NewsWrap for the week ending September 21, 2002 (As broadcast on This Way Out program #756, distributed 9-23-02) [Written by Cindy Friedman, with thanks to Graham Underhill, Chris Ambidge, Brian Nunes, Jason Lin, Rex Wockner, Lucia Chappelle & Greg Gordon] Anchored by Jon Beaupré & Cindy Friedman In Canada's continuing struggle over equal marriage rights for gays and lesbians, the Government has revealed the basis for its appeal of an Ontario court ruling supporting them. The Justice Ministry's brief to the provincial appellate court describes a "core opposite sex requirement" for marriage based on "long-held societal views that are rooted in religion, history and anthropology" in which "the fundamental objective ... of marriage has been the uniting of the two opposite sexes for the purpose of procreation, the raising of children from the marriage[,] and companionship." The procreation argument ignores sizeable number of both gay and lesbian parents and of infertile heterosexual marriages. The leader of Canada's national Conservative Party, Joe Clark, this week declared his personal belief that "rights related to marriage ... should be available to all individuals," and said he was surprised that the ruling Liberal Party is appealing the Ontario decision. Clark said he would vote to amend federal law to open marriage to same-gender couples, but that his fellow Tories would be allowed to vote their consciences on the issue since some "have a sharply different view". Events in Canada sparked a warning this week from outgoing Archbishop of Canterbury Dr. George Carey, head of the 70-million-member global Anglican Communion. Carey specifically criticized the bishop of the Vancouver-area New Westminster diocese which has voted to celebrate gay and lesbian union ceremonies, as he labeled the denomination's division on gay and lesbian issues a "crisis" that could lead to schism. Carey was making his farewell address to the Anglican Consultative Council at its triennial meeting in Hong Kong when he described the split between liberals and traditionalists on sexuality issues as his "greatest worry". He criticized liberal bishops for local actions contradicting the positions agreed to by an "overwhelming" majority in the global church, while praising anti-gay conservatives as "conscientious" clergy. Bishop Michael Ingham questioned the ethics of Carey's remarks and declared that his New Westminster diocese "believes that Christ died for all humanity and that the unity of the Church cannot be built on unjust discrimination against minorities such as homosexual Christians. I regret that the Archbishop's remarks will confirm and deepen the impression that he has not heard the cry of these, his own children in the Church. Until all voices are heard, the unity we all seek will remain elusive." While the Church of England may be troubled by gay and lesbian relationships, secular Britain seems increasingly ready to recognize them. This week the Leeds city Council agreed to create the U.K.'s fourth domestic partnership registry and the first in Yorkshire. Unmarried couples regardless of gender will be able to register their relationships beginning in January, although it will not bring them any legal status. In Australia, sweeping equality reforms -- including recognition of same-gender couples -- that were approved in the state of West Australia last year, finally went into effect with a proclamation this week. West Australia had been lagging woefully behind most of the nation in age of consent and civil rights protections, but is now a leader on parenting and partnership issues. Not resting on its laurels with the success of those controversial reforms, West Australia's Australian Labor Party Government last week introduced another omnibus bill to update and equalize more than 70 state laws affecting relationships, notably extending gay and lesbian couples' rights to compensation for a partner's injury or death, and giving them spousal status with respect to medical treatment. Attorney General Jim McGinty said the measure would also treat so-called de facto couples like married ones with respect to such corporate issues as financial disclosure, land tax assessments, and eligibility for related government benefits. While Peru's Congress has opened debate on amending the national constitution -- with activists lobbying hard to add explicit civil rights protections for gays and lesbians -- students at Lima's Pontifical Catholic University are protesting an anti-gay pamphlet the school is distributing. The booklet entitled "Sexual Identity: Is It Possible to Choose?" describes homosexuality as a curable illness, with celibacy the only healthy option for those gays or lesbians who won't or can't change. The document was prepared and distributed at the request of University