Rex Wockner

International News

by Rex Wockner - SGN Contributing Writer Uruguay sees first civil union Uruguay's first civil union took place April 17, more than three months after Latin America's first national civil-union law came into force. Actor Adrián Figuera, 38, and theater director Juan Carlos Moretti, 67, tied the knot before a judge, family and friends. The couple has been together 14 years. Couples must live together for five years before they can take advantage of the law, which grants spousal rights in areas that include inheritance, property ownership, pensions, parenting and health care. The law applies to "two people - whatever their sex, identity, orientation or sexual option may be - who maintain an emotional relationship of a sexual nature [and] an exclusive, singular, stable and permanent character without being united in matrimony." Other Latin American localities with civil-union laws include the city of Buenos Aires, the Argentine province of Río Negro, the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul, Mexico City, and the Mexican state of Coahuila, which borders Texas. Colombian court grants pension rights to Gay couples Colombia's Constitutional Court ruled that same-sex couples have the right to enroll in pension plans the same as married couples, El Tiempo reported April 17. "This is yet another incredible victory by the Colombian LGBT rights organization Colombia Diversa, which worked with the Public Interest Group at the University of Los Andes in Bogotá to bring the issue to the court and emerge victorious," said New York City activist Andrés Duque, a Colombian immigrant. Last October, the same court ruled that Gay people can add their partners to their health-insurance plans. Same-sex couples must register their unions with a notary before applying for benefits. The ruling covered private insurance and government-run health care, known as social security. In February 2007, the Constitutional Court extended spousal property and inheritance rights to same-sex couples. In other Colombian news, transsexual Darlyn Acevedo Ramírez, 19, was murdered in Cali on March 23, becoming the 13th Transsexual to be killed in the city in the past two years. She was attacked by a group of men at a traffic circle in the Alfonso López neighborhood, the same location where two of the other killings occurred. None of the cases has been solved, according to the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission, which said more than 3,000 Transsexuals live in the city. Dutch marriage registrars told not to discriminate The Netherlands' Equal Treatment Commission ruled April 15 that marriage registrars who refuse to marry Gay couples can't marry straight couples either, NIS News reported. The nonbinding decision came in a case where a city placed an ad for new registrars that stipulated they be willing to perform both straight and Gay weddings. The commission's rulings are usually upheld by courts. The commission also ruled April 15 that the feminist magazine Opzij may not discriminate against men in filling editorial jobs. Filipino docs in trouble for YouTube video Doctors and nurses at the Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center in Cebu City, Philippines, face lawsuits and probable penalties over a YouTube video that showed a medical extraction of an aerosol can from a man's rectum. A hospital spokesman said making the video for nonmedical reasons and making fun of the patient violated the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees. The patient, known only as Danilo, has said he plans to sue everyone involved in the incident. In the footage, the doctor who extracted the can of Black Suede body spray shouts "Baby out!" as he removes it. He then sprays the contents of the can at nurses and doctors watching the procedure. Danilo has said he got drunk, hooked up with a guy, and doesn't remember how the can got inside his rear end. Police have not figured out who uploaded the video clip to YouTube. Irish sperm donor loses guardianship case An Irish Gay man who gave his sperm to a Lesbian couple he was friends with so they could get pregnant has lost his case seeking guardianship of his two-year-old son, the Irish Times reported April 17. High Court Justice John Hedigan determined it is best for the boy to remain with his mothers, who, he said, are a de facto family as defined by the European Convention on Human Rights. Hedigan also stressed that the Dáil, or parliament, should urgently address the dearth of Irish law on the rights of same-sex couples. Media-monitoring group launches in India A Gay journalists group has formed in Mumbai, India, to lobby for balanced treatment of Gay issues in the media and entertainment industries. The Queer Media Collective kicked off its activities with an awards ceremony April 19, honoring, among others, the Hindustan Times newspaper, Time Out magazine, NDTV, Zee Café (a TV channel), Mumbai Mirror advice columnist Dr. Mahinder Watsa, Sunday Times columnist Bachi Karkaria, TV reporter Barkha Dutt, filmmaker Reema Kagti, the CNN-IBN documentary series The Alternate Sexuality, and, as Queer newsperson of the year, Prince Manvendra Singh Gohil, who was disowned by his family for coming out in a news article. "Barkha Dutt, who got the best-TV-journalist award, is pretty much the most respected TV journalist in the country," said media collective spokesman Vikram Doctor.

