Oceania
Gay Red Shirt Day
New Zealanders plan gathering to show Prime Minister that ‘gay’ is not an insult A group of parents have declared this Friday (9 November) ‘Gay Red Shirt Day’ after New Zealand Prime Minister John Key used ‘gay’ as an insult when he criticized a radio host’s ‘gay red top’. The day was inspired by Green… Read more »
New Zealand: Presbyterian Church to defy its governing body and perform same-sex marriages
A church in Wellington, New Zealand, has vowed to go against its governing body if equal marriage becomes legal, and perform same-sex weddings, ”because what matters in marriage is love and commitment.” The St Andrews on the Terrace Presbyterian Church, released a statement today titled “We support equal marriage”, which said that the church would… Read more »
Tasmanian gay marriage bill defeated
Gay marriage advocates have vowed to keep campaigning as numbers mount against them in the first attempt at pioneering state-based same sex marriage. The numbers for reform in Tasmania were lost tonight when the eighth voice against the bill was declared in the 15 member state upper house, the Legislative Council. Australian Marriage Equality spokesman… Read more »
Constructions of lesbian, gay, bisexual and queer identities among young people in contemporary Australia.
Source – College of Human and Health Sciences, Swansea University , UK. Abstract This paper focuses on young people’s construction of lesbian, gay, bisexual and queer (LGBQ) identities in contemporary Australia. Through the perspectives of young people, it seeks to position their understanding of LGBQ identities alongside current theoretical and empirical debates about the individual and… Read more »
Australian Senate Joins House In Rejecting Gay Marriage Bill
The Australian Senate on Thursday rejected a bill which would have legalized gay marriage in the country. The Senate voted 41 to 26 against the measure. Yesterday, the House of Representatives defeated the measure with a 98 to 42 vote. Liberal Senator Sue Boyce broke ranks with her party during debate on the bill. “Gay… Read more »
Australia votes against legalising equal marriage
Lawmakers in the Australian Parliament have overwhelmingly rejected a bill that would have introduced equal marriage rights for same-sex couples. The House of Representatives voted 98-42 against the legislation last night. It was the first of four bills introduced to the parliament that aimed to lift the country’s ban on same-sex marriage. A separate bill… Read more »
Poland: HIV infections on the rise for gay men due to ‘risky’ sexual behavior
A study in Poland shows there were 992 new HIV infections reported in the country last year, and that two thirds of those who tested positive for the virus were in the gay community. Poland’s National AIDS Centre said that some of the rise was down to improved HIV testing. However, the report also said… Read more »
Australian doctor banned for prescribing gay ‘cure’ to teen
An Australian doctor has been severely reprimanded and banned from working as a general practitioner after prescribing a drug to a teen who came to him for help to “cure” his homosexuality. An Australian doctor who is a member of the Exclusive Brethren Christian sect has been banned from practising as a General Practitioner after… Read more »
Poland moves towards introducing civil partnerships
Poland’s ruling centre-right party, Platforma Obywatelska (PO), has announced that it will introduce legislation allowing gay couples to have civil unions. It’s being seen as a step forward for gay rights in the Eastern European country – although it falls far short of marriage equality, and the measure is facing stiff opposition from social conservatives.… Read more »
Public debate about marriage equality to be held among Pacific communities in New Zealand
Pacific leaders in Auckland, New Zealand, say it is necessary for their communities to hold a public debate the country’s marriage equality bill to quell fears that it will cause conflict with Pacific churches and undermine “traditional values”. As reported by Radio New Zealand News, Labour’s Pacific Island Affairs spokesperson Su’a William Sio has asked… Read more »
Australia: Premiers of South Australia and Tasmania promise same-sex marriage
The premiers of South Australia and Tasmania say that they will legislate to introduce same-sex marriage regardless of what Australian federal Prime Minister Julia Gillard or parliament does. While there are two marriage equality bills before the federal parliament, South Australian Premier Jay Weatherill told gay rights campaigners at a rally in Adelaide that he… Read more »
Tasmania Plans Gay Marriage Law, Pressuring Australia’s Gillard
Tasmania’s Premier Lara Giddings will move to legalize same-sex marriage on the island, making it the first Australian state to approve gay unions and intensifying pressure on Prime Minister Julia Gillard to follow suit. “We will be leading the way for the rest of Australia to follow,” Giddings, 39, told a ruling state Labor Party… Read more »
‘Gay panic’ killer walks free after four years
An Australian man who killed a man he claimed had made a gay pass at him has walked free after only four years in jail after using the so-called ‘gay panic defense’ to downgrade a murder charge to manslaughter An Australian killer who claimed his victim made a gay pass at him has walked free… Read more »
East Europe Gays,Lesbians March in Show of Pride
