Non-Government Organizations Call For Concept Of Gay Hate Crimes To Be Included In Malta Law After 16-Year-Old Lesbian And Her Partner Savagely Beaten By Two Teen Brothers Who Have Yet To Be Charged, Former Uganda President Mbeki Condemns Proposed Anti-Homosexuality Bill, Martina Navratilova Concedes She Will Never Convince Margaret Court Gay Rights Are Human Rights, Olivia Newton-John Joins Australian Same Sex Marriage Campaign, New Jersey Marriage Equality Proponents Plan Rally Tuesday

In Malta, an attack on a 16-year-old lesbian Sunday, January 15, provoked calls for the concept of gay hate crime to be included in that nation’s laws. Malta has yet to extend hate crime to include the grounds of homophobia “In many countries, such an assault would be investigated as a hate crime but Malta has yet to extend hate crime legislation to include the grounds of homophobia and transphobia,” the Malta Gay Rights Movement and the human rights lobby Aditus said in a joint statement. Their reaction, accompanied by that of hundreds of people on the internet, came after The Sunday Times reported on the attack in which the girl, pseudonymously named Amy, and her girlfriend were beaten in Ħamrun specifically because of their sexual orientation. The petite teenager ended up at a health centre with a fractured nose, a grazed face and bruises on her breasts. Her girlfriend got away with a bruise to the head and scratches on her wrists which she sustained when pushed to the ground. “Violence on lesbian, gay and transsexual people is not an uncommon occurrence although most incidents do not get reported to the police or featured in newspapers. Trust in the police force is an essential factor in encouraging and enabling LGBT victims to come forward and report such crimes. For this reason, how the police react to this assault also has an effect on the reporting of other similar incidents,” they said. In fact, Amy’s mother told The Sunday Times that, although the police had spoken to the perpetrators, brothers aged about 17 and 19, they had not been arrested. Questions sent to the police on Thursday, asking whether they would be charged, remained unanswered despite various reminders. The incident provoked an immediate response online with a group set up on Facebook – The Amy Initiative – garnering more than 300 endorsements in less than six hours. “Amy is a pseudonym used in the article but Amy could be anyone: your sister, cousin, brother, uncle. Homophobia is real in Malta. There is no excuse for it, don’t let it go ignored,” the group states under its information section. The initiative is also calling for Maltese laws to include hate crime on the basis of sexual orientation. The NGOs also expressed concern over allegations of harassment experienced by the victim at school when her sexual orientation became known. They urged the Education Department of Educational Services to investigate the claims. The Drachma Parents’ Group – a support group for relatives of LGBT people – called on the Maltese and the Christian community to take stronger action against homophobic remarks and stand up in defence of victims harassed because of their sexual orientation and gender identity. The support group urged the authorities and the police to stop this violence by ensuring justice and compensation, and the Curia to issue a strong statement “in the face of such un-Christian and aggressive behaviour and show that it is on the side of homosexuals, ‘who must be accepted with respect, compassion and sensitivity’ (Catechism of the Catholic Church No. 2358)”. Alternattiva Demokratika, We Are, a university LGBT organ­isation, and the Nationalist Party’s youth group – MŻPN – also urged action.

Former president Thabo Mbeki has criticised Uganda's anti-gay bill, saying it does not make sense and what two consenting adults do in private "is really not the matter of law.” Uganda's Daily Monitor reports that Mbeki made the comments during a question and answer session at the Makerere Institute of Social Research in Kampala last week. He was asked a question about the plight of a lesbian woman and Ugandan MP David Bahati's anti-gay bill, which seeks the death penalty for aggravated homosexuality, including the spread of HIV/Aids. It has been reintroduced in the Ugandan parliament after lawmakers failed to debate it during the previous session. "I would say to the MP; sexual preferences are a private matter. I don’t think it is a matter of the state to intervene," Mbeki responded. He added that he was certain Bahati would disagree with his stand and argue that African culture does not permit same sex relations, which he said was at the heart of the continent’s widespread antipathy towards homosexuals. Mbeki added that apartheid South Africa prohibited sexual relations across the colour line, and the Immorality Act gave police legal ground to raid "people's bedrooms,” adding, "I mean what would you want? It doesn’t make sense at all. That is what I would say to the MP. What two consenting adults do is really not the matter of law." When asked for comment by the Daily Monitor, Bahati said the bill was brought to curb several issues including inducement, recruitment and funding homosexuality. "His Excellency [Mbeki] needs to read the bill and understand the spirit in which it was brought and the context in which we are talking about." The Daily Monitor said Mbeki's comments came as a boost to crusaders of gay rights in Uganda. South African gay rights organisation SA GLAAD said on Monday it is highly appreciative of the firm commitment to human rights and the South African Constitution as displayed by Mbeki. "We wish President Zuma would do the right thing and denounce the virulent homophobia on the African continent and specifically address the Bahati-Bill in Uganda via diplomatic means," it said.

Martina Navratilova says attitudes towards homosexuality and same sex marriage are a question of human rights, not religious rights, but concedes she will never convince Margaret Court. The Australian reports that Navratilova said Monday she was honoured to play her Australian Open legends doubles match in the Margaret Court Arena, which some gay activists want renamed. Navratilova, one of the most celebrated women in tennis, said she had spoken to Court several times about her views on homosexuality. "It is not about any one person," she said. "It's about human rights. It is a secular view, not a religious view. I have spoken to her years ago but she was all about Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve. She repeated that four or five times so I just felt I couldn't get through to her." Court, the winner of 24 grand slam singles titles, is expected to attend the Australian Open this week after provoking fierce debate with her religious-based opposition to homosexuality and same sex marriage. Court, a pastor at the evangelical Victory Life Centre in Perth, has said she believes gay people can be helped to become straight. Navratilova, a lesbian, said, "Do you turn straight? No, you don't. You either are or not." Navratilova and Billie Jean King, Court's great on-court rival, have taken public issue with her comments but rejected calls from gay activists - most notably former Australian Medical Association national president Kerryn Phelps - for Court's name to be stripped from the Melbourne Park Arena.

Olivia Newton John has pledged her support for same sex marriage, saying "Love is love.” According to 9News, Newton-John on Monday joined other celebrities, including Hugh Jackman, film critics David Stratton and Margaret Pomeranz, and costume designer Lizzy Gardiner in backing Australian Marriage Equality's campaign for reform. "With respect to marriage equality, I believe that no-one has the right to judge and deny couples who love each other the ability to make a marriage commitment," Newton-John said in a statement. The statement comes ahead of a marriage equality fundraising dinner this week, when Australian screenwriter and director Stephan Elliott will announce the support of more high profile Australians. Australian Marriage Equality National Convener Alex Greenwich welcomed the growing support for reform. "Australians admire celebrities like Olivia Newton-John and Hugh Jackman because they reflect our values of tolerance and a fair go for all, values which they are reminding us apply just as much to same sex couples as to other Australians,” Greenwich said.

New Jersey's Statehouse will likely be crowded Tuesday when activists show up to make their case for and against a bill that would allow same sex marriage, reports The Star-Ledger. Democratic lawmakers have said allowing gay couples to marry is one of their top priorities. A similar bill died two years ago. But Senate President Stephen Sweeney, who abstained then, now supports allowing same sex unions. Two gay rights groups also have filed a lawsuit to try to force the state to recognize gay marriage. New Jersey now offers civil unions, which offer the legal protections of marriage. But gay rights groups say civil unions are confusing and create a separate and inherently unequal status for gay couples. Some social conservatives say allowing gay marriage would weaken the institution for heterosexual couples.