UK Ministry of Defence paid $6.2M to sacked soldiers
The United Kingdom's Ministry of Defence has paid $6.2 million to people who were kicked out of the armed forces before the gay ban was lifted in 2000, officials said Nov. 7.
Sixty-five people have been compensated, receiving an average of $96,300 each.
"Over the past few years the MoD has made strenuous efforts to reach amicable settlements in relation to those legal claims which remained outstanding and we are pleased that compensation has now been awarded in all these cases," a spokesman said.
Britain's armed forces lifted their gay ban on orders from the European Court of Human Rights.
Capleton concert canceled in Basel
A concert by Jamaican reggae singer Capleton was canceled by organizers in Basel, Switzerland, on Nov. 6.
The groups Homosexuelle Arbeitsgruppen Basel and Stop Murder Music Bern had opposed the concert "because Capleton has performed songs encouraging violence against lesbian and gay people, in violation of his commitment to abide by the terms of the Reggae Compassionate Act ( RCA ) —an agreement that he signed in early 2007, whereby he undertook to not perform 'murder music' songs any more," said British activist Peter Tatchell, who has campaigned against Jamaican dancehall singers' anti-gay lyrics.
Tatchell said Stop Murder Music Bern was able to prove that Capleton "performed songs that incite homophobic violence" after he'd signed the RCA.
In recent years, other dancehall singers have seen their concerts canceled sporadically in several countries as a result of gay activists' complaints to concert venues and promoters.
Hungarian Parliament passes new hate-crime laws
Hungary's Parliament passed legislation in early November extending hate-crime laws to cover members "of a social group" and making it possible to initiate civil proceedings against someone who engages in degrading or intimidating behavior toward another based on "sexual orientation."
The changes need the approval of President László Sólyom and also must be able to withstand possible Constitutional Court challenges.
The court previously has struck down so-called hate-speech laws on freedom-of-speech grounds.
Dutch men convicted of injecting sex partners with HIV
Two men in Groningen, Netherlands, were convicted Nov. 12 of attempting to cause grievous bodily harm by injecting several men with HIV-infected blood after apparently sedating them during gay sex parties arranged over the Internet.
One of the perpetrators, who was also convicted of rape, received a nine-year prison sentence and the other was sentenced to five years.
The Groningen District Court determined that while all the victims in the case were HIV-positive, there was no way to know if the assaults caused their infections, given that they had willingly participated in barebacking orgies.
Singapore gay-pride event postponed
Singapore's first outdoor gay pride event, which had been scheduled for Nov. 15 at Speakers' Corner in Hong Lim Park, has been postponed until early 2009, the Straits Times reported Oct. 31.
Key organizer Roy Tan said interest in the event was greater than anticipated and organizers need "more time to organize a better event ... to ensure that all interested parties—straight, gay and queer—have the opportunity to participate in this landmark occasion."
Among other things, the event is expected to serve as a protest against Penal Code Section 377A, which bans gay-male sex.
It states, "Any male person who, in public or private, commits, or abets the commission of, or procures or attempts to procure the commission by any male person of, any act of gross indecency with another male person, shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to 2 years."
Guatemalan gay event bombed with tear gas
A GLBT event in Samayac, Guatemala, was bombed with tear gas Oct. 18.
No one was seriously injured in the attack on the "Our Gay Beauty" gathering, but some people fainted and many people cried.
"Despite the fact that complaints have been made to the authorities, there has been no response" to the incident, said the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission.
A similar attack took place last year at a GLBT festival in the town of La Blanca.
—Assistance: Bill Kelley
