Bishop to bless gay union in Prince George's
June ceremony planned for Episcopal pastor, partner in Glenn Dale
Associated Press
COLLEGE PARK - The bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Washington will perform a blessing service for a gay couple at a Prince George's County church next month, the first time a bishop has conducted the service in the diocese.

Bishop John Chane will perform the ritual June 12 at St. George's Episcopal Church in Glenn Dale for the parish's pastor, the Rev. Michael Hopkins, and his partner, John Bradley.

Although not a marriage ceremony, the blessing is a recognition by the diocese of the gay couple's partnership, according to diocese spokesman Jim Naughton.


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Gay adoptions pressure on Labor
By Misha Schubert

The Howard Government is poised to put Labor under pressure with its bid to ban overseas adoptions by gay couples after Opposition shadow ministers recommended opposing the ban yesterday.

Labor's formal position will be discussed at what is tipped to be a fiery caucus meeting today.

Several right-wing MPs will argue passionately against the proposed stance on foreign adoptions but Labor sources last night expected the shadow ministry's recommendations to prevail.

With the Democrats, Greens and independent senator Meg Lees having pledged to block the bill, Labor's position is crucial to its fate.


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Council to weigh in on gay marriage amendment
By Jason Gewirtz
Staff writer


LONG BEACH - The issue of same-sex marriage has filled state legislatures and the halls of Congress.

On Tuesday, the City Council weighs in as well.

Three council members will propose a resolution to oppose the Federal Marriage Amendment, a proposed Constitutional amendment that would define marriage as a union between a man and a woman.

In proposing the resolution, council members Dan Baker, Bonnie Lowenthal and Tonia Reyes Uranga said the city's diversity, including a large gay and lesbian population, warrants a council position against the marriage amendment.

A draft resolution notes that "the opportunity to publicly and legally commit to sharing one's life with a person of one's choice is one of the most central aspects of human experience.' The federal amendment would deny same sex-couples the benefits, privileges, protections and responsibilities provided to opposite-sex couples and their families, the resolution states


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Benefits for same-sex couples on the rise
By JIM HAUG
Business Writer



DAYTONA BEACH -- After a year as a visiting professor, Tim Wilson decided he wanted to stay at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, but he wanted to make sure he could get health insurance for his boyfriend.

Getting employers to extend benefits to same sex couples "takes a certain amount of conscience raising," Wilson said.

An analysis by the Human Rights Campaign, a gay advocacy group, found the number of private employers providing domestic partner benefits increased by 18 percent in 2003.

Still, local employers who offer gay-friendly benefits are rare in Volusia and Flagler counties.

If they do, they're likely to belong to big corporations, like Starbucks or Delta Air Lines, or they're private universities like Stetson and Embry-Riddle, according to the Human Rights Campaign analysis.


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Bollywood Queens
Shelina Begum


A Bollywood-style film about Indian drag queens shocked the censor so much it was banned.
Despite the uproar over director Sridhar Rangayan's ‘Pink Mirror' (Gulabi Aina) the film has received critical acclaim all over the world and even received the highest award at the 'Question De Genres' film festival in France.

The controversial director who campaigns for gay rights was in Manchester recently with his film, which was shown in the Commonwealth Film Festival.

The Pink Mirror is the first film from India, which focuses on homosexuality in a realistic way neither glorifying, or denigrating gay characters.

Said Sridhar: "Drag queens love camp humour, dance and drama and they love Bollywood films.
“That is why I set the film in a Bollywood soap format with song and dance routines.
"It uses the same clichés but inverts the genre.


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Protest of gay student scholarship met with counterprotest


IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) -- A Kansas church group conducting an anti-gay protest was met with a larger counterprotest during Iowa City High School's graduation ceremony.

As the 330 graduates marched to their seats at the Saturday event, a group of about 15 protesters, including three children, from Westboro Baptist Church in Topeka, Kan., stood outside denouncing what they said was the school's enabling of the gay lifestyle by awarding the Matthew Shepard scholarship.

The scholarship is a state award given to a high-achieving openly gay student. It is named for a gay Wyoming college student who was tortured and killed in 1998.

Across the street from the church's protest was a counterprotest of about 75 people supporting graduate Ilse Bendorf, who was presented with the Matthew Shepard scholarship last week.


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Traveller sees red
Sandals says it's `niche marketing' when it limits same-sex couples at a resort One customer and industry insiders question the
TONY WONG
BUSINESS REPORTER


Sandy Shiffman was surfing the Internet looking for a vacation package when she came across a statement on a travel Web site that she says felt like a "slap in the face."

The Air Canada Vacations information for the Royal Plantation Spa & Golf Resort explicitly states that "Sandals Resorts accept heterosexual couples only, 18 years of age and older."

"I was absolutely horrified," said Shiffman.

"Here we are living in a country that has supported gay rights and gay marriage, and you have a blatantly offensive statement like that on the Web site of our national carrier, right below the Canadian flag," she said.