Poland: European Court of Human Rights Rules in Favor of Gay Widower

Poland may not discriminate against gay couples, in spite of a clause in the its constitution stating that marriage is "a union of a man and a woman", the European Court of Human Rights ruled in Strasbourg.

The court found, in a unanimous ruling released on Monday, in favour of Piotr Kozak, whose partner died in 1998, and who had his request to continue living in their municipal flat in the western city of Szczecin turned down, in spite of a provision in Polish law allowing a "person who has lived in de facto cohabitation with the tenant" to succeed to the tenancy.

The Strasbourg tribunal recognised the difficulty in maintaining a balance between traditional marriage and the rights of sexual minorities but found that the 1950 European Convention on Human Rights is "a living instrument" and has to be interpreted in the light of present-day conditions. It also found that, in this case, Poland did not have a clear interest in discriminating between heterosexual and homosexual couples.

The case was greeted with joy by gay and lesbian groups in Poland.

Full Story from FT.com
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Austria: Gay Couple Says Austria Discriminates

A gay couple accused Austria before Europe's top rights court yesterday of discriminating against homosexuals in adoption and other matters despite a new law allowing same-sex unions. Horst Michael Schalk and Johann Franz Kopf, 48 and 50 respectively, claim they were denied the right to wed after Vienna authorities declined to marry them in 2002.

Austria's constitutional court also ruled it justified to limit the definition of marriage to the traditional union between woman and man.

The couple, who filed their petition before the European Court of Human Rights in 2004, claim "that the notion of marriage had evolved over time thus having to be understood nowadays as a permanent union encompassing all aspects of life", the Strasbourg-based court said in a statement.

Full Story from the Jamaica Observer
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Malawai: Gay Couple to Be Charged March 22nd

A gay couple jailed for holding a same-sex wedding in Malawi will be sentenced on charges of "gross indecency" next month. Tiwonge Chimbalanga and Steven Monjeza were denied bail in January and it was confirmed on Thursday that they will return to court on 22 March.

Homosexuality is banned in Malawi and the couple face a maximum sentence of 14 years' imprisonment for holding a symbolic wedding ceremony in December.

Authorities in the conservative southern African country have launched a crackdown on homosexuals in the past few weeks. On Monday police spokesman Dave Chingwalu said a 60-year-old man was arrested and charged with sodomy.

Full Story from RFI
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Profile of One of the Prop 8 Trial Couples

Paul Katami and Jeff Zarrillo had hoped for years to get married, but as they watched anti-same-sex marriage campaign material proliferate in their Burbank community, the obstacles facing them became clear. More than a dozen “Yes on 8” signs — supporting the 2008 initiative that would define marriage as a union between a man and a woman — cropped up in one neighbor’s yard as the election approached.

“It was a slap in the face every time you left for work, and it was a slap in the face every time you came home,” Katami said. But when the campaigning was over, and the state’s law prohibiting their union was passed, the couple decided to challenge it.

Together with a lesbian couple from Berkeley, the men are part of a federal lawsuit in San Francisco claiming that the same-sex marriage ban is unconstitutional because it discriminates against a minority group. Proposition 8, the couple said, was too troubling of an affront on their rights to allow it to stand, particularly after they had built a relationship together and fallen in love like any other couple.

Full Story from the Burbank Leader
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China: Newly Married Gay Couple Want Official License

China's first gay couple, who openly "got married" on Jan 3, want more understanding from society and hope to get an official marriage certificate, the Beijing News reported today. The couple, Zeng Anquan and Pan Wenjie, "fell in love at first sight" when they met at a bar in Chengdu, the capital city of Sichuan province.

Zeng is 46 years old and has a daughter from a 26-year marriage. Pan, 27, confessed to his parents that he is more into men after the failure of many blind-dates arranged by his family.

"I don't feel well when I am with a woman, but I could not speak about it in the past. When Pan planned a surprise wedding for me, I was shocked at first but on second thought, said, 'Why not'" Zeng said.

Full Story from China Daily
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Malawi: Update on Engaged Gay Couple on Trial

In Malawi, two men who dared to go public with their relationship by holding a traditional "marriage" ceremony are on trial for indecency, and face 14 years in jail. "It's so scary," one gay man, who didn't want to be identified, told Sky News in the city of Blantyre, where the trial is taking place.

"We are not feeling free and are worried about being arrested. It is the first case to be brought under Malawi's longstanding legislation banning homosexuality in years.

The rise of US style evangelist preachers has contributed to a hardening of attitudes in the tiny southern African state.

