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RIGA, December 1, 2005 — A change in the constitution that
will define marriage as being between a man and a woman, and blocks the way
for “gay marriage”, became a virtual certainty today when the 100-seat
Latvian parliament passed the proposal with a massive majority in the
amendment’s second reading.
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With 73
legislators voting in favour of the change, the amendment now goes to a
third reading before being passed.
A
two-thirds majority is required for a constitutional change, and this was
far exceeded this afternoon. Just three votes were cast against. There
were 12 abstentions and two legislators did not vote.
Same-sex
— or gay — marriage is already explicitly prohibited in Latvia in article
35.2 of the Civil Law. But changes in law require a simple majority in
Parliament. Changing the constitution to define marriage as just being
between a man and a woman would make it harder to ‘undo’ in the future.
The
change came in the wake of last summer’s controversial Riga Pride parade
which city authorities had agreed to. But following pressure from the
government and Prime Minister Aigars Kalvitis,
Riga reversed its earlier decision, and banned the parade three days before
Pride. Then the day before the parade, the Riga District
Administrative Court ruled that the ban by the city was illegal.
The parade itself attracted a small group of protestors
who threw stones, eggs and verbal abuse at those marching. Police literally
batted to protect the Pride parade.
In the days following Pride the unlikely alliance of the
Lutheran and Roman Catholic churches, together with the Prime Minister’s
First Party of Latvia, proposed the constitutional amendment.
Many
gays here do not see the constitutional change as a major set-back. They
say that marriage should be left to the churches and that the gay community
should campaign for some type of a legal partnership
or union, as is to be introduced next week in the United Kingdom or like the
legislation already in place in New Zealand.
The
amendment, currently passing through Parliament
only explicitly prevents same-sex marriage.
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Recent Articles
(go to
Archive main page
for full archive search)
December 1:
Latvia:
Block Put on Gay Marriage by Latvian Parliament.
A change in the constitution that will define marriage as being
between a man and a woman, and blocks the way for “gay marriage”, became a
virtual certainty today when the 100-seat Latvian parliament passed the
proposal with a massive majority in the amendment’s second reading.
November 30:
UK:
Kerrang Radio Faces Rap for Gay Sex Prank.
Birmingham-based Kerrang Radio has been reported to airwaves
regulator, OfCom, on charges that it tricked a gay man into revealing
intimate details about his private life and later broadcast them without his
knowledge or consent.
Latvia:
Gays in Latvia Have an Official Watchdog.
A new independent department that will keep an eye on discrimination
has been set-up by the government in Latvia. And the National Human
Rights Office will be embracing the gay and lesbian
community as well as other sections of
society as well as racism and other forms of
discrimination.
November
28:
UK:
Over 58,000 Living With
HIV in UK. The number of people living with HIV in the UK
is now around 58,300, according to a report released last week by the
Health Protection Agency. The 2,185 new diagnoses in 2004 among gay
and bisexual men is the highest in the UK since 1990 .
November
27:
Poland: Thousands Back Gays in
Peaceful Polish Demonstrations.
More than 1,000
protestors assembled in the centre of Warsaw today demanding tolerance,
freedom of speech and the right of assembly, especially for gays. Similar
demonstrations were held over the weekend in other Polish cities – and
outside the Polish Embassies in Berlin and London.
November 26:
USA: Laurel’s
Legacy: A Quest for Gay Justice in New Jersey, by Dane
Wells. For nearly half a century now, I have been proud to call
myself an Ocean County native.
Among the many highlights of my life have been the years I spent in
law enforcement with the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office, where I
worked alongside Lt. Laurel Hester.
USA: Straight
Man Appeals for Justice for Dying Lesbian Cop.
Commentary. Dane Wells, who describes himself as a “run-of-the-mill,
middle-aged straight guy”, is not very happy with the movers and
shakers of his local community, Ocean County in New Jersey. The
retired policeman is angry because
Ocean County will not
extend “domestic partner benefits” to a former colleague, Lt. Laurel
Hester, who is terminally ill with lung cancer - and is gay.
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