Malta Gay News Library

Media Invitation: Same Sex: Same Civil entitlements

2013-05-15T18:56:00.003+02:00

MEDIA LAUNCH INVITATION

You are cordially invited to the launch of the latest report by The Today Public Policy Institute,

Malta's only independent think-tank,

on "Same Sex: Same Civil entitlements".

The media launch will take place at the Malta Chamber of Commerce, Enterprise and Industry Council Room

at 1100hrs on Friday, 17th May 2013.

The Lead Author of the report, Martin Scicluna, will present the report and take questions.

"Same Sex: Same Civil Entitlements" examines the means of improving the civil rights of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans-gender and Inter-sex

(LGBTI) persons in Malta by ending discriminatory treatment and, specifically considers the two options of either introducing civil unions or same-sex marriages.

Pink News: Russia: Tortured and killed gay man was ‘raped with beer bottles’

2013-05-12T14:56:00.004+02:00

http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2013/05/12/russia-tortured-and-killed-gay-man-was-raped-with-beer-bottles/
12 May 2013, 1:31pm by Joseph Patrick McCormick

A gay man from the southern Russian city of Volgograd who was tortured to death in an apparent hate crime, was sexually assaulted with beer bottles, and had his skull “smashed with a stone”, authorities said on Sunday.

The man was raped, beaten and killed during the attack, which was referred to as a homophobic hate crime

The death of the man has concerned activists, who say prejudice is becoming more concentrated due to anti-gay laws.

The naked and beaten body of the 23-year-old man was found in the courtyard of an apartment building in the city on Friday morning, a spokeswoman for regional investigators told AFP.

The report suggests that he had suffered multiple injuries to his body, including to his genitals, and that he had been sexually assaulted with beer bottles.

“He was raped with beer bottles and had his skull smashed with a stone,” Natalia Kunitskaya, a spokeswoman for the Volgograd region branch of the Investigative Committee, told AFP.

She went on to admit that the attack was believed to have been a hate crime, which was noted as a rare admission from Russian law enforcement agencies on the issue of homophobia in the country.

A Saturday statement from the Moscow-based Investigative Committee confirmed that two men aged 22 and 27 had been detained in connection with the attack. One of the suspects has a criminal history, the statement said.

It went on to say that they thought the victim had been drinking with two men, apparently while celebrating Victory Day, a national holiday in Russia held on 9 May.

Regional Investigator Andrei Gapchenko, said the men started beating the victim when he told them he was gay.

Gay rights proponent Nikolai Alexeyev, a major figure in LGBT activism in Russia, said: “This monstrous incident in Volgograd demonstrates the fruits of the homophobic policy that is being conducted in this country, including the initiative to ban homosexual propaganda.”

In January the Russian State Duma adopted the first reading of a homophobic censorship bill which would impose federal sanctions for the promotion of “gay propaganda”, similar to those passed in several regions of Russia, including St Petersburg.

In Australia in February, Carl Katter started a campaign urging Melbourne City Council to break off its cultural partnership with St Petersburg over laws banning the “promotion” of gay and trans identities to minors, enacted by the Russian city in February of last year.

Venice and Milan have already cut their ties with St Petersburg over the laws.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, in April confirmed reports that the country may change its agreements for the foreign adoption of Russian children, in the light of France legalising equal marriage, to prevent gay, married couples from adopting.

Independent: Same-Sex Marriage causes fundamental harm to society

2013-05-12T14:55:00.000+02:00

http://www.independent.com.mt/articles/2013-05-12/opinions/same-sex-marriage-causes-fundamental-harm-to-society-1570406404/
Sunday, 12 May 2013, 08:00 , by C. Gwendolyn Landolt

In March this year, as a visitor from Canada to Malta, I was greatly impressed by your beautiful country, its magnificent harbours and cultural history. It seemed to me that Malta is blessed not only with beauty, but also with a strong and stalwart population.

I was concerned, however, to read an editorial in this newspaper, recommending that Malta legalize same-sex marriage. If this should occur, based on Canada’s experience where same-sex marriage was legalized in 2005, Malta will be profoundly changed.

According to the editorial, legalized same-sex marriage is only fair and reasonable in order to provide equality for same-sex couples. However, this is a fundamental misunderstanding of the nature of marriage, since the relationship of same-sex couples differs biologically from that of heterosexual couples.

A same-sex relationship may provide the couple with intimacy and economic support, but this does not constitute a marriage; it is another kind of relationship. This is because it does not make the essential contribution to the public interest that heterosexual marriages make – namely, the procreation of children required for the continuation and survival of society.

Reproduction is a central (but not obligatory) part of the social significance of marriage. This is true even though not every heterosexual couple reproduces. Most do, and those that don’t are still able to provide both a mother and a father to any children they may care for. Couples who do not have children (whether by choice, infertility, or age) have the same type of sexual union as those that continue the human race by giving birth to children.

Same-sex couples, on the other hand, can never reproduce as a natural result of their sexual union, and their relationship deliberately denies either a mother or a father to any child they may acquire either by the use of reproductive materials (obtained necessarily from outside their union) or by adoption. This is an undeniable difference that easily justifies classifying such couples differently under the law.

Marriage laws have always discriminated on the basis of age, marital status and consanguinity (descended from the same ancestor) etc. It would, of course, be wrong to discriminate on the basis of colour because the latter is an immutable characteristic. Homosexuality, however, is a behaviour that is not an immutable characteristic, as evidenced by those former homosexuals and lesbians who now live satisfactory heterosexual lives.

In short, the state has a compelling interest in heterosexual unions it does not have in same-sex unions. This compelling interest to produce future generations is the reason that marriage between a man and a woman has remained a great constant in recorded history, crossing time, religion, culture and ethnic divisions.

Significantly, even though same-sex marriages have been legalized in Canada since 2005, a relatively small percentage of homosexuals and lesbians have actually bothered to marry. It seems, therefore, that it is not so much the legal right to marry that the activists wanted, but rather the cultural change that recognises and accepts their relationships and the ensuing changes it causes to society.

Regrettably, the unravelling of marriage and the uprooting of centuries-old traditional values and family ethics has been the result of legalizing same-sex marriage in Canada. This is evidenced by the following:

1. Children in Canadian schools are now indoctrinated to accept the normalization of homosexuality. This is based on the position that since same-sex marriage is equivalent to opposite-sex marriages, then homosexuality itself is, therefore, also equal to heterosexuality. In these instructions, children are misled by the portrayal of homosexuality in positive terms only, while ignoring the well-documented evidence gathered over the decades of the physical and psychological harm (including reduced life expectancy) caused by their risky sexual activity and lifestyle.

The Canadian provinces of British Columbia and Ontario now require schools, even faith-based ones, to accommodate homosexual student clubs under the name “Gay-Straight Alliances” whose purpose is to promote homosexuality. Similar initiatives are under consideration in the provinces of Manitoba and Nova Scotia. Homosexual activists are invited to the schools to assist with these programmes. Schools in these provinces are now a recruiting tool to increase the acceptance of, and the practice of, homosexuality.
Parents who hold differing social and/or religious views on homosexuality have been placed in a hostile environment by educational authorities and have been prohibited from withdrawing their children from the homosexual indoctrination programmes.

