NewsWrap for the week ending January 10, 2004 (As broadcast on This Way Out program #824, distributed 1-12-04) [Written by Cindy Friedman, with thanks to Graham Underhill, Fenceberry, Rex Wockner, and Greg Gordon] Anchored this week by Christopher Gaal and Cindy Friedman Transsexuals won marriage rights throughout the European Union with a ruling this week by the EU's highest court, the European Court of Justice in Brussels. The European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg had previously upheld transsexuals' right to marry a partner of the gender opposite their own self-identified one. The case before the Court of Justice was that of a British female nurse known as "KB", whose transman partner known as "R" cannot receive spousal survivor benefits in event of her death because they cannot marry. KB has been contributing to her pension fund throughout her 20 years of work with Britain's National Health Service. The Court of Justice found this situation an "inequality of treatment... in breach of human rights" such that Britain's marriage law is "incompatible" with European law. The Court of Justice sent the case itself back to Britain's legal system for further action. Almost all the current European Union countries do legally recognize sex changes and allow marriages accordingly, but a bill to that effect is only now before the British Parliament. The Court of Justice ruling may have its greatest impact on the ten nations that will become the EU's newest members in May. Scotland's smallest county, Clackmannanshire, will become its first to officially register gay and lesbian partnerships. The commitment ceremonies were approved by the so-called "Wee County's" Council this week, along with civil ceremonies for births, renewals of marriage vows and attainment of citizenship, effective immediately. Registry carries no legal status, but the British Parliament is currently considering domestic partnerships which Scotland is expected to adopt as soon as they're enacted. Press reports emphasized criticism from religious leaders of several denominations. But a Council spokesperson defended the move, saying that, "As a council, we are particularly keen to ensure we are able to offer the widest possible choice to our service users." The Israeli Parliament, the Knesset, last week gave preliminary approval to explicitly extending government compensation for a spouse's accidental death to domestic partners, regardless of gender. Despite vocal opposition from conservatives, the bill passed its first reading by a 3-to-2 margin. Marriages in Israel can be performed only by rabbis for couples who qualify under Orthodox Jewish law, and legal recognition of unmarried heterosexual couples is as politically divisive as for same-gender couples. But even some of Israel's Orthodox rabbis may be ready to reconsider their stance on gays and lesbians, as a workshop on homosexuality held at an international rabbinical convention in Jerusalem last week is being hailed as a "first". The workshop itself was closeted under the title, "Bringing hearts closer in a time of modern questions". The U.S. state of New Jersey is on its way to legal recognition of same-gender partnerships, with state Senate approval of more than 70% this week. The state House had already passed the bill last month, so it now moves to Governor James McGreevey, who has already said he'll sign it into law. Primarily the bill extends spousal benefits to the registered domestic partners of New Jersey civil servants, including unmarried heterosexual partners over age 62. But registry will also grant other New Jersey couples rights to hospital visitation and medical decision-making, and it requires health insurance carriers to offer them spousal coverage. It carries no parental or property rights, but allows partners to claim each other as dependents in state income tax filings and to qualify for state spousal inheritance tax exemptions. The state Senate debate was surprisingly tame, lasting only 15 minutes as no Senator spoke against the measure on the floor. All the opposition votes were cast by Republicans, with almost as many Senators abstaining. Meanwhile, a lawsuit for full equal marriage rights is currently pending before a New Jersey appeals court. Elsewhere in the U.S. this week legal cases on civil rights concluded. In California, the Morgan Hill Unified School District agreed to pay a total of more than $1-million to settle a lawsuit brought by 6 gays and lesbians who'd experienced harassment and discrimination as middle school and high school students in the 1990s. Their 5-year-old lawsuit claimed that administrators and teachers had failed to intervene when they were abused by other students. The school district -- which did not admit any wrongdoing -- also agreed to strengthen its policies and to train all of its staff and its middle school students towards elimination of anti-gay harassment and discrimination. The students were represented by the American Civil Liberties Union, the National Center for Lesbian Rights and a private San Francisco law firm. The school district was spurred to settle by a ruling last year by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that public school administrators' failure to effectively counter homophobic harassment constitutes a violation of the right to equal protection guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution. Another California legal settlement of about $1-million was reached this week as the city of San Diego cut its ties with the Boy Scouts of America because of the Scouts' policy of discrimination against gays and atheists. The American Civil Liberties Union had filed the lawsuit more than 3 years ago on behalf of two boys who feel they cannot join the Scouts, one because his parents are a lesbian couple and the other because his parents are agnostic. The Scouts had enjoyed long-term leases in two San Diego parks for only a token fee. A federal court ruled in July that that was a violation of separation of church and state, and the city will now end its preferential treatment of the Scouts. The city's payment is to defray the plaintiff's court costs and attorney's fees. But while the San Diego City Council has agreed to go along with the ACLU, the Scouts are determined to hang onto the land, and have sought help from the U.S. Department of Justice. They also plan to appeal the federal court's ruling as soon as the case is officially completed. That appeal would be heard by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, and a ruling it issued bodes ill for the Scouts. This week that panel rejected a claim of religious discrimination by a former employee at an Idaho office of electronics giant Hewlett-Packard. In 2000, the company began an internal campaign to implement its diversity policy, displaying assorted posters with the slogan "Diversity Is Our Strength". One of those featuring gay employees was posted near the desk of Richard Peterson, who responded by posting in his workspace Biblical quotations against homosexuality that could be read by passers-by. His supervisor believed this to violate company policy against harassment and took the quotes down, but Peterson said he'd remove them only if the company removed its gay tolerance posters. Ultimately he was fired for insubordination, but filed his lawsuit in the belief he'd been unfairly singled out. A 3-judge panel of the appeals court upheld a federal trial judge's finding that Hewlett-Packard had the right to enforce its anti-discrimination policy even at the expense of Peterson's freedom of expression, and that his message differed from others in the workplace because it attempted "to generate a hostile and intolerant work environment". Peterson plans to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court. There were mixed messages on civil rights this week for gays and lesbians in Singapore. Last year the Prime Minister created a stir by revealing they'd be allowed to serve in government jobs despite the nation's sodomy laws. Currently the Government is reviewing the Penal Code towards a major overhaul, and this week its minister for law told the Parliament that decriminalization of oral sex is under consideration. However, it's widely believed that it's only oral sex between a male and a female that would become legal. On the other hand, the Deputy Prime Minister indicated in a speech this week that the Government's plans to increase political and social freedom are likely to include an end to the current ban on official registration of gay and lesbian organizations. DPM Lee Hsien Loong largely blamed the nation's slow movement on gay and lesbian issues on Muslim opposition. Despite the ban on official registry, though, Singapore's first counseling service for gays and lesbians, the Pelangi Pride Center, opened last month. And finally... one current Internet poll is now showing strong support for equal marriage rights for U.S. gays and lesbians: some 470,000 respondents affirmed "I favor legalization of homosexual marriage" with another more than 62,000 choosing "I favor 'civil union' with the full benefits of marriage except for the name", for total support of more than 67%. Thanks to gay and lesbian e-mail lists, this is rather more support for legal recognition of same-gender couples than most professional surveys are currently finding in the U.S. But what's really surprising is the Web host of this poll: it's the virulently anti-gay American Family Association. The online poll is part of the AFA's so-called "Help Save Marriage" campaign, and the group is on record with its promise to pass the results on to Congressmembers.