Warsaw, Poland (AP) – Hundreds of gays, lesbians and their supporters marched Saturday through the capitals of Poland and Latvia, demanding more rights in Eastern European societies where they still face high levels of intolerance. The parades were supported by the governments of the United States and other Western countries who are pushing for an… Read more »
Tasmania: 250 attend vigil at ‘Excellent Marriage’ anti-gay marriage conference
250 people attended a vigil outside an anti-marriage equality conference in Tasmania last night as it was revealed the winning video message in the conference’s competition to define an ‘excellent marriage’ was from a gay man. The Excellent Marriage conference was attended by around 350 organisers said today, with an address by former senator Guy… Read more »
Fiji’s first Pride march cancelled
Fiji’s first LGBT rights march cancelled because officials ‘did not realise they had given a permit for gays to march’ The Pacific island nation of Fiji was due to celebrate it’s first ever march for gay rights today, but the IDAHO (International Day Against Homophobia) event was cancelled at the last minute by police. Oceania… Read more »
Australian former judge says he is a ‘second-class citizen’ because he cannot marry
Retired High Court of Australia judge is questioned by senate inquiry into legalising same-sex marriage Micheal Kirby, former High Court of Australia judge Retired judge Michael Kirby reached the pinnacle of his profession and served on the High Court of Australia for 13 years, but despite this he said today that he is a ‘second-class… Read more »
Australia: Former High Court judge speaks up for equal marriage
A former High Court judge in Australia, in testifying to a parliamentary inquiry into equal marriage, has said that all rights afforded to heterosexual citizens should also be afforded to LGBT citizens. Michael Kirby, 73, and in a relationship with his partner for 43 years, said: “My brother is left-handed and I was gay [sic].”… Read more »
AIDS memorial quilt gets permanent home in the Museum of New Zealand
Memorial quilt for the first victims of HIV/AIDS in New Zealand handed to museum in church ceremony Te Papa, the Nation Museum of New Zealand in Wellington The national museum of New Zealand, Te Papa, accepted the country’s AIDS memorial quilt in a church ceremony yesterday. The quilt, a memorial to the first victims of… Read more »
Matthew Mitcham happy to be seen as an LGBT icon
The Australian Olympic champion, Matthew Mitcham, has said that he’s happy to be seen as an icon for the LGBT community, and did not mind the attention that would be drawn to his personal life as a result. Mr Mitcham, 24, came out shortly before the Beijing olympics, where he won the 10-meter platform event,… Read more »
Mr Gay World 2012 won by German man
The fourth Mr Gay World contest took place in Johannesburg, South Africa, yesterday. This was the first time that the contest included black African participants, whose involvement brought its own fraught set of problems. The title was taken by Andreas Derleth, a German man who lives in New Zealand and who beat 21 other contestants.… Read more »
Poll: Australia leads Britain and US in support for equal marriage
Australia is leading Britain and the US in its support for the implementation of equal gay marriage rights, a poll released today suggests. An equal right for gay couples to marry had 49 percent support in Australia, 43 percent support in Britain and 42 percent support in the US, the Angus Reid Public Opinion survey… Read more »
NZ HIV infection numbers drop
Nurse’s care not adequate – report Alcohol warnings to pregnant women Mental illness on rise in children ACC tries to plug another breach Recession’s big role in mental-health spike Study follows 3000 as they age Council backs birthing proposal Release evidence to back claims, Pullar told Home service helps patients recover Widow begins her long… Read more »
Gay Asians fight stereotypes
A new magazine hopes to reach gay men in Asian communities – both in Australia and abroad – in a fight against cultural stereotypes and sexual hierarchy. Video The magazine’s editor and some contributors told SBS about their vision for the groundbreaking publication, in an environment rife with racism and misconceptions. The editor of A-Men,… Read more »
Hon. Michael Kirby Calls for Decriminalization of Homosexuality in Asia Pacific
Retired Australian High Court judge Michael Kirby has called on Asian and Pacific nations to decriminalise homosexuality. Mr Kirby told Radio Australia’s Asia Pacific program that in 41 of 54 Commonwealth nations, laws against homosexuals are still “steadfastly in force… They [the laws] isolate people, stigmatise them, and make them second-class citizens,” he said. Mr… Read more »
Polish Court Considers it Legitimate to Compare Homosexuality to Beastiality
Warsaw – Controversy in Poland following the judgment of a Warsaw court has dismissed the lawsuit brought by LGBT activists against one of the largest dailies in the country porcomparar homosexuality to bestiality. The ruling comes just months after another Polish court unleashed a wave of indignaciónal authorize a far-right party to use a symbol… Read more »
One-fifth of gay Auckland men with HIV unaware they are infected
A fifth of gay and bisexual Auckland men with HIV are unaware they are infected, new research has found. The Otago University study is the first community-based biological measure of HIV to estimate of the rate of undiagnosed and overall HIV infection among gay and bisexual Auckland men. The research suggests 6.5 per cent of… Read more »
