Equality California calls for rejection of Baja marriage amendment, Gays announce marches in Mexicali and Tecate
Equality California Executive Director Geoff Kors has joined calls for municipal councils in Mexico's Baja California state to reject a state constitutional amendment that seemingly bans recognition of same-sex marriages.
Meanwhile, local LGBT activists are organizing marches on Oct. 16 in the U.S. border city of Mexicali, the Baja state capital, and on Oct. 24 in the border city of Tecate.
"It is extremely disappointing that there is an effort to amend the state constitution to not allow or recognize same-sex marriages in Baja California," Kors said. "Mexico's Supreme Court has upheld marriage for same-sex couples and further required that legal same-sex marriages from Mexico City be recognized throughout the nation. We call on the municipal councils in Ensenada, Mexicali, Rosarito Beach, Tecate and Tijuana to reject this discriminatory effort by voting against ratification of the constitutional amendment -- and to go on the record in support of marriage equality for same-sex couples."
The unicameral state legislature, the Chamber of Deputies, voted 18-1 on Sept. 29 to amend the state constitution to seemingly prohibit recognition of same-sex marriages, despite the fact that the federal Supreme Court ruled this year that all 31 Mexican states must recognize gay marriages from Mexico City, where they are allowed.
The vote came on the final day that the right-leaning National Action Party ( PAN ) had control of the legislature. On Oct. 1, the left-leaning Institutional Revolutionary Party ( PRI ) took control of a majority of the chamber's seats, following elections that had been held in July.
The PAN move appeared to some observers to be an attempt by the conservative party to taunt the federal Supreme Court, although some amendment backers claimed they only hoped to prevent gay marriages from taking place in Baja.
The oddly worded amendment, however, does not include any stated exception for Mexico City marriages. It reads: "The State recognizes and protects the institution of marriage as a right of society oriented to guarantee and safeguard the perpetuation of the species and mutual support between spouses, satisfying this only, through the union of one man with one woman." ( "El Estado reconoce y protege la institucion del matrimonio como un derecho de la sociedad orientado a garantizar y salvaguardar la perpetuacion de la especie y ayuda mutua entre los coonyuges, satisfaciéndose este solamente, mediante la union de un hombre con una mujer." )
The amendment is not yet a done deal. It requires ratification by the municipal councils of at least three of Baja California's five political subdivisions -- Ensenada, Mexicali, Rosarito Beach, Tecate and Tijuana.
Those councils will remain under PAN control until Dec. 1, when new councilors from the PRI party will take office and hold a majority of council seats in the state's political subdivisions.
If a municipal council fails to report the result of its vote by approximately the end of October, the council will be counted as having approved the amendment.
Local activists do not feel optimistic that a majority of the currently PAN-controlled councils will reject the amendment.
"We are looking at legal paths to pursue this through the state human-rights ombudsman, to demand that he appeal the unconstitutionality of this amendment to the Supreme Court of Justice of the nation," said Armando Rodríguez, coordinator of the Mexicali Pride Committee.
Activist Gerardo Mápula from the Tijuana GLBT Cultural Community ( COCUT ) added: "We are getting the word out given that the media here are keeping this very under the radar and not giving it necessary publicity. We are working hard to spread the information, utilizing social networks and bars and cafes. We are lobbying ... the councils and ( state ) legislators and ( municipal ) councilors to express our point of view and make them understand that this law is homophobic, and also ( are ) having the support of the ( state ) ombudsman of human rights."
The marches in Mexicali and Tecate will be combo pride and protest marches. Mexicali's march is Saturday, Oct. 16, at 3 p.m., starting at Avenida Colon and Calzada Justo Sierra. Mexicali sits on the California border 120 miles east of San Diego. Tecate's march is Sunday, Oct. 24, at 10 a.m. at Parque Central. Tecate sits on the California border 40 miles southeast of San Diego.
The only vote cast against the amendment in the Chamber of Deputies came from PRD ( Partido de la Revolucion Democrática ) Deputy Ana María Fuentes.
"It is our conviction that the basis of human happiness is freedom and the recognition of rights, that any restriction imposed by one or various churches or some particular morality that signifies restriction of rights or persecution of people in the free exercise of their sexual preferences is profoundly wrong and has more to do with the past and nothing to do with the future," she said. "We oppose that the more conservative groups ... want to convert our state into some sort of medieval island with the double morality that comes with that."
The legislative chamber was filled with equal numbers of LGBT people and their opponents the day of the vote. Videos of the vote and the chaotic aftermath can be seen at tinyurl.com/bcgaymat2 and tinyurl.com/bcgaymat.
Russian court declares pride ban illegal
For the first time, after five years of lawsuits by gay activists, a Russian court has declared a governmental ban of a gay pride parade to have been illegal.
The Lenin District Court in St. Petersburg will issue its full opinion at a later date. Activists had argued that a city ban of this year's St. Petersburg pride parade violated constitutional guarantees of freedom of assembly along with protections guaranteed by the European Convention on Human Rights.
" ( This is ) unprecedented for Russia," said leading gay activist Nikolai Alekseev, adding that while the decision could be reversed on appeal it is nonetheless "the first one we can be proud of."
"We are happy because for the first time, we get rewarded for five years of court actions, five years of arrests, of lost trials, of hits, of insults, of being followed or intimidated by officials, hooligans or individuals," he said. "We demonstrated that in Russia, a country of which many are saying that it is useless to go in the streets because nothing will ever change, even here the impossible can become possible."
Tatchell gets a blue plaque
Longtime British gay activist Peter Tatchell was honored with a "blue plaque" Sept. 29.
At an on-location ceremony, gay actor and activist Sir Ian McKellen unveiled the plaque on the block of flats in London's Southwark area in which Tatchell has lived since 1978. The address is 62 Arrol House, Rockingham Street, SE1 6QL.
"I have lived in Southwark most of my life and I am very proud to be part of its long, illustrious history of distinguished authors, playwrights, scientists, inventors and social reformers," Tatchell said. "I dedicate my acceptance of this award to the heroic democracy and human-rights campaigners in Iran, Uganda, Iraq, Russia, Zimbabwe, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and West Papua."
The particular blue-plaque project that honored Tatchell is run by the Borough of Southwark, and recipients are chosen via public nomination and popular vote.
The plaques also are placed on the residences of famous athletes, actors and politicians. Previous Southwark honorees include Charles Dickens, Charlie Chaplin and Michael Caine.
Participants attacked at 3rd European Transgender Council
Two Turkish delegates to the Third European Transgender Council in Malmö, Sweden, were attacked as they left a restaurant Sept. 30. They were physically assaulted and pelted with eggs by five to seven attackers, they said.
The individuals said they also were later mistreated by police, who asked them offensive questions, questioned their right to be in Sweden and referred to them with incorrect pronouns. The police interrogations made them feel "intensely violated and humiliated," the activists said.
The conference brought together more than 200 trans activists from 35 nations.
Russian region will not register LGBT organization
The Oktyabrsky district court in Arkhangelsk, Russia, on Sept. 22 upheld the regional government's refusal to officially register the LGBT organization Rakurs ( Angle ) .
The regional Justice Ministry had refused to register changes in Rakurs' charter after it was reworded to include references to "homophobia," "sexual orientation," "gender identity" and "LGBT people."
In rejecting the changes, officials accused the organization of extremism, fomenting religious hatred, disseminating homosexual propaganda, discriminating against heterosexuals, and undermining the security of the Russian state.
Assistance: Bill Kelley
