Jul 29, 2005   | COMMENTS     

EDMONTON (AP) — Alberta marriage licenses are now being issued to gay couples, much to the distress of Premier Ralph Klein. “It’s a sad day for the majority of Albertans who believe in the traditional definition of marriage,” Klein said in an interview last week. “We have to obey the law of the land, and it’s unfortunate that such a law would be passed.” His words drew an immediate rebuke from one of the gay people who obtained a marriage license last week after the proclamation of federal legislation to allow same-sex marriages across Canada. “I’m disappointed that he used words like ‘unfortunate’ and ‘sad,’” said Mickey Wilson. “My hope was that they would buy into the fact that we’re all citizens of Alberta. It’s really unfortunate that he’s chosen to continue to alienate and continue to speak words that in my personal opinion promote hatred.” Klein said his Conservative government has been steadfastly against creating a law that allows same-sex marriages. “We always believed that gay people should be protected relative to discrimination in terms of housing, jobs and so on,” said the premier. “But when it comes to marriage, we draw the line.”

Judge oversees first wedding of two women in Spain
MADRID, Spain (AP) — More reporters than guests attended the first wedding last week of two women in Spain under the country’s new law allowing same-sex marriages. Judge Jorge Vergara presided over the wedding between a woman from Spain and another from Argentina at a registry office in the town of Mollet del Valles near Barcelona. The national news agency Efe said the near 50 reporters and photographers far outnumbered the 15 guests at the ceremony. The women, who were identified by their first names only, were greeted with applause as they entered the office. They had asked photographers not to take pictures of their faces in the interests of privacy. Spain, a predominantly Catholic country, last month became one of four countries in the world to allow same-sex marriages.

Same-sex marriages on the rise in Belgium
BRUSSELS — Since September 2003, when same-sex marriage became legal in Belgium, some 2,500 gay couples have legalized their unions, United Press International reported. Gay couples now make up 3 percent of all marriages, according to the Ministry of Interior Affairs. Gays who register their partnerships, however, are not allowed to adopt children, and Belgian officials said that factor may cause the popularity of same-sex marriage to wane in coming years, UPI reported. The nation’s parliament is expected to vote this fall on adoption rights for same-sex couples. After the Netherlands, Belgium was the second country in the world to allow gay marriage, which now is also legal in Spain and Canada, although gay adoption remains more restricted.

Gay Hong Kong man challenges laws against homosexual sex
HONG KONG (AP) — A gay man has asked Hong Kong’s courts to review laws against homosexuality, including one that calls for a life sentence for men under the age of 21 who engage in sodomy. A judge finished hearing arguments last week. The challenge was initiated by 20-year-old William Roy Leung, who argues the anti-gay sex laws are discriminatory. The laws explicitly prohibit homosexual acts between men if one or both are under 21. The government has conceded that most of the laws are discriminatory and unconstitutional, a gay activist and local media said. But the government has insisted that the law prescribing a life sentence for a man who engages in sex with another when either is under 21 should be kept, the South China Morning Post reported. A similar law applies to heterosexual sodomy. The age of consent for heterosexual vaginal sex is 16, and lesbian sex acts are not illegal.

Latvian court overturns ban on first Gay Pride parade
RIGA, Latvia (AP) — A Latvian court last week ordered the Riga city council to allow the Baltic country’s first Gay Pride parade to go ahead July 23, two days after the council canceled the event citing security concerns. The Riga regional administrative court overturned a city council decision last week to cancel the parade, ordering it to immediately reissue a permit to let organizers stage the event in the capital’s Old City. Eriks Skapars, the city council’s chief executive, said he rescinded the permit over security concerns after receiving a flood of letters and e-mails from religious and extremist groups opposed to the parade and threatening to disrupt it. The move came hours after Prime Minister Aigars Kalvitis deemed the event offensive.

From staff and wire reports