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Friday, February 10, 2006
OTTAWA, Ontario - Canada last year became only the fourth nation in the world to issue marriage licenses to gay couples, but that right could be scrapped after the new Conservative government took power this week. Party leader Stephen Harper, who campaigned on the promise that he would allow Parliament to vote on whether to reopen the issue, said he "would prefer to do it sooner rather than later, but not immediately," Reuters reported. If Parliament approved the idea, the government would then introduce legislation changing the definition of marriage back to that of a union between a man and a woman. The previous Liberal government brought in the gay marriage law after courts from almost all of the country's provinces ruled that the country's constitution requires it. Both sides agree the vote will be very tight, especially since Harper does not control a majority of the 308 seats in the House of Commons. The new prime minister's gay marriage pledge has pleased social conservatives unhappy the House voted 158-133 last June to allow same-sex marriages. Harper stressed he is committed to gay rights and promises to ensure the 3,000 gay marriages already in place would not be annulled.
Lesbian couple enter British army's first civil partnership
LONDON - Two lesbian soldiers have become the first gay army couple to tie the knot. Sonya Gould, 19, and Vanessa Haydock, 18, both privates in the United Kingdom's Royal Logistics Corps, were married under new civil partnership laws. "It was wonderful to get married and being the first was the icing on the cake," Haydock, based at Hullavington, Wilts, told the Sun. "We want to be together forever." Family and friends attended the ceremony at a register office in Chippenham, west of London. The couple will have to spend the first few weeks of their new partnership apart as tank transporter driver Gould is based at Catterick, North Yorks, but they plan to go on a honeymoon to Majorca as soon as possible, the website Scotman.com reported. They are not the first armed forces couple in a civil partnership. Two female RAF personnel tied the knot before Christmas.
Portuguese lesbian couple attempt to be married
LISBON - Two Portuguese women tried to get married last week and take advantage of a discrepancy in the law to highlight gay rights in this conservative country, the reported Reuters. The two women expected their request to be turned down but said they had already presented an appeal in the courts. "Our desire to get married is just as strong as heterosexual couples," Teresa Pires, 28, told reporters as she left the public registration office where she and her partner had chosen to register their marriage. "We want to get married in our country, we are Portuguese," she said. Portugal is overwhelmingly Roman Catholic. The couple is basing their case on Portugal's 1975 constitution that bans sexual discrimination, arguing that two women have the same right to marry as a man and a woman. Portugal's civil code, however, bans same-sex marriages.
Gay-themed movie is a surprise hit in S. Korea
SEOUL - Lee Joon Ik's historical drama "Wangeui Namja" is the surprise winter hit in South Korea, beating big-budget rivals. Ticket sales for the film, whose title means "The King & the Clown," passed 8 million last week, meaning one out of six South Koreans has seen the movie in its first month, Bloomberg reported. It is already the country's third-most-successful film, after "Taegukki" (2004) and "Silmido'" (2003). The movie, with a budget of $4.5 million, is based on the popular play "Yi" about the obsession of the tyrannical Prince Yeonsan for his male court clown. Lee, known for his offbeat historical dramas, draws on the characters of a king and his clown to depict the relationship between those who have power and those who don't, those who seek power and those who lose it.
Turkey balks on broader gay rights
ISTANBUL - Gay rights groups in Turkey have long hoped that their country's bid for membership in the European Union would bring European-style sexual freedoms, the New York Times reported. But as Turkey has moved closer to conforming to European legal standards and policies, its movement toward legal parity for gays has been halting. Social opposition to public depictions of homosexuality dissolved in the 1990s, letting a gay world emerge from hiding, at least in part. Efforts by rights groups to change public opinion are hampered by government officials who consider gay groups a threat to traditional values. Gay groups are at the mercy of Turkish Civil Code statutes that prohibit organizations that work against public morality.
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