Majority of Canadians surveyed say homophobia is as bad as racism

MONTREAL (CP) - Almost 60 per cent of Canadians surveyed indicated they believe being homophobic is as bad as being racist or anti-Semitic, says a new poll.

The Leger Marketing poll found five per cent of respondents indicated they viewed homophobia as worse than racism or anti-Semitism, 58 per cent thought they were comparable, while 24 per cent said homophobia was not as bad. About 14 per cent of respondents said they did not know or refused to answer.

British Columbia, at 65 per cent, had the highest level of respondents who thought being homophobic was as bad as being racist or anti-Semitic.

Alberta, at 47 per cent, had the lowest level.


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City Continues To Ignore Out-Of-State Gay Wedding Ban
by Margo Williams
365Gay.com Newscenter

(Worcester, Massachusetts) The city of Worcester is continuing to issue marriage licenses to out-of-state same-sex couples despite a warning from Gov. Mitt Romney and Attorney General Thomas Riley.

The move pits Worcester city clerk David Rushford against the two most power elected officials in the state.

Worcester was one of  four municipalities which decided a week ago to issue licenses to same-sex couples from outside Massachusetts even though Gov. Romney, a Republican, warned the marriages would be illegal and would not be registered. The other cities were Provincetown, Somerville, and Springfield.

Friday, acting on instructions from Romney, Riley, a Democrat, reminded the four cities that under a 1913 law marriage licenses cannot be given to couples whose union would be illegal in their home state.


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New Yorkers March For Gay Marriage Rights 
by Beth Shapiro
365Gay.com Newscenter

(New York City) More than 2,000 New Yorkers staged a protest march across the Brooklyn Bridge Sunday to demand the right for same-sex couples to marry in the Empire State.

Many of the marchers wore signs on their backs bearing numbers representing each of the 1,838 state and federal rights denied to gay couples unable to marry. Others were dressed in wedding garb.

The protest stretched for more than a mile.  

"We pay taxes. We're good citizens. "We need to be treated equally," said City Councilwoman Margarita Lopez (D-Manhattan) who marched with her partner Francisca Rivera.