Japan Refuses Sanctuary To Fleeing Gay
by Peter Hacker
365Gay.com Newscenter
(Tokyo) A Japanese court yesterday rejected a request for refugee status from a gay Iranian man who claimed that his sexuality would be grounds for the death penalty if he was sent back to his homeland. It was the first case taken by a Japanese court dealing with a person who had sought refugee status citing homosexuality. The Tokyo District Court said the 40-year-old man's sexual orientation was not grounds enough to grant refugee status. "In Iran, he has been concealing his homosexuality. Therefore, the possibility is slight that he would be persecuted at home," presiding judge Yosuke Ichimura said.


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Romney still weighing options to stop Massachusetts marriages

Massachusetts is preparing to train city and town clerks to issue marriage licenses to gay and lesbian couples, but that doesn't mean the governor has given up on finding a way to stop the whole thing, a spokesman for Gov. Mitt Romney said Sunday. Eric Fehrnstrom said that although the state anticipates holding training sessions for the clerks soon, the Republican governor is still looking at his "legal options." "We are now preparing for every contingency, and while we continue to review our legal options, we are also making preparations to license same-sex couples to marry," Fehrnstrom said. "It's just smart to prepare for every contingency." Some have speculated that Romney might try to halt the issuance of licenses through an executive order.