Fridae

Two million at gay festival in Brazil
Almost two million people including 700,000 tourists joined the ninth annual Sao Paulo Gay Parade on Sunday to celebrate gay pride and call for the legalisation of same-sex civil unions. Lula's Workers Party submitted a proposal 10 years ago but has yet been taken up by legislators.

Organisers say the numbers could make the parade - twice the size of the gay pride parade in San Francisco, California - the largest gay event in the world.

More than 20 trucks blasting music and carrying go-go boys and drag queens rolled down the skyscraper-lined Avenida Paulista in Brazil's financial capital.

The first such parade was held in Sao Paulo in 1997 and drew only 2000 people.

Gay Anglican clergy in the UK may 'marry,' but must stay celibate
Homosexual priests in the Church of England will be allowed to "marry" a same-sex partner under a proposal drawn up by senior bishops, led by Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury. The bishops concede that the new law leaves them little choice but to accept the right of gay clergy to have civil partners.

The highly controversial move ensures that gay and lesbian clergy who wish to register relationships under the new "civil partnerships" law - giving them many of the tax, pension and inheritance advantages of married couples - will not lose their licenses to be priests.

The priests will, however, have to give an assurance to their diocesan bishop that they will abstain from sex in accordance to church doctrine of forbidding clergy from sex except in a full marriage.
It is expected that a breach of the rules may lead to disciplinary action or the possible suspension of clergy.

Under the Civil Partnership Bill which was passed by the British Parliament last year, civil unions between same-sex couples will be legalised in the UK. Starting from 5th December, gay couples in Britain will be able to notify a registry office of an intention to form a civil partnership.

California appeals judge's ruling on gay marriage
California's attorney general on Tuesday appealed a San Francisco judge's finding that the state's ban on gay marriage was unconstitutional. The widely expected appeal however did not offer arguments on the merits of the case.

In April, San Francisco Superior Court Judge Richard Kramer sided with proponents of same-sex marriage but deferred the implementation of his ruling pending appeals that could extend for years.

Last year, San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom allowed more than 4,000 homosexual couples to marry despite Californians backing a ballot measure in 2000 defining marriage as a union of a man and a woman. The California Supreme Court later ruled that the mayor did not have the authority to issue such licenses but left the wider question of whether California's ban on gay marriage was constitutional to lower courts.

The state Legislature is currently reviewing legislation that could allow gay marriages, with an assembly vote scheduled for as early as Wednesday.

POST/READ COMMENTS