TUTU COMPARES ANTI-GAY DISCRIMINATION TO APARTHEID

In an appearance at the PeaceJam Youth Conference in Denver Nov. 15, South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu, 67, compared discrimination against gays to apartheid, reported the Rocky Mountain News.

When asked by a conference attendee which injustice he most wants to reverse, Tutu said, "Will you give me two?"

He then called on world leaders to forgive the debts of developing nations and said persecution of gays is as wrong as apartheid because gayness is no more of a choice than race.

"For me it's a matter of human rights and a deeply theological issue," he said. "I believe they [gays] are as much God's children as anyone. ... I can't be part of a scheme for clobbering them."

Fifty-two percent of Britons think it's OK if members of the nation's Cabinet are gay.

In recent weeks, three cabinet ministers were outed. A fourth one was already openly gay.

The ICM poll conducted for the Guardian newspaper found that 33 percent of those questioned believe cabinet ministers should not be openly gay and 15 percent don't know how they feel about the matter.

Women polled more gay-friendly than men and people aged 25-45 were the most gay-supportive. The survey questioned 1,222 adults.

AUSSIE POLICE NIX TOM OF FINLAND BOOK

Police in St. Kilda, Victoria, Australia -- a section of Melbourne -- have ordered the public library to remove a book of Tom of Finland drawings after patron Steve Jones stumbled upon it and freaked out.

The Police Gaming and Vice Squad said the drawings of hypermacho hunks having sex breach censorship laws.

Jones, who picketed the library for a week to draw attention to his distress, told reporters: "I'm not for censorship and I'm not a moral crusader, but I find this totally repugnant."

Library officials acknowledged that the book is "sexually explicit" but said a lot of other library material is also.

The Dutch air force has launched an advertising campaign in the newspaper De Gay Krant.

The ad shows an F16 fighter plane with the caption: "There are more exciting places on earth than a dark room. ... Imagine yourself in the cockpit of an F16. You start it up and only moments later you have 15 million people beneath you. ... Do you know a more exciting place than the F16's cockpit? Please let us

know."

A "dark room" (called a "back room" in America) is a space in a gay bar set aside for sexual activity.

SKATING CHAMP OUTED

Canadian figure-skating champion and Olympic silver medalist Brian Orser was outed Nov. 18 when a 10-month-old, $300,000 (US$195,000) palimony suit by ex-lover Craig Leask became public knowledge.

Leask, 35, says Orser, 36, cheated on him, kicked him out of their house, stole his property and killed their dogs. The five-year relationship ended in mid-1997.

"This is very upsetting to me and my family," Orser told reporters. "This came as a total shock and obviously it's very serious."

In a court affidavit filed in an attempt to keep the suit secret, Orser said he had never publicly acknowledged "my gayness" and feared his career would be "irreparably harmed" if the court records were not sealed.

"I earn almost all of my annual income from skating in professional ice shows," he said. "It is highly likely if these allegations were made public that I would not be invited to return to a number of major ice shows. I have always been viewed as a role model for young skaters. I believe these allegations could do serious damage to my reputation and ability to earn a livelihood."

Justice Susan Lang rejected Orser's request, saying, "One anticipates that in today's society such a disclosure would not attract any public stigma let alone one sufficient to override the important principle of the public right of access to court documents."

WESTERN AUSTRALIAN GAYS TARGET PARLIAMENT

Gays in the state of Western Australia are in the midst of a campaign to ban discrimination based on sexual orientation and lower the age of consent for gay sex from the current 21.

Six thousand postcards are being distributed to lobby the Upper House of parliament where the two-part bill will be introduced this month.

AUSSIE YOUTH FACE HIGH LEVELS OF ABUSE

Gay and lesbian Australian youth face high levels of abuse, especially at school, a new national study has found.

Of 750 people between ages 14 and 21 who were surveyed, half had been verbally abused, a third had been treated unfairly, and 13 percent had been physically attacked because of their sexuality.

The study was conducted by LaTrobe University.

GAYS ORGANIZE IN BELARUS

Gays in the former Soviet republic of Belarus have formed an organization called the Belarus League for Freedom of Gays, Lesbians and Bisexuals -- Belarus Lambda League.

In their first contact with international activists, group members confirmed reports that Belarus legalized gay sex on March 1, 1994.

The group seeks contact with foreign activists. Write BLL, P.O. Box 23, BY-220006 Minsk, Belarus.

Nine of the 15 former Soviet republics have decriminalized homosexuality -- Belarus, Estonia, Kazakstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia, Latvia, Lithuania and Ukraine. Those that have not are Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.

OPEN LESBIAN ELECTED TO TEL AVIV CITY COUNCIL

Lesbian activist Michal Eden was elected to the Tel Aviv, Israel, City Council Nov. 10.

Eden had snagged the second slot on the Meretz party list in the primary election thanks to strong support from the gay community -- and the party then won four spots in the general election, giving Eden her seat.

She is the first gay or lesbian ever elected in Israel, local activists said. The City Council has 31 members.

BRITISH AGRICULTURE MINISTER COMES OUT UNDER DURESS

British Agriculture Minister Nick Brown, the member of parliament for Newcastle upon Tyne East and Wallsend, came out of the closet Nov. 7 to preempt plans by an ex-boyfriend to tell their story to the media.

Brown said: "This was a relationship based on friendship, not simply sex, which ended well before the general election. I have been aware for some time that, after I broke off the relationship, the man has been in contact with the media both before and since the election, with a view to selling his story about our relationship and making false and unsubstantiated allegations about the nature of that relationship. These include the allegation that I paid him for sex. I deny totally that I paid money for sex. I have never done so.

