Canadian MP marries
Liberal Canadian Member of Parliament Scott Brison and his partner, Maxime St. Pierre, got married Aug. 18 in Cheverie, Nova Scotia—a town of 200 people on the province's western shoreline.
Brison is the first federal politician to take advantage of Canada's legalization of full marriage for same-sex couples, which took place nationally in 2005 after eight provinces and one territory had legalized it on their own.
Prior to the ceremony, Brison's spokesman told the Canadian Press wire service that the wedding was 'a personal matter which is meant to be celebrated in private.'
Attendees reportedly included former Prime Ministers Paul Martin and Joe Clark, Liberal Leader Stéphane Dion, former Defense Minister Bill Graham, former New Brunswick Premier Frank McKenna and former Ontario Premier Bob Rae.
Brison came out in 2002. He has said he is 'not a gay politician, but a politician who happens to be gay.'
Full same-sex marriage also is legal in Belgium, the Netherlands, South Africa, Spain and the state of Massachusetts. Numerous nations grant registered same-sex couples some, most or all rights and obligations of marriage under registered-partnership, domestic-partnership or civil-union laws. They include Andorra, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Luxembourg, New Zealand, Norway, Slovenia, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. Greenland, a self-governing administrative division of Denmark, also has a civil-union law. In yet other nations, such as Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Mexico and the U.S., such rights are granted by city, state or provincial laws. Informal cohabitation of same-sex partners has become legally recognized in Austria, Colombia, Croatia, Hungary, Israel and Portugal—and in parts of Australia, Italy and the U.S.
Outgames to give it another go
Despite losing $5 million in their initial effort last year in Montreal, the World Outgames will be staged a second time in 2009—July 25-29 in Copenhagen.
'Thousands of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender sports enthusiasts, cultural movers and shakers, activists, their families, friends and supporters will gather in the Danish capitol [ sic ] for 9 absolutely fabulous days of serious sport, serious culture and totally serious fun,' gushed a press release issued Aug. 1.
Organizers expect 8,000 athletes to compete in 30 sports. An 'Out Human Rights conference' will run concurrently with the games, focusing on 'sports, culture and media, education, families, politics, business and workers and LGBT History.'
The Outgames were born in 2006 after Gay Games organizers in Montreal and the Federation of Gay Games got into a nasty, prolonged argument over financial planning and other matters. The federation eventually moved the 2006 Gay Games to Chicago, and the Montreal organizers launched the competing Outgames under the auspices of the relatively young Gay and Lesbian International Sport Association.
George Michael begins
community service
Gay pop singer George Michael began performing 100 hours of community service Aug. 13 as part of his punishment for driving while under the influence of drugs.
He did some gardening at a London hostel for the homeless.
'I'm just like everyone else. If you do something stupid you have to pay the price,' Michael told the Daily Express.
'I've been doing some gardening and really enjoyed it,' he said. 'I'll do whatever they want me to do. I don't want any special treatment.'
Michael, who also had his driver's license taken away for two years, was found last October slumped over the steering wheel of his SUV, drooling, sweating and blocking an intersection.
He admitted he'd taken cannabis, and prosecutors said tests found evidence he'd consumed the club drug GHB ( gamma-hydroxybutyric acid ) , the antidepressant Efexor and the sleeping pill Ambien.
Michael's lawyer pointed out that GHB, found in Michael's system at 16 milligrams/1 milliliter, can occur naturally in the body at that level.
Judge Katherine Marshall determined that 'cannabis was not the cause of unfitness' and that 'GHB was found, but I make no findings about the origin.'
Singapore bans photos of gays kissing
Singapore's Media Development Authority on July 30 banned a planned exhibition of 80 photos of gay people kissing.
The censors said the exhibit would 'promote a homosexual lifestyle and cannot be allowed.' Gay sex is illegal in Singapore and punishable with two years in prison.
The photo show was one piece of two weeks of gay pride activities in the city-state.
'Since the photo exhibition Kissing has been denied a licence by the MDA, there will instead be a short talk 'Kiss and tell' on 9 evenings prior to main program, in which a sample of the pictures, shown on powerpoint, will be discussed,' pride organizers said on their Web site.
'On these 9 evenings, there will also be a photo corner set up where you can have your own kissing pictures taken. [ Photographer ] Alex [ Au ] will have with him his private album of the pictures taken, but which the MDA has refused a permit to exhibit publicly.'
On Aug. 3, a second gay pride event was banned—a forum at which retired Canadian law professor Douglas Sanders was to discuss 'Sexual Orientation in International Law: The Case of Asia.'
Police withdrew their license for the event, the immigration department canceled Sanders' visa, and the Home Affairs Ministry stated that 'foreigners should refrain from interfering [ in ] discourse over a domestic issue such as the laws that govern homosexuality in Singapore.'
A third gay pride event was partially banned on Aug. 2. The MDA approved a license for a story-reading event, but only on the condition that author Ng Yi-Sheng's story 'Tall Tales and Short Stories' not be read as planned.
The MDA said Sheng's story about sex between a young man and politicians and military officers lacks 'good taste and decency' and is 'disparaging and disrespectful ... of public officers.'
Italian deputy mayor calls for 'ethnic cleansing of faggots'
The right-wing deputy mayor of the northern Italian city of Treviso, Giancarlo Gentilini, plans to order police to carry out 'ethnic cleansing of faggots.'
Gentilini said he is sick of gays having sex in a particular parking lot.
'I will immediately give orders to my forces so that they can carry out an ethnic cleansing of faggots,' he told local television. 'The faggots must go to other [ cities ] where they are welcome. Here in Treviso there is no chance for faggots or the like.'
A video clip of the outburst was posted on YouTube.
In response to the incident, hundreds of gay and gay-supportive demonstrators picketed City Hall on Aug. 11, calling for Gentilini's resignation.
The remarks also were denounced by politicians from several parties, and prosecutors said they will investigate whether Gentilini's language violated criminal law.
—Assistance: Bill Kelley
