 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Please click here to tell us what you think of this site.
Petitions
filed Wednesday in opposition of new Kalamazoo gay-rights ordinance
WEDNESDAY, December 31, 2008 (mlive.com)
by Kathy Jessup
KALAMAZOO -- Petitions seeking the repeal of a newly adopted city ordinance that extends discrimination protections to gays and lesbians in Kalamazoo have been filed.
City Clerk Scott Borling said former city commissioner and current Kalamazoo County Treasurer Mary Balkema officially turned over 189 pages of petitions that circulators said contained about 1,600 signatures.
Due to the New Year's Day holiday Thursday, Borling said certification of those signatures will begin Friday.
Borling expects the process to extend into next week before it is officially determined that the petitions contain at least 1,273 signatures, the minimum Borling said are necessary to trigger reconsideration of the anti-discrimination ordinance.
Under the charter, if sufficient signatures are certified next week, the ordinance is immediately suspended and the Kalamazoo City Commission must either repeal the entire ordinance or put it on the ballot for city voters to decide.
That action must occur at the commission's next business meeting, which would be Jan. 26.
The current ordinance expands existing housing and employment protections to include gays, lesbians and transgender individuals, protected classes that are not currently included in existing state and federal anti-discrimination laws.
For example, refusing to rent an apartment located in the city to a couple because they are gay could be a civil infraction, punishable by a fine of up to $500.
The petition drive was organized by the American Family Association of Michigan and circulators had 20 days from the effective date of the ordinance to collect petition signatures.
The ordinance language was pushed by the Kalamazoo Alliance for Equality and was adopted by commissioners in a 7-0 vote Dec. 1.
Gay
and bisexual black men have lowest rate of prostate testing, research
finds
WEDNESDAY, December 31, 2008 (Pink
News)
A new study published in the December issue of Medical Care claims that African-American gay and bisexual men are the least likely to be tested for prostate cancer than any other men.
The study, by assistant professor Kevin C. Heslin of Charles Drew University, Los Angeles, explored rates of prostate cancer in relation to sexual orientation and ethnicity.
Interviews with 19,410 men, all aged over 50 years, showed that the proportion of black gay or bisexual men who had been tested was 12-14%.
This figure is significantly lower than the proportion of straight black men, and 15-28% lower than gay or bisexual white men.
Overall, there was no difference in rates of testing when comparing gay, bisexual and heterosexual men.
this lead Professor Heslin to conclude that men who are both black and gay or bisexual are significantly barred from prostate cancer testing.
This means that black gay or bisexual men are statistically more likely to be diagnosed late with prostate cancer, meaning that their chances of successful treatment are lower and that they are more likely to die of the disease than any other group.
Professor Heslin told Medlexicon.com:
"Gay and bisexual black men had the lowest rate of the PSA test, compared with every other group of men in the study.
"For blacks, being a member of both racial and sexual minority groups represents a kind of double jeopardy when it comes to getting PSA testing."
In 2008, 28,660 men died of prostate cancer in the United States, and 186,320 new cases were diagnosed.
Turkey
breaks company with EU in gay vote
MONDAY, December 22, 2008 (Hurriyet
Daily News)
ANKARA -- In an atmosphere where Turkey is being criticized for the slow pace of its EU reforms, the country refuses to sign a declaration calling all states to take steps to stop the criminalization of homosexuality, contradicting its commitments to the EU in promoting human rights.
Turkey refused to sign a European Union-led declaration presented last week at the United Nations calling all states to take steps to stop the criminalization of homosexuality. The move contradicted Turkey's commitments to the EU to promote human rights for all without any discrimination.
"It's very frustrating for Turks who wish the state to become a member of the EU. Turkey's position with regard to this issue is more important than Cyprus to us," an EU ambassador told the Hurriyet Daily News & Economic Review after it became clear that Ankara declined to join the 27 EU countries who endorsed the groundbreaking initiative.
Co-sponsored by France and the Netherlands, the declaration urged all states "to take all the necessary measures, in particular legislative or administrative, to ensure that sexual orientation or gender identity may under no circumstances be the basis for criminal penalties, in particular executions, arrests or detention."
The appeal is based on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which states in Article One: "All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights." Out of 192, 66 countries signed the document, saying they "are disturbed that violence, harassment, discrimination, exclusion, stigmatization and prejudice are directed against persons in all countries in the world because of sexual orientation or gender identity."
The signatories "condemn the human rights violations based on sexual orientation or gender identity wherever they occur," especially "the use of the death penalty on this ground," as well as their "arbitrary arrest or detention and deprivation of economic, social and cultural rights, including the right to health."
Alongside the Vatican, the initiative was strongly criticized by many Arab countries, which issued a joint counter statement accusing signatories of giving special prominence to gays and lesbians. Signed by 60 countries, the counter statement suggested that protecting sexual orientation could lead to "the social normalization and possibly the legalization of deplorable acts" such as pedophilia and incest.
New
standards
"We note with concern the attempts to create 'new rights or ' new
standards,' by misinterpreting the Universal Declaration and international
treaties to include such notions that were never articulated on or agreed
by the general membership," it said. Turkey did not sign the counter
statement either.
Recalling that the statement was turned down by the Vatican and Arab countries on the basis of religious sensitivities, an EU ambassador said Turkey's preference in not joining the EU countries does in fact contradict with its secular order as well. "Is Turkey with Vatican or the rest of Europe?" the ambassador asked. Turkish officials were not available to comment when this report was being prepared.
The two statements remained open for further signatures, the diplomats said. According to the EU's progress report on Turkey, homosexual relationships between consenting adults in private are permitted in Turkey. "However, the law does not duly mention all the grounds of discrimination, such as sexual orientation, and provisions of the Turkish Criminal Code on 'public exhibitionism' and 'offences against public morality' are sometimes used to discriminate against the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community," the report read.
The leading gay association in Turkey has called on the state to sign the declaration to take a step in protecting their rights.
"Turkey is the only country among the candidate members of the EU that refused to sign the declaration," said Baris Sulu, head of Ankara-based Pembe Hayat, one of the leading Turkish lesbian, gay , bisexual and transgender, or LGBT, associations. "We want the government to protect and encourage everyone to protect human rights for everyone without discriminating the sexual identity or sexual tendencies," Sulu added.
Homosexuality is not a crime according to t Turkish laws. However, "we are not defined in the Turkish constitution's prohibition of discrimination or the social and civil rights," said Ozan Gezmis, an activist from the MorEl Eskisehir LGBT group. "We are ignored and ignorance is the utmost violence," Gezmis said.
"Turkey should vote for human rights on this issue, if it regards itself as a European country. But, we all know this is Turkey's contradiction, where it tries to be European while on the other hand, acting parallel to Islam countries," Pelin Kalkan said, speaking on behalf of Ankara-based Kaos GL, another leading Turkish LGBT organizations.
Top
Lawyer Urges Voiding California Proposition 8
SATURDAY, December 20, 2008 (New
York Times) by Jesse McKinley
SAN FRANCISCO -- In a sharp rebuke to supporters of a contested state ballot measure that banned same-sex marriage, the California attorney general said Friday that the measure was constitutionally indefensible and should be overturned.
The attorney general, Jerry Brown, had previously hinted of his opposition to the measure, Proposition 8, but made his legal opinion concrete on Friday in a brief to the California Supreme Court, which is reviewing the measure. "Proposition 8 must be invalidated because the amendment process cannot be used to extinguish fundamental constitutional rights without compelling justification," Mr. Brown said in a statement.
Opponents have argued that the proposition fundamentally altered the state Constitution by taking away the right to marry from same-sex couples, who had been free to do so since May, when the California Supreme Court legalized such marriages. Proposition 8 overturned that decision by defining marriage in California as between only men and women.
Supporters of Proposition 8 asked the court in a separate legal brief filed Friday to invalidate the approximately 18,000 same-sex wedding performed before the ban was passed.
"The language, policy, history and intent of Proposition 8 do not permit recognition of some same-sex marriages but not others," read the brief, which was also written by the prominent conservative lawyer Kenneth W. Starr. "None are valid or recognized in California."
Opponents of Proposition 8 said the brief was another effort to strip rights from same=-sex couples who were already hurting from the measure's passage.
"This is an offensive attempt to rip away people's marriages," said Geoff Kors, the executive director of Equality California, a gay rights group. "There was nothing in Proposition 8 that was retroactive."
Mr. Brown's action did not surprise supporters of Proposition 8. "It's no secret that the attorney general opposed Proposition 8 during the campaign," said Andrew Pugno, the lawyer for the group behind the ban, Protect Marriage.
Both side have been waging a public relations battle. Supporters of same-sex marriage have staged a a series of protests since the vote, with a candlelight vigil planned in several cities on Saturday. Opponents of same-sex marriage have urged protesters to accept the will of voters.
The court could hear oral arguments as soon as March, and a decision is expected next year.
Battle
to reverse Prop 8 begins
WEDNESDAY, December 17, 2008 (365Gay)
(San Francisco) LGBT groups have begun efforts to put a repeal of Proposition 8 on the 2010 ballot.
Prop 8, passed by voters in November, bars same-sex marriage in California. The constitutionality of the measure will be taken up by the state Supreme Court in 2009, but LGBT groups say they are taking no chances on how the court will rule and have begun making plans for a ballot measure that would reverse the ban.
One group announced Wednesday that it will air five 30-second commercials to run throughout Inauguration Week in January.
The group, GetToKnowMeFirst.org, said the spots will run in both urban and rural markets throughout California. They are currently being previewed on the group's Web site.
"It's important that our fellow Californians see the faces of the real families that are directly affected by the passage of Proposition 8," said John Ireland, the group's organizer.
One of the spots in the campaign will feature Sonia and Gina, a couple who are raising a son and daughter, ages 6 and 3.
"Don't take my family's rights away. Get to know me first," Sonia says in the ad. "Our families may look different from yours, but we're not. We need the same things... like marriage... so we can protect and provide for our kids."
Another spot will feature Robin Tyler and Dianne Olson, two of the original plaintiffs in the marriage lawsuit that led the California Supreme Court to legalize marriage for same-sex couples in May 2008. That ruling was overturned by the passage of Proposition 8 in November.
Two of the ads will also be in Spanish. One profiles a Latina couple and the other profiles a family with triplets, headed by two men.
The posts were financed and produced by Power Up, an award-winning LGBT cinema incubator based in Los Angeles.
The final results of the November election were certified this week, showing that Prop 8 won by 599,602 votes. The results showed that the 52-48 percentage point spread held from early results on election night. It was approved in 43 of the state's 58 counties.
Meanwhile, in another development, the American Civil Liberties Union has blasted a high school for ordering a 16-year-old student to remove a T-shirt opposing Prop 8 the day before the election.
The T-shirt that Mariah Jimenez wore to class at Big Bear High School on Nov 3 said "Prop. 8 Equals Hate."
A teacher ordered her to remove the T-shirt. When Jimenez refused she was sent to principal Michael Ghelber's office.
The ACLU said that Ghelber told the student to either remove the T-shirt or remain in his office.
Jimenez reluctantly changed shirts and returned to class.
The ACLU in a letter to schools superintendent Carole Ferraud said that Jimenez's federal and state constitutional rights of free speech had been violated.
The letter said that Jimenez deserves an apology. Ferraud had not responded by Wednesday morning.
Connecticut
voters back court's gay marriage decision
WEDNESDAY, December 17, 2008 (Pink
News)
A majority of people in Connecticut support the state Supreme Court's ruling on gay marriage, according to a poll released today.
The Supreme Court of Connecticut overturned a ban on gay marriage in September. It ruled that barring same-sex partners from marrying was a violation of their constitutional rights.
There have been more than 2,000 civil unions in the state since they were legalised in 2005.
The first same-sex weddings took place in November.
In the new Quinnipiac University poll, 52% of voters said they supported the Supreme Court and 39% opposed it, with 9% undecided.
Given a choice between gay marriage and civil unions, 12% oppose any legal recognition, 43% support gay marriage and 39% support civil unions.
61% oppose amending the state Constitution to ban gay marriage, with 33% in favour.
"Connecticut voters are not in love with same-sex marriage," said poll director Douglas Schwartz.
"But four out of five voters support some legal recognition for same-sex unions and by almost two-to-one and voters do not want to change the state constitution to ban same-sex marriage."
A similar state Supreme Court ruling in California in May allowed gay marriage, and an estimated 18,000 gay and lesbian couples have taken advantage of their new rights.
Voters approved a ballot measure in November that seeks to deny gay couples their marriage rights by changing the state constitution to define marriage as only between a man and a woman.
Gay rights groups are challenging the validity of Proposition 8 in court.
Californian gay and lesbian couples can still register domestic partnerships but cannot get married.
US
Army chief looks to practicalities of out gays in the military
WEDNESDAY, December 17, 2008 (Pink
News)
The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of staff has "begun to think about" the changes to the US military if openly gay and lesbian people are allowed to serve.
Admiral Mike Mullen has indicated that the current ban, known as Don't Ask, Don't Tell, is likely to be repealed.
If army personnel are discovered to be LGB then they are sacked, but commanding officers are not allowed to ask about their sexual orientation.
"The President-elect's been pretty clear that he wants to address this issue," Admiral Mullen said in an interview about his meeting with President-elect Barack Obama in Chicago last month.
"I am certainly mindful that at some point in time it could come."
The New York Times reports:
"A friend of Admiral Mullen said the admiral had begun to think about implications like housing, but Admiral Mullen said there had been no formal planning or task forces on the issue."
In May Admiral Mullen said that Congress is responsible for the ban on openly lesbian, gay and bisexual Americans from military service.
Speaking to graduating cadets at West Point military academy, Admiral Mike Mullen said that Don't Ask, Don't Tell is a law that the Armed Forces follow.
"Should the law change, the military will carry that out too," he said.
Present-elect Barack Obama backs repeal.
A statement on civil rights posted on the Presidential transition website states:
"Barack Obama agrees with former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff John Shalikashvili and other military experts that we need to repeal the Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy.
"The key test for military service should be patriotism, a sense of duty, and a willingness to serve.
"Discrimination should be prohibited. The US government has spent millions of dollars replacing troops kicked out of the military because of their sexual orientation.
"Additionally, more than 300 language experts have been fired under this policy, including more than 50 who are fluent in Arabic.
"Obama will work with military leaders to repeal the current policy and ensure it helps accomplish our national defence goals."
A spokesperson for the President-elect said last month that no decisions had been made about the strategy or timing of an attempt to end the ban.
The Washington Post reported that it could be as late as 2010.
Congressman Barney Frank, who is gay, has said he thinks there will not be an attempt to overturn the ban until after US troops have pulled out of Iraq.
It is likely that the US military will look to the UK's experience of opening up the Armed Forces to openly gay, bisexual and lesbian people as it moves to repeal DADT.
Aaron Belkin, director for the Michael D. Palm Center at the University of California and an expert on Don't Ask, Don't Tell, told PinkNews.co.uk:
"The UK is by far and away the most respected military in the world when it comes tot he mindset of the Pentagon.
"In fact, when we last had this debate in 1992/93 one of the reasons that people gave why the US couldn't lift its ban was that Britain had a ban at that time.
"I know in personal conversations with very respected military leaders that they see British experiences as precedent setting and that the incredible progress over here, has already changed a lot of their minds.
"The question is not just about seeing the precedent and changing minds but figuring out how to lit the ban, once the political trigger is pulled.
"So once that moment arrives the British experiences will need to be studied in greater depth, to get a road map."
The Dutch lifted their ban on gays in 1974, Australia followed in 1992 and Canada soon after.
In 2008, most of the member nations of NATO have removed their bans.
In the UK the Armed Forces have been open to lesbian, gay and bisexual people since 2000.
The British Army, the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force are members of the Stonewall Diversity Champions programme, a good practice forum where employers work with Stonewall and each other, to promote lesbian, gay and bisexual equality in the workplace.
UN
envoy calls on Caribbean nations to decriminalise homosexual acts
TUESDAY, December 16, 2008 (Pink
News)
The United Nations special envoy for HIV/AIDS in the Caribbean has said that countries in the region should move to decriminalise gay sex.
George Alleyne said that such a move would help the fight against AIDS.
"I believe that the existence of these laws contribute to infected and potentially infected men not coming forward to be tested, and I will propose that such laws be revised," he said at a meeting in Guyana.
In 2007, an estimated 230,000 people in the Caribbean were living with HIV, while an estimated 20,000 were newly infected, and 14,000 died of AIDS-related illnesses, according to UNAIDS.
Mr. Alleyne said homophobia was rampant and one of several "egregious manifestations of stigma and discrimination," reports the Latin American Herald Tribune.
His comments echo those of a British government minister.
Gareth Thomas, minister of state at the Department for International Development, told PinkNews.co.uk last month that tackling state and cultural homophobia is vital to the fight against HIV in the Caribbean.
He said he was concerned that "things are not getting better on either front, and more change is necessary."
His role at DFID has responsibility for HIV and Mr. Thomas has visited the Caribbean several times.
"During those visits I have been struck by the extent to which homophobia and the anti-gay legislation is impacting the effort to fight the surge of HIV infections," he said.
During a recent meeting with Jamaica's Prime Minister, Foreign Minister and Trade Minister, Mr. Thomas raised the issue head on.
"We had an acknowledgment there was an issue, though there was not a conversation about immediate next steps," he said.
First
Baltic Pride will be celebrated in Riga next year
TUESDAY, December 16, 2008 (Pink
News)
LGBT organisations from Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania have announced their plans to hold a joint Pride event next year.
Baltic Pride aims to draw attention to the situation for lesbian, gay , bisexual and transgender people in the three EU members sates and "encourage people of different sexual orientations to celebrate diversity and Baltic unity."
Estonian Gay League (EGN), Latvian LGBT group Mozaika and the Lithuanian Gay League (LGL) have agreed to organise joint pride evens in the Baltic and will begin with Riga next year.
The Pride programme will consist of a political discussion on non-discrimination principles in the European Union, seminars, cultural events and a Pride parade.
The festival will run from May 15th to May 17th, the international day against homophobia (IDAHO).
Lithuanian gay activist Vladimir Simonko, chairperson of LGL, said it is important to "follow the example of Estonia and Latvia, where Pride parades have already taken place for a few years and the understanding of freedom of assembly and expression has grown bigger than in Lithuania."
LGL are planning Baltic Pride in Vilnius in 2010.
In August two mayors of Lithuanian cities refused to allow an EU anti-discrimination exhibition on public land.
In a compromise, the touring vehicle, organised by the European Commission, was displayed on private property.
The mayor of Vilnius, Juozas Imbrasas, refused to allow the truck into the city claiming that participation of LGBT activists would be "propaganda of homosexuality."
Andrius Kupcinskas, Mayor of Kaunas, said that the "homosexual festival may cause many negative emotions."
The LGBT community face considerable prejudice in the Baltic states, where the Roman Catholic church and other Christian denominations have considerable political and social influence.
In the run up to this year's Riga Pride, Cardinal Janis Pujats said homosexuality is against the natural order and, therefore, against the laws of God, and that homosexuals also claim unlawfully to have the rights of a minority.
The event in June passed off peacefully. Police arrested four of an estimated 400 anti-gay protesters, but the threats of violence against the Pride march did not materialise.
British and Swedish human rights advocates and politicians were among the 300 people who took part in the event. City authorities closed off streets and deployed police to keep the groups apart.
The marchers were taken away in buses at the end of the event.
Despite the situation in Latvia and Lithuania, Estonian gays may soon be given new rights.
"The Estonian LGBT community is still waiting for the discussion of same-sex partnership to be brought up in the Estonian Parliament," said Madle Saluveer of EGN.
"The partnership law would be the first big step forward in the recognition of LGBT rights in the Baltic states."
"We would like similar progress to take place in all three countries -- after all, we are close neighbours and have in common a wish to develop our democracies."
In July the Estonian Ministry of Justice confirmed it was preparing a draft law which would allow same-sex partners to register their cohabitation.
Amendments to inheritance, property rights and citizenship will be included and unmarried heterosexual couples could also benefit from the draft law.
In 2006 Tallinn Pride was marred by violence.
15 people were injured after being attacked by groups of skinheads with sticks and stones.
Tallinn police tried to alter the parade route in 2007, claiming their presence would infringe the rights of other residents to go about their business. However, the route was authorised after protests by gay rights activists.
New
Jersey commission backs gay marriage over "unequal" civil unions
TUESDAY, December 16, 2008 (Pink
News)
A commission set up to study the effect on same-sex couples, their children and other family members of being provided civil unions rather than marriage has issued its final report.
The New Jersey Civil Union Review Commission (NJ-CURC) was established by the state Legislature pursuant to the Civil Union Act, which took effect in February 2007.
Civil unions were introduced in New Jersey after the state Supreme Court's 2006 ruling that gay and lesbian couples are entitled to equal civil rights.
The commission studies all aspects of the Act and concluded that civil unions are unequal.
"We, the thirteen members of the New Jersey Civil Union Review Commission, unanimously issue this final report, containing a set of recommendations to the Governor and the Legislature of the State of New Jersey," the report read.
"After eighteen public meetings, 26 hours of oral testimony and hundreds of pages of written submission from more than 150 witnesses, this Commission finds that the separate categorisation established by the Civil Union Act invites and encourages unequal treatment of same-sex couples and their children.
"In a number of cases, the negative effect of the Civil Union Act on the physical and mental health of same-sex couples and their children is striking, largely because a number of employers and hospitals do not recognise the rights and benefits of marriage for civil union couples."
The commission said that civil unions send "the same message that racial segregation laws wrongfully sent. Separate treatment was wrong then and it is just as wrong now.
"The Commission is compelled to issue its final report now because of the overwhelming evidence that civil unions will not be recognised by the general public as the equivalent of marriage in New Jersey with the passage of time."
The Governor of New Jersey, Jon Corzine, backed the commission's conclusions.
"While this administration is focused squarely on the economic crisis for the foreseeable future, it's clear that this issues of civil rights must be addressed sooner rather than later," he said.
Opponents of gay marriage have attacked the commission's conclusions.
"The CURC's argument that redefining marriage would not cause any economic fallout is laughable, and the insinuation that children would somehow benefit from society equating same-sex unions to marriage is sadly false," said Toni Meyer, Director of Research for "traditional family" group the New Jersey Family Protection Council.
"Society should not be equating same-sex unions to marriage, because they are not equal in benefit to anyone.
"In Scandinavia, where same-sex unions have been legal longest, government data shows that same-sex unions break up at a significantly higher rate, valid research shows that children raised in these households are more confused about their sexual identity, and more likely to be promiscuous, and LGB youth are more likely to experience teen pregnancy."
The first state Governor to come out as gay was from New Jersey.
Jim McGreevey made his dramatic announcement at at televised press conference four years ago, telling reports: "My truth is that I am a gay American."
He made a public confession of an affair with his former homeland security advisor, Golan Cipel and left office two months later, in November 2004.
Gay marriage is legal in two US states, Massachusetts and Connecticut.
It was legal in California after a state Supreme Court decision in May.
Voters in the state approved a ballot measure denying same-sex couples the right to marry in November.
The ballot's legality is being challenged in the state Supreme Court.
Sweden's
highest court rejects same-sex marriage case
TUESDAY, December 16, 2008 (Pink
News)
A gay couple who got married in Canada should not be regarded as a married couple under Swedish law, a court has ruled.
Lars Gardfeldt and Lars Arnell lost their case against the Swedish tax authority.
The couple, who are both Church of Sweden priests, claimed the decision to classify their Canadian marriage as a civil partnership was discriminatory.
Sweden's highest court, the Supreme Administrative Court, said that a Swedish law from 1987 defines marriage as between a man and a woman and therefore the tax authority was correct to classify the overseas same-sex marriage as a civil partnership.
The gay couple had argued that "the tax authorities can make an exception for a marriage where one party is under-age but not for homosexuals," The Local reports.
If they had won the case it could have led to a de facto legalisation of same-sex marriage.
Sweden's Prime Minister has pledged to introduce a 'gender neutral' marriage law next year.
In January 2007 the Church of Sweden, which was disestablished in 2000, began offering religious blessings to gay unions and actively welcomed LGBT clergy.
Last year the Church agreed that marriage and partnership were equivalent forms of unions.
It recommended however that the term "marriage' be referred only to heterosexual couples.
The Swedish Church, a Lutheran branch of Christianity with more than 7 million members out of a population of 9 million, had been asked to express its opinion on the matter directly by the government, which intends to modify the 1987 law defining marriages as a union between man and woman.
While there is strong support for gay marriage, the measures to introduce it have still not come before Parliament.
Gay and lesbian couples can register their partnership through a civil ceremony, a process introduced in 1995 which gives same-sex couples the same rights as married couples.
A poll for the Sifo Institute published in January found that 71% of Swedes think gay people should be allowed to marry.
Six of the seven parties represented in Sweden's parliament are in support of gay marriage with only the Christian Democrats, a junior member of the four-party coalition, opposing it.
The opposition Social Democrats, Greens and Left party claim the government has had ample time to bring forward legislation.
Last month Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt said:
"The coalition government has agreed that we will present a basic marriage bill to parliament.
"The three parties in favour of a gender neutral marriage law will then present an accompanying motion seeking to have such a law in place by May 1st 2009."
The new law would allow church weddings, though clergy can opt out of performing gay ceremonies.
FDA
Panel Backs New, Less Costly Female Condom
MONDAY, December 15, 2008 (Kaiser
Network)
An FDA advisory panel on Thursday voted 15-0 to recommend approval of the new, less costly version of the female condom developed by the Female Health Company, Reuters reports. When determining whether to recommend approval of the new product -- called the FC2 female condom -- the panel heard that the condom's lower price could attract more women to the product and allow health organizations to increase distribution in an effort to curb the spread of HIV/AIDS, Reuters reports. Approval of the less costly version also could boost U.S. sales -- which accounted for 10% of the company's 34. million unit sales in 2008 -- Reuters reports (Heavey, Reuters, 12/11).
In addition, most of the company's U.S. sales are to development agencies such as USAID, which will not distribute the new female condom abroad without FDA approval (Kaiser Daily HIV/AIDS Report, 12/11). Distribution by USAID would improve access to the condom for women in other countries, according to Mary Ann Leeper, an adviser and former president of FHC. An older version of the female condom currently on the U.S. market was approved in 1993 to help prevent pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections but has not achieved widespread use in the U.S., mainly because of its higher price compared with male condoms, Reuters reports (Reuters, 12/11). The new nitrile-based female condom, which costs less to produce than the older polyurethane version, already is available in countries outside the U.S., FHC said (Kaiser Daily HIV/AIDS Report, 12/11).
More than 12 health advocates urged the panel to recommend approval of FC2, saying that the condom is a critical factor in helping women to prevent pregnancies and STIs. Michael Thomas, a panelist from the University of Cincinnati's College of Medicine, said, "This will allow women in general to take even more control of their ability to protect themselves." American Social Health Association Vice President Deborah Arrindell said, "Female condoms are the only woman-controlled method of safer sex, and we also know what the birth control pill did for women: it allowed them an unprecedented control over their reproductive status" (Reuters, 12/11).
One
small step for gays at Hong Kong's first Pride march
MONDAY, December 15, 2008 (Pink
News)
More than 1,000 people took part in the first officially sanctioned gay Pride event in Hong Kong on Saturday. It was organised by a coalition of HIV organisations and LGBT groups.
A rainbow-coloured dragon was the highlight of the parade, which featured none of the semi-nudity and outrageous displays that are common at other Prides.
While gay marches and parades have taken place in Taiwan, the Hong Kong event was the first of its kind in China.
"We came out today to show the world that people in the queer community are normal people too," Ariel Wong, a 21-year-old student told TIME.
Amnesty International's LGBT coordinator in Hong Kong, Medeleine Mok, said : "In mainland China, it's impossible to have a gay Pride march, so this is a very important day that has attracted many people to Hong Kong."
In 2007 a social support centre for the gay community in Hong Kong opened, the first of its kind in the country.
In October experts in Hong Kong revealed that one third of men who have sex with men could be infected with HIV unless prevention measures work.
There have been sharp rises in the number of men getting the virus through gay sex.
In 2003 there were 50 - up to 112 in 2006.
"If all our actions fail, by 2020 we can have one-third infected in the community. Some of them may go on to infect women," said Wong Ka-hing, consultant for the Hong Kong government's Centre for Health Protection.
"There are three clusters (of infection).
"We investigated and found common risk factors like a number of people attending the same sex parties, internet use, using recreational drugs, unsafe sex."
The highest court in Honk Kong decriminalised gay public sodomy last year in a ruling that advocates called a victory for China's gay rights movement.