2. Adoption by homosexual couples and foster care is a legal requirement if same-sex marriage is legalized. This means that innocent children are being used as tools of social engineering. Yet, a large body of social research indicates that children flourish best when reared by their biological mothers and fathers in an intact family.

This impartial research indicates that same-sex arrangements are harmful to children, due to the following:
Higher rate of infidelity; increased health problems; reduced life expectancy; higher rate of violence in lesbian and homosexual relationships; higher rate of children raised in homosexual households becoming homosexuals; and a greater risk of parental sexual interference and social or psychological problems for the children.

3. Although clergy are exempt under Canadian law from performing same-sex marriages, there is no similar protection for the use of church facilities, such as parish halls, which are now required to be available for same-sex marriage receptions and other activities.
The legalization of same-sex marriage has led to a serious diminishing of religious liberties affecting such church-run organisations, schools and universities, nursing homes and other housing facilities, hospitals, and adoption and counselling services, which are required to provide services to same-sex couples, contrary to the religious beliefs of those operating such facilities.

4. Despite the fact that religion is a protected constitutional right in Canada, individuals associated with the marriage industry, such as marriage commissioners, limousine drivers, florists, bakers, caterers, disc jockeys, photographers, etc. are required to either participate in same-sex marriage proceedings by providing services to same-sex couples, against their conscience or religious belief, or lose their jobs.

5. Since the walls protecting marriage in Canada as a union between a man and a woman have been breached, pressure has arisen to accommodate other combinations of relationships, such as polygamy, polyandry (more than one husband) and polyamory (several relationships carried on simultaneously with members of either sex).
In 2010, the British Columbia Supreme Court heard arguments on the legality of polygamy. One of the arguments before the court was that since same-sex marriage was legalized because of equality rights, then other combinations of marital arrangements should also be legally accepted.

New Zealand legalized same-sex marriage in March, and a pressure group was formed within a week of its passage with the goal of legalizing group marriages.
6. There has been intense political increase in Canada to recognise other sexual behaviours since same-sex marriages were legalized. For example, a bill is currently before the Canadian Parliament to provide legal recognition and protection for the transgendered who believe they were born with the wrong gender and, as a result, usually seek surgery and hormone treatment to further this illusion. Child pornographers and paedophiles now argue that their sexual inclinations should also be legal.

Homosexuals and lesbians are free to live as they choose, as we live in an age that accepts their practices as never before in history. However, they do not have the right to rewrite marriage for all of society for their own political and social benefit.

It is not realistic to assume that the collateral damage caused by the legalization of same-sex marriage will be avoided in Malta. Such legislation inevitably brings in its wake sweeping changes to the fabric of society and family life. Beautiful Malta and its people deserve better.

Pink News: US doctors: New deadly strain of gonorrhea potentially ‘worse than AIDS’

2013-05-07T21:01:00.000+02:00

http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2013/05/07/us-doctors-new-deadly-strain-of-gonorrhea-potentially-worse-than-aids/
7 May 2013, 6:18pm by Scott Roberts

Cases of gonorrhea among gay and bisexual men rose by more than a third in 2011

A new antibiotic-resistant form of gonorrhoea has the potential to be worse than AIDS because of its lethal nature, according to US doctors.

“This might be a lot worse than AIDS in the short run because the bacteria is more aggressive and will affect more people quickly,” Alan Christianson, a doctor of naturopathic medicine, told CNBC.

HO41 has not yet killed anyone, or spread outside of Japan – but action is needed in advance, to prevent a global spread of the strain.

William Smith, from the US National Coalition of STD Directors (NCSD), said: “Getting gonorrhoea from this strain might put someone into septic shock and death in a matter of days.”

Health experts in the UK remain concerned by the increasingly aggressive nature of gonorrhea, which is becoming harder and harder to treat, certain strains in Britain may eventually become untreatable within the next few years.

Professor Dame Sally Davies, England’s chief medical officer, recently advised the government to add the threat of drug-resistant gonorrhoea to the civil emergencies risk register.

“We have seen a worrying rise in cases of drug resistant gonorrhoea over the last decade,” said Professor Davies.

According to the Terrence Higgins Trust (THT), the UK’s largest HIV and sexual health charity, cases of gonorrhea among gay and bisexual men rose by more than a third in 2011.

Drug resistance remains a key problem for the group; gay and bisexual men are more likely to catch gonorrhoea.

Gay and bisexual men living with HIV are also more susceptible to infection from gonorrhoea when engaging in unprotected sex.

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Times: Less is more – go back to basics

2013-05-06T21:18:00.002+02:00

http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20130505/opinion/Less-is-more-go-back-to-basics.468381
Sunday, May 5, 2013 by Michela Spiteri

At the weekend – and most any day – I’m happiest on my sofa. Every so often, overcome by a profound sense of couch potato guilt that comes with having a son and having missed out on Heritage Malta open day, or yet another Birgu, Mdina, Notte Bianca, Milk or Strawberry Festival, I throw myself out of the house with a mild sense of dread schoolchildren must feel when they’re riding to school on Monday morning.

Which is how we ended up at the Milk Festival last Sunday. We spent more time driving around looking for a parking place than we did driving there or at the actual festival at any rate. And when we did eventually park, we were clearly in breach of traffic regulations. And yet, having made the effort, I’ll be damned if I wasn’t going to get out of the car and milk it for all it was worth.

There was just about everything, and yes, there were even stalls selling yoghurt, shakes and milk products. But, were it not for the big plastic life-size cow on display – which allowed you to sit on a stool and simulate milking a cow – you’d never have known you were bang in the middle of the much-hailed Għargħur Annual Milk Festival.

Most times, whenever I am about to embark on any trip or excursion – whether it’s a new city or a supermarket I’m visiting – I have already formed a mental picture of what the event should look like. This time round, I was clearly way off the mark.

Most anywhere in the world, milk festivals raise awareness about lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) equality. They are weekends of fun, which essentially celebrate and honour the life of Harvey Milk, one of America’s first openly gay elected officials and civil rights heroes.

Now there was absolutely no doubt in my mind that the festival in Għargħur was celebrating an altogether different kind of milk, and yet it probably would have been far better and much less confusing had it been a LGBT parade. As it was, the identity crisis was far more acute.

If you’re going to host a festival in a quaint, rural village to celebrate – and presumably cultivate and develop people’s understanding about – milk and animal production, then stick with the programme. Don’t go off at a tangent, don’t branch out into plants, costume jewellery, antiques, memorabilia and army wear. And whatever you do, don’t turn it into a trashy, cacophonic, anachronistic affair with a teeny bopper strutting her stuff on stage, belting out pop music so loud, you are barely able to hear yourself think, never mind talk to the stall sellers or the people you are with. That said, she was probably the cheesiest by-product at the whole event. And when I saw her there, I half expected to turn round and see a hot-dog truck – and what do you know, I probably did.

Much of my annoyance was down to Malta and the Maltese having all the right ingredients if only they knew it. We could easily have nailed the festival and gone to town with Gozitan and Maltese crafts and delicacies; perhaps had some sheepskin rugs, slippers, woolies and tapestries thrown in the mix. Add to that some Maltese folk (Għana) music and farmers (possibly even milk maids) wearing traditional peasant costumes interacting with the crowd.

