Jul 16, 2004   | COMMENTS     

RICHMOND, British Columbia (AP) — Svend Robinson, the first openly gay member of Canada’s parliament, will plead guilty to stealing an expensive diamond ring, his lawyer said. Robinson, a prominent member of the New Democratic Party and environmental activist, “has indicated from the outset he’ll be accepting full responsibility for his actions,” attorney Michael Bolton said last week. When asked if that meant his client would plead guilty, Bolton said, “That’s what that means.” Robinson, charged with theft over $5,000, will likely attend the next hearing in the case Aug. 6 in Provincial Court, his lawyer said. Robinson, 52, shocked Canada’s political world by announcing tearfully in mid-April that he was stepping aside because of an act of “utter irrationality,” pocketing an expensive ring at a public auction on Good Friday. “Something just snapped,” he said. Robinson, who lives with his partner Max Riveron, said he’s been in “extreme stress and emotional pain,” partly from a severe injury suffered in a hiking accident in 1997.

Bahamian group plans to protest arrival of Rosie’s gay cruise
NASSAU, Bahamas — A religious group plans to greet a gay cruise promoted by comedienne Rosie O’Donnell when it arrives July 16 in Nassau with a protest, according to the Nassau Guardian. “Are we going to go after a morally sound nation or are we going to go after our livestock?” Pastor Mario Moxey said. He is chair of the Save the Bahamas Campaign. “Are we going to think our pocketbooks, or are we going to think moral decency?” The cruise was promoted by O’Donnell, who planned to bring her partner, Kelli O’Donnell, and their four children. It was billed as the first “family value” gay cruise, the Guardian reported. Norweigan Cruise Line had hoped to attract 2,200 gay parents, their children and relatives on the voyage from New York with stops in Florida and the Bahamas. Moxey said child molestation and other acts of immorality are on the rise “and we as a nation of people must be very, very, discerning about these things and take the proper steps to preserve what we consider the Bahamas, a Christian nation.”

Pakistani gays face strict legal, religious opposition
LAHORE, Pakistan — Sex between men is strictly forbidden both by law and religious traditions in Pakistan, but it also is embedded in the society even in the nation’s most conservative areas, the Boston Globe reported. Homosexuality is punishable by whipping, imprisonment or death, but that does not stop men from all classes and social groups from having sex with other men, according to the Globe. Young boys often are forcibly “taken” by older men in Pakistani villages, the beginning of a cycle of abuse and revenge that social activists say is common for gay sex in the country, the Globe reported. Gay sex is tacitly accepted in some areas, however, if it does not threaten traditional marriage, according to the Globe. Plus, there is a growing trend of men who identify as gay among Pakistan’s elite in urban areas; they meet on Internet bulletin boards or at private parties, the Globe reported. But gay men remain a small and fearful minority in the strict Islamic nation, according to the newspaper.

Austria officials find photos of priests engaging in sex acts
VIENNA, Austria (AP) — A vast cache of child pornography and photos of young priests having sex has been discovered at a Roman Catholic seminary, officials said Monday, leading politicians and church leaders to demand a criminal probe and the resignation of the bishop in charge. Bishop Kurt Krenn, who oversees the diocese, refused to step down, however, dismissing the images as a “childish prank.” Leaders of the Catholic diocese of St. Poelten where the seminary is located, about 50 miles west of Vienna, spent much of Monday in an emergency meeting. The seminary’s director, the Rev. Ulrich Kuechl, resigned along with his deputy, Wolfgang Rothe, the diocese said after the meeting. It did not elaborate. As many as 40,000 photos and an undisclosed number of films, including child pornography, were found a year ago on computers at the seminary, the respected news magazine Profil reported. It published several images purportedly showing young priests and their instructors kissing and fondling each other, and said others showed them engaging in orgies and sex games.

Turkey gay rights group decries discrimination
ISTANBUL — Despite a vote by the Turkey Parliamentary Justice Commission to include “discrimination based on sexual orientation” in the country’s Penal Code, the panel last week refused to require a prison term for sexual orientation discrimination, upsetting gay ...