03/16/2006
The government of the Czech Republic has legally granted rights to same-sex couples. A new law will allow same-sex couples to have inheritance rights, as well as the right to raise children. The country will not allow gay couples to adopt, however. The law was passed in parliament and overturned a veto by Czech president Vaclav Klaus, who called the law "a defeat for all of us who believe that the family in our society is fundamental, unique, unrivalled".
Czech Republic tallies record number of new HIV cases...
Clay Aiken spotted at Candyshop, a gay club in Prague.
V for Vendetta paints the picture of a world turned upside-down: "The futuristic setting is Britain in about 2020, where a totalitarian regime that rules through fear of terrorist attacks has carted off gays, Muslims and political dissidents to internment camps for medical experiments."
A battle for inheritance rights for gay couples is on in South Africa as Mark Gory, whose partner died without leaving a will, asks the Pretoria High Court for the rights to his estate. Gory has no signed documents or domestic partnership agreement, and gay marriages do not come into effect in that nation until December 2007.
The Illinois Family Institute using a "tired, right wing strategy" to block those with HIV from attending the Gay Games in Chicago this summer. The Dept. of Homeland Security and Mayor Daley lifted the ban on HIV travelers as an exception for the Games. IFI Executive Director: "The people of Chicago should know we have a ban on HIV travelers, it's there to protect citizens, and it's not a wise move to remove the ban...These bathhouses can be very dangerous when you invite HIV in with an exception. The doors are closed, and you don't know what's going on inside. That shows there's much more going on than just playing softball. . . . They're celebrating homosexuality and the more unseemly aspects of it." A Gay Games spokesman responded to LaBarbera's hysteria: "The Illinois Family Institute strategy is to paint the Gay Games as nothing more than a series of stereotypes of gay sex. It's a strategy that's not true. It's a sports and culture festival, and no amount of stereotypes and bigotry can change that."
Ohio Democratic State Senate candidate Merrill Kaiser says Elton John and Mary Cheney "worthy of death" for being homosexual.
Posted 10:39 AM EST by Andy Towle in Elsewhere | Permalink
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Communist?! The Czech Republic isn't communist!
Posted by: bcarter3 | Mar 16, 2006 10:42:34 AM
You're right. My bad.
Posted by: andy | Mar 16, 2006 10:49:03 AM
Merrill Kaiser, proving that those preaching hate and death for gays and lesbians come from all walks of life, not just Islam as some would have us believe. No one's cornering the market on hate, that's for sure.
Posted by: Glenn | Mar 16, 2006 10:50:14 AM
It is the first nation of the former communist bloc to take this step, though.
At long last, you can marry your favorite Bel Ami star.
Posted by: Glenn | Mar 16, 2006 10:51:47 AM
Look for Clay Aiken to come out on the cover of the Advocate in a few months, and then be named Person of the Year, just like Rosie.
Posted by: Sam | Mar 16, 2006 10:54:34 AM
For those who prefer to read their movies, In Stock Trades online has a deal on V For Vendetta http://www.instocktrades.com/product.aspx?id=8f&pid=475
It's written by Alan Moore who has written a ton of great comic books/grpahic novel stories over the years like Watchmen.
End of the PSA of your friendly neighborhood Gay comic book geek! :)
Posted by: Darren | Mar 16, 2006 10:55:09 AM
The Illinois Family Institute which is,in my hometown of Glen Ellyn, Illinois, has also been very vocal on the gay marriage issue (against,duh)and critical of churches in the area which support gay rights. So, it was with pleasure that I emailed then last week to let them know my partner (an openly gay clergyman) and I will be getting hitched @ the UCC church there this coming fall with my large & supportive family in attendance. To date I have received no response. Their phone number should you desire to voice your opinion is: 630-790-8370
Posted by: Brett | Mar 16, 2006 11:29:02 AM
Guys, we're arguing about marriage and adoption rights here. Gays in Africa and the Middle East are hanged. Daily. Our enemies cite our tolerance for gays as one of the reasons the west must be destroyed.
Perspective!
Posted by: Mitch | Mar 16, 2006 11:57:35 AM
V for Vendetta -
Yeah, sure... we are likely to be carted off by a totalitarian regime along with the muslims. Then once we get there, the Muslims will CUT OFF OUR HEADS!
If the gay community was as vocal about the horrible treatment of gays by Islam as they are about paranoid fantasies of mistreatment by "republicans", then maybe some changes would happen in the Islamic world. And don't lecture me about how much the Conservatives don't like us... I agree. But at least they don't kill us and never will. To act as if the atrocious acts of Islamic nations are ANYTHING like the struggles we face here, is stupid.
