*************************************************
The week of 06/03/96 on
T H I S    W A Y    O U T
the international gay & lesbian radio magazine

* In NewsWrap:  The Danish Parliament passes protections from sexual
orientation discrimination by private employers, while 10,000 South African
Christians protest similar protections ... Holland, Luxembourg and Finland
consider legalizing same-gender domestic partnerships, while more U.S. states
pass laws against them, and a U.S. House committee approves a federal measure
banning same-gender marriage ... plus several other stories, anchored by
Cindy Friedman and Brian Nunes.
==> Read the complete text of NewsWrap below!

* Lots of activists will tell you that the real "movement" in the lesbigay
rights movement is happening in the workplace.  While legislative battles are
often bogged down in homophobic invective, U.S. corporations in particular
are recognizing the advantages of practicing policies of inclusion.
 "Straight Talk About Gays In The Workplace", published by The American
Management Association, is a handbook on how active nondiscrimination makes
for better business.  The authors, diversity consultants and "Advocate"
columnists Liz Winfeld and Susan Speilman talk with Mary Breslauer and Keith
Orr about this fast-growing area of lesbigay rights activism.

* The critics are anything but "discontent" about the current film version of
Shakespeare's "Richard III", starring Sir Ian McKellan, who also adapted the
screenplay.  On the occasion of "Richard III"'s British release, Rebecca
Sandles had the chance to talk with Sir Ian about his star-making movie, his
enhanced popularity in Hollywood as an openly-gay actor, and his political
activism in support of lesbigay rights.
=========================*==============================NewsWrap
for the week ending June 1st, 1996
(As broadcast on THIS WAY OUT Program #427,
distributed 06-03-96)
[Compiled & written by Cindy Friedman, with thanks to Brian Nunes, Bill
Stosine, Jason Lin, Greg Gordon, Ron Buckmire, Mark Proffit and Bjorn
Skolander]

The Danish Parliament, the Folketing, in late May passed new protections from
discrimination by private employers, including discrimination based on sexual
orientation.  The original draft of the measure by the Ministry of Labor did
not include sexual orientation as a protected category, but it was added
after lobbying by the Danish National Association for Gays and Lesbians, and
was not a topic of discussion during parliamentary debate.  When the measure
goes into effect on July 1st, Denmark will be the 5th country extending
employment protections to gays and lesbians, following Finland, France,
Ireland, the Netherlands, and Spain.

Protection from discrimination based on sexual orientation was one issue that
spurred a demonstration against South Africa's new constitution by a reported
10,000 Christians in early May.  South Africa's Christians for Truth
organization was also concerned at the new constitution's protection of
abortion rights and the possibility that its clauses prohibiting hate speech
might prevent evangelizing.

The Dutch government this week announced the formation of a blue-ribbon panel
to examine possible national and international consequences of opening legal
marriages to same-gender couples.  The panel's recommendations will form the
basis of the government's position on the matter.  The committee is being
formed at the urging of a recent Parliamentary vote expressing support for
full legal marriage rights for gays and lesbians, including adoption rights.

A bill has been introduced in Luxembourg 's Parliament to open legal
marriages to same-gender couples.  It was introduced in early May by Renee
Wagener of Luxembourg's Green party, Dei Greng.

In an unusual gesture of support, Finland's Prime Minister Paavo Lipponen
signed on to a bill introduced this week in the Parliament to establish legal
domestic partnerships for gays and lesbians.  Following Denmark, Norway and
Sweden, the bill would provide registered partners with all the benefits of
heterosexual marriage with the exception of adoption rights and church
weddings.  While more than half of the Members of Parliament from 7 different
parties are expected to sign the measure, it is not customary for Cabinet
members to sign private bills like this one as Lipponen did, so his action
gives it a special status.  The Parliamentary Committee that will take up the
measure also has a majority of Members who have indicated their support for
it.

Meanwhile, in the U.S., the campaign against gay and lesbian marriages
continues, spurred by the possibility of their legalization in Hawaii after a
trial later this year.  This week the federal bill called The Defense of
Marriage Act, or DOMA, moved a step closer to passage with an 8-to-4 party
line vote for its approval by a House committee.  The vote followed a heated
debate that became a shouting match.  Openly gay Congressmember Barney Frank
tried repeatedly to amend the bill, only to be voted down by the Republican
majority.  DOMA would restrict the terms "marriage" and "spouse" to legally
married heterosexuals only for purposes of all federal regulations, and would
absolve states from their constitutional responsibility to recognize each
other's legislative and judicial proceedings in the case of marriages or
marriage-like treatment of gay and lesbian couples.  The bill is on a fast
track in the House, and Ralph Reed of The Christian Coalition has promised it
will reach the President's desk before the November elections.  The President
has said he will sign DOMA if it comes to him in its current form, and Reed
believes that would send what he calls "the organized gay lobby into orbit."

