NewsWrap for the week ending September 27, 2003 (As broadcast on This Way Out program #809, distributed 9-29-03) [Written by Cindy Friedman, with thanks to Graham Underhill, Fenceberry, Rex Wockner, and Greg Gordon] Anchored by Jon Beaupré and Cindy Friedman The European Union's Council of Ministers this week provisionally approved a directive expanding the recognition of gay and lesbian couples for purposes of travel and residency among the EU member nations. However, the Council's version is notably weaker than the one already approved by the European Parliament, which will have to approve the Council's version for it to become law. The Council members were sharply divided on the EP's proposed full family status for unmarried couples regardless of gender. The Council's compromise "essentially offers little real improvement to gay and lesbian EU citizens and their families," according to ILGA, the International Lesbian and Gay Association. On the plus side, the Council version makes reference to registered partnerships. But it would extend family status to them only in countries that in its words "treat registered partners equivalent to married couples." That fuzzy definition would apply at most to seven of the EU's 15 current and 10 prospective member nations. Member nations are asked only to "facilitate" entry and residence for unmarried partners, another term that ILGA fears is open to interpretation. In the case of couples where one is a citizen of an EU nation and the other is not, another EU nation would be required only to consider -- not to accept -- the non-EU partner's application to join the EU partner in residence there. Ireland was one of the Council's strongest opponents to full EU movement rights for same-gender couples, yet there was a significant advance this week within its own borders for gay and lesbian partners. The specific issue was a relatively minor one, but the impact of its resolution is much larger. Ireland pays for citizens over age 65 to travel by bus or train, and gives the same travel privileges to those seniors' legally married spouses even if they're younger. But when the younger partner of a gay senior applied for a travel pass, he was rejected. The unnamed couple turned to Ireland's Equality Authority, which this week ordered the Social and Family Affairs Department to amend its policy to comply with the Equal Status Act, to grant the travel pass, and to pay the unnamed couple 1,500-pounds compensation for discrimination. Equality Authority chair Niall Crowley called it "a very important acknowledgment of the needs and rights of gay and lesbian couples," adding that it has ramifications for other government departments and public bodies. Ireland's National Lesbian and Gay Federation called for a review of all non-statutory government guidelines that may discriminate against gay and lesbian couples. And Ireland's Anglican bishops have issued a statement calling for "a change in the Church's traditional position on affirming same-gender relationships" from one "that rejects homosexual practice of any kind" and where "marriage between a man and a woman in lifelong union remains the only appropriate place for sexual relationships." The early September pastoral letter called "Human Sexuality" also acknowledged "that homosexual people have held positions of leadership" in the church and that "Their ministry has frequently been highly imaginative and characterized by great pastoral sensitivity that has deeply enriched the lives of those who have experienced it." The main thrust of the letter was that the Church of Ireland's diocesan and General Synods -- "large legislative assemblies" -- were not the appropriate place for much-needed discussion of gay and lesbian issues, and that given the deep division among Anglicans, "experience has shown that it is much more fruitful to spend time on learning how to listen and to grow in understanding than to move rapidly beyond that stage in a desire to reach conclusions as quickly as possible." That's in stark contrast to the traditionalists among British Anglicans, who met 2,000-strong this week for the National Evangelical Anglican Congress in their biggest gathering in 15 years. The turnout was certainly swelled by the controversial prospect of gay Anglican bishops: U.S. Episcopalians' vote to elevate openly partnered gay Gene Robinson of New Hampshire, and their own Church of England's appointment of openly celibate gay Jeffrey John, who withdrew before his consecration for the sake of unity. Theologian Gordon Wenham called support of homosexuality something out of ancient paganism, while conservative leader Vicar David Holloway labeled homosexually active people as "Modern Jezebels [who] have to be disciplined," and likened what he called the "gay rights people" with "concentration camp commanders". Some leading evangelicals actually boycotted the opening session to protest the appearance of gay-friendly Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams. The opposition to Williams has been