Norway legalizes same-sex marriage
Norway's Parliament legalized same-sex marriage June 11 in an 84-41 vote.
Support came from the three-party ruling coalition as well as two opposition parties, the Conservatives and the Liberals. The Christian Democrats and the Progress Party opposed the move.
Norway has had a registered-partnership law that gives gay couples nearly all rights of marriage since 1993, but some new rights will come along with the word 'marriage.' They include access to church weddings, adoption and state-funded artificial insemination.
The legislation requires that sperm donors be identified so that children born to lesbian couples will be able to find their fathers if they want to.
Gay couples will be allowed to begin marrying in about six months.
Same-sex marriage also is allowed in Belgium, California, Canada, Massachusetts, the Netherlands, South Africa and Spain. Canada and California have no residency requirement for marriage and visitors often can complete the process in a single day.
OAS condemns violations of GLBT human rights
The General Assembly of the Organization of American States unanimously adopted a resolution condemning human rights violations based on sexual orientation and gender identity June 3.
Human Rights Watch praised the move and called on the 34 OAS member nations to ensure that the resolution is implemented.
'This resolution is a bold first step toward ending violence and discrimination,' said Scott Long, director of HRW's LGBT Rights Program. 'For the resolution to have an impact, concrete changes in law and policy must follow.'
The OAS adopted the Brazil-sponsored 'Resolution on Human Rights, Sexual Orientation, and Gender Identity' during its 38th session in Medellín, Colombia.
The nations also agreed to hold a special meeting 'to discuss the application of the principles and norms' of the inter-American system to abuses based on sexual orientation and gender identity.
More than 20 GLBT activists from 16 Latin American and Caribbean organizations met with OAS members during the session to advocate for the resolution.
In a separate process, OAS nations are negotiating the text of a proposed Inter-American Convention Against Racism and All Forms of Discrimination and Intolerance, which includes sexual orientation and gender identity as protected categories.
The resolution that was adopted expresses concern about violence and human rights violations based on sexual orientation and gender identity, asks a key OAS committee to address the topic before next year's session of the General Assembly in Honduras, and urges the organization's Permanent Council to report to the Honduras gathering on implementation of the resolution.
Deputy speaker of Polish lower house disparages gays
Stefan Niesiolowski, a deputy speaker of Poland's lower house of Parliament, the Sejm, disparaged gays June 5 during a televised debate on a court decision that deprived a lesbian mother of custody of her 4-year-old daughter.
'The court didn't bow down to the pressure of the aggressive homosexual community, which came to make a scene as they usually do,' Niesiolowski said. 'This community is so compulsive that they tried to influence a court decision. ... It's unacceptable for ( the child ) to have two mothers or fathers. If they ( gays ) want to live together, then fine, but get the hell away from children.'
Niesiolowski vowed to 'fight the serious pathology which is a pair of lesbians with a child.'
'Not too long ago homosexuals said 'don't persecute us' and now they demand adoption and the right to raise children, and that will never be allowed,' he said.
Ugandan activists arrested at AIDS conference
Three AIDS activists were arrested in Kampala, Uganda, June 3 for disrupting the 2008 HIV/AIDS Implementers' Meeting.
Onziema Patience, Valentine Kalende and Usaam Mukwaaya were seized by the Uganda Police Force for entering the conference without permission. They were carrying posters and handed out a press release.
The trio was charged with criminal trespass and released three days later. A hearing on the charges was scheduled for June 20.
The activists were protesting a statement by Uganda AIDS Commission Director General David Kihumuro Apuuli. On June 2, Apuuli reportedly said, 'Gays are one of the drivers of HIV in Uganda, but because of meager resources we cannot direct our programs at them at this time.'
About 1,700 delegates from all over the world attended the meeting.
Retired Czech gay leader runs for Senate
Czech gay leader Jirí Hromada, who retired from activism in 2006 after the nation's same-sex civil-union law came into force, is running for the Czech Republic Senate as a Green Party candidate in the fall election.
According to The Prague Post, the announcement of Hromada's candidacy led to such a barrage of homophobic posts by users of online news portals that the discussion areas had to be shut down.
He is the first openly gay candidate to run for the Senate in the nation's history.
'During our effort to pass the partnership bill we met two types of political gays,' Hromada told the Post. 'Some would secretly admit their orientation and quietly support us, while others became our staunchest opponents and tried to stop the bill at all costs.'
Malta court: 'Homosexual'not defamatory
Calling someone a homosexual is not defamatory anymore, Malta's Court of Magistrates has ruled, according to a May 21 report in The Malta Independent.
The decision came in a case where three newspapers reported that a homicide victim was homosexual, and the victim's brother sued over the characterization, claiming it defamed his brother's memory.
Local police have said the victim's sexual orientation is relevant to their ongoing investigation of the unsolved killing.
The brother plans to appeal Magistrate Michael Mallia's ruling.
—Assistance: Bill Kelley
