Chile considers same-sex civil unions
Chile’s government is considering legislation that would recognize same-sex civil unions.
The bill would grant legal rights to gay couples who have lived together for more than one year.
Despite the heated debate on the issue in the predominantly Catholic country, Chilean president Sebastian Pinera said last month he wanted to safeguard “the dignity of those couples, whether of the opposite or even the same sex.”
If the legislation passes, Chile will be the fifth South American country to legalize same-sex civil unions, joining Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador and Uruguay. Argentina offers marriage rights to gay couples.
Jamaican lesbian granted asylum in U.K.
In what may be a watershed moment for gay Caribbeans seeking refuge in other nations, a Jamaican lesbian who fears for her life has been granted asylum in the United Kingdom.
The woman, whose name was not released, won an appeal from a previous decision that denied her asylum in Britain. This time, immigration judges agreed with her attorneys that Jamaica is “a deeply homophobic society” and her status as an out lesbian could put her at serious risk.
The woman said she feared that she would be subjected to “corrective rape” — which she was threatened with in Jamaica — and that she may sink back into a severe depression if she were forced to return.
The woman first came to the U.K. in 2003 to study and has since begun living openly as a lesbian and entered a longterm relationship. The woman argued to the judges that after living openly for more than seven years, she cannot go back to her old life — and her partner also refuses to move to Jamaica.
According to JamaicaObserver.com, many gay Jamaicans are successfully turning to Canada, the U.K. and the U.S. as venues for asylum from their home nation.
Australian MP challenges overseas marriage ban
A South Australian gay member of Parliament says he will challenge the country’s ban on gay marriages abroad.
Upper House MP Ian Hunter and his partner of 22 years, artist Leith Semmens, intend to tie the knot in New York following that state’s legalization of gay marriage.
However, the Australian government is refusing to issue gay couples with Certificates of Non-Impediment to Marriage, which show they are not already married.
“I don’t want to wait till I’m 75 to get married,” Hunter said. “[The CNI] has no legislative weight … so I can’t see for the life of me how making those instruments available will cause any blowback. I think that it’s petty and mean-spirited.”
Australian Marriage Equality national convener Alex Greenwich said, “The Gillard government’s policy of not allowing same-sex marriages in Australia forces same-sex couples to go overseas if they want to marry, but when they apply to marry in another country, [Prime Minister] Julia Gillard is there saying ‘no’ as well. This means some couples miss out on entitlements and protections they can only receive overseas if they are married in a country that would otherwise recognize their commitment, and it causes endless hassles for couples who have planned their wedding only to find it can’t go ahead.”
The leading Australian Labor Party is to discuss the issue of gay marriage at its conference in December.
However, Gillard said recently that she may not respect any motion in favor of equal marriage.
Antigay protests erupt in Islamabad
Twenty-five people were arrested July 8 in Islamabad, Pakistan, after protests broke out over a gay-rights event hosted by the U.S. Embassy last month. Nine people, including four police officers, were injured.
After Friday prayers, more than 200 members of the Islami Jamiat-e-Talba, or Islamic Organization of Male Students, gathered with signs, and started chanting against the U.S. Embassy as well as the Pakistani government for allowing such an event. The protesters shouted that “Pakistan is an Islamic country and they will not tolerate anything against the Islamic Laws and Shari’a,” and called for a holy war against the U.S. government.
Opera back on after homophobia controversy
The latest show from “Billy Elliot” playwright Lee Hall will go on after all.
A dispute over words spoken by a gay character had threatened to derail his new project, a community opera involving 300 children, but officials said July 7 a compromise had been reached.
“We are delighted to announce that the revisions which the school requested have now been made and the author has addressed the points raised by the school,” the statement said. “The final libretto is now an age-appropriate text, which was all the school had requested.”
The opera opens July 16 in Bridlington, northeast England.
Education officials had said the school removed 300 pupils set to appear in the production because of offensive and derogatory language, and Hall on July 4 had accused the school of having dated and homophobic views.
The writer said he had refused to remove the lines “Of course, I’m queer” and “I prefer a lad to a lass” from the opera “Beached,” the story of an eventful day at the seaside set to music by composer Harvey Brough.
The council said July 7 that the word “queer” had been replaced with “gay.”
The two sides said Hall had addressed concerns over some of the language and tone related to the gay character’s identity and denied claims the changes were requested due to homophobia.
— compiled by Larry Nichols