U.S. President Bill Clinton's stated willingness to sign DOMA into law has
led to the resignation of one of the leaders of his re-election campaign.
 Openly lesbian Seattle City Councilmember Tina Podlowdowski resigned this
week as Clinton's Washington state campaign co-chair, saying, "This bill is
mean-spirited and discriminatory.  I'm still supportive of the President, and
I will vote for him, but I didn't want to sign on for that particular role in
the campaign."

More than three-fifths of the U.S. states this year have considered bills to
deny legal recognition to gay and lesbian marriages performed in another
state.
Governor Jim Edgar last week made Illinois one of 11 states so far where
those bills have become law.

New bills against gay and lesbian marriages were introduced last week in the
Indiana State House and in North Carolina's State House and Senate.

Michigan's bill to deny legal recognition to gay and lesbian marriages
performed in another state was passed this week by the State House by a
margin of almost 3-to-1, and will next be considered by the Michigan State
Senate.  Another bill to prohibit same-gender marriages within the state of
Michigan, previously approved by the State Senate, was also passed this week
in the State House, by a margin of more than 7-to-1.  It will next be
considered by Governor John Engler.

In the state of Maine, the issue of legal gay and lesbian marriages has moved
into the arena of electoral politics.  This week, Maine's Secretary of State
gave the green light for the group Concerned Maine Families to collect
signatures on a petition to place a measure to ban same-gender marriages on
the statewide ballot sometime after this year.  The question will be, "Do you
want Maine to ban same-sex marriages and to refuse to recognize same-sex
marriages performed in other states?".  The same group was active in
promoting a failed ballot measure against civil rights protections for gays
and lesbians.

France's national railroad in mid-May agreed to extend ticket discounts
already granted to heterosexual couples to gay and lesbian couples who have
registered their relationships.  270 French cities housing about one-seventh
of the nation's population currently offer certificates of cohabitation to
gay and lesbian couples.

South Africa has extended the travel benefits available to the spouses of its
members of parliament to their gay and lesbian partners -- and beyond.  Not
only may members of The South African Parliament designate as an official
partner an unmarried lover, whether heterosexual or homosexual -- they can
also designate a parent or child, and they can even, in the words of the
notice, "register more than one spouse".

But in New Zealand this week, a High Court Judge ruled against lesbian
couples seeking to obtain marriage licenses.  Judge Kerr said he wasn't sure
if the general community wanted same-gender marriages and that it was up to
the Parliament to decide the matter.  The plaintiff couples are likely to
appeal.

In Canada, a dramatic explosion and fire this week completely destroyed a gay
bar in the Ottawa area.  No one was hurt in the early morning blast at Le
Club, but police have not ruled out the possibility of arson.

Patrons of a popular gay bar in Tijuana, Mexico are experiencing a high level
of violence.  Activists report as many as 10 assaults and robberies daily in
the entryway and bathrooms of El Ranchero, with as many as 15 assaults
occurring each night in the plaza outside the bar.

The Texas state chapter of the Republican Party has denied the gay and
lesbian group Log Cabin Republicans of Texas both an exhibit booth at the
party's statewide convention and ad space in the convention program, leading
the gay and lesbian Republicans to file suit against their own party.  Log
Cabin called their exclusion "unprecedented", noting that exhibit booths had
been available at previous conventions both to unrelated commercial vendors
and to other political groups.  The Texas Republicans had actually confirmed
the booth and accepted the ad by phone, and cashed the $400 registration
check from Log Cabin.  Then the Texas Republicans' Executive Director Barbara
Jackson sent Log Cabin a letter rejecting both requests, just days after the
US Supreme Court declared that sexual orientation could not be a basis for
denying participation in the political process.  Her rationale was Texas'
long-unenforced and legally discredited sodomy law.  The Texas Republican
Party platform includes a statement that sodomy is a threat to family values.
 Log Cabin's lawsuit claims breach of contract and violations of state
constitutional rights to free speech, due process of law, and privacy.

And finally ... in an interview with movie star Sharon Stone, the U.S.
national gay and lesbian magazine The Advocate offered some peculiar sexual
choices.  When asked to choose between film stars Val Kilmer and George
Clooney, Stone asked, "Does this negate the possibility of a threesome?"
 Between former U.S. Vice President Dan Quayle and his wife Marilyn, Stone
chose Dan, saying, "He wouldn't remember and couldn't spell my name."
 Between national TV morning show hosts Regis Philbin and Kathy Lee Gifford,
Stone chose Gifford, saying, "She's so perky.  I know she would bring me
breakfast in bed."  Between House Speaker Newt Gingrich and his lesbian
half-sister Candace, Stone chose Candace, saying, "At least she's sure of her
sexuality."


Sources for this report:  Reuter News Service;  The Associated Press;  The
New YorkTimes;  The Washington Post;  Rex Wockner International News;
 National & International Religion Reporter;  The Chicago Tribune;  The
Star/Cape Town, South Africa;  Frontera Gay/Tijuana;  Reuters/Variety
Entertainment News;  and cyberpress releases from SETA's Hannele
Lehtikuus/Finland;  The Forum On The Right To Marry/Boston;  and Log Cabin
Republicans of Texas.