Mar 25, 2005   | COMMENTS     

OTTAWA (AP) — A former interim leader of the Conservative party has resurfaced at the helm of a national campaign against gay marriage. And Dr. Grant Hill isn’t backing down from views that once branded him as homophobic. He says he’ll spread his message at the pivotal Conservative policy convention this week as the party tries to cast itself as election-ready. Conservative leaders had planned to avoid debate on contentious issues such as gay marriage and abortion, but a fierce internal backlash forced them to retreat. Hill says few people are willing to risk being criticized by stating what he says is scientifically obvious: that the “homosexual lifestyle” includes “distinct health negatives”; that those with an “unwanted sexual preference” can choose to change it; and that children do best when raised by straight couples. Legislators shouldn’t dilute that ideal by opening marriage to gays, says Hill, an Alberta MP for 10 years until he decided not to run in last year’s election and returned to his career as a surgeon.

Police arrest 110 men at Saudi gay wedding
JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia — A gay wedding party resulted in the arrests of 110 men by Saudi Arabian security forces, according to Al-Wifaq, an online Saudi newspaper that has connections to the nation’s interior ministry. Police raided a wedding hall last week after receiving a tip and found the men dancing and “behaving like women,” Al-Wifaq reported. Although 80 of the Saudis later were released, 30 faced charges in a Jeddah court, according to the newspaper. Saudi Arabia punishes homosexuality, which is illegal in the country, by flogging, jail or death, Al-Wifaq reported. The raid came a day after two men who allegedly were lovers were executed in the city of Arar for allegedly killing a Pakistani who found out about their relationship, the newspaper reported. The interior ministry said Ahmed al-Enezi and Shahir al-Roubli, both Saudis, ran over Malik Khan in their car, beat him on the head with stones and set fire to his body, “fearing they would be exposed, after the victim witnessed them in a shameful situation.” Last year the Saudi police raided another event described as a gay wedding party for two African men from Chad at a hotel in the holy city of Medina. About 50 people were arrested. One of the Chadians claimed the party was a rehearsal for his wedding to a woman, but investigators said that party invitations “indicated it was a gay function.”

Church-based gay chastity group expands to Mexico
MEXICO CITY (AP) — A Roman Catholic organization urging chastity and prayer for people with same-sex desires has opened a branch in Mexico, the country’s council of bishops announced last week. Courage Latino is an offshoot of the Courage Apostolate, founded in 1980 by Father John Harvey in New York. It said the organization “is focused on moral health through the practice of chastity, prayer and service.” Courage Latino is based in Cuernavaca, south of Mexico City, and is led by Father Buenaventura Wainwright. It also will have offices in other cities across the country.

Report: Bangkok officials deny plan for homosexuality classes
BANGKOK, Thailand (AP) — Bangkok authorities have denied reports they are mulling a gay rights group’s request to offer classes on homosexuality and tolerance at the city’s primary schools, saying officials have no intention of adopting the plan, a report said last week. Pensri Pichaisanit, the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration’s deputy governor, was quoted earlier by the Nation newspaper as saying officials had told the Bangkok Rainbow Group to draft an outline of the course on homosexuality for consideration. But on March 18, the Nation quoted Pensri as saying there had been a misunderstanding, and that “the BMA does not intend to add such lessons because homosexuality remains a sensitive and contentious issue.” “Parents have expressed concern that lessons on homosexuality might confuse children,” she said, according to the report. The proposal had been floated by the Bangkok Rainbow Group in hopes of promoting tolerance among fourth- to sixth-grade students. Although Thailand is a conservative Buddhist society, homosexuality and cross-dressing are widely tolerated.

Czech lawmakers turn down unions for same-sex couples
PRAGUE — Czech Republic lawmakers defeated the idea of gay unions last ...