October 12, 1998
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October 12, 1998 |
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| gay news |
World briefs
Outrage as US 'gay bashing' victim dies
Michael Ellison reports from New York about a young gay man's gruesome murder at the hands of gay bashers
A student at the University of Wyoming who was bludgeoned and tied to a
wooden fence in what police believe may have been a ferocious gay bashing,
died of his injuries on Monday, October 12, prompting calls across the
United States for a review of the laws protecting homosexuals.
Matthew Shepard, an openly gay 22-year-old student, was lured last
Wednesday night from the bar at the Fireside Inn, in the cowboy college
town of Laramie, by two men who are accused of attempted murder, aggravated
robbery and kidnapping. He spent four days on a ventilator before dying of
heart failure. His legacy is a heated debate about the failure of the law in 10 states
- including Wyoming - to protect minorities. President Bill Clinton said he
was horrified by the attack and called on Congress to pass a federal
hate-crimes law to protect gays and bring them into line with the
safeguards afforded to black people and women. "They laid him out there like a trophy, like an animal," said Walt
Boulden, a friend who described Shepard as gay, though not an activist.
"They were leaving us a message." Father Roger Schmidt, a local priest,
said: "All over the nation people are asking, 'What sort of people live in
Wyoming?'" Russell Henderson, aged 21, and Aaron McKinney, aged 22, are said to
have met Shepard in the bar, convinced him they were gay, and driven him a
mile east of Laramie. The town of 26,000 people likes to see itself as a
liberal oasis in a conservative region, which nonetheless calls itself the
Equality State. It is alleged that the two men - whose girlfriends have been named as
accessories to the crime - spread-eagled Shepard on a wooden fence, stole
his wallet, credit cards and shoes, tortured him and pistol-whipped his
skull with a .357 Magnum. A passing cyclist at first mistook the victim for a scarecrow. A red
rose marked the spot yesterday. Mr McKinney's father and girlfriend said the defendants had targeted
Shepard because he flirted with them, which both enraged and embarrassed
the pair. Kristen Price, aged 18, who is accused of giving her boyfriend a
false alibi, said: "It wasn't meant to be a hate crime, they just wanted to
rob him." Charges of first-degree murder were expected to be laid against the
suspects. Mr McKinney's father said: "Had this been a heterosexual [victim] these
two boys decided to take out and rob, this never would have made the
national news. Now my son is guilty before he's even had a trial." A mood of grief mingled with self-examination spread far beyond Wyoming;
a similar emotion followed the killing in Texas during the summer of James
Byrd, a black man dragged to his death behind a car. The governor of Wyoming, Jim Geringer, a Republican who faces voters
next month, said he was open to suggestions about how the state's laws
might be strengthened. But he tempered his willingness to act by saying:
"We shouldn't be running off like a lynch mob. That would be just as wrong
as the crime that we deplore already. "We feel our laws are tough already. Change should be dealt with by
individual states, not dictated from the centre. We don't look to
Washington as a standard of morality." Wendy Murphy, a leading legal analyst, said: "If a special class of
person is targeted because of their sexuality they should be able to know
that the law will step in and give that extra level of protection. The
number of violent episodes against homosexuals would be reduced." But others claimed that hate-crime laws were unnecessary. Murder was
murder, whatever the motive. At the weekend nearly 500 people, who might otherwise have attended the
university's homecoming parade, marched through Laramie in support of
Shepard. Hundreds more maintained a vigil outside Poudre Valley hospital,
in the neighbouring state of Colorado, where he died. The hospital's
website, which normally records about 700 hits a week, had more than 20,000
in two days. Rulon Stacey, the hospital's chief executive, said: "His mother said to
me, 'Tell everyone who's listening to go home and give your kids a hug and
don't let a day go by without telling them you love them.' "
-- Guardian News Service.
Goodson Machona reports on how former Zambian president has told the nation to "cool down" about homophobic hysteria
FORMER Zambian president Kenneth Kaunda has defended the rights of
homosexuals in the country to go about their activities without harassment.
Kaunda, in an interview at his Kalundu residence last night, said
homosexuality was here to stay and that Zambians should "cool down" and
think about it very carefully. "This is obviously a very new thing in this part of Africa," Kaunda said, "we need time to examine it carefully."
He said he agreed with views expressed by former minister Simon Zukas, now chairman of the minority rights sub-committee of the Human Rights
Commission, who caused a stir last week when he defended the formation of
the Lesbians, Gays and Trans-gender Persons Association (LEGATRA).
Kaunda said homosexuals existed openly in some parts of the world and it
was time for Zambians to accept that homosexuality was here to stay.
"To me personally, it's a very sad thing indeed," he said. "However, the
fact that it makes me sad does not mean I should bury my face in the sand
and declare the problem non-existent. It exists. The question we should be
asking ourselves is how to handle these brothers and sisters."
He said the fact that the issue had generated so much debate was an
indication it was real.
"It has exploded in our face. My advice to the nation is to cool down and
think about the issue. It has come to stay," said Kaunda.
Zambia Post
The French Socialist government will vote soon on legislation leading to "gay marriage"
France's parliament today opened debate on a highly controversial scheme to give gay and unmarried couples new rights that the church and conservatives claim will undermine the institution of marriage.
The plan by the ruling Socialists to allow homosexual and heterosexual couples to officially register their union has unleashed a storm in France, with opponents viewing it as a form of gay marriage that will pave the way to gays adopting children.
