No, you don't: Howard intervenes to scrap ACT Civil Unions laws
Before the dust has settled on the new laws passed by the ACT parliament to allow gay couples to enter into a civil union, the Federal Government has announced on Tuesday it will move to disallow the ACT's Civil Unions Bill.
The federal government's decision comes just after a push by United States President George Bush for a constitutional ban on same-sex marriage.
The ACT legislation says, "A civil union is different to a marriage but is to be treated for all purposes under territory law in the same way as a marriage."
Prime Minister John Howard has announced he will move to disallow the legislation.
"The legislation, by its own admission, is an attempt to equate civil unions with marriage and we don't find that acceptable," Mr Howard said.
An enraged ACT Attorney-General Simon Corbell, who called the Howard Government "homophobic," said "the only people being deliberately provocative are the Commonwealth."
"I am very angry," he said. "We are not trespassing on their powers This is all about the social conservatism of the Howard Government."
He has vowed to fight the decision.
Attorney-General Philip Ruddock supports the ban and says the Federal Government cannot allow the ACT's legislation to stand.
"We have decided to defend the fundamental institution of marriage against the laws that were passed here in the Australian Capital Territory," he said.
"The Marriage Act makes it clear that marriage is a union between a man and a woman to exclusion of all others."
Mr Ruddock says the ACT Government did not take on board all the Commonwealth's suggested changes to the bill although the ACT Government maintained that it has amended the legislation so it does not contravene the Commonwealth's definition of marriage.
Gay rights activist Rod Swift described the announcement as another piece of the federal government's undeclared "straight Australia policy."
"The moves by the cabinet today to override the ACT is a shameful, despicable abuse by the Howard government," he said in a statement.
Meanwhile, ACT Chief Minister Jon Stanhope will appeal to the Governor-General to try to save the Territory's civil union legislation.
A number of opposition MPs in the federal Parliament say they will oppose Howard's attempt to override the ACT law.
"I will be recommending that we oppose this action by the Federal Government," said Labor MP Nicola Roxon. "I think that caring and loving relationships should be able to be recognised in this way."
Opposition leader Kim Beazley says Labor is considering its position.
Ironically, Tasmania became the first Australian jurisdiction to act on same-sex unions in 2003 - giving same-sex couples equal rights to married people through a special registration system although homosexuality was a criminal offence in Tasmania until 1997.
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Gay means "rubbish": BBC rules
In addition to being used to mean "homosexual" or "carefree," the word "gay" now means "rubbish" or "lame" in modern playground-speak among young people and may be used in a pejorative sense without insulting homosexuals, the BBC Board of Governors has ruled.
The five-member Board rejected a complaint by a listener against Radio One presenter Chris Moyles after he dismissed a ring tone by saying "I don't want that one, it's gay" on his Radio 1 breakfast show.
While the complainant argued that the use of the word gay in this context was homophobic, the governors believed that, in describing a ringtone as gay, the DJ was conveying that he thought it was "rubbish" rather than "homosexual." Moyles was not being "homophobic in his use of the word" and was simply keeping up with developments in English usage.
In broadcasting on Radio One's flagship Breakfast Show, the committee said, the presenter would have been using expressions or words which the listeners used themselves.
The panel however acknowledged that this use of the word "gay" in a derogatory sense could cause offence to some listeners and counselled caution on its use.
Radio 1 was, however, correct to cancel future interviews with the American rap star Jayceon Taylor known as The Game after he called gay men "faggots" during a live interview. The presenter Jo Whiley showed "courage and presence of mind" by making an instant full apology, the panel ruled.
HK reports increase in HIV infection rates among MSM
The Centre for Health Protection (CHP) of the Hong Kong Department of Health (DH) announced that 26 people tested positive for HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus) antibody through homosexual contact in the first quarter of 2006 of the 89 new HIV cases reported, an increase from 19 cases in the last quarter last year.
The following is issued by AIDS Concern Hong Kong based on statistics released by The Department of Health (Jan-Mar 06):
HIV infection statistics from AIDS Concern's HIV Testing service
The following figures on the right (bottom) are from our AIDS Concern testing service. This too indicates an alarming rise in infections among the MSM community.
A Possible Ten Fold Increase
There is a potential for the epidemic to have a 10-fold increase if we do not do anything to stop it NOW! According to the latest projection provided by the special consultant to the Hong Kong Department of Health, Dr Tim Brown, he warns that if insufficient efforts are devoted to reduce the number of HIV infections among the MSM community, by 2020, we could be seeing a 30 percent increase in newly infected MSM, which will account for 10 times the current number and a numerical figure of 13,000 HIV positive MSM.
Only a 60 percent rate of condom use: that is not enough
Studies show only 60 percent of MSM use condom every time during anal intercourse. That is far from enough to lower the rise in number of HIV infections among the community. There is much evidence to prove that if we can at least increase condom use to 80 percent, we have a chance of lowering the rate of infection to a lower level (approximately reduced from 13,000 to 4,000). But of course, lower does not mean "none."
Take Action, Protect Yourself, Protect The Community
In the past, it may seem that in Hong Kong, AIDS does not equal Gays. But the fact is, now we are seeing a lot more gay men getting infected. We are at a tipping point, and we can no longer stand silent on this issue. We need to work hand in hand to lower the number of HIV infections among our community in Hong Kong. And it means YOU taking part in the fight! Here's what you can do:
1) Practice 100% condom use yourself. Stand Firm!
2) Insist that your sex partners use condoms. When you don't know your partner's status, don't assume he's HIV negative.
3) Encourage your friends to protect themselves. Encourage and support them to get tested.
4) Get involved with your local gay organisation or AIDS prevention agency to help fight against AIDS. The more voices we have, the stronger our message.
5) Take care of those who are already infected. No one wants to be HIV positive, and they need your support and understanding.
and we need YOU to BRING DOWN HIV infection among MSM in Hong Kong. Do this for yourself, if not for the community we all belong.
For a voice recording of the aforementioned information, please click on the following link at http://gayradio.hk/p035.html
For details, please visit: http://www.info.gov.hk/aids