picture top: Amsterdam; picture bottom: Mumbai

by Rex Wockner - SGN Contributing Writer "I don't know what will happen professionally & that is the fear, but I guess I can't really be concerned about what will happen, because it's my truth. There is this desire in L.A. to wonder who you are and what's been blaring for me for the last three years is how can I be most authentic to myself - so this is the first time I am speaking about it [being Gay] in this way." -Actor Luke MacFarlane, who plays Scotty Wandell, character Kevin Walker's boyfriend on ABC-TV's Brothers & Sisters, to Toronto's Globe and Mail, April 15. The newspaper said the couple will marry in the May 11 season finale. "The Gay press may feel like I'm not giving them enough love. But basically, all press feels that way at all times. Obviously, when you've got limited amount of time, you've got so many outlets. We tend not to do a whole bunch of specialized press. & But I haven't been silent on Gay issues. What's happened is, I speak oftentimes to Gay issues to a public general audience." -Barack Obama to Advocate.com, April 10. "I have been clear about my interest in including gender identity in legislation, but I've also been honest with the groups that I've met with that it is a heavy lift through Congress. We've got some Democrats who are willing to vote for a non-inclusive bill but we lose them on an inclusive bill, and we just may not be able to generate the votes." -Barack Obama to Advocate.com, April 10. "I strongly respect the right of same-sex couples to insist that even if we got complete equality in benefits, it still wouldn't be equal because there's a stigma associated with not having the same word, marriage, assigned to it. I understand that, but my perspective is also shaped by the broader political and historical context in which I'm operating." -Barack Obama to Advocate.com, April 10. "We will push on and bring full marriage equality to New York state. And when we have done that, we're going to do more. We're going to protect young people from bullies. We're going to protect against the discrimination of people in the transgender community, and we're going to fight for decent and affordable health care for all citizens in this state. If you will join with me, and if we work hard enough, we can change the face of New York, which will be the catalyst to changing national policy." --New York Gov. David Patterson addressing the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force Leadership Awards dinner April 7 in New York City. "Well, first of all, I think that it would never happen in California because I think that California people are much further along with that issue. And, number two, I will always be there to fight against that, because it would never happen. I think we need a constitutional amendment so that foreign-born citizens can run for president, but not about Gay marriage. That's a total waste of time." -California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger speaking at the Log Cabin Republicans National Convention April 11 in San Diego, in opposition to a probable November ballot initiative aimed at amending the state Constitution to permanently ban same-sex marriage. "It's wonderful to be here at the Log Cabin Republicans national conference & because, I mean, let's be honest, it's fun to be here. When I see this great enthusiasm, I said to myself: 'What happened to all of you? Where were you when I opened up Hercules in New York?' That movie went in the toilet." -California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger speaking April 11 in San Diego. "[The Republican Party] is making a big mistake by being so extreme. But it's not the people within the party whose fault that is. It is the system that is wrong. & How could it be a big problem to get Democrats and Republicans together? I sleep with a Democrat every night!" -California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger speaking at the Log Cabin Republicans National Convention April 11 in San Diego. "[M]y biggest criticism of the Republican Party has always been that we have lost a lot of members of the Republican Party here in California [including] Gays and Lesbians. [W]e need to go and be a party that is more inclusive. & That's the power we have to get inside the party and to create the changes, rather than just complaining about it. & The Gay and Lesbian movement, and the members, can have a tremendous impact." -California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger speaking at the Log Cabin Republicans National Convention April 11 in San Diego. "Why stop there?" -California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger at the Log Cabin Republicans National Convention April 11 in San Diego, in response to a Gay conventioneer who exclaimed, "Arnold, I loved all your movies. & Take your shirt off!" "I'm such a big ol' bulldyke, it would have been impossible for me to hide it. I mean, when I was doing stand-up, was I going to go out onstage and talk about my boyfriend? Everyone would go, 'Hey big dyke - why are you talking about your boyfriend?' So being out was basically being who I am." -Comic/singer/actress Lea DeLaria to the Kansas Gay magazine Liberty Press, April issue. "I've never been one of the Gay darlings; I've always been one of the pariahs. Myself, Sandra Bernhard and Scott Thompson from Kids in the Hall, we're all very good friends and we all consider ourselves to be Gay pariahs. One year, in a pride parade, we put ourselves in a cage and put a sign on it saying 'Gay pariahs.' We thought it was hilarious, but again, people just got really mad about it. You know - get a sense of humor." -Comic/singer/actress Lea DeLaria to the Kansas Gay magazine Liberty Press, April issue. "I used to think that you could blog and you could sort of say anything and nobody would know, but really everybody knows." -Friend-of-Gays comedian Margaret Cho to the Portland, Ore., Gay newspaper Just Out, April 4. "I'm totally addicted [to MySpace]. I read it completely myself and nobody believes it. Whenever I look at my messages, they're like, 'Hey Tori's assistant, can you help me answer this question or ask Tori this?' And I always have to answer back, 'Hey, it's actually me!'" -Actress Tori Spelling to Philadelphia Gay News, April 11. "I think that the 'born Gay' thesis is a crock. P.C. ideology is usually simplistically social constructionist, but when it comes to Gayness, biology currently rules the roost. Of course it makes no sense. As I have written in the past, homosexuality is an adaptation, the product of a multitude of social and psychological factors. I believe we are all born with a capacity for Bisexual expression, which may or may not evince itself, depending on circumstance." -Writer Camille Paglia in her Salon.com column, April 9. "There's A's and there's B's. The A's are guys like me, the B's are homosexual faggots with dirt on their fingernails that transmit diseases." -Canadian federal Tory MP Tom Lukiwski caught on a 17-year-old amateur videotape unearthed April 3 by an opposition political party. Lukiwski said of the recording: "I am sorry. I am ashamed." "It would be bad to ask a person if he is homosexual or not, because this has nothing to do with his responsibilities. I believe that if the person has the moral, ethical, psychological and physical capacity to be a police officer, it doesn't matter what his preference is or what he does at home in his free time." -Panamanian National Police chief Rolando Mirones speaking on local radio April 3. "All countries that love freedom, democracy and liberty should refuse to host the Olympic torch and boycott the opening and closing ceremonies of the Beijing Olympics. Athletes should wear Tibetan flags during their events and on the podium when they collect their medals." -Leading British Gay activist Peter Tatchell, who blocked a bus carrying the Olympic torch April 7 in London. "I hope Gay people realize their special gifts. There is a reason why Gay people are numerically over-represented in many creative fields. We have myriad destinies related to making the world more beautiful and compassionate. Being outsiders to mainstream culture gives us a unique perspective. To survive, Gay people have had to realize that some social rules are dead wrong - like whom we can or cannot love. That empowering lesson can help us find our own voices." -Photographer Tom Bianchi to the Palm Springs Gay magazine The BottomLine, April 11. With assistance from Bill Kelley

picture top - Luke Macfarlane; picture bottom - Lea DeLaria