Under the initial scheme, known as the
Civil Solidarity Pact (PACS), couples living together would be able to register their union "whatever their sex to organise their common life", gaining inheritance, housing and social welfare rights,
as well as the right to pay joint taxes.
The legislation was outlined to counter the distress faced by gays living in couples who can lose their homes, businesses and be left penniless after the death of a companion due
to a lack of recognition and legal rights.
The churches have condemned the plan and opposition to the scheme has been
voiced across the political spectrum, notably among the country's
36 000 mayors forcing the government to propose that the PACS be signed in
law courts rather than in town halls.
Paris, October 9, 1998
World Council of Churches showdown with Mugabe over unchristian homophobia
The Religious News service reports the United Church
of Canada and the American United Church of Christ are bracing for what they expect to be a firestorm of controversy around their call for open discussion of gay and lesbian issues at the World Council of Churches in Zimbabwe next December.
Zimbabwe's treatment of its gay and lesbians citizens has been a
recurrent international irritant for the country's president, Robert Mugabe. He identifies himself as Christian, but regards homosexuals as lower than jungle animals, saying recently, "Will not God punish us for such practices?"
Homosexuality is a felonious offense in Zimbabwe, a crime punishable by up to 10 years imprisonment.
The subject of homosexuality could create an even bigger explosion in Zimbabwe than it did at the recent once-a-decade Lambeth meeting in England of 800 Anglican bishops.
The WCC has signed an agreement memorandum with the
Zimbabwe government to ensure none of the WCC assembly's 4,000 participants, including
hundreds of American and Canadian officials, will be detained or harassed in
Zimbabwe for being gay or for speaking out on gay issues.
Still, many participants are on edge. The subject of homosexuality is
not being permitted on the official WCC agenda, and many fear Mugabe
will attempt to capitalize on anti-gay sentiments of other African and Asian church
leaders by targeting pro-gay church advocates.
Openly gay United Church of Canada staff member David Hallman
said he worries about both his personal safety and his chances of entering the
politically volatile, mostly-Christian African nation. "Mugabe accuses the WCC
of bringing Western decadent values to Africa," Hallman said.
"I'm very nervous, and my partner, who isn't going, is even more
nervous for me," said Hallman. "But I feel it's an obligation for me as a United
Church person to deal constructively and spiritually with this issue. It's
important for people to see we are real human beings."
Data Lounge Staff, 29 September, 1998
Vatican postpones Swedish Archbishop visit after his supports of art exhibition with Christ as Aids sufferer
VATICAN CITY Oct 6, 1998
"I regret the strong Vatican position and am very surprised that they would give this signal," Hammar was quoted as saying. Neither the Vatican nor the Swedish church gave the specific reason, but the Swedish news agency TT reported that the cause was Hammar's outspoken support for homosexual clergy and for allowing the photo exhibit Ecce Homo to be shown at Uppsala Cathedral, the seat of the Church of Sweden.
Ecce Homo depicts Jesus in scenes with homosexuals and as an AIDS victim. One photo, with the figures in the position of Michelangelo's Pieta, shows Jesus lying in a woman's lap with an intravenous-drip device attached to his arm.
Sapa-AP
"Homosexulaity gives rise to Aids", says Zambian minister of health
Zambia, Oct 5, 1998
Luo, addressing the African Methodist Episcopal Church in Lusaka's
Chilenje Township, said allowing homosexual groups in Zambia would worsen the AIDS situation. She said in countries where homosexuality was tolerated AIDS was rampant and warned those calling for the formation of homosexual groups not to be copycats.
But Zambia Independent Monitoring Team (ZIMT) president Alfred Zulu, in an interview, said Christian puritanical thinking should not be used as a basis for judging homosexuals. Zulu said the state should not blame homosexuals for the high incidence of AIDS in the country.
Zulu said "In fact, in this country it is the heterosexual society that is hard hit by the disease more than homosexuals." The blamed the government's lopsided implementation of AIDS preventionas the cause for the high number of AIDS case in the country.
"The formation of LEGATRA (Lesbians Gays Transgender Persons Association) will not lead to the proliferation of AIDS because the association is all about sexuality and sexual awareness," Zulu said.
Zambia Post
Australian politician has drag artist's lampoon song banned
BRISBANE Sept 28, 1998
Queensland Court of Appeal chief judge Paul De Jersey granted an injunction following an appeal by
Australian Broadcasting Corp (ABC) against an order last September preventing its youth network
Triple J from playing Back Door Man by the Sydney drag artist.
Pauline Pantsdown was Sydney arts lecturer Simon Hunt until he changed his name to run for the Senate on an anti-Hanson ticket. His song, released a year ago, used rearranged excerpts from Hanson's speeches as lyrics.
Hanson, founder of the far-right One Nation Party, sought the order in the Supreme Court claiming the song was defamatory and offensive. It depicts her "confessing" to being a
homosexual, prostitute, transvestite and a member of the Klu Klux Klan.
Hanson sat in the court and wept as she heard her own voice saying: "I'm homosexual, I'm very proud of it".
Sapa-AFP
* See our article Zambians under fierce attack
* See French report on gay rights world survey
an Electronic Mail & Guardian publication
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A student who was lured from a bar, tortured, beaten and left tied to a
fence has died of his injuries. His legacy is a heated debate about
America's hate-crime laws