LETTERS From CAMP Rehoboth |
Beyond Our Borders |
International News Compiled by Rex Wockner |
Belfast City Hall Welcomes Gay Pride The City Council of Belfast, Northern Ireland, voted 24-14 to allow use of City Hall for the launch of Gay Pride, June 12. The kickoff reception will be hosted by the new Lord Mayor of the city, who will be elected just days prior to the event. The Northern Ireland Gay Rights Association invites foreign activists to attend this years festivities. Alberta OKs Gay Adoption Legislation OKing adoption by gay and lesbian couples was introduced in and passed by the Legislative Assembly of the Canadian province of Alberta, May 13. In passing the Miscellaneous Statutes Amendment Act, legislators replaced the word "spouse" with the words "step-parent" in the Child Welfare Actthereby sidestepping the opposite-sex definition of "spouse." Adoption decisions now will be made solely on the basis of what is best for the child. The local Concerned Christian Coalition was not pleased. "Its a huge, huge issue and the fact theyre pushing it through in one day suggests theyre trying to sweep it under the rug," spokesman Andrew Neufeld told the Calgary Sun. "The debate has been held behind closed doors." MET LIFE Runs Provocative Ad Metropolitan Life is running a provocative ad in the South African glossy gay magazine OUTright. Two men who look like accounting geeks are pictured standing and holding notebooks. One man is looking at the others notebook, which the latter is holding near his crotch. The photo caption reads: "Nice endowment, said Steve, admiring Scotts impressive package." At the bottom of the ad, it is explained, "For more information on some of South Africas top performing Endowments and Retirement Annuities, or life assurance and investment packages, call your broker, 0800 2244688 toll-free or find us at: www.metropolitan.co.za. Museum Pays $2.9 Million for Homo Cup The British Museum has paid $2.9 million for a 1,900-year-old silver Roman drinking goblet decorated with gay sex scenes, the Daily Telegraph reported. The director of the museums Greek and Roman department, Dyfri Williams, said the five-inch-tall cup is the only known object of its kind. Similar sex scenes have been found on Roman glass and pottery but not on silverwork. Two pairs of lovers are depicted a bearded man making love to a pre-pubescent youth as another youth peers around a door, and two boys having sex. "They [the Romans] were clearly very interested in sex in a wide, uncomplicated manner but they had no term for homosexuals," Williams said. "They had different sexual hang-ups from us." |
LETTERS From CAMP Rehoboth, Vol. 9, No. 5, May 21, 1999 |