NewsWrap
for the week ending December 10, 2005
(As broadcast on This Way Out program #924, distributed 12-12-05)
[Written this week by Jon Beaupré, Lucia Chappelle and Greg Gordon, with 
thanks to Cindy Friedman, Graham Underhill, and Rex Wockner]


Reported this week by Greg Gordon and Jon Beaupré


  Over a thousand same gender couples lined up across the U.K. this week to 
register their relationships under the new Civil Partnerships Act.  Gay and 
lesbian union ceremonies will be held in England starting on December 21st, 
following the same 15-day "cooling off" period as heterosexual marriage applicants. 
 Civil partnerships are essentially marriages in all but name, but calling 
them civil partnerships was the only way for the Blair Government to get the 
measure through Parliament.  The new law establishes mutual financial 
responsibility, and provides the same social security, tax, pension, immigration, and 
inheritance rights available to heterosexually married couples -- as well as 
divorce.  Couples in Scotland will be able to hold their ceremonies a day before 
England and Wales because of a bureaucratic loophole, and in Northern Ireland 
as early as December 19th.
Among the first to register were Sir Elton John and his partner David 
Furnish, whose official proclamation was posted alongside those of other wedding and 
partnership announcements at a town hall west of London.  Their ceremony will 
be conducted at Windsor’s Guildhall, where Prince Charles married Camilla 
Parker Bowles earlier this year.  Pop star George Michael has also announced that 
he'll register his partnership with long-time love Kenny Goss and hold a 
ceremony early next year.


  46-year-old Matthew Roche, terminally ill with cancer, was granted a 
special waiver to tie the knot with his 37-year-old partner of seven years 
Christopher Cramp on the first day of registration, December 5th, because he was not 
expected to live long enough to survive the 15-day waiting period.  For the 
record books, they became the first same gender couple to legally unite in the 
U.K.  Roche died the next day.
Asda, global retail giant Wal-Mart's British subsidiary, has jumped on the 
bandwagon with a line of greeting cards and "commitment rings".  "Wedding day 
wishes, Mrs. & Mrs.," says a pink-toned card.  A blue card adorned with two top 
hats reads, "Congratulations, Mr. & Mr."  Asda's seemingly progressive 
approach is a far cry from its much more conservative U.S.-based parent company, but 
a pound is apparently a pound, pink or otherwise.  
Perhaps the most notable sign of change in Britain's social fabric was the 
inclusion of Civil Partnerships in the Births, Marriages and Deaths column in 
the December 5th edition of the venerable London "Times".  The 221-year-old 
column for the first time included notices of upcoming ceremonies for 3 same 
gender couples.
"Partnered with children" lesbian Janet Paraskeva, chief executive of the Law 
Society of England and Wales, the solicitors’ professional body, said that 
she would probably be entering a partnership with her long-term spouse next 
year.  "We haven’t decided when but we are pretty likely to do [it]," she told the 
Times.  "The children keep nagging us — I think they just want the pparty."


  There's no party for queer couples in Latvia, however, as the nation's 
Parliament moves toward adding an amendment to the Constitution that explicitly 
bans same gender marriage.
The country’s first gay pride parade took place in Riga this past June amid a 
massive police presence to protect the marchers from thousands of angry 
opponents.  The amendment was proposed by the First Party of Latvia soon after that 
June march.  For the amendment to be added to the Constitution, it must pass 
three readings in Parliament.  In the second reading on December 1st, 73 MPs 
voted to support the amendment, only 3 MPs voted against, 12 abstained and 2 
did not vote.  As the names of the three MPs who opposed the measure were read 
out -- all from the center-right New Era party -- cries of "shame" were heard 
in the hall.
The situation is complicated by the fact that Latvia is now a member state of 
the European Union, and if it adds the marriage ban to its Constitution the 
country could find itself at odds with continent-wide regulations guaranteeing 
LGBT rights.  Queer leaders across the continent have expressed their concern.


  In U.S. couples news, a mid-level New York state appeals court this week 
reversed a lower court ruling that the state's domestic relations law is 
unconstitutional because it does not permit marriage between people of the same 
gender.  The 4-to-1 majority decision argued that it's not up to judges to redefine 
the terms "husband and wife" and "bride and groom", which are gender-specific 
parts of that law.  Lambda Legal, which represents several lesbian and gay 
couples seeking marriage equality, to no one's surprise announced that it would 
appeal the ruling.  All parties to the case expect the issue to eventually be 
decided by the New York Court of Appeal, the state's highest court.


