NY State Bar Committee Divided Over Gay Marriage
New York Lawyer
By John Caher
New York Law Journal


ALBANY - The New York State Bar Association would advocate gay marriage legislation under a proposal put together by a closely divided special panel.

The 380-page report, which will be acted upon at a later date, underscores the divisive debate over how to recognize the equal protection and due process rights of same-sex couples. It traces the legal and historical traditions of marriage and civil liberties and concludes that homosexual couples are denied many of the rights and privileges afforded to heterosexuals.


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Survey: homophobic crimes rise by 23%
Ben Townley, Gay.com UK


Figures from a newspaper survey suggest that homophobic hate crime has risen across the UK by an average of 23%, with statistics in one area increasing by as much as 210%.

The staggering figures, a result of an Independent on Sunday poll into 25 of the UK's 50 police forces, follow the recent spate of attacks in London that have shocked the LGBT and straight population of the capital, known for its 'live and let live' attitude.

But the poll found that officers were also seeing anti-gay hate crimes across the country.

While the Metropolitan Police figures suggest a 12.5% rise in homophobic attacks from January to September this year, Surrey Police saw an increase of 134%, while the Welsh region of Gwent saw a shocking increase of 210% in the same period.


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Backers think gay-rights measure will pass
Louisville councilman to introduce ordinance
By Joseph Gerth
The Courier-Journal


Metro Council member Dan Johnson will introduce an ordinance Thursday that would renew Louisville's controversial provision prohibiting discrimination against gays and lesbians.

Johnson's proposal would re-enact the Jefferson County civil-rights ordinance that bans discrimination because of sex, religion, race, ethnicity, disability, sexual orientation or gender identity. Without council action, the ordinance will expire in three years.


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Secrecy pervades gay life on Zanzibar
 By Helen Nyambura


ZANZIBAR (Reuters) - It's the eve of Ramadan, the holy month for Muslims, but Hamedi says he will not set foot in a mosque for the whole fasting period, or at any other time for that matter.

As a homosexual in the devoutly Islamic Indian Ocean island, Hamedi is afraid other worshippers will attack him if he dares enter a mosque.

"They know I am gay, they throw stones at me on the streets, they insult me. I don't have time for them, I keep to my business," Hamedi said, asking that his name and profession be kept secret.

To the outside world, Zanzibar is a laid-back tourist's paradise but in recent months, Islamic groups have spearheaded a campaign to cleanse the island of "corrupting" practices such as homosexuality and alcohol


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Montana State May Chop Gay Benefits
by The Associated Press


(Bozeman, Montana) Montana State University is reviewing its policy allowing gay couples married in other states to rent family housing in light of last week's approval of a statewide ban on gay marriage.

Leslie Taylor, MSU's legal counsel, said she needed to analyze the impact of Constitutional Initiative 96 and how it could affect school policy.

MSU has always required students applying for family or graduate housing to show proof of a legal relationship, such as a marriage license or guardianship of a child, Taylor said.

An unmarried heterosexual couple living together, for example, would not qualify, she said.


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Concerns shadow Palms Springs gay pride parade
The Associated Press


PALM SPRINGS, Calif. -- Concerns about last week's election and a court ruling voiding same-sex marriages loomed large over a gay pride parade attended by more than 1,000 people Sunday

Music thumped as the procession of couples and rainbow flags moved along the city's main thoroughfare. But many said they were distressed by a California Supreme Court judgment that dissolved nearly 4,000 same-sex unions granted in San Francisco earlier this year.


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Marriage ban strikes fear in mom; FAMILY: 2,960 gay couples married in Oregon in spring.

Rukmini Callimachi, The Associated Press

PORTLAND, Ore. - As she watched her 3-year-old son convert a box into a spaceship, Kelly Burke was dreading the arrival of a letter that could change their lives.

The stay-at-home mom and her partner of 15 years, Dolores Doyle, are among the nearly 3,000 gay couples who married in Oregon this spring. Now the status of those marriages, and the benefits that come with them, is unclear. Oregon voters approved a ban on gay marriage last week.

"The mailman came this morning and I panicked," said Burke, who relies on Doyle's employer for health insurance. "My first thought is: 'Oh my God, here comes the letter. They're cutting me off."'


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Deprived of rights, perhaps gay couples should pay lower taxes


As an American citizen, I felt a great blow in the passing of Issue 1. I have been living with my same-sex partner for seven years. Our love for each other is just as strong as any married straight couple’s, if not stronger.

I feel that I am a second-class citizen, since I won’t be able to enjoy more than 1,450 federal and state rights and responsibilities that come with marriage. I’m wondering, now that I don’t have equal rights in this country, do I have to pay equal state and federal taxes that married couples pay? I should get a tax break, since I am not a whole citizen of this country.


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Slovakia takes stand against gay marriage
From press reports


AT A MEETING of European Union foreign affairs ministers in Brussels November 2, Slovakia unilaterally declared that it would not recognise gay marriages conducted in other EU member countries, according to the TASR news wire.

"Slovakia has taken this measure unilaterally, which means that we will have different laws in this area than the rest of the EU," Foreign Affairs Minister Eduard Kukan explained.


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Election should reinstill gay commitment
By Deb Price / The Detroit News


. . . shell-shocked since Election Day, we've both found ourselves glancing at the travel bags photo with quite a different feeling -- a longing to flee.

Passionate believers in our forefathers' vision of a nation with justice for all, we've begun discussing the unthinkable -- what the anti-gay tipping point would be for us decide to leave our country forever.

We watched in sadness and anger as voters stampeded to the polls to write bans on legal recognition of gay relationships into 11 state constitutions. And we felt assaulted as a president was re-elected after campaigning to amend the U.S. Constitution to remake America into an officially discriminatory nation -- one with liberty and justice for most, not for all.

Already, a new wave of anti-gay state amendments is forming. So is yet another plan for trying to get an amendment through Congress.


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NO NO NO!

The Will of the People Was NOT Expressed in This Election
Revolutionary Worker #1258, November 14, 2004 ,posted at http://rwor.org


Stunned anguish... bitter disgust... even despair. We try to find the words and we can't.

And yes, it is as bad as you think. Almost certainly, it is worse.

On November 3, George Bush called up the newly elected Republican senators who believe in such things as the death penalty for abortion providers and banning gays from teaching and said: "It's time to get the job done." Capitalism personified, Bush told the press, "Let me put it to you this way: I earned political capital in the campaign and now I intend to spend it." He is full of himself--on a mission to take this whole nightmare to an even more intense, more repressive level.


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