Maine voters reject same-sex marriage law

Minority rights once again trampled by the majority!

Voters in the northeastern state of Maine repealed a state law that would have allowed same-sex couples to wed, dealing the gay rights movement a heartbreaking defeat in the corner of the country most supportive of gay marriage.

Gay marriage has now lost in every single state — 31 in all — in which it has been put to a popular vote. Gay-rights activists had hoped to buck that trend in Maine — known for its moderate, independent-minded electorate — and mounted an energetic, well-financed campaign.

With 87 per cent of the precincts reporting, gay-marriage foes had 53 per cent of the votes.

"The institution of marriage has been preserved in Maine and across the nation," declared Frank Schubert, chief organizer for the winning side.

Canadian AIDS Society's Solution to blood-screening discrimination

OTTAWA, ONTARIO--(Marketwire - Sept. 27, 2009) - The Canadian AIDS Society (CAS), will be appearing as a Friend of the Court in the Freeman case, which contests the constitutionality of the Canadian Blood Services' lifetime deferral on gay men and men who have sex with men. In this role, CAS will propose an amendment to update the Canadian Blood Services' screening questionnaire, with a desire to improve safety and gain community support for the Canadian blood system.

"The current discriminatory wording of the screening questionnaire needs to be updated. With new, highly accurate HIV testing, it is no longer scientific, as American blood banks have acknowledged with respect to their own similar policy. It's eroding confidence in the blood system, which turns away many youth and gay men who are not at risk of HIV at a time when Canada's blood supply is in need of donors," says Douglas Elliott, the Canadian AIDS Society lawyer. "The questionnaire is not scientifically valid, which compromises the safety of the system by encouraging self-screening and inciting boycotts on blood donation based on human rights principles."

CAS is suggesting a long overdue change to one question of the current survey directed to male donors which reads: Have you had sex with a man, even one time since 1977? Presently, if prospective donors respond yes to this question, they are banned for life from donating blood. However, a deferral of only one year is imposed on women who have had sex with a bisexual man in the last 12 months, even though such women are at the same risk as men who have sex with men. The proposed change would read: Have you had sex with another man in the past 5 years. If the response is "no" they would be treated like any other donor. If yes, they would respond to a further question: Have you had unprotected anal sex (i.e., without a condom) with more than one male partner in the last 12 months. If the response is "yes," they would receive a 12 month deferral. If "no," they would receive a 6 month deferral.

Challenging Canadian Blood Service's discrimination against gay men

OTTAWA — A gay man who repeatedly gave blood after lying about having sex with other men is suing Canadian Blood Services, alleging that the questionnaire used by the agency to screen out unsuitable donors is a violation of his Charter Rights.

Kyle Freeman alleges that the blood collection agency violates his Charter rights and those of other gay men by asking male donors on the questionnaire whether they had ever had sex with a man, even once, since 1977.

Freeman — who is seeking $250,000 in damages — sued after a lawsuit was filed against him by Canadian Blood Services accusing him of negligent misrepresentation for lying on the screening form.

May 17 is International Day Against Homophobia

International Day Against Homophobia will be observed across Canada and around the world on May 17 – this Sunday. The occasion presents an annual opportunity to rally citizens everywhere against all forms of homophobia.

The theme for the 2009 celebration is Homosexuality Knows No Borders. The goal is to make the general population, especially ethnocultural communities of all backgrounds, more aware of gay and lesbian issues, and also of issues related to sexual diversity.

CLICK HERE to visit the Official website

Greek court annuls same-sex marriages

ATHENS, Greece — A Greek court annulled Greece’s only two same-sex marriages, officials said Tuesday, following a furious backlash against the ceremonies from the government and religious leaders.

The two couples — one male, one female — exploited a loophole in a 26-year-old law that did not specify gender in civil weddings, and were married in June last year by the mayor of the small Aegean Sea island of Tilos.

The ceremonies drew the wrath of the powerful Orthodox Church of Greece, with one conservative bishop denouncing them as weddings of “humanoid couples.”

You have a life, You have a bank

Here is a progressive advertisement by a bank in Latin America.

Nigerian Church scams Christians

In a position paper submitted by the Anglican Church of Nigeria to a parliamentary committee, a new law is being proposed to punish gay couples who get married with five years in jail, while groups of witnesses to the marriage may be sentenced to one year in jail.

We are especially concerned about those who are using large sums of money to lure our youth to see homosexuality and lesbianism as normative. We must consistently and faithfully teach about God’s commands on this ungodly practice and help those with such orientation to seek deliverance and pastoral counsel.

Anglican Diocese of Ottawa to defy ban, on same-sex blessings

The Diocese of Ottawa has said it will perform same-sex blessings, becoming the first Canadian Anglican diocese to make such a move since a ban was imposed on the practice by the international church.

The diocese said it is developing a liturgy and protocol for the rite and once they are created it will start performing the ceremonies for gay couples on a limited basis. But critics of same-sex blessings say those steps will widen the schism in the Canadian church.

In 2004, the worldwide church called for a moratorium on the rite after the Diocese of New Westminster in British Columbia struck out on its own and began performing same-sex blessings. That move was considered a seminal event that led to the Canadian split.

Puck U : "Pansy" no more

Hockey commentator Ron MacLean faced off against a gay-rights advocate over the use of the word "pansification" during Saturday's Hockey Night in Canada broadcast.

Hockey Night commentator Mike Milbury coined the expression to describe how the NHL would lose its edge and go soft should the league heed calls to ban fighting.

Helen Kennedy, the executive director of Egale Canada, told MacLean the group was "inundated with emails and phone calls who were upset and offended by the use of the word."

"It's used in a derogatory fashion to bully young, effeminate, gay men. It's a word that was coined to basically bully young men in Britain, many years ago," Kennedy said, adding that the word is also used to bully "kids who are perceived to be gay."

A VIDEO OF THE INTERVIEW IS AVAILABLE AFTER THE LINK

Picture it ... Italy, Suddenly Last Winter

Suddenly Last Winter is the story of Gustav and Luca. Their life changes when the Italian government presents a draft law that would give rights to unmarried and gay couples, prompting a wave of homophobia in Italy. The Vatican and conservatives fight against it, preaching that the end of morality and the family are nigh if the legalisation on civil unions is not blocked. Together for over eight years, Luca and Gustav want to understand the different positions and undertake a journey into a country they did not know before and did not expect to find: their own.

Here is a trailer for the film

Click through to the website to see a video/discussion by the film makers

South Africa is first country to appoint openly gay man or woman to a nation's highest court

In a genuinely pathbreaking act, South African President Mothlanthe has appointed Edwin Cameron, a justice on the Supreme Court of Appeal, as a judge of the Constitutional Court, the highest court in South Africa. Judge Cameron becomes the first openly gay man or woman ever appointed to a nation's highest court. HT to Robert Wintemute, who noted in an e/mail that Justice Michael Kirby of Australia has served as an openly gay member of that country's highest court, but was not out when he was appointed.

Justice is Served

Making decisions about crime and punishment is, it turns out, as complicated as a legal brief. For the first time, scientists have peered into the brains of people who are deciding whether a crime deserves punishment and how severe the penalty should be.

Those decisions involve parts of the brain associated with rational thought, but emotion-processing regions weigh in too, a team of law and neuroscience researchers from Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tenn., show in a new study in the Dec. 11 Neuron. The findings suggest that brain areas active in deciding a harsh punishment for a crime deliberately committed are different than those active when giving the accused some benefit of the doubt.