EUROPE


Budapest Police Chief Bans, Unbans Pride

Budapest Police Chief Gábor Tóth banned the city’s Pride parade June 11, then unbanned it June 13. The parade will take place July 5.

Tóth originally said the parade would cause too much disruption of traffic.

That led to a denunciation from Patricia Prendiville, executive director of the European Region of the International Lesbian and Gay Association, who said: “We consider his decision as a sign of giving in to the threats of ultranationalists. The traffic hindrance explanation and an earlier suggestion to the LGBT activists to organize a stationary event in an area remote from the city center are just excuses for the unwillingness of the Budapest police chief to take his responsibilities seriously to ensure order.”

In changing his mind, Tóth said freedom of assembly and opinion should take priority over traffic delays.

“We hope the police have understood that it is their job to protect the march from attacks, and not to try to avoid the attacks by banning the march,” said Gábor Kuszing of Hungary’s Association of People Challenging Patriarchy. “We hope that they have learned from last year’s serious attacks and will appear in adequate numbers to protect us.”

Last year, hundreds of skinheads, neo-Nazis and others threw eggs, bottles, smoke bombs, Molotov cocktails and plastic bags of sand at the 2,000 marchers. They also pelted police with beer bottles and physically attacked several marchers. One truck in the parade caught fire when a Molotov cocktail landed on it.

The counterdemonstrators shouted, “Faggots into the Danube, followed by the Jews,” “Soap factory” and “Filthy faggots.”

Dozens more of the Pride attendees were attacked in the vicinity of the post-parade party at the open-air, riverside Buddha Beach nightclub, the parade’s endpoint.

Parade organizers said police failed to protect Pride celebrants from anti-gay mobs, did not patrol the area of the post-parade party and did not respond to emergency calls.


Anglican Church Gay Wedding Causes Uproar

Yet another gay uproar occurred in the worldwide Anglican Communion last month when newspapers reported that two male priests had sealed their civil partnership using a traditional wedding rite at London’s St. Bartholomew the Great Anglican church.

The ceremony, which included Holy Communion, was carried out by the Rev. Martin Dudley in violation of guidelines issued by the Church of England and the bishop of London, the Rt. Rev. Richard Chartres.

As the fallout from the news reports escalated, one of the partners, the Rev. David Lord, resigned from the priesthood June 15. The other partner, the Rev. Peter Cowell, is a priest vicar at St. Margaret’s Church, a parish attached to Westminster Abbey that falls under the jurisdiction of the queen rather than the bishop.

The Church of England allows civil partnership celebrations to include prayers and hymns, but not a formal blessing or use of a wedding rite.

Policies at Anglican churches in the United States and Canada are generally more liberal, although they vary among dioceses. The Episcopal Church is the U.S. branch of the Anglican Communion.


Report: Gay Life in Albania Is Not Good

Gay people in Albania face routine intolerance and physical and psychological violence, says a new report by Thomas Hammarberg, the Council of Europe’s commissioner for human rights.

The report was presented June 18 to the council’s Parliamentary Assembly and Committee of Ministers.

“An open discussion regarding homosexuality remains taboo in Albania,” Hammarberg wrote. “LGBT persons are routinely subject to intolerance, physical and psychological violence and seen by many as persons suffering from an ‘illness.’ There have also been cases of mistreatment by the police.

“There is no single competent body that may accept complaints on the grounds of discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation in Albania in the context of employment,” the report continued. “This lacuna results in victims being dissuaded or discouraged entirely from seeking just satisfaction.”

Hammarberg said that “to sensitize people on diversity of sexuality requires education.” He recommended “a combination of public campaigns, integration of further sexual education within school curricula and further training of state professionals, including law enforcement, judicial and medical personnel.”


U.K. Foreign Office Issues Gay Rights Kit to Embassies

The United Kingdom’s Foreign Office has adopted an official program in support of sexual minority rights and issued a toolkit to its embassies around the world to further the undertaking.

“The program and toolkit provide a great opening for LGBT activists to approach their local U.K. embassy when they need help,” said the European Region of the International Lesbian and Gay Association.

The Netherlands and Sweden are the only other countries with similar projects aimed at supporting gay equality in foreign nations.


Lebanese Lesbians Form New Organization

Lesbian, bisexual, transgender and queer women in Lebanon have formed a new organization called MEEM.

“The group was created on the idea that women should be encouraged to empower themselves and each other through mutual support,” organizers said in a statement. “Our goal is to create a safe space in Lebanon where LBTQs can meet, talk, discuss issues, share experiences and work on improving their lives and themselves.”



ASIA/PACIFIC


Same-Sex Marriage Bill Introduced in Tasmania

Tasmanian Greens MP Nick McKim introduced a bill July 1 to legalize same-sex marriage in the state Parliament. If it passes, Tasmania will become the first Australian state to open marriage to gay couples.

Marriage has been considered a federal rather than a state matter in Australia, and a federal law explicitly bans same-sex marriage. But McKim said new legal research has revealed that states are not barred from legalizing same-sex marriage on their own.

Should Tasmania do so, the federal government could reverse it only via a High Court challenge.

Tasmania already has a law that grants many of the rights and obligations of marriage to registered same-sex couples.

But a spokesman for the Tasmanian Gay and Lesbian Rights Group, Rodney Croome, said that doesn’t constitute true equality. “It’s painful for many same-sex couples to see their counterparts in places like California taking solemn legal vows of lifelong commitment while knowing they cannot do the same in their own country.”


Rex Wockner has reported for the gay press since 1985. He has a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Drake University and started his career as a radio reporter.