Chancellor Cardinal Juan Luis Cipriani, Archbishop of Lima, but even the Catholic University Student Federation condemned it as violating "individual liberties and personal dignity." There are also reports that literature distributed by the school's counseling center that failed to describe homosexuality as an aberration has been removed. Iran's government has moved to censor a book considering homosexual themes in historic Persian literature. Even though author Cyrus Shamisa's book "Shahed-Bazi" -- "Witness Play" -- won initial approval from the Ministry of Culture, this week the judiciary ordered the publisher to collect all copies and stop its sale. But in the U.S., there was a free speech victory this week for Oklahoma City gays and lesbians. The Cimarron Alliance Foundation sued the city last year when its application to hang Gay and Lesbian History Month banners on city lampposts was denied, under an ordinance against using that medium for "social advocacy". The ordinance had been enacted after the city received complaints about 2001 Gay and Lesbian Pride Parade banners. This week a federal court struck down the ordinance as overly vague and an infringement on free speech, and found that Cimarron is entitled to both damages and court costs to be paid by Oklahoma City. Another U.S. federal court issued a blow to transgenders this week, in the closely-watched case of a heterosexual Louisiana man fired by grocery giant Winn-Dixie for occasional cross-dressing outside working hours. The case of Peter Oiler had seemed particularly clear-cut because of his exemplary work record -- even Winn-Dixie did not contest that it was solely his personal life that led to his termination. But U.S. District Judge Lance Africk found that federal laws prohibiting discrimination based on sex do not protect transgenders, citing 31 failed attempts in Congress to amend the law to cover sexual orientation. The American Civil Liberties Union, representing Oiler, cited 15 years of court rulings viewing the civil rights law as prohibiting discrimination based on nonconformity with gender stereotypes, and Oiler noted that Winn-Dixie had not fired three women who wore male clothing at work. But to the judge, the women's situation was different since they did not "impersonate men," "adopt masculine personas" or have "gender identity disorders"; he wrote that, "This is not just a matter of an employee of one sex exhibiting characteristics associated with the opposite sex; this is a matter of a person of one sex assuming the role of the person of the opposite sex." The ACLU is still considering whether to file an appeal. The Ohio Supreme Court gave a final rejection this week to an attempt to repeal at the ballot box domestic partner health benefits for gay and lesbian city workers in Cleveland Heights, the first city in the state to extend those benefits. The state's high court found unanimously that benefits opponents had failed to meet the city's requirement for signatures on a petition to place a repeal measure on the November ballot. While that leaves some gay and lesbian activists sighing with relief at one less referendum to fight in November, others are sighing with regret at results of some votes last week. Arizona state Representative Steve May -- who gained national visibility as both a high-ranking openly gay Republican elected official and as a high-profile victim of the military's so-called "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy -- has officially lost his party's primary election by a scant 58 votes. Redistricting had put him in the unusual situation of opposing two fellow Republican incumbents. And finally... New York songwriter/producer Larry Dvoskin is out to create the first openly gay male country music star. He's put out a call for men ages 18 to 26 to join his Today Is the Future talent search, promising to launch the winner's career by producing his debut album. Dvoskin has the chops to make a star, having written songs for top names in pop and rock that over the last 3 years have garnered 3 Grammy nominations, four #1 rankings, and sales of 10-million copies. While k.d. lang may have been the first star in the genre to come out, Dvoskin said, "Lesbians are cool, but a gay male isn't. ... There are already major male country stars that are gay, but none dare to come out due to fear of the reaction." He himself expected a "firestorm" in response to his announcement but instead described reactions as "overwhelmingly enthusiastic." Dvoskin declared that, "It's time for a great leap of progress in country music. This will push the culture forward." So if you think you have the "extraordinary voice and musical ability" Dvoskin is looking for and feel ready to withstand what he calls "substantial scrutiny," you can e-mail him at todayisthefuture@aol.com.