Full Story from Sky News
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India: Gay Couple to Marry Next Month

Two men in Mumbai are planning to marry each other. Not quietly, but with a full-fledged Hindu ceremony -- including mehendi, haldi, et al -- the first such wedding in the city. The fact that homosexual marriage is not legal in India does not deter Jignesh (22), a Gujarati from Mulund, who will marry Sameer (25), who lives in Bandra, next month. Narrating his two-year-old love story, Jignesh said, "We love each other. However, society hates us. We have decided to marry to give each other respect. We will marry in a resort away from Mumbai according to Hindu rituals. Our friends and relatives will bless us. We will fight if there is any hurdle to get it registered," he said. The couple had planned to get married on December 31, but had to postpone their plans, as no pandit was willing to perform the ceremony. Full Story from Mid-Day.com

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Malawi: Update on Gay Couple Imprisoned After Engagement

The traditional engagement ceremony of two men on Dec. 26, 2009 has created controversy in conservative Malawi. Tiwonge Chimbalanga and Steven Monjeza were arrested two days after their engagement and remain in police custody, facing long jail terms. A traditional engagement in Malawi counts as a civil marriage and is recognised as such throughout the country. Chimbalanga and Monjeza are the first gay couple to declare their sexual orientation in this manner. The couple is facing charges of "gross indecency" and buggery for "having carnal knowledge against the order of nature", offences under Malawi's colonial-era penal code.

 Arrest condemned: Following their arrest, local human rights activists, civil society organisations and international human rights organisations condemned the government. Amnesty International criticised the arrest and called for the immediate and unconditional release of the couple from police custody. Amnesty accuses Malawi of criminalising homosexuality, gender identity and the couple's legitimate exercise of their rights. Full Story from IPS

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Malawi: Gay Couple to Be Tried on January 15th

A Malawian court yesterday refused bail to two men who celebrated their engagement to be married in a traditional African ceremony, which they held late last year. Giving his ruling at a court in the city of Blantyre on Monday January 4, judge Nyakwawa Usiwa-Usiwa claimed Steven Monjeza (26) and Tiwonge Chimbalanga (20) were at risk of mob violence and would be safer in custody – a claim rejected by the defendants and their lawyers. In Malawi, even people accused of serious crimes like violent robbery and assault usually get bail. The same day the police arrested a worker from the human rights group CEDEP, which assisted the detained men and secured them legal representation. Full Story from UK Gay News: http://www.ukgaynews.org.uk/Archive/10/Jan/0501.htm

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Malawi: Gay Couple Denied Bail

Two gay Malawian men charged with gross public indecency after getting engaged have been remanded in custody until their trial starts next week. Tiwonge Chimbalanga and Steven Monjeza were arrested last month at the home they share in the city of Blantyre. The pair, believed to be the first gay couple in Malawi to start the process of getting married, pleaded not guilty to the charges last week. Homosexual acts carry a maximum prison sentence of 14 years in Malawi. Prosecutors have said they would send the pair to hospital to prove they have had sex together but their lawyers say he will resist this. Full Story from BBC News: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/8439918.stm

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Malawi: Gay Couple Beaten in Prison, May Break Up

Since they became the first openly gay couple in Malawi to be engaged, Tiwonge Chimbalanga and Steven Monjeza have been arrested, put in prison and charged with offences that could lead to a 14-year jail sentence. Between true love and gay martyrdom, however, is the brutal reality of life in a Malawi prison. Yesterday, in their first interview since being jailed, the pair claimed that they had been beaten in prison, and demanded to go to court to prove their innocence. While Mr Chimbalanga, 20, who dresses as a woman, spoke defiantly of his love for the man he plans to marry, Mr Monjeza, 22, said that he was “drunk” when they met and was considering ending their engagement. The couple, who denied three charges of unnatural practices between males and gross indecency, performed a public engagement ceremony in front of 500 onlookers last weekend. They were arrested two days later. Full Story from the Times Online: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/africa/article6974678.ece

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India: Gay Couple Marries, Goes Into Hiding

The gay couple in Madhya Pradesh, who entered into a wedlock on Saturday have gone into hiding owing to soceital pressures. Israr, 25, and Ayaz, 30, tied the knot after knowing each other for a period of nine years. Interestingly, both the men are already married separately. Ayaz has two daughters from his marriage and Israr wedded a girl six months back. The duo, who are employed in a voluntary organisation working on prohibition, said that there were under great strain due to the relationship and added that they were not in a position to speak on the issue at length. Full Story from DNA India: http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report_madhya-pradesh-gay-couple-go-into-hiding-after-tying-knot_1330709

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Malawi: Engaged Couple May Be "Tested" To See if They Had Sex

The first gay couple to marry in Malawi face a humiliating medical examination aimed at proving they have had sexual relations, it emerged today. Tiwonge Chimbalanga and Steven Monjeza could be sentenced to 14 years in prison if found guilty of "unnatural practices between males". Gay rights campaigners reacted angrily to the men's treatment and warned that a renewed trend of homophobia was sweeping Africa. Chimbalanga, 20, and 26-year-old Monjeza made history when they committed to marriage at a symbolic ceremony last weekend – the first same-sex couple to do so in the southern African state, in which homosexual acts are illegal. Full Story from The Guardian: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/jan/01/malawi-gay-couple-married-test

