• France legalizes gay marriage despite angry protests

    By Nancy Ing and Alastair Jamieson, NBC News

    France became the 14th country in the world to allow same-sex couples to wed Tuesday, when its parliament approved a law that has sparked often violent street protests and a rise in homophobic attacks.

    Lawmakers in the lower house National Assembly, where President Francois Hollande’s Socialists have an absolute majority, passed the bill by 331 votes for and 225 against.

    The law also allows same-sex couples to adopt children.

    “I hope people across the country will celebrate this moment,” Martin Gaillard, a 31-year-old advocate of gay marriage, told English-language news site France24.com.

    Opponents of the law have held increasingly angry protests in recent weeks, including a string of confrontations with police in Paris.

    They fought hard to scuttle the parliamentary bill because it also allows the use of surrogate motherhood by gay couples wanting children.

    The debate is also blamed for fanning a spate of homophobic attacks, including the beating up of a 24-year-old in the southern city of Nice on Saturday, Reuters reported.

    Reuters contributed to this report.

    Related:

    New Zealand becomes 13th country to legalize gay marriage

    Protesters in France: Gay marriage would hurt children 

    This story was originally published on Tue Apr 23, 2013 11:33 AM EDT

  • Uganda deports Briton linked to 'gay play'

    Isaac Kasamani / AFP - Getty Images, file

    British theater producer David Cecil waves from a court cell in Kampala on Sept. 13, 2012 after being arrested for staging a play about a gay man.

    By Philippa Croome, Reuters

    KAMPALA -- Uganda has deported a British theater producer charged with staging a play about homosexuality, the British High Commission said on Tuesday.

    Homosexuality is illegal in Uganda and further legislation on the issue, awaiting debate in parliament, has drawn criticism from donors including the United States.

    Producer David Cecil, 35, was deported from the east African country late on Monday aboard a KLM flight, and arrived in the UK on Tuesday morning, British High Commission spokesperson Chris Ward said.

    A court threw out a case against Cecil last month. He had been charged with disobeying a public official last September after ignoring orders to cancel a theatre production with a gay leading character.


    Cecil, who denied being a gay rights activist, could have faced two to four years in jail in the religiously conservative country if convicted.

    "We are extremely disappointed and obviously concerned that David was being deported without being given an opportunity to challenge the deportation order which would be through the Ugandan courts," Ward told Reuters.

    He said he had not arranged a meeting with Ugandan officials yet "but we fully intend to do so," adding, "It's obviously key ... (for) the UK government to know that due process is being followed."

    Immigration officials were not available for comment after the deportation, but have told Reuters there was a direct ministerial order to deport Cecil. A spokesperson said the ministry would issue a statement later.

    Uganda's immigration act enables the deportation of any foreigner declared by the minister of internal affairs to be an "undesirable immigrant".

    Fridah Mutesi, one of Cecil's lawyers and a gay rights activist, said they still intended to challenge the validity of the deportation order by filing a case to the high court.

    Cecil's partner, Florence Kebirungi, said she last heard from him at about 6pm (0300 GMT) on Monday night.

    "He called me briefly when he was at the airport to say 'Can you call the lawyers?' and then before I could reply, he hung up," she said.

    Uganda's latest legislative proposals include a charge of "promotion of homosexuality" which could mean up to seven years in prison for activists, artists, lawyers and even health workers convicted of "funding and sponsoring ... homosexuality and related activities."

    Uganda's Minister of Ethics and Integrity Simon Lokodo has already been enforcing that clause in recent months to clamp down on gay rights activism, and had promised a "fresh investigation" into Cecil after he was cleared last month.

    A previous bill, denounced as "odious" by U.S. President Barack Obama, had proposed the death penalty for gays.

    KAMPALA — Ugandan authorities said on Monday they plan to deport a British theater producer who was charged last year with staging a play about homosexuality.

    Homosexuality is illegal in Uganda and David Cecil, 35, was charged with disobeying a public official last September after ignoring official orders to cancel a theater production with a gay leading character.

    This story was originally published on Tue Feb 12, 2013 9:39 AM EST

  • Protesters in France: Gay marriage would hurt children

    Thomas Samson / AFP - Getty Images

    Protesters converged on Paris from all over France to protest same-sex marriage, which is supported by President Francois Hollande.

    By Tom Heneghan, Reuters

    PARIS - Several hundred thousand people converged at the Eiffel Tower in Paris Sunday to protest President Francois Hollande's bill to legalize same-sex marriage by June.


    Protesters waved pink and blue flags showing a father, mother and two children. Many had taken long train and bus rides from outside Paris.

    Hollande has pledged to push through a same-sex marriage law with his Socialist party’s parliamentary majority, but his opponents have dented public support and forced deputies to put off a plan to allow lesbian couples access to artificial insemination.