Throw in livestock or a live talk or presentation, a trip to a nearby farm or anything vaguely educational and alternative. They could have created a cheese and wine corner or had people sit down to a traditional type meal – replete with ricotta pies, cheese cakes, goats cheese, ice-cream and whipped cream. They did none of that. They didn’t even have the common sense to keep it simple and tranquil, which always works.

Why do you think places like Gozo and Mdina have always topped the charts and been so popular both with locals and with foreigners alike? And why do you think cities the world over try so hard to emulate that which should come ever so naturally to us if we weren’t so bent on deleting and annihilating our identity and everything which ought to define us?

When I visited the Christmas market that stretches from the Grand Place to Place Sainte-Catherine, in Brussels, I was blown away by the simplicity of it all. Take away the light show, the real-life animals and the ice-rink and it was just lots of little wooden-roofed huts, selling mainly arts and crafts and typical Christmassy food and drink. It was stylish, low-key and very peaceful, and when we (I was one of a group) sat down to eat at a nearby restaurant, we all marvelled at how easily done the whole thing was. And all of us, without exception, laid bets on how, in Malta, we’d have ruined the event with bumping cars and karaoke.

And it’s not for want of trying or for want of capability, because we are certainly able, although not always willing, to rise to the occasion. It’s almost as if we haven’t yet understood that less is more, that going back to basics, keeping it simple and stylish is always a winning combination. If it’s a cultural event we’re hosting, then it needs to evoke a sense tradition, of culture, of times gone by.

And then, of course, there’s the other very frightening reality about these events – knowing that you’re going to be one of 20,000 people vying for a parking space, and that traffic there and back is going to be impossible. The Birgu Fest last summer was so hopelessly busy and deafening that no sooner did we arrive than we literally took refuge in the first wine bar we came across and didn’t emerge until the crowds had dissipated and there was no festival left to speak of.

And all the while, I couldn’t help wondering why I had left my sofa in the first place.

Times: Junior minister removed in Italy after comment on gays

2013-05-06T21:15:00.005+02:00

http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20130504/world/junior-minister-removed-in-italy-after-comment-on-gays.468290
Saturday, May 4, 2013, 16:12

A junior minister for equal opportunities in Italy was removed from her post today less than 24 hours after being sworn in to the new coalition government, after she said gays invited discrimination by "ghettoising" themselves.

The abrupt departure of Michaela Biancofiore to another ministry was a fresh reminder of just how delicate Prime Minister Enrico Letta's fledgling left-right coalition is.

Gay rights groups protested yesterday after Biancofiore, a parliamentarian from former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's centre-right People of Freedom party (PDL), was made an undersecretary in the equal opportunities ministry.

They accused her of having made comments they considered homophobic, a charge she denied.

Responding to the criticism, she told Italian newspapers on Saturday: "For once, I would like to see gay associations, instead of 'ghettoising' themselves ... say something to condemn the recent spate of killings of women (in Italy). All they do is defend their own interests".

According to Italian media, her comments had upset Letta, particularly because he had appealed to members of his government just a day before to observe "sobriety" in their public comments and work as a team.

Biancofiore, who says she is opposed to gay marriage but supports "civil unions" to protect gay couples, was re-assigned to the civil service ministry.

Letta's government is made up of his Democratic Party (PD), Berlusconi's PDL and centrists led by former prime minister Mario Monti, an uneasy alliance pitting old political enemies against each other.

Times: Seven questions for the PN’s next leader

2013-05-06T21:15:00.001+02:00

http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20130504/local/seven-questions-for-pn-s-next-leader.468200
Saturday, May 4, 2013 [Excerpt from the article]

A joint reception was held last night by the four contenders in the PN leadership election, which will be held today. From left: Raymond Bugeja, Simon Busuttil, Francis Zammit Dimech and Mario de Marco. Photo: Matthew Mirabelli

Nationalist councillors go to the polls today to elect a new leader. But where do the four candidates stand on ideological and policy issues? Bertrand Borg finds out.

...

Gay marriage and adoption? Gay marriage? Civil union? Or none? Where do you sit along this spectrum?

Bugeja: Civil union, and subject to expert medical advice in the child’s interests, adoption.

Busuttil: Marriage should remain reserved for a man and woman. But short of that, we should definitely legalise same-sex partnerships, giving adequate rights to the gay community. As for adoption, this is already possible.

De Marco: Civil union.

Zammit Dimech: I am not in favour of gay marriage but understand and respect the fact that our society needs to relate to new needs, and I believe we need to relate to all, irrespective of their orientation.

Civil union appears to be the right option for our society at this stage.

Adoption should be allowed provided that as in all cases of adoption, the best interests of the child prevail over all other considerations.

...

Times: Tory voters put off by ‘gay marriage’

2013-05-06T21:12:00.001+02:00

http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20130502/world/Tory-voters-put-off-by-gay-marriage-.468045
Thursday, May 2, 2013 by AP

One in four Conservative voters are more likely to back other parties in this week’s local elections because of Tory support for gay marriage, according to a new Britsh poll.

A ComRes survey of voters in today’s elections found 26 per cent of people who voted Conservative in the 2010 general election are less likely to do so because of plans to legalise same-sex marriage.

Just nine per cent said they were more likely to vote for David Cameron’s party.

The survey, carried out for the Coalition for Marriage, also says that one in four Conservative 2010 voters is voting Ukip today.

The campaign’s director, Colin Hart, said the poll shows “ripping up the current definition of marriage is a real turn off” for voters and that the poll is a “real blow for the PM”.

Mr Hart said: “The Prime Minister has consistently backed the proposed changes to redefine marriage as part of the so called decontamination strategy, but it has not worked.

“Every section of the electorate are highly sceptical about his motives, believing he is pushing this policy in a cynical attempt to make his party look trendy and progressive. This is the ultimate failure of Blairite triangulation policy.

“As Lady Thatcher famously said, ‘If you just set out to be liked, you would be prepared to compromise on anything at any time and you would ach-ieve nothing’.”

The poll also claimed that bitter attacks on Ukip over the weekend, including Cabinet minister Ken Clarke describing the party as “clowns”, have boosted support for Nigel Farage’s eurosceptics by nearly five points.

ComRes interviewed 1,502 adults in areas of England where local elections are taking place today. They were conducted online between April 24 and April 28.

Times: Ulster same-sex marriage bid fails

2013-05-06T21:10:00.002+02:00

http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20130430/world/Ulster-same-sex-marriage-bid-fails.467700
Tuesday, April 30, 2013 by AP

A bid to legalise same-sex marriage in Northern Ireland has failed.

Unionists voted down a motion at Stormont’s Assembly which called on the power-sharing ministerial Executive to legislate.

Northern Ireland is the only part of the UK without marriage rights for gay couples.

The issue sparked impassioned debate, with protests outside the legislature and verbal clashes between campaigners in favour of or opposed to the change. Amnesty International has warned of a likely legal challenge.

Sinn Fein South Down MLA Caitriona Ruane said: “Attitudes in Ireland are changing because people do not want to see people discriminated against. The gay community has said enough is enough, they are standing up for themselves and their communities.”

Church leaders had urged Assembly members to vote against the legislation, with the Catholic church asserting marriage was between a man and a woman.

