NewsWrap for the week ending October 6, 2001 (As broadcast on This Way Out program #706, distributed 10-08-01) [Written by Cindy Friedman, with thanks to Graham Underhill, Chris Ambidge, Brian Nunes, Jason Lin, Rex Wockner, and Greg Gordon] Anchored by Cindy Friedman and Christopher Gaal A court in the Canadian province of British Columbia this week rejected a lawsuit seeking equal marriage rights for gay and lesbian couples. The constitutional challenge was brought by eight same-gender couples with the support of the national group EGALE, Equality for Gays and Lesbians Everywhere. Justice Ian Pitfield ruled that the sweeping impact of striking down the common-law definition of marriage as between a man and a woman dictated that any such change should come through federal legislation rather than the courts. But he also declared that denying legal marriage to gay and lesbian couples is discriminatory, a statement believed to be the first of its kind by any Canadian court. However, he believes that discrimination is justified by marriage's role as an institution for child-rearing. He wrote that, "The gain to society from the preservation of the deep-rooted and fundamental legal institution of opposite-sex marriage outweighs the detrimental effect of the law on the petitioners." The judge noted that gay and lesbian couples have already gained almost all the legal rights and responsibilities of married couples, thanks to a ruling by the Supreme Court of Canada and provincial legislation in BC. The plaintiff couples intend to take their case next to the BC Court of Appeals. Similar lawsuits are scheduled to be heard in November in Ontario and Quebec. A U.S. federal appeals court last month upheld San Francisco's pioneering Equal Benefits Ordinance. That significant legal victory for gay and lesbian couples was not widely reported because the ruling was delivered on the day of the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. In 1997 San Francisco became the first city in the U.S. to require its contractors to extend the same benefits to unmarried employees' registered domestic partners that they offer their legally married employees' spouses. While hundreds of contractors complied with the law, the Air Transport Association challenged it on behalf of air carriers contracting for use of San Francisco International Airport. Previously, a federal trial court had found that federal laws regulating the airline industry took precedence over the city's law for purposes of so-called "economic benefits," including health care and pensions. But the trial court had also found that the air carriers must comply with the city ordinance for so-called "non-economic benefits" such as bereavement leave and spousal fare discounts. The airlines appealed that part of the ruling, hoping to avoid having to comply with disparate local ordinances in the various cities they serve, but the 9th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals upheld it in a 2-to-1 ruling. Los Angeles and Seattle followed San Francisco in requiring city contractors to treat employees' domestic partners as spouses, and a similar measure was introduced this week in Atlanta, Georgia. Broward County, Florida gives preference points to bidders extending spousal health care benefits to employees' domestic partners. Despite the federal appeal, almost every U.S. airline has by now extended full spousal benefits to its employees' same-gender partners, and they're hardly alone. The Human Rights Campaign reported this week that more than 700 U.S. employers extended spousal benefits to the partners of their gay and lesbian employees in the year ending August 2001. That brought the total to almost 4,300 -- including 145 of the Fortune 500 companies -- with an increase for the year of 20%. From 1999 to 2001, the increase was 50%. One recent landmark was the New Orleans City Council's unanimous decision in September to extend domestic partner benefits to city workers. But that doesn't mean the benefits are no longer controversial. Sedgwick County had announced last week that it was to become the first county in Kansas to extend them to its unmarried employees beginning October 1st. But this week, the County Commission this week unanimously voted down the move by the County Manager, citing numerous complaints from residents. Two U.S. cities have joined the ranks of those prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation. Last week, the Bangor, Maine City Council voted 8-to-1 to prohibit sexual orientation discrimination in housing, employment, education, credit, and public accommodations. Those who feel they've experienced discrimination are empowered to file civil lawsuits. Religious groups are exempt. This week, the Normal, Illinois City Council voted 5-to-2 before a capacity crowd to add "sexual orientation" as a protected category under the city's Human Relations Ordinance. The ordinance prohibits discrimination in housing and employment, with an exemption for religious organizations in the course of "carrying out or furthering the[ir] religious activities." Those who feel they've experienced discrimination can complain to the city's Human Relations Commission. But The September 11th attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon are significantly impacting the progress of gay and lesbian civil rights in the U.S. After years of observing National Coming Out Day on October 11th, the national Human Rights Campaign has cancelled any national event because the date marks the one-month anniversary of the attacks. Instead, individuals are encouraged "to honor and assist those gay/lesbian/bisexual/transgender Americans who have been affected by the terrorist attacks." And on Capitol Hill, gay-supportive U.S. Senator Ted Kennedy cancelled a hearing scheduled for this week on the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, or ENDA. Kennedy said that both ENDA and a measure to empower the federal government to prosecute anti-gay hate crimes have been shelved until next year. The move is hardly unique -- the federal government has postponed almost all domestic issues not relating to anti-terrorism and relief efforts. The U.S. Navy this week followed the Air Force in temporarily suspending most administrative discharges -- but not those relating to the so-called "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy on gay and lesbian servicemembers. The so-called "stop loss" policy is intended to maximize the number of personnel available for combat. The specific exclusion of so-called "gay discharges" from the Navy and Air Force policies differs from all the stop loss policies issued from late World War II through the Gulf War. The Bush administration's appointment of open gay Michael Guest to serve as ambassador to Romania has ignited considerable debate there. Two conservative Romanian nationalist groups, the Cradle of Romania party and the League for Combating Anti-Romanian Manifestations, wrote to Washington and to the Romanian press expressing "disgust" at the appointment and calling it an "affront to Romanian traditions". But Romania's Ministry of Foreign Affairs responded this week with a statement that "intolerance and questioning someone's private life ... are not at all characteristics of the Romanian people ... [and] are against the values of democracy, human rights and individual freedom." The Romanian ambassador to the U.S., Sorin Ducaru, called Guest "a highly respected diplomat," affirmed that his government had been aware of Guest's orientation well before his confirmation but had not viewed it as an issue, and had issued visas to both Guest and his partner Alex Navarez. Romania's national leadership has been struggling for years against homophobic nationalist sentiment to bring its laws up to the European Union's standard of equal treatment for gays and lesbians. The Council of Europe's executive body has issued a statement in support of gay and lesbian civil rights for the first time in the half-century since the Council's founding. The Committee of Ministers, composed of the foreign ministers of 43 nations, said in a statement that "Homosexuality can still give rise to powerful cultural reactions in some societies or sectors thereof, but this is not a valid reason for governments to remain passive. On the contrary, this fact only underlines the need to promote greater tolerance in matters of sexual orientation." Leaders of ILGA, the International Lesbian and Gay Association, called it a "strong" statement given the number and diversity of countries involved, and noted that, "Never before have so many governments joined in attacking homophobia." And this week the annual conference of Europe's liberal parties, ELDR, unanimously adopted a resolution calling for equal marriage rights for gay and lesbian couples. The resolution was proposed by the Netherlands' D66 party and included an amendment by Belgium's VLD party explicitly calling for equal parental rights. New Zealand's Georgina Beyer -- the world's first openly transsexual Member of Parliament and previously the world's first transsexual mayor -- has decided to stay in politics after all. In April she'd said she would not run for reelection when her current term in Parliament ended. But the leaders of her Labour Party worked hard to convince her to continue, particularly since she represents a traditionally conservative rural district. Beyer said, "It's a woman's right to change her mind, isn't it?" And finally... Korean transwoman Ha Ri-su made a triumphant homecoming to the all-male high school she graduated from six years ago. Earlier this year Ha -- a model, actress and singer -- became the first transsexual ever to appear in a commercial on Korean TV, and brought the nation's dialog on gender issues to a new level. The students of her alma mater, Naksaeng High School in Seongnam, voted her the public figure they most wanted to meet. They cheered as she sang at the school's annual festival, moving Ha so deeply that she contributed 10-million won to the school's scholarship fund.