so intense that an interfaith group of British religious leaders this week issued a letter saying, "We affirm our resolute support for Dr. Williams' endeavors and we rededicate our efforts to fighting fundamentalism, aggressive proselytism and homophobia, and to defending the values of tolerance, inclusiveness and respect for differences which we all cherish." But while the letter supported an Anglican leader, and was explicitly issued on the Jewish New Year Rosh Hashanah, it was most remarkable for its two Muslim signatories: it's believed to be the first time that UK Islamic leaders have publicly denounced homophobia. One, Council of University Imams chair Muhammad Yusuf, told reporters, "All forms of fundamentalism, whether fundamentalist Islamist or fundamentalist evangelical, are abhorrent to the values of Britain's multi-faith and multicultural society. It is time for the moderate majority of Christians, Jews and Muslims in this country to lose their wishy-washy liberal image." In Muslim-dominated Egypt though, the government persecution of gay men continues. Following the long-running international outcry over the treatment of 52 men arrested in a 2001 raid on a gay-friendly Nile riverboat club, police actions against gays have been less publicized. But Egyptian human rights activist Maher Sabry and other individuals have been spreading the word that in late August police rounded up another 62 men on Cairo's Qasr el-Nil bridge, a well-known cruising area. Starting from both ends of the bridge, officers questioned everyone on it and arrested the 62 on "debauchery" charges. While loading the detainees for transport, police reportedly called out to bystanders, "Look at these faggots!" Africa's Anglican archbishops met this week and responded to the church's gay clergy crisis. The Council of Anglican Provinces of Africa elected to its chair its most outspoken anti-gay member, primate of Nigeria Archbishop Peter Akinola. Nigeria is the largest of the Anglican church's regional "provinces" with 17.5-million members, and it cut all ties with Canada's New Westminster diocese after church blessings for gay and lesbian couples were approved there. The Council session took a slightly more moderate position. The group declared its opposition to gay clergy, particularly condemning the U.S. Episcopalians' election of Gene Robinson to a bishopric. Yet it left the door open for its individual members to take different positions at the upcoming special meeting of the world's Anglican primates in the UK. Surely the most likely among African leaders to support the Episcopalians' action is primate of South Africa Archbishop Njongonkulu Ndungane, who has praised the openness of the U.S. Anglicans' process and publicly criticized Akinola's stance. South African gays and lesbians have won another precedent-setting legal victory for recognition of their relationships. The Supreme Court of Appeal in Bloemfontein in mid-September ordered loss-of-support compensation from the public Road Accident Fund for a disabled gay man whose partner died in an auto accident. That reversed a lower court's finding for the Fund that the lack of a legal marriage meant that Antoine Michael du Plessis did not qualify for the loss of support from his deceased partner of 11 years Albert Clack. Appellate Judge Tom Cloete claimed his court's "inherent power to develop the common law, taking into account the interests of justice ... to give effect to ... the Bill of Rights" and called his ruling "an incremental step to ensure that the common law accorded with the dynamic and evolving fabric of our society." While many fear the worldwide Anglican communion will schism on the issue of ordaining gays and lesbians, such a split is well underway in Australia's Uniting Church. Their national meeting in July officially opened ordination to partnered gays and lesbians. The church's opposition held a meeting of their own this week in Sydney, with perhaps one-fourth of the delegates announcing they're breaking away to hold their own services in private homes. It's possible those dissidents number in the thousands. They'll continue to collaborate with those remaining in the Uniting Church who are agitating to exclude gays and lesbians from the clergy. And finally... the collision of gay visibility and marketing has impacted two companies in New Zealand. The venerable Fairydown Clothing -- an outdoors equipment firm most famous for supplying Sir Edmund Hillary's Mount Everest climb of a half-century ago -- has changed its name to Zone. A corporate spokesperson confirmed the change was due to the "homosexual connotations" of "fairy" -- although Sir Edmund declared that, "It never bruised my sense of masculinity." Meanwhile Fagg's Coffee -- that's with two "g's" -- has started a new campaign that bills the brand as "The great straight coffee." The company denies this is homophobic, and also claims that its line "Not as Ponsonby as the name suggests" refers not to Auckland's gay village but to "more pretentious brands" of coffee.