www.GayPeoplesChronicle.com July 17, 2009
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GAY PEOPLE'S CHRONICLE
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newsbriefs
Maine's new marriage law is headed for the ballot
Portland, Maine-Foes of same-sex marriage said July 8 that they have gathered enough signatures to force a statewide vote on the law allowing same-sex couples to wed.
Using paid and volunteer signature gatherers, the Stand for Marriage Maine coalition needed four weeks to collect more than the 55,087 signatures needed to put marriage to a vote, said Mark Mutty, public affairs director for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Portland.
The law that's scheduled to go into effect on September 12 will be put on hold after the signatures are submitted to the secretary of state. If they're certified by September 4, voters will then decide in November whether the law should stand.
Jesse Connolly, campaign coordinator for the Maine Freedom to Marry coalition, predicted the low-key campaign would become more public in next few weeks. Right now, the Freedom to Marry coalition is hiring field coordinators and lining up national consult-
ants.
Mennonites protest Columbus conclave
Columbus In a quiet act of defiance, gay and lesbian Mennonites dressed in bright pink gathered outside the church's national convention in Columbus on July 2 and criticized its leaders for trying to push them out. About 100 ministers and church members prayed, sang religious hymns and told stories of feeling ostracized growing up in the Mennonite church, which does not recognize openly gay people as official members. The "pink Menno" protest brought the deeply divisive issue to the forefront of the Mennonite Church USA conference, a biannual, national gathering of about 8,000 delegates.
With about 110,000 members, the Mennonite Church USA represents the largest and most mainstream group of Mennonites in the U.S., most of whom do not shun technology or wear traditional clothing like the more conservative branches of the church. But many progressive Mennonites have relatives
who are part of the Old Order, and some women still wear head coverings.
The Mennonite religion is rooted in a 16th-century movement in Europe known as Anabaptism, which coincided with the Protestant Reformation and called for adults to be baptized before joining the church. The Mennonites took their name from Menno Simons, a Dutch Catholic priest who broke away from his church in 1536.
The gay movement among Mennonites, which for years lacked a visible presence within the church, gained steam several months ago when nearly 1,400 ministers signed a letter calling on the church to allow gay and lesbian members to worship with everyone else.
The definition of what's acceptable and what's not is murky at best. In some congregations, gay Mennonites are welcome as long as they remain celibate. In others, they are shunned.
Congregations are disciplined and, in rarer cases, kicked out altogether for allowing non-celibate gay members to worship with them. Pastors who perform civil unions for gay couples run the risk of losing their ordination.
India's top court strikes gay sex ban
New Delhi India's gay community celebrated a landmark court ruling July 2 that decriminalizes homosexuality-a decision that could end widespread police harassment and be a harbinger for gradual acceptance for gays and lesbians across this conservative country.
The Delhi High Court ruled that treating consensual gay sex between adults as a crime is a violation of fundamental rights protected by India's constitution.
Sex between people of the same gender has been illegal in India since a British colonial-era law was issued in the 1860s classifying it as "against the order of nature." According to the law, gay sex is punishable by ten years in prison.
ANTHONY GLASSMAN
Actual criminal prosecutions are few, but the law frequently has been used to harass people.
But some religious leaders quickly criticized the ruling. A Hindu astrologer has already filed a motion with the Supreme Court to overturn the ruling.
D.C. marriage recognition takes effect
Washington, D.C.-A law recognizing same-sex marriages performed in other states and countries went into effect July 7 in the capital, and a District of Columbia councilor said he plans to follow up with a measure that would allow marriage ceremonies in the district.
The bill was approved in a 12-1 vote by the D.C. Council in May. Congress, which has the final say over the city's laws, had 30 days to review the legislation. Since it took no action, the bill automatically became law.
"I certainly believe that the fact that we got here is a great victory, that we survived the congressional layover period," said D.C. Council member David Catania. He is finetuning a bill that would allow gay marriages to be performed in Washington. He said he intends to introduce the measure between September and the end of the year.
Under the law, same-sex couples married in other jurisdictions are afforded the same benefits and rights as other married people under D.C. law. The law recognizes legal, same-sex nuptials in other countries as well as an estimated 18,000 such marriages that took place in California before voters there approved a gay marriage ban in November.