A panel of five top judges unanimously ruled that two men, who acknowledged engaging in anal sex in a parked car, should not be subject to the country's maximum penalty of five years in prison.
In 2006 the age of consent in Hong Kong was equalised at 16.
Hungarian
court blocks same-sex partnership law
MONDAY, December 15, 2008 (Pink
News)
The Constitutional Court of Hungary has annulled a new law due to come into effect next month that would legally recognise gay and lesbian relationships.
Parliament approved the Registered Partnership Act in December 2007.
From January 1st 2009 lesbian and gay couples would have had have almost identical rights as married heterosexual couples in common law.
Some exceptions are the right to adopt, access to fertility treatment and the right to take their partner's surname.
The court ruled today that the new law downgrades marriage, but said that a partnership scheme for gay and lesbian couples only would be constitutional.
The Constitutional Court of Hungary is responsible for protecting the Constitution, reviewing the constitutionality of legislation and protecting fundamental constitutional rights.
The Registered Partnership Act gave both gay and straight couples the right to register their partnership and protections regarding next of kin status, taxation, health care, inheritance, social security, pensions and shared possession of a home.
Government statistics show that there were an estimated 349,000 unmarried couples in Hungary in 2005, 12.2 percent of all families, compared to 62,000 in 1970, 2.1 percent of all families.
An opinion poll published last year after the law was passed found little support for the measure among the voters.
The Nepszabadsag survey found that only 12% of Hungarians think same-sex relationships are completely normal.
60% condemned homosexuality and 30% disapproved of gay people.
In November two landmark measures extending protections to LGBT people were adopted by the Hungarian parliament.
The country's hate crime laws will be altered to a general formulation of a "violent act against a member of a social group," which is believed to include sexual orientation.
The second piece of legislation makes it possible to initiate civil proceedings against a person who engages in degrading or intimidating behaviour towards groups base don nationality, ethnicity, religion or sexual orientation.
There have been violent clashes with police and attacks on politicians and gay Pride in recent years.
In July Budapest Pride was the target of violent fascist attacks.
Pride in Budapest in 2007 was plagued by skinheads and fascists shouting abuse and throwing items such as beer bombs, smoke bombs and petrol bombs at the peaceful marchers.
In the week leading up to this year's Pride two gay businesses in Budapest were attacked with petrol bombs.
The Socialist government has adopted several bills in past years to sanction less severe forms of hate speech, but all attempts have been struck down by the Constitutional Court claiming an unconstitutional limitation of the freedom of speech.
The new legislation which is believed to conform to the standards set by the Constitutional Court: members of a group subjected to degrading or intimidating behavior can initiate civil proceedings against the offender.
2008:
A Spike in Gay Violence?
SUNDAY, December 14, 2008 (Gay.com)
The severe beating of a New York man, whose attackers believed he was gay, is part of a rash of recent attacks within the LGBT community. And now a N.Y. advocacy group suggests the number reported assaults may rise, once they determine the numbers for 2008.
The baseball bat beating of Ecuadorian immigrant Jose Sucuzhanay in New York last week as the latest in a number of reported assaults, which left the 31-year-old brain dead.
Sharon Stapel of the New York City Anti-Violence Project said the number of reported attacks against LGBT people increased by 24% in 2007 over 2006, and they were expected to jump in 2008. Officials were still crunching the 2008 numbers, which won't be available for a few more months.
Since the February fatal shooting of Lawrence King, a 15-year-old Los Angeles boy who endured harassment after telling classmates he was gay, "we are witnessing what appears to be an increase in both the occurrence and severity of violence motivated by racism, homophobia, and transphobia," said Stapel.
Stapel attributed the increase in part to more people reporting incidents, but she believed there actually could have been more assaults because 2008 was an election year.
"Election years are always violent years for us because of wedge issues," Stapel said, referring to ballot measures this year banning gay marriage in California and Florida. "With increased visibility comes increased vulnerability to LGBT stereotypes and violence. We've seen some of the most violent hate crimes that we've seen in a while."
In the case of Lawrence King, one of his classmates was charged as an adult in the slaying, which prosecutors classified as a hate crime.
Other incidents include the discovery of Angie Zapata's body in July in her apartment in Greeley, Colo. Zapata, 18, was a transgender woman. Police have charged a a man with murder as a hate crime in her death.
In June, a surveillance tap was publicized showing Memphis, Tenn., police officers beating Duanna Johnson, a transgendered woman, and shouting slurs in a jail booking area; a public outcry erupted. Johnson was found fatally shot on a Memphis street in November.
Also in New York City, police arrested four teenagers on charges of assaulting a priest outside a shelter he ran for homeless transgender youths in July. Witnesses said the four teens had harassed and taunted residents with homophobic slurs and insults before the assault.
"I expect the number will increase from 2007 to 2008," Stapel said. "I hope I'm wrong about that."
FDA
Officials to Review New Female Condom
THURSDAY, December 11, 2008 (The
Body)
An FDA advisory panel this week is scheduled to review a new and possibly less expensive version of the female condom for its efficacy in preventing pregnancies, HIV and other sexually transmitted infections, Reuters India reports. The Female Health Company is seeking FDA approval for its new product, called the FC2 female condom, which is manufactured with a synthetic rubber called nitrile. FHC's older version of the female condom, which already is on the U.S. market, uses polyurethane. FDA on Thursday will receive advice from a panel of outside experts about whether existing data are sufficient to prove that FC2 is safe and effective for approval in the U.S.
Some FDA officials are questioning whether FHC should have performed clinical trials to determine how well FC2 prevents pregnancies and STIs. According to Reuters India, FHC said it did not conduct clinical trials on FC2 because although the new condom uses a material different from FHC's original version, the two products function in the same way. FHC "asserts that such studies are not necessary," the FDA officials wrote in documents released on TUesday ahead of the review, adding, "This is an important review issue." Mary Ann Leeper, and adviser and former president of FHC, said the two versions of the female condom are designed "exactly the same" and are used in the same manner, adding that the company does not "believe there is any more information required." According to t Leeper, conducting another trial would take five more years and cost millions of dollars, and the "whole idea is to increase access." Although FHC as not conducted clinical trials on the new female condom, it has examined the durability of nitrile against tears and other issues, the company said.
According to FHC, FDA approval of FC2 could boost female condom sales in the U.S., which account for 10% of the company's 34.7 million unit sales in 2008. In addition, most of the company's U.S. sales are to aid agencies such as USAID, which will not distribute the new female condom abroad without FDA approval. According to Leeper, FHC has encountered difficulty marketing female condoms but hopes to partner with another company involved in promoting HIV awareness. Female condoms can cast between $2.80 and $4 each in the U.S., compared with between 50 cents and $2 each for male condoms, Reuters reports. The new nitrile-based female condom, which costs less to produce than the polyurethane version, already is available in countries outside the U.S., FHC said (Heavey, Reuters India, 12/10).
Nepal
to support LGBT rights statement at UN
THURSDAY, December 11, 2008 (Pink
News)
The Prime Minister of Nepal has instructed his country's UN Ambassador to support an oral statement on the universal rights of all people regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity.
The statement will be read out loud at the UN General Assembly next week.
Sunil Pant, a gay rights activist and Nepalese MP, said he was proud that his country is "taking a lead to advance LGBT rights internationally."
Nepal joins more than 50 countries that are supporting the statement, originally proposed by France and backed by all other EU member states.
The statement "reaffirms the principle of universality of human rights, as enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Article 1, which proclaims that "all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights."
It condemns homophobic and transphobic violence and "urges States to take all the necessary measures, in particular legislative or administrative, to ensure that sexual orientation or gender identity may under no circumstances be the basis for criminal penalties, in particular executions, arrests or detention."
More than 90 countries criminalise same-sex relationships. In nine states or provinces of states gay and sometimes lesbians face the death penalty.
Mr. Pant, founder of Blue Diamond Society, was named in May as one of five representatives of the Communist Party of Nepal-United in the 601 member new constituent assembly.
The Maoists are the largest party with 220 seats.
Maoist insurgents, who fought a ten-year guerrilla war against monarchist forces at a cost of over 12,000 lives, finally signed a peace agreement with the new democratic government in November 2006.
LGBT people joined the Maoist rebels and others to protest in a democracy movement against the king, demanding a freely elected, secular government.
King Gyanendra eventually relinquished sovereign power to the civilian government and elections were finally held for a new assembly on 10th April.
Gays and lesbians in the Himalayan kingdom previously suffered persistent persecution from security forces during the absolutist rule of King Gyanendra. the harassment of lesbian, gay and trans people continued at the hands of Maoist rebels.
Nepal's Supreme Court recently ruled natural person" and their physical growth as well as sexual orientation, gender identity, expression are all part of natural growing process. Thus equal rights, identity and expression must be ensured regardless of their sex at birth.
The writ petition was filed by Blue Diamond Society and other LGBTI organisations in Nepal demanding the protection and defence of the equal rights of sexual and gender minorities.
Same-sex
couples denied EU right to freedom of movement
THURSDAY, December 11, 2008 (Pink
News)
Gay and lesbian couples who have legal same-sex marriages or unions are being denied their rights to move and reside freely within the EU.
Yesterday the European Commission adopted a report on the application of Directive 2004/38 on the right of EU citizens and their family members to move and reside freely within the territory of the Members States.
The Directive lays down simple administrative formalities and gives to EU citizens and their families a right of permanent residence after five years of residence in the host Member State.
The Directive also extends family reunification rights to registered partners under certain conditions.
Commission Vice-President Jacques Barrot, Commissioner for Justice, Freedom and Security, said:
"Free movement of person constitutes one of the fundamental freedoms of the internal market, to the benefit of EU citizens, of the Member States and of the competitiveness of European economy.
"Flaws in the implementation of EU law in this field might result in a breach of the principles laying at the very core basis of the European construction.
"This is why the Commission will step up its efforts to ensure that EU citizens and their families effectively and fully enjoy their rights under the Directive.
"The Commission will use fully its powers under the Treaty to achieve this result, launching infringement proceedings when necessary, providing guidance to the Member States and ensuring that EU citizens are informed of their rights."
When challenged by journalists about gay and lesbian EU citizens, Commissioner Barrot said:
"If a union is recognised in one member state, then another member should in principle accept that union."
14 EU member states do not give full residence and entry rights to gay and lesbian couples.
They are: Latvia, Slovenia, Estonia, Malta, Cyprus, Ireland, Germany, Austria, France, Greece, Hungary, Poland, Romania and Slovakia.
Family law remains a matter for the member states and not the EU. At present some EU nations, such as Spain and Belgium allow gay marriages.
The UK has same-sex partnerships, a system that will be introduced in the Republic of Ireland.
Other nations such as France have registration systems that give gay and lesbian couple some rights.
The French pacte civil de solidarite (PACS) is fully recognised in Britain, but France does not recognise UK partnerships.
The UK and French governments are currently negotiating a solution.
Any EU-wide agreement on the issue of same-sex recognition would require a consensus among 27 member sates.
Given that politicians in Latvia, Poland and Lithuania are openly homophobic, such an agreement seems unlikely.
The issue of cross-border recognition was raised in the European Parliament last month.
A declaration has been tabled on the issue. If it is singed by more than 50% of MEPs it will be adopted as a resolution.
It calls for "member states with existing same-sex partnership legislation to recognise the arrangements of other member state that have also made provisions for same-sex partnerships," and for "guidelines for such mutual recognition by member states with existing same-sex partnership legislation."
Resolutions are formally adopted by the European Parliament and forwarded to the commission, council and member state governments for consideration.
South
Africans still not OK with same-sex relationships
WEDNESDAY, December 10, 2008 (Pink
News)
82% of the adult population of South Africa think that sex between two men or two women could be considered 'always wrong,' according to the latest South African Social Attitudes Survey.
Just 8% thought it was never wrong.
"Gay and lesbian identities continue to be characterised as 'un-African'," according to the report into the survey from the Human Sciences Research Council.
Figures for the last five years show a consistent 80% opposition to gay people.
"The assertion of 'un-Africanness' conceals a moral and cultural view that African societies are somehow unique and therefore immune to what is perceived to be a Western and European import."
"The systematic accusations by several African leaders over the years have fueled these perceptions and South Africans are likewise divided in their tolerance of same-sex issues.
"As the incidences of hate crimes against black lesbians and gay-=bashing attest, the victory of constitutional equality clearly has not guaranteed the end to social discrimination."
South Africa is the only African nation to have legalised same-sex marriage and the state's Constitution provides protection from discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation.
"Prejudiced views on same-sex relations appear closely related to education, with more highly educated people being more tolerant," according to the report.
"Those who matriculated or possess a tertiary qualification demonstrate more liberal views, especially compared to citizens that either have no formal schooling or only a primary level education.
"However, even among tertiary educated adults, 76% on average over the period consider homosexuality to be always wrong, with the lowest reported figure for this group being 72% in 2003.
"Noteworthy are the signs of improvement since 2005 among those with either a grade 8 to 11 education or having matriculated.
"This development will need to be monitored to determine whether the trend persists.
"In the four years between 2003 and 2006, 16 to 24 year olds were significantly less likely to voice their disapproval than middle aged and older groups.
"While there are both upward and downward swings within age groups over this interval, there are indications that attitudes began softening after 2005, especially among those older than 24 years.
"For 16 to 24 year olds, the level of disapproval has remained at a relatively constant level, except for a short-lived improvement in 2006.
"Between 2006 and 2007, there appears to have been a convergence in attitude among the three groups younger than 50 years, to the extent that they no longer differ significantly."
Report authors Benjamin Roberts, a Research Specialist in the Child, Youth, Family and Social Development research programme and Professor Vasu Reddy, a Chief Research Specialist in the Gender and Development Unit, concluded:
"Despite guaranteed constitutional freedoms, the results suggest that South African society is still largely prejudiced rather than accepting of same-sex relations.
"Ironically the negative attitudes confirm that despite policy shifts and legal reform within a Bill of Rights culture, cultural prejudice remains strong.
"This also indicates that while a rights-based model governs citizenship claims in the country, attitudinal changes do not necessarily correlate with rights.
"Additionally, the results suggest that the negative attitude and reluctance to 'accept' homosexuality could also be linked to levels of education and awareness of people, rural-urban divide, age, culture, and religion.
"Tolerance and positive attitudes may have something to do with the recognition of difference, equality and dignity which are values that arise out of a slow process of negotiation.
For the full article, click here.
Russia,
US and South Africa under pressure to sign UN decriminalisation declaration
WEDNESDAY, December 10, 2008 (Pink
News)
LGBT activists in several countries have asked their governments to support a declaration on the universal decriminalisation of homosexuality to be presented at the UN next month.
The French initiative is backed by all EU nations.
In the Americas the most notable absence is the United States.
New York-based publication Gay City News is to run a front page editorial this week calling on President-elect Barack Obama and his nominee for US Secretary of State, Senator Hillary Clinton, to publicly back the declaration.
"We all know the Bush administration is no more likely to support it than a pig is to celebrate Christmas," said GCN journalist Doug Ireland.
Russian gay activists from LGBT Project GayRussia.Ru have sent a letter to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Sergei Lavrov, asking that Russia puts its signature under the declaration.
South African LGBT news outlets have questioned why their country, the only one in Africa to have legal same-sex marriage, is not among the signatories.
Human Rights Watch reports that the following countries are supporting the French initiative:
Andorra, Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Austria
Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Bulgaria
Canada, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chile, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic
Denmark, Ecuador, Estonia, Finland
Gabon, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy
Japan, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Mexico, Montenegro
The Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania
San Marino, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland
The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, United Kingdom, Uruguay and Venezuela.
The United Nations General Assembly will meet in New York next week.
It is not yet known at what stage during the six day session the declaration will be read from the podium.
Louis Georges Tin, the founder of the International Day Against Homophobia, is behind the initiative.
He met with Rama Yade, France's minister of human rights and foreign affairs, earlier this year.
In September she confirmed that she will appeal at the United Nations for the universal decriminalisation of homosexuality.
Until the end of 2008 France will speak for all EU member states at the UN General Assembly, as they hold the rotating Presidency of the European Union.
The French initiative on decriminalisation will take the form of a solemn declaration from UN states, rather than a vote in the UN on the matter.
France will submit a draft declaration at the UN General Assembly between December 15th and 20th. The British government already advocates universal decriminalisation.
More than 80 countries outlaw same-sex relations in all circumstances.
The maximum punishments range from a few years jail to life imprisonment.
In nine countries, or regions of countries, the mandatory punishment for homosexuality is death by execution.
The Holy See does not have a vote at the UN, but its observer has tried to claim that "states which do not recognise same-sex unions as 'matrimony' will be pilloried and made an object of pressure," as a result of the declaration.
"It's not for nothing that fewer than 50 member states of the united Nations have adhered to the proposal in question while more than 150 have not adhered. The Holy See is not alone," a Vatican spokesman said last week.
Iowa
Supreme Court hears same-sex marriage case
WEDNESDAY, December 10, 2008 (Pink
News)
Yesterday the Iowa Supreme Court heard oral arguments on behalf of six Iowa same-sex couples and their families who are seeking the right to marry.
"We put our best case forward, and hope that the Court breathes life into the Iowa Constitution's promise of equality," said Camilla Taylor, Senior Staff Attorney at Lambda Legal's Midwest Regional Office in Chicago.
"Iowa has a long, proud history of protecting individual rights. The government has no business standing in the way of a loving same-sex couple who wants to take responsibility for each other and their family," said Dennis Johnson, former Iowa Solicitor General and partner at the firm Dorsey and Whitney who argued the case on behalf of Lambda Legal's clients.
In December 2005, Lambda Legal filed a lawsuit with the Polk County Court on behalf of six same-sex couples who were denied marriage licenses in Iowa, arguing that denying marriage to same-sex couples violates the liberty and equality guaranteed in the Iowa State Constitution.
In August of 2007 the district court ruled that denying marriage to same-sex couples is unconstitutional.
In March 2008, 15 friend-of-the-court briefs were filed supporting same-sex couples seeking the right to marry, and the right of their children no to have their families branded as inferior. Those briefs were signed by hundreds of Iowans including former Lieutenant Governors Joy Corning and Sally Pederson.
The final decision in this case will be made by the Iowa Supreme Court.
Gay marriage is legal in Connecticut and Massachusetts.
Gay
band to march in Presidential Inauguration Parade
WEDNESDAY, December 10, 2008 (Pink
News)
For the first time in American history, a gay group has been asked to march in the Inaugural Parade.
President-elect Obama will take the oath of office on January 20th during an elaborate day of celebrations in Washington DC.
The parade will include the Lesbian and Gay Band Association as a marching contingent.
During his inauguration parades President Clinton allowed the LGBA to perform on the street but not march.
The LGBA is comprised of concert and marching bands from cities across America and the world.
Formed in 1982 as Lesbian and Gay Bands of America when seven independent lesbian and gay bands met formally in Chicago, LGBA has grown to 26 bands.
"We are extremely pleased to announce that the Lesbian and Gay Band Association will be included as a marching contingent in the Inaugural Parade," the group said on its website.
"This is the first time that an LGBT group will be represented in a Presidential Inaugural Parade, truly our chance to make history."
Around 100 marching bands, some of them high school bands, will take part in the parade.
The tradition of an Inaugural parade dates back to the very first Inauguration, when George Washington took the oath of office on April 30th 1789, in New York City.
As he began his journey from Mount Vernon to New York City, local militias joined his procession as it passed through towns along the way.
The 2009 event will include a procession of floats, voluntary groups and military regiments.
The inauguration parade is one of the best-attended events in the US, with a million people expected on the streets.
CDC
Releases Data on HIV Transmission Rates in U.S.
WEDNESDAY, December 10, 2008 (Kaiser
Network)
CDC in a research letter published in the Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes released updated estimates of HIV transmission rates in the U.S., Reuters reports. According to the letter -- written by researchers from CDC and Johns Hopkins University -- the HIV transmission rate in the U.S. has decreased by 89% since 1984 and 33% since 1997. In addition, about 5% or less of people living with the virus will transmit it to another person in any given year, according to the letter (Fox, Reuters, 12/9). The study also found that in 1984, there were 44 transmissions per 100 people with HIV. By 2006, there were just under five transmissions per 100 HIV-positive people (CDC fact sheet, December 2008). David Holtgrave, a researcher at Johns Hopkins who led the study, said, "For every 100 persons living with HIV today, five or fewer will transmit the virus to an uninfected person in a given year."
Richard Woltiski of CDC said the declining transmission figures "really show that people living with HIV are taking steps to be responsible and protect others" and "reflect the success of prevention efforts across the nation." He added that the decreasing transmission rate is most likely the result of a "combination" of HIV prevention efforts that include "HIV testing, prevention programs for people who are living with HIV and those who are at risk for HIV, as well as the effects of HIV treatment that have prolonged the lives of so many people living with HIV." The study was based on the latest CDC data on HIV/AIDS in the U.S. The agency in October announced that 1.1 million people are living with HIV in the U.S., and in August it announced that 56,300 new infections occur annually.
Woltiski said even with the "success" in lower transmission rates, "we cannot forget that new HIV infections are increasing among" men who have sex with men and that "African-Americans and Hispanics continue to experience disproportionate and unacceptably high rates of HIV and AIDS. The fight against HIV is far from over" (Reuters, 12/9).
Newsweek
Takes a Stand
TUESDAY, December 9, 2008 (Gay.com)
Some religious leaders are up in arms over a December 15th cover story about gay marriage in Newsweek magazine, "Our Mutual Joy". Lisa Miller's article is depicted on the cover by a Bible with a rainbow bookmark and the title "The Religious Case for Gay Marriage".
While conservative leaders like Family Research Council's Tony Perkins, who blasts the piece as an "attack on orthodox Christianity", and Richard Land, who runs the Southern Baptist Convention's Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, loudly voice their opposition, more people are likely to hear about the article than to actually read it. And that's a shame.
In less than 3000 words, Ms. Miller produces one of the more reasoned and calm studies to date on the context and role marriage is given in religious text. At the same time, sincere respect is demonstrated for the core messages of the Bible, including the importance of family and the gift of love.
The frequent arguments about those opposed to gay marriage on religious terms picking and choosing which teachings to value over others are present. Remember slavery was accepted and divorce was clearly not, based on which verses you quote. But more importantly, Ms. Miller reminds that many detailed commands offered in the Bible are referencing specifics in the context of the times in which they were written.
Addressing an oft-quoted condemnation of homosexuality by Paul, she writes "Paul was tough on homosexuality, though recently progressive scholars have argued that his condemnation of men who "were inflamed with lust for one another (which he calls "a perversion") is really a critique of the worst kind of wickedness: self-delusion, violence, promiscuity and debauchery. In his book "The Arrogance of Nations," the scholar Neil Elliot argues Paul is referring in this famous passage to the depravity of the Roman emperors, the craven habits of Nero and Caligula, a reference his audience would have grasped instantly."
Just as critical in the debate is the one thing opposition to gay marriage claiming to be protecting is missing in the text; the "traditional" family.
"Ozzie and Harriet are nowhere in the New Testament either. The biblical Jesus was -- in spite of recent efforts of novelists to paint him otherwise -- emphatically unmarried. He preached a radical kind of family, a caring community of believers, whose bond in God superseded all blood ties. Leave your families and follow me, Jesus says in the gospels. There will be no marriage in heaven, he says in Matthew."
The debate is far from over, but look for the Newsweek article to be referenced more and more. And with Christmas just weeks away, what's the right way for our community to engage in discussions with Christians opposed to gay marriage?
South
Korea challenged over "rampant discrimination" against gays
TUESDAY, December 9, 2008 (Pink
News)
Lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans people in South Korea face "rampant" discrimination.
A coalition of LGBT groups and straight supporters have used tomorrow's 60th anniversary of the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights by the United Nations to draw attention to their situation.
They called for protection from discrimination on the grounds of gender identity and sexual orientation.
The Democratic Labour Party, gay men's rights group Chingusai and Queer Junior, a youth group, are among the members of the Mujigae Alliance.
It has presented a 30-point declaration of LGBT rights, among them the right to privacy at work.
"After the universal declaration, the whole world started to abolish discrimination according to race, sex, nationality, age, religious beliefs, disability and health status," a Chingusai spokesperson told The Korea Times.
"However, sexual orientation is still one of the taboo subjects in this country and discrimination is rampant.
"We hope the announcement will enhance people's understanding toward someone 'different' and get them to think about their rights. We are different but equal."
There is no reference to homosexuality in the South Korean Constitution or Civil Penal Code.
However, in practice, discrimination against gay people and censorship against gay websites is fairly common.
Homosexuality has only in recent years gained some acceptance in South Korean society, with its strict Confucian traditions and strong Roman Catholic influence.
Last month the South Korean government asked the constitutional court to confirm the ban on gays serving in the country's Armed Forces.
Servicemen face a year in jail for homosexual acts. In August a military court asked for a review of the constitutionality of the ban.
All young men in the country are obliged to serve in the military or in the riot police for up to two years and have to take a test at the time of enlistment which includes various questions about their sexual orientation.
South Korea has a standing army of 687,000, the 6th largest in the world, with 4.5m reserve personnel.
Florida
AG prepares appeal in gay adoption case
MONDAY, December 8, 2008 (365
Gay)
(Tallahassee, Florida) The Florida Attorney general's office is preparing to appeal a ruling by a Miami judge striking down the state ban on adoptions by gays and lesbians.
Florida Assistant Attorney General Valerie Martin said the appeal would be filed on behalf of the state Department of Children & Families. Martin declined additional comment but it is widely believed the appeal will be filed before the end of the year.
No matter which way the appeals court rules, it is expected the case will end up in the Florida Supreme Court.
Florida law allows gays to serve as foster parents but not adopt. The law is considered the most repressive of its kind in the country. Some states bar same-sex couples form jointly adopting. Arkansas voters last month approved a measure blocking all unmarried couples from adopting or fostering children but does not specifically name gays. There is a similar law in Utah. Only Florida bars gays, single or coupled, from adopting.
Last month, Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Cindy Lederman ruled there is "no rational basis" for prohibiting gays from adopting children.
The case involved 47-year-old Martin Gill, who wished to adopt two young brothers he has cared for as foster children since 2004.
The boys had been placed with Gill after he was approached for help by a state child abuse investigator.
The placement was supposed to be temporary, but three years later, the boys and Gill had become a family, and Gill wanted to ensure the children would not be removed at some point from his care.
Gill and lawyers from the American Civil Liberties Union asked Lederman to overturn the ban on gay adoption and award him permanent custody.
An attorney appointed by Lederman to represent the children said in a report to the court that the children refer [to] Gill and his partner as "dad" and that Gill should be granted the adoption.
The Florida Department of Children & Families and the state attorney general's office argued the ban should be maintained. The position has the support of Gov. Charlie Crist (R) who said he has no plans to have the law repealed.
"They're a good family," Lederman said in her ruling. "They're a family in every way except in the eyes of the law. These children have a right to permanency."
"The only real permanency is adoption in the home where they are thriving," she said. "There is no rational basis to preclude homosexuals from adopting."
In September, another South Florida judge ruled against the law in a separate case.
The group behind the successful bid last month to constitutionally ban same-sex marriage in Florida said it would seek intervenor status in the case calling Lederman's ruling "classic judicial activism."
Moscow
Mayor Announces Ban on Gay Pride Parades Will Continue, Says Events Contribute
to Spread of HIV
MONDAY, December 8, 2008 (Kaiser
Network)
Moscow Mayor Yury Luzhkov on Thursday announced that the city will continue to ban gay pride parades, saying that the events could contribute to the spread of HIV, RIA Novosti reports. Luzhkov said the city has "banned and will continue to forbid this propaganda by sexual minorities, as they could turn out to be one of the factors in the spread of HIV infections." He added that "[c]ertain homegrown democrats believe that sexual minorities can be a primary indicator and symbol of democracy , but we will forbid the dissemination of these opinions in the future as well." Luzhkov, who has been mayor of Moscow since 1992, said although he is aware that criticism for the decision will be directed at authorities, "each particular society has its own views." RIA Novosti reports that Luzhkov in the past has called gay pride parades "Satanic" and said that they will never be allowed in the city (RIA Novosti, 12/4).
