admin @ Fri, 2006-03-03 09:00
The Cour de Cassation approved such shared rights when the couple is living in a stable union and when it is in the child's best interests. The judges upheld a 2004 decision by an appeals court in Angers in central France.
The case centered on two women who registered a civil union in December 1999, after 10 years of living together. One of the partners gave birth to two daughters through artificial insemination, and the birth mother sought legal permission to grant parental rights to her partner. A court in Angers ruled against her, but the appeals court ruled in her favor, saying that the absence of a legal father left the girls at risk in case their birth mother were incapacitated.
Hong Kong's British consulate is eager to perform same-sex unions under the United King-dom's new Civil Partnership Act, The Standard newspaper reported on Feb. 15.
The British law allows embassies and consulates to register same-sex unions of British nationals if the local jurisdiction does not oppose the move. A Hong Kong Home Affairs Bureau spokeswoman told The Standard the government is reviewing the matter.
The newspaper said some 3.5 million Hong Kong citizens hold British National (Overseas) passports — a travel document given to those who chose not to become citizens solely of China. In addition, about 200,000 British citizens live in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.
The new government of President Lech Kaczynski “brings to power officials with long records of opposing gay and lesbian rights,” the group said in a letter to Kaczynski.
Since Kaczynski was elected president last November, anti-gay rhetoric from members of his Law and Justice Party has escalated, Human Rights Watch said.
Eleven representatives of the Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches, an association of GLBT congregations, attended the Assembly of the World Council of Churches in Porto Alegre, Brazil, for 10 days ending Feb. 27.
The delegation, led by the Rev. Nancy Wilson, who replaced Metropolitan Community Church founder the Rev. Troy Perry last October, advocated for broader inclusion of GLBT people by the 350 or so Christian denominations and church groups in attendance.
The assembly, which is held every seven or eight years and attracts some 5,000 people, is one of the broadest global gatherings of its kind. Most member churches are Protestant or Orthodox. The MCC fellowship was granted observer status in 1991.
The police reported seeing condoms, lube, nudity and men about to engage in what the Mail called “immoral activities.” Operators of two of the massage parlors were ticketed for operating without a license, the newspaper said.
It was signed by more than 5,000 people, including many public figures and politicians. By law, any petition with at least 4,000 signatures must be considered for debate.
Two lesbians were turned away when they tried to get married at Lisbon's public registry Feb. 1. They launched a legal case based on the constitution's prohibition against discrimination based on sexual orientation, which was added in 2004.
Neighboring Spain is one of four nations where same-sex couples have access to marriage. The others are Belgium, Canada and the Netherlands. Massachusetts also permits gays to marry.
A ruling by the Constitutional Court extending marriage to same-sx couples in South Africa will take effect Dec. 1 unless Parliament makes the change sooner.
Gay groups recently urged the military to try harder to protect gay conscripts from anti-gay abuse or to offer them an alternative form of military service.
“It's made a social impression, and that social impression to me is the aftermath of an artistic impression, and so much more important,” Gyllenhaal said.
In the United States, “Brokeback Mountain” has been nominated for eight Academy Awards. The ceremony is scheduled Sunday from the Kodak Theatre in Los Angeles. It will be televised live on Channel 8 beginning at 7 p.m. Central time.
A court in Cameroon jailed two men for a year on Monday after they admitted to having sex with each other despite a ban on homosexuality in the central African country.
Their relationship became apparent when they took a dispute over a stolen cellular telephone to the police, according to Reuters. One of the men testified that he had been duped into having sex on the false promise that he would be given help getting to Europe.
Tabloid newspapers in Cameroon sold out last month after publishing lists and photos of politicians, businessmen and musicians the papers accused of being gay. Their editors said the tabloids were on a crusade against “deviant behavior,” the Associated Press reported.
The publishers of two of the newspapers are standing trial for defamation after they named senior members of President Paul Biya's administration to the lists, according to Reuters.
Human Rights Watch, a New-York based group, said it had written a letter to Moscow Mayor Yuri Luzkhov asking him to reverse his decision to ban the Russian capitol's first gay Pride parade.
He “is giving prejudice a veto over the rights to peaceful expression and assembly,” said Scott Long, director of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Rights Program at Human Rights Watch. “The freedom to speak out and demonstrate publicly is not just a reflection of diversity. It is essential to democracy,” he said.
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