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France’s highest court rules mayors cannot refuse to perform same-sex marriages | MasterAdrian’s Weblog
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France’s highest court rules mayors cannot refuse to perform same-sex marriages
18th October 2013, 12:15 PM

Scott Roberts, PinkNews.co.UK

France’s Constitutional Council ruled that the law does not provide a ’conscience clause’
France’s Constitutional Council ruled that the law does not provide a ‘conscience clause’
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France’s highest court has ruled that mayors cannot refuse to hold same-sex weddings in the country.

A law recognising equal marriage took effect in May, but several mayors rejected it as a matter of “conscience”.

Earlier this summer Jean-Michel Colo, the mayor of Arcangues, in south-west France, refused to marry a gay couple and said ”I will go to the gallows” in order to defy the law.

However, the Constitutional Council ruled on Friday that the law does not provide a “conscience clause” for its opponents.

“The council judged that, in view of the functions of a state official in the officiating of a marriage, the legislation does not violate their freedom of conscience,” it said in a statement.

“The Constitutional Council has been manipulated by politics. It is a political decision,” Jean-Michel Colo told AFP.

Mr Colo said opponents would now take their case to the European Court of Human Rights.

Meanwhile, Manif Pour Tous said it supports “all the mayors who courageously dare to assert their right to freedom of conscience”.

Manif Pour Tous has been at the forefront of violent protests against the legalisation of equal marriage.

In France, marriages can only be made official by state authorities.

Earlier this month, during a debate of Scotland’s proposed equal marriage bill, Scotland’s Health Secretary Alex Neil told Members of the Scottish Parliament that registrars who object to same-sex marriages will not be forced to carry them out.

Mr Neil said the responsibility to provide equal access to marriage in Scotland would lie with local authorities, not with individual registrars.

But he stressed that it was a requirement of all authorities to ensure same-sex couples had absolutely no barriers to marriage ceremonies.

In response, Scotland’s Equality Network warned against allowing registrars to opt out of the proposed legislation as a point of principle.

The charity said Scottish law should mirror that of England and Wales’ Marriage (Same Sex Couples Act) – which requires all public sector registrars to be able to perform same-sex marriages regardless of religious belief as part of the Equality Act.

Greece: Gay play production team and cast charged with blasphemy
By Scott Roberts
16 November 2012If found guilty the defendants could face several months in prison

If found guilty the defendants could face several months in prison

Actors and the producer and director of a play in Greece that depicted Jesus Christ as gay have been charged with blasphemy.

Earlier this month, director Laertis Vasiliou was forced to close his production of Corpus Christi in Athens because of political pressure from neo-Nazi party Golden Dawn.

RTE reports that charges of “insulting religion” and “malicious blasphemy” have been filed after a bishop lodged a lawsuit against those involved in the play.

The production had been subjected to protests since October, when a Golden Dawn MP was captured shouting homophobic and racist insults at Mr Vasiliou among a violent mob.

If found guilty, Mr Vasiliou and the other defendants could face several months in prison, a trial date has not yet been set.

Mr Vasiliou said he was stunned that prosecutors had chosen to go after him rather than pursue tax evaders and others blamed for driving Greece to near-bankruptcy.

Golden Dawn have increased their power since June’s election and its supporters have been linked to a significant number of attacks on migrant workers, rival political groups and LGBT citizens.

UN calls for gay rights protection in Cameroon ahead of court appeals
By Scott Roberts
16 November 2012, Two of the men were jailed because they drank Baileys

Two of the men were jailed because they drank Baileys

The United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) is calling on Cameroon to end the enforcement of homophobic laws ahead of an appeal involving three men.

Addressing a news conference in Geneva on Friday, OHCHR spokesperson Rupert Colville said that the laws breach Cameroon’s international human rights commitments and violates rights to privacy and to freedom from discrimination.

“While the penal code relates specifically to sexual conduct, we are seriously concerned that it is being applied in a broad-brush way to prosecute many individuals on the basis of their appearance, their mannerisms, style of speech or general conduct,” Mr Colville said.

In 2011, Jean-Claude Roger Mbede was convicted of suspected homosexual conduct after authorities discovered he had sent a text message to another man that said: “I am very much in love with you.”

In addition, Jonas Singa Kumie and Franky Djome were convicted on the basis of their appearance, which was perceived as effeminate, and the fact that they had been seen drinking Baileys.