Luzhkov's comments have drawn criticism from Russian gay rights advocates, such as Nikolai Alexeyev, who said the mayor's comments are "contradictory" and that countries can fight HIV/AIDS more effectively if they have prominent communities of men who have sex with men, the AP/Boston Herald reports (AP/Boston Herald, 12/4). Reuters reports that homosexuality was decriminalized in Russia in 1993, but "tolerance is not widespread" (Kilner, Reuters, 12/4). In addition to his comments on gay pride parades, Luzhkov also said that condoms are an unreliable HIV prevention measure. He said, "Certain manufacturers state that condoms are reliable protection against AIDS, but modern science has proven this is untrue" (RIA Novosti, 12/4).
Advocates
at ICASA Conference Address Sexual Minorities, Funding Shortfalls in Africa
MONDAY, December 8, 2008 (Kaiser
Network)
Gay, lesbian and transgender advocates took "center stage" on Thursday a at the 15th International Conference on AIDS and STIs in Africa -- which ended on Sunday in Dakar, Senegal -- AFP/Africasia.com reports. It was the first time that an ICASA conference focused on issues specific to sexual minorities on the continent, AFP/AFricasia.com reports. Joel Nana - program associate for Southern and West Africa at the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission -- said, "Homophobia fuels the spread of AIDS. In Africa, mainstream HIV/AIDS and human rights organizations do not wan to address the issue mainly because homosexuality is still illegal in most countries." AFP/Africasia.com reports that 38 out of 53 countries in Africa have criminalized consensual same-sex relations. In addition, identifying people as "gay or lesbian is very sensitive," and many nongovernmental organizations at ICASA "prefer to speak about men who have sex with men or women who have sex with women."
According to Boris Dittrich -- advocacy director of Human Rights Watch's Lesbian, Gay , Bisexual and Transgender Program -- there are "many men [in Africa] that have sex with men but are married and do not identify as gay." He added, there is research that shows that vulnerable groups like [MSM], sex workers and [injection] drug users are not being reached because their behavior is criminalized." Nana cited additional research that showed MSM in Africa are nine times more vulnerable to HIV than the general population. Advocates warned that the challenge of addressing these vulnerable groups is "a long uphill battle," AFP/Africasia.com reports. According to a spokesperson for Africagay -- an umbrella organization of 18 associations in 10 African countries -- there has been progress but "not yet on a large scale." The spokesperson said that Africagay was established in October 2007 "to be stronger and change mentalities because the issue (of gays) is not included in the prevention and treatment" of HIV/AIDS.
AFP/AFricasia.com reports that obtaining figures on the number of people living with HIV/AIDS who engage in same-sex relations is nearly impossible. Senegal is "an example of the ambiguity surrounding gays and HIV/AIDS prevention," as it is one of seven West African countries that targets MSM in its HIV prevention efforts but also criminalizes same-sex relations, according to AFP/Africasia.com. Stephanie Simonpietri of the French organization AIDES said, "The HIV issue has revealed the gay issue" in Africa (Van den Berg, AFP/Africasia.com, 12/4).
Funding
Issues
Also on Thursday, outgoing UNAIDS
director Peter Piot said that although efforts to curb the spread of HIV/AIDS
in Africa have seen some success, the global recession could diminish
funding, Xinhuanet
reports. "We have arrived at a new phase in a long and difficult
fight against AIDS. The investments begin to bear their fruits,"
he said, adding that Africa also faces a "critical time" with
"new waves in infections" surfacing.
Piot said that the global financial crisis could make it more difficult for the world to support HIV/AIDS efforts and stressed the need for a "country by country" revaluation of resources and needs. Senegalese President Abdoulaye Wade during the conference proposed that a majority of efforts be directed at prevention. Jeanne Gapiya -- an HIV-positive representative at the conference -- said that financial resources allocated to Africa's efforts to curb HIV/AIDS fall short of what's necessary to cover the needs of vulnerable communities (Xinhuanet, 12/4).
Piot also said that there is no "magic bullet" in efforts to curb the spread of HIV/AIDS in Africa, AFP/Independent Online reports. He said, "There is a normal human tendency to look for the magic bullet, but my friends, it doesn't exist. ... Even the day we have a vaccine -- and I hope we will have it -- we will still need many things." According to Piot, africa is the "perfect storm of small differences." He continued, "The agenda for the immediate future is clear: we need more of the same," including access to treatment and prevention. Piot also said that the "need and the capacity to use the money will continue to grow in Africa over the years for a while, and it will continue to grow until we are highly successful with HIV prevention" (AFP/Independent Online, 12/4).
Global
Fund
A coalition of nongovernmental organizations at the conference Saturday
urged donors to honor their commitments to the Global
Fund To Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, especially in light
of the Global Fun 10% reduction in funding during its last round of grants,
Agence France-Presse reports. Agence France-Presse reports
that if donors do not commit to more funding in the next phase, there
could be a 25% reduction in spending, which Peter Bujari of the Tanzania
Health and Development Trust said would be "disastrous." Bujari
estimated that a 25% funding cut would mean that 341,000 people would
be denied HIV tests in Tanzania in 2013 "because of a lack of commodities
and products for testing." Sam Kapembwa of the Zambian
National AIDS Network said, "Our cry is: if money can be found
to solve the credit crunch, if money can be found to save companies manufacturing
toys for rich people (and) manufacturing cars, surely money can be found
to fund HIV/AIDS in full," adding, "Any reduction would mean
an increase in people who do not have access to drugs" (Agence
France-Presse, 12/6).
Global Fund Executive Director Michel Kazatchkine dismissed the warning from the NGOs on Saturday and said he is "cautiously optimist" that there will be no large funding reductions because of the global financial crisis, AFP/Yahoo! News reports. He added, "In my discussions with leaders up to now, I have not heard of any donor that is not ready to honor their commitments to the Global Fund. If the replenishment (of the fund) allows it, we will cut on the cut. The 25% could become 10%, or 5% or even zero. The cut is not a final irreversible decision." Kazatchkine said that he has not heard of any donors who plan to increase their donations but that Western governments acknowledge the importance of healthy populations to overall economic stability (AFP/Yahoo! News, 12/6).
A
Gay Marriage Surge: Public support grows, according to the new NEWSWEEK
Poll.
by Arian Campo-Flores
FRIDAY, December 5, 2008 (Newsweek)
When voters in California, Florida and Arizona approved measures banning same-sex marriage last month, opponents lamented that the country appeared to be turning increasingly intolerant toward gay and lesbian rights. But the latest NEWSWEEK Poll finds growing public support for gay marriage and civil -unions - and strong backing for the granting of certain rights associated with marriage, to same-sex couples. (Click here to see the full poll.)
Americans continue to find civil unions for gays and lesbians more palatable than full-fledged marriage. Fifty-five percent of respondents favored legally sanctioned unions or partnerships, while only 39 percent supported marriage rights. Both figures are notably higher than in 2004, when 40 percent backed the former and 33 percent approved the latter. When it comes to according legal rights in specific areas to gays, the public is even more supportive. Seventy-four percent back inheritance rights for gay domestic partners (compared to 60 percent in 2004), 73 percent approve of extending health insurance and other employee benefits to them (compared to 60 percent in 2004), 67 percent favor granting them Social Security benefits (compared to 55 percent in 2004) and 86 percent support hospital visitation rights (a question that wasn't asked four years ago). In other areas, too, respondents appeared increasingly tolerant. Fifty-three percent favor gay adoption rights (8 points more than in 2004), and 66 percent believe gays should be able to serve openly in the military (6 points more than in 2004).
Despite the recently approved state measures, public opinion nationally has shifted against a federal ban on same-sex marriage. In 2004, people were evenly divided on the question, with 47 percent favoring a constitutional amendment prohibiting gay marriage and 45 percent opposing one. In the latest poll, however, 52 percent oppose a ban and only 43 percent favor one. When respondents were asked about state measures, the numbers were closer: 45 percent said they'd vote in favor of an amendment outlawing gay marriage in the their states, while 49 percent said they'd oppose such a measure.
A number of factors seem to play a role in swaying people one way or the other. For instance, 62 percent of Americans say religious beliefs play an important role in shaping their views on gay marriage. According to the survey, two-thirds of those who see marriage as primarily a legal matter support gay marriage. On the other hand, two-thirds of those who see it as mostly a religious matter (or equal parts religious and legal) oppose gay marriage. Moreover, the poll found significant differences across generational lines. Essentially, the younger you are, the more likely you are to support same-sex marriage. About half of those aged 18 to 34 back marriage rights, compared to roughly four in 10 among those aged 35 to 64 and only about two in 10 among those 65 and older. The survey also detected a gender gap, with women more likely to support gay marriage than men, 44 percent to 34 percent. Differences by race appear less noteworthy: 40 percent of whites approve of gay marriage, compared to 37 percent of non-whites.
One reason that tolerance for gay marriage and civil unions may be on the rise is that a growing number of Americans say they know someone who's gay. While in 1994, a NEWSWEEK Poll found that only 53 percent of those questioned knew a gay or lesbian person, that figure today is 78 percent. Drilling down a bit more, 38 percent of adults work with someone gay, 33 percent have a gay family member and 66 percent have a gay friend or acquaintance.
For the full article, click here.
75%
of Americans support legal recognition for same-sex couples
WEDNESDAY, December 3, 2008 (PinkNews)
A new survey has revealed that a majority of Americans support some form of legal civil unions for gay and lesbian couples. However, just 47% favour gay marriage while 49% oppose it.
75% of US adults said they are in favour of either marriage or domestic partnerships or civil unions for gay and lesbian couples.
22% said same-sex relationships should have no legal recognition.
At present lesbian and gay couples can marry in two states, Connecticut and Massachusetts.
For a five month period earlier this year, between a California Supreme Court ruling and a statewide ballot on the issue on Election Day on November 4th, more than 18,000 same-sex couples legally married in California.
The efficacy of the ballot, Proposition 8, as a vehicle to remove rights from gay couples is being challenged in court.
Comprehensive civil union or domestic partnership laws exist in five other states and the District of Columbia.
The Pulse of Equality survey was commissioned by the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD).
Harris Interactive surveyed 2,008 US adults ages 18+, between November 13 to November 17, 2008. Interviewing was conducted by telephone using random digit dialing (RDD). Results were weighted as needed using age, sex, race/ethnicity, education, region, number in household, and household income to be representative of the US population of adults age 18 and over.
For the full article, click here.
Indian
official questions right of High Court to decriminalise gay sex
TUESDAY, December 2, 2008 (PinkNews)
A senior government lawyer has said it "may not be proper" for the Delhi High Court to overturn a colonial-era law that bans "unnatural sex" in India.
Last month the High Court in Delhi finished hearing arguments in a suit brought by gay rights activists seeking to overturn Section 377.
Chief Justice AP Shah reserved judgment and asked both sides to submit transcripts of their arguments.
The government of India wants to retain Section 377. It was enacted in 1860 under the British Raj in line with the anti-sodomy laws in England at the time.
It punishes anyone who "voluntarily has carnal intercourse against the order of nature with any man, woman or animal" by imprisonment and and criminalises a whole range of sexual acts from mutual masturbation, to fellatio and anal sex.
Additionally solicitor general PP Malhotra's 100-page written submission filed with High Court states:
"The court is not the authority to decide what should be the law or what should not be the law.
"These are the functions of the Parliament and the will of the Parliament is represented by its members. They know the will of their people, the difficulties of their people.
"It may not be proper for the court to assume the role and will of the people or to act as a Parliament to change the law.
"What are the laws and what could be the law should be left to the wisdom of the Parliament. Neither the Courts are equipped nor is it the function of the Court to decide what the law should be.
"The Courts have only to interpret the law as it is."
In October Mr. Malhotra told the High Court that homosexuality is a disease.
"Every citizen has the right to lead a decent and moral life in society and the right would be violated if such behaviour is legalised in the country," he said.
"AIDS is already spreading in the country and if gay sex is legalised then people on the street would start indulging in such practices saying that the High Court has given approval for it.
"Legalising it would send a wrong message to our youth."
"Show us one report which says that it is a disease," Chief Justice Shah responded.
"A WHO (World Health Organisation) paper says that it is not a disease but you are describing it as a disease.
"It is an accepted fact that it is a main vehicle that causes (AIDS) disease but it is not a disease itself."
In September the Chief Justice rejected government attempts to introduce religious texts as evidence.
"This is just one-sided version o fa religious body which cannot be relied upon," he said.
"This is part of religious doctrine. Show us some scientific report which says that gay sex should be criminalised."
While the health ministry is fighting to repeal the law, on the grounds that decriminalisation will help stop the spread of HIV, the home ministry maintains that gay sex is the product of a "a perverse mind."
Health minister Anbumani Ramadoss called for the repeal of Section 377 in August at the 17th International Conference on AIDS in Mexico City.
The director of the United Nations Development Programme on HIV/AIDS has said that the fight against the disease in India will be helped if homosexual acts are decriminalised.
Jeffrey O'Malley told AFP that infections in the subcontinent, already an estimated 2.5 million, continue to rise.
"Until we acknowledge these behaviours and work with people involved with these behaviours, we are not going to halt and reverse the HIV epidemic," he said.
"Countries which protect men who have sex with men... have double the rate of coverage of HIV prevention services, as much as 60%."
MSM
Most Affected by HIV/AIDS in Massachusetts, Report Says
TUESDAY, December 2, 2008 (KaiserNetwork)
Men who have sex with men [MSM] are the most affected by HIV/AIDS in Massachusetts, according to a report released by the state Department of Public Health ahead of World AIDS Day, the AP/Worcester Telegram reports. According to the report, although Massachusetts has seen success in curbing the spread of HIV/AIDS among injection drug users and heterosexual men and women, it has had less success among MSM. "The message of prevention is missing too many men in Massachusetts," Kevin Cranston, director of the health department's HIV/AIDS Bureau, said.
The report found that more than half of HIV cases between 2004 and 2006 occurred among MSM. Four to nine percent of men in Massachusetts report having sex with other men in annual surveys, according to the AP/Telegram. It also found that 56% of MSM who participated in a 2005-2006 health survey reported regular condom use -- an increase compared with 36% in 2000.
In addition, the report said that 17,295 people in Massachusetts were living with HIV/AIDS as of May 2008, and male-to-male sexual contact is the primary mode of HIV transmission in the state. The proportion of MSM living with HIV/AIDS was 25 times greater than men who reported sex with only female partners, according to the report. Sixty-eight percent of white men reported exposure to HIV through same-sex contact, compared with 25% of black men and 25% of Hispanic men.
To improve the fight against HIV/AIDS in the state, the health department plans to merge its HIV/AIDS Bureau with its Communicable Disease Control Bureau. In addition, the report recommends that Massachusetts increase its efforts to promote condom use, including "widespread free condom availability" to MSM, including High-school students. "Condoms save lives, so it is a good sign that we are seeing an increase in condom use," health department Commissioner John Auerbach said, adding, "However, it is clear given the data in this report that more needs to be done with respect to reaching men who have sex with men with important prevention messages."
The report also calls for increased access to rapid HIV tests and routine screening in hospital emergency departments, community health centers and private practices. It also recommends increasing HIV/AIDS prevention resources directed at MSM; expanding HIV testing efforts that target MSM; making prevention messages available at public, private and commercial venues, including the Internet; and preserving the availability of treatment (LeBlanc, AP/Worcester Telegram, 11/30).
Gays
in Haiti show their Pride during AIDS march
MONDAY, December 1, 2008 (PinkNews)
A small group of men openly declared their homosexuality during a protest in Haiti at the weekend.
The event, which was held to mark World AIDS Day, has been described as the first gay Pride march in the Caribbean.
The island nation of nine million people is deeply conservative, but about a dozen men wore T-shirts declaring they are masisi, a local slang word for homosexual.
UN and government officials took part in the march in the city of St. Marc calling for better treatments and prevention campaigns.
The number of people with HIV has risen in every region of the world in the past two years, with the fastest increases being seen in East Asia, Eastern Europe and Central Asia.
UNAIDS and the World Health Organisation said that in 2007 more than 33 million people live with HIV and AIDS worldwide and every day more than 6,800 people become infected with HIV, and 5,700 people die from AIDS.
Haiti has one of the highest infection rates in the world and gay men and lesbians face stigma and homophobic attitudes, though the voodoo community is accepting of homosexuality.
Michele Pierre-Louis was able to take office in September as Prime Minister only after she had gone on the radio to deny rumours she is a lesbian.
New
guidelines advise Irish doctors how to treat gay and lesbian patients
FRIDAY, November 28, 2008 (PinkNews)
by Julia Ziemer
The Irish College of General Practitioner's (ICGP) launched a comprehensive guide to lesbian, gay and bisexual issues for GPs this week.
The document, written by the Gay and Lesbian Equality Network (GLEN) is entitled Lesbian, Gay & Bisexual Patients: The Issues for General Practice.
Odhran Allen, Director of Mental Health Strategy at GLEN, said:
"Through the publication of this document, the ICGP have demonstrated commitment and professional leadership in ensuring that the health and well-being needs of gay and lesbian patients are met by Irish GPs."
Dr. Margaret O'Riordan, GP and Director of Training at the ICGP said she [has] been working in partnership with GLEN for the past two years to address gay and lesbian issues in GP training.
"It is of great importance to us to provide lesbian, gay and bisexual people with an accessible and appropriate service," she said.
Research reports including a recent one carried out in Galway under Minister Eamon O'Cuiv, have found that many gay people are reluctant to reveal their sexuality to their GP even where it is relevant to their treatment.
An Equality Authority study focusing on the LGTB community found that a positive reaction from a GP to a person's sexual orientation increased the trust that clients establish with their GP.
As a result they were more likely to provide them with information relevant to their health and return for further consultations, delivering better health outcomes.
Conversely, a negative response by a GP to a gay person's sexuality was found to lead to delay or avoidance by the patient in seeking help and a reluctance to reveal other relevant sensitive information to the GP.
The document comes several months after the Government announced the Heads of their Civil Partnership Bill.
The bill gives same-sex couples the same financial and maintenance protection as married couples, a breakthrough for the lesbian and gay community.
It creates a legal relationship for same-sex couples, covering registration of civil partnerships, property and financial matters and dissolution of the partnership.
The new bill, announced in June 2008, will take approximately six months to pass, with the legislation likely to come into effect by the end of 2009.
The government has refused to legalise gay marriage.
Obama
transition team denies he will delay ending gay military ban
FRIDAY, November 28, 2008 (PinkNews)
A spokesperson for US President-elect Barack Obama has said that no decisions had been made about the strategy or timing of an attempt to end the ban on openly gay, lesbian or bisexual people serving in the country's Armed Forces.
The Washington Post reported last week that it could be as late as 2010, but the transition team spokesperson said: "These decisions will not be made before the full national security team is in place."
For at least the first year of the new administration the Secretary of Defence will be the present incumbent, Robert Gates.
Congressman Barney Frank, who is gay, has said he thinks there will not be an attempt to overturn the ban until after US troops have pulled out of Iraq.
A Washington Post/ABC News poll published in July found that three-quarters of Americans think that openly gay, lesbian and bisexual people should be allowed to serve in the military.
64% of Republicans and nearly two-thirds of self-described conservatives backed a change in the current law, as did 57% of white evangelical Protestants and 82% of white Catholics.
The poll of 1,119 Americans revealed that support for gays in the military has steadily increased, from 44% in 1993 to 62% in 2001 to 75% today.
It was Republican opposition that forced then-President Bill Clinton to abandon his pledge to allow gay people to serve and signed into law the compromise known as "Don't Ask, Don't Tell."
Since 1993 gay people who do not reveal their sexuality can serve, and commanding officers are not meant to ask service personnel about their sexual orientation.
More than 12,500 gay men and women have been discharged under the current law, at an estimated cost of more than $363 million (£182.6m).
The current policy prohibits anyone who "demonstrates a propensity or intent to engage in homosexual acts" to serve in the US Armed Forces.
In May the Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff said that Congress, and not the military, is responsible for the ban on openly lesbian, gay and bisexual americans from military service.
Speaking to graduating cadets at West Point military academy, Admiral Mike Mullen said that "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" is a law that the Armed Forces follow.
"Should the law change, the military will carry that out too," he said.
President-elect Barack Obama backs repeal.
In an interview with Gay History Project in September, he said he would not use the office of President to abolish it.
"I want to make sure that when we revert "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," it's gone through a process and we've built a consensus or at least a clarity of that, of what my expectations are, so that it works," he said.
"My first obligation as the President is to make sure that I keep the American people safe and that our military is functioning effectively.
"Although I have consistently said I would repeal "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," I believe that the way to do it is make sure that we are working through a process, getting the Joint Chiefs of Staff clear in terms of what our priorities are going to be.
"That's how we were able to integrate the Armed Services to get women more actively involved.
"At some point, [you've] got to make a decision that's the right thing to do, but you always want to make sure that you are doing it in a way that maintains our core mission in our military."
Iowa
may be next state to allow gay marriage
THURSDAY, November 27, 2008 (PinkNews)
Whilst the legal debacle over Proposition 8 and the rights of gay couples to marry in California continues, Iowa becomes the latest state where families may see the way cleared for marriage equality.
A lawsuit brought by gay-rights organisation Lamda Legal, on behalf of six same-sex couples, is scheduled to be heard on 9th December by the Iowa Supreme Court in Des Moines.
The suit follows the ruling of Iowa judge Robert Hanson in August 2007 who temporarily annulled the state's Defence of Marriage Act, a decade-old law that defined marriage as a union between a man and a woman.
The ruling stood for less than 24 hours before a Polk County attorney filed an appeal to the Iowa Supreme Court and a stay was placed on the ruling.
But in the nearly nine business hours that same-sex marriage was legal in the Hawkeye State, dozens of couples applied for licences.
Only one couple, a pair of Iowa State University undergraduates, was able to move fast enough to obtain a licence and rush through a ceremony before the stay was enacted.
Of the latest suit to be brought before the Supreme Court, Justin Uebelhor, a spokesperson from the GLBT equality group One Iowa, said, "It could be a big step forward for Iowa and something Iowa could be proud of.
"It is important for Iowa to take the lead on this," he added.
Chuck Hurley, from the anti-gay group Iowa Family Policy Center, spoke out against the couples' suit, referring to the rights being sought by them as "anti-family".
Until a final ruling is issued, Sean Fritz and Tim McQuillan won't know how long their marriage will remain legally recognised in Iowa.
On the morning of Aug. 31, 2007, the two college students filled out the paperwork for a marriage licence in Polk County, paid $5 to avoid the normal three-day waiting period and found a judge to sign the waiver form.
A pastor at the First Unitarian Church of Des Moines agreed to hold the ceremony on his front lawn, where it was witnessed by family and more than a dozen journalists.
Meanwhile The Supreme Court in California agreed last week to hear another case filed by Lamda Legal challenging the validity of Proposition 8.
The proposition was voted through on November 4 with a majority of 52% and proposes to change the state Constitution to restrict the definition of marriage to a union between a man and a woman, eliminating the right of same-sex couples to marry.
Lamda Legal Senior Counsel Jenny Pizer said "If the voters approved an initiative that took the right to free speech away from women, but not from men, everyone would agree that such a measure conflicts with the basic ideals of equality enshrined in our constitution.
"Proposition 8 suffers from the same flaw. That's too big a change in the principles of our constitution to be made just by a bare majority of voters."
California was the second U.S. state, after Massachusetts, to make marriage licenses available to same-sex couples in May 2008, before going back on this reform earlier this month.
Whilst the US federal government does not recognise same-sex marriage, under the Defence of Marriage Act, many states have their own legislature on the matter.
Marriage for same-sex couples is currently legal in Massachusetts and Connecticut.
Legal unions to same-sex couples with all the rights and responsibilities of marriage are available to couples in Vermont, New Jersey and New Hampshire.
Maine, Hawaii, the District of Columbia, Oregon and Washington have created legal unions for same-sex couples that offer varying subsets of these rights.
However, twenty-six states have constitutional amendments explicitly barring the recognition of same-sex marriage, confining civil marriage to a legal union between a man and a woman.
Forty-three states have statutes restricting 'marriage' to two persons of the opposite sex and a small number of states ban any legal recognition of same-sex unions.
Court
challenge could end Florida's ban on gay adoption
WEDNESDAY, November 26, 2008 (PinkNews)
A judge in Florida has ruled that a gay man can adopt his two foster children, despite a state law banning homosexuals from adopting.
The ruling by Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Cindy Lederman may lead the state to appeal to the Florida Supreme Court.
Frank Martin Gill, a 54-year-old North Miami man, challenged Florida's decades-old law banning all gay and lesbian people from adopting children.
Judge Lederman decided that Gill's sexual orientation should not preclude him from being able to adopt his two foster children, whom he has parented for more than four years.
Action on this case at the State Supreme Court level could overturn Florida's decade's old ban on gays and lesbians adopting children.
Florida is currently the only state that expressly bans all gays and lesbians from adopting.
The state does allow gays and lesbians to foster parent.
Jennifer Chrisler, executive director of LGBT advocacy group Family Equality Council, said:
"Judge Lederman's ruling is a long-overdue recognition of the equal ability of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people to raise happy, healthy families. LGBT parents are raising millions of children nationwide.
"Our families are members of communities in every state. We contribute at work and at school.
"We want only to be given the same opportunities and legal protections other families have so that we may best take care of ourselves.
"Florida's ban on all gays and lesbians adopting has long stood in the face of more than twenty-five years of social science research that shows no difference in the abilities of LGBT and straight parents.
"Countless child welfare organisations attest to the need to support LGBT parents and their families.
"We at the Family Equality Council fully trust that the Florida State Supreme Court, should it hear this case on appeal, will see that the state has no compelling reason to overturn today's ruling, which evaluated the relationship between Frank Martin Gill and his two sons and, correctly, said, 'Yes, this is a family.'"
Gay and lesbian parents are raising 4% of all adopted children in the United States, approximately 65,500 children. Three percent are being raised by single lesbians and gay men and 1% by same-sex couples.
The Census in 2000 estimates indicate that 6% of children in non-kin care, with caretakers other than extended family members, are being raised by gay, lesbian, and bisexual foster parents, a total of 14,134 of the nearly 500,000 children living in foster care on any given day.
Gay and lesbian foster parents are more likely to raise children with disabilities -- 32% of all foster children with disabilities reside with gay and lesbian parents.
Florida is the only state that has a law specifically disallowing gay individuals from adopting.
In Nebraska, although no statutory law exists, a 1995 directive of the then director of the Department of Social Service prohibits adoption by gay individuals as well as individuals who are cohabitating in an unmarried relationship.
In addition, North Dakota law permits child-placing agencies to discriminate against prospective adoptive parents based on religious or moral objection, while Utah law gives preference to married couples over single adults in adoption placement decisions. Both of these laws may have the effect of restricting adoption by gay individuals.
Conversely, California, Maryland, Massachusetts, Nevada, New Jersey, and New York have policies prohibiting sexual orientation discrimination in the adoption process.
An individual's sexual orientation is not a basis for exclusion in Connecticut, colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Pennsylvania, Vermont, and Washington DC.
On November 4th Arkansas voters passed Act 1, a citizen-initiated ballot measure statutorily banning all unmarried, cohabitating couples from fostering or adopting children. This act includes all same-sex couples in Arkansas because regardless of their intentions they cannot legally marry in the state.
President-elect of the United States, Barack Obama, has given his support to gay families.
He believes in adoption rights for all couples and individuals, regardless of their sexual orientation.
"A child will benefit from a healthy and loving home, whether the parents are gay or not," he said.
Universities
changing same-sex benefits
TUESDAY, November 25, 2008 (Associated Press)
Same-sex partners of University System of New Hampshire employees will lose their health benefits unless they enter into a civil union by July.
The system, which has offered health benefits to same-sex partners since 2000, has 62 employees whose same-sex partners are covered out of about 4,300 employees at the state's public colleges and universities.
The policy change is becoming more common among businesses and organizations in states where same-sex partnerships have been legalized. The state of New Hampshire has made a similar policy shift.
On the state level, some employees shied away from civil unions because under federal law, the money an employer pays for coverage counts as extra taxable income. To combat that issue, the university system has promised to pick up the additional tax burden, which is expected to run between $800 and $1,200 depending on the employee's health plan.
Spokesman Matthew Cookson said the university system is not expected to save any money from the policy change, because the number of people who lose benefits because they don't enter into civil unions is expected to be offset by the added cost of paying the additional taxes.
Sweden
Inches Towards Gay Marriage
TUESDAY, November 25, 2008 (On
Top Magazine)
Sexual orientation is a protected class in the Swedish Constitution, yet the country defined marriage as between one man and one woman in 1987, making gay marriage illegal. But legislation to be introduced shortly seeks to make Sweden the seventh country to legalize gay marriage, reports AFP.
"Sweden could have a gender neutral marriage law by May 1, 2009," Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt told Swedish Radio on November 5.
