GAYS AND LESBIANS IN MEXICO CITY CAN NOW SAY OLE’
A law allowing gay and lesbian couples to marry took effect Thursday in Mexico City.
The law, which was passed by the city’s local assembly in December, gives gay people full marital rights, including the right to adopt.
Several gay couples are now expected to register to get married as early as next week.
Mexico City is one of the first capitals in Latin America to fully recognise gay marriages.
Judith Vazquez and partner Lol-kin Castaneda hope to become one of the first couples to marry under the new law.
With this law – and previous legalisation on abortion and some form of euthanasia – the Mexican capital has become a liberal and progressive island in what remains a mostly conservative nation, says the BBC’s Julian Miglierini in Mexico City.
But local gay activists say homophobic attacks are still frequent across the country, where people continue to face discrimination in the workplace for being gay or are attacked when displaying public affection to a person of the same sex, our correspondent adds.
Both the Catholic Church and conservative groups oppose the legislation, and the centre-right government even tried to get a ruling by the Supreme Court to block Mexico City from issuing gay marriage licences; they have so far been unsuccessful. – Source – BBC
LOYOLA STUDENT MAY GET BOOTED OVER ALLEDGED GAY HATE CRIME
A Loyola student facing felony hate crime charges after allegedly attacking a gay man on the el is due in court later this month and could be expelled from school regardless of his case’s outcome.
Loyola student Sean Little, 21, of Evanston, and two other Evanston men are accused of beating a gay man from Rogers Park while using anti-gay slurs in a Jan. 10 incident on the CTA Red Line. Chicago police initially called it a case of simple battery, but a judge upheld prosecutors’ decision to upgrade the charges to felony hate crime and aggravated battery on Feb. 23.
Equality Illinois, the state’s largest gay-rights advocacy group, has contacted Loyola President, the Rev. Michael J. Garanzini, S.J., urging him to issue a public statement denouncing “this type of behavior,” according to Jeremy Gottschalk, president of the organization’s Board of Directors.
“Silence sometimes is tantamount to acceptance,” said Gottschalk, a 2004 Loyola Law graduate. “The longer it goes, the worse it looks, frankly.”
“We’re not looking for the school to in any way aggregate the student’s rights. We just want the university to be very clear that this is not tolerable behavior and that it’s going to pursue whatever action is appropriate for the student,” explained Gottschalk, who said he was “disgusted” upon first hearing about the incident.
Dean of Students Jane Neufeld said Loyola is already addressing Little’s hate crime allegations internally, but she didn’t know if the university is preparing a public statement on the matter.
“We take this kind of crime very serious whether it’s on campus or off campus. It’s a very unfortunate situation, but we’re on it,” Neufeld said. “Our official stance is that we do not support any kind of hate. We just don’t tolerate it. And we’ve followed our handbook.”
According to Loyola’s student handbook, the university reserves the right to discipline students who exhibit misconduct in the greater community even if an offense occurred off campus. – Source – Loyola Phoenix
THE NAVY TIMES REPORTS ON THE LATEST DADT HEARING
It was a day for congressional pontificating on whether to repeal the law banning open military service by gays — and for the Pentagon’s new top personnel official and the two officials leading a 10-month review of the issue to keep their opinions to themselves.
But no sparks flew during a hearing of the House Armed Services Committee’s military personnel panel, with two Republican lawmakers who oppose repeal, South Carolina’s Joe Wilson and Louisiana’s John Fleming, making understated arguments that the impact of the current ban is negligible and does not adversely affect military readiness.
The three Defense Department officials did not bite on those or any other issues and spent the hearing side-stepping inquiries about their personal opinions.
“My job [is] obviously not only to be open-minded and objective, but to be ready if Congress actually repeals the law,” said Clifford Stanley, a retired Marine major general barely two weeks into his new job as undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness.
Nor was an opinion forthcoming from Pentagon General Counsel Jeh Johnson, who is simultaneously producing short-term legal advice for Defense Secretary Robert Gates on whether current policy can be softened within the law.
The one military official, Gen. Carter Ham, U.S. Army Europe commander, said his personal view is that “it’s very important that we understand the impacts of repeal, should it occur.”
That effort will be buttressed, he said, by meetings with focus groups. “I think that personal interaction is very important,” Ham said.
The review team will also rely on input from online social media “from within the Department of Defense and without.”
Ham also said the group will create a mechanism that will allow gays currently serving in the military to express their views without triggering investigations and subsequent discharges now required by law.
“I’m not sure how we’re going to do that just yet,” Ham said. “We will find a way.”
Ham added that the group will also seek input from veterans who have been separated under “don’t ask, don’t tell.” – Source – Navy Times
