“NewsWrap" for the week ending July 19, 2008 (As broadcast on "This Way Out" program #1,060, distributed 7-21-08) [Written by Greg Gordon, with thanks to Rex Wockner with Bill Kelley] Reported this week by Jon Beaupre and Erica Springer Police in the Gulf city-state of Dubai, one of the seven oil-rich United Arab Emirates, arrested up to 40 men this week various reportss differ on the number in a crackdown on cross-dressers in shoppingg malls and other public places. All of the men are non-resident workers or tourists, according to a statement by Dubai Police Chief Lieutenant General Dahi Khalfan Tamim on his organization’s Web site. Dahi reported that administrative deportation orders would be sought against all of them. He’d announced a campaign in May, under the slogan "Our social values are precious... let's protect them," targeting those who "do not respect social values and behave like the opposite sex." A comparable campaign was announced in similarly Muslim Kuwait in June, specifically targeting gay men in addition to cross-dressers. A Kuwaiti MP told a local newspaper that the government has to crack down on what he called "girlie boys", who, he claimed, promote crime and sexual immorality in the country. Kuwait's parliament passed a law in December that makes “imitating the appearance of the opposite sex” a crime punishable by up to one year behind bars. Subsequent ro undups netted at least 16 suspects, according to Human Rights Watch, which reported that three detainees were beaten. But the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe plans to issue a formal declaration in support of a wide range of sexual orientation and gender identity rights, and to engage the entire organization in combating discrimination against LGBT people. European Union anti-bias protections based on sexual orientation and gender identity now only cover employment. The Committee is composed of 27 foreign ministers of the Council of Europe's member nations. However, the proposals must receive unanimous support in order to be enacted. Boris Dittrich, advocacy director of the LGBT Rights Program at Human Rights Watch, said that “The European Union’s Charter of Fundamental Rights prohibits any discrimination on any grounds, including sexual orientation... It is past time to turn that promise into real protections.” The U.S. Senate voted this week to repeal a 21-year-old law barring HIV-positive people from visiting or seeking legal residency in the country. The measure was attached to a spending bill that triples amounts for programs that treat and protect millions in Africa and elsewhere from HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis. The Senate version will have to be worked out with the House, which passed its version of the bill in April. Senate Foreign Relations Committee chair Joseph Biden of Delaware told reporters that he’d been coordinating with House leaders on the legislation, and was confident of approval of a reconciled version sometime soon that includes repeal of the ban. It originated in 1987, and was explicitly codified by Congress in 1993 when it reformed U.S. immigration laws. While they currently exclude foreigners with any “communicable disease of public health significance” from entering the U.S., only HIV is specifically named in the statute. Rachel B. Tiven, executive director of the U.S. LGBT advocacy group Immigration Equality, called the ban “ineffective, unnecessary, and simply bad public health policy,” adding that “It is especially harmful to gay and lesbian families, who do not benefit from the waiver available to opposite-sex couples. The Senate’s change is welcome, and long overdue.” There were marriage equality developments in 3 U.S. states this week. As expected, the California Supreme Court refused to hear a challenge to the legality of Proposition 8, a November ballot initiative that would nullify the Court’s May 15th ruling and constitutionally ban same-gender marriage. Thousands of same-gender couples have gotten marriage licenses, and many have already married in the state, since the Court ruling took effect in mid-June. A new Field Poll released this week suggested that Proposition 8 will fail, if only by a bare majority. 51 percent opposed the measure, while 42 percent said they’d vote for it. 63 percent of respondents identifying them selves as Democrats were against Proposition 8 and 66 percent of independents were opposed to it, but 68 percent of Republicans supported the proposed ban. The well-respected Field Poll surveyed 672 likely California voters during the week of July 8th through 14th. It had a sampling error of plus or minus 3.9 percentage points. Poll director Mark DiCamillo told reporters that "Starting out behind is usually an ominous sign for a proposition... Over 90 percent of propositions that start out behind get taken down." Marriage equality advocates say they’re heartened by the poll results, but note that the November 4th vote is still months away, and that opponents of Proposition 8 must continue to fundraise and organize against it. About 200 LGBT activists and union members gathered in front of the Manchester Grand Hyatt in San