Gay couples have had the right to register in a civil union since 1995. The union offers gays and lesbians the same legal status as married heterosexual couples, including the right to adopt
But in Sweden 74% of couples marry in a church ceremony, which legally weds the couple. And the Lutheran church, which has been blessing gay unions in a separate ceremony since 2007, has said it would like to reserve the name marriage for heterosexual couples.
A majority of Swedes are members of the Lutheran Church (74% in 2007).
Opposing the law are the Christian Democrats who agree with the Lutheran church. However, supporters of gay marriage say they have the votes needed for passage.
Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt, the Moderate Party leader, is a strong supporter of gay and lesbian rights, voting for civil unions in 1994 when his Party disagreed. And Sweden remains a fairly liberal country with nearly three-fourths of Swedes approving of gay marriage (71%).
Gay marriage in Sweden has remained in a holding pattern for years because two of the country's four political parties opposed it. But an October 2007 Moderate Party endorsement broke that stalemate, leaving only the Christian Democrats opposed to the legalization of gay marriage. The legislation does allow for pastors to opt out of performing gay wedding ceremonies.
The Christian Democrats said the turn of events left them disappointed.
"My position is that I have been tasked by the Party to argue that marriage is for men and women," Christian Democrat Leader Goran Hagglund told Swedish Radio.
"The coalition government has agreed that we will present a basic marriage bill to parliament," Reinfeldt said. "The three parties in favor of a gender neutral marriage law will then present an accompanying motion seeking to have a law in place by May 1, 2009."
If passed, Sweden would become the seventh country to legalize gay marriage and the Swedish Lutheran Church may become one of the first churches to allow gay marriage.
EU
Commission reports on gay rights in candidate countries
TUESDAY, November 25, 2008 (PinkNews)
A leading gay rights group has praised the European Union for raising the human rights of LGBT people in this year's progress reports on candidate countries.
The European Commission monitors and assesses the achievements of each of the candidate and potential candidates over the last year.
Earlier this month the Commission adopted its annual strategy document explaining its policy on EU enlargement.
The document includes also a summary of the progress made over the last twelve months by each candidate and potential candidate: Croatia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Turkey, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), Montenegro, Serbia and Kosovo.
The International Gay nd Lesbian Association (ILGA-Europe) said there is "a clearly positive development as the human rights issues of LGBT people are covered more extensively and in a larger number of reports than last year (eight out of nine reports had several explicit references to LGBT issues)."
The reports for this year cover a wider scope of discrimination against LGBT people and give more concrete recommendations to the states to introduce anti-discrimination laws and policies that are in line with EU acquis, the total body of EU law.
"Its is especially positive to notice that some reports refer to the discrimination faced by LGBT people in various spheres of social and economic life," said ILGA-Europe.
"Another positive development is that the Commission along with appreciation of the need and the importance of anti-discrimination legislation, refers to eh gap between the laws and their practical implementation (e.g. Croatia, Kosovo).
"There are also more explicit references to the human rights of transgender people in most of the reports."
ILGA-Europe said the Commission should acknowledge that "fear of discrimination and stigmatisation are the main hindering factors for the LGBT community to organise and take actions as well as to provide sufficient documented information in those countries."
Here is what ILGA-Europe said about the reports on the candidate countries:
Croatia
In general Croatia has received positive feedback from the Commission on the progress made, specifically in the field of anti-discrimination.
The main achievement that will have positive impact on LGBT people's rights was the adoption of comprehensive anti-discrimination law in July 2008.
The law is in full compliance with the EU acquis. While the Commission gives credit for the progress made, it also acknowledges that the "anti-discrimination legislation has not been applied vigorously" and that "the level of protection against discrimination in practise and its judicial prosecution is not in line with EU standards."
ILGA-Europe appreciates that the Commission makes reference to the gap between the adoption of the law and the practical implementation of it.
However, we regret to notice that there is no reference to homophobic hate crimes and to discriminatory attitude of police towards LGBT people, despite the information provided by ILGA-Europe member, partner organisation.
We hope that the information provided by our partner organisation will be taken into account to refer to the discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation and gender identity in the next progress report on Croatia.
FYR Macedonia
We appreciate that the progress report on FYR Macedonia clearly refers to the fact that "the framework law on anti-discrimination has not yet been enacted' and that current legislation is not in line with E acquis.
ILGA-Europe is also pleased to notice that in contrary to 2007 progress report on Macedonia, in 2008 report the Commission makes explicit reference to the discrimination faced by LGBT people as well as urges that the envisaged national anti-discrimination strategy addresses discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation and gender identity.
Turkey
ILGA-Europe appreciates the way in which the human rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people are raise din the European Commission's 2008 report on Turkey.
The report extensively covers the violations of the freedom of association of homosexual people referring to an Istanbul court decision to close Lambda Istanbul in May 2008, upon an appeal by Istanbul Governance.
Also there are several explicit references to the fact that existing national legislation does not provide for specific protection on the grounds of sexual orientation.
On the contrary the provisions of Criminal Code on "public exhibitionism" and "offences against public morality" are sometimes used to discriminate against LGBT people.
It is especially positive that the Commission explicitly realises the human rights violations encountered by homosexual people at medical institutions for the exemption from the military service.
The report also refers to the violence against transsexuals and transvestites in Turkey, including by the police.
Albania
It is very encouraging to see that in the report on Albania it is explicitly elaborated that the violence and hostility towards LGBT people is paramount in the country and that the government failed to combat discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation and gender identity.
Furthermore, the Commission urges the government to increase legislative efforts and develop an action programme to counter discrimination, including on grounds of sexual orientation and gender identity
Bosnia and Herzegovina
The Commission acknowledges that BiH has made limited progress in improving an observance and enforcement of human rights in the country.
For the full article, click here.
New
rights for Australian gay and lesbian couples approved by Senate
TUESDAY, November 25, 2008 (PinkNews)
Legislators in Australia have voted to grant equal rights for same-sex couples in areas such as taxation, healthcare and retirement benefits.
The Senate voted in favour of amendments to around 100 laws, but there will be no gay marriage.
The House of Representatives will now vote on the Same-Sex Relationships (Equal Treatment in Commonwealth Laws - General Law Reform) Bill 2008, which has cross-party support.
Senator Penny Wong, who is gay, presented the legislation in the Senate.
In December Ms. Wong was appointed minister for water and climate change by Prime Minister Rudd.
The 39-year-old lawyer was the first Asian-born person to become a Cabinet minister as well as the first out gay person of either sex.
Ms. Wong told the Senate that social security and family assistance entitlements will commence in July 2009.
"The majority of amendments, including amendments to the Australian government superannuation schemes, would commence after passage, and amendments to the Medicare and PBS safety nets would commence on 1 January 2009," she said.
At present same-sex couples and families get fewer leave entitlements, less workers' compensation, fewer tax concessions, fewer veterans' entitlements, fewer health care subsidies, less superannuation and pay more for residential care than opposite-sex couples in the same circumstances.
In May the Labour federal government was accused of "playing to the politics of the extreme right religious lobby" after if forced the country's Capital Territory (ACT) government to water down plans to legally recognise same-sex couples.
The ACT authorities wanted to establish ceremonies at which gay and lesbian couples could formally register their relationships.
The federal Attorney General warned the ACT legislature that he would not accept "legislation that mimics marriage" and threatened to use his power to overturn any such legislation.
The legislature instead passed a law allowing for the registration of same-sex couples without the ceremony.
The ACT becomes the third of eight Australian states and territories to recognise same-sex partnerships.
In 2004, under former Prime Minister John Howard, federal legislation banning same-sex marriage was passed.
Some had hoped that the defeat of Mr. Howard and the Liberals in November 2007 and the election of a Labour government might move the debate about gay marriage forward.
In fact, while Labour has decided to tackle legal inequities between gay and straight couples, it maintains that marriage is only between a man and a woman.
New
figures show record number of HIV diagnosis among gay and bisexual men
TUESDAY, November 25, 2008 (PinkNews)
UK -- An estimated 32,000 gay men were living with HIV in the UK in 2007 and almost a quarter were unaware of their infection, according to figures released today by the Health Protection Agency.
There were an estimated 3,160 new HIV diagnoses among gay men in 2007, showing that numbers of new diagnoses are at their highest level ever since the mid 1980s.
Nearly 500 men (499) were diagnosed after the point at which treatment should have begun, meaning they missed out on the benefits associated with early diagnosis including prolonged life expectancy.
Early diagnosis continues to be the most important factor in mortality and morbidity linked to HIV.
It is also an important factor in the interruption of HIV transmission within the community.
Analysis of figures over the past five years has shown that a late diagnosis of HIV meant that gay men were 13 times more likely o die within one year of diagnosis compared to those diagnosed early.
Dr. Valerie Delpech, Head of HIV surveillance at the Health Protection Agency's Centre for Infections, said:
"The HIV epidemic continues to have the greatest impact in gay men in the UK with the number of new HIV diagnoses at levels not reported since the mid 1980s.
"With a worryingly high proportion of men unaware of their HIV status and high levels of late HIV diagnoses, gay men need to test annually for HIV as early diagnosis can increase an individual's life expectancy."
In 2007, a high proportion of gay men diagnosed with an acute sexually transmitted infection, such as syphilis, were also HIV positive.
Latest figures on gay men attending genitourinary medicine (GUM) clinics show that 40% of syphilis, 32% of gonorrhoea, 78% of lymphogranuloma venereum (LGV) and 97% of Hepatitis C cases were also HIV positive.
To reduce HIV transmission among gay men is not just about encouraging men to have an annual sexual health check and HIV test, but also about changing behaviour," said Dr. Delpech.
"The high levels of men diagnosed with an acute STI who are also co-infected with HIV demonstrate the dangers of serosorting.
"Serosorting is not safe sex. There are about 8,000 HIV-infected gay men who are unaware of their HIV infection and who may believe themselves to be negative - they may unknowingly transmit the virus to their partners.
"For HIV-positive men, serosorting can mean acquiring an STI which makes the treatment of both infections more difficult. Men should use a condom with all new partners until both have been screened for HIV and STIs. Men should always use a condom when having sex with casual partners."
The National AIDS Trust said the increase in diagnoses is likely to be because more gay men are getting tested for HIV.
Testing in sexual health clinics has increased, with 86 percent of gay men offered a test in sexual health clinics accepting compared to 84 percent in 2006. The proportion of gay men unaware of their HIV infections has declined to 1 in 4 - compared with 1 in 3 previously.
Young gay men (under 25) are more likely to accept a HIV test compared with older gay men, 92% of under 25s accepted a test in a sexual health clinic in 2007 compared to 84 percent of older gay men.
Debora Jack, Chief Executive of NAT (National AIDS Trust), said:
"We are seeing positive signs over recent years as slowly the messages about the importance of having HIV tests are getting through and more gay men are getting tested. Especially heartening is that young gay men are coming forward for tests.
"This testing culture among young men new on the scene needs to expand to older gay men who are most at risk from HIV.
"Given the record number of diagnoses we are seeing each year, the message remains HIV must be something that all gay men think about. Every gay man should get tested at least once a year."
Sexual health charity Terrence Higgins Trust said:
"Many gay men who've had unprotected sex assume they're still HIV negative but thousands who make that assumption are mistaken. A quarter of gay men with HIV don't know they have it so it's a dangerous mistake to make.
"We've just launched a major new awareness campaign for gay men, "THINK you're negative?", and we and our partner organisations are going out into gay venues across the country to get the message across.
Calif.
Supreme Court to take up gay marriage ban
THURSDAY, November 20, 2008 (Seattle Times) by Lisa Leff
California's highest court agreed Wednesday to hear several legal challenges to the state's new ban on same-sex marriage but refused to allow gay couples to resume marrying before it rules.
The California Supreme Court accepted three lawsuits seeking to nullify Proposition 8, a voter-approved constitutional amendment that overruled the court's decision tin May that legalized gay marriage.
All three cases claim the measure abridges the civil rights of a vulnerable minority group. They argue that voters alone did not have the authority to enact such a significant constitutional change.
As is its custom when it takes up cases, the court elaborated little. However, the justices did say they want to address what effect, if any, a ruling upholding the amendment would have on the estimated 18,000 same-sex marriages that were sanctioned in California before Election Day.
Gay rights groups and local governments petitioning to overturn the ban were joined by the measure's sponsors and Attorney General Jerry Brown in urging eh Supreme Court to consider whether Proposition 8 passes legal muster.
The initiative's opponents had also asked the court to grant a stay of the measure, which would have allowed gay marriages to begin again while the justices considered the cases. The court denied that request.
The justices directed Brown and lawyers for the Yes on 8 campaign to submit arguments by Dec. 19 on why the ballot initiative should not be nullified. It said lawyers for the plaintiffs, who include same-sex couples who did not wed before the election, must respond before Jan. 5.
Oral arguments could be scheduled as early as March, according to court spokeswoman Lynn Holton.
"This is welcome news. The matter of Proposition 8 should be resolved thoughtfully and without delay," Brown said in a statement.
Both opponents and supporters of Proposition 8 expressed confidence Wednesday that their arguments would prevail. But they also agreed that the cases present the court's seven justices - six of whom voted to review the challenges - with complex questions that have few precedents in state case law.
Although more than two dozen states have similar amendments, some of which have survived similar lawsuits, none were approved by voters in a place where gay marriage already was legal.
Neither were any approved in a state where the high court had put sexual orientation in the same protected legal class as race and religion, which the CAlifornia Supreme Court did when it rendered its 4-3 decision that made same-sex marriage legal in May.
Opponents of the ban argue that voters improperly abrogated the judiciary's authority by stripping same-sex couples of the right to wed after the high court earlier ruled it was discriminatory to prohibit gay men and lesbians from marrying.
"If given effect, Proposition 8 would work a dramatic, substantive change to our Constitution's 'underlying principles' of individual equality on a scale and scope never previously condoned by the court," lawyers for the same-sex couples stated in their petition.
The measure represents such a sweeping change that it constitutes revision as opposed to an amendment, the documents say. The distinction would have required the ban's backers to obtain approval from two-thirds of both houses of the California Legislature before submitting it to voters.
Over the past century, the California Supreme Court has heard nine cases challenging legislative acts or ballot initiatives as improper revision. The court eventually invalidated three of the measures, according to the gay rights group Lambda Legal.
Andrew Pugno, legal counsel for the Yes on 8 campaign, said he doubts the court will buy the revision argument in the case of the gay marriage ban because the plaintiffs would have to prove the measure alters the state's basic governmental framework.
Joel Franklin, a constitutional law professor at Monterey College of Law, said that even though the court rejected similar procedural arguments when it upheld amendments reinstating the death penalty and limiting property taxes, those cases do not represent as much of a fundamental change as Proposition 8.
"Those amendments applied universally to all Californians," Franklin said. "This is a situation where you are removing rights from a particular group of citizens, a class of individuals the court has said is entitled to constitutional protection. This is a structural change."
A trio of cases the court accepted were filed by six same-sex couples who have not yet wed, a Los Angeles lesbian couple who were among the first to tie the knot on June 16 and 11 cities and counties, led by the city of San Francisco.
US
braces itself for Day Without A Gay protest against marriage discrimination
THURSDAY, November 20, 2008 (PinkNews)
The passing of ballot measures banning gay marriage in California, Florida and Arizona earlier this month has led to a new surge in activism across the US, sometimes referred to as Stonewall 2.0.
Individuals have been using mobile phones, social networking sites and other technology to organise and protest.
One
of the most original campaigns driven by the internet is the Day Without
A Gay, which despite only being launched last week has its own website
and logo, a Facebook group with nearly 2,000 members and even its own
T-shirts.
"Gay people and our allies are compassionated, sensitive, caring,
mobilised, and programmed for success," said the organisers.
"A day without gays would be tragic because it would be a day without love.
"On December 10th, you are encouraged not to call in sick to work. You are encouraged to call in 'gay' - and donate your time to service."
The idea of 'calling in gay' could be an issue in the 30 states where lesbian, gay and bisexual employees have no legal protection against discrimination at work.
The organisers have provided a list of other activities that may not involve coming out in the workplace.
Tens of thousands of Americans protested the bans on gay marriage at rallies across the country last weekend, many of them spurred into action by internet campaigns.
New
report on Ireland's gays reveals isolation and discrimination
TUESDAY, November 18, 2008 (PinkNews)
A new study of the lives of lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans people in the West of Ireland has found that nearly 70% of them have suffered some form of discrimination.
90% felt isolated at times because of their sexual orientation or gender identity.
The report was commissioned by LGBT West - a consortium of statutory and voluntary service providers in counties Mayo, Galway and Roscommon, including county councils, rural and city partnership companies and lesbian and gay groups.
50% of those who had experienced discrimination were verbally abused and 20% had been physically attacked.
"The extent and nature of discrimination reported by respondents is of extreme concern," the report said.
"The impacts of discrimination can range from isolation and social exclusion to psychological distress, unemployment, poverty and a poor quality of life."
Half of respondents said their health care provider assumed they are heterosexuals.
Levels of drug and alcohol use appear to be higher than the general population - 43% had taken cannabis, 39% ecstasy and 34% cocaine.
The report was launched in Galway yesterday by Eamon O Cuiv, Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs.
"Many LGBT people feel isolated and socially excluded," he said.
"Isolation and social exclusion are linked to poorer health, lower educational attainments, lower economic success and lower degrees of happiness and fulfillment.
"Conversely, embracing diversity is known to have proven effects on the individual and larger community.
"This very important piece of research contains evidence of the realities faced by LGBT people in the region.
"It is my hope that this will result in a more inclusive society here in the West of Ireland, where being lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender will no longer result in experiencing discrimination or isolation.
"LGBT people are an important part of our community and it is appropriate that we look at ways of improving their greater participation in our society."
The report said "the importance of legislating for same sex partners and LGBT families was highlighted by both focus group participants and online respondents.
"The equal recognition of same sex couples with heterosexual couples was seen as an important social change in order to achieve a greater equality for all LGBT people in Ireland."
The Irish government published a draft civil partnerships bill in April.
"The report documents the realities faced by LGBT people in the region," said Ciaran McKinney of LGBT West.
"It provides an evidence-base for policy makers and planners in the region, to ensure that services in health, education and community development are inclusive of lesbian and gay people living in the West of Ireland.
"There has been much progress for lesbian and gay people in Ireland in the past decade.
"This report seeks to ensure that lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people in the west of Ireland continue to share in this progress and have the freedom to be visible without fear of harassment or discrimination and where differences in sexual orientation or gender identity are unremarkable."
The report stated that further research is needed to identify the specific needs of transgender people in the region.
Information on support services to transgender people and basic information on transgender issues for service providers were also identified as critically needed.
A mix of qualitative and quantitative methods were used including focus groups, an online survey, a written survey of service providers and an analysis of written submissions from two community groups and one individual.
One hundred and thirty-two eligible respondents completed the online survey. Thirty-one people participated in the focus groups. Twenty-nine out of forty-three services returned completed questionnaires.
Admirals,
generals: Repeal 'don't ask, don't tell'
MONDAY, November 17, 2008 (Seattle
Times)
by Brian Witte
More than 100 retired generals and admirals called Monday for repeal of the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy on gays so they can serve openly, according to a statement obtained by The Associated Press.
The move by the military veterans confronts the incoming administration of President-elect Barack Obama with a thorny political and cultural issue that dogged former President Bill Clinton early in his administration.
"As in the case with Great Britain, Israel, and other nations that allow gays and lesbians to serve openly, our service members are professionals who are able to work together effectively despite differences in race, gender, religion, and sexuality," the officers wrote.
While Obama has expressed support for repeal, he said during the presidential campaign that he would not do so on his own - an indication that he would tread carefully to prevent the issue from becoming a drag on his agenda. Obama said he would instead work with military leaders to build consensus on removing the ban on openly gay service members.
"Although I have consistently said I would repeal 'don't ask, don't tell,' I believe that the way to do it is make sure that we are working through a process, getting the Joint Chiefs of Staff clear in terms of what our priorities are going to be," Obama said in a September interview with the Philadelphia Gay News.
Tommy Vietor, a spokesman for Obama's transition team, declined comment.
The issue of gays in the military became a flash point early in the Clinton administration as Clinton tried to fulfill a campaign promise to end the military's ban on gays. His efforts created the current compromise policy - ending the ban but prohibiting active-duty service members from openly acknowledging they are gay.
But it came at a political cost. The resulting debate divided service members and veterans, put Democrats on the defensive and provided cannon fodder for social conservatives and Republican critics who questioned Clinton's patriotism and standing with the military.
Retired Adm. Charles Larson, a four-star admiral and two-time superintendent of the U.S. Naval Academy who signed the statement with 104 other retired admirals and generals, said in an interview that he believed Clinton's approach was flawed because he rushed to change military culture.
Larson said he hoped Obama would take more time to work with the Pentagon. Joining Larson among the signatories was Clifford Alexander, Army secretary under form President Jimmy Carter.
"There are a lot of issues they'll have to work out, and I think they'll have to prioritize," Larson said, noting that the new administration will immediately face combat-readiness issues and budget concerns. "But I hope this would be one of the priority issues in the personnel area."
The list of 104 former officers who signed the statement appears to signal growing support for resolving the status of gays in the military. Last year, 28 former generals and admirals signed a similar statement.
Larson, who has a gay daughter he says has broadened his thinking on the subject, believes a generational shift in attitudes toward homosexuality has created a climate where a repeal is not only workable, but also an important step for keeping talented personnel in the military.
"I know a lot of young people now - even people in the area of having commands of ships and squadrons - and they are much more tolerant, and they believe, as I do, that we have enough regulations on the books to enforce proper standards of human behavior," Larson said.
The officers' statement points to data showing there are about 1 million gay and lesbian veterans in the United States, and about 65,000 gays and lesbians currently serving in the military.
The military discharged about 12,340 people between 1994 and 2007 for violating the "don't ask, don't tell" policy, according to the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network, a military watchdog group. The number peaked in 2001 at 1,273, but began dropping off sharply after the Sept. 11 attacks.
Last year, 627 military personnel were discharged under the policy.
POlitical
observers say that even though the issue may not be as controversial as
it was when Clinton addressed it, it's impossible to forget what happened
then.
Larry Sabato, a political scientist at the University of Virginia, said
Obama is unlikely to tackle the issue early on. Sabato said he expects
Obama to focus on economic recovery and avoid risking the spark of a distraction
"brush fire" controversy at the outset.
"I can't imagine that he will do this right in the beginning, given the Clinton precedent," Sabato said.
Aaron Belkin, who has studied the "don't ask, don't tell" policy as director of the Palm Center at the University of California at Santa Barbara and organized the officers' statement, said how Obama addresses the issue will be the first test for the new president on gay rights.
"Everyone is going to be interested to see how he responds," Belkin said.
South
Korea asks court to retain ban on gays in the military
MONDAY, November 17, 2008 (PinkNews)
The government of South Korea has asked the constitutional court to confirm the ban on gays serving in the country's Armed Forces.
Servicemen face a year in jail for homosexual acts. In August a military court asked for a review of the constitutionality of the ban.
"The military has unique characteristics," a defence ministry spokesman told AFP.
"It has to maintain good combat capability. It requires a sound group life. It works for the public interest rather than personal happiness."
All young men in the country are obliged to serve in the military or in the riot police for up to two years and have to take a test at the time of enlistment which includes various questions about their sexual orientation.
South Korea has a standing army of 687,000, the 6th largest in the world, with 4.5m reserve personnel.
In 2005, eight soldiers were thrown out of South Korea's military for homosexuality, according to army statistics revealed at the time.
A year later, a soldier attempted suicide several times after telling his superiors he was gay.
He later claimed that he was forced to submit photographs of himself in bed with another man.
He was then obliged to take an HIV test and was publicly humiliated.
In a separate case, a mother filed a petition to the National Human Right s Commission last October claiming her son was sexually harassed for saying he was gay.
She said her 20-year-old son was forced to touch his superiors or get into bed with them.
The first phase of new military regulations went into effect on April 1st 2006.
They restricted the use of personal information about gay soldiers on military documents, ended the forced medical examinations of gay troops and punished perpetrators of sexuality-based physical or verbal abuse.
Previously those who have "abnormal" sexual identities such as gays, lesbians and bisexual people were not allowed to serve in the Armed Forces.
However, the mInistry of Defence rules on homosexuality also state that gay men who want to "turn" straight will be supported.
In the South Korean Constitution or Civil Penal Code there is not mention of homosexuality.
However, in practice, discrimination against gay people and censorship against gay websites is fairly common.
Homosexuality has only in recent years gained some acceptance in South Korean society, with its strict Confucian traditions and strong Roman Catholic influence.
The Dutch lifted their ban on gays in 1974, Australia followed in 1992 and Canada soon after.
Gay , lesbian and bisexual people have served openly in the British Armed Forces since 2000.
Nearly all other Western nations allow openly gay, bisexual and lesbian people to serve openly.
there is public support for an end to the US policy of Don't Ask, Don't Tell, which bars openly LGB people from serving the in the Armed Forces.
A survey by the Washington Post and ABC News published in July found that three-quarters of Americans think that openly gay, lesbian and bisexual people should be allowed to serve in the military.
64% of Republicans and nearly two thirds of self-described conservatives backed a change in the current law, as did 57% of white evangelical Protestants and 82% of white Catholics.
It was Republican opposition that forced then-President Bill Clinton to abandon his pledge to allow gay people to serve and signed into law the compromise known as "Don't Ask, Don't Tell."
Since 1993 gay people who do not reveal their sexuality can serve, and commanding officers are not meant to ask service personnel about their sexual orientation.
Retired high-ranking military leaders, such as former Joint Chiefs Chairman John Shalikashvili and Lieutenant General Claudia Kennedy, have called for an end to the DADT law, which is estimated to have cost American taxpayers more than $364m (£182m) since its inception 15 years ago.
More than 12,000 men and women have been dismissed since 1993.
An estimated 65,000 lesbian and gay service members serve on active duty and in the reserves of the United States military.
Nepal's
highest court confirms full rights for LGBT people
MONDAY, November 17, 2008 (PinkNews)
A Nepali MP has said his "eyes were filled with tears" when he read the full written decision of the country's Supreme Court on a write petition from four organisations representing lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and intersex people.
A summary decision was issued in December 2007, when the court issued directive orders to the Nepal government to ensure the right to life according to their own identities and introduce laws providing equal rights to LGBTIs and amend all the discriminatory laws.
The final judgment was issued today.
It reiterates that all LGBTIs are defined as a "natural person" and their physical growth as well as sexual orientation, gender identity, expression are all part of natural growing process. Thus equal rights, identity and expression must be ensured regardless of their sex at birth.
The write petition was field by Blue Diamond Society and three other LGBTI organisations in Nepal demanding the protection and defence of the equal rights of sexual and gender minorities.
"Reading this decision my eyes were filled with tears and I felt we are the most proud LGBTI citizens of Nepal in the world," said Sunit Pant, Nepal's only gay MP.
"A legal note of point has been raised for the new constitution of Nepal while ensuring the equal rights to individuals, like the bill of rights from South Africa, and non-discrimination provision on the grounds of sexual orientations and gender identities must be introduced."
The Court has also issued a directive order to form a seven-member committee, with a doctor appointed by Health Ministry, one representative from National Human rights commission, the Law Ministry, one socialist appointed by government of Nepal, a representative from the Nepal police, a representative from Ministry of Population and Environment and one advocate as a representative from the LGBTI community, to conduct a study into the other countries' practice on same-sex marriage.
Based on its recommendation the government will introduce a same-sex marriage bill.
For the full article, click here.
Governor
Schwarzenegger predicts Supreme Court will overturn Prop 8
MONDAY, November 17, 2008 (PinkNews)
The governor of California has said that the state Supreme Court was right to rule a ban on gay marriage unconstitutional.
On election day, November 4th, californians voted in favour or Proposition 8, a ballot measure that seeks to change the state constitution to deny same-sex couples the right to marry.
With 100% of votes at polling stations counted, 5,424,916 (52.4%) voted in favour of a constitutional definition of marriage being between a man and woman. 4,832,086 (47.6%) voted against.
More than 2m postal and absentee votes have yet to be counted. However, the campaign to stop Prop 8 has conceded defeat.
"For me, marriage is between a man and a woman. But I don't want to ever force my will on anyone," Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger said on ABC television's This Week with George Stephanopoulos.
"I think that the Supreme Court was right and that everyone should have the right.
"So the Supreme Court, you know, I think ought to go and look at that again. And we'll go back to the same decision. I think that they will. And I think that the important thing now is to resolve this issue in that way."
