Lithuania may ban public promotion of homosexual relations
Lithuania's parliament, the Seimas, is considering legislation to
criminalize "promotion of homosexual relations in public places," says the Lithuanian Gay League.
One bill says that "a person promoting homosexual relations in public places is committing a criminal offense which is punishable with community work or a fine or imprisonment." Another says that "the promotion of homosexual relations or financing of the promotion in public places is to be punished by a fine from 1,000 ( $400 ) to 5,000 litas."
"If these amendments are ultimately adopted, the Lithuanian government will have the authority to prosecute on an extremely wide variety of actions and activities," LGL said. "These actions include, but are not limited to, campaigning on human rights issues relating to sexual orientation and gender identity, providing sexual health information to LGBT people, the organization of gay film festivals, and organizing and/or attending pride events."
Amnesty International's European program director, Nicola Duckworth, said, "It is hard to believe that a member of the European Union should even be considering the adoption of such legislation."
Last year, the Seimas enacted the "Law on the Protection of Minors Against the Detrimental Effect of Public Information." It bans information that promotes sexual relationships, "denigrates family values" or encourages a nonheterosexual concept of marriage and family in any location where such information could be accessed by a minor.
LGL said the newest move "exemplifies the continuous process of the institutionalization of homophobia in Lithuania."
Hong Kong judge rules against trans marriage
A trial court judge in Hong Kong ruled against letting a postoperative male-to-female transsexual get married Oct. 5.
Judge Andrew Cheung expressed worry about the consequences of recognizing sexual-reassignment surgery for marriage purposes, saying it would have implications for preoperative transsexuals and same-sex couples, and for family, social-welfare, criminal and immigration law.
He further expressed concern about the possibility of surgical sex-change reversals, about whether people who had sex-reassignment surgery should be required to inform a future spouse of that fact, and whether such occurrences could lead to annulments.
Cheung said that unless procreation is seen as a fundamental theme of marriage, then there's no reason to oppose transsexual marriage, same-sex marriage or polygamy.
He made reference to the United Kingdom's civil-partnership law, which grants same-sex couples all rights of marriage under a different name, and hinted that such a scheme would be preferable to allowing transgender or same-sex marriages in Hong Kong.
Australians support free vote on gay marriage
Nearly 80 percent of Australians support letting legislators vote their consciences rather than their party's position on same-sex marriage, an Oct. 22 poll found. The Galaxy poll was commissioned by Australian Marriage Equality and Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays.
It found that 62 percent of Australians support letting same-sex couples marry and 80 percent of people between 18 and 24 support gay marriage.
" ( Prime Minister ) Julia Gillard and ( Opposition Leader ) Tony Abbott cannot ignore the majority of Australians who believe same-sex couples should be able to marry and the even greater majority who want a conscience vote on the issue," said AME spokesman Alex Greenwich.
PFLAG's Shelley Argent added, "If Catholic countries like Spain, Argentina and Portugal can right this wrong, then why can't Australia?"
For more information, see freevote.org .au.
Gays march in Tecate
About 150 LGBT people staged a pride march and protest in Tecate, Mexico, Oct. 24. The city, famous for its beer, sits on the California border about 40 miles southeast of San Diego.
The march, the city's first, went down the busiest street and ended at the central plaza. It also was a protest against a state constitutional amendment that would ban same-sex marriages in Baja California state and seemingly also ban recognition of same-sex marriages from Mexico City, where they are legal.
The amendment passed the state legislature in late September but has been stalled since then. Two days after it passed, control of the legislature switched from one political party to another, in accord with elections that had been held this past summer -- and the new ruling party has delayed sending the amendment to the state's five political subdivisions for ratification.
The new party, the Institutional Revolutionary Party, is considered more gay-friendly than the party that lost power, the National Action Party.
A statement from the Baja California State Council on Sexual Diversity suggested that local police were not on their best behavior during the march.
"It is worth mentioning that discrimination and homophobia were clearly visible from the ranks of the city's public-security bureau since they did not heed the call made earlier to safeguard the physical integrity of the participants and traffic control for the full completion of the march," the council said.
Intersex Awareness Day
Oct. 26 was International Intersex Awareness Day. That's the 'I' in LGBTI.
ILGA-Europe -- the European Region of the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association -- said the day aims "to raise awareness on intersex issues, generate greater understanding and challenge the prevailing medical pathological approach to the bodies of intersex people."
"Across Europe, hundreds of babies who are born intersex, or those children who are identified as intersex later in their lives, are being subjected to inhumane 'corrective gender surgical operations' in order to align them with the binary male or female sexes," ILGA said. "Such intrusive and unnecessary surgeries have devastating effects on intersex people who very frequently report to be tormented mentally, sexually, physically and psychologically by such 'treatment.'"
ILGA-Europe incorporated intersex issues into its mandate in 2009 and is building linkages with European and international intersex organizations.
"We are fully committed to bring the concerns of intersex people to the European institutions with a view to challenge existing human rights breaches in practices of 'gender correction surgeries' and the long-term physical and psychological effects that they have on intersex people," said Executive Director Evelyne Paradis. "We are very pleased with our fruitful cooperation with Organisation Intersex International's European members and hope that together we can bring an end to the inhumane gender-correction surgeries of intersex babies, prejudice and discrimination intersex people face in Europe."
Assistance: Bill Kelley
