Singapore Elections Address Gay Issues
In the lead up to Singapore’s general elections, political parties have addressed concerns from LGBT activists. In a joint letter to running political, seven activists pressed on the parties to outlay their positions on specific gay-related issues. According to Fridae news, none of the parties responded to the complete list of questions but three parties provided a ‘reasonably clear’ outline on LGBT issues. While the Reform Party, National Solidarity Party and Singapore Democratic Party all agreed they were against discrimination of LGBT people, the Workers Party replied they continued to have no position on gay-related issues. Homosexuality is still criminalised in Singapore under Section 377A and was most recently debated in 2007.

Extortion Risk For African LGBT
A new report has found antiquated homophobic laws and social stigma against homosexuality has resulted in constant targeting of LGBT people throughout Africa. The International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission released the ‘Nowhere To Turn’ report last month. According to research from Cameroon, the bulk of the blackmail and extortion of LGBT people came from other community members like neighbours at 33 per cent and homosexual friends making up 14 per cent of extortionists. “The tragic reality is that blackmail and extortion are part of the daily lives of many LGBT Africans who are isolated and made vulnerable by homophobic laws and social stigma,” IGLHRC’s Executive Director, Cary Alan Johnson said.

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Homophobic Website Shut Down
The website that claimed homosexuals were responsible for the recent Christchurch earthquake tragedy has been shut down. The Christchurchquake.net website said the earthquake, which has officially claimed over 150 lives, was vengeance from God because of homosexuals. Utah- based web hosting company, BlueHost shut down the website on February 28 following pressure and complaints from possibly hundreds of complainants, according to PinkNews. The website highlighted the fact the earthquake began the same day as New Zealand’s ‘Gay Ski Week’ was to start. The website warned Kiwis that they should not ‘tempt fate and risk another quake’. The webpage also cited other major incidents as a result of the natural disaster and gave homophobic explanations for them.

Obama Repeals DOMA
Democrats in the US congress have weighed in on the debate surrounding the Defence of Marriage Act (DOMA) following Barack Obama’s decision to stop defending the discriminatory law. The US President reversed the White House’s previous stance against gay marriage last month. As a result, the Attorney General Eric H. Holder said the justice department would not pursue two separate cases currently before the courts in which states have ruled to allow same-sex marriage despite the federal law. In a press briefing, White House press secretary Jay Carney said the decision not to pursue DOMA in court was ‘separate’ from Obama’s personal views and the president was still ‘grappling’ with the issue of same-sex marriage.

First Gay Professional Cricketer
English professional cricketer Steven Davies revealed he was gay last month, coming out as the first active professional cricketer. The 24-year-old told the Daily Telegraph newspaper it was a massive relief to speak out. He had told his family and friends five years ago but said the recent tour to Australia was the first time he had told his team. “It was a fantastic thing to do, telling the lads. The difference is huge. I am so much happier,” he said. “Gareth Thomas’ story helped me. It showed me it can be done. He was brave enough to stand up and say who he was… If I can help anyone else like he helped me that would be great.”

Israel Appoints First Gay Judge
Last month Israel appointed the country’s first openly gay judge. Former attorney Dori Spivak was appointed the position at the Tel Aviv Labor Court on Friday 18 February, PinkNews reported. The former Civil Rights Association chairman was currently the deputy director of Tel Aviv University’s law clinics and also a gay rights activist. His partner and university colleague, Dr Yishai Blank told YNET that Spivak’s sexual preferences had anything to do with the appointment.
“I’m not objective, of course, but I believe he is deserving in light of his skills, capabilities and his commitment to justice and the law.” Dan Yakir, a friend from the Association of Civil Rights said the appointment was an ‘excellent one’.

Fathers and Son Reunite
A baby born to a surrogate in the Ukraine has been reunited with his Belgian gay parents after being stranded for two years by bureaucracy. Parent Peter Meurrens told the Associated Press his son, Samuel Ghilain had received his Belgian passport on Monday February 18. The decision to issue the passport followed a court decision which found bureaucrats had erred in saying the boy was entitled to the document. The married couple had not seen their son for over a year as he had been living in an orphanage in Lviv, Ukraine. The child was the biological son of Meurrens’ husband. “Finally, I am starting to believe I will see him in a few days,” Meurrens said.

A Beer For The Queer?
In Mexico, a new beer has been launched believed to be specifically for gay consumers. The Minerva micro-brewery told Efe news agency its ‘Artisan Honey-Ales’, ‘The Purple Hand Beer’ and ‘Salamandra’ would appeal to groups of people the larger brewers had ignored. The ‘Purple Hand Beer’ in particular refers to the gay rights protests in San Francisco in 1969. Dario Rodriguez Wyler from distributors, Bodega 12 said, “We’re out in the market with great respect with the idea of offering a product directed to the gay-lesbian community that has been ignored for too long but is important and very demanding”. The new range was also launched in Colombia and Japan.

Benn Dorrington