His wife Maria Shriver, a niece of former President John F. Kennedy, has been a strong supporter of gay marriage.
Governor Schwarzenegger said he would not be joining 44 members of the California State Legislature who have filed a "friend of the court" brief in the state Supreme Court backing legal challenges to Proposition 8.
The legislators said that the ballot measure "eviscerates the judicial branch's ability to uphold the fundamental rights of all Californians under equal protection clause" of the state constitution.
They claimed that if Proposition 8 takes effect, "This court will no longer be the final arbiter of the rights of minorities.
"furthermore, treating Proposition 8 as a mere amendment would divest the Legislature of its constitutional authority to subject such a fundamental abrogation of the equal protection clause to its deliberative processes."
The American Civil Liberties Union, Lambda Legal and the National Centre for Lesbian Rights have filed a writ petition before the California Supreme Court urging the court to invalidate Proposition 8.
The California state legislators have filed their brief in support of their case.
The petition charges that Proposition 8 is invalid because the initiative process was improperly used in an attempt to undo the constitution's core commitment to equality for everyone by eliminating a fundamental right from just one group - lesbian and gay Californians.
According to the California Constitution, such radical changes to the organising principles of state government cannot be made by simple majority vote through the initiative process, but instead must, at a minimum, go through the state legislature first.
"The California Constitution itself sets out two ways to alter the document that sets the most basic rules about how state government works," the groups said in a statement.
"Through the initiative process, voters can make relatively small changes to the constitution.
"But any measure that would change the underlying principles of the constitution must first be approved by the legislature before being submitted to the voters.
"That didn't happen with Proposition 8, and that's why it's invalid."
The lawsuit was filed in the California Supreme Court on behalf of Equality California and 6 same-sex couples who did not marry before last Tuesday's election but would like to be able to marry now.
The groups said they are confident that the state will continue to honour the marriages of the 18,000 lesbian and gay couples who have already married in California.
UN
General Assembly will hear plea for end to LGBT discrimination
MONDAY, November 17, 2008 (PinkNews)
Next month's meeting of the United Nations General Assembly will make history when a declaration against discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity will be presented.
All 27 countries of the European Union have signed the declaration, which will be presented by France.
The initiative for the declaration follows a campaign by the committee coordinating the International dAy Against Homophobia (IDAHO).
More than 80 countries outlaw same-sex relations in all c8ircumstances.
The maximum punishments rang from a few years jail to life imprisonment.
In nine countries, or regions of countries, the mandatory punishment for homosexuality is death by execution.
In September the French minister of human rights and foreign affairs confirmed that she will appeal at the United Nations for the universal decriminalisation of homosexuality.
Rama Yade also said that the EU wanted to take the lead in stopping violence against women worldwide.
Until the end of 2008 France will speak for all EU member states at the UN General Assembly, as they hold the rotating presidency of the European Union.
Earlier this year it was reported that the French initiative on decriminalisation will take the form of a solemn declaration from UN states, rather than a vote in the UN on the matter.
France
will instead submit a draft declaration at the UN General Assembly between
December 15th and 20th. The British government already advocates universal
decriminalisation.
It is thought that this is the first time a declaration of this kind has
reached the General Assembly.
Louis Georges Tin, President of the IDAHO Committee, said the initial strategy is to encourage as many countries as possible to sign the declaration.
After the declaration is presented it is hoped that the momentum for decriminalisation will build and that there will be enough support for a resolution to be passed in the UN.
Diplomatic and political efforts to build that support are likely to continue for some time to come, but campaigners are encouraged by the world wide support for decriminalisation thus far.
The International Day Against Homophobia is a worldwide campaign which addresses homophobia and transphobia. Events and Initiatives are organised for May 17th each year.
Across
U.S., Big Rallies for Same-Sex Marriage
SUNDAY, November 16, 2008
by Jesse McKinley (New
York Times)
SAN FRANCISCO - In one of the nation's largest displays of support for gay rights, tens of thousands of people in cities across the country turned out in support of same-sex marriage on Saturday, lending their voices to an issue that many gay men and lesbians consider a critical step to full equality.
The demonstrations - from a sun-splashed throng in San Francisco to a chilly crowd in Minneapolis - came 11 days after CAlifornia voters narrowly passed a ballot measure, Proposition 8, that outlawed previously legal same-sex ceremonies in the state. The measure's passage has spurred protests in California and across the country, including at several Mormon temples, a reflection of that church's ardent backing of the proposition.
On Saturday, speakers painted the fight over Proposition 8 as another test of a movement that began with the riots at the Stonewall Inn in New York in 1969, survived the emergence of the AIDS crisis in the 1980s, and has since made enormous strides in societal acceptance, whether in television shows or in antidiscrimination laws.
"It's not 'Yes we can,'" said Tom Ammiano, a San Francisco city supervisor, referring to President-elect Barack Obama's campaign mantra. "It's 'Yes we will.'"
Carrying handmade signs with slogans like "No More Mr. Nice Gay" and "Straights Against Hate," big crowds filled civic centers and streets in many cities. IN New York, some 4,000 people gathered at City Hall, where speakers repeatedly called same-sex marriage "the greatest civil rights battle of our generation."
"We are not going to rest at night until every citizen in every state in this country can say, 'This is the person I love," and take their hand in marriage," said Representative Anthony D. Weiner of Brooklyn.
In Los Angeles, where wildfires had temporarily grabbed headlines from continuing protests over Proposition 8, Mayor Antonio R. Villaraigosa addressed a crowd of about 9,000 people in Spanish and English, and seemed to express confidence that the measure, which is being challenged in California courts, would be overturned.
"I've come here from the fires because I feel the wind at my back as well," said the mayor, who arrived at a downtown rally from the fire zone on a helicopter. "It's the wind of change that has swept the nation. It is the wind of optimism and hope."
For the full article, click here.
Gay
and straight -- thousands rally in Seattle to support gay marriage
SATURDAY, November 15, 2008
by Gregory Roberts (Seattle
P-I)
A rally in support of gay marriage drew thousands to Volunteer Park in Seattle Saturday, mirroring similar demonstrations across the nation in protest of California's new ban on same-sex marriage.
"We want marriage," Anna Rhodes said at the park rally, standing beside her partner, Merry Rhodes.
"Second-best isn't good enough," Merry Rhodes added.
The couple registered as domestic partners last year in Washington state, which does not authorize same-sex marriages. Anna Rhodes changed her last name to match her partner's in what they described as a lengthy and cumbersome process.
"Our love is no different than anybody else's," Merry Rhodes said. "We want to celebrate our love and be recognized for that, not only by our families, but by the government. And she wants to wear the dress."
The courts in California legalized gay marriages earlier this year, but that decision was overturned Nov. 4 by the voter initiative Proposition 8. Massachusetts and Connecticut now are the only states to recognize same-sex marriage.
"What happened in California really broke the straw," Dan Dembiczak said at the park rally.
Although many other states have banned same-sex marriages by popular vote or legislation, Proposition 8 stands out because it took away a right in effect at the time, Dembiczak said.
Dembiczak carried a poster showing a photograph of a commitment celebration he performed with his partner, Dan Garlington, IN Hawaii last year.
"We didn't want to wait," Dembiczak said. "We wanted to do a ceremony for ourselves."
Garlington carried a similar poster, which included the words, "Our love is real." Dembiczak's poster read, "Our marriage is real," though he is ruefully aware that it isn't officially recognized in his home state; even getting married in Massachusetts or Connecticut wouldn't change that, he said.
Dozens of demonstrators bore signs to the rally: "Fight the hate/Repeal Prop 8;" "You can't stop love;" "No more Mrs. Nice Dyke;" "I love him/He loves me/Let us be/A family;" "Jesus has two dads;" "Can I vote on your marriage now?"
Riona MacNamara's sign spelled out a quotation from Thomas Jefferson: "The best principles of our republic secure to all its citizens a perfect equality of rights."
"I truly believe in the cause," MacNamara said. "I'm a straight woman, and though we got married, we acknowledge that we were able to do so because we enjoy a right that is denied to many of our friends."
Several politicians addressed the crowd, which spilled across the meadow by the park reservoir on a sunny and mild day. The most rousing speech came from King County Executive Ron Sims, an African-American who compared the quest for marriage equality to the fight for racial justice that his parents waged in his hometown of Spokane.
"It won't be easy, but it will happen," Sims said. "It will happen. We're not tired -- we're just getting started."
The crowd was enthusiastic and upbeat at the noon rally, which was followed by a march to Westlake Center downtown. Along the route, marchers changed, "Yes, we can" and "What do we want? Equal rights! When do we want them? Now!"
Similar demonstrations took place in Boston, Chicago, San Francisco, New York, Washington, D.C. and many other cities.
HPV
Vaccine Gardasil May Help Boys, Men
THURSDAY, November 13, 2008 (WebMD)
by Miranda Hitti
Gardasil, a vaccine against four strains of human papillomavirus (HPV), may help prevent genital warts in boys and men.
That's according to a new study presented this week in Nice, France, at the annual meeting of the European Research Organization on Genital Infection and Neoplasia (EUROGIN).
Gardasil targets four HPV strains that can lead to cervical cancer. The CDC recommends Gardasil for all girls aged 11-12, and the vaccine is approved for girls and women aged 9-26.
But HPV isn't just a problem for women. In men, HPV can lead to genital warts, anal cancer, and penile cancer.
The new study included 4,065 men aged 16-26. They got three shots of Gardasil or a placebo over six months.
Participants who got the Gardasil shots were 90% less likely to develop genital warts related to the four HPV strains that Gardasil targets.
No serious side effects were linked to Gardasil, though participants who got Gardasil reported "slightly more" injection site reactions than participants in the placebo group, according to the researchers, who included Joel Palefsky, MD, of the University of California at San Francisco.
Merck, the drug company that makes Gardasil, funded the study.
The FDA hasn't approved Gardasil for use in boys or men. Merck plans to file an application this year asking the FDA to approve Gardasil for boys and men aged 9 to 26 to prevent genital warts.
Thousands
protest in N.Y. for marriage equality
THURSDAY, November 13, 2008 (PlanetOut)
Carrying signs reading "Love not H8" and "Did you cast a ballot or a stone?", a large crowd of gay-marriage supporters gathered outside a New York City Mormon temple to protest the church's endorsement of a same-sex marriage ban in California.
The rally Wednesday night outside The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints temple came hours after gay couples exchanged vows for the first time in Connecticut amid cheers and tears of joy.
The milestone did not ease the sting of a major loss for gay-marriage supporters last week. Gay activists planned protests across the country over the vote that took away their right to wed in California.
In the Upper West Side of Manhattan, demonstrators chanted "Shame on you!" outside the temple. Leaders of the Mormon church had encouraged members to support passage of California's Proposition 8, a referendum banning same-sex marriage.
"I'm fed up and disgusted with religious institutions taking political stances and calling them moral when it's nothing but politics," said Dennis Williams, 36. "Meanwhile they enjoy tax-free status while trying to deny me rights that should be mine at the state and federal level."
Church spokesman Michael Otterson said that while citizens have the right to protest, he was "puzzled" and "disturbed" by the gathering since the majority of California's voters had approved the amendment.
"This was a very broad-based coalition that defended traditional marriage in a free and democratic election," Otterson said, referring to the numerous religious and social conservative groups that sponsored Proposition 8.
Organizers of the rally estimated at least 10,000 people participated. Police said they could not give a crowd estimate.
Gay-marriage advocates said they were planning nationwide demonstrations this weekend in more than 175 cities and outside the U.S. Capitol. A Seattle blogger was trying to organize simultaneous protests outside statehouses and city halls in every state Saturday.
Earlier in connecticut, Jody Mock and elizabeth Kerrigan emerged from Town Hall in West Hartford to the cheers of about 150 people and waved their marriage license high. The couple led the lawsuit that overturned the state law.
"We feel very fortunate to live in the state of Connecticut, where marriage equality is valued, and hopefully other states will also do what is fair," Kerrigan said.
The connecticut Supreme Court ruled on Oct. 10 that same-sex couples have the right to wed rather than accept a 2005 civil union law designed to give them the same rights as married couples. A lower-court judge entered a final order permitting same-sex marriage Wednesday morning. Massachusetts is the only other state that allows gay marriages.
Connecticut officials said a partial tally showed that 58 marriage licenses were issued to same-sex couples Wednesday. According to the state, 2,032 civil union licenses were issued between October 2005 and July 2008.
Like the highest courts in connecticut and Massachusetts, the California Supreme Court ruled this spring that same-sex marriage is legal. After about 18,000 such unions were conducted in California, however, its voters last week approved Proposition 8, a constitutional amendment.
Gay rights groups said Wednesday they may ask California voters to overturn the ban on same-sex marriage if legal challenges to Proposition 8 are unsuccessful.
The California vote has sparked protests in several states, many targeting Mormon churches. Some have been vandalized.
Activists also are aiming boycotts and protests at businesses and individuals who contributed to eh campaign to pass Proposition 8. (Marcus Franklin, AP)
Give
gay couples legal partnerships, MEPs ask Bulgaria
THURSDAY, November 13, 2008 (PinkNews)
Euro MPs have called on the Bulgarian government to extend civil partnerships to gay and lesbian couples.
Bulgaria joined the EU in 2007. Its parliament is considering a new draft of the Family Code which introduces civil partnerships into Bulgarian law, but only between a man and a woman.
Politicians have refused to countenance extending protections to gay and lesbian couples.
This week the European Parliament's Intergroup on Gay and Lesbian Rights sent a letter to the Prime Minister of the Republic of Bulgaria Sergei Stanishev and Members of the National Assembly expressing concern.
"Unions between opposite-sex and same-sex couples are based on the same ground. It is a commitment and a declaration of love," wrote MEPs MIchael Cashman, Lissy Graner, Raul Romeva and Sophie In 't Veld.
"It constitutes a direct discrimination on the ground of sexual orientation if opposite-sex couples can legally register a partnership, but same-sex couples can not.
"Discrimination on the ground of sexual orientation is prohibited in various legal documents of the European Union."
there are varying levels of legal protection for same-sex couples in place across the EU.
Family law remains a matter for the member states. At present some nations, such as Spain and Belgium allow gay marriages.
The UK has same-sex partnerships, a system that will be introduced in the Republic of Ireland.
Other nations such as France have registration systems that give gay and lesbian couples some rights.
The French pacte civil de solidarite (PACS) is fully recognised in Britain, but France does not recognise UK partnerships.
Any EU-wide agreement on the issue of same-sex recognition would require a consensus among the 27 member states.
Vladimir Spidla, the EU Commissioner for Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities, said in an interview last month:
"Within European legislation we have gone as far as we can go.
"If a state accepts the equality of these relationships then that state cannot discriminate.
"And there are already some infringement procedures against some states on this matter.
"However, whether the tstate accepts these unions or not is a basic national competence. And we don't interfere with that.
"I think that we found the best possible balance in the proposal of the directive.
"These are national competences over things that are very sensitive and which are not the subject of European legislation so we preserve them in that way and I think that at this moment there is the best possible balance."
Gay
couples begin marrying in Connecticut
WEDNESDAY, November 12, 2008 (PlanetOut)
Gay couples began marrying in Connecticut on Wednesday after a judge cleared the way, a victory for advocates stunned by California's ban on same-sex unions last week.
With a final order entered, couples marched to New Haven City Hall to get marriage licenses, and less than two hours after the final court hearing, Peg Oliveira and Jennifer Vickery were married in a brief ceremony.
"I feel so happy," said Vickery, a 44-year-old attorney. "It's so much more emotional than I expected."
The Connecticut Supreme Court ruled 4-3 on Oct. 10 that same-sex couples have the right to wed rather than accept a civil union law designed to give them the same rights as married couples.
"Today, Connecticut sends a message of hope an[d] inspiration to lesbian and gay people throughout this country who simply want to be treated as equal citizens by their government," said the plaintiff's attorney, Bennett Klein.
Gay marriage is legal now only in Connecticut and Massachusetts. The unions were legal in California until a statewide referendum to ban gay marriage narrowly passed last week. The vote has sparked protests and several lawsuits asking that state's Supreme Court to overturn the prohibition.
In Connecticut, celebrating couples, some carrying red roses, streamed into the clerk's office to get their licenses.
The first license issued in New Haven went to plaintiffs Robin Levine-Ritterman and Barbara Levine-Ritterman, who have been together since 1989. A crowd of about 100 people outside city hall applauded as Barbara Levine-Ritterman proudly held up the license.
"It's thrilling today. We are all in one line for one form. Love is love, and the state recognizes it," she said.
Manchester Town Clerk Joseph Camposeo, president of the Connecticut Town Clerks Association, said clerks in the state's 169 communities were advised by e-mail shortly after 9:30 a.m. they could start issuing the licenses.
"The feedback I'm getting from other clerks is that we're all at they ready, but no one really has a sense yet of what kind of volume we're going to get," he said.
According to the state public health department, 2,032 civil union licenses were issued in Connecticut between Oct. 2005 and July 2008.
The health department had new marriage applications printed that reflect the change. Instead of putting one name under "bride" and the other under "groom," couples will see two boxes marked "bride/groom/spouse."
Constitutional amendments to ban gay marriage passed last week in Arizona and Florida, and Arkansas voters approved a measure banning unmarried couples from serving as adoptive or foster parents.
However, Connecticut voters last week rejected the idea of a constitutional convention to amend the state's constitution, a major blow to opponents of same-sex marriage.
The Family Institute of Connecticut, a political action group that opposes gay marriage, condemned the high court's decision as undemocratic. Peter Wolfgang, the group's executive director, acknowledged banning gay marriage in Connecticut would be difficult but vowed not to give up.
"Unlike California, we did not have a remedy," Wolfgang said. "It must be overturned with patience, determination and fortitude."
The state's 2005 civil union law will remain on the books, at least for now. Same-sex couples can continue to enter civil unions, which give them the same legal rights and privileges in Connecticut as married couples without the status of being married. (John Christoffersen and Susan Haigh, AP)
National
AIDS Trust questions gay blood donor ban
WEDNESDAY, November 12, 2008 (PinkNews)
A leading HIV charity has accused the National Blood Service of not doing enough to challenge a lifetime ban on donations from men who have had sex with men.
The issue has come to prominence in the national press this week after it emerged that the NBS has been banned from advertising at two student unions because of the blanket ban.
The NBS insists it targets sexual behaviour and not sexual orientation, but in effect virgins are the only gay men whose blood will be accepted for donations.
There is increasing pressure for the ban to be lifted in favour of more sophisticated models.
Deborah Jack, Chief Executive of the National AIDS Trust, told PinkNews.co.uk:
"We would never condone a ban on advertising for blood donation, as maintaining the blood supply is vitally important, but this action by some student unions shows the strength of feeling about the current restrictions on blood donation.
"NAT is not convinced by the justification put forward for the current lifetime ban and we are campaigning for the National Blood Service to review it.
"The test for HIV used by the blood service is not the most reliable test currently available.
"Furthermore, the only two options considered as an alternative to the current lifetime ban are no restrictions at all and a one year ban - but there are alternatives such as the New Zealand five-year ban.
"A lifetime ban becomes increasingly indefensible when, for example, there would be next to no one alive with undiagnosed HIV fifteen years after they were infected.
"The National Blood Service has said it is willing to review the ban if there is any new evidence. But it should be doing more.
"Instead of an essentially passive approach it should be proactive in questioning this outdated policy and looking for an alternative to a blanket ban."
The NBS said in a statement:
"While safer sex through the use of condoms, does reduce the transmission of infections, it cannot eliminate the risk altogether. The reason for this exclusion rests on specific sexual behaviour rather than the sexuality of the person wishing to donate.
"There is, therefore, no exclusion of gay men who have never had sex with a man, nor of women who have sex with women.
"The policy would only be changed on the basis of clear evidence that patients would not be put at jeopardy. In addition, scientific advances in virus testing and inactivation are monitored."
Similar blanket bans have been abolished in South Africa, Spain and Italy.
Thousands
of lives could be saved by new anal cancer test
MONDAY, November 10, 2008 (PinkNews)
A new test that will detect the early signs of a cancer that is prevalent among gay men has been devised.
The incidence of anal cancer is estimated as 37 per 100,000 in gay men. For gay men who are HIV-positive, the incidence is about twice as great -- around 75 per 100,000.
The test, developed after a study, funded by the UK's Medical Research Council (MRC) and Cancer Research UK, means fewer people would have to undergo radiotherapy and chemotherapy treatment.
Gay campaigner Peter Tatchell, who in 2003 successfully lobbied the UK government to take action on anal cancer, said:
"For gay and bisexual men who are at risk of anal cancer, these tests are an important medical breakthrough. They will help save lives. With this reliable screening test, signs of anal cancer will be detected earlier, leading to speedier, more effective treatment."
The research, carried out at the MRC Cancer Cell Unit in Cambridge, explores using mini-chromosome maintenance proteins (MCMs) to detect pre-cancerous and cancerous cells in the anus.
The study, funded by the Medical Research council and Cancer Research UK, was published in the American journal Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers and PRevention.
MCMs have been used to find pre-cancerous and cancerous cells in other areas of the body more accurately and effectively but this is the first time they have been used to detect anal cancer.
"This is a much better overall performance than existing methods of detecting anal disease, which either miss too many cases or show up as positive when no disease is actually there.
"MCM tests can also be read by a computer, which would avoid the risk of human error and be a cheaper option too," lead author of the study, Dr. Nick Coleman said.
Anal caner is a difficult disease to detect and many cases are identified after it becomes too late for people to undergo simple surgery to remove it.
"We wanted to create a test which was easier to perform and had a high rate of accuracy. This study suggests that MCM testing fits the bill very well indeed."
For the full article, click here.
Hungarian
parliament approves homophobic hate crimes legislation
MONDAY, November 10, 2008 (PinkNews)
Two landmark measures extending protections to LGBT people have been adopted by the Hungarian parliament.
The country's hate crime laws will be altered to a general formulation of a "violent act against a member of a social group," which is believed to include sexual orientation.
The second piece of legislation makes it possible to initiate civil proceedings against a person who engages in degrading or intimidating behaviour towards groups based on nationality, ethnicity, religion or sexual orientation.
There have been violent clashes with police and attacks on politicians and gay Pride in recent years.
In July Budapest Pride was the target of violent fascist attacks.
An estimated 1,500 people participated in the LGBT solidarity demonstration.
SWAT officers called in from all over Hungary followed the march an intervened when necessary.
The march was supposed to end in a cordoned-off area where a concert was going to take place.
It was cancelled as a neo-Nazi mob had beaten up the performer and police were forced to use tear gay and a water cannon to clear the route for marchers to leave.
The marchers were then escorted by police to nearby metro stations as the mob was dispersed.
Pride in Budapest in 2007 was plagued by skinheads and fascist shouting abuse and throwing items such as beer bombs, smoke bombs and petrol bombs at the peaceful marchers.
In the week leading up to this year's Pride two gay businesses in Budapest were attacked with petrol bombs.
For the full article, click here.
Gay
donations would mean more safe blood, tribunal
MONDAY, November 10, 2008 (PinkNews)
An anti-discrimination tribunal in Australia has been told that lifting a ban on gay men giving blood would increase the amount of safe transfusions available.
The case was initiated by would-be gay donor Michael CAin, who was barred from giving blood on the grounds of his sexuality.
The Anti-Discrimination Tribunal in Hobart heard closing submissions last week.
Mr. Cain's lawyer, Peter Tree SC, told the tribunal that there are gay men who have a much lower risk of HIV than many heterosexuals and that the blood from these men could save lives if it was accepted.
Mr. Tree also accused the Red Cross of exaggerating the HIV risk associated with gay sex to "extreme" levels.
"The Red Cross has assisted in perpetuating the stereotype that gay sex is risky and unhealthy", he said.
Mr. Tree went on to say that the Red Cross has known since 2001 that there is no medical evidence to support a ban on men engaging in a range of sexual activities with other men, including oral sex.
"This alone should compel the tribunal to find that the Red CRoss policy is unjustifiable."
The lawyer for the Red Cross Blood Service, Jeremy Ruskin SC, also began his closing submission.
Addressing
Mr. Tree's claim that blood donation is an altruistic act from which gay
men should not be excluded, Mr. Ruskin told the tribunal it is more altruistic
not to give blood when there are such risks associated with all gay sex.
In August the tribunal heard from the primary Red Cross witness, Dr. Brenton
Wylie, a member of the Red Cross management committee.
During Dr. Wylie's cross examination, Mr. Tree SC presented documents containing the advice of the Red Cross' chief epidemiological advisor Dr. John Kaldor.
According to these documents, Dr. Kaldor advised the Red Cross in 2001:
"Based on current epidemiological evidence, there is no justification for excluding donors on the basis of oral sex.
"It would seem prudent to defer donors who have had male anal sex without a condom... for a donor who has had anal sex only with a condom, the risk is far lower."
Mr. Cain went on to suggest that, judging by the evidence from the documents, the Red Cross also ignored a request by the Australian Medical Association to "obtain views on high risk heterosexual relationships" in relation to blood donation.
Mr. Cain then pointed out that Dr. Wylie had previously claimed that gay and bisexual men were thousands of times more likely to have HIV than straight people, despite the fact that only 0.5% of Tasmanian gay and bisexual men are HIV-positive.
Closing submissions are expected to conclude on Monday November 17th.
U.N.
Calls on India to Decriminalize Homosexuality
MONDAY, November 10, 2008 (kaisernetwork)
The United Nations has called on India to decriminalize homosexuality, saying the move would help in the fight against HIV/AIDS by allowing intervention programs such as ones that have been successful in other countries, AFP/Google.com. The Delhi High Court currently is considering a suit brought by advocates to decriminalize homosexuality, which was deemed illegal by a British colonial-era law and is punishable by a fine and a 10-year prison sentence.
Jeffrey O'Malley, director of the United Nations Development Programme, on Friday said that countries protecting men who have sex with men from discrimination are better able to curb the transmission of the virus. Although India -- where about 2.4 million people are HIV-positive -- has witnessed a decrease in new cases, O'Malley said that "rates of new infections among men who have sex with men continue to go up." He added, "Until we acknowledge these behaviors and work with people involved with these behaviors, we are not going to halt and reverse the HIV epidemic." O'Malley also said countries where homosexuality is not illegal, such as China, have seen greater success in preventing the spread of HIV. "In China, male homosexuality has never been illegal. So there aren't any of these legal barriers to prevention work," he said. O'Malley also said that Brazil has scaled up its HIV/AIDS prevention efforts by combining legal status for MSM with anti-homophobia campaigns. India's Health Minister Anbumani Ramadoss has said that decriminalizing homosexuality would help bring India's largely hidden MSM community into the open, AFP/Google.com reports (AFP/Google.com, 11/7).
In related news, the Delhi High Court on Thursday said that male-to-male sexual contact does not cause bodily injury, objecting to claims from senior BJP party leader B.P. Singhal that sexual activity among MSM causes injury and should not be allowed, even among consenting adults, the PTI/Hindustan Times reports. The court said, "In several countries where" such a ban "has been lifted, no one has claimed the act is injurious," adding that the World Health Organization "does not say that it causes injuries to people involved in such acts."
According to the PTI/Times, advocates in court said that research in foreign countries has established that decriminalization of homosexuality does not result in the spread of sexually transmitted infections. The high court previously said that the problems of HIV/AIDS cannot be solved by curbing male-to-male sexual contact (PTI/Hindustan Times, 11/6).
Gay
Marriage Ban Ballot Backlash
SUNDAY, November 9, 2008 (CBS
News)
The passage of Proposition 8 - California's initiative banning same sex marriage - is sparking protests and division across the state, CBS Evening News correspondent John Blackstone reports from San Francisco.
Some voters who joined forces, just last week, to elect the President, now find themselves on opposite sides.
For the third straight day thousands of people marched in California, protesting the election night passage of Proposition 8 - banning same sex marriage.
Crowds continued to target the Mormon church, which poured millions into promoting the same-sex marriage ban and encouraged members to cross state lines to join the campaign. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger - who opposed the bill - says gay rights supporters were outmanned.
"They had a very strong campaign, the pro-proposition 8 people, and I think, the people who tried to defeat it and they did not have as good of a campaign or as much money behind it," Schwarzenegger told CNN's Late Edition.
But the breakdown of who voted for the bill is starting to raise concerns for some in the gay community. Exit polls show that while blacks made up 10 percent of the total vote, 70 percent of African-American voters supported Prop. 8. Whites, Hispanics and Asians were virtually evenly split.
