"NewsWrap"
for the week ending March 17, 2007
=and =
General Pace "immoral" comments+reaction feature story
(As broadcast on "This Way Out" program #990, distributed 3-19-07)
[Written by Greg Gordon, with thanks to Lucia Chappelle, Graham Underhill,
Thomas Marzhal, and Rex Wockner with Bill Kelley]
Reported this week by Christopher Gaal and Jon Beaupre
France's highest court this week rejected the marriage of a gay couple as
illegal, annulling the union of the two men. Stephane Charpin and Bertrand Ch
arpentier were married in a civil ceremony in June, 2004, in Begles, a town in
the southwest Bordeaux region, by the city's Green Party mayor, Noël Mamère.
The federal government immediately said the union was unlawful, and a series
of court decisions unfavorable to the couple followed. No other attempts to
conduct full marriage ceremonies have occurred in the country.
The Cour de Cassation, France's highest appeals court, this week upheld a
lower court ruling that, "under French law, marriage is a union between a man and
a woman."
The government argued that it was parliament, not judges, who should have the
final word about marriages involving lesbian and gay couples.
A lower court that initially rejected the marriage noted that same-gender
couples in France are already covered by legislation called Pacts of Civil
Solidarity, or PACS, that grants non-married cohabiting couples of the same or
opposite gender some of the rights enjoyed by married couples.
Charpin and Charpentier previously said that they would take their case to
the European Court of Human Rights if necessary. It was not immediately clear,
however, if they now intend to do so.
An estimated 50,000 protesters marched in Rome on March 10th to demand
rights for same-gender couples. Waving rainbow-colored banners with slogans
including "Better Gay than Opus Dei" and "Homosexuality is not an offence:
intolerance is", the demonstrators called on parliament to pass legislation granting
legal recognition to same-gender couples. "L’Osservatore Romano," the
Vatican’s official newspaper, called children at the demonstration, "the fruit of
previous relations or of in-vitro fertilization." It went on to charge that the
children were being "abused in order to create the image of a family." The
contentious Cabinet of Prime Minister Romano Prodi had previously okayed a bill
establishing limited rights for same-gender couples, but the coalition
government collapsed briefly last month over a foreign policy vote involving Italian
peacekeeping troops in Afghanistan. Many observers say that Prodi was only
able to stay in office by dumping his government’s formal support of the
partnerships measure.
Meanwhile, in the capital of another of the world's most Catholic
countries, two gay lawyers celebrated Mexico City’s first civil union on March 16th.
Alejandro Diaz and Rafael Ramirez tied the knot in a short ceremony held in a
city council building, the first since the city approved a law establishing
civil unions in November. While civil unions don’t offer all the legal rights
of marriage, Julio Cesar Moreno, the local councilor who oversaw the ceremony,
told reporters that "The era of plurality and diversity is permeating Mexico
City."
About ten queer couples exchanged vows in the city throughout the day. In
Iztapalapa, one of Mexico City's poorest neighborhoods, journalist Antonio
Medina was united with Jorge Cerpa, a bank employee. The two kissed and raised
their hands triumphantly after the open-air ceremony.
A man wearing felt angel wings then handed them flowers to the strains of a
small string orchestra.
A lesbian couple celebrated the country’s first civil union in the northern
border state of Coahuila in January. Legislation was enacted there after
Mexico City’s, but went into effect sooner.
The worldwide global Anglican Communion has asked its Canadian region to
put a moratorium on blessing same-gender unions, but the Canadian church's
Council of General Synod approved a resolution this week saying that "the blessing
of same-sex unions is consistent with the core doctrine of the Anglican Church
of Canada." Same-gender marriage has been legal in Canada since 2005.
The Council’s decision strengthens its alignment with the U.S. Episcopal
Church against attempts by the broader Anglican Communion to fight same-gender
marriage and the ordination of openly lesbian and gay clergy. The move will
likely cause further rifts in the Communion, with conservative Anglican churches
-- notably in Africa, Asia and Latin America - already threatening to sever
ties with their North American counterparts. Anglican bishops meeting in
Tanzania last month gave the U.S. Episcopal Church a September deadline to stop
blessing gay and lesbian couples.
This week’s Council resolution will be submitted to the triennial General
Synod, the Canadian Anglicans' highest decision-making body, at its June meeting.
Archbishop Andrew Hutchison, who leads the Canadian church and supports the
blessing of same-gender unions, told the "Reuters" news agency that the
Council recognized the additional strain its decision will put on the Communion.
But he said that Anglicans faced the difficulty of balancing their role within
broader Canadian society "where homosexuality is part of the human landscape,"
and trying to be sensitive to other Anglican regions opposed to it.
If Europe doesn't ban abortion and limit lesbigay propaganda, Muslims will
take over, according to comments by Polish Deputy Prime Minister Roman
Giertych earlier this month.
"Abortion must be banned immediately," Giertych said. "Homosexual propaganda
must also be limited so children will have the correct view of the family...
