"NewsWrap" for the week ending August 26, 2006 (As broadcast on "This Way Out" program #961, distributed 8-28-06) [Written by Greg Gordon, with thanks to Rex Wockner with Bill Kelley, and Graham Underhill] Reported this week by Kareem Ferguson and Rick Watts Marriage equality legislation will be introduced in South Africa's parliament within the next several days following the Government's approval of a draft proposal this week. Parliament will essentially have three months to act. The nation's highest judicial body, the Constitutional Court, set a December 1st deadline last December when it ordered changes to the Marriage Act to correct provisions that discriminate against same gender couples. The Court also warned that if parliament fails to meet the deadline, the Marriage Act will automatically be interpreted to include the gender-neutral words "or spouse." "Cabinet noted that this bill was likely to generate a lot of public debate," spokesperson Themba Maseko said, "but at the end of the day, the decision of the Constitutional Court must be respected by everyone." There has been strong religious opposition to the measure. The country's conservative African Christian Democratic Party called for a constitutional amendment to "protect traditional marriage," as they said. But the Government quickly rejected that proposal. Whether through parliamentary action or the original Constitutional Court ruling, South Africa seems poised this year to become the first on the continent to extend full marriage rights to gay and lesbian couples. South African Constitutional Court Judge Kate O'Regan said this week that the issue "needs to be dealt with and it needs to be dealt with urgently." She noted that people who can not generally afford legal costs continue to be forced to file individual cases to establish their rights. One such case heard this week in the Constitutional Court involved the inheritance rights of a surviving same gender partner when the deceased partner leaves no will. The Pretoria High Court ruled earlier this year that a section of the Intestate Succession Act is unconstitutional because it doesn't allow same gender life partners to automatically inherit on the death of their intestate partners, as a legal spouse would. There was no word on when a ruling would be announced. Meanwhile, Nigeria's House of Representatives is planning a public hearing on what international critics have called the most oppressive anti-queer legislation on the planet. The "Act to Make Provisions for the Prohibition of Relationship Between Persons of the Same Sex" imposes a mandatory five-year prison sentence "for anyone attempting to create homosexual 'marriages'." It also criminalizes "persons who witness, aid or abet the ceremony of same-sex marriage," including priests or other clerics, who would face the same prison term. The measure also bans any amorous public displays by same gender couples, including hand-holding; the formation of any queer advocacy organizations; and adoption of children by lesbian or gay couples or individuals. The draft bill would also deny recognition in Nigeria of legal same gender relationships contracted in foreign jurisdictions. Nigeria's Federal Executive Council earlier this year approved the legislation and sent it to the National Assembly for final approval. In announcing public hearings in his legislative body, the chairman of the House Committee on Human Rights said that the process of making laws should not be left exclusively to members of the National Assembly. Amnesty International says the proposed law contradicts fundamental freedoms under Nigeria's 1999 Constitution, and international and regional human rights laws to which Nigeria is a signatory. The European Parliament's Intergroup on Gay and Lesbian Rights has also condemned the legislation. However, it enjoys the strong support of Nigeria's Anglican Church. Infamously anti-queer Archbishop Peter Akinola issued a statement urging its passage, claiming "the idea expressed in the bill is the moral position of Nigerians regarding human sexuality." Gay activists in Uganda have condemned a list of alleged homosexuals in the country published in the "Red Pepper" tabloid newspaper. Gay sexual activity in the East African country is illegal and punishable by up to life in prison. There are no anti-discrimination laws protecting gay and lesbian people in Uganda. Yoweri Museveni, the country’s President, recently pushed through a constitutional ban on same gender marriage. Sexual Minorities Uganda called for the nation's citizens to stand up for human rights, saying in a statement that "Our brothers whose names were published in the 'Red Pepper' tabloid are currently undergoing discomforts and are living under unbelievable fear of being arrested, ostracized by their families, or sacked from their jobs." Earlier this year two tabloid newspaper editors in Cameroon were jailed after they printed a list of allegedly gay public figures. Nepal's sexual minority communities want a voice in the new charter of rights being developed in their country, where homosexuality is currently punishable by up to two years