Diego this week to launch a boycott of the hotel. Its owner, prominent local businessman Doug Manchester, donated $125,000 to the campaign in support of Proposition 8. About half a block away, nearly 100 who favor the proposed amendment staged a counterdemonstration. Meanwhile, the “Los Angeles Times” reported that dozens of United Methodist Church ministers in California are defying church rules and performing wedding ceremonies for same-gender couples, even though they could be defrocked for doing so. The two bishops who oversee the United Methodist Church in the state - Mary Ann Swenson and Beverly J. Shamana - are warning pastors=2 0that they could face a church trial and lose their jobs. But The Reverend Janet Gollery McKeithen of Santa Monica's Church in Ocean Park told the “Times” that she plans to conduct weddings for two same-gender couples in August and September. "I love my church, and I don't want to leave it,” she said. “But I can't be part of a church that is willing to portray a God that is so hateful. I would rather be forced out." The United Methodist Church is the largest Protestant denomination in the U.S., with some 11-million members. Same-gender couples from Wisconsin who marry in California could also be punished by up to 9 months in jail and a $10,000 fine. TThat penalty is part of a 1915 law originally enacted to prevent recognition of interracial marriages performed in other states. It could be revived to prosecute Wisconsin gay and lesbian couples who tie the knot in California. Unlike Massachusetts, the only other U.S. state where same-gender marriage is legal, the Golden State has no residency requirement. Wisconsin voters approved a constitutional amendment in 2006 restricting marriage to heterosexual couples. Julaine Appling of the rightwing Wisconsin Family Council told reporters that same-gender couples who break the 1915 law by marrying in California should be punished, calling it “a defrauding of the government.” But activist Bob Klebba in Madison told the local “Capital Times” newspaper that he still pl ans to marry longtime partner David Waugh in California, saying that “It would be interesting to be prosecuted.” The Massachusetts Senate has voted to repeal a similar law, passed in 1913, also originally designed to ban recognition of interracial marriages performed in other states. It’s been used to bar same-gender couples from traveling to Massachusetts to get married if they can’t legally wed in their home states. Soon after marriage equality became legal in 2004, then-Republican Governor Mitt Romney, who opposed it, ordered town clerks to enforce the little-known law and deny licenses to lesbigay couples from other states. Critics of the statute, including Democrat Deval Patrick, the state’s first Black governor, say it carries a racist taint and needs to be rescinded. The Senate did just that in a simple voice vote this week. The state's House of Representatives is expected to concur sometime soon. California, which doesn’t require residency, is already reaping the financial benefits from same-gender couples who’ve been traveling to the state to get hitched. An analysis released by the Massachusetts Office of Housing and Economic Development found that repealing the 1913 law and allowing same-gender couples from other states to marry there would add 111 million dollars to the Bay State economy. Elsewhere, in the first country in the world to open full legal marriage to same-gender couples, Dutch authorities have developed a rep lacement for "maiden name" so that gay men who want to take their spouse’s surname when they marry won't feel awkward. "Geboortenaam" translates to "birth name". It will replace “maiden name” on official forms, according to a report this week by Radio Netherlands. And finally, a court in Sicily has ordered the Italian government to pay 100,000 euros about 160,000 U.S. dollars to a man wh who was issued a “disabled” driver’s license because he’s gay. A few years ago, now-27-year-old Danilo Giuffrida told doctors he’s gay during a medical examination for the armed forces, to escape the one year of service that was required at the time, but has since been abolished. The information about Giuffrida, however, was passed on to the Ministry of Defense, which in turn released it to other government agencies, including the Transport Ministry. After he easily passed the driving test to renew his license, examiners told Giuffrida that he’d have to repeat the test or have his license suspended on the grounds of his "sexual identity disturbance". After he passed the test a second time, he was told he’d receive only a one-year renewal as a “disabled” driver, rather than the usual ten years. Giuffrida then filed his lawsuit. The court ruled that Giuffrida's constitutional rights had been violated and that homosexuality could not be considered a "disability". His lawyer said he believed the verdict was the first time the Italian government has been found guilty of discrimination based on sexual orientation. Giuffrida said he’ll use some of his lawsuit proceeds to buy a new car. The Famous, the Infamous, the Lame - in your browser. Get the TMZ Toolbar Now!