It was the year of the rat, that seemingly ended up going to the dogs. It was the year of Obama, but definitely not the year for subprime mortgage backed securities (want to learn what that means?). And in Australia it was a year for equality but not for marriage.

From Pride WA’s incredible comeback to America’s historical elections, from Australia’s groundbreaking law reform to the heartbreak of Proposition 8, OUTinPerth News Editor Megan Smith takes a look back at the most unforgettable and unbelievable stories of last year… and just where those stories may lead in 2009.

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LOCAL

Back in Black: Pride WA. Locally, one of the biggest stories of the year was Pride WA’s announcement that it was more than $36,000 in debt after countless SGMs (okay 2 SGMs, an information session and an AGM), the organization stayed afloat and elected a new committee that has since steered them back to the black. Now, the committee is planning a major shindig to celebrate the organization’s 20th birthday in 2009.

Queer Street Youth. As Perth’s economy boomed in the first half of 2008, reports emerged of a rising rate of homelessness as growing numbers found themselves locked out of the prosperity. In a special report, OUTinPerth journalist Scott-Patrick Mitchell took to the streets of the inner-city to find out what the trend meant for GLBT youth and where they could turn for help.

WA State Election 2008. It was a bizarre one – a hung jury for weeks, and then a strange coalition formed between the Nationals and the Liberals as a new party took power. In the lead up to the election, OUTinPerth talked to Christian Porter from the Liberals, Lisa Baker from Labor and Giz Watson from the Greens about where each party stood on the key issues and gay and lesbian rights. There answers reveal a lot about what to expect in 2009.

NATIONAL

Next Stop Marriage? In June, OUTinPerth announced we were ‘105 Steps Closer to Equality’ after the Rudd government pledged to eliminate and rectify laws that discriminated against same-sex couples. Then in December, we (finally!) had the pleasure of reporting that the last of the historic reforms had passed. Now that the reforms are through, the debate on gay rights has turned to two major issues – 1) minimizing the negative impact of the reforms, for example, on individuals that no longer enjoy single-parent benefits and 2) marriage rights.

Road to Reconciliation. It was a watershed moment in Australia’s history when Prime Minister Rudd made a long awaited apology to the country’s indigenous people. OUTinPerth columnist former Pride Patron and Queers4Reconciliation founder Jim Morrison tracked the road to reconciliation with a series of columns… next installment due this month!

What a HomoP(h)ope. The Pope (God Bless Him!) came to Sydney with about 200,000 of the flock. Gay rights activists marked the occasion with protests of the Catholic Church‘s homophobic comments and stances. OUTinPerth’s sister publication Sydney Star Observer was there to capture the weeklong event in all its controversial glory. Then, in December, our ears couldn’t help but burn as the Pope insinuated that protecting heterosexuality and ‘normal’ gender roles was as important as saving the rainforest.

Bloody Red Cross. It was a long, long trial and the closing arguments wrapped up in September of Michael Caine verse the Red Cross, one man’s suit over the ban on gay men from donating blood. It will likely be the end of 2009 before a verdict is rendered, as Melbourne-based writer Cathy Anderson reported at the close of 2008.

WORLD

Proposition 8. The frontline over marriage rights moved to California in 2008 when the Supreme Court ruled denying gays and lesbians right to marry was discriminatory and unconstitutional. The decision split the state and a voter initiative known as Proposition 8 was placed on the ballot, and after the Presidential ballot, Prop 8 was the most heavily funded vote in America with Ellen Degeneres, Brad Pitt and the Mormon Church all throwing a lot more than their two cents in. When the votes were tallied, Proposition 8 passed and same-sex marriage was once again banned in California. Gay rights activists have protested loudly and 2009 will likely see the fate of gay marriage placed in the hands of the Supreme Court as they rule on the constitutionality of Prop. 8.

Introducing O-O-Obama. OUTinPerth covered the historical U.S. Presidential election from the early days of the primaries – when Clinton and Obama squared off on a range of issues including GLBT rights – right through to the final election when President Obama emerged as the 44th Commander-in-Chief of the United States and acknowledged gay Americans in his acceptance speech. Confirmed as President on January 20, Barack Obama came to office promising change, and when it comes to GLBT rights, America is ready in 2009.

Tirades of a Transman. Perhaps, the most sensationalized stories of the year was that of Thomas Beatie, a trans* man who chose to get pregnant after his female partner found out she was infertile. Beatie landed on Oprah and the media had a field day with ‘Incredible Pregnant Man’ headlines. OUTinPerth writer and WA Gender Project spokesman Aram Hosie looked at the media coverage and its lack of responsible trans* sensitive reporting in his ‘Tirades of a Transman‘.

Anglicans Divided. The Anglican Church stole its share of headlines, as gay rights continued to bitterly divide the church. Sydney Bishop Peter Jensen led a boycott of the once-a-decade Lambeth Conference when it was discovered openly gay bishop Gene Robinson would attend. Bishop Robinson has since been invited to President Obama’s inauguration and has said in interviews that President Obama has counted Bishop Robinson as an advisor on GLBT issues.

HIV/AIDS

In HIV/AIDS news, 2008 marked the 20th anniversary of World AIDS Day and some major scientific discoveries as undetectable viral loads may mean transmission of the virus is not possible (though safe sex is still strongly advised). India and Egypt both made headlines as activists called for a repeal of anti-sodomy laws in the former and condemned a crackdown on people living with HIV/AIDS in the latter.

What did you think of 2008? What do you hope 2009 will hold? Tell us below…

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