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Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero is trying to boost his image as a moderate politician, despite his pro-gay marriage stance. (Photo by Paul White/AP)
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HOME > NEWS > WORLD NEWS
By: JOEY DiGUGLIELMO COMMENTS
 
BONN, Germany — With national elections looming, Spain’s politicians have been avoiding controversial issues such as gay marriage and abortion. Yet recent mass demonstrations and strikes show the issues aren’t going away, according to a report Monday by Deutsche Welle, a German news agency. Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero has developed an image as a firebrand ready to shake up Spain’s conservative Catholic establishment. His Socialist party passed Europe’s most progressive same-sex marriage legislation, introduced fast-track divorce and chipped away at religious education in public schools. But ahead of a fiercely contested national election scheduled for March 9, Zapatero is trying to polish his credentials as a moderate. His nemesis, conservative Popular Party (PP) leader Mariano Rajoy, is doing the same. Both parties are desperate to win over undecided voters, the report said. One hot button issue for conservative Catholic voters is Spain’s legalization of gay marriage in 2005. The Spanish Roman Catholic Church jumped into the fray, warning that the country faced a grave moral danger. The Socialists pushed through the legislation anyway.
LONDON — A Scottish gay activist is in jail awaiting trial on a child porn charge, according to a Daily Record report. Jamie Rennie, 37, who has worked with “Big Brother” star John Loughton, has been charged over indecent images of a child. He is also charged with sending an offensive message. Rennie, the chief executive of Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Youth Scotland, appeared at Edinburgh Sheriff Court last month. He went to the High Court last week to challenge the decision to remand him in custody but was sent back to jail. Rennie is accused of “taking, or permitting to be taken, or making an indecent photograph or pseudo-photograph of a child.” He is further charged with “sending a message or other matter that is grossly offensive or of an indecent, obscene or menacing character.” He could face jail if convicted, the paper said.
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Puerto Rican lawmakers are expected to soon take up a proposal that would block any attempt to permit same-sex marriages in the U.S. island territory. Resolution 99, which would authorize a public referendum on a constitutional amendment defining marriage as only between a man and a woman, has passed in the Senate and will be taken up in the House of Representatives during the legislative session that begins Monday. The measure, which does not require the signature of the governor, is expected to pass although the date of the vote remains undetermined. Critics say the proposal would also prevent Puerto Rican lawmakers from adopting any measures to allow civil unions between men and women or to grant them the same legal status as married couples. Gov. Anibal Acevedo Vila last week criticized the proposal as unnecessary, because local laws already establish that marriage is only between a man and a woman.
MOSCOW — Thirteen gay activists, who were detained as the participants of a protest action against homophobia in a polling station in Moscow in early December, have been declared not guilty, according to Lenta.ru, a Russian web site translated by the Russian Information Centre. The Magistrates Court of Moscow has determined that the act was not an illegal picket, since the activists didn’t have any demonstration aids. This case is noteworthy, the paper said, as for the first time ever the Russian court has sided with gay activists. The participants in the protest action were detained in the polling station, where the Moscow mayor, a well-known opponent of the Gay Pride parade in the Russian capital, had to vote. The activists were going to discuss the aspects of conducting the Pride parade in Moscow, but were taken to the local police station before the head of the city arrived.
SYDNEY, Australia — Anti-gay hate crimes are on the rise here, with activists warning violence may be out of control in the lead-up to the 30th anniversary of Mardi Gras, according to the Daily Telegraph, an Australian newspaper. One Australian AIDS and gay group said it had received 22 reports of homophobic violence in the last six weeks while only 30 had been reported in the previous five months. “If you look at the rate, it’s basically doubled since about November,” said Carl Harris of the Gay and Lesbian Anti-Violence Project. One group said it planned to file a formal complaint against local police for failing to protect the gay community.
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