A Malawi magistrate Monday denied bail to the two men who married over a week ago, and who were then arrested on charges of public indecency and unnatural acts between men, saying that the ruling was in fact for their own protection. 20 year old Tiwonge Chimbalanga and 26 year old Steven Monjeza have been held without bail since their arrest, and have alleged to being beaten in prison. Malawi prosecutors have asked the court to detain the two to allow for further investigations, including medical tests to determine that the men engaged in sex.
As threatened, the town council of Truro, Nova Scotia, led by homophobe Mayor Bill Mills, will vote Monday on restricting access to a public park Mills mentioned as the one and only provincial rendezvous for gay men looking for anonymous sex.
Fred Phelps and his merry band of hate mongers travelled to New Hampshire to put on a lively display of ignorance, a compact contingent from the Kansas based Westboro Baptist Church protesting the state’s newly enacted gay marriage law in Manchester Sunday morning, in front of the St. Pius Catholic Church, to the notice of nearly no one.
Garden State Equality, a coalition of faith based gay marriage advocates are mobilizing to march on Trenton, New Jersey, demanding that state legislators vote on same sex marriage legislation before the leaderships in both houses change January 18th. A letter signed by 120 members and sent to the leaders of the two houses in the state, said that the current law is unfair, saying “We take issue with the State’s current marriage law, which is not religiously neutral but reflects the beliefs of leaders of a particular faith community which opposes marriage equality.”
25 year old Michael Griffin, in custody on charges he killed 53 year old Indiana University associate English Professor Don Belton Christmas Day, has confessed, but chose to plead not guilty to the charges and there is concern he and his defence team will employ the “gay panic” reasoning.
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Just fyi -- we wrote a column yesterday about the battle for gay rights in Uganda and Malawi on our website Border Jumpers called "Human Rights Battle in Uganda Hits Close to Home" at www.borderjumpers.org.
Here is an excerpt @ http://borderjumpers1.blogspot.com/2010/01/human-rights-battle-in-uganda-hits.html
Uganda, like most of the countries in Africa, is full of contradictions.
While everyone we met in Uganda was friendly and helpful, going out of their way to assist us when we needed directions, a Wifi hotspot, or a place to find vegetarian food, the country also has some of the most restrictive laws against human rights on the continent. While we were there, the "Bahati Bill" was introduced in parliament. The Bahati called for life in prison -- and in some case the death penalty -- for people found “guilty” of homosexual activity.
As gay marriage laws are passed around the world, including most recently in Mexico City, it's hard to believe that lawmakers would punish people for being gay or having HIV/AIDS. The Bahati bill also punishes anyone who fails to report a homosexual act committed by others with up to three years in jail, and a prison sentence of up to seven years for anyone who defends the rights of gays and lesbians.
Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni, due to mounting pressure from governments such as the United States, across Europe, and in Canada, said that he opposes the measure, and would attempt to try and soften the bill. According to a recent story in Reuters, “the president has been quoted in local media saying homosexuality is a Western import, joining continental religious leaders who believe it is un-African.” With a national election looming in 2012, politicians seem to be using hatred against gays as a scapegoat for rising corruption and the weakening of civil liberties and freedom of the press.
Yet, even the possibility that a watered-down version of the proposed law could be passed, is an alarming sign of a dangerous trend of prejudice all over Africa. In Blantyre, Malawi, for example, a gay couple was arrested last week after having a traditional engagement ceremony. Homosexuality is punishable by 14 years in jail in Malawi
However, human rights advocates continue to fight. In Latin America, they hope that the success of legalized marriage in Mexico City will spread to Argentina, Venezuela, Chile, and other places. Uruguay permits gay parents to adopt and Columbia grants social security rights to same sex couples.
In the United States, gay, lesbian, bi-sexual, and transgender rights is one of the most import civil and human rights battles we currently face. Despite recent setbacks in California, New York, and Maine -- recent success in places like Iowa, DC, and New Hampshire -- means that during next decade the battlefield for LGBT rights is not only in Africa but also right here at home.
All our best, Danielle Nierenberg and Bernard Pollack
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