“NewsWrap" for the week ending January 17, 2009 (As broadcast on "This Way Out" program #1,086, distributed 1-19-09) [Written by Greg Gordon, with thanks to Rex Wockner with Bill Kelley] Reported this week by Leigh Moore and John Torres Literally hundreds of labor, faith, legal, people of color and women’s groups asked the California Supreme Court to invalidate Proposition 8 this week. The deadline for the filing of such friend of the court, or amicus briefs in the case was January 16th, but the Court is not expected to hear oral arguments until March. Equality advocates are challenging the measure, passed by California voters in November, that constitutionally defines marriage as exclusively heterosexual. In addition to defending Proposition 8, its proponents also demand in their briefs that the Court nullify some 18,000 marriages of same-gender couples that were held while the May Supreme Court ruling authorizing them was in force. Lambda Legal, the National Center for Lesbian Rights, and the American Civil Liberties Union are among the advocacy groups urging the court to overturn the measure as a violation of the state constitution’s equal protection provisions. The California NAACP, Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Asian Pacific American Legal Center, and California Rural Legal Assistance each submitted amicus briefs this week calling on the high court to overturn Proposition 8. State and national=2 0women’s rights groups adding to that chorus included Legal Momentum, formerly known as the National Organization for Women Legal Defense and Education Fund, the National Association of Women Lawyers, the California Women’s Law Center, and Equal Rights Advocates. The California Labor Federation and United Healthcare Workers were among more than 50 statewide union groups to also file their opposition to Proposition 8. Major California-based companies, including Google, Levi-Strauss, and the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce told the court in their briefs that writing inequality into the constitution is bad for business. More than 65 current and former members of the state legislature, lead by its present leaders, also filed a brief asking the high court to overturn Proposition 8. Forty legal groups from across the country - including the San Francisco and Los Angeles County Bar Associations filed their own collective friend of the court brief challenging the measure. Professors at Harvard, Stanford, Yale, Berkeley, and several other prestigious universities and law schools also filed briefs asking the court to overturn Proposition 8. A coalition led by the California Council of Churches and other religious leaders and faith organizations filed their amicus brief earlier in the week. Among those filing briefs with the California Supreme Court in support of the marriage ban were the Liberty Counsel, a non-profit Christian legal organization that says it defends religious freedom20and the traditional family; the Pacific Justice Institute, which defines itself as a non-profit legal defense organization for religious freedom and civil liberties; and the Alliance Defense Fund, a ubiquitous conservative Christian legal group. In addition to urging the high court to uphold Proposition 8 and nullify already-contracted same-gender marriages in the state, some of its proponents have filed a separate lawsuit in federal court claiming that the measure’s supporters have been harassed. They’re asking the court to invalidate a voter-approved state campaign reform law requiring that the names of major donors to political campaigns be made public. Prop 8 opponents called it hypocritical to demand that the so-called “will of the people” be upheld on Proposition 8, and that the same “will” in another voter-approved initiative be overturned. And reports also circulated this week that the Mormon Church has been less than forthcoming about the degree to which it supported and funded the Yes on 8 effort. Federal law forbids religious organizattions, which as such enjoy tax-exempt status, from "substantially" lobbying for political legislation. A California activist has filed suit charging that the Church’s financial support of Prop 8 was substantial, therefore violating tax laws, election disclosure laws, and the constitutionally mandated separation of church and state. Meanwhile, same-gender couples and their supporters held rallies in several U.S.=2 0cities on January 10th calling for the repeal of the so-called federal Defense of Marriage Act, or DOMA. The protests were part of a continuing LGBT equality campaign by the online-based Join the Impact, which sparked the much larger demonstrations last November in opposition to state bans on marriage equality. Rallies were held on January 10th in several California cities, including Pasadena, West Hollywood and San Diego. Protestors braved extremely cold weather in Boston and Chicago to hold anti-DOMA rallies there. Other demonstrations were reported in Montgomery, Alabama; Greenville, North Carolina; Wichita, Kansas; Seattle, Washington; and Boise, Idaho. And 2 LGBT rights organizations are collaborating on a global Web site that will help young queer activists around the world work for