Gay-marriage foes lose in Canada
An appeals court in Canada’s Saskatchewan province has ruled that marriage commissioners cannot opt out of performing same-sex nuptials because of religious objections.
The decision is in response to a proposed law, which had two versions: One would allow any marriage commissioner to not perform a same-sex wedding because of his or her religion; the other version would allow commissioners to opt out of performing a same-sex ceremony only if they were commissioners before Canada enacted marriage equality in 2004.
The Jan. 10 ruling declared that both versions run contrary to Canada’s Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
McDonald’s reviews ban on gay websites
McDonald’s New Zealand claims it was reviewing its Internet access policies Jan. 11 after gay groups complained the fast-food giant was blocking their websites from its Wi-Fi network.
Gay lifestyle website GayNZ.com sparked the review when it published an open letter condemning McDonald’s for “censoring” the free Wi-Fi access it introduced in its 132 restaurants last month.
GayNZ and sites offering advice and resources to the gay community were barred.
McDonald’s said it barred gambling, tobacco and adult websites from its Wi-Fi service because it was a family restaurant chain and all content it allowed must be suitable for children to view.
Ugandan pols split on homosexuality
Kizza Besigye, the top opposition leader in Uganda who is challenging President Yoweri Museveni, suggested he would decriminalize homosexuality if elected.
Besigye said Jan. 10 that police in Uganda have more pressing concerns than investigating homosexuality, though he stressed that he was speaking for himself and not the four-party opposition group he leads. His remarks were filmed for a town-hall dialogue that will air on Ugandan TV as the county prepares for a vote on Feb. 18.
“This is something that is done in the privacy of people’s rooms, between consenting adults,” he said.
This month, the Uganda high court ruled that media couldn’t out gay activists, citing their right to privacy. Rolling Stone newspaper [no association with the U.S. magazine], which lost the case, has vowed to appeal the ruling.
However, Parliament member David Bahati has vowed to push his bill that would expand the list of crimes punishable by death related to homosexuality.
Gay senator leads Irish prez race
Irish independent Sen. David Norris is ahead in the race for the Irish presidency, an opinion poll predicts.
The gay politician was favored by 27 percent of the 1,001 people surveyed.
Fine Gael candidate MEP Mairead McGuinness garnered 13 percent of those surveyed, while former Taoiseach Bertie Ahern earned 12 percent.
Norris is a former academic with almost 25 years of political experience. He said that if elected president, he would use the ensuing media attention to “sell Ireland.”
“Anybody else elected as president of Ireland I don’t think is going to get the same kind of sensational news coverage. And I think that’s splendid, because if I went to Washington as president, every single news channel will be there hungry for a story. I have been around long enough to deal with that story with dignity and then move on to talk about Ireland, to sell our country.”