RUSSIA DUMPS EPISCOPALIANS
The Russian Orthodox Church cut ties with the U.S. Episcopal Church Nov. 17 due to the Diocese of New Hampshire's recent consecration of an openly gay man, Gene Robinson, as bishop.
" We will not be able to cooperate with these people in the realm of theological dialogue or in humanitarian, religious and public spheres," said the Moscow Patriarchy's foreign church relations department. " We have no right to allow even a particle of agreement with their position, which we consider to be profoundly anti-Christian and blasphemous.
"Homosexualism is a sin, which separates man from God," the statement continued. " The Church does not deny help to those unfortunate people who are possessed with this ailment. ... However, the Church cannot approve of the perversion of human nature created by the Creator Himself. The Church cannot bless the distortion of the image of God."
Anglican churches in several African nations also have cut or reduced ties with the U.S. church or the New Hampshire diocese.
GAYS BANNED FROM SANTA PARADE
The mayor of Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada, banned the Port City Rainbow Pride organization from the Santa Claus Parade this month.
" The Santa Claus Parade is not the avenue to promote anything, like a lifestyle or anything else," Mayor Shirley McAlary told the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. " It's just not the place to have it."
The gay float was going to show families with gay parents or children.
On Nov. 20, the pride group announced it will file a provincial human-rights complaint against McAlary alleging unlawful discrimination.
LITHUANIA
PROTECTS GAYS
Lithuania banned discrimination and harassment based on sexual orientation Nov. 18.
Parliament passed the Law on Equal Opportunities criminalizing direct and indirect discrimination based on age, sexual orientation, disability, race, religion or beliefs in the areas of employment, education, housing and provision of goods and services. Illegal harassment is defined as unacceptable behavior resulting in humiliation or violation of human dignity.
The nation's inspector of equality between men and women is charged with implementing the law and resolving discrimination and harassment claims.
The law takes effect Jan. 1, 2005.
CANAAN
BANANA DIES
Canaan Banana, the former president of Zimbabwe who was outed and imprisoned for sodomy, died Nov. 10 at age 67 following a long illness.
He was president from 1980 to 1987.
Banana was jailed on 11 charges of sodomy, attempted sodomy and unnatural acts with men in 1997. He was accused of sexually assaulting university students he taught, members of the State House football team, policemen, military officers, cooks, gardeners, aides, a job interviewee and a hitchhiker. He served only eight months of a 10-year sentence.
Current Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe is the world's most vocally homophobic head of state. He has said of gays: " What an abomination, a rottenness of culture, real decadence of culture. [Homosexuals are] repugnant to my human conscience ... immoral and repulsive. ... Animals in the jungle are better than these people because at least they know that this is a man or a woman. ... I don't believe they have any rights at all."
On Nov. 17, the ruling ZANU-PF party's Politburo declared that Banana's body would not be interred in the nation's Heroes' Acre cemetery because he had set a " bad example to youth."
Instead, Banana will be laid to rest at his birthplace near the provincial capital of Bulawayo following a " state-assisted funeral," said Politburo Secretary for Information and Publicity Nathan Shamuyarira.
10,000 AT
BANGKOK PRIDE
Some 10,000 people turned out for Bangkok, Thailand's fifth gay-pride parade Nov. 16, The Nation newspaper reported.
The city refused to close Silom Road, so marchers and spectators had to take care not to get run over. Police led the procession on motorcycles and directed traffic.
The Tourism Authority of Thailand ignored requests to support the parade.
" We asked them in mid-September and gave up a few days ago," said Ongart Chakardsongsak, special events chair for Bangkok Pride Coalition 2003. " They just never gave us an answer."
RES. SEEKS TO HELP FOREIGN GAYS
A resolution introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives Nov. 20 by Reps. Tom Lantos, D-Calif., and Christopher Shays, R-Conn., seeks to assist people in other nations who face human-rights abuses based on real or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity.
The resolution calls on the State Department to improve tracking of human-rights abuses based on sexual orientation and gender identity and to develop a comprehensive strategy to combat the problem worldwide.
Supporters of the resolution cited several examples of LGBT abuse and mistreatment, including the ongoing persecution and entrapment via the Internet of gay men in Egypt; the continuing murders of transgender people in Honduras—often, allegedly, at the hands of police; and the imprisonment of Uzbek gay human-rights activist Ruslan Sharipov.
Amnesty International welcomed the resolution.
" Some 70 countries still criminalize homosexuality," said Michael Heflin, director of Amnesty USA's OUTfront Program. " Punishments under these statutes in some cases include torture and even the death penalty. Discrimination and violence against LGBT people by authorities and civilians remains widespread throughout much of the world. States' failure to hold perpetrators accountable creates a climate of impunity."
America's largest gay-rights organization, the Human Rights Campaign, also praised the move.
" In Zambia and Zimbabwe, GLBT individuals are threatened and brutally assaulted for their advocacy of equal rights," HRC said. " In Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Mauritania and Iran, GLBT people face possible execution for adult, consensual same-sex relations.
" It has often been said that with great power comes great responsibility," the group said. " As one of the most fortunate and powerful countries on the planet, the United States has a tremendous responsibility to speak out and protect those who may not be able to protect themselves."
TRANS SHOW OUT
Britain's BSkyB network has postponed a reality series it taped in which six suitors courted a woman they did not know was a pre-op transsexual, the BBC reported Oct. 31.
The male contestants, claiming they were " traumatized" and " devastated" by the experience, threatened to sue to stop broadcast of the series, There's Something About Miriam, which was taped several months ago on Ibiza.
The men allege breach of contract, deceit, personal injury and sexual assault. They kissed and cuddled with Miriam during the taping.
" Six of them went onto this reality TV show on the understanding they'd have to do various tasks to win the affection of a very beautiful woman," the contestants' lawyer told Reuters. " After they'd been encouraged to have sexual contact, they found that she was a he—they all found it extremely traumatic."
