by Rex Wockner - SGN Contributing Writer

Australians march for same-sex marriage
A National Day of Action for Same-Sex Marriage saw demonstrations August 1 in the Australian cities of Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide, Hobart, Canberra and Lismore.

According to the group Equal Love, 5,000 people marched in Melbourne in "the largest single show of support for marriage equality ever in Australia."

The rallies had no apparent effect on the national convention of the ruling Australian Labor Party, which voted the same day to support a national registry for same-sex partnerships but to oppose legalization of same-sex marriage.

"Although the decision of the ALP delegates was disappointing, I think politicians from all sides now understand that this is not an issue that's going to go away," said Equal Love co-convener Tim Wright. "Today's rallies put it clearly on the national agenda. Marriage equality is rapidly spreading throughout the world and we're going to be back here year after year until we get it in Australia."

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd told local radio July 29 that marriage is "between a man and a woman."

At the same time, the Rudd government has altered around 100 laws to give same-sex de facto couples the rights and obligations of marriage in areas that include health care, taxation, pensions, parenting, public benefits, workplace benefits, workers' compensation, veterans' affairs, elder care and educational assistance.

Rudd said July 29 that his goal is to remove "all legal discriminations" against Gay couples.

Polling has found that 60 percent of Australians think Gay couples should be allowed to get married.

European human rights commissioner publishes Transphobia report
Council of Europe member states should do more to stop Transphobia and discrimination against Transgender people, the Council of Europe's commissioner for human rights, Thomas Hammarberg, said July 29 in an "expert issue paper" released at the World Outgames 2nd International Conference on LGBT Human Rights in Copenhagen.

"The situation of Transgender persons has long been ignored and neglected, although the problems they face are very real and often specific to this group alone," the report said. "They experience a high degree of discrimination and intolerance in all fields of life, as well as outright violence."

Among other things, the document asserts that Transgender people should not have to undergo sterilization or other medical treatment before their revised gender identity is recognized.

Romania enacts discriminatory laws
Romanian President Traian Basescu has signed a new Civil Code enacted by Parliament that discriminates against Gay people.

Ironically, Article 30 of the new code bans discrimination based on sexual orientation even as Article 277 bans same-sex marriage, recognition of foreign same-sex marriages, and recognition of foreign civil partnerships, Gay or straight.

In addition, Article 462 prohibits two unmarried persons from adopting a child together. Article 258 defines "spouses" as a man and a woman united through marriage, and defines "family" as based on marriage between spouses. And Article 259 defines marriage as between a man and a woman and makes marriage a right.

"The inclusion of these provisions perpetuates discrimination against Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender people and their families," said the Romanian LGBT group ACCEPT, the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission, and the European Region of the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association (aka ILGA-Europe).

"Articles 277, 258, 259, and 462 prevent same-sex couples and other nontraditional families from enjoying their rights to nondiscrimination, freedom of movement, and privacy under international and European law and policy," the groups said. "These provisions ... deny the existence of LGBT and non-traditional heterosexual families, increasing social stigma and discrimination against them."

The organizations wrote Basescu a letter expressing their disappointment with the laws and urging him to support any efforts that may be made to repeal them.

Portuguese ban on same-sex marriage upheld
Portugal's Constitutional Court declined to strike down the ban on same-sex marriage July 31 in a 3-2 ruling.

In a case brought by Lesbian couple Teresa Pires and Helena Paixão, the court said that although the Portuguese Constitution specifically bans discrimination based on sexual orientation, it does not mandate that same-sex marriage be permitted.

"The issue posed to the Court is not whether the Constitution allows the establishment of a system of marriage between persons of the same sex, but is precisely to know if it is imposed in the Constitution," the court said.

Correspondent João Paulo from PortugalGay.pt said Pires and Paixão "questioned how can Gays and Lesbians not be discriminated [against] if they are not recognized the right to marry." He said the couple told him they will appeal to the European Court of Human Rights.

Meanwhile, the ruling Socialist Party has said it will move legislatively to legalize same-sex marriage, should it remain in power after September's elections.

Portugal has had a "de facto unions" law for same-sex couples since 2001 that grants limited rights to all Gay couples who have lived together for two years or longer.

Same-sex marriage is legal in Belgium, Canada, the Netherlands, Norway, South Africa, Sweden, Spain and the U.S. states of Connecticut, Iowa and Massachusetts. It also has been legalized in the states of Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont, though the laws have not yet come into effect.

Amsterdam mayor marries binational couples
Amsterdam Mayor Job Cohen married five binational Gay couples on a boat during the Gay pride canal parade August 1.

The couples were purposefully composed of one Dutch citizen and one resident of New York state. Same-sex marriage is not allowed in New York, but New York recognizes same-sex marriages performed elsewhere.

The weddings created the disconnect of the couples now being married in the Netherlands and in New York, where they would not have been allowed to get married, and also not being married in the eyes of the U.S. government, which holds the keys to more than 1,000 marriage rights and obligations, including spousal immigration rights.

"As a result, thousands of U.S. citizens are forced into exile in countries like the Netherlands, where their relationships with their foreign partners are recognized and where they enjoy equal rights in family law," said Martha McDevitt-Pugh of the Love Exiles Foundation.

On April 1, 2001, Cohen conducted the first same-sex marriages in the world, after the Netherlands became the first nation to allow them. Same-sex marriage has since been legalized in Belgium, Canada, Norway, South Africa, Sweden, Spain and the U.S. states of Connecticut, Iowa and Massachusetts. It also has been legalized in Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont, but the laws have not yet come into effect.

More than half a million people turned out for Amsterdam's waterborne pride parade.

With assistance from Bill Kelley

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