GLOBAL
to everyone vv'ho participated in
and helped us celebrate our
J|)^th Anniversary Party |
- the
suff of Limom
... J s
i #1
W'
.3
ar open
5 p.m. to 1 a.m.
Byerydoy
Kitchin^pen
Br»T
6 JULY 29.2006 *Q-NOTES
International News Notes
by David Stout. Q-Notes staff
Survivors offered pension rights
ROSARIO, Argentina — On June 15 the
City Council of Rosario, Santa Fe state,
approved a measure granting pension rights to
surviving LGBT partners of deceased city state
employees who “had lived openly in marriage
like fashion for a minimum of five years prior
to the death of [the] city state employee,
regardless of their sexual orientation or gender
identity” The initiative was introduced by
Socialist Party Councilman Pablo Colono.
VOXAsociacion Civil, an LGBT rights
group active in the Santa Fe state, drafted the
measure. It states in part, “It is time to take
into account the new family structures of
today.... By acknowledging the new family
structures, the personal right to free determi
nation is also legitimized.”VAC also drafted
the sexual orientation non-discrimination law
enacted in Rosario last December.
On July 6, a second LGBT pension ordi
nance was passed in Santa Fe state, this one in
the capital city of Santa Fe. The proposal was
sponsored by Councilwoman Marta Fassino.
Anti-bullying DVD targets schools
LONDON, England — LGBT rights group
Stonewall and London
Mayor Ken Livingstone
have jointly produced a
new anti-homophobic
bullying DVD for distri
bution to teachers in all
London’s secondary
schools. The Spell it Out
DVD campaign was
launched July 4 at the Stonewall-sponsored
conference “Tackling Homophobia In Our
Schools.” More than 100 key decision makers
from across the British education sector
attended the conference.
Ben Summerskill (pictured). Stonewall
chief executive, said “This DVD pack is an
important step towards tackling the homo-
phobic bullying that damages the lives of so
many young people.”
Livingstone added, “There are many
extreme examples of violent and unpleasant
homophobic bullying, but we also have a
huge mountain to climb to eliminate the so-
called low level abuse and prejudice, such as
using ... ‘gay’ as a term of denigration,
which only legitimizes harassment and
exclusion. I hope Spell it Out will motivate
London’s school staff to work together to
tackle homophobic bullying and make
London’s schools safer and more pleasant
for everyone.”
Mugabe’s war on gays continues
HARARE, Zimbabwe — Virulently anti
gay President Robert Mugabe (pictured) took
his ongoing campaign
against gays and les
bians a step further this
month when his govern
ment greatly widened
the scope of Zimbabwe’s
sodomy law. Before, the
law specifically prohibit
ed sexual activity
between men. Now it bans any “act involving
contact between two males that would be
regarded by a reasonable person as an inde
cent act.”
Human rights groups are concerned that
the law potentially makes it a crime for two
men to kiss, hug or hold hands. Their concerns
are warranted under the rule of the 82-year-
old strongman; Mugabe regularly declares gays
to be “less than pigs and dogs” and says homo
sexuality is a “white man’s disease.”
During a recent public address Mugabe
told the cheering throng that same-sex
marriage is a threat to mankind. He con
demned churches that bless gay unions and
said his government would jail clergy for
performing same-sex union ceremonies in
Zimbabwe.
WorldPride still on sponsors say
JERUSALEM, Israel — At press time the
organizers of WorldPride say they intend to go
forward with the international LGBT celebra
tion, scheduled to take place here Aug. 6-12,
despite the ongoing violence between Israeli
military forces and Lebanon-based Hezbollah.
However, they add that they are closely moni
toring the situation with the opening date
quickly approaching.
Hagai El-Ad, executive director of
Jerusalem Open House, the sponsor of
WorldPride, said, “We feel that these days,
optimistic messages speaking for tolerance
and against violence — as are indeed the core
messages of the Jerusalem WorldPride events
— are even more significant than during
calmer times.... During the current hostili
ties, Jerusalem is a calm spot, with a variety of
public events going on as scheduled. We
advise our guests from around the world to
follow the news together with us, and hope
together with us for peace.”
The complete schedule of events for
Jerusalem WorldPride 2006 can be found
online at www.worldpride.net.
Pop star announces gay union
LONDON, England — Singer-songwriter
Darren Hayes (pic
tured), who scored sev
eral hits as the vocalist
for ’90s pop duo Savage
Garden, revealed on his
website earlier this
month that he had a
civil union ceremony
with his boyfriend of
two years, Richard Cullen, here on June 19.
The 34-year-old artist wrote, “I can honestly
say it was the happiest day of my life.”
Hayes, who was briefly married to a
woman in the late ’90s, noted, “I’m proud of
who I am, and after what felt like an eternity.
I’m finally in a place where my heart is
secure and content. And I can finally make
sense of all of the searching ” Just don’t
expect him to talk about it: I am and will
continue to be a public person with a private
life,” he explained.
Hayes co-founded Savage Garden with
multi-instrumentalist Daniel Jones in
Australia in 1994. They achieved worldwide
success with a string of singles, including “I
Want You,” “Truly, Madly, Deeply, To The
Moon And Back” and I Knew I Loved You.”
The duo parted company in 2001 and Hayes
embarked on a solo career. >