PELL’S TWO CENTS
Sydney Archbishop Cardinal George Pell has made a predictable submission to the Senate inquiry into same-sex marriage, claiming that gay couples perceive children as commodities to satisfy their own desires. Archbishop Pell repeated the well-worn rhetoric that marriage should be for the sole purpose of procreation and therefore restricted to heterosexuals only. ‘When we equate same-sex relationships with marriage, it further undermines our understanding of family by wrongly implying that biological connectivity of children with their parents and siblings is not important,’ reads the statement. You can read the full submission and many others at: http://www.aph.gov.au/Senate/committee/legcon_ctte/marriage_equality/submissions/sublist.htm
GATELY DIES IN MAJORCA
Openly gay member of the boy band Boyzone, Stephen Gately has died at age 33 on the Spanish island of Majorca. Gately had been holidaying on the island with his civil partner, Andrew Cowles and was found in his apartment after a night out at a local gay bar. A post mortem carried out last week revealed that the star had died of pulmonary oedema, or an accumulation of fluid on the lungs, sometimes caused by vomiting while sleeping. Boyzone had been planning a comeback tour and other band members are said to be devastated by the loss.
WHEN OBAMA, WHEN?
US President Barack Obama has again promised to repeal the ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ policy that prevents openly gay and lesbian soldiers serving in the military. Obama received a standing ovation when he promised ‘I will end Don’t ask-Don’t tell’ while addressing the 3,000-strong crowd at the Human Rights Campaign’s annual dinner, however this is not the first time he has vowed to end the discriminatory policy and the Obama administration admits it has no timeline or concrete plans for the repeal. ‘I appreciate that many of you don’t believe progress has come fast enough,’ Obama told the crowd. ‘Do not doubt the direction we are heading and the destination we will reach.’
HAYDEN SUPPORTS LGBTI HUMAN RIGHTS
Former Governor General of Australia the Hon. Bill Hayden AC has spoken out in favour of further federal law reform regarding LGBTI people, including equal marriage laws and federal anti-discrimination laws on the grounds of sexual orientation and gender identity. Hayden’s comments were made in an article he wrote for The Punch titled ‘We’ve come so far on gay rights but its not enough’. As former leader of the ALP he was particularly scathing about the party’s avoidance of the issue of same-sex marriage. ‘The Labor Party had the chance to do something meaningful on this at its last national conference but squibbed it,’ Hayden writes. ‘Has it lost the belly fire for the big challenges of major progressive reform and the enshrinement of basic liberties for which I have so long admired it?’ You can read the full article at: www.thepunch.com.au/articles/Weve-come-so-far-on-gay-rights-but-its-not-enough
LESBIAN PARADISE
Chinese men have been scrambling to find the mythical Swedish city of Chako Paul City after Chinese media reports claimed the city was populated by 25,000 sex-mad lesbians. Unfortunately Swedish tourism authorities have denied the reports saying they are totally unfounded.
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