  The Republican-dominated Wisconsin Senate, in a straight party-line vote of 
19-to-14, approved an amendment to the state Constitution to ban same gender 
marriages and civil unions.   Lawmakers expect it to easily pass the Assembly 
and appear on the statewide ballot next November.


  Supporters of a 2008 initiative to eliminate same gender marriage in 
Massachusetts -- the only U.S. state where they're legal -- delivered petitions with 
over 147,000 certified signatures -- more than twice the minimum required -- 
to the Secretary of State this week.  However, because the proposal would 
amend the state constitution it must also be approved by at least 50 members of 
the 200-seat Legislature in two successive sessions.  A measure to ban same 
gender marriages but create civil unions won initial approval but failed earlier 
this year in a second vote.


  And compared to Massachusetts, where more than 3,000 gay and lesbian 
couples sought marriage licenses during the first six weeks after they became legal, 
Connecticut's marriage equality organization Love Makes A Family reported 
this week that less than 600 queer couples have signed up for the new civil 
unions there in the same initial 6-week period that began October 1st.  The group 
said that the low numbers suggest that the state's gay and lesbian couples are 
holding out for marriage equality, and that many are not pursuing what some 
have called the "second rate status" of civil unions.


  The U.S. Supreme Court took up a landmark case this week that could 
determine whether universities that accept government money must accommodate military 
recruiters, which is now required by federal legislation known as the Solomon 
Amendment.  The Government argued that if it provides financial support to a 
college then it should be able to recruit "the very students whose education 
it has supported."  The U.S. government provides up to 35 billion dollars per 
year to colleges and universities in the form of grants, research funds, and 
financial aid.
A number of law schools, where much of the opposition to on-campus military 
recruiters has occurred, have said they would welcome them if the Pentagon 
dropped its policy against openly lesbigay personnel, the so-called "Don’t Ask, 
Don’t Tell" policy adopted by the Clinton administration more than a decade ago.
The Solomon Amendment has been contested by a coalition of universities with 
policies banning on-campus recruiting by employers whose hiring practices are 
based on race, gender or sexual orientation.
"Part of the cultural meaning of the case is bound up in questions about gay 
rights," said Cornell Law School professor Trevor Morrison, a former clerk for 
Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.  "Indirectly, it's about the 'Don't Ask, Don't 
Tell policy."
It will likely be several months before a ruling is announced.


  The Ford Motor Company confirmed this week that ads for its Jaguar and Land 
Rover luxury brands are being dropped from all gay publications.  The move 
follows meetings with the religious right American Family Association.
According to a report in WardsAuto.com, a respected auto industry 
publication, "Ford Motor Company's decision to cease advertising in gay publications for 
its Jaguar and Land Rover luxury brands is part of a truce between the auto 
maker and the American Family Association to avert a threatened boycott by the 
right-wing Christian conservative group... In addition, Ford has agreed not to 
sponsor any future gay and lesbian events but will continue to maintain its 
employee policies, such as same-sex partner benefits."
Ford flatly denied that the decision was made under pressure from the A.F.A., 
which has consistently criticized the company for being too gay-friendly.  
Ford spokesperson Mike Moran said it was "strictly business", and that the 
company's cancellation of the ads is "part of a plan to streamline the brands' 
marketing strategy."
Ford has now come under fire from numerous gay and lesbian rights 
organizations.  A rare coalition of 17 national LGBT groups issued a joint press release 
expressing their dismay over Ford's actions, and several other activist 
organizations issued their own statements.  Many queer advocacy groups are calling 
for a meeting with Ford management to discuss the matter.


  And finally, a religious LGBT-supportive ad banned by major U.S. TV 
networks as "too controversial" has collected some prestigious industry honors.  It 
recently won the Association of National Advertisers 2005 Multicultural 
Excellence Award, beating ads by both Microsoft and MasterCard for the honor, 
previously received an Addy Award for Best Single National Spot, and the Outstanding 
Advertising Award from the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation.
The 30-second spot, produced for the United Church of Christ, was intended to 
attract gays, lesbians and minorities who felt alienated by other 
denominations.  It features two intimidating guards standing outside a 
traditional-looking church and choosing which people are permitted to attend Sunday services.  
Written text follows the scene, reading, "Jesus didn't turn people away.  
Neither do we."  An announcer then underscores the message with, "No matter who you 
are, or where you are on life's journey, you are welcome here."
Amen to that.