If we will not use all our power to strengthen the family, then as a continent
there is no future for us. We will be a continent settled by representatives
of the Islamic world who care for the family."
Giertych, who also serves as Poland’s Education Minister and leads the ultra
conservative League of Polish Families, this week proposed new legislation
that would outlaw any discussion of homosexuality in schools. Strikingly similar
to the U.K.’s Thatcher-era "Section 28," it would "prohibit the promotion of
homosexuality and other deviance." Educators who break the law could face j
ail time. It took U.K. activists more than a decade to have "Section 28"
repealed.
Robert Biedron, President of the Polish LGBT group Campaign Against
Homophobia, issued a statement saying he was "embarrassed" by the proposed legislation,
and called on the European Union to condemn it. "What happens when a
Minister of a member state regularly practices hate-speech and encourages
intolerance?" Biedron asked. "What else are we waiting for before we finally take
action? Are we waiting for [an] increase of data on victims of homophobic violence?
Are we waiting for camps for LGBT people?"
Sir Elton John should not perform at the Plymouth Jazz Festival in Tobago
because, warns a top church leader, he will 'turn' locals queer.
Archdeacon of Trinidad and Tobago Philip Isaac this week expressed fears that
John’s appearance "can open the country to be tempted towards pursuing his
lifestyle," according to a report in the "Jamaica Gleaner."
Anthony Marahaj, the festival organizer, insists that the singer and
anti-AIDS activist will perform regardless of any church protests. He told "The
Independent" newspaper that "This is a man who was knighted by the queen, and who
was highly complimented by Archbishop Desmond Tutu… (he is] one of tthe world’s
greatest performers. He is not coming here to preach about what lifestyle
people should have."
The festival is scheduled to take place in late April in the Caribbean
nation, and will include performances by Diana Ross, Mary J Blige and Gladys Knight.
Sir Elton has declined to comment on the issue, but last year expressed his
view that, although he believes in Christian teachings, he feels that organized
religion "promotes the hatred and spite against gays".
Alan Wardle, a spokeperson for the British queer advocacy group Stonewall,
told "The Independent" that "Most people in Tobago would be glad to see a singer
like Elton perform. But I think his days as a 'tempter' are long behind him."
Meanwhile, former U.S. National Basketball Association player John Amaechi,
who came out last month, will be tempting men to shave their heads just as he
does. HeadBlade Inc., creators of a popular head-shaving razor, announced
this week that it had signed Amaechi to a multiyear deal. Financial terms were
not disclosed.
Amaechi has become the first openly gay male athlete to sign an endorsement
deal with a mainstream company.
Lesbian tennis icons Martina Navratilova and Billie Jean King have broken
through to a limited extent, but concern about endorsement deals is one of the
main reasons some male athletes stay in the closet during their careers.
"John Amaechi is the newest face of the brand because he embodies many of the
qualities representative of a HeadBlader," the company’s chief executive Todd
Greene told reporters. "He is a man comfortable in his own skin and he's not
afraid to go against the grain."
Amaechi grew up in England and played over five seasons for NBA teams based
in Cleveland, Orlando and Utah. He retired in 2004, and has since devoted his
energies to building sports facilities for underprivileged young people. His
memoir, "Man in the Middle," was published in February and is currently on the
"New York Times" Best Seller List.
And finally, a fabled queer martyr is finally getting his due. More than
28 years after he was assassinated, Harvey Milk is getting a bust in the San
Francisco City Hall.
The first openly gay man to hold a prominent electoral position in the United
States, Milk was elected to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors in 1977
and shot to death a year later, along with progressive Mayor George Moscone, by
right-wing former supervisor Dan White.
The winning sculpture design was selected from more than 40 entries and three
finalists in a privately funded competition by the Harvey Milk City Hall
Memorial Committee. The group spent the last six years raising money for the
project, and says it hopes to install the bust on May 22nd, 2008, which would have
been Milk's 78th birthday.
The bronze sculpture will sit atop a stone base inscribed with a quote from
one of Milk’s most famous speeches, his 1978 "Hope Speech" about queer youth.
It will read, "The only thing they have to look forward to is hope. And you
have to give them hope. Hope for a better world, hope for a better tomorrow,
hope for a better place to come to if the pressures at home are too great.
Hope that all will be right."
===================================
General Pace "immoral" comments + reaction feature story
Marine General Peter Pace, who chairs the U.S. military’s Joint Chiefs of
Staff, ignited a firestorm this week when he likened homosexuality to adultery,
calling both "immoral" during an interview with the "Chicago Tribune."
Responding to a question about the Clinton-era "Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell" policy that
requires gay and lesbian servicemembers to stay closeted, Pace said:
{Pace comments/ca. 1:50}
A renewed challenge to "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" has been launched by queer
advocates and their supporters, as the Bush administration and the Pentagon
deal with a military that commanders say has been stretched too thin by the wars
in Iraq and Afghanistan. Most of America’s allies in the so-called "War on
Terror" - including Britain and Israel -- allow gays and lesbians tto serve
openly.
