GAY PEOPLE'S

Chronicle

Ohio's Newspaper for the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Community www.GayPeoplesChronicle.com

ERIC RESNICK

་

Mac Simon of Fort Collins, Colorado gives a hug to Malone University student Sam Hudson Taylor of Cleveland shortly before the Equality Ride bus departs the school. Many of the students and red-shirted riders hugged each other goodbye.

Volume 25, Issue 24 May 21, 2010

Portugal to be 8th nation with marriage

by Anthony Glassman

WITH WIRE REPORTS

Lisbon, Portugal-President Anibal Cavaco Silva said on May 17 that he will sign the country's same-sex marriage bill into law, even though he is opposed to it.

The move will make Portugal the sixth European nation with full same-sex marriage, plus Canada and South Africa.

The bill was passed in January by the Portuguese parliament, where it was put forward by the Socialist government and supported by every progressive party. President Cavaco Silva, however, belongs to a right-ofcenter party, and those parties presented the only opposition to the passage of the law, calling for a national referendum on same-sex marriage.

Cavaco Silva, though, was more sanguine in his approach to the proposed law. He realized that the left-of-center parties had the votes to override his veto should he reject the bill.

"Given that fact, I feel I should not contribute to a pointless extension of this debate, which would only serve to deepen the divisions between the Portuguese and divert the attention of

politicians away from the grave problems affecting us," he said.

Cavaco Silva asked the nation's Constitutional Court in March to review the bill's constitutionality. The court issued an 11-2 ruling confirming that it was, indeed, constitutionally valid, and three of the judges opined that same-sex marriage was mandated by the Portuguese constitution.

Four days before the president announced he would sign the bill, Pope Benedict XVI decried same-sex marriages in a speech given at a shrine in Fátima, Portugal.

Portugal joins Spain and Canada as predominantly Catholic countries that have passed full same-sex marriage laws. In Canada, Prime Minister Jean Chrétien was threatened with excommunication by one of his bishops for his support of same-sex marriage legislation.

The other nations with full marriage are Sweden, Norway, Belgium and the Netherlands. Five U.S. states and the District of Columbia also have it, as does Mexico City.

Iceland is likely to be the next European country to embrace marriage, with a bill expected to make it through the legislature in June.

Personal stories are Equality Riders' tools to end bias

by Eric Resnick

Canton, Ohio Malone University in Canton was the final stop on a 17-college bus tour to encourage schools with anti-gay rules to drop them.

The Equality Rides are organized by Soulforce, which works to end religious and political LGBT oppression. They were started in 2006. The one just ended began March 4 with 23 riders.

Wilbert Friesen met with the riders. He later expressed willingness to look at the school's anti-LGBT policy statement that drew them there in the first place, said university spokesperson Suzie Thomas.

The school, located in the historic Ridgewood neighborhood, began life as the Cleveland Bible College before moving to Canton. It now has about 2,500 students and retains its Christian liberal arts

Malone's interim president philosophy. Students and all

Inside This Issue

employees sign a statement swearing Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior and their commitment to a biblical world view.

The student code of conduct is largely based on scripture. The objectionable part reads: "there are certain actions that are expressly prohibited. . These include theft, dishonesty, gossip, profanity, vulgarity, sexual promiscuity, adultery, homosexual activity, premarital sex, drunkenness, immodesty of dress, and occult

Two Miami U. Students beaten in possible hate crime

Letters to the Editors.........

Page 2

Charlie's Calendar

......... 5

Resource Directory.................. 8

The Mafia in an opera

Classifieds ........

Page 6

practices."

The Equality Riders are primarily interested in Malone removing "homosexual activity" from a list that includes theft and dishonesty.

The riders decided to remain neutral on the matter of premarital sex, even though samesex couples are not permitted to marry.

Rider Sabrina Diz of Frederick, Maryland, who organized the Malone stop, said that going farther on the policy would be disrespectful of their faith.

The objective of the Equality Ride, which the riders plan themselves during a training, is not confrontation. Rather, it is to recognize that there are some parts of religious faith that the riders and the schools agree on, and to celebrate those.

At the same time, the riders gently challenge schools' antiLGBT policies by telling their personal stories to other students and to those in power at the schools.

At Malone, the riders met with about 150 people, according to Thomas. This included Friesen and members of the

cabinet, faculty and staff, trustees and students.

These events were carefully orchestrated through a memorandum of understanding between the riders and the school through the vice president of student development, Chris Abrams. That understanding closed all events to press.

According to all, Malone was pleased that the riders came and was a generous host. They responded positively to a letter from Soulforce four years ago and discussions to organize the stop had been held since.

In addition to the afternoon meeting with those who govern the school, riders met with students and invited members of the community for a series of structured programs, including a discussion on the interpretation of scripture. Riders were paired with student senate members for the day.

This is a departure from past Equality Rides in that this was the first year no riders were arrested at any school for civil disobedience.

Jennifer Luu of Alexandria, VirContinued on page 10