NewsWrap for the week ending July 25th, 1998 (As broadcast on This Way Out program #539, distributed 07-27-98) [Compiled & written by Cindy Friedman, with thanks to Brian Nunes, Jason Lin, Graham Underhill, Martin Rice, Rex Wockner, Kurt Krickler, Michael Hopkins, Chris Ambidge, Greg Gordon & Lucia Chappelle] Anchored by Cindy Friedman and Leo Garcia Hopes for progress toward equal treatment of gays and lesbians in the Anglican Church were dashed this week, as the denomination’s bishops began their once-a-decade global Lambeth Conference in Britain. Of almost 800 bishops at the Conference, about sixty are involved in the subsection on human sexuality. Among the questions before that group are the possibilities of ordination of non-celibate gays & lesbians and recognition of same-gender couples. But about two-thirds of the bishops in the group are conservatives who are hoping to come out of the Conference with a reaffirmation that homosexual acts are sinful, and they may well have the votes to win that point. Led by two bishops from Africa, the conservatives won a vote at the very first session to cancel a scheduled presentation by twenty openly-gay and -lesbian priests. One said they might as well be asked to listen to presentations on child molestation and bestiality, while others felt there should be presentations by those who had been “healed” of homosexuality. Some called for repentance by bishops who did not believe homosexual acts to be sinful. Although many other bishops at the Conference were moved by the opposing vehemence to wear rainbow ribbons in support of inclusiveness, it seems unlikely even that a committee will be established to study the questions for the future -- a move the Archbishop of Canterbury was willing to approve. The Conference continues through August 8th. Thanks in part to unusual vocal support from the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Church of England’s House of Bishops, Britain’s House of Lords dealt a stunning defeat to the move to lower the age of consent for sex between men from 18 years to 16, to match the age for heterosexual acts. Just last month, the House of Commons had passed the measure by a 3-to-1 margin, but with active organizing by Conservative peer Baroness Barbara Young, the House of Lords defeated the same measure by about 2-to-1. Baroness Barbara Young: “I said in the course of my speech that if it was left to me I would raise the age of consent for heterosexuals. I’m just as much concerned about girls as I am about boys ... Far from being anti-anybody at all, my concern is for young people, and I think it is perfectly possible, when the age of consent is reduced to 16, to send a signal, particularly to boys, that this kind of behaviour ... uh ... is perfectly normal, when it isn’t.” Gay and lesbian activists were enraged. Some who had been holding vigil outside the building chained themselves to the railings. Others stormed the police barricades and yelled “scum” and “parasites” at the peers as they left. The Blair government is left in a quandrary, because the age of consent measure is an amendment attached to what has been repeatedly called Labour’s “flagship” legislation, the Crime and Disorder Bill. The government is “absolutely committed” to seeing that bill through to completion before the end of the coming week, when the legislators begin their long summer recess, and has indicated that it’s ready to drop the age of consent amendment to reach that goal. But a number of Members of Parliament are angry at seeing their measure blocked by the unelected Lords, and some have already made it clear that they will not quietly agree with any government move to sacrifice the age of consent measure, which was supported by all three of the leading parties. The government is hoping that it can win them over with cast-iron promises to bring up the age of consent again in the next session, either as an amendment to another piece of legislation or as a free-standing single- issue bill. It might be possible for the age of consent measure to go through another round of voting in the coming week, but it would be risky for the larger bill’s completion. The Blair government has stated its commitment to equalization, motivated in part by a case to come before the European Court of Human Rights, which has already succeeded before the European Commission on Human Rights. Home Secretary Jack Straw: Home Secretary Jack Straw: “We have to take that into account, alongside the fact that legislative time is at a premium -- as everybody knows, and it always is -- and also the very serious and justified concerns of many people who are offended by the idea of such discrimination taking place, but ... we don’t want to lose the Crime Bill.” Austria's parliament has rejected a proposal to lower the age of consent for sex between men from 18 years to 14 years, the age of consent for heterosexual acts there. The European Parliament had called repeatedly for equalization in Austria, which except for Britain is the last European Union member with a discriminatory age