The pair were arrested in July 2011 in a car outside of a night club in the Cameroonian capital Yaoundé.

All three men have an appeal hearing next week.

Earlier this month, two prominent lawyers, who have been helping the men, revealed that they had been on the receiving end of death threats – with warnings also made to their families.

In response, Mr Colville said: “The government of Cameroon has a duty to end these abuses. It should provide adequate protection to human rights defenders working to protect the rights of LGBT persons.”

UK: New Archbishop signals openness on LGBT issues
By Scott Robertsfor PinkNews.co.UK
9 November 2012, 3:02pm

Dr Welby is replacing Dr Rowan Williams (KJB Photography)

Dr Welby is replacing Dr Rowan Williams (KJB Photography)

The Bishop of Durham Justin Welby, who has been appointed as the new Archbishop of Canterbury, says the Church of England must have “no truck with any form of homophobia”.

Although Dr Welby has previously stated his opposition to equal marriage and the ordination of gay bishops, in a speech made on Friday at Lambeth Palace, Dr Welby signalled that he was willing to engage on LGBT issues by saying:

“It is absolutely right for the state to define the rights and status of people cohabiting in different forms of relationships, including civil partnerships.

“We must have no truck with any form of homophobia in any part of the church”.

He said that he supported the House of Bishops’ statement in the summer in response to the government’s consultation on same-sex marriage – which opposed the measure.

“But I also know I need to listen very attentively to the LGBT communities and examine my own thinking carefully and prayerfully,” he added.

Dr Welby was named on Thursday as the replacement for Dr Rowan Williams, who steps down in December after ten years in the post as Archbishop of Canterbury.

Israel: High rates of suicide among country’s LGBT youth
by Scott Roberts
7 September 2012, 1:13pm

The organisation for Religious Homosexuals (HOD) has been working for several years to decrease suicide attempts among gay religious Israelis The organisation for Religious Homosexuals (HOD) has been working for several years to decrease suicide attempts among gay religious Israelis

New research published this week in Israel has examined suicide rates among LGBT youth in the country.

Kipa reports that for the first time, the suicide rates among different segments of Israeli youth have been analysed in detail.

According to a study of 1,134 teens, 20% of gay youngsters surveyed had undertaken suicide attempts – 112 times the rate of the general population.

However, the rate is even higher for religious LGBT youngsters.

Dr Chana Bar Yosef, the study’s director said: “This is a sector that does not get enough notice, and it is a hotbed for suicides that you later hear about after the fact.

“The suicide rate among religious homosexuals is the highest because they experience more distress when confronting their families.”

The organisation for Religious Homosexuals (HOD) has been working for several years to decrease the suicide attempts of religious gays in the country.

It aims to increase awareness of the issue in Israeli society and is led by the Orthodox Rabbi Ron Yosef.

In April 2009, he became the first Israeli orthodox Rabbi to come out as gay.

A study published in the US last year suggested that attempted suicide rates among gay teenagers are higher in more conservative areas.

The research involved more than 32,000 high school students in the state of Oregon.

According to Stonewall’s School Report of 2012, 16% of gay and bisexual boys have attempted suicide and 57% have thought about taking their own life in the UK.

UK: Ban on night time civil partnerships lifted
By Scott Roberts
1 October 2012, 12:43pm

The changes are part of the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012

The changes are part of the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012

Gay couples will now be given greater freedom of choice as outdated time restrictions on civil partnership ceremonies are removed by the government.

The changes are part of the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012, which also seeks to quash historic convictions for consensual gay sex.

Same-sex couples applying for civil partnerships and heterosexual couples wanting to marry were previously restricted to between 8am and 6pm.

The time periods were introduced when the first General Register Office was established in the 17th century, in a bid to prevent clandestine marriages.

The hours were further extended in 1886 and then 1934.

Civil partnerships were then introduced in 2005, with the same time restrictions.

Neither local authorities nor religious groups are required to provide services outside of the new hours.

Mark Harper, Home Office Minister with responsibility for the General Register Office, said:

“The public requested that we repeal this law and we listened.

“Removing these restrictions will give people greater freedom of choice when planning their big day.”

Sarah Rapson, Registrar General for England and Wales, added: “These changes are good news to anyone planning a wedding or civil registration ceremony as they will allow couples to make their day much more personal.

“They can now choose to say their vows at sunrise or even walk down the aisle at midnight”.

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