More lesbians than gay men marry in British Columbia
There were more lesbian weddings than gay-male weddings the first year the Canadian province of British Columbia allowed same-sex marriage, Statistics Canada reported Jan. 17.
In 2003, the first year for which statistics have become available, 422 female couples tied the knot ( 54.5 percent ) compared to 352 male couples ( 45.5 percent ) .
The agency also reported that a majority of the same-sex marriages that first year, 55.9 percent, took place between people who didn't live in Canada.
Canada has no residency requirement for marriage and the full process usually can be completed in a few hours. Only Quebec has a waiting period after acquiring a license—20 days—although it can be waived if advance arrangements are made with the person who will conduct the wedding.
English Catholic leader threatens to close adoption agencies
The Roman Catholic Church is threatening to close its seven adoption agencies in England and Wales if the government doesn't exempt it from upcoming laws banning antigay discrimination in the provision of goods, facilities and services.
English church head Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor has written to Cabinet ministers threatening to shut the agencies down rather than be forced to place children with gay couples.
The government responded Jan. 25 that the best the church can hope for is a delay in applying the laws to religious institutions, to allow them to make necessary adjustments.
The Church of England has expressed concern over the laws. On Jan. 23, Anglican Communion spiritual leader Rowan Williams, the archbishop of Canterbury, and John Sentamu, the archbishop of York, said: 'In legislating to protect and promote the rights of particular groups, the government is faced with the delicate but important challenge of not thereby creating the conditions within which others feel their rights have been ignored or sacrificed, or in which the dictates of personal conscience are put at risk. The rights of conscience cannot be made subject to legislation, however well meaning.'
The new laws already have come into force in Northern Ireland and are scheduled to take effect in the rest of the United Kingdom in April.
Iraq unhappy that U.N. highlights gay killings
Iraq has denounced a new United Nations Assistance Mission report that mentioned the increase in antigay killings since Saddam Hussein was removed from power.
The Jan. 18 U.N. report said: 'Armed Islamic groups and militias have been known to be particularly hostile towards homosexuals, frequently and openly engaging in violent campaigns against them. There have been a number of assassinations of homosexuals in Iraq.
'At least five homosexual males were reported to have been kidnapped from Shaab area in the first week of December by one of the main militias. The mutilated body of Amjad, one of the kidnapped, appeared in the same area after a few days. [ We were ] also alerted to the existence of religious courts, supervised by clerics, where homosexuals allegedly would be 'tried,' 'sentenced' to death and then executed.
'According to the Iraqi LGBT society, twenty-six of their members have been killed since 2003,' the report stated. 'Allegedly, three Fatwas would have been issued by Islamic clerics authorising 'good Muslims' to hunt and kill homosexuals.'
Iraqi spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh rejected the gay section of the report as inappropriate.
'There was information in the report that we cannot accept here in Iraq,' he said. 'The report, for example, spoke about the phenomenon of homosexuality and giving them their rights. Such statements are not suitable to the Iraqi society. This is rejected.'
Canadian Supremes refuse to help gay bookstore
The Canadian Supreme Court on Jan. 19 refused to help the Vancouver gay bookstore Little Sisters Book and Art Emporium with its long-running fight against Canada Customs, which routinely seizes material shipped to the store from abroad, labeling the items obscene.
The shop sought federal 'advance costs' funding to continue its battle, arguing that the issue is an important one for all Canadians, not just for the store itself. Precedent set in an aboriginal-rights dispute allows the Supreme Court to front government money to pay for legal challenges of unusual significance. Such money would be repaid or redistributed later based on the outcome of a case.
But, in a 7-2 ruling, the court said Little Sisters' case isn't as important as the store thinks it is.
'It is only a 'rare and exceptional' case that is special enough to warrant an advance costs award,' the court declared.
The justices added that 'courts should not seek on their own to bring an alternative and extensive legal aid system into being,' even though 'people with limited means all too often find themselves discouraged from pursuing litigation because of the costs involved' and 'problems like this are troubling.'
But the store says the agency has continued to do just that.
Little Sisters' lawyer, Joe Arvay, told the Canadian Press wire service that the shop doesn't have the funds to continue the fight on its own after spending up to $2 million battling two decades of seizures.
'The case is dead,' he said.
—Assistance: Bill Kelley
