COPENHAGEN PRIDE PARADE ATTACKED
Marchers in Copenhagen's gay-pride parade were attacked by immigrant youth throwing stones and bottles Aug. 18.
One man was arrested and two marchers were treated at a hospital for minor injuries.
According to the program for the pride festivities, an annual "homophobia prize" was scheduled to be given to Muslim nations because of their intolerance of gay and lesbian people.
SOME GAY
GERMANS MUST WAIT
Gay couples in the conservative southern state of Bavaria will have to wait a few months to access Germany's new gay partnership law.
The Federal Constitutional Court ruled Aug. 9 that Bavarian legislators may wait until their next regular sessions to pass measures needed to implement the law.
The steps were not taken earlier because Bavaria sued to block the partnership-registration law altogether. That suit was rejected July 18 and the law took effect nationwide Aug. 1.
The law grants registered gay couples marriage rights and obligations in areas such as inheritance, health insurance, immigration, name changes and alimony. It withholds marriage rights in the areas of adoption, taxation, pensions and social-welfare benefits.
Other nations that grant many or nearly all marriage rights to same-sex couples include Canada, Denmark ( and Greenland ) , France, Hungary, Iceland, The Netherlands ( full marriage ) , Norway, Portugal, Sweden and, in the United States, the state of Vermont.
BRITISH FORCES WILL EXTEND BENEFITS
Britain's Observer reported Aug. 12 that the Ministry of Defence will recognize partners of gay service personnel as spouses.
Britain lifted its ban on gays in the military in January 2000 under order from the European Court of Human Rights.
A review of the new policy has found that integrating open gays into the forces had no impact on operational effectiveness.
GAY MAGAZINE
TO LAUNCH IN YUGOSLAVIA
Yugoslavia will soon have a gay magazine, says editor Attila Kovacs.
Decko ( which translates both as 'boy' and 'boyfriend' ) will hit the streets later this summer.
"Looking up to Advocate, Attitude [ a British magazine ] , PlanetOut and other famous international gay magazines, the Decko team shall give its best to cover national and international LGBT issues," Kovacs said.
For more information, e-mail ewage@topolanet.co.yu.
TIJUANA
TRANSVESTITES ORGANIZE
Transvestites in Tijuana, Mexico, have organized publicly for the first time in an effort to combat alleged police abuse.
At an August press conference, 12 transvestites accused city police officers of harassment, extortion and sexual assault.
The Binational Center for Human Rights says it has documented 47 such incidents in the past seven months.
"They know our addresses," said transvestite Javier Martinez. "They wait for us to leave our home or be on our way to work."
Tijuana Police Chief Carlos Besneirigoyen told San Diego's Union-Tribune that any officer proven to have engaged in such behavior will be fired.
Tijuana, an increasingly cosmopolitan city with a population of approximately 2 million, is 15 miles south of San Diego. It has several gay bars and discotheques but most homosexuals remain closeted. The city's seven-year-old pride parade has never attracted more than 400 people.
CANADIAN CITY REFUSES PRIDE PROCLAMATION
The city council of Prince George, British Columbia, Canada, refused to proclaim Sept. 1 gay-pride day.
Mayor Colin Kinsley told the Prince George Citizen newspaper he does not sign proclamations that are religious or political in nature, and that the gay-pride celebration is non-inclusive.
The city's fifth pride celebration will include a parade and a barbecue. Prince George, population 70,000, is 478 miles ( 765 km ) north of Vancouver.
LONDON POLICE TO DROP 'HOMOSEXUAL'
London, England's 35,000 police officers and civilian police employees have been advised to stop using the word "homosexual" because it is a "medical term used to criminalise lesbians, gay men and bisexuals in the 19th century."
The admonition is contained in a new section about the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community which is being added to the Metropolitan Police's Policing Diversity Handbook, ITN reported.
ONTARIO
TEACHERS WANT
GAY BOOKS
The elementary school teachers' union in the Canadian province of Ontario voted overwhelmingly Aug. 15 to urge school boards to purchase more books that depict the lives of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender families.
"There are glaring holes in the curriculum on anti-racism and anti-homophobia," union president Phyllis Benedict told the Toronto Sun.
BRAZILIAN MAYOR PROPOSES BENEFITS
Recife, Brazil, Mayor Joao Paulo has sent a proposal to the city council that would extend spousal benefits to civil servants' same-sex partners.
A vote is expected shortly.
Among Latin American nations, Brazil has led the way on gay issues. Two states ( Sergipe and Mato Grosso ) and more than 80 cities ban discrimination based on sexual orientation, and the Brazilian Supreme Court has extended inheritance rights to same-sex partners.
GAY COUNCILLOR HARASSED
Gay Ottawa, Canada, city councilor Alex Munter has been receiving anti-gay phone calls from someone who dislikes his efforts to beef up the city's ban on smoking in public places.
"I'm going to choke the piss out of you," the caller said at one point, according to the Ottawa Sun.
