La Presse en Rose

Dutch fuming at retired US general’s gays comment

By The Associated Press, 365gay.com

(The Hague, Netherlands) The Dutch prime minister Friday denounced as “irresponsible” a claim by a retired U.S. general that gay Dutch soldiers were partly to blame for allowing Europe’s worst massacre since World War II.

Dutch officials, from the Cabinet to the military, were outraged by retired Gen. John Sheehan’s remarks at a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing in Washington, D.C., on Thursday.

Sheehan claimed that Dutch military leaders had called the presence of gay soldiers in the army “part of the problem” that allowed Serb forces to overrun the Srebrenica enclave in Bosnia in July 1995 and kill some 8,000 Muslim men.

Dutch troops were serving in the undermanned U.N. peacekeeping force in Srebrenica when they were overrun by heavily armed Serb forces, who went on to turn the surrounding countryside into killing fields littered with mass graves.

Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende called Sheehan’s comments irresponsible and said at his weekly news conference that “these remarks should never have been made.”

“Toward Dutch troops – homosexual or heterosexual – it is way off the mark to talk like that about people and the work they do under very difficult circumstances,” he said.

Sheehan, a former NATO commander who retired from the military 1997, was speaking in opposition to a proposal to allow gays to serve openly in the U.S. military.

Balkenende said he would not take up the issue with President Barack Obama because Sheehan is already retired.

Defense Minister Eimert van Middelkoop called Sheehan’s claim “damaging” and not worthy of a soldier. “I don’t want to waste any more words on it,” he said.

Gen. Henk van den Breemen, Dutch chief of staff at the time of the Srebrenica genocide, called Sheehan’s comments “total nonsense” and denied ever having suggested gays in the army might have played a role in the Srebrenica massacre.

The Netherlands has a long history of accepting homosexuality, and gays have long been welcome in the country’s armed forces – which also allow labor unions.

The leader of one such union, Jan Kleian, was incensed by Sheehan’s comments.

“The man is crazy,” he told Dutch radio. “It sounds hard, but I can’t put it any other way.”

Episcopal church approves 2nd gay bishop

By By The associated Press

(Los Angeles) The Episcopal Church has approved the election of a lesbian assistant bishop in the Diocese of Los Angeles, making her the second openly gay bishop in the Anglican global fellowship, diocese officials said Wednesday.

Episcopal conservatives were quick to criticize the approval of the Rev. Mary Glasspool of Baltimore, who was elected last December, and said the move was “grieving the heart of God.”

Still, Glasspool’s victory underscored a continued Episcopal commitment to accepting same-sex relationships despite enormous pressure from other Anglicans to change their stand.

“I am … aware that not everyone rejoices in this election and consent, and will work, pray and continue to extend my own hands and heart to bridge those gaps, and strengthen the bonds of affection among all people, in the name of Jesus Christ,” Glasspool said in a printed statement.

Glasspool and the Rev. Diane M. Jardine Bruce were elected in December to serve as assistant bishops, making them the first women bishops to serve in that diocese. Both, however, needed the full church’s approval to be consecrated.

Both are scheduled to be consecrated on May 15.

The Episcopal Church, which is the Anglican body in the United States, caused an uproar in 2003 by consecrating the first openly gay bishop, V. Gene Robinson of New Hampshire.

Breakaway Episcopal conservatives have formed a rival church, the Anglican Church in North America.

Several overseas Anglicans have been pressuring Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, spiritual leader of the world’s 77 million Anglicans, to officially recognize the new conservative entity.

In 2004, Anglican leaders asked the Episcopal Church for a moratorium on electing another gay bishop while they tried to prevent a permanent break in the fellowship.

Since the request was made, some Episcopal gay priests have been nominated for bishop, but none was elected before Glasspool. In July 2009, the Episcopal General Convention, the U.S. church’s top policy making body, affirmed that gay and lesbian priests were eligible to become bishops.

Glasspool’s approval shows that the Episcopal Church “creates no barrier for ministry on the basis of gender and sexual orientation, among other factors,” Los Angeles Bishop Jon Bruno said in a statement.

But some conservative Episcopalians were outspoken in their criticism Wednesday.

In approving Glasspool, the Episcopal Church has “sought to embrace a way of life which the church through the Bible has always understood to be forbidden,” said the Rev. Kendall Harmon of the traditional Diocese of South Carolina, which has voted to distance itself from the national church.

“The tragic damage the Episcopal Church has recently caused the third largest Christian family in the world will continue into the future, hurting our collective witness and grieving the heart of God.”

Glasspool, 56, an adviser, or canon, for eight years to the Diocese of Maryland’s bishop, said in an essay on the Los Angeles diocese Web site that she had an “intense struggle” while in college with her sexuality and the call to become a priest.

“Did God hate me (since I was a homosexual), or did God love me?” she wrote. “Did I hate (or love) myself?”

