations Jorge Alvarez Medina confirmed to "La Jornada" newspaper that as long as he holds his post, he "will not allow access to homosexuals." The exclusionary policy was strongly denounced by leaders of two mainstream community organizations -- the Council of Non-Governmental Organizations of Aguascalientes and Hagamos Juntos un Pueblo Nuevo, or Let's Make a New Town Together. They attributed this and other local anti-gay actions to the power of the right-wing PAN political party in Aguascalientes, and said that similar situations are occurring in other PAN-controlled municipalities. Exclusion of gays from the Boy Scouts of America was protested with coordinated demonstrations in 36 cities in 21 U.S. states this week. The National Day of Protest was organized by Steven Cozza, a non-gay 15-year-old who has already been protesting the Scouts' discriminatory policy for more than three years, and who recently resigned from Scouting after earning Eagle rank. His Internet-based organization Scouting for All has collected nearly 55,000 signatures on a petition to change the national policy, and he went to the Scouts' national headquarters in Irving, Texas to deliver them. He had hoped to arrange a meeting with Scouting's national leadership, but instead was turned away by a security guard. A secretarial worker promised to pass along the petitions. Most of the demonstrations held outside regional Boy Scouts councils across the country were quite small -- one of the largest was in Bloomington, Indiana, with about 100 protesters. But the point is being made -- local governments, United Way charity boards and even major corporations across the U.S. are reconsidering their policies on supporting a group that discriminates. But on the television phenomenon of the year, the one man who was never "voted off the island" is the one open gay. Before a viewing audience of 58-million people -- 6-1/2-million in Canada -- Richard Hatch became the million-dollar winner of the so-called reality show "Survivor". To win, he had to "outlast, outwit and outplay" fifteen other contestants on a sparsely-equipped island off Borneo for 39 days. And he did. A management trainer, Hatch went in with his eyes on the prize and quickly developed a voting alliance that systematically eliminated the competition, while others took weeks to recognize that the politics of the situation were the key to victory. Hatch's three voting allies all ended up in the money-winning "final four" with him. While Hatch's gamesmanship made him unquestionably the star of the show as well as its winner, he was portrayed throughout as a scheming villain, and was hissed and booed by non-gay audiences everywhere. Immediately after the last seven outcasts voted 4-to-3 to give him the victory over runner-up Kelly Wiglesworth, a telephone vote showed viewers disagreeing by more than 2-to-1. Aside from his strategy, Hatch distinguished himself as a uniquely successful spear fisherman and an enthusiastic naturist who spent much of his time on the island unclothed. Asked on the "Survivors Reunion" program what he would do with his million dollars, Hatch said: Richard Hatch: "There are a couple of things I've wanted to do, uh... one main thing is to start an outdoor adventure program for troubled teens, something like I went on when I was 18 years old, and (applause)... it's a goal that I've had for a long time." Hatch also won a sports utility vehicle, a year-long endorsements contract with Reebok, and a remarkable measure of celebrity. Celebrity lesbian couple Ellen DeGeneres and Anne Heche shocked the world announcing their breakup. There’s been no further word from either one in the week since they released a joint statement saying, "Unfortunately we have decided to end our relationship. It is an amicable parting, and we greatly value the 3 1/2 years we have spent together. We hope everyone will respect our privacy through this difficult time." But that was not to be, because of a peculiar incident involving Heche on the same day. She appeared at the door of a private residence in rural Fresno County, California. Luckily it was the home of a fan of Heche’s movie "6 Days, 7 Nights" with Harrison Ford, who welcomed her. Heche made herself quite at home, taking a shower, borrowing a pair of slippers, asking to watch a video, and showing no sing of leaving. Apparently her car had run out of gay and she’d walked about a mile and a half to the house. The fan said Heche showed no sign of illness or intoxication, but the fan called sheriffs to help. One deputy wrote that Heche said she was God and would take everyone to heaven in a spaceship. The sheriffs took her to a hospital where she was examined and released. Heche arrived in Toronto for a movie shoot as planned, just a little later than scheduled. The film’s director Mark Burg told reporters she is working and happy, attributing the strange interlude to sunstroke. A bit of show biz sparked much controversy in Australia this week. Word leaked out that plans for the closing ceremonies at the upcoming Olympic Games in Sydney would include men in drag, causing religious right leaders and talk show callers to sputter in rage. Olympics Minister Michael Knight explained that part of the massive celebration was a salute to Australian cinema, and that the drag queens would be re-enacting scenes from "Priscilla, Queen of the Desert". That 1994 cult classic is second only to "Crocodile Dundee" as the top-grossing Australian-made film of all time. Anywhere from forty to two hundred men will be involved, some wearing the Oscar-winning original costumes from the film. Conservatives were less than impressed by this explanation, but the Sydney Olympics organizing committee has already approved the show, and ceremonies director Ric Birch has no intention whatever of changing it. Sydney's drag entertainers are thrilled by the opportunity for what they believe to be the first representation of gays at the Olympic Games. And finally... At a Los Angeles Dodgers baseball game this month, at least two couples in the stands celebrated the home team's home runs with affectionate kisses. But while no one thought twice about the heterosexual couple's smooches, someone complained to stadium security about "lewd behavior" because of the identical actions of lesbian couple Meredith Kott and Danielle Goldey. They were quickly surrounded by security guards, ejected from the stadium without even being allowed to collect their own belongings, and told never to "set foot back on the premises." This was devastating and heartbreaking for the two lifelong fans, and they engaged a lawyer to sue the ballclub for discrimination. But Dodgers president Bob Graziano met with them to work out a settlement instead, and part of that agreement was that he make a public apology: Dodgers President Bob Graziano: "Meredith and Danielle, I'm sorry that you weren't allowed to return to your seats, that troubled me a lot ... on one of the flyers that I saw being circulated, it says, 'It's Our Stadium Too!' -- it is your stadium, too, it's everybody’s stadium, and everybody should feel welcome at the stadium." The Dodgers will also be donating 5,000 tickets to games next season to gay and lesbian organizations.