News – International
Israeli Parliament to consider gay marriage, 365gay.com.
Westboro church leader Fred Phelps, daughter banned from entering UK, The Advocate.
Canadian author [Margaret Atwood] protests Dubai fest, won’t attend, The Associated Press, Barbara Surk.
Excerpts from the above headlines follow:
Israeli Parliament to consider gay marriage
Openly gay politician Nitzan Horovitz isn’t wasting any time. The newly elected Member of the Knesset is preparing to introduce legislation that would allow any two people to marry or have a civil union.
Currently only a rabbi can perform a marriage in Israel. A bill already before the Knesset would allow civil marriage, but only for opposite-sex couples.Horovitz said his measure would allow opposite-sex and same-sex couples to marry.
Gays and lesbians in Israel have been steadily gaining civil rights since the government overturned the law against sodomy in 1988.
…It’s doubtful the Horovitz bill will get far in the Knessett. This month’s election saw large gains by conservatives, including the small but powerful religious parties.
Westboro church leader Fred Phelps, daughter banned from entering UK
As they’ve done many times before, Westboro Baptist Church leader Fred Phelps and his daughter Shirley Phelps-Roper had planned to picket an upcoming production of the Matthew Shepard play The Laramie Project — but the United Kingdom will have none of their “extremist” hate.
According to The Telegraph, both Phelps and his daughter have been banned from entering the country because their church has called for violence against the gay community.
Canadian author [Margaret Atwood] protests Dubai fest, won’t attend
Canadian author Margaret Atwood has pulled out of an international Dubai literary festival after organizers banned a forthcoming novel by a British author because it contains references to homosexuality.
In a letter addressed to the festival’s director, Atwood said she could not attend Dubai’s inaugural International Festival of Literature next week because of the “regrettable turn of events surrounding” the book “The Gulf Between Us.”
Atwood was referring a novel by British author Geraldine Bedell who said the festival banned it because of references to homosexuality.