African-Americans are historically more socially conservative and proponents of the ban tapped into that sentiment by seeking out black church leaders for support.
"It's not a civil rights issue, because as African-Americans we can't change the color of our skin," says pastor Edward Smith, who supported the ban on gay marriage.
The fact African-Americans turned out in record numbers to vote for Barack Obama while overwhelmingly voting yes on Proposition 8 created personal conflict for some.
"I think the basis of my conflict comes from my upbringing in the church," says Jacquelynn Hawthorne, an Obama supporter.
That frustrates some civil rights leaders - they compare the struggle to the 1967 Supreme Court case of Richard and Mildred Loving, who were arrested in Virginia because interracial marriage was illegal in 16 states.
"Once we present this in the right way and we do the education we should do, I'm not worried at all because African-Americans believe in justice," says Alice Huffman of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.
Gay rights advocates say they'll fight all the way to the Supreme Court, meaning protests like these may not end anytime soon.
California's
same-sex couples assured their marriages are still legal
THURSDAY, November 6, 2008 (PinkNews)
by Tony Grew
Despite the success of a ballot measure to change the California Constitution to define marriage as between a man and a woman, legal gay and lesbian weddings performed in the state are still valid.
The California Supreme Court ruled in May that same-sex couples had the right to get married.
An estimated 18,000 gay and lesbian couples took advantage of their new rights until election day on Tuesday.
Voters in the state approved Proposition 8, which will change the constitution and deny marriage rights to same-sex couples.
With 100% of precincts reporting, 52.5% or (5,387,939) voted in favour and 47.5% (4,883,460) against. Opponents of Prop 8 claim "there are more than 3 million and possibly as many as 4 million absentee and provisional ballots yet to be counted."
The California Secretary of State is expected to reveal today how many votes are yet to be counted as well as where they are from.
In August Jerry Brown, the California Attorney General, told the San Francisco Chronicle:
"I believe that marriages that have been entered into subsequent to the May 15th Supreme Court opinion will be recognised by the California Supreme Court.
"I would think the court, in looking at the underlying equities, would most probably conclude that upholding the marriages performed in that interval before the election would be a just result."
Gay rights group Equality California and leading LGBT legal groups agree that the marriages performed between June 16th and the passage of Proposition 8 are still valid in the state of California and must continue to be honoured by the state.
The American civil Liberties Union, Lambda Legal and the National Centre for Lesbian Rights have filed a writ petition before the California Supreme Court urging them to invalidate Proposition 8.
The petition charges that Proposition 8 is invalid because the initiative process was improperly used in an attempt to undo the constitution's core commitment to equality for everyone by eliminating a fundamental right from just one group - lesbian and gay Californians.
Proposition 8 also "improperly attempts to prevent the courts from exercising their essential constitutional role of protecting the equal protection rights of minorities."
The groups also claim that radical changes to the organising principles of state government cannot be made by simply majority vote through the initiative process, but instead must, at a minimum, go through the state legislature first.
"There is absolutely nothing in the language of Proposition 8 to suggest that the initiative would apply to couples who have already legally married," they said in a joint statement.
"Unless the language of an initiative specifically says that it is to be applied retroactively, California's courts have been very reluctant to do so, especially when the newly passed measure is in such stark conflict with existing constitutional provisions.
"Although it is extremely unlikely that California courts would apply the initiative retroactively, the proponents of Proposition 8 may file a legal challenge trying to invalidate the marriages of those who married before Proposition 8 possibly passed.
"We remain committed to ensuring that all the couples who married in California continue to receive the legal protections and to have their marriages respected as required under California law and will vigorously fight any attempts to take rights away from couples and families."
Among the couples who got married between June and November were TV star Ellen Degeneres and her partner, actress Portia Di Rossi and Star Trek actor George Takei and partner Brad Altman.
A
First Step Toward a Cure for AIDS? NOvel Procedure Appears to Have Eliminated
HIV
WEDNESDAY, November 5, 2008 (The Body)
by Jeffrey Laurence, M.D.
We need a cure for AIDS. We can't treat our way out of this epidemic. Anti-HIV therapy is a lifelong commitment, accompanied by many life-altering and some potentially life-threatening side effects. And for every person placed on treatment, two to three are newly infected. In 2007 alone there were 2.7 million new infections, and only 31 percent of those who need treatment received it. Viral reservoirs - cells and tissues in which HIV remained dormant, beyond the reach of anti-HIV drugs but poised to grow at any moment - persist for the life of an infected person. And while all currently available anti-HIV drugs suppress the virus, they cannot eliminate it.
Given this context, a brief report in February 2008 by a group of physicians from Germany appeared to change everything when presented as a poster at the annual Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections in Boston.
It described a 40-year-old man - an American working in Berlin - whose HIV had been under good control for several years using a typical cocktail of drugs known as HAART. Then he developed acute leukemia.
In an attempt to cure the leukemia, he underwent a course of radiation therapy and chemotherapy in preparation for a stem cell transplant. But in his case, rather than simply using the best match among available stem cell donors, his physicians did something very clever. They also screened potential donors for a natural mutation known as delta32 CCR5. CCR5 is the primary means by which most types of HIV infect cells. Individuals lacking this CCR5 receptor - the 1.5 percent of the Caucasian population in American and Europe with the delta32 mutation - are completely resistant to infection by the most common forms of HIV>
The patient's stem cell transplant was a success, although relapse of his leukemia required a second transplant using the same donor. Now off all anti-HIV drugs for almost two years, the patient continues to show no detectable signs of HIV in his blood, bone marrow, lymph nodes, intestines, or brain. To the limits of our ability to detect HIV, it appears that the virus has been eradicated from his body. At the very least this patient represents a functional cure: he is off all anti-HIV meds, has a normal T-cell count, and exhibits no evidence of virus.
amfAR quickly called together 10 experts in clinical AIDS, stem cell transplantation, and HIV virology for a two-day think tank at the MIT Endicott House to evaluate these data. The patient's physician, Gero Hutter, presented details of the case, which were closely scrutinized by all. IN a summary statement, attendees indicated that this case does indeed represent at least a functional cure. Dr. Hutter agreed to ask his patient to provide additional blood samples so that scientists attending the amfAR meeting could perform even more sensitive tests to attempt to further document that the virus has been erased from the patient. amfAR is coordinating distribution of these samples.
But amfAR's involvement doesn't end there. It is possible that the patient may have been cured of HIV?AIDS. But the cost of such a stem-cell transplant procedure can run up to $250,000. It is associated with a relatively high death rate from infectious and immunologic complications, and the number of delta32-CCR5 donors of appropriate tissue type would be very small. Here further research may yield key answers.
For example, it is unknown whether the use of a delta32-CCR5 donor is essential. Perhaps the transplant procedure itself was the most important element. The potential to genetically engineer stem cells to remove CCR5 from a patient's own stem cells also exists, and strategies to do so were discussed at the think tank. These and related issues will serve as topics for an upcoming amfAR grant cycle.
Went
to bed equal, woke up second-class
WEDNESDAY, November 5, 2008 (PlanetOut)
Voters put a stop to same-sex marriage in California, dealing a crushing defeat to gay-rights activists in a state they hoped would be a vanguard, and putting in doubt as many as 18,000 same-sex marriages conducted since a court ruling made them legal this year.
The gay-rights movement had a rough election elsewhere as well Tuesday. Ban-gay-marriage amendments were approved in Arizona and florida, and Arkansas voters approved a measure banning unmarried couples from serving as adoptive or foster parents. Supporters made clear that gays and lesbians were their main target.
But California, the nation's most populous state, had been the big prize. Spending for and against Proposition 8 reached $74 million, the most expensive social-issues campaign in U.S. history and the most expensive campaign this year outside the race for the White House. Activists on both sides of the issue saw the measure as critical to building momentum for their causes.
"People believe in the institution or marriage," Frank Schubert, co-manager of the Yes on 8 campaign said after declaring victory early Wednesday. "It's one institution that crosses ethnic divides, that crosses partisan divides. People have stood up because they care about marriage and they care a great deal."
With almost all precincts reporting, election returns showed the measure winning with 52 percent. Some provisional and absentee ballots remained to be tallied, but based on trends and the locations of the votes still outstanding, the margin of support in favor of the initiative was secure.
Exit polls for The Associated Press found that Proposition 8 received critical support from black voters who flocked to the polls to support Barack Obama for president. Blacks voted strongly in favor of the ban, while whites narrowly opposed it and Latinos and Asians were split.
Californians overwhelmingly passed a same-sex marriage ban in 2000, but gay-rights supporters had hoped public opinion on the issue had shifted enough for this year's measure to be rejected.
"We pick ourselves up and trudge on," said Kate Kendell, executive director of the National Center for Lesbian Rights. "There has been enormous movement in favor of full equality in eight short years. That is the direction this is heading, and if it's not today or it's not tomorrow, it will be soon."
The constitutional amendment limits marriage to heterosexual couples, nullifying the California Supreme Court decision that had made same-sex marriages legal in the state since June.
Similar bans had prevailed in 27 states before Tuesday's elections, but none were in California's situation - with about 18,000 gay couples already married. The state attorney general, Jerry Brown, has said those marriages will remain valid, although legal challenges are possible. (Lisa Leff, AP)
18,000
same-sex marriages in California ahead of statewide vote
TUESDAY, November 4, 2008 (PinkNews)
A leading research centre has estimated that more than 18,000 gay and lesbian couples have got married in California since the state Supreme Court ruled in favour of same-sex marriages in May.
Today voters in the state will consider a ballot measure, Proposition 8, that would overturn the court's ruling and remove the right to marry from gays and lesbians.
There are also votes to ban same-sex marriage in Florida and ARizona, but the focus of concern is California, the most populous state in the US.
The Williams Institute at UCLA School of Law estimates that by Election Day approximately 18,000 same-sex couples will have married in California.
Same-sex couples have been legally permitted to marry in California since June 17th 2008.
Marriage licences in California do not include the sex of spouses.
The Williams Institute's estimate is primarily derived by comparing total marriages in the state in 2007 to marriages in 2008 and assuming that all increases are attributable to marriages by same-sex couples.
The Williams Institute is a national think tank dedicated to research on issues of sexual orientation law and public policy.
An estimated $60m (£32m) has been donated on both sides of the Prop 8 debate - Hollywood stars such as Steven Spielberg and Brad Pitt have donated large sums to the campaign opposing it.
A recent Field Poll found 49% of likely voters oppose Proposition 8 and 44% support it, with 7% undecided.
Proposition 8 would amend the state Constitution to "eliminate right of same-sex couples to marry."
In May the California Supreme Court overturned a ban on same-sex marriages in the state.
The Court voted 4 to 3 to strike down the ban, ruling that lesbian and gay couples are entitled to the same fundamental right to marry as heterosexual couples as protected by the California constitution.
The decision explicitly struck down Proposition 22, a voter-passed initiative in 2000 that sought to limit marriage to between a man and woman.
Presidential candidate Barack Obama is expected to win California and its 55 electoral college votes comfortably.
Scottish
blood service defends ban on gay donations
TUESDAY, November 4, 2008 (PinkNews)
The Scottish National Blood Transfusion Service has said that the rise in gay men becoming infected with the HIV virus meant the ban on blood donations from that group was justified.
In a letter to the Scottish Parliament's petitions committee, the service claimed that some gay men are giving blood despite the ban and 86% of all new HIV infections occurring last year in Scotland were in gay men.
MSPs are considering a petition from gay rights activists calling on the Scottish Government to review existing guidelines and risk assessment procedures to allow healthy gay and bisexual men to donate blood.
At present any man who has ever had sexual contact with another man, regardless of whether or not condoms were used, is barred from donating blood for life.
In April the committee agreed to seek responses to the issues raised in the petition from the Scottish Government, the Scottish National Blood Transfusion Service, Joint United Kingdom Blood Transfusion Services, the Equality Network, Scotland's national LGBT campaigns group, and others.
The Scottish blood service maintains that it is not a question of being gay or bisexual but the risk involved.
It does not recognise safe sex practices among men who have sex with men (MSM) as safe, despite the rapidly rising HIV infections among heterosexuals.
UK's National Blood Service (NBS) also bars men who have had sex with other men from donating blood, even if they used a condom.
A statement on their website says: "It is specific behaviours, rather than being gay, which places gay men at increased risk of HIV infection.
"Safer sex will keep most gay men free from infection, however research shows that allowing gay men as a group to donate blood would increase the risk of HIV infected blood entering the blood supply.
"Abolishing the rule for gay men would increase the risk of HIV infected donations entering the blood supply by about five times, and changing the rule to allow gay men to donate one year after they last had sex with another man would increase the risk by 60 percent."
According to Section 28 of the Equality Act (Sexual Orientation) Regulations "it is not unlawful for a blood service to refuse to accept a donation of a person's blood where that refusal is determined by an assessment of risk to the public based on clinical, epidemiological data obtained from a source on which it was reasonable to rely."
The Equality Network said they "are not asking for a blood amnesty, we are simply asking the Parliament to urge the Government to have an open and honest discussion with the LGBT community, let's talk about this issue, let's face it head on.
"Some people are high risk, the same as some people are not.
"Questions which concentrate on the behaviours and the risk of those behaviours will save lives. Let's not allow anyone else to suffer due to this ignorance."
France, Italy and Spain are among EU nations that have removed blanket bans and brought in new rules that focus on risky sexual behaviour.
Connecticut
gay marriages to start Nov. 12
MONDAY, November 3, 2008 (PlanetOut)
Same-sex marriages in Connecticut can start Nov. 12.
Superior Court Judge Jonathan Silbert on Monday scheduled a hearing on that date to enter the final judgment in the case that allows same-sex marriages in the state.
The proceeding is scheduled for 9:15 a.m. Attorneys in the court case say that once the hearing ends, couples can pick up marriage license forms at town and city clerk's offices.
The Connecticut Supreme Court ruled last month that same-sex couples have the right to wed rather than accept a civil union law. Massachusetts and California already allow gay marriages, but a question on Tuesday's ballot in California seeks to ban them. (AP)
New
HIV/AIDS Cases Among MSM in Thailand Increasing, Officials Say
MONDAY, November 3, 2008 (kaisernetwork)
Although the overall number of HIV/AIDS cases in Thailand is declining, new cases among men who have sex with men have been increasing dramatically during the past few years, the Nation reports.
According to Somchai Chakrabhand, director general of Thailand's Department of Disease Control, a recent survey assessing the HIV situation across the country found that MSM are at a higher risk of contracting HIV in concentrated tourism centers such as Bangkok, Chiang Mai and Phuket. The survey of the demographic also found that HIV incidence among MSM in Bangkok increased from 17% in 2003 to 30% in 2007. The rate of new HIV cases in Chaing Mai rose to 16.9% last year from 15.3% in 2005, while rates in Phuket increased from 5.5% in 2005 to 20% in 2007. The survey also found that half of MSM do not use condoms and that male commercial sex workers are at high risk of contracting HIV because they engage in unsafe sexual behavior and lack knowledge of HIV prevention, Somchai said. Somchai added that high rates of new HIV/AIDS cases have been increasing among MSM in recent years because a prevention campaign had been discontinued.
Manoon Jaikueankaew of DDC's Unit 10 in Chaing Mai said that as a result of the discontinued program, MSM do not have access to public health services or medication for HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted infections. In addition, those who have HIV/AIDS or STIs do not seek treatment because of related stigma.
According to the Nation, there are not a sufficient amount of agencies and funding to support HIV/AIDS prevention efforts in local areas. Manoon said, "A one-stop service is really needed to provide information about health care to" MSM, adding, "This is the only way for them to protect themselves from HIV."
Chatwut Wangwon -- who works for a joint program of the Thai Ministry of Public Health and U.S. CDC -- said that while working in Phuket for four years, he found that most MSM who contract HIV are students, of working age and single. In addition, at least 27% could have sex with men or women, which means they also can transmit the virus to women. Chatwut also said that about 50% of MSM do not use condoms.
According to Chatwut, the best way to reduce HIV/AIDS cases among MSM is to provide no-cost condoms and raise awareness of HIV symptoms. "The best thing that we need to do is make them know earlier about the infection and their symptoms," he said (Pongphon, Nation, 10/31).
Gay
married couples face legal limbo if Prop. 8 passes
THURSDAY, October 30, 2008 (L.A. Times) by Maura Dolan and Jessica Garrison
Reporting from San Francisco and Los Angeles - Eric Borsum was trilled this month when he was finally able to marry Eric Miller, his partner of nine years. But he was also nervous. He knew there was a chance Proposition 8 would pass, and if it did, his marriage would be thrown into legal limbo.
Proposition 8 would amend the state Constitution to define marriage as only between a man and a woman, but the measure does not address what would happen to the estimated 16,000 same-sex couples who have tied the knot since gay marriage became legal in California on June 17.
If voters next week approve the initiative to ban gay nuptials, legal analysts on both sides of the measure predict that a period of "legal chaos" will ensue, with the legality of same-sex marriages performed between June and November suddenly in doubt.
Borsum and his partner, who have a 15-year-old son, dissolved their domestic partnership before getting married. "Where does that leave us?" asked Borsum, 48. "It's a mess in a legal way, but it's also a mess in how it makes people feel... very uncomfortable.. and kind of sad."
Because a challenge to existing marriages would raise novel questions, no one is certain how the courts would rule. Two family law scholars interviewed by The Times predicted that the marriages would remain intact, while five constitutional scholars were divided over which side the law favors.
California Atty. Gen. Jerry Brown, the state's top law enforcement officer, has said that Proposition 8 would not be retroactive and that existing marriages would stand. But his view is likely to be challenged.
"There is no clear answer," said Erwin Chemerinsky, dean of UC Irvine Law School. "This is ultimately going to have to be litigated by the courts."
It is uncertain how or when the issue would reach the courts if Proposition 8 passes. The question could be raised in an inheritance or property dispute or even by an employer. But in any case filed in state court, the California Supreme Court, which voted 4 to 3 to give gays the right to marry, would be the final arbiter.
Opponents of Proposition 8 could also challenge the entire initiative in federal court, and the ruling there could be appealed all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. If the high court found the measure constitutional, the California Supreme Court would still probably determine the fate of existing marriages.
For the full article, follow this link.
Vatican:
Gay seminarians must go
THURSDAY, October 30, 2008 (PlanetOut)
The Vatican issued new psychological screening guidelines for seminarians Thursday -- the latest effort by the Roman Catholic Church to be more selective about its priesthood candidates following a series of pedophile scandals.
The church said it issued the new guidelines to help church leaders weed out candidates with "psychopathic disturbances." Sex abuse scandals by pedophile priests have rocked the church in recent years, triggering lawsuits that have cost hundreds of millions of dollars in settlements.
"(The guidelines) became ever more urgent because of the sexual scandals," Monsignor Jean-Louis Brugues told reporters. He stressed, however, that psychological testing was used in some seminaries as far back as the 1960s -- or at least a decade before the pedophile scandals exploded in public.
"In all too many cases, psychological defects, sometimes of a pathological kind, reveal themselves only after ordination to the priesthood," the guidelines said. "Detecting defects earlier would help avoid many tragic experiences."
The guidelines said problems like "confused or not yet well-defined" sexual identities need to be addressed.
A 2005 Vatican document said men with "deep-seated" homosexual tendencies shouldn't be ordained, but that those with a "transitory problem" could become priests if they had overcome them for three years. The VAtican considers homosexual activity sinful.
The new guidelines reflect the earlier teaching, stressing that if a future priest shows "deep-seated homosexual tendencies," his seminary training "would have to be interrupted."
The guideline says priests must have a "positive and stable sense of one's masculine identity" and the capacity to "integrate his sexuality in accordance" with the obligation of celibacy.
The church is struggling to provide enough priests for parishes in many parts of the West because of waning vocations. But Pope Benedict XVI has said it is more important to have good priests than a greater number of priests. (Frances D'Emilio, AP)
Transsexualism
caused by genes?
WEDNESDAY, October 29, 2008 (Melbourne
Community Voice) by Rachel Cook
DNA research has shown that the cause of male to female transsexualism could be genetic.
The research conducted by Australian and American scientists from the Prince Henry Institute, Melbourne University, Monash University and the University of California found a significant link between gender identity and a gene involved in testosterone action.
Saliva samples were taken from 76 male to female transsexuals in Australia and 36 from America. The samples were then compared with 258 non-transsexual males. Scientists say the data showed that male to female transsexuals are more likely to have a longer version of a receptor gene for the sex hormones androgen or testosterone. It is believed a longer version of the receptor gene cannot effectively translate the testosterone message to cells.
"We think that these genetic differences might reduce testosterone action and under masculinise the brain during foetal development," said Prince Henry Institute researcher Lauren Hare.
The research, which is the largest genetic study of male to female transsexuals, supports a biological basis for how gender identity develops.
The study's leader Associate Professor Vincent R. Harley said the research hinted at a biological basis for transsexualism.
"There is a social stigma that transsexualism is simply a lifestyle choice, however our findings support a biological basis of how gender identity develops."
Harley added that further research is required before a conclusive finding can be reached.
"As with all genetic association studies it will be important to replicate the findings in other populations.
"Further we do not know enough about what other genetic and environmental factors contribute to the development of gender identity but expect it to be a complex picture."
TransGender Victoria has welcomed the research, saying the data is a "highly useful step in uprooting inaccurate perceptions regarding people experiencing gender identity issues".
Sally Goldner spokesperson for TransGender Victoria said it confirmed "what we knew all along".
"The overwhelming evidence is that people experiencing gender identity issues simply become aware of their innate nature as their lives progress. Trying to fight that innate biology is impossible.
"Unfortunately, those with some problem - their problem - about transgender people created a diversion tactic of "proof" about who we are. This idea is discriminatory and prejudiced in itself, as those who do not experience gender identity issues are not required to 'prove' themselves."
Goldner said that previous theories on what may cause someone to be transsexual have included absent or over-bearing fathers and sexual abuse.
"Most studies show that fathers are split equally across the scale so that can't be a logical connection, and sexual abuse theories are ridiculous.
"And the argument that you may just wake up one day and make a flippant decision to be transgender is equally ridiculous."
However, Goldner warned that a possible repercussion of the findings could mean people who identify as transsexual who don't have the gene variation may find their gender identity in dispute.
"Whether someone meets genetic criteria or not is never an excuse for prejudice or discrimination in any way," said Goldner.
"A lot of health professionals I know would agree that no genetic test, if they develop one, is going to be perfect."
WHO
says HIV/AIDS-Related Deaths Will Peak in Next Five Years, Then Decline
WEDNESDAY, October 29, 2008 (TheBody)
The World Health Organization on Monday in its updated Global Burden of Disease report reduced an earlier forecast of HIV/AIDS mortality rates, AFP/Yahoo! News reports. According to WHO, the number of HIV/AIDS-related deaths worldwide is expected to peak in the next five years -- from 2.2 million in 2008 to a maximum of 2.4 million in 2012 -- before declining to 1.2 million in 2030.
WHO previously had said HIV/AIDS-related deaths would rise from 2.8 million in 2002 to 6.5 million in 2030, assuming that antiretroviral drugs reached 80% of HIV-positive people worldwide by 2012. Colin Mathers, WHO coordinator for epidemiology and the burden of disease, said, "Deaths (from HIV/AIDS) will continue to increase somewhat for a few years... by 2030 they would have declined from current levels today" (AFP/Yahoo! News, 10/27). Mathers added that the report "builds in the revisions to HIV mortality and more optimistic projections of HIV deaths that" WHO and the other U.N. agencies have "produced, which suggest that the epidemic may have peaked, or will peak in the next five years or so, and then AIDS deaths will start to decline."
The study also predicts that the percentage of deaths worldwide linked to noncommunicable diseases will increase from 60% to 75% by 2030. It adds that this means people will live longer and increasingly die from cancers and heart disease rather than infectious diseases at an earlier age. According to the report, the leading causes of death worldwide are heart disease, stroke, pneumonia, chronic respiratory disease, diarrhea, HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis (Schlein, VOA News, 10/27).
Gay
marriages to begin next month in Connecticut
WEDNESDAY, October 29, 2008 (PlanetOut)
Officials are gearing up for the day next month when gay and lesbian couples can begin tying the knot in Connecticut.
Attorneys involved in the gay marriage case said Tuesday that couples can begin picking up marriage license applications sometime on or after Nov. 10. A judge at the New Haven Superior Court, where the case began in 2004, still must decide the precise date.
The state Supreme Court's decision allowing same-sex marriages became official Tuesday with its publication in the Connecticut Law Journal. The publication triggered a 10-day period when motions for reconsideration can be filed.
Attorney General Richard Blumenthal said after that period ends Nov. 10, the Superior Court judge can act on the high court's ruling.
The judgment may come later that week because Nov. 10 is a Monday, a busy day for the Superior Court, and Tuesday is a state holiday.
The state Department of Public Health is having new marriage applications printed that reflect the change. Instead of putting one name under "bride" and the other under "groom," couples will see two boxes marked "bride/groom/spouse." The new forms are expected to be shipped out to city and town clerks later this week.
"The moment the judgment is entered, the state of Connecticut is required to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples. And we expect the clerks will be ready," said Bennett H. Klein, senior attorney with the Boston-based Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders.
The state Supreme Court issued a 4-3 decision on Oct. 10 that same-sex couples have the right to wed rather than accept a civil union law designed to give them the same rights as married couples. Connecticut became the third state, behind Massachusetts and California, to legalize gay marriage.
It's unclear how many couples will get married.
According to the public health department, there have been 2,032 civil union licenses issued in Connecticut between Oct. 2005 and July 2008.
"I would bet that the majority of those people would change the civil unions to marriage," said Anne Stanback, president of Love Makes a Family, a pro-gay marriage organization. "I think that you have people who've waited to get married and have not had civil unions."
Couples currently in a civil union that wish to become married will need to fill out a marriage license application form at their city or town hall. There is no residency requirement for marriage in Connecticut.
The state's 2005 civil unions law will remain on the books, at least for now. Same-sex couples can continue to enter civil unions, which give them the same state legal rights and privileges as married couples without the status of being married. It will be up to the General Assembly to decide whether to change the civil unions law, Klein said. (Susan Haigh, AP)
WSU
students rally after gays attacked
WEDNESDAY, October 29, 2008 (Seattle Times)
PULLMAN, WA -- Hundreds of Washington State University students rallied at noon Tuesday at Glenn Terrel Mall on behalf of gay students who recently were attacked.
Many wore red to show support and carried signs that said, "End Hate."
Radio station KRPL reports that WSU President Elson Floyd canceled a business trip to return to campus for the rally. Students stopped him from speaking, saying this was the administration's time to listen.
Campus and Pullman police are investigating three possible hate crimes earlier this month in two assaults on campus and one on College Hill.
Meanwhile, campus police also are looking for whoever inserted swastika leaflets Monday into stacks of the student newspaper, the Daily Evergreen. The newspaper says the leaflets, which showed the image of a swastika constructed of Legos, were part of a student's subversive art project and not related to the recent alleged hate crimes.
Hate
crimes in Washington state on the increase, FBI statistics say
TUESDAY, October 28, 2008
Nancy Bartley (Seattle Times)
In September, a Federal Way man was charged with punching a Pakistani clerk and calling him names. And in February, a spike in attacks on gays led the Gay City Health Project and the Capitol Hill Chamber of Commerce to put up posters that urged gays to travel in groups and call 911 if they encountered bullying or harassment.
According to statistics released Monday by the FBI, hate crimes in Washington state are increasing. There were 195 reported in the state in 2007, compared to 177 the year before, the FBI said.
Of those reported in Seattle last year, the most common were racially motivated.
"One really never knows... what to make of numbers," King County Senior Deputy Prosecutor Mike Hogan said.
The increase may actually be due to more crimes being reported than before. While in years past, victims may have suffered silently, there's been more public education through the media and more success in prosecuting hate crimes, Hogan said.
Malicious harassment is the state's hate-crime charge, and in such crimes the victims are targeted specifically because of their gender, race, religion, sexual orientation or disability.
While there was a spike in crimes against gays a year ago, that is non longer the case, Hogan said. "We definitely do see an increased willingness to report malicious harassment than in the past," he said.
The statistics are compiled each year by the FBI, drawing information submitted by law-enforcement agencies throughout the United States.
The state with the highest number of reported hate crimes in 2007 was California, with 1,400.
According to the FBI, national statistics indicate that 52 percent of the victims who reported hate crimes in 2007 were targeted because of their race; 17.1 percent were targeted because of their religious belief; 15.9 percent were targeted because of their sexual orientation; and 14.1 percent were targeted because of their ethnicity or nation of origin.
