New Year’s sex party lands in court

Woman accused of bashing girlfriend after couple brought man home from clup for ‘strip pool.’

Sask. appeal court asked whether commissioners can opt out of same-sex marriages

REGINA — The Saskatchewan government wants the province’s highest court to weigh in on proposed legislation that would allow marriage commissioners to not perform same-sex marriages if it is contrary to their religious beliefs.

Justice Minister Don Morgan said Friday that the government is referring legislative options to the Court of Appeal for its opinion on whether the proposals meet the requirements of the Charter of Rights.

“We’ve given the Court of Appeal two suggested options: one that we grandfather the existing marriage commissioners that are reluctant or refusing to perform a same-sex marriage, and the other one would be to create a religious exemption for those and for future marriage commissioners,” he said.

“It would require us to have two pools of marriage commissioners. One that would be willing to perform the same-sex marriage and one that would not.”

Whether officials can refuse to marry same-sex couples is the subject of a lawsuit and a complaint before the Saskatchewan Human Rights Tribunal – both of which are being heard by Saskatchewan Court of Queen’s Bench.

The complaint arose in 2005 when marriage commissioner Orville Nichols, a devout Baptist, told a gay couple he wouldn’t marry them because it went against his religious beliefs.

See Sask. appeal court asked whether commissioners can opt out of same … The Canadian Press

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Gay family denied family rate at pool

LGBT athletes team up for sports visibility

LGBT athletes will take to the fields, the courts, the pool and many other venues this weekend for a series of events that exhibit the varied sports prospects for the community.

Sports Week, June 5-14, is organized by Team Philadelphia, the umbrella organization that oversees all Philadelphia LGBT sports, which has spearheaded the series since 1992.

“We started this as a way to introduce people to the organizations that were a part of Team Philadelphia and to promote awareness of the opportunities available to LGBT people in athletics,” said Rick Van Tassel, Team Philadelphia board member and director of Sports Week.

Van Tassel said Sports Week additionally functions as a precursor to the quadrennial Gay Games, which will next be held in 2010 in Cologne, Germany.

Soheila Nikpour, Team Philadelphia chairperson, said the week also helps to dispel myths among mainstream athletic communities that LGBT individuals are not interested in sports.
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Philadelphia Gay News -

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Mike Gin, Redondo Beach’s Chinese-American, Rotarian, Gay Mayor

After months of living legal limbo, Redondo Beach Mayor Mike Gin’s marriage was finally declared legal several days ago by the California Supreme Court. But marital validation was no tonic for Gin, who wasn’t celebrating the landmark decisions on same-sex marriage issued last week by the California Supreme Court.

“It’s a bittersweet feeling,” he admits. “My husband and I are thrilled about that part of the ruling that affects us, but there are many other couples now who cannot share in the happiness that we were able to experience on our wedding day. I’m hoping that someday all of us can experience that same happiness.”

Gin and his husband, Christopher Kreidel, were part of the pool of approximately 18,000 gay people married after the California Supreme Court ruled a year ago that same-sex marriages were legal, but before the Proposition 8 vote last fall banned same-sex marriage.

Despite the ruling early last week upholding Prop. 8, he is not discouraged. He notes that Prop. 22, the long-standing gay-marriage ban overturned by the courts last May, passed in 2000 with 60 percent of the vote, while Prop. 8 passed with only 52 percent.

“I think it is still a very strong social issue on both sides in our society right now,” he says. “But the voting numbers show that as a society we’re moving in the right direction.”

Gin is an unusual public official in that he is gay, married, Asian-American — and popular at a time when California politicians are reaching new lows in approval-rating polls. After serving eight years on the Redondo City Council and four as mayor, Gin has developed a reputation as a classic old-school politician who listens patiently to residents, considers a wide array of arguments and interests before making a decision, and goes out of his way to avoid confrontation.

See Mike Gin, Redondo Beach’s Chinese-American, Rotarian, Gay Mayor

LA Weekly

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Gay life on exhibit by Rob Bondgren

Rob Bondgren will be showing his Better Days Ahead series at Hydrate in Chicago’s Boystown. The opening is this Saturday, March 7, 9-11pm. Mr. Bondgren’s paintings deal with the figurative gay theme of at the beach or by the pool at a gay resort. Flesh tones of men reclining and having fun in company with the gay “family” is emphasized with an interest on male sexuality, bonding and friendship. A $10.00 donation to Lambda Legal includes a hosted bar and an appetizer buffet courtesy of the artist. Hydrate is located at 3458 N. Halsted in Chicago. See Gay life on exhibit by Rob Bondgren
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