Until Muslims stop killing gays... I have no sympathy or allegiance to them or their cause.
Posted by: Tom | Mar 16, 2006 12:00:59 PM
I agree with Tom and it's the liberal left's inability to draw that clear moral distinction that is so disturbing. It's part of the reason the Democrats keep losing elections and have been unable to capitalize on Bush's appalling approval numbers. People hate the President, but at least they know he'll shoot first and ask questions later.
As for Vendetta, V says, "People should not be afraid of their governments. Governments should be afraid of their people." Exactly right. The Brit's disarmed their people nearly a century ago because they were terrified of a socialist revolution. Our government still fears us and that is a good thing.
Posted by: Mitch | Mar 16, 2006 12:13:29 PM
Uhh... you spelled Keiser wrong. The anti-homosexual candidate spells it with an "e."
Take it from someone who doesn't want any association with that other Keiser.
Posted by: Scott | Mar 16, 2006 12:47:14 PM
Mitch: It's argumentative, but what the hell: So, you agree with the clear moral distinction that the Right has drawn that says "gay is aberrant and straight is the natural state of humans?" Clear moral distinctions are what those nasty Muslim nations are all about as well as some of the Christian nations that kill people because they're different.
Tom is so convinced that the conservatives won't kill us. I hope he's right (well, I know he's "right") but it's beyond the imagination to see people like Mr. Kaiser get elected. Then who knows. Maybe camps would look good.
Posted by: JT | Mar 16, 2006 12:48:49 PM
Brett: Three cheers for you and your partner, and best wishes on a long life together.
Sorry to hear there are sex clubs with closed doors in Chi-Town—if it's true....
And, of course, I'm thrilled that the Bushroaches are back, once again scurrying along Towleroad while regurgitating their prerecorded inanities right and right. Perspective? Perhaps you're thinking of "perineum"—the last thing you saw before shoving your head up your own ass.
And, apparently you drew your "clear moral distinction" using an Etch A Sketch. It's your Constitutional right [though give your tinpot dictator time, give him time] to accept your second-class citizenship if you want, but none exists to demand that I or anyone else accept same. You're implying that just because we are not treated AS badly by them as others by others in other places, that we should embrace it, only opening our mouths to sing "Way Down Upon the Swanee River." I suppose to a woman regularly slapped around by her husband you'd say, "What are YOU bitchin' about? He's not killing you is he?"
Posted by: Leland | Mar 16, 2006 1:05:39 PM
Leland you are brilliant! Thanks for saying so eloquently what I was thinking! Bravo!
And shame on you Mitch for perpetuating the "you don't have it so bad" attitude that gave the Republican wing-nuts part of their power anyway! Perception is all about what you see. I see Dallas Texas on a daily basis, not Iraq or Iran, so that's what my perception is based on. Sorry my view isn't as broad and thoughful as yours.
Posted by: wayne | Mar 16, 2006 2:10:14 PM
Wayne,
I'm sorry do they hang gays in Dallas? I used to live there. I had a blast and in five plus years encountered two homophobic incidents. One was a guy pissed because "the fags" didn't have to wait in line at Club One. The bouncer threw him out of the line and the police ran him off. The other was two teenagers who taunted me and drove off in fear when I got out of my Jeep with a tire iron. When they start zoning us out of Plano and hanging us when we drive over to Highland Park you let me know.
My Dallas friends can't dream of living anywhere else. Next to Canada, we probably live in the most gay tolerant nation in the country. Other countries may have more liberal laws, but those countries also have an unintegrated Muslim minority that have begun attacking gays with alarming regularity. Ask Chris Crain 'bout that.
JT,
No I don't agree with that statement, but you're drawing a broad distinction about the right. Remember the most rabidly homophobic groups in America are blacks and hispanics. Last time I checked they don't vote Republican. They do however, reliably, walk into the voting booth and ban gay marriage. The districts with some of the highest percentage of yes votes in Texas were the hispanic south and the black districts of Houston.
My boyfriend's social services organization used to be full of white gay runaways from the south and midwest. Now it's full of black and hispanic kids. Whose minds are being changed?
One thing is for sure, our camps would be fabulous.
Posted by: Mitch | Mar 16, 2006 2:31:33 PM
For the record, Alan Moore has been very vocal recently about how sick he is of Hollywood spoiling his work, so much so with V for Vendetta that he's had his name removed from the film and all monies due transferred to the artist of the original comic book David Lloyd. I imagine he'd be happier if you all bought the book (which is a minor work anyway...) rather than supported another bloated mangling of a good story. Or better still, get The Mirror of Love, his great paean to same-sex love through the ages, illustrated by the wonderful José Villarubia.