However, Patrick Corrigan, Amnesty’s Northern Ireland programme director, said: “States may not discriminate with regards to the right to marry and found a family, on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity.”

The petition of concern at the Assembly tabled by the largest unionist party, the Democratic Unionists, ensured Sinn Fein’s motion would be defeated after a majority of unionists failed to back the change.

John O’Doherty, director of the Rainbow Project health organisation for gay men and a rights campaigner, said he would continue to press for change.

A total of 95 members voted, 42 in favour including all nationalists. Three unionists out of 50 voted Yes.

DUP Finance Minister Sammy Wilson defended his party’s veto and said colleagues would use it again to defeat “reckless” legislation.

DUP North Down MLA Peter Weir said: “The DUP was right to put down a petition of concern against this motion which no major party included within their manifesto.

“However, the petition of concern was not even necessary as the motion was defeated by an overall majority.It is time that those pushing a redefinition of marriage agenda which has now failed effectively on three occasions, should accept the will which has been expressed.”

Independent UK: NBA basketball player Jason Collins becomes most high-profile openly gay American sports star after 'years of misery'

2013-05-06T21:08:00.003+02:00

In a magazine article he wrote: 'I kept telling myself the sky was red, but I always knew it was blue'

http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/general/others/nba-basketball-player-jason-collins-becomes-most-highprofile-openly-gay-american-sports-star-after-years-of-misery-8595494.html
TUESDAY 30 APRIL 2013 by DAVID USBORNE

American basketball player Jason Collins on Monday became the first active athlete in a major sport in the United States to come out as gay, surprising fans and possibly opening the door for other closeted sporting celebrities to step into the sunlight.

Collins, who most recently played for the Washington Wizards and Boston Celtics – two teams in the National Basketball Association (NBA) – makes the revelation in a personal essay which will appear in the next issue of Sports Illustrated. It begins: “I’m a 34-year-old NBA center. I’m black. And I’m gay.”

The sportsman, who has played in the NBA for 11 years, says he was stirred to end years of pretending to be straight in part by the bombings at the Boston Marathon earlier this month.

He was also moved by seeing his former Stanford University room-mate, Joe Kennedy, a member of the famous political clan and now a US congressman for Massachusetts, marching in the annual gay parade in Boston.

“I didn’t set out to be the first openly gay athlete playing in a major American team sport,” Collins writes. “But since I am, I’m happy to start the conversation. I wish I wasn’t the kid in the classroom raising his hand and saying, ‘I’m different’. If I had my way, someone else would have already done this. Nobody has, which is why I’m raising my hand.”

Even his twin brother, Jarron, who is also an NBA veteran, apparently was taken by surprise. Meanwhile, Collins’ confessions have landed him on the front cover of Sports Illustrated.

Among the first to react was Bill Clinton, whose daughter, Chelsea, studied alongside the player at Stanford University.

“Jason’s announcement today is an important moment for professional sports and in the history of the LGBT community,” the former president said last night. “It is also the straightforward statement of a good man who wants no more than what so many of us seek: to be able to be who we are; to do our work; to build families and to contribute to our communities.”

Martina Navratilova, the former world number one tennis star who came out publicly as gay in 1981, also congratulated Collins.

She wrote on Twitter: “Well done Jason Collins- you are a brave man. And a big man at that.”

To some, the biggest surprise of all will be the fact that Collins is the first to take such a step while still in the middle of his career. The nearest precedent may be the coming out in 2007 of another basketball player, John Amaechi. A British national, Mr Amaechi revealed that he was gay in his autobiography Man in the Middle. But he did so only after retiring from the sport.

In this case, however, the question is whether Collins coming out will have any effect on his career and whether it will spur other high-profile athletes who may be gay to follow suit.

Pink News: Colombia: Senate defies Supreme Court to reject equal marriage bill

2013-04-27T13:22:00.002+02:00

http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2013/04/25/colombia-senate-defies-supreme-court-to-reject-equal-marriage-bill/
25 April 2013, 12:39am by Joseph Patrick McCormick

Pro-equality protests took place as the Senate considered the bill

The Colombian Senate on Wednesday rejected a bill which would have allowed same-sex couples the right to marry.

The decision by the Senate directly defies a previous ruling by the Supreme Court that it must allow equal marriage rights to gay and lesbian couples.

The vote was 51-17 against, a day after Senators debated on the issue, and Rainbow flags were out in force in Bogota, in pro-equality demonstrations.

In 2001, the Colombian Constitutional Court issued a ruling that required politicians to ‘repair the deficit of legal protection’ for same-sex couples in the country by the 20 June 2013 or same-sex couples would be granted the right to marry. However, in 2009, a court ruled that this would not mean the right to adopt, as straight couples have the right to do.

“Marriage is a fundamental right,” said Senator Luís Carlos Avellaneda. “The principal of equality extends the same protection to all Colombians without discrimination.”

If the court fails to act on the judicial mandate by 20 June, gay and lesbian couples would be able to legally register their unions.

“We are saddened to hear Columbia’s Senate chose not to allow loving and committed gay and lesbian couples to marry. 14 countries have already taken the step to insure all families are treated equally under the law,” said Joe Mirabella, Director of Community Campaigns for All Out.

“All Out’s more than 1.5 million members urge the Colombian courts to correct this injustice when they hear a marriage case this summer”, he continued.

The Colombian Senate in 2007 also defeated a bill which could have allowed civil unions for same-sex couples to enter into civil unions.

Last year, senator Edgar Espíndola said changing the law would open the way towards necrophilia, bestiality and paedophilia. He said: “Today in the world there are many countries where bestiality is practically a sexual preference for some, or necrophilia, or paedophilia”.

He added: “We can’t copy those models,” as he lamented the trend towards “modernism” in other countries, reported the El Tiempo newspaper.

Senator Roberto Gerlein sparked outrage with a similar homophobic rant in which he described gay sex as “dirty and revolting”.

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Radio Australia: Vietnam may be first in Asia to legalise gay marriage

2013-04-27T13:20:00.004+02:00

Vietnam may become the first country in Asia to legalise gay marriage, after it has received the backing of senior figures within the government.

http://www.radioaustralia.net.au/international/2013-04-25/vietnam-may-be-first-in-asia-to-legalise-gay-marriage/1121582
Updated 25 April 2013, 13:57 AEST

Cyclists decorated with balloons and rainbow flags take part in Vietnam's first ever gay pride parade on a road in Hanoi on August 5, 2012. (Credit: AFP)

Vietnam may become the first country in Asia to legalise gay marriage, after it has received the backing of senior figures within the government.

Earlier this month, local media reported the country's Deputy Health Minister as recommending gay marriage be legalised, during a speech reviewing marriage and family law.

Nguyen Viet Tien cited research on discrimination in saying gay people have the same rights as everyone else to love, be loved and marry.

The campaign manager for the pro-gay marriage group All Out, Hayley Conway, has told Radio Australia'sConnect Asia that a vote at the moment would not attract a majority in the 500-delegate National Assembly.

"But with the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Health already coming out for marriage equality, we are fairly optimistic that by the time the vote is held in 2014, there could be the required number of delegates who would be in favour of an amendment," she said.

"The driving force behind this has actually been the recognition of human rights...and seeing the law as a violation of the human rights of same-sex couples and gay and lesbian people within Vietnam."
Audio: Hayley Conway from pro-gay marriage group All Out(ABC News)

Homosexual relations are not illegal in Vietnam, but strong conservatism has led to discrimination.

