============================================= = INTERNATIONAL NEWS #293 - Dec 06, 1999 = ============================================= --> SOUTH AFRICA WELCOMES GAY LOVERS South Africa's Constitutional Court extended the spousal immigration provisions of the Aliens Control Act to same-sex couples Dec. 2. Gays and lesbians are now permitted to bring a foreign lover to live with them. The ruling upheld a decision by the regional Cape High Court that had been appealed by the Department of Home Affairs. The Constitutional Court said: "Gays and lesbians in same-sex life partnerships are as capable as heterosexual couples of expressing and sharing love in its manifold forms. They are capable of constituting a family including affection. ... [T]he Aliens Control Act, by omitting to confer on persons, who are partners in permanent same-sex life partnerships, the benefits it extends to spouses, unfairly discriminates, on the grounds of their sexual orientation and marital status, against partners in such same-sex partnerships." The National Coalition for Gay and Lesbian Equality commented: "The Department of Home Affairs has persistently acted in a cruel and unjustifiable manner against lesbian and gay people. The sad history of this case is that lesbian and gay couples have been harassed, detained and threatened with deportation for the past two years. This is typical of the high-handed and bureaucratic bullying of all immigrants and refugees. This decision is the first step in holding the department accountable to all people for its actions." --> IRELAND BANS DISCRIMINATION Ireland's new Employment Equality Act bans direct and indirect job discrimination based on sexual orientation, the International Lesbian and Gay Association reported Dec. 2. The law also prohibits unwelcome, offensive, humiliating or intimidating actions. Religious institutions are exempt from the act in instances where it conflicts with their teachings. --> ISRAELI HEALTH MINISTER BLASTS GAYS Israeli Health Minister Shlomo Benizri said Dec. 1 that gays are sick deviants. "These people have a mental problem, they are deviant. Instead of giving them legitimacy, we need to treat them," he told Reuters. "It is a sickness. They say they are like normal people. Psychologists have to encourage them and help them." Speaking to the Ma'ariv newspaper, Benizri added: "I am ready to fund the creation of special closed sections for them in psychiatric hospitals. They are suffering from a genetic defect and the health ministry can come to their help." Gay leader Michal Eden responded: "The Minister of Health is dark, a racist. ... If he holds such views, he should immediately resign." In general, Israel is fairly gay-friendly, at least in the legal arena. Gay sex was decriminalized in 1988, job bias was banned in 1992, and the military gay ban was dropped in 1993. --> LATVIA KILLS PARTNER MEASURE Latvia's parliament rejected a gay registered-partnership bill Nov. 30. The measure died in the Human Rights and Public Affairs Committee which declined to send it to the full parliament. "There is still a high level of intolerance in our society, manifesting itself not only against homosexuals, but other groups, such as refugees, as well," said MP Boris Cilevics. "This is dangerous for our democratic development." The bill was drafted by the national Human Rights Office as part of its effort to reduce anti-gay discrimination. --> PORTILLO ELECTED Conservative former British Defense Secretary Michael Portillo, who recently acknowledged having had gay sex during his college days, was elected to Parliament Nov. 25 in a special election to fill the London seat of the late MP Alan Clark. Portillo got 56 percent of the vote in the upscale Kensington/Chelsea district with the remainder split among 17 other candidates. Portillo, 46, was heckled repeatedly during the campaign by Peter Tatchell of the gay group OutRage!, who was upset that, as defense minister, Portillo had supported Britain's ban on gays in the military. The ban was struck down Sept. 27 by the European Court of Human Rights. In a previous stint as an MP, Portillo also had opposed equalizing the age of consent for gay and straight sex at 16. Male-male sex is not legal until age 18. "Portillo was constantly surrounded by a ring of police and Tory party minders to prevent OutRage! asking him awkward questions," Tatchell said after the election. "Whenever we got close to him, we were variously shoved, punched, grabbed around the throat, held in arm-locks, muzzled across the mouth, and knocked to the ground -- all because we wanted to ask Portillo how he justified voting against lesbian and gay rights." OutRage! also claims Portillo has not been fully honest about his gay experiences -- that, in fact, he had at least one long-term gay relationship after he left university. Nonetheless, Portillo remains the likely successor to Conservative Party leader William Hague, according to British newspapers. --> ALBERTA ALLOWS LESBIAN ADOPTIONS The Canadian province of Alberta's Court of Queen's Bench ruled last week that the partners of two lesbian mothers may adopt children they helped raise. The court said the Calgary women are fully qualified for the role and that the adoptions serve the best interests of the kids. The two boys, age 5 and 12, were conceived by artificial insemination. --> MARDI GRAS BOMBS Manchester, England's huge gay Mardi Gras celebration promotes itself as a charitable organization but when the bookkeeping was finished this year there was nothing to donate. Around 300,000 people attended the festivities and 45,000 of them bought a $16 "pledgeband" with the "guarantee" that "half of the profits will go to initiatives to support people with HIV and half will go to lesbian & gay community initiatives." Event Co-ordinator Ian Wilmott lamented: "It's a question of simple economics. We need to fund Mardi Gras to pay for the infrastructure. Once we've done that, once we've paid the bills, all of the money surplus to that will be given over to charities. This year that hasn't happened." Critics accused the organizers of poor money management. --> IN BRIEF * China's first TV condom ad aired on Central Television's Channel 1, Xinhua reported Nov. 29. But on Dec. 2, the ad was banned for violating a law that prohibits advertisements for sexual products. * The government tourist bureau of the Australian state of Tasmania has funded production of a gay visitors guide. * The Romanian gay group ACCEPT has built a Web site at http://accept.ong.ro. * British heterosexuals have caught up with homosexuals when it comes to HIV transmission. In the first half of 1999, 47 percent of those newly diagnosed were straight and 48 percent were gay, the Public Health Laboratory Service reported Dec. 1. * Auckland, New Zealand's huge annual gay Hero Parade has been cancelled for 2000 due to money troubles. Organizers said the celebration will return as a festival in February 2001. * Australia's highest court ruled Dec. 3 that the military can kick out people who test positive for HIV, hepatitis B or hepatitis C because they pose a threat to other soldiers, particularly during combat. -end-