She said she met her partner, Becki Sander, while working in Massachusetts, and the two have been together since 1988.

Bruce was most recently the rector of St. Clement’s-By-The-Sea Episcopal Church in San Clemente, Calif.

Marc Hall All Over Again?

By Brenda Suderman,The Canadian Press

A Roman Catholic high school student celebrated Friday after a judge ruled that the teen has the right to take his boyfriend to an end-of-the-year dance.

The decision came only hours before the prom was scheduled to begin in Oshawa, Ont., just east of Toronto.

"I feel at ease now just knowing that we're getting free of discrimination," said Marc Hall, 17, sporting a white tuxedo and blue hair as he prepared to hop in a limousine with his boyfriend.

Ontario Superior Court Justice Robert McKinnon granted the student's request for an injunction against the Durham Catholic District School Board.

"The idea of equality speaks to the conscience of all humanity dignity and worth," McKinnon wrote in his ruling.

"Marc Hall is a Roman Catholic Canadian trying to be himself. He is gay. It's not an answer to Section 15 Charter rights on these facts to deny permission to attend a school function to celebrate the end of his high school career with his classmates."

Hall said he's not worried about encountering anyone at the prom who might be upset about the judge's decision.

"Most them support me anyway, so I'm just going to go have fun with them," he told reporters.

Hall launched the case after officials told him not to bring his 21-year-old boyfriend to the dance at Monsignor John Pereyma Catholic high school.

Officials acknowledged that Hall has the right to be gay, but said permitting the date would send a message that the church supports his "homosexual lifestyle."

* FROM MAY 7, 2002: Gay student a 'bad example' says school board

The board had argued that allowing a gay student to bring a date to a Catholic function is "not consistent with teachings of the church." Officials told McKinnon that if Hall doesn't accept the faith's beliefs he could always go to a public school.

But Hall said his rights were being violated because the ruling was based solely on his sexual orientation.

* FROM MAY 6, 2002: Gay teen takes Catholic school to court over prom date

His lawyer, David Corbett, argued that the school board doesn't have such sweeping powers under the Constitution. He said the ban contravened the Ontario Human Rights Code, the Education Act, and the provincial Code of Conduct.

The school board said it's disappointed by Friday's decision, but will abide by the judge's ruling. It also plans to keep fighting in court.

Hall said he, too, is ready for any appeal.

"I'm prepared to take it to trial in order to set a precedent so that nobody else will have to go through what I had to go through," Hall told reporters.

US anti-gay rights senator Roy Ashburn comes out

By BBC News

A conservative US state senator who has voted against gay rights measures during his 14 years in office has announced he is gay.

Republican Roy Ashburn came out during a radio interview in California, where he sits on the state legislature.

He has been on leave since his arrest last week on suspicion of driving under the influence.

Mr Ashburn said his votes reflected the way his constituents wanted him to vote, not his own "internal conflict".

"I am gay... those are the words that have been so difficult for me for so long," the 55-year-old divorced father-of-four told KERN radio.

Mr Ashburn said he felt the need to address rumours that he had visited a gay nightclub before his arrest on suspicion of drinking and driving in Sacramento on 3 March.

Last year, Mr Ashburn opposed a bill to establish a day of recognition to honour murdered gay rights activist Harvey Milk.

He has also voted in the statehouse against efforts to expand anti-discrimination laws and recognise out-of-state gay marriages.

Mr Ashburn, who represents California's 18th district, said he does not plan to run for any public office after his term ends later this year.

Tour says it is not discriminating against Weir

By The Associated Press

Claims that Olympian Johnny Weir was not included in the “Stars on Ice” cast because of his sexual orientation are not true, the figure skating tour said.

The Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation started an online petition last week, saying Weir was being excluded from the tour because he was not “family friendly.” Weir has repeatedly avoided questions about his sexual orientation, saying people shouldn’t be defined by labels.

“We are disappointed that there is untrue and inaccurate information being disseminated,” Stars, which is sponsored by Smucker’s, said in a statement. “Please be assured that the `gender identity and sexual orientation’ of cast members has never been a consideration in the selection of tour performers.”

Weir, a three-time U.S. champion, is one of figure skating’s most colorful and oversized personalities, and his popularity soared after his sixth-place finish at the Vancouver Olympics. Tara Modlin, Weir’s agent, said she approached Stars about adding Weir to the cast and was told “not this year.”

Unlike the old “Champions on Ice” tour, where skaters did individual numbers, Stars is more of an ensemble show. Former U.S. champions Todd Eldredge and Michael Weiss have been longtime cast members, and Stars will also feature Olympic champion Evan Lysacek and current U.S. champ Jeremy Abbott this season.

“While Stars on Ice wishes it could accommodate many more talented skaters as part of our cast, the fact is we cannot sign every skater,” the Stars statement said.

Stars on Ice begins its 41-city tour April 1 in Fort Myers, Fla.

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