The Associated Press is reporting that a court in Berlin has decided against setting a precedent by recognizing a gay marriage performed in Canada, instead ruling that the union constitutes a civil partnership in Germany. German law currently defines marriage as that only between one man and one woman, but does permit same sex civil partnerships. 37 year old Andreas Boettcher, from Germany, married his Spanish partner in Montreal in July, 2006. The two, a couple for 17 years, were visiting, participating in a sporting event. Boettcher asked the Berlin administrative court to recognize the relationship as a marriage after German authorities listed him as being single on his registration card in November, despite a Canadian marriage certificate and a family registry entry from Spain that lists him as the husband of his partner. “The German authorities would have had no problems, had (he) been an Isabel,” said Boettcher, who added that he “could fight it, but it would take a lot of time and a lot of money. At least, I have reached the minimum.”
The Irish Times on the release of a new report that reveals the number of new cases among men who have sex with other men rose 42.3-percent from 97 in 2008 to 138 in 2009. The statistics are likely skewed, since Ireland currently has a voluntary system of reporting HIV infections.
The FBI is now investigating the brutal, sadistic beating early Saturday of 26 year old Kieran Daly in Savannah, Georgia by 22 year old Keil Cronauer and 23 year old Christopher Stanzel, both men Marines stationed in South Carolina. The two men, according to the Savannah Daily News, were charged with misdemeanour battery assault and released into the custody of military police. There is currently no law in Georgia that protects the victims of bias motivated crimes, but the FBI, under an act passed last year by President Obama – the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act - federal authorities are able to prosecute crimes committed because of a victim’s sexual orientation or gender identity. A rally has been planned for this weekend in Savannah as well, more details to follow.
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