Vietnam's Ministry of Justice began consulting on gay marriage last July.

It recently scrapped fines that had been imposed on same-sex couples who are caught getting married, after announcing just a few days earlier that those fines would be doubled.

Ms Conway says that points to some continuing uncertainty in the country.

"There is certainly between now and 2014, there is some work to be done with national assembly delegates to give them a very real idea of who these people are that the law effects," she said.

"They are in fact just people who are just like them who are looking to form families who have loving relationships, and changes to these laws are in line with human rights and with exactly what they're trying to do in terms of their human rights obligations internationally."

Vietnam held its first gay pride parade last August.

iNews Malta: Joanne Cassar bi żjara sorpriża lill-Ministru Dalli

2013-04-27T13:19:00.002+02:00

http://www.inewsmalta.com/dart/20130425-joanne-cassar-bi-jara-sorpri-lill-ministru-dalli
16:03 | 25.04.2013

Kien mument emozzjonanti meta iktar kmieni llum Joanne Cassar għamlet żjara sorpriża lill-Ministru Helena Dalli. Permezz ta’ bukkett fjuri, Cassar riedet turi l-apprezzament tagħha għal mod kif il-gvern ħa azzjoni konkreta biex hija u nies oħra transgender ikollhom id-drittijiet imħarsa. Cassar kienet akkumpanjata mis-sieħeb tagħha.

Hija tkellmet dwar il-fatt li anke ntlaħaq ftehim barra l-qorti fil-kawża li kienet fetħet mal-Qorti Ewropeja għad-drittijiet tal-bniedem.

Filwaqt li rringrazzjat lil Cassar, il-Ministru Dalli enfasizzat li hi ma kinetx qed tagħmel xi pjaċir imma dak li sar, sar bi dritt għal min għandu bżonnu. Il-Ministru Dalli awgurat lil Joanne għall-ħajja tagħha u qalet li hija tispera li l-każ tagħha jkun strumentali biex jitneħħew il-preġudizzji u jgħin biex inbiddlu l-attitudnijiet u l-kultura tal-mod kif għad hawn min fis-soċjeta` tagħna jħares u jaġixxi fil-konfront tal-minoranzi.

Times: French Parliament approves gay marriage law

2013-04-27T13:17:00.002+02:00

http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20130424/world/French-Parliament-approves-gay-marriage-law.466890
Wednesday, April 24, 2013 by Reuters

French humorist and TV host Virginie Merle, also known as ‘Frigide Barjot’ (second from right), spokeswoman for the La Manif pour Tous (Demonstration for All) group who protest against France’s legalisation of same-sex marriage, attends a demonstration in Paris, yesterday. The French Parliament approved a law allowing same-sex couples to marry and to adopt children, a flagship reform pledge by French President François Hollande which sparked violent street protests and a rise in homophobic attacks. Photo: Reuters/Jacky Naegelen

French Parliament approved a law allowing same-sex couples to marry and to adopt children yesterday, a flagship reform pledge by President François Hollande which sparked often violent street protests and a rise in homophobic attacks.

Hollande’s “marriage for all” law is the biggest social reform in France since his left-wing mentor and predecessor François Mitterrand abolished the death penalty in 1981, a move which also split the nation.

Lawmakers in the lower house National Assembly, where Hollande’s Socialists have an absolute majority, passed the bill by 331 votes for and 225 against, making France the 14th country in the world to allow same-sex couples to wed. “Many French people will be proud this job is done,” Justice Minister Christiane Taubira told Parliament. “Those protesting today will find themselves moved by the joy of the newly-weds.”

Yet the episode has carried a political price for an already unpopular president. Critics said Hollande should focus on fixing the moribund economy while opponents have demanded a referendum and protests against it descended into violence.

The debate is also blamed for fanning a spate of homophobic attacks, including the beating up of a 24-year-old in the southern city of Nice on Saturday. Interior Minister Manuel Valls warned this week of “zero tolerance” for such violence. Socialist and conservative lawmakers had come close to blows more than once during lengthy parliament debates on the law.

Independent: Will Same-Sex Couples have to live apart for four years before their union is dissolved?

2013-04-27T13:16:00.000+02:00

http://www.independent.com.mt/articles/2013-04-25/opinions/will-same-sex-couples-have-to-live-apart-for-four-years-before-their-union-is-dissolved-1459945476/
Thursday, 25 April 2013, 08:30 , by Daphne Caruana Galizia

The government has promised a bill on same-sex civil unions before the summer. This is a far cry from the proper marriage, under the existing marriage laws, which the gay lobby thought it would get by voting for Joseph. Unfortunately, what we saw over the last two or three years was a sort of Tulip Fever pandemic in which people heard one thing and believed another. They actually heard Muscat say on television that he doesn’t think marriage between two people of the same sex is quite right, and that he won’t go beyond civil union. But still they believed they would get marriage by voting Labour.

Now for my next question: will the bill for civil union between two people of the same gender also provide for the dissolution of that union? It has to. Marriages can now be dissolved through divorce. There has to be concomitant provision for the dissolution of civil unions. Married people of different genders must live apart for a minimum of four years before being allowed to divorce. Equality cuts both ways. Will people of the same gender, in civil unions, be permitted to dissolve that union without the obligation to first live apart for four years? Or will they be allowed to dissolve their union after a shorter period or none at all, on the grounds that a civil union is inferior to proper marriage?

Oh, the dilemmas, the dilemmas.

Even as the government made its announcement, we were told that the prime minister is in Paris, visiting with his socialist friend Francois Hollande, who is currently besieged by massive demonstrations against his gay marriage bill, put to the final vote in parliament the day before yesterday. Muscat, seeing all this, will have been only further entrenched in his position against same-sex marriage, which rather makes a mockery of his speech to one particular mass meeting in which he told his supporters not to be afraid of hell-fire when supporting “unions between people of the same sex”.

If he’s not afraid of hell-fire in his objections to gay marriage, then what exactly is Muscat afraid of and what’s stopping him? Something akin to what Hollande has been subjected to, I quite suspect.

***

High prices and bad book-keeping at the prison tuck-shop made the main story on The Times’ front page last Monday. Of such stuff are the problems of a small island-nation made. But they really are not, are they? This might be some politician’s idea of communicating to the newspaper-reading public how ‘action is being taken because we are full of energy’. Just like the Minister for the Police, Justice, Army and Broadcasting turning up at the same prison on a Sunday evening to catch warders out in the act of skiving off (he caught the wrong warders, apparently), or the Minister for Social Policy closely inspecting a Housing Authority flat and getting cross for the cameras about a missing soap-dish in the shower.

This might be the sort of thing to which those of restricted imagination can relate, but others are beginning to worry. Do our cabinet ministers really think of their role as being nothing beyond these issues with which they shouldn’t even be getting involved? While Marie Louise Coleiro is getting mad about soap-dishes for old ladies, and Manuel Micallef is chasing warders instead of putting on his slippers for a Sunday night in, who is looking after the big things, the policy, the matters cabinet ministers are there for?