A 2005 U.S. government audit showed that more than 10,870 military personnel
have been discharged under the policy since President Bill Clinton signed it
into law in 1993. Among them were more than 322 linguists, including 54 Arabic
specialists - all of whom are in short supply -- according to the GGovernment
Accountability Office report.
The number of lesbians and gay men discharged from the U.S. military under
the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy dropped significantly in 2006, according to
Pentagon figures released this week -- continuing a sharp decline since the
Afghanistan and Iraq conflicts began, and leading critics to charge that the
military is retaining gay men and lesbians because it needs them in a time of
war.
According to preliminary data from the Pentagon itself, 612 lesbigay
servicemembers were discharged in fiscal year 2006. On average, more than 1,000
service members were discharged each year from 1997 to 2001 -- but in the past five
years that number has fallen below 730.
Steve Ralls of the military advocacy group Servicemembers Legal Defense
Network told reporters that "The military can't afford to lose these people,
dozens and dozens of well-trained men and women who would ordinarily be doing
their job." Ralls estimated that about 65,000 gay men and lesbians are currently
serving in the U.S. military. Other critics wondered how those servicemembers
would feel about Pace’s comments. And according to census-based research by
the Williams Institute at U.C.L.A., there are an estimated one million lesbian
and gay veterans in the United States. A new study by the Williams Institute
released this week also claims that had the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy
not been instituted in 1994, about 4,000 lesbian, gay and bisexual military
personnel would have been retained each year. The Pentagon intends to add more
than 18,000 new troops each year for the next five years. If patterns observed
in 2004 were to continue for the next five years, according to the study, the
estimated retained lesbigay personnel would account for nearly one in six of
the additional troops required.
Retired Army General John Shalikashvili, a former chairman of the Joint
Chiefs who originally supported "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," recently reversed his
position and wrote in a "New York Times" column that it was time to allow open
gays and lesbians to serve. Shalikashvili cited projected shortages in the
military, and the progress in societal acceptance of gays and lesbians, for his
change of heart on the issue. A December 2006 Zogby poll of U.S. soldiers
found that nearly three in four say they are "personally comfortable" in the
presence of gays and lesbians.
GOP presidential candidate and Kansas Senator Sam Brownback, however,
issued a statement in support of General Pace’s comments. Another Republican
seeking the presidency, Senator John McCain of Arizona, refused to comment on what
Pace said, but restated his support for "Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell". And after
evading reporters’ questions on the issue, Democratic presidential hopefuls
Senators Hillary Clinton of New York and Barak Obama of Illinois each finally
said that they disagree with Pace that gays and lesbians are immoral. Pace
himself said later in the week that it would have been better to refrain from
offering his personal opinions, but he has thus far refused to apologize for his
comments.
About 250 people picketed the Armed Forces Recruiting Station on Times
Square in Manhattan on March 15th to protest Pace’s comments and urge repeal of
"Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell."
The action was organized two nights earlier at New York City's Lesbian, Gay,
Bisexual & Transgender Community Center after legendary activist and writer
Larry Kramer gave a rousing speech about activism on the occasion of the 20th
anniversary of the formation of ACT UP, the AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power.
That militant mostly queer group used confrontational street actions to fight
for treatment and education about the disease during a time when government
officials were refusing to do so.
Several well-known individuals attended the Pace protest, including Kramer,
former New Jersey Governor and "gay American" James McGreevey, author and
radio host Michelangelo Signorile, columnist Michael Musto, National Gay and
Lesbian Task Force Executive Director Matt Foreman, and longtime activist and TV
host Ann Northrop. Protestors held an enormous rainbow flag that stretched
around the crowd, while additional demonstrators spoke in front of a large
English- and Arabic-language banner that said "We Will Not Be Silent."
As McGreevey told the "Democracy Now" program...
[McGreevey soundbyte/ca. :23]
Foreman and Kramer repeatedly knocked on the door of the recruiting
station, but there was nobody inside and it seemed to be closed. Foreman and Rabbi
Sharon Kleinbaum of Temple Beth Simchat Torah were then arrested for stretching
the rainbow flag across Broadway, blocking traffic. One reporter quipped
that the rainbow flag was "also taken into custody." Foreman told "Democracy
Now" that...
[Foreman soundbyte/ca. :26]
Asked if a militant group like the legendary ACT UP is now officially back,
Kramer, who was at the forefront of the original organization in 1987, said:
"We'll see... These are the delicate first weeks to see if the troops coalesce
or drop by the wayside. Like the Sondheim song, we are 'putting it together,
bit by bit, piece by piece.' That is how it was in [1987]. We didn't know
where we were going, we just figured it out. The needs are different now.
Then it was AIDS, and now it is utter sheer hate hurled at us right and left."
[segues to Robert Urban’s "Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell"/ca. 4:00]
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