Vancouver Police Recommend Hate Crime Charges In Gay Bashing, Shooting Of Gay Youth In Rio de Janeiro Sunday Post-Pride Parade, United Nations Deletes Gay Reference From Violence Resolution, C-SPAN To Telecast Proposition 8 Appeal Live, Philadelphia Settles Suit With Boy Scouts Allowing Anti-Gay Discrimination To Continue

Vancouver police are recommending that hate crime charges be brought against two men in an alleged bias-motivated attack on a 21 year old man outside a MacDonald’s early October 8th, according to the Province. A 22 and 20 year old were arrested and were released on a promise to appear in court. Constable Lindsey Houghton said that “Crown counsel is now considering whether to lay charges,” adding that there are assertions the two suspects thought the victim to be gay. “Certainly, there are allegedly were homophobic comments made during the incident,” said Houghton. “We’ve forwarded that information to the Crown counsel, along with all the information that the witnesses provided. In the event of convictions, police are also requesting that Crown Counsel assess the evidence that homophobic comments were allegedly made and if those comments would support sentencing recommendations under hate crime provisions.”

The Washington Post reports that Sunday, men in military uniforms shoot a gay youth after Rio’s gay pride parade, and the incident is causing concern about continued anti-gay violence in a city regarded as a haven for tolerance. 19 year old Douglas Igor Marques Luiz told police that he was with friends along the rocky shores between the Copacabana and Ipanema beaches when three men approached them, telling the two to leave, holding Luiz back, verbally abusing him. The aggression escalated, and eventually he was shot. Julio Moreira, the president of the gay rights advocacy group Grupo Arco-Iris de Cidadania LGBT, said expressed anger at the incident, saying “We’ve gotten very far, but we need more political will to really improve conditions for the LGBT community in Brazil.” The organization has called for a rally this Sunday demanding that a thorough investigation of the attack on Luiz, as well as for Brazil’s Senate to pass legislation banning discrimination based on sexual identity or orientation.

Bowing to pressure from the leaders of an African and Arab nations, the United Nations General Assembly panel agreed to delete from a resolution condemning unjustified executions a specific reference to killings due to sexual orientation, reports Reuters. Mali and Morocco introduced an amendment on behalf of African and Arab nations that called for the removal of the words “sexual orientation” from a resolution passed in 2008, and replace them with the phrase “discriminatory reasons on my any basis.” The amendment passes 79-70. The resolution, certain to be passed in December by the General Assembly, is being criticised by Western countries, including Britain, who released a statement reading “The subject of this amendment ... the need for prompt and thorough investigations of all killing, including those committed for ... sexual orientation ... exists in this resolution simply because it is a continuing a cause for concern.”

The Los Angeles Times reports that the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has authorised C-SPAN to broadcast the two hour hearing on whether Proposition 8, the California ballot measure that banned gay marriage on November 4th, 2008, should be struck down. The hearing is scheduled for December 6th, to begin at 10:00 am PST.

A Boy Scouts of America troop and the city of Philadelphia have reportedly resolved a battle regarding the ban on gay members, the Associated Press reporting that the city having threatened to evict the troop from the city-owned building if the troop continued to discriminate. However, federal jury earlier this year ruled that the eviction would violate the private Cradle of Liberty Council’s First Amendment rights. An attorney for the scouts said Wednesday that the city will sell the building to the scouts for half of its estimated $1.1 million value, instead of appeal the ruling. In exchange, the city will not pay the $1 million in legal fees accrued by the troops.