of consent. But Austria's Social Democrats took the unprecedented step of walking off the floor rather than either voting against the measure or breaking their governing coalition with conservatives by supporting it. That gave the conservative Christian Democrats a majority in opposition, along with the right-wing Freedom Party. Only the Greens and Liberals voted in support of equalization. But the Austrian parliament also recognized gay and lesbian couples for the first time. In the process of reforming the penal code, the right to refuse to testify in court against "next of kin" was extended to include same-gender partners. That Liberal Party proposal originated with the Austrian gay and lesbian group HOSI Wien. Same-gender couples were also recognized for the first time this week in New Zealand labor law. The option of taking a special leave of absence to care for an ailing dependent has now been expanded so that gays and lesbians can take time off to look after their partners. In welcoming the move, lesbian activist Jools Joslin said that many labor law provisions which apply automatically to heterosexual couples are at the employer's discretion for same-gender pairs. Labour Minister Max Bradford said the change brought the legislation into compliance with New Zealand's Human Rights Act, while the head of the Employers Federation called it inevitable. For the first time in Canada, an auto insurance company will be accepting claims from gays and lesbians whose same-gender partners are killed or disabled in accidents. The company is the Insurance Corporation of British Columbia, or ICBC. The couples must have been together for at least two years before the accident occurred. Benefits can also be claimed for the couples' children. While Zimbabwe awaits the judgment in the criminal trial for sexual assaults against other men by its first post-colonial President, Canaan Banana, the nation's High Court has closed the door on civil lawsuits by most of his alleged victims. The court has thrown out a civil suit filed by Banana's first and chief accuser, Constable Jefta Dube, on the grounds that he filed after a three-year statutory limit had expired. Jefta had argued that an exception should be made, not only because of Banana's position of power, but also because he himself had not really been aware of the impact the alleged assaults had had on him until 1996. Of the nine alleged victims in Banana's criminal trial, only one claims to have been assaulted within the three-year limit. The Oregon Citizens Alliance, for years a sponsor of anti-gay ballot initiatives, has determined to continue its efforts despite recent failures. When the Alliance was unable to place either an anti-gay or an anti-abortion initiative on the upcoming November ballot, after four years of declining membership and contributions, OCA leader Lon Mabon asked the group's Board if it was time to shut down. Instead, this month the Board affirmed unanimously that it will continue its work under Mabon's leadership. The only change planned is to pay a little more attention to the group's public image. For the year 2000, the OCA is thinking of a statewide measure either to limit official recognition of gays and lesbians, or else to restrict teaching about homosexuality in the schools. The U.S. National Endowment for the Arts has won another year's reprieve from long-standing Republican plans for its elimination. The House of Representatives approved the agency's current level of funding for another year by a solid margin, after a debate not between Republicans and Democrats, but between Republican conservatives and Republican moderates. A number of Congressmembers who had previously opposed NEA funding now supported it, partly because of the recent Supreme Court ruling affirming that the agency can impose a so-called "decency" standard. Three of the four plaintiffs in that case were gay and lesbian, and gay- and lesbian-themed works have always been the favorite examples of conservatives arguing against the NEA. The 50th annual Primetime Emmy Awards nominations were announced this week by the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. Open lesbian Ellen DeGeneres, star of the first TV series with a lesbian lead character, was nominated once again for Outstanding Actress in a Comedy Series, even though her show has not been renewed. Emma Thompson was also nominated for her guest appearance on "Ellen”. HBO's "Gia”, a biopic about the late lesbian supermodel, was nominated in six categories including Outstanding Made for Television Movie. Showtime's "Armistead Maupin's More Tales of the City" was nominated in five categories including Outstanding Miniseries. And finally ... congratulations are also due New Zealand's first gay rugby team, Wellington's Krazy Knights, for winning their first victory this month. It was only their second game since they first organized in February, and some of the Knights had never played the game before. But the real irony of the Krazy Knights' 22 - 12 victory was the name of their opponents: the Straight Ups!