BY NATASHA BARSOTTI – "In the 21st century moral disapproval is no reason to deny or curtail rights and freedoms," Labor Premier Lara Giddings said as Tasmania's lower house of parliament passed a same-sex marriage bill on Aug 30, paving the way for what many expect will be a tougher path through the upper house.

Thirteen of the 15 upper house members are independent, with several yet to indicate their stance, The Herald Sun reports. If the bill prevails in the upper house, Tasmania will be set to become the first Australian state to allow gay marriage.

The bill, co-sponsored by Giddings and Greens leader Nick McKim, was passed in the lower house by a 13 to 11 vote. All the Liberal MPs, plus House Speaker Michael Polley, of the Labour party, voted against the measure. According to The Herald Sun, Liberal leader Will Hodgman said his team is unified behind the view that marriage is between a man and a woman and is "a matter for the commonwealth."

Giddings disagreed. "The denial of marriage to lesbian and gay couples and their families is discrimination that must be changed."

"At the core of this debate is the belief that we are all equal before the law, and where the law prejudices one person over another change is required," she observed.

"Daughters wrote to me in support of their lesbian mothers, mothers and fathers wrote to me in support of their children in same-sex relationships, men and women in long-term committed relationships wrote to me with the hope that soon their relationship will receive the recognition they've longed for for decades," she said, according to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC).

Liberals suggest the move to legalize gay marriage would open up Tasmania to a high court challenge, but Giddings indicated she has received legal advice that contradicts that perspective, The Herald Sun reports.

Interestingly, Tasmania was the last state to decriminalize homosexuality, in 1997, The Sun notes.

Landing image: Premier of Tasmania

  

BY NATASHA BARSOTTI – The Citizen newspaper reports that the South African ruling party's Western Cape arm has condemned the use of culture to justify homophobic discrimination and violence.

Gay Flag of South Africa (GFSA) had called on the African National Congress (ANC) to send a message that lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex rights are human rights, and South Africans' "choice of identity has to be respected, irrespective of sexual orientation," the report states. 

“It is my belief that gay rights are human rights and that no homophobic violence or prejudice should be tolerated,” Songezo Mjongile, secretary of the Western Cape, reportedly said.

Gay Star News cites Mjongile as saying that socially conservative views are fuelling attacks against lesbians living in the country's black townships. "Women have got the right to say whether they want to bear children, whether they want to be single or whether they want get married, in the same way that men have," he said.

Mjongile's remarks come in the wake of South African President Jacob Zuma's recent comments that it's a problem when women don't marry. The Guardian cites an interview Zuma did with South Africa's public broadcaster, in which he says, "I know that people today think being single is nice. It's actually not right. That's a distortion. You've got to have kids. Kids are important to a woman because they actually give an extra training to a woman, to be a mother." 

In 2006, before the legalization of same-sex marriage in South Africa, Zuma — then a presidential hopeful — called gay marriage "a disgrace to the nation and to od."

But earlier this year, Zuma rebuked a Zulu king for saying that homosexuals are "rotten" and "same sex is not acceptable."

"Today, we are faced with different challenges . . . challenges of reconciliation and of building a nation that does not discriminate against other people because of their colour or sexual orientation," Zuma reportedly said, according to News24.

 

Landing image: IOLNews (Brenton Geach)

BY NATASHA BARSOTTI – A play about a gay businessman who is coming terms with his sexuality in a homophobic environment ran at a couple small venues, but its scheduled performances at the National Theatre of Uganda were cancelled after regulators intervened, The Guardian reports.

The River and the Mountain, by British playwright Beau Hopkins, has stirred up controversy not only because of its "sympathetic portrayal of gay people, but also because it suggests that much of the anger and hatred has been whipped up by politicians and religious leaders for their own purposes," the report notes.

Hopkins told The Guardian he hoped the play would inspire discussion about homosexuality among those who saw it, and in the media. But the local media "seemed to have agreed not to talk about it," he says. 

Okuyo Joel Atiku Prynce, who plays the story's central character, says "no clear reason" was given for the decision to stop the production's run at the National Theatre, adding he's disappointed but not surprised.

A member of the regulatory Media Council says the script had to be cleared by authorities, according to the Guardian, which also notes that this is not usually a requirement for theatre pieces.