And while we are on the subject of missing soap-dishes, the Social Policy Minister asked angrily how we would feel if the old lady in the Housing Authority flat with the missing shower soap-holder were our mother. What would we do? The answer to that question, which she no doubt intended to be rhetorical, underscores the difference between somebody who is naturally inclined towards Labour and somebody who is naturally inclined towards the Nationalist Party. People like Marie Louise Coleiro Preca get all hot under the collar, blame the authorities and summon the press and the politicians for a good old kvetching session, expecting somebody else to solve their problem, as of by right and free of charge. “The government owes me a soap-dish, even though it has given me a flat and a pension already.”

And people like me, who can’t stand this attitude, would go right out and buy 10 of those shower-gel bottles with an inbuilt hook that allows you to hang them off the shower-door or tap, and say “Hey ma, this is what people use nowadays. It’s safer, more convenient and more effective. You have 10 of these bottles and I’m putting them in your cupboard so that you won’t run out for some time.” No soap-dish, no politicians, no whining, no fuss, and above all, no soap – because we sensible people know that one of the worst and most dangerous combinations in a household-accident-risk scenario is an old person, a wet surface and a dropped bar of soap.

Marie Louise Coleiro Preca is pretty useless if she doesn’t know that. It’s not as though she can’t work out for herself that giving a 90-year-old woman a bar of soap in the shower is like giving a three-year-old a pair of surgical scissors or a bottle of bleach: a recipe for disaster. If she wants to help her colleague the Health Minister cut down on those hospital waiting-lists and A & E queues that appear to be the cause of his emotional liability, then she has to stop encouraging old ladies to have soap-dishes and soap in their showers.

Times: Bill on same-sex civil unions by summer

2013-04-27T13:12:00.001+02:00

http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20130423/local/bill-on-same-sex-civil-unions-by-summer.466649
Tuesday, April 23, 2013 by Matthew Xuereb

A Bill on civil unions for same-sex couples will be moved in Parliament before the summer recess, Social Dialogue Minister Helena Dalli said yesterday.

The Bill, she said, was one of the main priorities of a new consultative council set up to address LGBT issues.

The council will be chaired by Cyrus Engerer while organisations represented on the council are the Malta Gay Rights Movement (MGRM), Drachma, Drachma Parents Support Group, the students group ‘We Are’, ADITUS and LGBT Labour.

She said the council was formed in the wake of a first reading in Parliament last week of a Bill to amend the Civil Code, to enable people who undergo gender re-assignment to marry a person of the opposite gender.

This followed the settlement reached with Joanne Cassar who dropped proceedings in the European Court of Human Rights against the Maltese Government after she was denied the right to marry.

Dr Dalli said the council will also re-visit the Gender Identity Bill which had been submitted to Parliament by Education Minister Evarist Bartolo three years ago.

She said it was government policy to respect all people in the context of diversity and stressed the need for society to address homophobia through improved education.

This will be another issue on which the council is expected to work, along with tackling harassment and bullying in schools.

“Children must be exposed to education and information on such issues from a very early age,” Dr Dalli said.

Addressing hate crimes was also among the Government’s priorities, she said, adding that education should focus on celebrating diversity and fighting prejudice.

“The Government believes in an open and free society which safeguards human rights and fundamental liberties where everyone can fulfil her or his aspirations.”

Mr Engerer and the organisations on the consultative council will receive no remuneration.

Times: Clashes as France approves gay marriages

2013-04-27T13:09:00.003+02:00

http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20130424/world/clashes-as-france-approves-gay-marriages.466774
Wednesday, April 24, 2013, 06:53

[Click on the hyperlink above to watch the video.]

A protest opposing the passage of France's same-sex marriage bill descended into violence last night, with a group of protesters scuffling with riot police.

Several policemen were injured in the incidents which followed on from a peaceful demonstration of thousands of opponents to the law legalising gay marriage and adoption, passed by the French parliament earlier in the day.

With several demonstrations turning violent in recent days, police were out in force at the event and a small core of protesters turned on them.

Around 100, mostly young, demonstrators threw bottles, stones and pieces of street furniture at the security forces, who used tear gas to keep them back.

Deputies in France's parliament voted 331 to 225 in favour of the law which makes the country the 14th in the world to allow same-sex marriages.

But the landmark social reform has faced vocal protests from an opposition movement uniting social conservatives with religious groups and hundreds of thousands have been brought out onto the streets in recent months.

Malta Today: Government launches LGBT consultative council

2013-04-27T13:06:00.000+02:00

Social dialogue and civil liberties minister Helena Dalli launches consultative council gay rights.
http://www.maltatoday.com.mt/en/newsdetails/news/national/Government-launches-LGBT-consultative-council-20130422
Monday 22 April 2013 - 17:25 by a Staff Reporter

Helena Dalli (centre) alongside Joanne Cassar who dropped proceedings in the European Court of Human Rights against the Maltese government over her preclusion from marrying.

A consultative council has been set up to advise government and prepare legislation on LGBT rights, social dialogue and civil liberties minister Helena Dalli said.

The council, which will be composed of civil society representatives, was created following the tabling of the draft bill amending the civil code in order to grant the right to marriage to transgender persons.

Dalli said that the council will include representatives of LGBT organisations, which she said had the "experience, expertise and access to research on the issue."

"The council's first priority will be that of preparing a draft law on the introduction of civil partnerships for same sex couples. At a later stage the council will prepare a bill which will regulate the identification of transgender persons," Dalli said.

While noting that the council's creation comes in the wake of the Labour Party's electoral pledge, Dalli said: "the government is implementing policies which guarantee full respect towards diversity."

Underlining the government's commitment to fight all forms of discrimination and homophobia, Dalli stressed the importance of education.

"Children must be exposed to education and information on such issues from a very early age," Dalli said, adding that the government was committed to address haressment and bullying in schools.

Noting that addressing hate crimes was also among the the government's priorities, Dalli said that education should focus on celebrating diversity and fighting pprejudice.

"The government believes in an open and free society which safeguards human rights and fundamental liberties where everyone can fulfill her or his aspirations."

The organisations represented on the consultative council are the Malta Gay Rights Movement, Drachma, student organisation We Are, ADITUS Foundation and LGBT Labour.

Malta Today: Is it time to say goodbye, Mr President?

2013-04-27T13:04:00.003+02:00

For those who are not elected and in a state of discomfort, the way out is there for all to see. The office is more important than the individual.

http://www.maltatoday.com.mt/en/blogsdetails/blogs/Is-it-time-to-say-goodbye-Mr-President-20130423
Tuesday, April 23, 2013 by Joseph Carmel Chetcuti

President George Abela

The task of delivering speeches at the opening of State parliaments falls on the shoulders of Heads of State. In the United Kingdom, the Queen delivers the speech at the State Opening of Parliament 'from the Throne' in the House of Lords and in the presence of Members of both Houses, a speech that is drawn up by the government and approved by the Cabinet. In many other countries including Malta, the head of state delivers the speech to the legislature.

The President's speech of 6 April 2013 at the State Opening of Malta's Twelfth Parliament appears to have ruffled feathers including those of the President. Apparently the President also thinks the task of setting out the electoral programme should fall on the Prime Minister, not the head of state who, according to him, should be above politics.

But is this president above politics?