Catholic priest wins ‘gay panic defence’ fight
The Queensland government has announced it will make the changes necessary to ensure ‘gay panic’ cannot be raised as a partial defence to murder. Recommendations to amend the Criminal Code have been made after a petition by a Catholic priest garnered more than 25,000 signatures and international support. So-called “gay panic” has been invoked by… Read more »
Regional action needed on homophobia
Australian gay rights activists have called on the Gillard Government to take a stronger stand on LGBTI rights in the region following the release of a United Nations report into high levels of violence faced by LGBTI people worldwide. The report was released in Geneva last week after a UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) resolution… Read more »
Australian Psychological Society backs call for equal marriage rights
The Society backed the American Psychological Associations August resolutionThe Society backed the American Psychological Associations August resolution The Australian Psychological Society has officially given its support to full marriage equality for gay couples, adding the voice of its 20,000 members to the debate. The group’s board approved an endorsement of the American Psychological Association’s resolution… Read more »
Sydney LGBTI leaders speak of hopes and wishes for 2012
Sydney – Marriage equality, rapid HIV testing, an expansion of services for LGBTIQ youth in need, and anti-discrimination laws that offer every person protection no matter what their sexuality, gender or sex identity, are a few of the things that some of the country’s leading LGBTI bodies and community groups will be fighting for and… Read more »
Bill repeal will traumatise gays: psych
Repealing laws allowing same sex couples to form civil unions will cause psychological damage to gays and lesbians, a psychologist says. Independent Queensland MP Rob Messenger on Tuesday announced he would put forward a private member’s bill after the state election to repeal the same-sex civil union bill passed recently by Queensland parliament. Brisbane-based psychologist… Read more »
Australia lifts ban on certificates for gay couples marrying abroad
The Australian government has lifted a ban which hindered the ability of gay couples to marry overseas. Many countries require Certificates of No Impediment to Marriage before they allow a couple to wed, but for gay Australians, these have been impossible to acquire from their home government. Attorney-General Robert McClelland announced the change of policy… Read more »
Video: Australian marriage equality short becomes overnight hit
A pro-marriage equality video by Australian action group GetUp has become a Youtube sensation since its release before the weekend, racking up 1.6 million views over four days. The film, entitled It’s Time, charts a relationship from first meeting to engagement, and is shot from the point of view of one character, who strikes up… Read more »
Gay Micronesia News & Reports
1 Decriminalizing Homosexuality–first step to establish equality 10/11 October 11, 2011 – Office of U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights 1 Decriminalizing Homosexuality–first step to establish equality Op-ed by Matilda Bogner Decriminalizing homosexuality is an essential first step towards establishing genuine equality before the law Calls for truly universal application of human rights have been… Read more »
Gay Palau News & Reports
1 Decriminalizing Homosexuality–first step to establish equality 10/11 October 11, 2011 – Office of U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights 1 Decriminalizing Homosexuality–first step to establish equality Op-ed by Matilda Bogner Decriminalizing homosexuality is an essential first step towards establishing genuine equality before the law Calls for truly universal application of human rights have been… Read more »
Gay Tuvalu News & Reports
1 Decriminalizing Homosexuality–first step to establish equality 10/11 October 11, 2011 – Office of U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights 1 Decriminalizing Homosexuality–first step to establish equality Op-ed by Matilda Bogner Decriminalizing homosexuality is an essential first step towards establishing genuine equality before the law Calls for truly universal application of human rights have been… Read more »
Gay Poland News & Reports 2011
1 Love Does Not Exclude – About the campaign 2/11 2 Love Doesn’t Exclude in Small Towns 2/11 3 LGBT History month remembers classic lesbian novel 3/11 4 Equality Parade marches through Warsaw 6/11 5 A Refracted Rainbow 6/11 6 Poland’s first transgender MP will fight for equal rights 10/11 7 Poland swears in first… Read more »
Gay Cook Islands News & Reports
1 Health Dept Threatens to Release Name of PLHIV for Public Safety 1/11 2 Cook Islands Prime Minister Calls for HIV Protection 1/11 10 January, 2011 – MSM Global Forum 1 Health Dept Threatens to Release Name of PLHIV for Public Safety Kia Orana friends, Some of you will be aware that the Cook Islands… Read more »
Gay Vanuatu News & Reports
1 Gay students band together 9/10 2 Decriminalizing Homosexuality–first step to establish equality 10/11 September 29, 2010 – The Fiji Times 1 Gay students band together – The University of the South Pacific (USP) (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_the_South_Pacific0 is a public university with a number of locations spread throughout a dozen countries in Oceania. It is an international… Read more »
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