in jail. Blue Diamond Society, the nation's most visible queer advocacy organization, is urging changes to laws that discriminate against LGBT people. They're also demanding representation in the elections that the government has promised to hold by next year to allow Nepal's people to choose between a monarchy and a republican form of government. Blue Diamond is also calling for other changes. "Transgenders must be recognized in the citizenship card and other government certificates," the group says, "not just as male and female." They're further demanding legal marriage or civil unions for couples regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity, and that transgenders be given property rights. As if to underscore Blue Diamond's push for visibility, two gay men reportedly exchanged traditional garlands of marigold this week in what's believed to be the first public same gender wedding in Nepal's capital, Kathmandu. Several guests, mostly queer activists but also a few relatives, joined in the celebration, although there was no Hindu priest to conduct the ceremony. It remains to be seen if LGBT voices will be heard in Nepal's mostly-feudal society, however, which condemns homosexuality. Gay men in particular have been routinely abused and raped, at times by the Himalayan country's own security forces. But Stockholm's annual Pride parade attracted a record 35,000 marchers, 71 floats and 350,000 spectators on August 5th, according to police reports. It was led by women and men on motorcycles sporting rainbow flags and feather boas. However, in what police are calling a hate crime, three skinheads attacked a lesbian and two gay men near the park where the march concluded. One Pride celebrant was taken to a hospital. There were no reports about the condition of the victim, or if there have been any arrests. In national politics, a parliamentary committee evaluating civil partnerships -- legal in Sweden since 1995 -- called them outdated, according to a report by state broadcaster "SVT" this week. The committee said parliament should legalize same gender marriage next year, and allow gay and lesbian couples to marry in churches. An estimated 50,000 people -- about one-sixth of the country's population -- took part in the Pride parade and festival on August 11th and 12th in Reykjavík, Iceland. "Iceland Review Online" called the two-day celebration "one of the major festivals of the summer." Providing more reason for lesbigay couples to celebrate, Iceland's parliament has modified the country's laws on registered cohabitation so that, except in name, same gender couples receive all the rights of marriage, including adoption and assisted pregnancy. One local activist boasted, "As far as family law is concerned, all discrimination against gays and lesbians has now been removed in Iceland." And finally, arguably the most famous location in modern queer history might be disappearing, according to a story this week in the "New York Observer". The Stonewall Inn, at 53 Christopher Street in New York City's Greenwich Village, the site of the 1969 riots widely credited with birthing the modern day queer civil rights movement, could be fading into oblivion. Whether that's a good or bad thing depends on whom you talk to. Neighbors in the now ultra-gentrified Village say that the Stonewall's traditional gay patrons have been pushed out in favor of a new, urban, hip-hop, "gangster" clientele, and that noise and crime have become a serious problem. But the current regulars, mostly men of color, say they feel more at home at the Stonewall than at other clubs. "All the Black clubs have been closing down," said one patron. "It's so comfortable here." "It's a hip-hop crowd," said another, "and I can just be myself here." The landmark hadn't even been a bar for nearly 20 years when it reopened in 1990, with promises by new owners to return the bar to its former glory. But David Carter, the author of "Stonewall: The Riots that Sparked the Gay Revolution," told the "Observer" that they were mostly interested in exploiting the location's name. "In Stonewall's heyday," he added ironically, "you had underage hustlers, people selling drugs, and it was really a seedy place... Out of a fluke of fate, the Stonewall is probably closer now to what it was in 1969." Others charge the current owners with mismanagement, and with abandoning the community by putting the Stonewall Inn up for sale. Duell Management, which owns the property, says it's keeping its options open as to what might become of the place. And if it becomes a bar where gay patrons aren't welcome at all, writes the "Observer's" John Koblin, "the final nail will be driven through the casket." And don't expect a "Save Stonewall" campaign, says one of the current co-owners. "We're famous all over the world, but no one in New York cares," he told the "Observer". The younger community doesn't even know what it is. The older community doesn't go out or care." "We could have done more," lamented a bartender known only as Tree, who says he worked at the Stonewall Inn during its riotous past and works there now. "We failed its history," he said.