Transvestite(sic) is jailed for vice
By MOHAMMED ASLAM


A THAI man(?) who dressed as a woman and paraded in the street has been jailed for two months.

The 29-year-old transvestite will be deported as soon as he finishes his sentence.

Police spotted him in a dress, full make-up, high heels and carrying a handbag in a Manama street, in March this year.

He was talking to a Bahraini man who ran off when the police approached, the Lower Criminal Court heard.



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SIUC CONTINUES TO DISCUSS HEALTH BENEFITS
BY CALEB HALE
THE SOUTHERN


CARBONDALE -- The Southern Illinois community may not like the idea of Southern Illinois University extending medical benefits to partners of gay and lesbian employees, but on the Carbondale campus the tone seems more favorable.

Sensing the issue would arise in the upcoming semester at SIUC, many faculty, staff and student groups discussed their positions on the matter in the spring and over the summer. Some have come to a conclusion, others are still on the fence; all groups are curious as to what the board of trustees will ultimately decide

Jake Baggott, chair of SIUC's administrative and professional staff council, said members of the council passed a resolution to support a board decision extending benefits to same-sex couples last spring.


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Rap stars targeted by police for lyrics inciting gay hatred
By Jason Bennetto


An inquiry into homophobia in song lyrics and within the media has been launched by police and Crown prosecutors.

The crackdown on offensive material has been set up following a growing number of complaints to police about allegedly homophobic language.

As part of the review, the Crown Prosecution Service is re-examining the lyrics of four of the most famous Jamaican dancehall artists who are accused of using homophobic language, including calls to kill gays, to consider charging them with criminal offences.

There has been growing frustration within the police and gay communities that despite apparently explicit lyrics and comments that are clearly homophobic, there have been no prosecutions.



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Korea not ready for gay marriages


The Greek philosopher Plato said there were three original human sexes - man, woman, and a union of the two - and acknowledged the possibility of same-sex love. Korean authorities don't agree.

In the first ruling by a Korean court on same-sex marriages, Incheon district court in late July dismissed a divorce suit by a lesbian couple on the grounds it did not meet the definition of marriage in Korean society.

Plaintiff A, 45, and defendant B, 47, lived together for 21 years. When they suddenly broke up, A sued B for compensation.

Throwing out the case, chief judge Lee Sang-in said marriage in Korean society means the mental and physical union of a male and female under monogamist customs. A gay couple's life does not meet that standard under social concepts or family orders.


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Gay marriage ballot issue headed to state’s high court
John Hill
TalktoJHill@aol.com


BATON ROUGE — Gay activists lost a second round Monday in their three-court attack on the constitutionality of the Sept. 18 proposition prohibiting gay marriage or civil unions.
No matter what any lower court rules, the issue is headed quickly to the state Supreme Court.

State District Court Judge Mike Caldwell of Baton Rouge on Monday morning ruled that the Forum for Equality’s lawsuit — one of three — was filed prematurely. He agreed with the state’s attorneys that the Election Code under which it was brought provides only for challenges after voting has taken place.

New Orleans attorney John Rawls, representing the Forum and three individuals challenging the constitutionality of the proposition, said he will appeal immediately and expects a hearing next Monday before the 1st Circuit, State Court of Appeal in Baton Rouge.


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Gay couples' covenants with each other and God exist, regardless of church attitude
August 17, 2004
Cape Town
By Pieter Oberholzer


Inclusive and Affirming Ministries (IAM) is an organisation that has been working for the past 10 years with all the major churches in the Western Cape, striving for a more open and inclusive attitude towards lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered people. Ultimately we would consider a church fully inclusive if it respects, and is willing to bless, the loving covenant relationship of a lesbian or gay couple.