NewsWrap for the week ending July 31, 2004 (As broadcast on This Way Out program #853, distributed 8-2-04) [Written by Cindy Friedman, with thanks to Graham Underhill, Fenceberry, Rex Wockner, and Greg Gordon] Anchored this week by Cindy Friedman and Dean Elzinga A judge this week declared France's first same-gender marriage null and void. Gay couple Bertrand Charpentier and Stephane Chapin renewed their vow to continue the legal battle all the way to the European Court of Human Rights if necessary. They say they are still married pending their appeal of the Bourdeaux court's verdict, a process that could take at least a year. The court rejected the couple's claim that French law does not prohibit same-gender marriage, and accepted the government's argument that child-bearing is a key function of marriage. The couple's attorney Emmanuel Pierrat told reporters, "The judgment is an aberration. It has been handed down as if we were living in 1804 when the civil code was written. By its logic you would have to prosecute every married person in France who did not have children. I told the presiding judge to fetch me my coach and horses." He expects a more liberal interpretation from a higher court. Another court ruling against same-gender marriage this week came in South Korea, as a woman sought community property and alimony from her estranged female partner of twenty years. The plaintiff known as Ms. Kim claimed standing as a common-law spouse, while her former partner Ms. Yu denied they had any such relationship. An Incheon District Court judge dismissed the case, declaring that Korean law recognizes only heterosexual marriages. A Canadian lesbian couple is definitely married but their split is even more complicated -- it will require a court to strike down the national divorce law, which currently specifies "a man or a woman who are married to each other". The women known as MM and JH had been together more than 5 years when they legally married in Ontario just a week after the province's top court made that possible. But 5 days after making their relationship official, they separated, and now a year later they seem to be the first same-gender couple in Canada to try to legally dissolve their marriage. They both want the divorce, and filed for it in June. The matter became public last week as Canada's Justice Department declared that it won't contest their claim that the current language of the Divorce Act is unconstitutional. But that will have to be determined by an Ontario judge who's scheduled proceedings to begin in mid-September. The Supreme Court of Canada won't begin hearings on the Government's constitutional questions regarding marriage equality until October. On the religious front, a Church of Scotland minister presided at a gay male couple's wedding ceremony last week in Edinburgh. Reverend Iain Whyte is believed to be that church's first minister to bless a same-gender couple's exchange of rings, although another minister blessed a lesbian couple's commitment ceremony more than a decade ago. The Church of Scotland has no official ceremony for marrying gays and lesbians, but it does not prohibit those ceremonies, and it allows individual clergy to exercise their own judgment. Robert Wicksted and Alex Valentine exchanged their vows at a pub rather than a church, but hymns were sung. Making the occasion even more poignant, Wicksted is terminally ill with leukemia. The couple hopes the reports of their ceremony will spur government action to recognize same-gender couples. Also in July, the Church of England's General Synod narrowly rejected proposed new rules designed to discipline clergy for heresy. Although it could have affected many topics and racism was referred to in the debate, without question the proposal was spurred by the growing split in the Anglican Communion on homosexuality. Had the rules been enacted, ordaining a sexually active gay or lesbian or even preaching a supportive sermon could have led to a church trial and punishments including loss of ministerial credentials. In the legislative arena, Poland's Senate this week approved a bill to create registered partnerships for gay and lesbian couples, the Polish Press Agency (PAP) reported. The partnerships would confer marriage-like legal status in areas including property and inheritance, but excluding adoption. Thirty-six Senators signed their support of the bill. Germany's newly outed conservative leader Guido Westerwelle this week spoke out for the first time for expanded legal recognition of same-gender couples, including tax benefits and adoption rights equal to married couples. The leader of the Free Democrats told "Der Spiegel" that Germany needs to become more tolerant and the government should promote that effort. The ruling Social Democrats and their partners the Greens have already drafted a bill to expand the legal registered partnerships Germany established in 2001, but Westerwelle said their measure doesn't go far enough. After being a little coy during last week's flare of publicity, this week Westerwelle was a little more forthcoming in confirming his gay orientation, adding, "I can't do anything if people are happy or not about my life." Of course the biggest vote-seeking event of the week was the U.S. Democratic National Convention -- and there, party officials reportedly acted to prevent calls for marriage equality from the podium. As U.S. Senator from Massachusetts John Kerry was formally declared the party's candidate for President, he did denounce the Republican move to amend the U.S. Constitution -- but managed not to refer to its intention to deny legal recognition to same-gender marriages. This was all the more ironic as the convention was held in the one U.S. state where legal marriage is open to gays and lesbians, Massachusetts. Also, Kerry made no explicit call for federal legislation to protect gays and lesbians from discrimination, something Al Gore did in accepting his nomination in 2000 and Bill Clinton did in both his acceptance speeches. Nonetheless the convention had some gay and lesbian visibility. Six open gays and lesbians gave speeches to the full convention, with Congressmember from Wisconsin Tammy Baldwin becoming the first open lesbigay ever to appear in a primetime slot as the party's spokesperson on a key issue, healthcare: "John Kerry wants all Americans to be able to enjoy the same great health care that Members of Congress and their families enjoy. And he'll guarantee the right to family health benefits to all our families --including domestic partners." Also speaking were openly gay Congressmember from Massachusetts Barney Frank; openly gay Democratic National Committee Treasurer Andrew Tobias; openly gay candidate for Congress and former mayor of Wilton Manors, Florida Jim Stork; openly lesbian Clinton cabinet Assistant Secretary and former San Francisco Supervisor Roberta Achtenberg; and openly lesbian former Massachusetts state Senator and current head of the Human Rights Campaign Cheryl Jacques. Convention delegates included a Gay Lesbian Bisexual Transgender Caucus with a record total of more than 250 participants including the convention's first-ever openly transgender delegates. Their caucus sessions were visited by many important Democrats offering enthusiastic support, and featured speakers to the caucus included three governors, about a dozen Congressmembers, a U.S. Senator, and the Presidential candidate's wife Teresa Heinz Kerry. Kerry's daughter Vanessa also told reporters during the week that she "believes in gay marriage," even though her father supports a civil union alternative. But another U.S. convention this week did not hesitate to declare its support for equal marriage rights: the American Psychological Association. That professional group has more than 150,000 members, making it the largest organization of psychologists in the U.S. Meeting in Hawai'i -- where a 1993 lawsuit started the contemporary round of court moves towards marriage and legislative moves against it -- the APA's Council of Representatives approved a series of positions supporting gay and lesbian families. They affirmed that same-gender couples should be able to marry in civil ceremonies, noting the lack of legal protections puts stress on gays and lesbians and their children. The psychologists denounced discrimination against gay and lesbian parents, declaring that their children are just as mentally healthy as those raised by heterosexuals. The APA had previously adopted a position opposing discrimination against lesbigay individuals. The U.S. state of Maine registered its first domestic partnerships this week, which carry legal standing in areas including inheritance and next-of-kin status. Registry is also open to heterosexual couples, but some four-dozen couples registering at the state capital on opening day were all gays and lesbians. The advocacy group Equality Maine had arranged a celebration at the State House for the occasion, including flowers and live music. And finally... sometime early in 2005 a U.S. city will start marrying same-gender couples, it was announced this week. We know it's Springfield, but nobody knows which state it's in -- it's the hometown of TV's "The Simpsons". The town hopes to raise money this way, and so does Homer Simpson, who obtains a license on the Internet so he can perform those marriages for gays and lesbians. The long-running FOX cartoon hit has always been gay-supportive. Its staff said the marriage episode will also "out" a long-time character and warned against jumping to conclusions as to which one. {Homer Simpson:} "Doh!"