"I am saddened that he has tried to sell his story in this way. I have always wanted to keep my private life and my sexuality private. That is my choice and I have always believed it is a choice I and any other citizen should be entitled to make. I am sorry that I have had to speak publicly about this part of my life, and that people very dear to me will find out about it in this way. This will be upsetting not just to me but to friends and family. I am deeply embarrassed about this, not least on behalf of my constituents who have shown me great support ever since I became their MP."

A spokesman for Prime Minister Tony Blair commented, "Nick Brown has given a full account of this relationship to the prime minister and he is satisfied with that account."

Brown is the third British cabinet minister to come out or be outed in a month. Welsh Secretary Ron Davies, 52, resigned after being mugged Oct. 26 while cruising for gay sex on London's Clapham Common. He went to the police after one of his assailants demanded money not to expose him as a closeted homosexual.

Then, during the media orgy that followed Davies' misfortune, Times of London columnist Matthew Parris outed Trade Secretary Peter Mandelson on BBC2-TV's "Newsnight" program.

A fourth Cabinet member, Culture Secretary Chris Smith, is openly gay.

Namibian Home Affairs Minister Jerry Ekandjo told parliament Nov. 6 that the government will introduce legislation to ban gay sex.

"Gay rights can never qualify as human rights," Ekandjo said.

"They are wrongly claimed because it is inimical to true Namibian culture, African culture and religion. They should be classified as human wrongs which must rank as sin against society and God.

"If a male dog knows its right partner as a female dog, how can a human being fail to notice the difference?" Ekandjo asked. "Today it is homosexuality, tomorrow it will be the right to walk naked, the day after tomorrow it will be the right to abuse drugs. ... I earnestly call upon homosexuals in Namibia to repent their wrongs before society. I call upon them to repent their sins before God. This is the only way Namibia can develop as a people which considers certain values as fundamental to the welfare and survival of the nation."

The Namibian gay group Rainbow Project responded, "We question Mr. Ekandjo's morality in attempting to deny others their human rights."

The human-rights organization Legal Assistance Centre stated: "Such a legislation will be tantamount to unfair treatment and inequality of homosexuals before the law. Clause 107 of the Labour Act stipulates that it is not allowed to discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation."

Namibian President Sam Nujoma previously has said: "Homosexuals must be condemned and rejected in our society. All necessary steps must be taken to combat all influences that are influencing us and our children in a negative way."

KOREANS STAGE FIRST GAY FILM FEST

Seoul, Korea's first Queer Film & Video Festival brought 87 dramas, documentaries and animated films to the city Nov. 6-15.

The festival was accompanied by forums and symposia on Korean and Asian gay cinema and on the relationship between the media and homosexuality.

Fifteen additional films were banned from the main festival by censors but were screened for film professionals, journalists and critics. Last year, the entire film festival was banned.

FRENCH PARTNERS MEASURE DELAYED AGAIN

The French parliament's vote on giving spousal rights to gay and straight unmarried couples has been delayed again -- until at least the end of November.

The measure was the subject of fierce debate in the National Assembly this month, attracting unusually long speeches, arcane procedural motions and more than 1,000 hostile amendments.

Conservatives and Roman Catholics ultimately hope to scuttle the bill that will create the "Civil Solidarity Pacts," but the legislation is supported by the ruling Socialists who hold a majority of seats in the Assembly.

The proposed law permits cohabiting couples, regardless of gender or romantic attachment, to access spousal rights in such areas as inheritance, housing, taxation, workplace benefits, social security and social-welfare programs.

TASMANIA EMBRACES GAY STUDENTS

The Education Department of the Australian state of Tasmania has rescinded a ban on school-based discussions or displays related to homosexuality and launched a series of projects designed to make gay students feel welcome.

"There have been some disturbing incidences of harassment and victimization of students based on their sexuality," said Education Minister Paula Wreidt. "We want to send a clear message out to other people that this is not acceptable at all, that children have the right to attend schools in an environment which is free of harassment."

Among other moves, the department will distribute sexuality reference cards listing support services for gay youth, stock comprehensive material on homosexuality and homophobia, and issue guidelines on usage of non-discriminatory language (e.g., saying "partner" rather than "husband" or "wife").

"In the past, the Education Department has actually banned any discussion of homosexuality in the classroom, but thanks to today's initiatives, Tasmania is now at the cutting edge of creating safe school communities for a range of minorities including young gays and lesbians," commented Rodney Croome, spokesman for the Tasmanian Gay and Lesbian Rights Group.

A recent University of Tasmania study found that 94 percent of young Tasmanian gay men have experienced anti-gay verbal or physical abuse and that gay youth are two-and-a-half times more likely to seriously consider suicide than are their straight peers. Another study, conducted by Elizabeth College, found that eight percent of students are gay, lesbian or bisexual and that 16 percent of students have harassed homosexuals.

SWISS MAN JAILED FOR HIV TRANSMISSION

A 51-year-old man in Winterthur, Switzerland, was jailed for three years Nov. 9 for causing serious bodily harm by passing HIV to his girlfriend whom he had not told he was HIV-positive.

Prosecutors sought to have the man jailed for 10 years but the defense argued successfully that he had not acted with intent to kill.

SHANGHAI POLICE ARREST DRAG QUEENS

Police in Shanghai, China, pulled two drag performers off stage and arrested them Nov. 11, after shocked patrons of the Guoling Dance Hall realized the singers were really men and alerted the authorities.

The club, which was celebrating its opening night, was shut down.

The Xinmin Evening News said the dance hall was plunged into chaos when the performers "opened their red lips [and] the rough male sound came through the microphone."

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