In Washington state, 104 people who reported hate crimes in 2007 were targeted because of their race; 17 were targeted because of religion; 39 were targeted because of their sexual orientation; 34 because of their ethnicity; and one person was targeted because of a disability.
The FBI report does not compare its data from one year to the next because the number of law-enforcement agencies participating in the annual count varies from year to year. More agencies contributed to the 2007 report than the 2006 report, however.
Miami
court decision may affect a law barring gays from adopting
MONDAY, October 27, 2008
Gregory Lewis (South Florida Sun-Sentinel)
Florida is the only state that outright prohibits gays and lesbians from adopting.
Now, those who support and oppose gay adoption are awaiting a decision in a Miami court case they think could provide ammunition to overturn the state law.
The case involves Frank Martin Gill and his unidentified male partner. In 2004, the state encouraged the couple to provide a foster home for two boys. Gill hopes to become their adopted father.
"There's no clear reason why [Gill can't adopt] except he's gay," said Naomi Parker, a Wilton Manors diversity consultant and a lesbian who went out of state to adopt her now-16-year-old daughter. "It's a human rights issue, not a gay rights issue. They are responsible, willing and able gay parents. It's a shame children are being denied a home."
Some states, such as Mississippi and Utah, prevent gays from adoption by using laws that prohibit unmarried couples from adopting. But Florida expressly targeted gays with its 1977 law, enacted during former Miss America Anita Bryant's anti-homosexual crusade. Florida Statute 63.042 states: "No person eligible to adopt under this statute may adopt if that person is a homosexual."
They can be state-appointed foster parents. They can be named permanent guardians. But adoption is not allowed.
The apparent contradiction is obvious to Robert Lamarche, a gay man who lives in Boca Raton with his partner Donnie Giustiniani. Earlier this year, they became the legal permanent guardians of 13-year-old Kasey.
That means a judge approved Lamarche to raise Kasey with no state oversight. But, because of state law, he can't adopt him.
"It's crazy," said Lamarche. "I am holding a paper from the court that gives me and my partner guardianship, that tells me we are qualified to raise a child, but can't adopt a child. that's ridiculous. But it's the law."
Parker is an example of how gays can circumvent Florida adoption law. In 1994 she adopted her daughter Jahmerah in New Jersey, where gay adoption is legal. Parker had to get a New Jersey court to order Florida officials to conduct the required background check. Florida had refused because of Parker's lesbianism.
The Miami court challenge is only the latest case involving gay foster parents trying to provide permanent homes for children. In 2001, a federal appeals court in Atlanta upheld the state law banning gay adoption when Steven Lofton, a retired pediatric nurse, sought to adopt a 10-year-old boy in his care. With other foster children in their care, Lofton and his partner Roger Croteau received the first Outstanding Foster Parenting Award from Florida's Children's Home Society.
Mathew Staver, founder of the Liberty Counsel, an Orlando-based conservative organization, filed a brief opposing the adoption. Staver says "there are clear reasons temporary foster placements are different from permanent ones. The state still has oversight [of foster children]."
The Liberty counsel is watching the Miami case, as are other conservatives and ministers who believe homosexuality is a sin.
"I am strongly against gay adoption," said the Rev. O'Neal Dozier of the Worldwide Christian Center in Pompano Beach. "There's too much of a chance the children will become gay because they are exposed to it."
Stratton Pollitzer, of Equality Florida, a gay, lesbian, transgender and bisexual advocacy group, said there is no scientific evidence that children raised in gay homes become homosexual. "In fact, child welfare evidence shows that gay parents are as capable of being good parents as anyone else."
FBI:
Hate crime down in 2007 but anti-gay crime up
MONDAY, October 27, 2008
Matt Apuzzo (AP News)
Hate crime incidents decreased slightly last year, despite a surge in crimes targeting gays and lesbians.
The FBI reported more than 7,600 hate crime incidents in 2007, down about 1 percent from last year. The decline was driven by decreases in the two largest categories of hate crimes -- crimes against race and religion.
But prejudice against sexual orientation, the third-largest category, increased about 6 percent, the report found.
The FBI report does not compare its data from one year to the next because the number of law enforcement agencies participating in the annual count varies from year to year. More agencies contributed to the 2007 report than the 2006 report, however.
The data released Monday is consistent with previous years. Racial bias remained the most common motive, accounting for more than half of all reported hate crimes. Blacks, Jews and gays were the most frequent victims of hate crimes, the report found.
The FBI report is purely statistical and does not assign a cause for the slight overall decrease or increase in anti-gay hate crimes.
More than a third of all hate crime incidents were categorized as vandalism or property destruction. Intimidation was the second most common hate crime, followed by simple assault.
The report was based on data drawn from 13,241 law enforcement agencies nationwide, covering about 85 percent of the nation's population. By comparison, the broader crime report the FBI puts out every year draws data from about 17,000 law enforcement agencies.
AIDS
Treatment Should Start Sooner, Study Finds
SUNDAY, October 26, 2008
by Marilynn Marchione (AP)
WASHINGTON -- People who have the AIDS virus should start drug treatments sooner than the current guidelines recommend, suggests a large new study that could change the care of hundreds of thousands of Americans.
The study found that delaying treatment until a patient's immune system is badly damaged nearly doubles the risk of dying in the next few years compared to patients whose treatment started earlier.
Doctors have thought it would be better to spare patients the side effects of AIDS drugs as long as possible.
"The data are rather compelling that the risk of death appears to be higher if you wait than if you treat," said Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, which helped pay for the study.
If the results prompt doctors to change practice - as Fauci and other AIDS specialists predict - several hundred thousand Americans who are not taking AIDS drugs now would be advised to start.
The study was reported Sunday at an infectious diseases conference in Washington.
About 56,300 Americans are newly infected with HIV each year. The virus ravages T-cells - "helper cells" of the immune system that fight off germs. Once that happens, people can fall prey to a host of diseases that prove fatal.
Powerful drug combinations available since the mid-1990s have transformed HIV infection into a manageable chronic condition rather than the death sentence it once was. But they can cause heart and cholesterol problems, diarrhea, nausea and other side effects. They also must be taken faithfully or resistance develops and the drugs stop working.
That is why guidelines by the government and the International AIDS Society recommend that patients who are not yet having AIDS symptoms delay starting on the drugs until their T-cell counts fall below 350 per cubic millimeter of blood (healthy people have more than 800).
"There was this thinking, maybe the drugs were worse than the disease. If you could wait as long as you possibly could wait, you would have fewer side effects," said Dr. Robert Schooley, infectious diseases chief at the University of California, San Diego.
The new study is the largest to look at whether that advice is sound. Researchers led by Dr. Mari Kitahata of the University of Washington in Seattle pooled information on 8,374 people in the United States and Canada with T-cell counts of 351 to 500 from 1996 to 2006.
About 30 percent started taking AIDS drugs right away; the rest waited until their T-cell counts fell below 350, as guidelines recommend.
"We found a 70 percent improvement in survival for patients who initiated therapy between 350 and 500" compared to those who waited, Kitahata said.
Two other recent studies found that people who start taking AIDS drugs while their T-cell count is about 350 have a better chance of getting their count back to normal than those who start later. Another key study found that briefly interrupting treatment to give patients "drug holidays" puts them at grave risk.
"These studies have all shown the same thing - that we were starting too late" and need to keep treatment going once it starts, said Schooley. He helped write the AIDS society guidelines and consults for several companies that make AIDS drugs.
The bigger problem is that as many as a third of people diagnosed with HIV only discover they are infected after their T-cell counts already have fallen below 350 and they have serious complications.
"People are still being tested and identified way too late," and the new study shows how important it is to test and find people sooner, said Dr. Daniel Kuritzkes, an AIDS specialist at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston.
Newer drug combinations that have come out in recent years have fewer side effects. Also, some require only a pill or two a day, making adherence less of an issue.
These advances and the new study justify a fresh look at the guidelines, Fauci said. He predicted that doctors would not wait for them to change to start treating patients sooner.
The new study's findings do not apply to HIV patients who also have hepatitis, kidney damage or other medical problems, or who are pregnant - doctors have long advised that these people start treatment as soon as they are diagnosed.
Study
Examines E-Cards Used To Alert People of Exposure to HIV, Other STIs
FRIDAY, October 24, 2008 (kaisernetwork)
A study published recently in PloS Medicine examines a San Francisco-based program that allows people to send electronic postcards to let sexual partners know they might have been exposed to HIV or other sexually transmitted infections, Reuters reports. The program, called inSPOT, was created by Internet Sexuality Information Services in 2004 to aid in partner notification for STIs, which traditionally has been done via phone, mail or in person through the help of a public health worker.
The Web site offers six different cards that alert the recipients that they might have been exposed to an STI. The cards also provide links with more information about SITs and a map of clinics for testing. The people sending the e-card can use their own e-mail address or send it anonymously, according to Reuters.
The program has expanded beyond the San Francisco area to more than 12 states and has been used by more than 30,000 people, who have sent almost 50,000 e-cards to their sexual partners. The report also said that the percentage of e-card recipients who click on the links differs by city. For example, almost 50% of Idaho recipients click on the links compared with 20% in Los Angeles.
The use of the e-cards "can enhance sexual communication and help with community responsibility and easing a process of disclosure that can be extremely difficult," ISIS Executive Director and co-author of the report Deb Levine said, adding that the e-cards are "one more tool in the toolkit" to reduce the spread of STIs but "do not replace in-person communication" (Norton, Reuters, 10/23).
Irish
gay rights group says civil partnerships "a matter of immediate urgency"
WEDNESDAY, October 22, 2008 (PinkNews.co.uk)
Despite considerable progress in the last year, there remain significant challenges for gay and lesbians in Ireland, according to the annual report from the nation's leading homosexual rights group.
Earlier this year the Irish government published draft legislation on civil partnerships, which the Gay and Lesbian Equality Network (GLEN) described as "a matter of practical and immediate urgency for lesbian and gay couples."
This afternoon Dermot Ahern TD, Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, will launch the GLEN Annual Report for 2007.
While there remain significant challenges, the report documents important progress in a range of areas, said GLEN.
"This includes measures to support safe and inclusive access to education by young lesbian and gay people, significant work by the police to promote safety and innovative measures to support lesbian and gay people in health and community development.
"GLEN is working towards a society where being lesbian or gay is unremarkable at any stage of a person's life. Where a young person can come to terms with their sexuality and have all the support they need.
"Where the children of same-sex couples have full legal protection. Where older lesbian and gay people can be open about their life experiences and have their intimate relationships acknowledged and respected within their communities and by those charged with their care."
Commenting on the importance of equality for lesbian and gay people, GLEN chief executive Kieran Rose said:
"At a time of great economic change, turbulence and uncertainty it is important to hold on to and build on the fundamentals that have led to economic progress.
"One of these fundamentals has been the progress made on equality, including the equality legislation, which has become part of our economic infrastructure".
A
draft civil partnership bill was published in June. It gives same-sex
couples the same financial and maintenance protection as married couples.
The new bill, expected to take effect by next year, creates a legal relationship
for same-sex couples, covering registration of civil partnerships, property
and financial matters and dissolution of the partnership.
However, the bill does not apply to opposite-sex couples or siblings who are living together.
It does offer financial protection for co-habiting heterosexual couples with the safety net of a redress scheme in the event of economic vulnerability at the end of the relationship.
To
qualify for ra civil partnership you and your partner must both be 18
by the date of registration and give three months notice of when you wish
to register the partnership.
Just as heterosexual marriages, the union cannot take place if either
one of you is already married or in a civil partnership and you cannot
enter a civil partnership with family members, including those related
by adoption.
Partnerships are only annulled if it is found that either party had given false or misleading information regarding the age and marital status of either of the parties, if the couple are related in any way, information that would have initially prevented the partnership.
The main principle of the bill is to ensure that those in civil partnerships are entitled to the same benefits as married couples based on the fact that they are long term unions, though civil partnership is not the same as marriage.
The government claims such a move would be open to Constitutional challenge under Article 41 of the Constitution.
LGBT
Alzheimer's support group recognised with special award
WEDNESDAY, October 22, 2008 (PinkNews.co.uk)
The Alzheimer's Society has honoured the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) Support Group for their "outstanding contribution to people with dementia and their carers."
The group provides a dedicated support helpline across the UK for anyone who is lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender and who is, or who has been, caring for someone with dementia.
700,000 people in the UK have a form of dementia and more than half have Alzheimer's disease.
In less than 20 years nearly a million people will be living with dementia, according to the Alzheimer's Society. This will rise to 1.7 million people by 2051.
Neil Hunt, Alzheimer's Society Chief Executive said:
"It's difficult enough to live with dementia. But if you also have to cope with discrimination, stereotyping and difficulty in accessing services because of your sexual orientation or sexual identity, it's easy to end up feeling isolated, alone and desperate."
The LGBT Support Group has built awareness of dementia at various national and European events, including at Pride in London and Brighton.
The Alzheimer's Society William Brooks volunteer award was accepted by Pat byrne, Roger Newman and Bruce Graham on behalf of the LGBT Support Group at a ceremony at the Society's AGM in Warwick last month.
Bahrain
MP calls for action against homosexuals
WEDNESDAY, October 22, 2008 (PinkNews.co.uk)
The new session of Parliament in the Gulf state of Bahrain began this week with calls for a crackdown on gays.
Al Menbar MP Shaikh Mohammed Khalid Mohammed wants the government to begin a number of initiatives designed to rid the country of gay people.
"We have homosexual rates on the rise, with such people working in flower shops, massage parlours or barber's salons," he said.
"Sluts walk around residential neighbourhoods untouched."
In April Parliament demanded that the Interior Ministry stop granting any residence permits to foreign homosexuals.
Bahrain is known as one of the more tolerant Muslim nations in the Middle East, and has recently undergone a period of political liberalisation.
However, homosexuality remains a crime, and the government has periodically deported expatriates because of their sexual orientation.
Bahrain only held its first elections in 2002, and since then politicians have mainly addressed themselves to "moral" issues such as banning female mannequins from shop windows and tackling the widespread problem of "sorcery."
The bicameral parliament is dominated by Shia and Sunni Islamist parties.
Homosexuality has been considered illegal in Bahrain since 1956 when, as part of the British Empire, it was given the Indian Penal Code.
HOmosexuals can be given up to 10 years in prison though this is rarely put into practice.
In 2002 the government deported 2,000 allegedly gay Filipino workers for homosexual activity and prostitution.
Boston
College Study: Why Gay Couples Marry
WEDNESDAY, October 22, 2008 (The
Advocate)
A recently released Boston College study indicates that legal recognition and the opportunity to make a public statement are the prime motivators for Massachusetts gay and lesbian couples to marry.
The college conducted the study 13 months after Massachusetts legalized same-sex marriage (The state began marrying gay couples in May 2004.) Professor Pamela J. Lannutti surveyed 263 couples, including those who were legally married in Massachusetts and those who plan to marry. The average relationship duration was 7.5 years.
A quarter of the couples said they were motivated to marry for legal protections, while 20% said they wanted to make a public statement of commitment, and only 15% cited feelings for their partner.
Others said they tied the know tot receive acknowledgement from family members (14%), legal protection for help in having children (13%), political reasons (4%), and religious reasons (2%).
"The arrival of same-sex marriage brings up many issues that often lurk in the background in families. It forces same-sex couples and their parents to confront their deepest feelings about same-sex love," said Robert-Jay Green, Ph. D., in a press release from Rockway Institute, a national center for psychology research, education, and public policy on sexual orientation and gender issues.
A common obstacle for same-sex couples to overcome when considering marriage is lack of family approval. Forty-one percent of the couples interviewed reported dissatisfaction from parents. A majority of couples, 58%, said their primary method of dealing with family members' disapproval is to ignore it.
"We almost changed our minds about getting married," said a male participant. "We thought our families were OK with us as a couple, but when we wanted to send out wedding invitations, his parents freaked out."
The study was published in the Journal of LGBT Family Studies. (Kandice Day, The Advocate)
UCLA's
Williams Institute Releases New STudy Showing There Are More Than 14,570
Asian and Pacific Islanders who are in Same-Sex Couples
WEDNESDAY, October 22, 2008 (Daily
Queer News)
LOS ANGELES - Today, the Williams Institute at UCLA School of Law released a new research study providing demographic and economic information for the more than 66,000 LGB API individuals and 14,570 in same-sex couples living in California.
Study co-author Christopher Ramos notes that, among all states, California is home to the largest number of lesbian, gay, and bisexual Asians and Pacific Islanders in same sex couples, nearly one-third of whom reside in the state.
The study also shows that nearly 31% of API women and 21% of API men in same-sex couples in California are raising children. Williams Institute Senior Research Fellow Gary Gates adds that, LGB Asians and Pacific Islanders raising children experience economic disadvantage compared to their different-sex married counterparts with lower household incomes and home ownership rates. The home ownership rate of API individuals in same-sex couples raising children is 65% compared to 70% of those in heterosexual marriages raising children.
Key Findings Include:
- There are approximately 66,000 lesbian, gay, and bisexual API adults living in California and the state is home to 14,570 men and women in same-sex couples.
- At over one-third, California is home to the largest percentage of the nation's APIs in same-sex couples.
- Nearly a third (31%) of API women and 21% of API men in same-sex couples are raising children.
APIs in SAme-Sex Households are Raising Children with Fewer Economic Resources Than Those in Married Households in California
- The average household income of APIs in same-sex couples with children is $96,290, more than 10% less than the $109,091 average household income of API parents in different-sex marriages.
- While 65% of APIs in same-sex couples with children own a home, 70% of API married parents own a home.
LGB APIs are Actively Engaged in the California Economy
- APIs in same-sex couples in California are more likely to be employed than APIs in different-sex marriages: 78% of APIs in same sex couples and 67% of APIs in different-sex married couples are employed.
- Contrary to a popular stereotype, the annual earnings of men in same-sex couples are more or less equal to married men. On average, API males in same-sex couples in California earn $67,044 each year, almost equal to the 67,618 average earnings of API men in different-sex marriages.
- API women in same-sex couples in California earn an average of $47,044 per year, near that of API women in different-sex marriages, whose earnings average $44,593. API women in same-sex couples earn, on average, less than API males in different-sex marriages as well as API males in same-sex couples in California.
"Long
Way to Go" in Fighting HIV/AIDS, Nobel Laureate Says in Opinion Piece
TUESDAY, October 21, 2008 (The Body)
Despite the progress made in the fight against HIV since it was discovered in 1983, there is "still a long way to go," Luc Montagnier, who recently shared the 2008 Nobel Prize in medicine for his work in the discovery of HIV, writes in a Wall Street Journal opinion piece. HIV/AIDS is "spreading in many countries," and even "developed countries like the U.S. have many new infections," he writes, adding, "There is also the danger of a new epidemic caused by viral strains resistant to treatment. Moreover, despite the effort of thousands of researchers, we still have no cure and no vaccine."
According to Montagnier, "many potential preventive vaccines have been experimented with" since 1985. "A few of them made it up to efficacy trials but then failed," he writes, adding that this is "no surprise" to him for "two main, related reasons." The first is that HIV has "evolved to present its most variable parts to the immune system, and it hides its crucial parts in internal pockets," he writes, adding, "Second, the variability potential of the HIV genetic material is enormous, although its origin is not fully understood."
This "complexity means it is very difficult to elicit an immune response that would protect against the many different HIV variants that infect the human population," according to Montagnier. He adds, "In addition to its very high level of variability, HIV has evolved several other strategies to evade the response of the immune system, making it difficult to design an effective vaccine." However, he writes that researchers "know that protection against HIV is possible in natural conditions" -- including in some people who are exposed to HIV but do not contract the virus, as well as in "some rare individuals" who contract HIV "but do not progress toward immunodeficiency and AIDS." He adds, "It is possible that the mechanisms that provide resistance to infection, and those that provide resistance to disease progression, are the same. If this is the case, vaccines capable of eliciting protective immunity could be first tested in HIV-infected individuals for the capacity to delay progression to disease and reduce viral replication."
According to Montagnier, more than 10 years ago he "proposed using vaccination against HIV antigens not for prophylaxis but as an additional therapy following a short antiviral treatment." The goal in this circumstance is to make HIV-positive people's immune systems "fully competent, after only partial restoration by an antiretroviral treatment reducing the viral load in the blood to undetectable levels," he writes.
According to Montagnier, in "developing countries, many infected patients refuse to be tested and are not treated because of the stigma attached to AIDS." He writes that the "availability of treatment able to eradicate the infection will change their attitudes," concluding that the "epidemic will thus gradually decrease, perhaps helped by a preventive vaccine derived from a successful therapeutic vaccine" (Montagnier, Wall Street Journal, 10/21).
Researchers
at HIV/AIDS Vaccine Conference Discuss New Methods, Ongoing Trials
MONDAY, October 20, 2008 (The
Body)
Researchers at the AIDS VAccine 2008 conference in Cape Town, South Africa, last week examined how setbacks in developing a vaccine have "forced them to look for entirely new ways of creating a defense against the disease," AFP/Google.com reports. "We are in the middle of quite a profound shift of mind set in the research community," Alan Bernstein, director of the Global HIV Vaccine Enterprise, said at the conference, which ended on Friday. He added that setbacks have made researchers examine new research methods in the effort to develop an HIV/AIDS vaccine (Blandy, AFP/Google.com, 10/18).
Merck in September 2007 announced it had halted a large-scale clinical trial of its experimental HIV vaccine after the drug failed to prevent HIV infection in participants or prove effective in delaying the virus' progression to AIDS. The vaccine candidate also might have put some trial participants at an increased risk of HIV. Following news of the Merck vaccine, trials of NIH's Vaccine Research Center's HIV vaccine candidate were scaled back (Kaiser Daily HIV/AIDS Report, 10/16).
"The Merck result was such a surprise, and everyone was kind of shocked off their horses," Mitchell Warren of the AIDS Vaccine Advocacy Coalition said, adding, "What happened, no one could have predicted. They still don't understand exactly what happened. That finding forces people to realign and look at new ways and new approaches to how we are going to find an AIDS vaccine because it was so surprising." According to Warren, the results of the Merck trial have made researchers rethink assumptions about how vaccines work. "People are really grappling with new ways of doing things," he said.
About 30 clinical trials for vaccine candidates are under way worldwide, and the "most watched" is a study in Thailand that began in 2003, according to AFP/Google.com. Results from the trial are expected next year, and about 16,000 people are participating. According to some researchers, the trial will provide important information about HIV/AIDS whatever its outcome.
According to Bernstein, the most interesting new research into HIV/AIDS vaccines involves defenses in the body called the innate immune system. The innate immune system serves as an "early warning system for invading diseases," AFP/Google.com reports, and Bernstein said that the system could stop HIV if researchers determine a method of triggering it early. "We now know we may have only hours, at most days, before we have a window of opportunity to stop HIV," he said, adding, "So that's reason to think this early warning system might be critical to activate if we are going to design a vaccine" (AFP/Google.com, 10/18).
Study:
FTMs, get raises, MTFs get the shaft
FRIDAY, October 17, 2008 (PlanetOut)
A recent study has found a new way to examine pay disparities between men and women: Comparing the salaries of transgender employees before and after their gender changes.
The study in the B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy, an academic journal published by the Berkeley Electronic Press, found that while the average earnings for women who change their gender slightly increased after the transition, it fell by nearly a third for workers who went from male to female.
The research was based on interviews with 64 individuals employed before and after a gender transition with hormone therapy or surgery.
"I think the gap that we've found has to do with ideas about gender and how masculinity is valued in the workplace," said Kristen Schilt, a sociology professor at University of Chicago, who conducted the study with New York University professor Matthew Wiswall.
Schilt, who is expanding the research into a book slated for release in 2010, also did an analysis of U.S. legal cases involving transgender discrimination. Nine out of 10 cases involved men who changed their appearance to look like a woman, she said. (Erin Conroy, AP)
Iranian
Queer RR Launched
THURSDAY, October 16, 2008 (Gay
City News)
Arsham Parsi, the well-known Iranian gay activist, has announced the launch of the Iranian Queer Railroad (IRQR), a new organization designed specifically to help the growing number of LGBT Iranians forced to leave their country by the violently homophobic policies of the ayatollah's theocracy. Homosexuality is a capital crime in Iran.
Parsi, 28, founded the first Iranian gay group, the Persian Gay and Lesbian Organization (PGLO), in 2004 while still living in Iran. With the police on his tail for his gay activism, Parsi fled to Turkey in 2005, where he continued his work to publicize the plight of LGBT Iranians, and eventually was granted asylum as a sexual refugee by Canada, where he moved two years ago and changed the name of the PGLO to the Iranian Queer Organization (IRQO).
Earlier this year, Parsi and the IRQO were honored by the International GAy and Lesbian Human Rights Commission with its Felipa Award for pioneering gay activism.
For the full article, follow this link
Gays
urged to be foster carers
WEDNESDAY, October 15, 2008 (The
Age)
SAME-SEX couples are being encouraged to care for some of the state's most troubled children -- but are not permitted to adopt a child of their own.
It's another legal anomaly and barrier to parenthood: gay and lesbian couples in Victoria can be foster carers but are not permitted to adopt children.
An organisation representing almost 100 family support services is now considering advertising in the gay media for the first time to try to recruit gay foster carers, as part of a broader recruitment campaign.
A report recently commissioned by the Centre for Excellence in Child and Family Welfare identified same-sex couples as one group that could be targeted to become foster carers, and recommended advertising in the gay press. The centre is considering it.
The centre's president, Kevin Zibell, said it wanted to encourage groups that tended to exclude themselves from being foster carers, including gay and single people.
"Your personal circumstances are not the issue; the real issue is: do you have capacity to care for a child?" he said. "We want to debunk the myth that people from those groups can't be carers."
The Victoria Law Reform Commission recommended that gay couples be permitted to adopt children, as part of its major report on assisted reproductive technology.
The Government has accepted the report's recommendations on IVF, surrogacy and greater parenting recognition. That legislation recently passed the lower house in a conscience vote in Parliament, and will soon be debated in the upper house.
But the recommendation to allow gay couples to adopt children is not included in the legislation. The matter is being considered by the nation's community services ministers.
A spokesman for Community Services Minister Lisa Neville said the issue had been referred to a national working group that was looking at the role of adoption in out-of-home care. It will examine best practice evidence on adoption, and try to improve national consistency.
"We believe that the issue of gay adoption is best addressed through this process," he said.
Kim Rea, acting president of the Foster Care Association of Victoria and facilitator of the Gay and Lesbian Foster Carers Support Group, said many gay and lesbian couples would not know they can be foster carers.
"It's absolutely great to take somebody that is troubled and by being with them and providing positive parenting, see them turn around and become comfortable and settled in their own place in the world," he said.
Ian Seal became a foster carer 12 years ago, partly out of a desire to be a parent but also because he worked with children at risk and could see the need for foster carers.
Mr. Seal said being a foster carer was very rewarding, but he was disappointed that adoption was still not an option.
"It's hypocritical because on the one hand we're acknowledged for what we can offer in terms of resources and love an nurturing kids, but on the other hand we're told we're not good enough -- so it's a ludicrous situation," he said.
Portuguese
parliament says no to marriage
TUESDAY, October 14, 2008 (PlanetOut)
Portugal's Parliament voted by a large majority against proposals to allow same-sex marriages in the mostly Roman Catholic country.
The governing Socialist Party and the main opposition Social Democratic Party both opposed legalizing gay and lesbian marriages.
The proposals came from two minor opposition parties, the Left Bloc and the Green Party, which argued that the Portuguese Constitution grants equal rights for all and protection against discrimination.
But the Green Party motion collected only 17 votes in the 230-seat legislature on Friday, and the Left Bloc won the support of just 11 lawmakers.
Gay marriage is permitted in only three European Union nations -- Belgium, the Netherlands and Spain.
The center-left Socialist Party overcame strong opposition from the Catholic church to legalize abortion last year, saying it was part of Portugal's process of modernization.
However, it insisted a change in the marriage law to recognize same-sex couples required a national debate.
"A change of the depth and complexity should be made only after a considered discussion and after broad support has built up for it in Portuguese society, inside and outside political parties, so that a clear and unequivocal political undertaking can be given," the Socialist Party said in a statement.
An opinion poll published Friday in the daily newspaper Journal de Noticias said 53 percent of those who expressed an opinion opposed gay marriage and 42 percent supported it.
The Coimbra University poll, which was conducted on Oct. 4 and 5 and included interviews with 1,297 people, had a margin of error of 2.7 percent.