Earlier this month, Ugandans celebrated their first Pride with a parade, film festival, drag show and parties.

Police raided the festivities, and detained participants, who were eventually released without charge.

 

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BY NATASHA BARSOTTI – Reuters reports that California's state Assembly, by a 51–21 vote, has approved a bill to prohibit children and teenagers from undergoing therapy that claims to reverse homosexuality.

The Aug 28 vote means California has taken another step towards becoming the first US state to adopt such a ban, according to the report, which notes the Senate in May "passed its version of the bill by a vote of 23-13." Differences in the two measures need to be sorted out by Aug 31 before a final bill is sent to the state's Democratic Governor, Jerry Brown. But it remains unclear whether Brown supports it.

A number of gay rights groups are urging Brown to back the measure. 

In a letter to Brown, Human Rights Campaign (HRC) president Chad Griffin says its "time to safeguard the most vulnerable among us by ending the abusive practice of subjecting lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender youth to damaging attempts to change their sexual orientation or gender expression. Research has shown that far from being beneficial or even neutral, these efforts have harmful effects on the participants."

 The HRC statement continues: "The majority of national organizations with expertise in mental health either opposes or warns about the negative effects of efforts to change sexual orientation, including: the American Psychological Association, the American Psychiatric Association, the American School Counselor Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Medical Association, the National Association of Social Workers, the American Psychoanalytic Association, the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, and the Pan American Health Organization."

AllOut.org has embarked on a petition campaign to put pressure on Brown to sign the bill when it reaches his desk. Just under 19,000 people have so far indicated their support for that campaign. Equality California is also asking people to write letters to the governor, asking him to sign Senate Bill 1172.

The bill's sponsor, state Senator Ted Lieu, noted that retired psychiatrist, Dr Robert Spitzer, retracted claims in a controversial 2001 study he conducted that claimed "highly motivated" gays and lesbians could change their sexual orientation.

"In retrospect, I have to admit I think the critiques are largely correct," said Spitzer, who apologized to the gay and lesbian community. 

Exodus International head Alan Chambers has also been repeatedly distancing himself from his organization's "change is possible" mantra, much to the intense chagrin of those still devoted to the idea that all gay people need to rid themselves of homosexuality is a good dose of prayer and therapy. Chambers even apologized at a Gay Christian Network (GCN) conference in January for Exodus's use of that phrase.

In a July 6 New York Times story, Chambers reiterates that there is no cure for homosexuality and says reparative therapy is an exercise in false hope for gays and might even be harmful. According to The Times, accusations of heresy have now been levelled against Chambers, causing a rift in the ex-gay movement. 

 

Landing image: Pink News 

  

 

 

 

 

BY NATASHA BARSOTTI – "On behalf of the entire San Francisco 49ers organization, we are on your side, and we promise . . . it gets better," safety Donte Whitner says in a one-minute It Gets Better video.

Whitner appears in the video along with linebacker Ahmad Brooks, as well as defensive tackles Ricky Jean Francois and Isaac Sopoaga.

The National Football League (NFL) team joined the anti-bullying movement after 16,000 fans signed a change.org petition urging it to shoot the video, according to a San Francisco Chronicle blog. 

Long-time 49ers fan Sean Chapin started the petition. "With their 'It Gets Better' video, the 49ers are shining a golden beacon of hope to LGBT youth, and as a gay man, I enthusiastically applaud their courage and leadership,” Chapin says in a statement.

Prior to this latest initiative, Chapin had also encouraged the San Francisco Giants baseball team to make its own video to confront homophobia. "They agreed and made a fantastic video," Chapin says in his appeal to the 49ers. "Then seven other baseball teams followed the Giants' lead and made videos for the It Gets Better project."

"The 49ers can do what the Giants did earlier this year in their own league," Chapin added. "The 49ers can start a movement within the National Football League." 

“Sean Chapin has proved once again that there’s a place for sports teams to challenge homophobia on and off the field,” says change.org's campaign director, Eden James. “By winning this campaign, Sean will hopefully inspire countless other fans to urge their teams to support the It Gets Better project and create videos condemning anti-gay bullying and harassment.”

 

Landing image: San Francisco 49ers