No doubt the president first raised his concerns with the Prime Minister. If it is the case that the prime minister did not accede to his requests for changes to the speech and the president continued to feel strongly about his discomfort to the point of having to go public about it, I would respectfully submit that the only honourable course of action open to the President was to resign. The president's decision to go public (as reported) can only lend weight to the criticism of the Opposition. A president must never take or be seen to take sides (in my humble opinion, he did!) particularly when the current incumbent was appointed by the now Leader of the Opposition.

What has ruffled feathers?

Like all speeches, that of 6 April set out the government's electoral programme. Electoral programmes - particularly those after the defeat of a long-serving government - are unavoidably political.

The Nationalist Party Opposition described some aspects of the speech as offensive and divisive - somewhat rich, coming from an opposition that thinks the structure of the faces of Nationalists to be different from those of Labour supporters. So what statements upset the Opposition? I suggest the following: that the time for pique, partisanship and arrogance in leadership, at all levels of administration, is a thing of the past (all levels include but are not limited to the Government and the Opposition); that the Government will lead with a sense of humility and will be ready to take decisions (a laudable aspiration that one hopes will be realized); that Maltese are tired of the politics of the past (a fact); that every Maltese has a sense of feeling part of and contributing to the country (a laudable aspiration); that the government will lead the country as a movement (an essential part of the government's program); that the Opposition must continue to discharge its role as an Opposition without being negative and destructive (another laudable aspiration that may and may not be realised given the adversary nature of Malta's political system and culture); that the previous administration's handling of the salaries of the prime minister, ministers and parliamentary secretaries left a lot to be desired and cast an unfavourable light on the entire political class including, presumably, Nationalist Party backbenchers (an all-too-obvious fact), and that Malta belonged to everyone (another laudable aspiration).

I take it that the Nationalist Party Opposition took no offence at references to gay men and lesbians now that Simon Busuttil assures us that he is really a liberal politician, and that the Nationalist Party was and is more gay and lesbian-friendly than the Labour Party, a declaration that has the hallmark of some queer fairy tale.

A President must be above politics

Let me not beat around the bush. I am not greatly impressed by the style of this presidency which I regard as unnecessarily intrusive. For example, I do not think it advisable for a President to go around searching for 'the exact meaning' of marriage and the family (President's Address to the DOHA Colloquium 'Strengthening Marriage and Family' of Tuesday 6 October 2009) at a time when society is redefining both institutions. Debate surrounding the nature of marriage and the family is, in and of itself, political. And how could it be otherwise at a time when Maltese were fiercely debating the introduction of divorce to Malta?

Even more unwelcome was the president's observation that "studies have constantly shown that children raised outside marriage suffer disproportionately from physical and mental illness and that they are more likely to drop out of school, abuse drugs or alcohol, engage in or suffer from violence and less likely to attend higher educational institutions". Such comments are simplistic, ill-informed and an outright insult to gay and lesbian families. Someone should remind this president that it is not in his Duty Statement to put down gay and lesbian families.

Also disconcerting is the president's decision to convene forums that discuss, among other things, whether a president should be elected or appointed, whether Malta's quasi-Westminster system of government be replaced with a presidential Constitutional Republic, the country neutrality in the Constitution, the nature and direction of Malta's membership of the European Union, and so on. That, I respectfully submit, is the role of parliament and political parties, not the presidency which must not only be above politics but be seen to be above politics.

More to the point, I have concerns over the participation in Maltese political debates of a prominent foreign scholar, whom the President describes as his friend, with very conservative Roman Catholic views who apparently thinks the State should transfer all responsibility for the institution of marriage to the Church.

Nor do I think it far-sighted for a President to embark on a mission to Peru with the aim of recognising the work of Maltese in the missions. That task, I respectfully submit, is more appropriate for a senior prelate. In this day and age, religion is politics. The electorate would be forgiven for thinking that a President has too much time on his hands; more so when one out of seven Maltese is either poor or on the verge of poverty.

A way ahead

With the exception of Malta's first president, those appointed to the office have all been 'political animals'. It is well worth remembering that presidents are often appointed because of their political beliefs, their connection to political parties or the political advantage a party thinks it may enjoy by appointing them. Given the recent formation of the Maltese presidency (the country's first president was appointed in 1974), Malta does not have a wealth of conventions surrounding the office. What is urgently required is a list of conventions on what is or is not appropriate behaviour for a president.

A significant majority of Maltese spoke their mind at the last election. All of the above matters in the speech of 6 April 2013 that allegedly offended the Nationalist Opposition were raised before and during the election. They formed an essential part of the narrative of the then Opposition, now the Government. There is no reason whatsoever why such narrative should be pushed aside simply because someone happens to feel somewhat uncomfortable. For those who are not elected and in a state of discomfort, the way out is there for all to see. The office is more important than the individual.

Joseph Chetcuti MA, LLB Hons, LTH is a Barrister and Solicitor of the Supreme Court of Victoria, Australia

Sky News: New Zealand MP's Gay Marriage Speech Goes Viral

2013-04-25T18:43:00.003+02:00

A day after New Zealand legalises gay marriage, an MP's impassionate defence of the bill draws roars of laughter in parliament.

http://news.sky.com/story/1079776/new-zealand-mps-gay-marriage-speech-goes-viral
UK, Thursday 18 April 2013 By Jonathan Samuels, Australia Correspondent

An MP's hilarious yet touching speech in New Zealand's parliament about legislation that legalised same-sex marriage in the country has become an internet hit.

MP Maurice Williamson poked fun at those who opposed the legislation - which was approved on Wednesday - leaving colleagues in fits of giggles.

"I've had a reverend in my local electorate say, 'The gay onslaught will start the day this law is passed,'" Mr Williamson said.

"Well, we are struggling to know what the gay onslaught will look like. We don't know whether it will come down the Pakuranga Highway as a series of troops or whether it will be a gas that flows in over the electorate that blocks us all in."

He continued: "I also had a Catholic priest tell me I was supporting an unnatural act. I found that quite interesting coming from someone who has taken an oath of celibacy for his whole life.

"I haven't done it so I don't know what it's about."

The speech came after Parliament voted 77 to 44 in favour of the gay-marriage bill on its third and final reading on Wednesday night.

As soon as the result was announced, people watching from the public gallery and some MPs started singing the New Zealand love song "Pokarekare Ana" in the indigenous Maori language.

New Zealand is the 13th nation to legalise gay marriage

Mr Williamson, who has three adopted children of his own, joked: "I also had a leader telling me I would burn in the fires of hell for eternity, and that was a bad mistake, because I've got a degree in physics."

"I will last 2.1 seconds - it's hardly eternity".

After Mr Williamson cracked joke after joke, his speech took a more serious turn.

"All we are doing with this bill is allowing two people who love each other to have that love recognised by way of marriage," he told parliament.

"We are not declaring nuclear war on a foreign state; we are not bringing a virus in that could wipe out our agriculture sector forever."

On Twitter he underlined the message by posting a picture of a rainbow outside his window.

Many people in New Zealand remain vehemently opposed to gay marriage.

Some 50,000 people signed an anti-legislation petition that was presented to parliament last year by lobbying group Family First. Another 25,000 people have since added their signatures to that petition.

Mr Williamson's address - which American website Gawker called "a speech for the ages" - has been posted on numerous blogs and is being spread via social media sites.