equality. The International Gay and Lesbian Youth Organization and the International Lesbian and Gay Association say the site will allow members to share their experiences, ideas and expertise, and to work together to solve problems and run projects. The working languages of the list are English, Spanish and French. Individuals join by becoming members of an email group, which is moderated for safety a feature that could be especially important for members who live in countries where LGBT rights are not recognized. For more information about the LGBT Youth World List visit w-w-w-dot-i-g-l-y-o-dot-com, or w-w-w-dot-i-l-g-a-dot-org. In other news, the notoriously homophobic Alliance Defense Fund, a20Christian legal group that has fought LGBT equality in U.S. state ballot battles and court cases for the past several years, took its rightwing agenda to Europe this week. It submitted a legal memo to the European Parliament opposing a series of recommendations, drafted by Italian M.E.P. Giusto Catania, to battle homophobia and extend legal recognition to same-gender couples across the continent. ADF Legal Counsel Roger Kiska argued that such a move would “damage the institution of the family... The parliament should not allow itself to be used as a vehicle to further spread a damaging social agenda." The recommendations were nevertheless approved with 401 votes in favor, 220 against, and 67 abstentions. Human Rights Watch drew attention this week to increasing violence against transgender people in Honduras. It cited the murder of trans activist Cynthia Nicole earlier this month, killed in a drive-by shooting, and said it was only the latest in an escalating campaign against gender-variant people in the Central American country. The global human rights group also documented several similar murders in late 2008. Their report said that "The authorities need to find and prosecute the perpetrators of this and previous attacks against the trans community.” Indyra Mendoza of the Honduran lesbian-feminist group Cattrachas said that "The transgender community is terrified... But these attacks will not silence the community in Honduras, and we will continue to work to ensure that the ri ghts of transgender people are recognized and protected." The first same-gender union was held last week in Milpa Alta, the most rural and indigenous borough of Mexico City. According to a report by the Spanish news agency EFE, Marco Aurelio Morales, director general of the borough's government and judiciary, presided over the civil union ceremony of two women, identified only as Nancy and Carmen. Morales proudly said that "This is the first time in the borough of Milpa Alta that we have created a union of this kind." It’s the least populated of the Mexican capital's 16 boroughs with some 115,000 inhabitants, but is the second biggest in area, which is mostly agricultural. Mexico City’s civil unions law went into effect at the end of 2006. It extends most of the rights of marriage to gay and lesbian couples. Same-gender unions have also been made legal in the northern Mexican state of Coahuila. The leader of the United Nations HIV/AIDS agency criticized Senegal this week for jailing 9 gay men, saying that homophobic acts would not help efforts to prevent HIV infection in the West African country. A Senegalese court sentenced each of the 9 men to 8 years in prison last week. It’s the harshest such sentence ever imposed in a country where homosexuality is outlawed. The men, all under 30, were arrested in December during a dinner party in a Dakar suburb at the apartment of one of the country’s leading gay rights and20HIV/AIDS activists. No one was reportedly having sex, but the police cited numerous condoms and lubricants found in the apartment during the raid as proof of sexual activity even though they’re standard tools of HIV/AIDS activists whose goal is to educate gay men about safe sex practices. UNAIDS Executive Director Michel Sidibe said that “Universal access to HIV prevention, treatment, care and support must be accessible to all people in Senegal who are in need - including men who have sex with men." The case is currently under appeal. And finally, in honor of this week’s momentous “Change” in Washington, D.C., about which we’ll have coverage from a queer perspective next week, the following message source unknoown recently circulated online: “Dear World: The United States of America, for over 200 years your high-quality supplier of the ideals of liberty and democracy, would like to apologize for its 2001-2008 service outage. The technical fault that led to this 8-year service interruption has been located, and the parts responsible for it were replaced Tuesday night, November 4th. “Early tests of the newly installed equipment indicate that it is functioning correctly, and we expect it to be fully functional by [late] January. “We apologize for any inconvenience caused by the outage, and we look forward to resuming full service and hopefully even to improvingg it in years to come. Thank you20for your patience and understanding. (Sincerely,) The USA.” Which stars will make the biggest headlines in 2009? Get Hollywood predictions, celebrity holiday photos and more with the PopEater Toolbar.