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The federal cabinet will debate the 58 areas of same-sex discrimination which have need action according to the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission. Activist Rodney Croome said the government had broken promises in the past but expected “one or two low-profile reforms”. www.ssonet.com.au |
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The ChillOut Festival has teamed up with the Alannah and Madeline Foundation and the Hepburn Shire Council Healthy Communities Project to launch a community partnership to help reduce bullying. ChillOut (set for March 7-10, 2008 in Daylesford), has donated more than $45,000 to local worthy causes in the Hepburn Shire over the past 10 years. |
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The man who controlled the Bledisloe cup match between the All Blacks and the Wallabies last weekend is the only out gay professional referee in rugby union. Nigel Owens is also a stand-up comedian, which sometimes comes in handy. In 2005 he told an argumentative player: "You have two ears and one mouth - use them in proportion." |
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Canada has successfully lobbied the UN to grant observer status to respected advocacy group Coalition Gaie Et Lesbienne Du Quebec. A committee dominated by Egypt, Guinea, Pakistan, Qatar and Sudan had successfully blocked the Coalition's earlier application in January. |
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A new audit of democratic rights says the Commonwealth lags behind the states in removing gay discrimination. The Australian National University audit records "significant legislative and policy change by state and territory governments but we haven't seen concurrent change at a federal level, leaving Australia lagging behind to comparable countries.” |
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Hong Kong's top court unanimously struck down a law criminalising gay sex in public. Chief Justice Andrew Li said the law targets homosexuals and "does not criminalise heterosexuals for the same or comparable conduct." |
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Gay US cable station LOGO will screen a debate between Democratic Presidential hopefuls Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, John Edwards, Chris Dodd, Dennis Kucinich, Bill Richardson and Mike Gravel live from Los Angeles on August 9, at 9pm ET and streaming at LOGOonline.com. It’s the first time a group of presidential candidates have publicly debated gay issues on TV. |
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Justice Michael Kirby urged Ireland's Law Reform Commission to be strong, courageous and bold when pushing forward gay equality. Speaking in Dublin, he said, "if you haven't felt that sting [of discrimination], you don't realise how important it is to have law reformers who are strong, courageous and bold." On Monday the Irish Prime Minister promised to legalise civil partnerships for same sex couples. |
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Jodie Foster has made a ‘sizeable’ donation to the only US gay youth suicide prevention helpline. The Trevor Project declined to name the amount but said the donation was ‘the largest in the organisation’s history.’ The money will help fund call centres in LA and San Francisco. |
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The ACT hopes to amend the Parental Leave Act by the end of the year to give same-sex couples working in the private sector the same entitlements to parental leave as de facto couples. IR Minister Andrew Barr said it was a further attempt to address all discrimination against same sex couples in the ACT. |
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George Michael says he won’t take an HIV test in case it comes back positive. While filming for Stephen Fry’s new TV show, HIV and Me he said he hadn’t had a test in over three years because he found the wait for results ‘too harrowing’. |
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Dutch police say four assaults on gay men have been reported to them over the last week. Up to then there had only been six such assaults all year. Gay rights group COC has asked the Public Prosecutors Office to ensure that any offenders convicted of anti-gay violence are banned from entering the gay district. |
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Health Minister Bronwyn Pike says the Federal government should introduce mandatory HIV tests for all refugees. She said tests for all communicable diseases should be made ‘stringent and compulsory’. Currently the Department of Health only monitors HIV + people suspected of risky or dangerous behavior. |
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The Constitutional Drafting Assembly has included equal rights for people of “other sexual identities” – thought to mean gays, lesbians and transgendered – in the draft of the new constitution. The draft goes to a national referendum in August. |
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Hundreds of thousands from all over Europe marched and up to 2.5 million people attended Europride on June 30.The parade also celebrated the more than 10,000 same-sex marriages since they were legalised by the Socialist government in 2005. |
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London is preparing for the largest gay sports event ever to be held in the UK, the 2008 Football World Cup. Fifty men’s and women’s teams from around the world will play at Leyton Orient Football Club in West Essex. The Football Association will help recruit officials and provide technical support. |
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The New York State Assembly passed a bill legalising same-sex marriage 85-61 last Wednesday, but it’s not expected to pass the Republican-dominated Senate. Opponents mainly cited religious objections. Orthodox Jewish Representative Dov Hikind of Brooklyn said: “Maybe we should include incest in the bill and deal with the whole package at one time.” |
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Anonymous testing of 1800 men in gay bars and saunas in Glasgow and Edinburgh revealed four out of 10 men who have the HIV virus were unaware. More than half of them thought they were in the clear because they had tested negative recently. Lisa Williamson of Glasgow University said the study showed gay men in Scotland were at ‘significant risk’. |
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