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Malawi: Gay Couple Arrested After Wedding

Two gay men arrested in Malawi after getting engaged have pleaded not guilty to charges of gross public indecency. Tiwonge Chimbalanga and Steven Monjeza appeared at a packed court in Malawi's biggest city Blantyre, where they will ask for bail on Monday. The pair held a traditional engagement ceremony over the weekend - believed to be the first gay couple in Malawi to start the process of getting married. Homosexual acts carry a maximum prison sentence of 14 years in Malawi. Full Story from BBC News: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/8434743.stm

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Malawi: Gay Couple Risks Imprisonment to Get Married

Two Malawian men became the first gay couple to publicly tie the knot, the Nation newspaper reported on Monday, risking arrest in the conservative southern African state where homosexuality is illegal. Tiwonge Chimbalanga and Steven Monjeza were married in a traditional but symbolic ceremony in southern Malawi on Saturday, attracting hundreds of curious onlookers. "We met at church where we both pray and we have been together for the last five months ... I have never been interested in a woman," Monjeza told The Nation newspaper. Homosexuality is banned in Malawi and carries a maximum sentence of 14 years. Full Story from Reuters: http://af.reuters.com/article/topNews/idAFJOE5BR09520091228

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Argentina: Supreme Court Agrees to hear Gay Marriage Case

Supreme Court Justice Carlos Fayt said the highest tribunal is currently analyzing a ruling on the possible legalization of same-sex marriages, as the first gay wedding, scheduled for today, had been suspended following a court injunction. Alex and José María, two leaders of the gay community, were given permission to wed today by a Civil Registry in Buenos Aires, after a local court said two articles of the Civil Code that restricted marriages to heterosexuals was unconstitutional. Yesterday, another local court ordered a halt on the wedding, following an injunction presented by a third party. Legal experts have criticized the ruling saying the issue falls outside local jurisdiction and that it should be decided by the Supreme Court instead. Full Story from the Buenos Aires Herald: http://www.buenosairesherald.com/BreakingNews/View/18833

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Argentina: Judge Intervenes to Halt Gay Couple's Wedding

A gay couple in Buenos Aires, Argentina, have had their wedding halted after a judge intervened at the last minute. Jose Maria Di Bello and partner Alex Freyre planned to marry today on World AIDS Day after Judge Gabriela Seijas ruled last month that the ban on gay marriage violated Argentina's constitution. But yesterday, Judge Marta Gomez Alsina ruled that the first judge did not have the authority to give the couple permission to marry. Alsina wrote: "The decision I have adopted should not be interpreted as … discrimination against the rights of homosexuals." Full Story from Pink News: http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2009/12/01/last-minute-ruling-halts-first-latin-american-gay-wedding/

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Argentina: Gay Couple's Wedding Tuesday Divides South America

The Beruti register office in the Palermo district of Buenos Aires will never have witnessed a marriage like it. On Tuesday, Alex Freyre and José María Di Bello, who met three years ago at a conference on HIV, will make history and divide a continent as they become Latin America's first gay married couple. The ceremony will be a tribute to their determination as well as their love for each other, after a bitter three-year campaign which has divided a city, outraged Argentina's powerful Roman Catholic church and overturned the constitution. Freyre and Di Bello's forthcoming nuptials have been debated on television, in churches and on the street. Hostile posters can be found on billboards across the city. But, in Di Bello's words, nothing can now prevent him and his partner becoming "husband and husband". Full Story from The Guardian: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/nov/29/latin-america-first-gay-wedding

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Australia: Gay Couple First to Be Legally Recognized, But for How Long?

Warren McGaw and Chris Rumble have become the first Australian gay couple to have their civil partnership ceremony legally recognised. The pair, who have been together for nearly 20 years, held their ceremony yesterday afternoon at the Old Parliament House rose gardens in Canberra. They are the first to take advantage of new legislation passed in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) earlier this month. However, the right may not last for long as prime minister Kevin Rudd has said he will overturn the law. MacGaw told ABC News: "We thought we'd take this opportunity not only for gay couples Australia-wide … but just for human rights. I think the majority of Australians are behind us." Full Story from Pink News: http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2009/11/25/gay-couple-have-australias-first-civil-union/

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Argentina: Gay Couple Granted Marriage License in Buenos Aires

Two men were granted a marriage license in Argentina’s capital on Monday, breaking ground in a country and region where laws ban gay marriage. Jose Maria Di Bello and his partner Alex Freyre won the right to get married when a judge ruled last week that a ban on gay marriage violates Argentina’s constitution. "On December 1st we will become man and man," said Di Bello, welling up in tears as a city clerk gave him the paperwork. Buenos Aires Mayor Mauricio Macri said the city will not appeal -- in effect inviting other same-sex couples to pursue their rights in court as well. Full Story from Bay Windows: http://www.baywindows.com/index.php?ch=news&sc=glbt&sc2=news&sc3=&id=99362

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