Queer

Imagine living in a country where the defense minister tells the Vatican to stop meddling with gay marriage. Imagine living in a country where only one member of the cabinet is religious. I’m ready to move to Spain!

From 365Gay.com

Spain’s Socialist government Tuesday told the Vatican to stop butting in on affairs of state. The warning came from Defense Minister Jose Bono.

The Vatican has publicly rebuked the government for bring in legislation on same-sex marriage and for streamlining laws on abortion and divorce.

“Faith is not something a government can impose. It is not something that it is up to the state, but rather to people,” Defense Bono told Spanish radio.

That the criticism came from Bono was particularly noteworthy. He is the only practicing Catholic in the government.

In the radio interview Bono said some of the church’s positions, such as its opposition to homosexuality and the use of condoms, go against the message of Jesus Christ.

“Today, Christ would be more worried about the 25,000 children who die each day of hunger or in wars. I think Christ would side with those who are peaceful,” Bono said.

Oh, Britannia!

[Emphasis mine below.]

Gays struggling for the most basic human rights in the tiny Himalayan country of Nepal are developing a sense of community with the launch of the country’s first LGBT newspaper.

The weekly publication will start rolling off the presses later this month. It is being funded by the British Embassy and will be prepared and distributed by the Blue Diamond Society, Nepal’s gay rights group.

Blue Diamond Weekly will be printed in both English and Nepalese and provide information about the struggle for gay rights along with information on HIV/AIDS. It will not be “controversial” the Society says – an effort not to incur the wrath of censors or the government.

Nepal has refused to recognize the civil rights of gays in the country and does not provide HIV information on male to male transmission of the virus.

Last year 39 members of the Blue Diamond Society were jailed after police rushed a peaceful demonstration for gay rights in front of the Parliament building. They were released three weeks later following an international outcry.

I have written before about Jay Blotcher being fired as a stringer for the New York Times because he did media relations with ACT UP over ten years ago. Here is a coda. The person that followed him in that job — I won’t give his name but you know who I mean if you’re familiar with ACT UP — has been freelancing for the City and Escapes sections for five years. He continues to work for the Times.

I’m not making this up. I have to quote the whole article.

The Social Security Administration is refusing to recognize any marriage – straight or gay – performed in New Paltz, New York.

The tiny hamlet north of Manhattan burst onto the national scene in February when its mayor followed San Francisco in allowing gays to marry. New Paltz officials are now under a court imposed ban on conducting gay marriages, but the federal government is taking no chances.

A temporary directive from the Social Security Administration not to accept any marriage certificates issued in New Paltz as identification has now been made permanent.

The move came as a shock to one straight couple in the town. Susie Kilpatrick Wilkening recently married Jeremy Wilkening, but when she went to the Social Security office in Kingston, New York to get her surname changed to Wilkening she was told the federal government would not accept her marriage.

“I presented my marriage certificate, and I was told that it was not an acceptable form of ID because it was from New Paltz,” she told the Daily Freeman newspaper.

A spokesperson for the administration said that the policy began with the State of New York.

“The state has said that it does not consider (any marriage certificates issued in New Paltz) legal documents, so we are waiting until all of the legal issues on the state level are resolved,” Jane Zanca told the Freeman.

But, officials at the New York Department of State, which maintains all state records, also said they had nothing to do with the Social Security policy.

Last February when San Francisco began issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples Social Security instructed its offices nationwide not to accept any marriage certificates from San Francisco as proof of identification.

From Crain’s

Mayor Michael Bloomberg on Thursday announced the establishment of the Edward I. Koch scholarships at the City College of New York, the former mayor’s alma mater.

The announcement came during festivities at Gracie Mansion marking Mr. Koch’s 80th birthday.

According to college officials, a $100,000 gift will be used to establish five 4-year scholarships at City College. The college has yet to determine who will be eligible for the scholarships, although it is likely that they will be for undergraduates. The identity of the donor was not disclosed.

No word yet on whether the criteria include being a semi-closeted right-wing homosexual.

HRC, the gay rights organization too in the closet to have something like gay in its name, and whose symbol of an equal sign is also designed to be as un-gay as possible, thinks it’s going to advance gay rights by asking for less and being more “moderate.”

Revolting.

They don’t like gay (or AIDS) organizations. They have cancelled their agreement with Red Hot, the AIDS awareness organization, and Belhue Press, a publisher of gay books owned by Perry Brass, for having a cover showing two bare-chested men touching each other. Via Queerday.

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