Date: Sat, 23 Mar 1996 00:29:54 +0100 From: Guenter Strobl Call for international support! DETAILLED information at: http://www.oeh.uni-linz.ac.at/proint.html TOP News:=20 Austria: Criminal charges against people who support gay and lesbian activists Background information: In Austria there are still three laws which forbid public speech about gay and lesbian issues. This law was interpreted as outdated and that's why conservative politicians argued that there is no hurry to repeal them quickly. They wanted to discuss this issue together with the =A7 209 which forbids same sexrelationships= among men one of them aged under 18 (same case of sex relationships among women is allowed (!)).=20 The district attorney office of Feldkirch, Vorarlberg, received a criminal charge against the following groups and individuals: Members of the Austrian Gay and Lesbian Association (=D6LSF) represented= by chairman Christian Michelides=20 Members of the Homosexual Initiative Vorarlberg (HOSI) (a local gay and lesbian group) represented by Michael Stadelmann=20 Officals of the Ministery for Family Issues (!) for granting money for the =D6LSF=20 Dr. Heide Schmidt - leader of the Liberal Party (Liberales Forum) who fighted for gay and lesbian rights officially (!)=20 Guenter Strobl h9150423@asterix.wu-wien.ac.at guenter@www.oeh.uni-linz.ac.at http://www.oeh.uni-linz.ac.at