Six states Connecticut, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Vermont and New Hampshire currently allow same-sex marriage. New York recognizes marriages performed in other
states.
During the congressional review period, some opponents of the D.C. legislation sought a referendum on the matter. The effort was spearheaded by Bishop Harry Jackson, who leads a church in Beltsville, Maryland, near Washington. He charged that the D.C. Council sneaked the bill through without public input.
The D.C. elections board ultimately rejected the proposal, saying that a referendum could authorize discrimination based on sexual orientation, which is prohibited under District of Columbia's Human Rights Act.
Jackson and other opponents later filed a lawsuit against the city challenging the elections board decision and seeking a stay on the bill's implementation. The suit was dismissed last month.
Men cited for kissing on plaza
Salt Lake City-About 100 people gathered near the Mormon church's downtown temple to stage a "kiss-in" protesting the treatment of two gay men who were detained by security guards on a plaza owned by the church and later cited by police for trespassing.
Matt Aune said he and his partner, Derek Jones, were confronted by guards after they hugged and kissed on the plaza on July 9.
Former Salt Lake City Councilor Deeda Seed helped organize the July 12 kiss-in, which occurred on public property.
The Salt Lake Tribune reported on its web site that heterosexual and gay couples exchanged small kisses and pecks at the plaza's south entrance, which faces downtown. Church security was present, but the churchowned Deseret News reported that no altercations occurred.
The plaza, popular with pedestrians, had been public until it was sold to the church in the 1990s.
Bishops affirm gays for all roles
Anaheim, Calif.-The Episcopal Church moved July 13 toward affirming their acceptance of gays and lesbians for all roles in the ministry, despite pressure from fellow Anglicans worldwide for a decisive moratorium on consecrating another openly gay bishop.
Bishops at the Episcopal General Convention voted 99-45 with two abstentions for a statement declaring "God has called and may call" gays in committed lifelong relationships to ministry.
Lay and priest delegates to the meeting had comfortably approved a nearly identical statement, and were expected to adopt the latest version before the meeting ends July 17.
Leaders of the Anglican Communion have been pushing Episcopalians to roll back their support for gays and lesbians since 2003, when the U.S. denomination consecrated the first openly gay bishop, V. Gene Robinson of New Hampshire.
Robinson's election brought the 77 million-member Anglican fellowship to the brink of schism. Last month, breakaway Episcopal conservatives and other like-minded traditionalists formed a rival national province called the Anglican Church in North America.
To calm tensions, the Episcopal General Convention three years ago passed a resolution that urged restraint by dioceses considering gay candidates for bishop. No other Episcopal bishops living openly with samesex partners have been consecrated since then.
Drafters of the latest statement insisted that the resolution only acknowledges that the Episcopal Church ordains partnered gays and lesbians and is not a repeal of what was widely considered a moratorium on consecrating gay bishops.
However, the Episcopal gay advocacy group Integrity said in a statement that the declaration “effectively ends” the temporary prohibition on gays in ministry. Integrity called the vote "another step in the Episcopal Church's 'coming out' process."
Compiled from wire reports by Brian DeWitt, Anthony Glassman and Patti Harris.
Ascending
Guests prepare to release balloons over Cleveland Public Theater's Parish Hall, to carry their thoughts about Jason R. Joyner into the heavens.
Over 100 people attended the memorial service and celebration of Joyner's life on July 11. One of Cleveland Contemporary Dance Theater's founding members, an AIDS educator and activist, father, integral part of BlackOut Unlimited and the Brother Circle of Cleveland, Joyner passed away in his sleep in May.
His friends and partner Aron Myers organized the event to allow those he left behind to celebrate having known him, and the memorial alternated between recollections about the man, readings of poetry, song and dance.
Michael Medcalf, the dance theater's founder, filled Joyner's role in an excerpt from "Lovejoy Lane," a dance originally performed in 1999 by Joyner and Paloma McGregor. McGregor danced her own part in it, tears streaking her face by the end of the performance.
After the memorial ended, food and beverages were served, and DJ Robbie Rob, another friend in town from Philadelphia, provided the music that kept people dancing for hours. Joyner left behind his teenaged son Ja'Shawn for whom Myers and Larry Webb, former executive director of BlackOut, formed a fund to help provide for the younger Joyner's education. More information is available at http://jasonjoyner.squarespace.com.
-Anthony Glassman
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