transdada

poetics, time, body disruption and marginally queer solutions

Tuesday, July 13, 2004

COMING OUT
Shalini Nair


Mumbai, July 12: Vijay Pawar is 24 years old, lives in Kalyan and is gay.

It took him a long time to be open about the last part. And when he finally summoned the resolve to tell his friends the truth, he discovered that some of them weren’t really friends at all.

‘‘The fact that I am effeminate was obvious,’’ he says. ‘‘Still, when I told my straight friends about my sexual inclination, they started avoiding me.’’

But a few, like his childhood friend Rajesh Shinde, didn’t: ‘‘When Vijay first confided in me, I was confused,’’ admits Shinde. ‘‘It took me a while to understand that he hadn’t become homosexual by choice.’’

Anyone who whistles at Pawar or calls him an ‘item’ will get a sharp in-your-face rebuke, but others like Ganesh Jadhav (24) simply prefer to ignore the taunts.



~

Anti gay cruise rally set for Sunday
By LaKEISHA McSWEENEY,Guardian Staff Reporter


With the first "family value" gay cruise scheduled to dock in Bahamian waters on July 16, a band of protesters are anticipating to again have numbers that will make politicians realise that citizens value morality over revenue.

"We have to determine what it is that we want," said Pastor Mario Moxey, chairman of The Save The Bahamas Campaign, Wednesday during a press conference at The Bahamas Harvest Church, Prince Charles Drive where he announced a massive rally against gay cruises for Sunday in Rawson Square.

"Are we going to go after a morally sound nation or are we going to go after our livestock? he asked. "Are we going to think our pocketbooks or are we going to think moral decency?

Pastor Moxey added that the numbers at the upcoming rally, the first of numerous scheduled in the coming weeks, would also force politicians to end their silence on homosexual cruises and



~

GOP senators in disarray over gay marriage
They fear proposed amendment will fall short of a majority
Carolyn Lochhead, Chronicle Washington Bureau


Washington -- Sharp internal divisions sent Senate Republican leaders scrambling behind closed doors Monday to salvage a constitutional amendment to ban same- sex marriage from an embarrassing defeat that could leave it short of even a simple majority.

The disarray broke out just two days before Republican leaders had planned a politically sensitive vote to put senators on record about whether a constitutional amendment should declare that marriage remain the union of one man and one woman.

But instead of a landmark debate, Republicans found themselves filibustering their own amendment to stop it from coming to the floor on Wednesday for a straight up-or-down vote -- out of fear that it might fail to get even 51 votes, much less the 67, or two-thirds majority, required to amend the Constitution.

Republicans apparently were taken by surprise when Democrats, sensing a huge victory, offered to lift their own objections and proceed to direct consideration of the measure.



~

Few attend gay marriage debate
Senate vote looms on proposed ban
By Susan Milligan, Globe Staff


WASHINGTON -- The Senate yesterday opened debate on a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage, with just a few lawmakers showing up to discuss what is widely acknowledged to be a losing battle for the measure's supporters.
ADVERTISEMENT

Despite the emotional and politically explosive nature of the issue, senators kept their arguments dry and legal, appearing to avoid mentions of human sexuality, or the actual prospect of two men or two women marrying each other. In a sign of lawmakers' reluctance to discuss homosexuality on the Senate floor in an election year -- as well as the typical lower attendance rate on a Monday -- the chamber was nearly deserted, and the small group of senators who did talk on the issue often spoke to a nearly empty chamber.

Proponents argued that ''activist judges" should not be permitted to ''create" the right to same-sex marriage, while foes of the amendment said the matter should be left to the states, which traditionally handle family law.

''I don't believe this limits rights. I think what this does is promote a public good," said Senator Rick Santorum, a Pennsylvania Republican who has been leading the fight for a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage. Last year, Santorum refused to apologize for comments he made comparing homosexuality to bigamy, polygamy, incest, and adultery.



0 Comments:

Post a Comment

<< Home