It has more than 50,000 hits on YouTube.

Independent: Government sets up LGBT consultative council

2013-04-25T18:29:00.000+02:00

http://www.independent.com.mt/mobile/2013-04-22/news/government-sets-up-lgbt-consultative-council-1441890305/
Monday, 22 April 2013, 17:58

The government has appointed a consultative council tasked with preparing legislation and making recommendations on issues concerning LGBT people.

Civil Liberties Minister Helena Dalli announced that the council will involve NGOs which are involved in LGBT issues, namely the Malta Gay Rights Movement, Catholic LGBT group Drachma and the affiliated Drachma Parents Support Group, university organisation We Are, the Aditus Foundation and LGBT Labour.

Dr Dalli said that these NGOs had the necessary experience and know-how – as well as access to research – to qualify as experts in the sector.

The council’s first priority will be the preparation of legislation which would allow same-sex couples to obtain civil unions. Their subsequent task will be to prepare legislation which would regulate the recognition of transgendered people.

The minister pointed out that the council was set up in the wake of the first reading of a bill to amend the Civil Code to enable people who undergo gender reassignment surgery to marry persons of the opposite gender, and stressed that said that it was government policy to respect diversity and oppose all forms of discrimination.

The council had been promised in the Labour Party's electoral manifesto.

Times: Consultative council on LGBT rights to focus on civil unions

2013-04-25T18:28:00.000+02:00

http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20130422/local/consultative-council-on-lgbt-rights-announced.466609
Monday, April 22, 2013, 18:00

A consultative council has been appointed by the government to give recommendations and prepare legislation involving the LGBT community.

Social Dialogue Minister Helena Dalli said the formation of the council came in the wake of a first reading in Parliament last week of a Bill to amend the Civil Code to enable people who undergo gender re-assignment to marry a person of the opposite gender.

The new council is headed by Cyrus Engerer and is composed of representatives of NGOs involved in LGBT issues.

The council's priority will be to prepare legislation on civil unions by persons of the same sex.

The council will later work on a Bill to regulate the recognition of trans-gender persons.

Dr Dalli said it was government policy to respect all people in the context of diversity. She stressed the need for society to address homophobia through improved education.

The NGOs represented on the council are the Malta Gay Rights Movement (MGRM), Drachma, Drachma Parents Support Group, the students group ‘We Are’, ADITUS and LGBT Labour.

Times: Anti-gay marriage protest in Paris

2013-04-25T18:26:00.002+02:00

http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20130422/world/Anti-gay-marriage-protest-in-Paris.466595
Monday, April 22, 2013 by Reuters

Protesters shouting slogans in a protest march, in Paris, yesterday. Photo: Reuters

Thousands of gay marriage opponents waving pink and blue flags marched through Paris yesterday in a last-ditch protest before a law allowing same-sex union and adoption is passed this week.

Chanting “We don’t want your law, Hollande!”, some 50,000 protesters massed behind a banner reading: “All born of a Mum and a Dad” and said it was undemocratic to bring about such a fundamental social change without holding a referendum.

Hastily organised after the law’s passage was sped up to circumvent a big rally set for late April, yesterday’s march capped months of protests by a dogged opposition movement that has sullied President Francois Hollande’s flagship social reform.

“We warned the President back in November that we would not give up and that we would do everything to stop this law being passed, or to get it repealed if it is adopted,” one of the organisers, Alberic Dumon, said.

Attended largely by families with children and old people, it was much more peaceful than a series of agitated demonstrations outside Parliament this month that saw hard-right youths pelt police with stones and bottles and damage cars.

The piggy-backing by hard-right youths of a movement led by conservatives and Catholics has fed other ugly scenes including the public stalking of government ministers and a spate of homophobic attacks around the country.

As far back as January, the “anti” movement came under fire when some 350,000 protesters massed under the Eiffel Tower tore up the lawns beneath the monument.

Pink News: Malta: Gay and trans council appointed to advise on introduction of same-sex civil partnerships

2013-04-25T18:25:00.002+02:00

http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2013/04/22/malta-gay-and-trans-council-appointed-to-advise-on-introduction-of-same-sex-civil-partnerships/
22 April 2013, 8:55pm by PinkNews.co.uk Staff Writer

Malta currently does not have legal recognition for trans people

A consultative council has been appointed by the ruling Labour government to give recommendations and prepare upcoming legislation relating to LGBT people.

The council was formed by Social Dialogue Minister Helena Dalli after the first reading of a bill that will allow trans people who undergo gender reassignment to marry a person with the same birth gender.

The government has been forced to introduce a law after it dropped opposition to a case brought against it on the issue in the European Court of Human rights. oanne Cassar, a 31-year-old hairdresser, began legal proceedings in the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in 2011 after she was prevented from marrying on the island.

The council will be headed by Cyrus Engerer and will be composed of LGBT campaigners and voluntary organisation heads. The council will also prepare for the introduction of same-sex civil unions and a transgender recognition bill.

In January, the prime minister Joseph Muscat, promised that the Labour party would allow gay couples to have civil unions and for a new identity law for trans people if he won the election last month.

He said “We have waited too long to move ahead an give these persons their rights. We truly want Malta for all and want everyone to feel that Malta is theirs.”

Mr Muscat went on to say that granting equal rights to LGBT people was not an issue of tolerance, but embracing that LGBT people deserve equal rights as everyone else.

The Labour party decriminalised homosexuality in Malta forty years ago in 1973.

Discuss this →

iNews Malta: Ibbuljar u persuni LGBT: “Hemm bżonn iktar minn kuxjenza”

2013-04-25T18:24:00.000+02:00

http://www.inewsmalta.com/dart/20130421-ibbuljar-persuni-lgbt-hemm-onn-iktar-minn-kuxjenza
17:42 | 21.04.2013

Waqt diskussjoni fl-Università ta’ Malta fl-aħħar jiem, Gabi Calleja, koordinatur tal-Malta Gay Rights Movement, saħqet li wasal iż-żmien li nieqfu nitkellmu biss dwar “awarness” u saħqet li issa rridu naġixxu. Dan meta kienet qiegħda tkun diskussa l-problema ta’ ibbuljar fil-konfront ta’ persuni omosesswali. Referenza partikolari kienet qiegħda ssir lejn l-istituzzjonijiet edukattivi.

“Irridu nħarġu l-għalliema biex ikunu jafu kif jireaġixxu għall-kumment omofobiku u sitwazzjonijiet simili,” iddikjarat Calleja li saħqet li għad hemm ħafna xi jsir.

“Bħala sistema edukattiva hemm żewġ dokumenti li jirreferu għal dan is-suġġett,” qalet Calleja filwaqt li ssoktat tgħid li dawn huma l-kurrikulu nazzjonali u din l-istess politika tal-ibbuljar. “Wasalna għal aġġornament,” qalet Calleja li spjegat kif ma ssir ebda referenza lejn l-identità tal-ġeneru.

Calleja spjegat kif l-ibbuljar iwassal ukoll għall-impatt fuq l-edukazzjoni. “Hemm iktar riskju li studenti jfallu l-iskola, jitilqu mill-iskola kmieni u jiżolaw ruħhom,” qalet Calleja li sabet jaqbel magħha lil psikologu Bernard Grech.

Ritratt u Filmat: Ray Attard