2 July 2015 - NPWJ News Digest on LGBTI rights

Articles

NYC St. Patrick's Parade to target LGBT community with new leaders
By Reuters, 01 Jul 2015

Leaders of the New York City St. Patrick's Day Parade named two new leaders in a move aimed at including more gay and lesbian groups, which until this year had been barred from taking part. The parade's board of directors created and filled two leadership posts, asking the new chairman and vice chairman to expand participation in the March event by the LGBT community. The move follows years of protest and criticism over the parade's former stance on LGBT inclusion. This year, for the first time, the parade allowed an LGBT organization, Out@NBCUniversal, to carry a banner in the parade. Also this year, Boston's St. Patrick's Day parade lifted a ban on LGBT groups, which it had defended by arguing that homosexuality conflicted with Roman Catholic doctrine. John Dunleavy, president of the New York City parade organizing committee, drew criticism in recent years for failing to include LGBT groups. He will keep his position, but take direction from the board. John Lahey, formerly vice chairman of New York's parade organizing committee, was named chairman of the board of directors. The board has asked him to find a second LGBT group to include in the 2016 event. "In adding the second group, we want to underscore the inclusiveness of the parade," said Lahey, who led the efforts to include Out@NBCUniversal in 2015. He said the parade previously didn't allow LGBT groups to march because of worries that including groups with a political message would detract from the parade's primary purpose of celebrating the life of St. Patrick, a 5th century missionary who is Ireland's main patron saint.

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Mozambique decriminalises gay and lesbian relationships
By the BBC news, 01 Jul 2015

Mozambique has decriminalised homosexuality in its new penal code, making it one of a few African countries where same-sex relationships are legal. The revised code, in force from Wednesday, drops a colonial-era clause outlawing "vices against nature". There were no prosecutions under that clause but rights activists have said this change is a symbolic victory. It comes as other African countries have moved to tighten anti-gay laws. In Nigeria, a law that came into force last year banned same-sex public displays of affection and introduced a possible 14-year prison sentence for gay sex. A study released on Tuesday found that 87% of Nigerians supported a ban on same-sex relations. In Uganda, the government has pledged to introduce a new restrictive law after the last law which criminalised homosexuality was successfully challenged in the constitutional court.

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Turkish riot police fire water cannon and rubber pellets at Pride revellers
By The Guardian, 28 Jun 2015

Turkish police fired water cannon and rubber pellets to disperse a crowd gathered in central Istanbul yesterday for the city’s annual gay pride parade. It was not immediately clear why the police stopped the marchers gathering and chased away between 100 and 200 of them. The parade has been held in Istanbul in previous years, leading some to dub it the largest Pride event in the Muslim world. However, the timing of this year’s parade coincided with the holy month of Ramadan, something that could have caused conservative Muslims to bristle. Turkey’s Dogan news agency reported that police told the crowd to disperse soon after they began assembling, telling them they would not be allowed to march. The police appeared intent on stopping the crowd gathering near Taksim Square, a Dogan cameraman said. Taksim is a traditional rallying ground for demonstrators and saw weeks of unrest in 2013. The crowd regrouped a few blocks down the street and continued to dance and chant slogans against homophobia without any further clashes. The rally grew to several thousand people as the day wore on. While homosexuality is not a crime in Turkey, as it is in most other Muslim countries, homophobia remains widespread.

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US Supreme Court rules gay marriage is legal nationwide
By the BBC news, 27 Jun 2015

The US Supreme Court has ruled that same-sex marriage is a legal right across the United States. It means the 14 states with bans on same-sex marriage will no longer be able to enforce them. Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote that the plaintiffs asked "for equal dignity in the eyes of the law. The Constitution grants them that right." The ruling brings to an end more than a decade of bitter legal battles. Same-sex couples in several affected states including Georgia, Michigan, Ohio and Texas rushed to wed on Friday. However officials in other states, including Mississippi and Louisiana, said marriages had to wait until procedural issues were addressed. President Barack Obama said the ruling was a "victory for America". "When all Americans are treated as equal, we are all more free " he said.

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President Obama welcomes gay marriage ruling
By the BBC news, 27 Jun 2015

President Obama has welcomed the US Supreme Court ruling that same-sex marriage is a legal right across the United States. It means the 14 states with bans on same-sex marriage will no longer be able to enforce them. Mr Obama said: "This ruling will strengthen all of our communities, by offering to all loving same-sex couples the dignity of marriage, across this great land". The ruling, which sparked celebrations outside the court in Washington DC, brings to an end more than a decade of bitter legal battles.

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