JULY 30.2005 • Q-NOTES
Global
Republican council members voted against
the measure while the four Democrats
voted for it.
The proposal, pushed by council mem
bers Jenny Wilson (pic
tured) and Joe Hatch, was
criticized for being in
essence a form of same-
sex marriage. Republican
Mark Crockett said,
“Society in this state has
spoken out and said we
want to give marriage between a man and
a woman a special status.”
Had the measure passed it would fiave
granted spousal benefits to partners who
have shared the same residence for at least
a year and are jointly responsible for living
expenses. It also would have made the
county council the first government body
in Utah to extend benefits to the partners
of gay and lesbian civic employees.
Teen blogger's dad speaks out
BARTLETT, Tenn. — Joe Stark, the
father of the 16-year-old gay blogger who
received widespread coverage in the LGBT
press for his wrenching tales of family con
flict in the weeks, leading up to him being
sent to an ex-gay camp, has come forward
to defend his actions.
Stark told the Christian Broadcasting
Network that he did the right thing when
he sent Zach to Love in Action
International. “We felt very good about
Zach coming here ... to let him see for
himself the destructive lifestyle, what he
has to face in the future and to give him
some options that society doesn’t give him
tpday.... Statistics say that by the age of 30
he could either have AIDS or be dead.”
Stark also said he did nothing wrong in
sending his son to the camp against his
will. “Until he turns 18 and he’s an adult in
the state of Tennessee, I’m responsible for
him. And I’m going to see to it that he has
all options available to him.”
International >
OutRoge trio on Muslim 'hit list'
LONDON, England — Three officers of
the LGBT civil rights group Outrage have
received “repeated death
threats from Islamic fun
damentalists” according
to reports. Peter Tatchell
(pictured), the leader of
OutRage, Brett Lock, its
campaign coordinator,
and Aaron Saeed, the
group’s spokesperson on Muslim affairs,
have been warned they will be murdered,
Tatchell revealed July 18.
The men have been told they are on a
“hit list” and are going to be “beheaded”
and “chopped up” in accordance with
Islamic law. The news comes in the wake
of the July 7 terrorist bombings in London
that killed more than 50 people and that
authorities say were the work of Islamic
militants.
The threats apparently began after
OutRage stepped up its campaign in
defense of LGBT Muslims, including those
fleeing attempted “honor killings.” Tatchell
said that Islamic fundamentalists have
made attempts to track his movements by
posing as journalists, police officers and
CHEAP
AND
EASY.
members of the Muslim Council of Britain.
He said that police are investigating.
Amnesty calls for investigation
QIJERETARO, Mexico — Amnesty
International is calling for a full investiga
tion into the unsolved murder of Octavio
Acuna, 28, a'gay activist who was found
June 21 dead from multiple stab wounds in
the condom shop he owned. The shop was
a place for people to get information on
sexual orientation and HIV/AIDS issues.
In 2004 Acuna and his partner filed a
complaint with the local Human Rights
Commission alleging that police officers
had stopped them in a public park and
announced that “their sort” should not be
there. The commission reportedly took no
action on the case. A few weeks before he
was killed Acuna publicly condemned the
commission’s apathy.
Since Acuna’s murder there has been
little progress in finding his killer. Amnesty
International is pressuring Mexican
authorities to launch an investigation into
the crime and determine why local police
appear to be stonewalling.
Thai gov't to give free HIV drugs
BANGKOK, Thailand — In a July 15
statement from the Health Ministry it was
announced that starting in October every
one in the country who is infected with
HIV will receive anti-retroviral drugs
regardless of ability to pay. Government
officials believe the decision makes
Thailand the first nation in the world to
guarantee the drugs to all citizens.
The Health Ministry said the new drug
program — which is actually an expan
sion of a program that has already given
free anti-retroviral drugs to 50,000 low
income patients — is the result of a prom
ise made at an international AIDS confer
ence last year. The scheme is expected to
cost the government $68 million in the
first year.
Thailand has been considered a suc
cess story in the region’s fight against
AIDS, with the annual rate of new HIV
infections dropping to just over 21,000
from more than 140,000 in the early
1990s. It is estimated that nearly a million
Thais have HIV/AIDS.
Poll: Most support marriage bill
OTTAWA, Canada — A new poll con
ducted for The Globe and Mail newspaper
and the CTV television network shows that
55 percent of Canadians believe the next
government should let same-sex legisla
tion stand. Thirty-nine percent said they
would like to see an attempt made to
repeal it and 6 percent said they did not
know.
The poll is seen as an indication of a
resurgence in popular support for the gov
erning Liberal Party and a further indica
tion that Conservative leader Stephen
Harper (pictured) has moved his party too
far to the right. Harper has said that he
would rescind the same-sex marriage law
if he becomes prime minister.
“The Liberals have been successful in
defining same-sex marriage as an issue of
rights, not as a moral issue, and that pre
vails. Rights will win over other issues.”
said Tim Woolstencroft, managing partner
of Strategic Counsel, the firm that con
ducted the poll.
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