Two Portuguese lesbians attempted to marry in 2006 but were turned away by Lisbon registry office officials, who cited a law stipulating that marriage is between two people of different sexes.
In an unprecedented case, their legal challenge was rejected by a Lisbon court. Last year they lodge an appeal at the Supreme Court, which is examining their arguments. No date has been set for a decision. (Barry Hatton, AP)
Connecticut
Supreme Court rules for marriage
FRIDAY, October 10, 2008 (PlanetOut)
Connecticut's Supreme Court ruled Friday that same-sex couples have the right to marry, making the state the third behind Massachusetts and California to legalize such unions.
The divided court ruled 4-3 that gay and lesbian couples cannot be denied the freedom to marry under the state constitution, and Connecticut's civil unions law does not provide those couples with the same rights as heterosexual couples.
"I can't believe it. We're thrilled, we're absolutely overjoyed. We're finally going to be able, after 33 years, to get married," said Janet Peck of Colchester, who was a plaintiff with her partner, Carole Conklin.
"Interpreting our state constitutional provisions in accordance with firmly established equal protection principles leads inevitably to the conclusion that gay persons are entitled to marry the otherwise qualified same sex partner of their choice," Justice Richard N. Palmer wrote in the majority opinion that overturned a lower court finding.
"To decide otherwise would require us to apply one set of constitutional principles to gay persons and another to all others," Palmer wrote.
Gov. M. Jodi Rell said Friday that she disagreed, but will not fight the ruling.
"The Supreme Court has spoken," Rell said in a statement. "I do not believe their voice reflects the majority of the people of Connecticut. However, I am also firmly convinced that attempts to reverse this decision -- either legislatively or by amending the state Constitution -- will not meet with success."
The lawsuit was brought in 2004 after eight same-sex couples were denied marriage licenses and sued, saying their constitutional rights to equal protection and due process were violated.
They said the state's marriage law, if applied only to heterosexual couples, denied them of the financial, social and emotional benefits of marriage.
Peck said that as soon as the decision was announced, the couple started crying and hugging while juggling excited phone calls from her brother and other friends and family.
"We've always dreamed of being married," she said. "Even though we were lesbians and didn't know if that would ever come true, we always dreamed of it." (Dave Collins, AP)
Associated Press reporters Pat Eaton-Robb, Stephanie Reitz and Larry Smith in Hartford contributed to this report.
Circumcision
Not Effective in Preventing HIV Among MSM, Study Finds
WEDNESDAY, October 8, 2008 (kaisernetwork)
Despite research showing circumcision can reduce a man's risk of HIV during heterosexual intercourse, a study published Wednesday in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that the procedure offers little protection against the virus for men who have sex with men, AFP/Yahoo! News reports. According to the study, there was minimal difference in HIV infections between those MSM who were circumcised and those who were not (AFP/Yahoo! News, 10/7).
For the study, researchers at CDC, led by Gregorio Millett, reviewed 15 previous studies on circumcision that included 53,567 MSM from Australia, Great Britain, Canada, India, the Netherlands, Peru, Taiwan and the U.S. Circumcised MSM were 14% less likely to be HIV-positive than those who were not, a rate that was not statistically significant, according to the researchers. Millett said, "You can't necessarily say with confidence that we're seeing a true effect there," adding, "Overall, we're not finding a protective effect associated with circumcision" for MSM (Dunham, Reuters, 10/7).
However, when examining studies carried out before the introduction of highly active antiretroviral therapy in 1996, the researchers found evidence that circumcision in the past had a protective effect for MSM, BBC News reports. The researchers said one explanation for the reduced effectiveness of circumcision among MSM following the introduction of HAART is that the efficacy of drugs diminished the perceived need to practice safer sex to avoid contracting HIV. In addition, the study noted that HAART might help reduce the risk of HIV transmission to a level that circumcision does not provide further benefits. The researchers also said that there may have been a smaller proportion of men in the pre-HAART trials who engaged primarily in receptive anal sex, which carries the greatest risk of HIV among MSM (BBC News, 10/7).
CDC's Peter Kilmarx, who was not involved in the study, said the agency is set to release a draft of formal recommendations on circumcision early next year. Although Millett said circumcision cannot be recommended as a strategy for HIV prevention among MSM in the U.S., he added that there are signs the procedure could protect certain MSM depending on sexual practices. For example, Millett said that studies in Australia and Peru have shown that men who engaged only in insertive anal sex and were not being penetrated by male sex partners experienced a greater level of protection from circumcision (Reuters, 10/7). However, Millett said, "Even if we find that insertive men are protected, what might be such a small proportion that we wouldn't get the effect on the overall population that we'd like. As it stands now, circumcision is unlikely to have the same kind of benefit [in the U.S.] that it's projected to have in Africa" (Lauerman, Bloomberg, 10/7).
According to the authors, more research might be needed to determine the amount of protection provided by circumcision for insertive MSM (AFP/Yahoo! News, 10/7). "These studies weren't designed to answer this question in the first place, and it's possible that they're too varied to show an effect," Millett said, adding, "The idea makes sense, but there just aren't enough data out there right now to show whether there's a benefit" (Bloomberg, 10/7). In a related editorial also published in JAMA, a team of peer reviewers from Vanderbilt University wrote that "circumcision would likely be insufficiently efficient to be universally effective in reducing HIV and will have to be combined with other prevention modalities to have a substantial and sustained prevention effect" (AFP/Yahoo! News, 10/7).
Nobel
winner: 4 years to AIDS vaccine
TUESDAY, October 7, 2008 (Gay
Health)
A therapeutic vaccine for AIDS within four years?
A French scientist who was awarded the Nobel Prize for discovering the AIDS virus 25 years ago has predicted just that.
Luc Montagnier and his team were recently awarded the prestigious prize for their continued work on AIDS, and Montagnier, 76, said a treatment could be possible in the future with a 'therapeutic' rather than preventive vaccine.
Said Montagnier: "I think it will be possible with a therapeutic vaccine rather than preventative vaccinations. We would give it to people who are already infected."
A therapeutic vaccine prevents disease from flourishing after it has taken hold.
CDC
Releases Updated Estimates About HIV Prevalence in U.S.; Agency Says 1.1
Million People Living With Virus
FRIDAY, October 3, 2008 (The
Body)
CDC on Friday in its Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report released updated estimates of HIV prevalence in the U.S., saying that 1.1 million people were living with the virus at the end of 2006, Bloomberg reports. According to the report, the increase in the number of people living with HIV/AIDS in the U.S. in part is because of more effective antiretroviral drugs that have prolonged the lives of those living with the disease. Based on 2006 data, the study supports previous findings that HIV/AIDS disproportionately affects blacks and men who have sex with men. The estimate takes into account improved methodology and CDC's recent finding that the number of annual new HIV/AIDS infections in the U.S. is 40% higher than previously suspected (Lauerman, Bloomberg, 10/2).
Richard Wolitski, acting chief of CDC's Division of HIV/AIDS Prevention, said, "These data really show the continued impact that the epidemic is having on Americans, and they really reinforce the severe toll that is experienced in multiple communities" (Dunham, Reuters, 10/2). He added that CDC expects HIV prevalence "to keep increasing over time as treatment prolongs the lives of infected people and new infections outpace deaths" (Bloomberg, 10/2).
According to the report, in 2006, 48% of prevalent cases were attributed to male-to-male sexual contact, 28% to heterosexual contact and 19% to injection use. Overall, men accounted for almost 75% of HIV prevalent cases.
In terms of demographics, blacks made up 12% of the overall U.S. population but accounted for 46% of people living with HIV/AIDS in 2006. About 35% of people living with HIV/AIDS were white, and about 18% were Hispanic. In addition, the HIV prevalence rate among black women was almost 18 times higher than the rate among white women, while the prevalence rate was six times higher among black men than among white men (Reuters, 10/2). In addition, the report also found that HIV/AIDS prevalence rate among Hispanic men was more than twice that of white men, while the prevalence rate among Hispanic women was more than four times that of white women (MMWR,10/3).
Woollies said, "CDC has recognized and reported data on the disproportionate impact of the disease on blacks in the U.S. since the early years of the epidemic," adding, "This disparity is not one that is new, but it's one that remains and requires a heightened level of response" (Bloomberg, 10/2).
According to CDC, one in five -- or 232,700 of the 1.1 million people living with HIV/AIDS estimated in 2006 -- were not aware of their HIV-positive status in 2006 (Reuters, 10/2). The agency has called for bolstered HIV testing to enable access to appropriate medical care and ensure those infected understand the risk of spreading HIV. However, a majority of new infections are transmitted by people who do not know they have the virus, CDC said. The study said, "Expanding the number and reach of effective HIV prevention services for at-risk populations -- including blacks, Hispanics and MSM of all races -- can contribute to reducing the disproportionate numbers of infections in these groups" (Bloomberg, 10/2).
Wolitski said that the increasing number of HIV/AIDS cases and the cost of treating them place a burden on the country's health care system. The study found that 14,000 Americans die of HIV/AIDS-related illnesses in 2006. According to the report, the previous estimate that one million people in the U.S. were HIV -positive in 2003 has been revised to 994,000 people living with HIV that year (Reuters, 10/2).
The study is available online.
HIV
Advocates Demand Re-Gaying of Prevention
THURSDAY, October 2, 2008 (The
Body)
Citing CDC data, AIDS advocates are calling for a renewed focus on preventing HIV infections among gay men, by both the government and the gay community itself. New HIV/AIDS diagnoses increased 8.6 percent among men who have sex with men (MSM) during 2001-2006, and MSM was the sole transmission category to increase, CDC reported in June.
"[We] have been essentially ignoring gay men of all colors in addressing this epidemic," said Jim Pickett, advocacy director of AIDS Foundation of Chicago. "Instead, we have chosen the politically expedient path of pushing the false notion of a generalized epidemic in which 'we are all at risk.'"
For the last 15 years, de-gaying of HIV/AIDS was an approach taken by much of the AIDS community, the media, and other institutions, wrote Walt Senterfitt, board co-chair of the Community HIV/AIDS Mobilization Project, in CHAMP's September newsletter.
HIV prevention resources should match the impact of the disease among gays, said Pickett and Senterfitt. But just as important, "We have to claim this, we as gay men have to own this," Pickett said. Some gay men may be tired of reading stories reporting bad news about their peers and HIV, Pickett acknowledged. "I think there's also real burnout in having it be our defining issue," he said. "Their eyes glaze over at the letters HIV and AIDS; It's negative and exhausting."
In 2006, the Los Angeles Gay & Lesbian Center launched the campaign "HIV is a gay disease. Own it. End it." But some in the community saw it as defamatory, identifying gays with AIDS. "It aroused this tremendously negative, overwhelmingly negative response in the community," Senterfitt said.
A national AIDS strategy should be launched using CDC's data to prioritize resources and interventions, and set prevention targets, advocates said.
"The data are the data," said Sean R. Cahill, managing director of public policy, research, and community health at Gay Men's Health Crisis. "We are three in five of the new infections. I think we should be honest and I think that we should talk about health disparities."
Study
traces AIDS virus origin to 100 years ago
WEDNESDAY, October 1, 2008 (AP
News)
NEW YORK (AP) - The AIDS virus has been circulating among people for about 100 years, decades longer than scientists had thought, a new study suggests.
Genetic analysis pushes the estimated origin of HIV back to between 1884 and 1924, with a more focused estimate at 1908.
Previously, scientists had estimated the origin at around 1930. AIDS wasn't recognized formally until 1981 when it got the attention of public health officials in the United States.
The new result is "not a monumental shift, but it means the virus was circulating under our radar even longer than we knew," says Michael Worobey of the University of Arizona, an author of the new work.
The results appear in Thursday's issue of the journal Nature. Researchers note that the newly calculated dates fall during the rise of cities in Africa, and they suggest urban development may have promoted HIV's initial establishment and early spread.
Scientists say HIV descended from a chimpanzee virus that jumped to humans in Africa, probably when people butchered chimps. Many individuals were probably infected that way, but so few other people caught the virus that it failed to get a lasting foothold, researchers say.
But the growth of African cities may have changed that by putting lots of people close together and promoting prostitution, Worobey suggested. "Cities are kind of ideal for a virus like HIV," providing more chances for infected people to pass the virus to others, he said.
Perhaps a person infected with the AIDS virus in a rural area went to what is now Kinshasa, Congo, "and now you've got the spark arriving in the tinderbox," Worobey said.
Key to the new work was the discovery of an HIV sample that had been taken from a woman in Kinshasa in 1960. It was only the second such sample to be found from before 1976; the other was from 1959, also from Kinshasa.
Researchers took advantage of the fact that HIV mutates rapidly. So two strains from a common ancestor quickly become less and less alike in their genetic material over time. That allows scientists to "run the clock backward" by calculating how long it would take for various strains to become as different as they are observed to be. That would indicate when they both sprang from their most recent common ancestor.
The new work used genetic data from the two old HIV samples plus more than 100 modern samples to create a family tree going back to these samples' last common ancestor. Researchers got various answers under various approaches for when that ancestor virus appeared, but the 1884-1924 bracket is probably the most reliable, Worobey said.
The new work is "clearly an improvement" over the previous estimate of around 1930, said Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases in Bethesday, Md. His institute helped pay for the work.
Fauci described the advance as "a fine-tuning."
Experts say it's no surprise that HIV circulated in humans for about 70 years before being recognized. An infection usually takes year to produce obvious symptoms, a lag that can mask the role of the virus, and it would have infected relatively few Africans early in its spread, they said.
Nature: http://www.nature.com/nature
Indian
Health Minister Calls on Country To Legalize Homosexuality To Improve
Fight Against HIV/AIDS
WEDNESDAY, October 1, 2008 (kaiser
report)
Following his recent efforts to legalize homosexuality in India, Health Minister Anbumani Ramadoss said the country should recognize the increasing acceptance of homosexuality worldwide because such tolerance would ensure "an effective fight against AIDS," IANS/Thaindian News reports (IANS/Thaindian News, 9/29).
Under section 377 of the Indian Penal Code -- which was established under British rule in 1860 -- homosexuality is a crime that carries a punishment of life in prison. The Delhi High Court had been holding daily hearings on a petition that sought to legalize homosexuality, which was supported by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare but opposed by the Ministry of Home Affairs. According to the Centre Party, legalizing homosexuality would have adverse health effects, and the party asked the court to ignore Ramadoss' position on legalizing homosexuality. The health ministry wants to make homosexuality non punishable particularly because of the latest figures from the National AIDS Control Organisation that estimate there are 22 million men who have sex with men in the country.
According to NDTV.com, the court questioned the Centre Party's view against homosexuality and called them outdated. Advocates have said that Section 377 goes against fundamental rights, adding that considering the British government repealed the law in 1967, it is time that the Indian government did the same. Summit Baudh, an advocate for Voices Against 377, said, "I think this fight is about human rights. This fight is about privacy, dignity and equality" (Khanna, NDTV.com, 9/30).
Ramadoss said that he recognizes the social opposition to his call to decriminalize homosexuality but that it is "a very serious issue from the AIDS-control point of view." According to Ramadoss, the National AIDS Control Programme, which is in its third phase from 2007-2012, is being "adversely impacted because it is difficult to reach out to the gay population of the country." He added that 86% of HIV cases in the country are transmitted sexually, a figure that includes MSM and transgender people.
According to Ramadoss, Section 377 also effectively makes it illegal for a physician to treat MSM, as well as for a health care worker to advise MSM about HIV. Ramadoss said, "Imagine the problem this means when it comes to our fight to contain HIV infection" (IANS/Thaindian News, 9/29).
More
gay characters in prime-time TV
TUESDAY, September 23, 2008 (PlanetOut)
Broadcast television will have 16 gay and bisexual regular characters in prime-time series this fall, more than double the seven of a year ago, a new study has found.
The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation said it was a positive sign of networks making their shows more representative, although more work needed to be done. These characters accounted for 2.6 percent of all the regular characters in TV series, up from 1.1 percent last year and 1.3 percent in 2006, according to the study, released Monday.
GLAAD President Neil Giuliano singled out Fox for having five such regular characters this fall, considering there were none a year earlier. The character Thirteen on "House" is bisexual, while the new "Do Not Disturb" has a gay man.
None of the 126 regular characters on CBS shows is gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender, GLAAD said, and only one recurring characters -- Brad on "Rules of Engagement" -- is gay.
ABC will have seven characters that are either gay men or bisexual women this fall, NBC will have three and the CW will have one, according to GLAAD.
A total of 19 recurring characters, those who appear only time to time, fit the category, GLAAD said. That's up from 13 a year ago.
The number of regular characters fitting the definition fell from 40 to 32 on mainstream cable networks, a count that doesn't include the gay-oriented networks Logo and here!
There were no lesbians among the regular characters, according to GLAAD. But there are five bisexual women, including the characters of Callie Torres and Erica Hahn on ABC's "Grey's Anatomy."
"As the networks gradually add characters from all backgrounds and all walks of life to prime-time programming, more and more Americans are seeing their LGBT friends and neighbors reflected on the small screen," Giuliano said.
The lobbying group has been monitoring the presence of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender characters on TV for four years. (AP)
Spielberg
gives $100K to Calif. marriage fight
TUESDAY, September 23, 2008 (PlanetOut)
Steven Spielberg and his wife, Kate Capshaw, are the latest celebrity donors to the fight against California's November ballot initiative that would overturn the state Supreme Court decision legalizing same-sex marriage.
Spielberg and Capshaw have donated $100,000 to fight Proposition 8, they announced in a statement Monday.
"By writing discrimination into our state constitution, Proposition 8 seeks to eliminate the right of each and every citizen in our state to marry regardless of sexual orientation," the statement said. "Such discrimination has NO place in California's constitution, or any other."
Also known as the Marriage Protection Act, Proposition 8 would amend the state constitution to limit marriage to a man and a woman. If passed, it would overturn the court decision that made the state only the second in the U.S. to legalize same-sex marriage.
Brad Pitt gave the same amount to the cause last week. (AP)
New
York City Report Finds Reduced HIV/AIDS-Related Deaths, Increased Condom
Distribution in FY 2008
FRIDAY, September 19, 2008 (TheBody)
New York City has made significant progress in reducing the number of HIV/AIDS-related deaths, increasing voluntary HIV testing rates and distributing no-cost condoms during the fiscal year that ended Jun 30, according to the Mayor's Management Report, the New York Daily News reports. The report, released Wednesday, fond that HIV/AIDS-related deaths during FY 2008 decreased by 8% to 1,108. In addition, voluntary HIV testing increased by 18%, and there was almost a[n] 120% increase in no-cost condom distribution, up from 18 million during the previous year to 39 million in FY 2008 (Lombardi, New York Daily News, 9/17).
The annual report assesses the city government's performance in 1,210 indicators. According to the New York Times, 3,305 new AIDS cases were recorded among adults in FY 2008, which is 410 fewer than in the previous fiscal year and 2,020 fewer than in FY 2004. New syphilis cases rose by 20% largely because of unsafe sexual behavior among men, the Times reports (Santos, New York Times, 9/18).
The city's Department of Health and Mental Hygiene spent $1,054,228 on condoms in FY 2008, but the figure does not include the cost of about two million female condoms, the New York Post reports. Advocates of the condom distribution efforts said the cost is small compared with the lifelong cost of treating an HIV-positive individual. A department spokesperson said its goal for this fiscal year is to distribute 51.6 million condoms.
Reaction
HIV/AIDS advocates praised the city's efforts to fight the disease and
other sexually transmitted infections through the scaled up condom distribution
program, the Post reports. Marie Saint Cyr, director of the New
York AIDS Coalition, said, "It is a very important strategy.
People do pick [the condoms] up." Ofelia Barrios, director of programs
at the Latino
Commission on AIDS, added that even faith-based organizations involved
in HIV/AIDS prevention programs welcome no-cost condoms.
Marjorie Hill, director of the Gay Men's Health Crisis, applauded the city for its work but called for more training to ensure that people who pick up the condoms get their partners to use them (Seifman, New York Post, 9/18). Mayor Michael Bloomberg said, "The statistics contained in this report show that we are continuing to improve service quality in critical areas" (New York Daily News, 9/17).
CDC
Expands Testing Recommendations for Chronic Hepatitis B Virus Infection
THURSDAY, September 18, 2008 (TheBody)
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) today published new recommendations for health care providers that are designed to increase routine testing in the United States for chronic hepatitis B, a major cause of liver disease and liver cancer. CDC recommends testing all individuals born in Asia and Africa, as well as testing additional at-risk populations, including men who have sex with men (MSM) and injection-drug users (IDUs). The recommendations, published today in CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) Recommendations & Reports, also for the first time give health professionals guidance for effective management of chronically infected hepatitis B patients.
"Chronic hepatitis B affects the lives of more than one million Americans, many of whom do not even know they are infected. These new recommendations are critical to identifying people who are living with the disease without the benefits of medical attention," said John W. Ward, M.D., director of CDC's Division of Viral Hepatitis. "Testing is the first step to identify infected person so that they can receive lifesaving care and treatment, which can break the cycle of transmission, slow disease progression, and prevent deaths from liver cancer."
In the United States, chronic hepatitis B is the underlying cause of an estimated 2,000 - 4,000 deaths each year from cirrhosis and liver cancer. The CDC recommendations are key to increasing the early diagnosis of chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection, since many of the estimated 800,000 - 1.4 million Americans with chronic HBV infection have no symptoms and are unaware of their disease.
Highlights of the Recommendations
The new testing recommendations build upon and reinforce past recommendations to test all pregnant women, infants born to infected mothers, household contacts and sex partners of infected individuals, and people with HIV.
Along with continued testing of those groups, routine testing is now recommended for additional populations, including:
- Individuals born in Asia, Africa, and other geographic regions with 2 percent or higher prevalence of chronic HBV infections: Previous CDC recommendations called for testing of people born in areas with 8 percent prevalence or higher. Expanded testing is essential since the rate of liver cancer deaths and chronic HBV in the United States remains high among foreign-born U.S. populations from these areas. For example, nearly one in 12 Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders living in the United States is HBV-infected, and one-third or more are unaware.
- Men who have sex with men and injection drug users: Routing testing is needed for these persons since both have a higher prevalence of chronic HBV infection than the overall U.S. population. Up to 3 percent of MSM and up to 6 percent of IDUs are estimated to be chronically infected with HBV, compared to three tenths of one percent of the general population.
- Persons with abnormal liver function tests (not explained by other conditions) and persons who require immunosuppressive therapy (e.g., chemotherapy for malignant diseases).
The new CDC report also gives recommendations for referral of HBV-infected persons to specialists for ongoing monitoring and medical care. Such guidelines are needed now to assist providers, since most of the effective medications for chronic HBV treatment have become available only in the last five years. In addition, the recommendations advise healthcare providers to provide culturally-sensitive ongoing patient education, begin lifelong monitoring for progressive liver disease, and ensure protection of household members and other close contacts of infected persons.
Testing recommendations are a critical component of CDC's strategy to eliminate HBV transmission. CDC continues to work with the medical community to promote comprehensive prevention and treatment efforts for HBV, which include vaccination for all infants and at-risk adults; catch-up vaccination of previously unvaccinated children; routine screening for all pregnant women; treatment of newborns of infected or untested mothers; and testing household contacts and sex partners of HBV-infected person.
For more information [on] chronic hepatitis B, visit www.cdc.gov/hepatitis/HBV/TestingChronic.htm or www.cdc.gov/hepatitis/.
Brazil's
president defends same-sex unions
THURSDAY, September 18, 2008 (PlanetOut)
Brazil's president has come out in favor of same-sex unions.
President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva says that in Brazil, "there are men living with men, and women living with women" who "build a good life together." But a proposed law that would give all same-sex couples rights equal to those enjoyed by married heterosexuals has been stalled in Brazil's Congress for more than a decade.
Silva said in an interview aired late Wednesday night by the government-run TV Brasil that politicians who oppose same-sex unions and yet seek the votes of gay men and women during elections are "hypocrites."
Brad
Pitt gives $100,000 for marriage equality
THURSDAY, September 18, 2008 (PlanetOut)
Brad Pitt has donated $100,000 to fight California's November ballot initiative that would overturn the state Supreme Court decision to legalize same-sex marriage.
It's the first time voters will be asked to ban same-sex marriage in a state where gay and lesbian couples have won the right to wed. Same-sex marriage is legal in Massachusetts and California.
"Because no one has the right to deny another their life, even though they disagree with it, because everyone has the right to live the life they so desire if it doesn't harm another and because discrimination has no place in America, my vote will be for equality and against Proposition 8," Pitt said Wednesday.
Trover Neilson, Pitt's political and philanthropic adviser, told The Associated Press that Pitt was surprised that his colleagues in the entertainment industry had not donated more money to support the battle against Proposition 8.
Earlier in the week, Pitt and Angelina Jolie announced they donated $2 million to help fight HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis in Ethiopia.
Invisible
And Overlooked - A growing population of lesbian and gay senior citizens
seeks recognition for their unique needs and challenges
by Jessica Bennett
THURSDAY, September 18, 2008 (Newsweek)
Bob McCoy is a youthful, active 78-year-old. He sings in his church choir, takes a weekly computer class, and regularly attends social gatherings organized by a gay senior citizens group in Brooklyn, N.Y., where he lives. But McCoy worries about a day when he can no longer care for himself: he has no close family, no partner, and he's outlived most of his friends. "I'm used to having friends I can call up and say, 'Let's go to [a movie],'" he says. "But now there's nobody to call."
Newly engaged, Jim Fetterman, 62, and Ilde Gonzalez-Rivera, 56, look forward to growing old together at their home in Queens, N.Y., where they share a garden and a green Cadillac. But the couple isn't sure if or when they'll be able to marry. Their house is in Rivera's name, but because the couple can't legally wed in New York, Fetterman won't automatically inherit it, should his partner die. And even though they are registered domestic partners in New York City, neither man will have access to the other's Social Security, because the federal government doesn't recognize their relationship. "It's not something we like to think about, but there's a certain amount of anxiety that comes with not having those things," says Fetterman.
These are typical faces of the gay and aging - a growing population often overlooked by mainstream advocates. Gerontologists haven't traditionally viewed sexual orientation as relevant to their work - and, according to a study by the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, most national health surveys of elderly citizens fail to assess sexual orientation. But gay seniors confront unique challenges: they're twice as likely as straights to live alone, and 10 times less likely to have a caretaker should they fall ill. Older gay men are at high risk for HIV, and many suffer the psychological effects of losing friends to the AIDS crisis. (See our report on HIV and aging.) Many face discrimination in medical and social services, and on top of it all, they're less likely to have health insurance: one survey, by the Williams Institute on Sexual Orientation Law, at UCLA, estimates that gay seniors are half as likely to have coverage as their straight counterparts.
"In many ways, this population is a mirror opposite of what the mainstream aging community looks like," says Karen Taylor, director of advocacy and training for the New York-based Services and Advocacy for Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual & Transgender Elders, or SAGE, the nation's oldest senior network. "The average senior in the United States lives with one other person; two-thirds of LGBT seniors live alone. If you don't have those informal support networks built into your life, then everything else becomes a bigger issue. Who forces you to go to the doctor? What happens if you fall?"
As this community grows, in both population and visibility, those questions are becoming harder to ignore. Over the next 25 years, persons in America who are 65 and older are expected to grow from about 12 to 20 percent of the total population, and various estimates indicate that lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered individuals will comprise 7 to 10 percent of that senior population. Meanwhile, like the Baby Boomers of all stripes, aging gays and lesbians are radically redefining what it means to be a senior - and how they fit into the larger community. They're coming out of the closet, vocalizing their experiences and needs, and, most importantly, demanding public recognition. "If you go back 40 years, there were virtually no openly gay seniors," says Gary Gates, a senior research fellow and demographer at the Williams Institute. "But now you have a large enough group that people are paying attention."
This year, SAGE is celebrating its 30th anniversary, and running an ad campaign in New York to raise awareness about their constituents. And when the organization holds its national conference on aging next month, it will be sponsored for the first time by the AARP. Just that acknowledgement, say advocates, is huge: with 40 million members, the AARP is considered one of America's most powerful lobbying groups - and an influential voice on health care and social policy. "When we look to the future, we know we cannot progress if we don't bring in these other communities," says the Washington-based organization's chief diversity officer, E. Percil Stanford. "The [gay and lesbian] community is quite often invisible and overlooked."
For the full article, click on this link.
The
Invisible Worldwide HIV Epidemic: MSM
FRIDAY, September 12, 2008 (TheBody)
In many regions of the world, national and locally sponsored HIV prevention initiatives have left men who have sex with men (MSM) out o