Posted by: John C | Mar 16, 2006 3:12:26 PM
C'mon Mitch...no one here is "unable to draw a clear moral distinction" between the type of horrendous oppression faced by gays in (some) Islamic or African countries and the discrimination we face here. Of course it's worse elsewhere. But that doesn't make it right here, for God's sake. And naturally we spend more time protesting the treatment here where -- theoretically, at least -- we can actually do something about it. Doesn't mean we're incapable of recognizing the difference.
You're welcome to your logcabinesque beliefs, of course. But try to at least argue in an honest and intelligent manner. If you can.
Posted by: Glenn | Mar 16, 2006 4:02:13 PM
Well Glenn I look forward to the posts, other than yours and Tom's that draw those clear moral distinctions.
Posted by: Mitch Cardwell | Mar 16, 2006 4:22:33 PM
Mitch:
I don't think for a minute that you're a guy whom anyone could call self-loathing, but I still have such a difficult time understanding how anyone who's openly gay can be aligned with the "moral" side of the conservative wing. I understand fiscal conservatives, military conservatives, hell, I even understand how a gay man can be an NRA conservative. I just don't get the "moral" stuff. I think any political party that starts to embrace anything moral is slipping toward "I'm OK, you're fucked."
I think the Democrats haven't got a problem because of failure to draw clear moral distinctions. I think the problem is failure to articulate anything they actually support. They're too wrapped up in the "we don't support..." nonsense.
Incidentally, I really disagree with you about the broad brush with which I'm painting the right. If the leader of the Republican party (read: the miserable scum who stole the presidency) feels that a CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT effectively codifying descrimination against gays and lesbians (marriage definition) is not only ok, but necessary, then I think the party actively embraces hatred.
It would be great to have a beer and discuss sports, the weather, and Ryan Seacrest's incredibly wide mouth with you, but I don't think you or I (or any other self-absorbed liberal) will agree on there being any goodness in the Republican party for the foreseeable future.
Posted by: JT | Mar 16, 2006 6:24:42 PM
Of course BUSH allowed HIV travelers into the country. He just wants us all to get it.
Posted by: Spencer | Mar 17, 2006 2:13:58 AM
Merrill Kaiser and Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, brothers of the same bigoted cloth. American Taliban meets Muslim Taliban and finds agreement on at least one topic. It still amazes me how much power we gays have over the minds of these idiots.
Posted by: Bill | Mar 17, 2006 9:05:34 AM
Kudos to the Czech Republic. The adoption proscription is the front burner global anti-gay mantra...look for it in a neighbourhood near you......
Never mind, for this is what they did in Holland and Belgium, in 2001 and 2002 respectively. The right wingers lost, and adoptions were finally added to the law in 2005 and 2006.
Their hate for us knows no bounds, and is a combination of secular neocon global economic agendae and theocon approbation and support for the former.
Posted by: Raymond | Mar 18, 2006 9:30:48 AM
>>Czech Republic tallies record number of new HIV cases
Let's see, the age of consent is 15, and practically every gay magazine and travel agency can hook you up with a teenage "escort". Apartments come with and without boys, and ads carry disclaimers like this;"Any arrangement that involves sex is only between you and the individual you are making appointment with. Though prostitution is legal in the Czech Republic, we adhere and strongly support all the laws that are associated with it."
I can't imagine why the AIDS numbers are rising.
Posted by: Jay Croce | Mar 19, 2006 6:32:09 AM
I certainly believe that 18 should be the age of consent for ALL sexual activity that is adult and consentual and legal.
However, Jay is right. There are a virtual plethora ;) of laws - many that differentiate between heterosexual and homosexual activity.
However, the sequitur is not necessarily logical. Where AIDS and HIV is pandemic, in the African heterosexual population, the laws governing homosexual activity is life imprisonment. African nations with Muslim majorities are even worse.
Unless and until you have an international standard of defining adulthood, we will have these problems.
I became an adult at 21 . 7 was the age of reason, 14 was the age of puberty and 21 was the age of adulthood. Many realised that at 18, I was a university undergraduate and mature in many ways, but NOT an adult.
If 18 is the age of adulthood for many but not all purposes, subtract the same number of years, and you have 15. Today's 15 year old is more mature than I was at that age in 1961. However, as previously stated, I have a problem with open sexual activity between adults and teenagers under 18 - heck even 18. I think that five years differential at that age is okay. An 18 year old freshman and a 23 year old senior is age appropriate. Maybe that is the key that should govern laws in the world. Yet in KS, they have a long sentence, homophobically applied, for an age appropriate difference relationship that would have never been applied in that state for a heterosexual defendant.
Posted by: Raymond | Mar 21, 2006 6:48:14 AM