    Same-sex marriage is recognized in 11 countries including Belgium, Portugal, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, Norway and South Africa. In the U.S., it is legal in nine states and in Washington, D.C.

    Champ de Mars, the long park between the Eiffel Tower and the Ecole Militaire, was packed Sunday, with organizers claiming 800,000 protesters, but police more conservatively estimating 340,000 – a large turnout even in France, where protests are a way of life.

    "Nobody expected this two or three months ago," said Frigide Barjot, a flamboyant comedian leading the demonstration. At the rally, she read aloud a letter to Hollande asking him to withdraw the bill and hold a public debate on the issue.

    Strongly supported by the Catholic Church, opponents of same-sex marriage have mobilized practicing Catholics, members of the extreme far-right Front National party, some Muslims, evangelicals and even a few openly gay people.

    They argue that same-sex marriage would cause psychological and social harm to children, which they believe should trump the desire for equal rights for gay adults.

    Organizers insist they do not oppose gays and lesbians but rather support what they say are the rights of children to have a father and a mother. Slogans on the posters and banners read, "Marriagophile, not homophobe," "All born of a father and mother" and "Paternity, maternity, equality."

    "The French are tolerant, but they are deeply attached to the family and the defense of children," said Daniel Liechti, vice-president of the National Council of French Evangelicals, which urged its members to join the march.

    Their efforts appear to have had an impact. Surveys indicate that popular support for gay marriage in France has slipped about 10 points to less than 55 percent since opponents started speaking out. Fewer than half of those polled recently favored giving gay couples adoption rights.

    Under this pressure, French legislators dropped a plan that would allow lesbian couples access to artificial insemination.

    Hollande's office, recognizing the “substantial” turnout Sunday, said it will not be swayed and that it will continue to push for a law recognizing same-sex marriage. 

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  • Transgender pageant winner murdered in South Africa

    By Isolde Raftery, msnbc.com

    A South African who had won a Miss Gay pageant was found in his rented room with his throat slit, news24 reported. 


    Thapelo Makutle, 23, had argued late Friday night with two men about his sexuality, his friend, Shaine Griqua told mambaonline.com. Those two men followed him home, broke down his door and killed him, Griqua said.

    Makutle, known as Queen Bling, was active in the LGBT community in the Kuruman region, a rural area in the north, Griqua told mambaonline.com. He said his friend identified as gay and recently started calling himself transgender.

    "It's so sad. I can't describe the pain that we are feeling right now," Griqua told mambaonline. "We have lost a young, talented, gay man who was open about who he was. The last few days have been like a dark cloud."

    Griqua, the director of Legbo Northern Cape, a nonprofit that provides sexual health education, released a statement saying that witnesses had seen Thapelo’s body, and that his genitalia had been “severed and inserted into his mouth.”

    There was no sign of burglary, Griqua said, according to globalpost.com.

    Police have not arrested anyone in the case, according to media reports.

    South Africa has long been lauded for its liberal positions on gay rights. The country was the first to ban discrimination based on sexual orientation in its constitution, and same-sex marriage became legal in 2006.

    But a Human Rights Watch report from 2011 found that black lesbians and transgender men in rural areas of South Africa face “extensive discrimination and violence in their daily lives, both from private individuals and government officials.”

    Nearly all 120 people interviewed by Human Rights Watch said they lived in fear of sexual assault and that they were reluctant to approach police for protection.

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  • White House seeks to further gay rights through foreign policy

    By NBC's Shawna Thomas

     

    The White House announced further efforts Tuesday to consider the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people in its foreign policy decision-making.

    In a memo released today, President Obama directed all "agencies engaged abroad to ensure that U.S. diplomacy and foreign assistance promote and protect the human rights of LGBT persons." In short, it means the U.S. will now evaluate how countries treat its LGBT citizens in its foreign policy.

    In the memo, the president refers to his speech at the United Nations earlier this year where he said, "No country should deny people their rights because of who they love, which is why we must stand up for the rights of gays and lesbians everywhere."

    And in an effort to highlight this move, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton gave a human rights policy speech in Geneva, Switzerland in honor of Human Rights Day. "Gay rights are human rights and human rights are gay rights," said the secretary. 

    The White House outlines several steps agencies will take in protecting LGBT rights abroad:

    • Combat the criminalization of LGBT status or conduct abroad. 
    • Protect vulnerable LGBT refugees and asylum seekers. 
    • Leverage foreign assistance to protect human rights and advance nondiscrimination. 
    • Ensure swift and meaningful U.S. responses to human rights abuses of LGBT persons abroad. 
    • Engage International Organizations in the fight against LGBT discrimination.
    • Report on progress.