Sydney is well-known around the world for its yearly "Mardi-Gras" Gay and Lesbian parade... Sydney is where the first Gay Parade was ever held in the modern world. At the time it was more like a protest march — in the early 1970s, when the police, including the gay police were bashing homosexuals with black leather or rubber truncheons ...

Soon, it will be the 40th anniversary of this momentous event. Yet, the "State" and the "Federal" governments are still very timid about allowing same sex marriage... A few years ago (1998), the president of the AMA (Australian Medical Association), Doctor Kerryn Phelps married her lover Jackie Stricker in New York in a traditional Jewish ceremony...

I personally believe that Julia (Australia's PM) is not opposed to the idea of same-sex marriages but there are too many catholic boffins in the Labor Party and most of the Liberal Party is opposed to the idea... We shall see..

Gay and lesbian equality supporters can ''get naked and walk backward up Hunter Street if they want to'', according to Newcastle lord mayor Jeff McCloy.
Just don't chalk pretty rainbows on council property.

As a Facebook campaign against Cr McCloy gathered strength yesterday, and chalk rainbows rained down on the Hunter, the city's leading anti-rainbow warrior said protesters ''should send me a big cheque''.
''I've made an insignificant protest into a big one just because I want to keep the city clean,'' Cr McCloy said.
His request to protesters to ''stop this nonsense'' as they chalked a rainbow outside City Hall on Wednesday made Newcastle a major focus of the DIY Rainbow Crossings movement's Facebook page, for the wrong reasons.
The movement started after a rainbow crossing in Sydney's Oxford Street was removed by the council.

Cr McCloy was unrepentant, and said if a chalked rainbow appeared outside City Hall again, ''we'd clean it off'''.

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/antirainbow-warrior-requests-people-stop-this-nonsense-20130427-2il74.html#ixzz2Re8LKyFu

Rainbows... 

A same-sex marriage bill has been narrowly defeated in the New South Wales upper house.

The Legislative Council voted on the bill on Thursday afternoon after spending two sitting days debating it.

It was defeated 21 votes to 19.

The bill was written by a cross-party parliamentary committee after an inquiry found a same-sex marriage law created by NSW should survive a high court challenge.

But on the eve of the bill being introduced two weeks ago, the premier, Barry O’Farrell – who had previously declared his support for same-sex marriage – said he would not be backing it as he believed it to be an issue for the commonwealth.

O’Farrell’s last-minute declaration is believed to be behind the decision by key conservative members of the Legislative Council (MLCs) to vote against the bill.

The reason for opposition most often cited was that it was an issue for the commonwealth.

There were tears from both sides during the emotional second day of the debate on Thursday.

The Christian Democrat MLC and staunch opponent of the bill, the Reverend Fred Nile, said he had asked O’Farrell to come out publicly against the bill and was thankful he had done so.

He said he would be celebrating the defeat of the bill with his own marriage next month.

http://www.theguardian.com/society/2013/nov/14/same-sex-marriage-bill-defeated

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I'm not nasty... Only hopeful... Nile sits to the right of B A Santamaria in heaven... But after having changed his mind on Casinos, may be the old codger would change his fossil mind on marriage equality.... 

See toon at top...

The U.S. hypocrisy over Russia’s anti-gay laws

Ian Ayres and William Eskridge are law professors at Yale University.

Controversy over a Russian law that prohibits advocacy of homosexuality threatens to overshadow athletic competition at the upcoming Sochi Olympics. Thoughtful world leaders, including President Obama, have criticized Russia for stigmatizing gay identity.

Many of these critics find it hard to believe that in 2014 a modern industrial government would have this kind of medieval language in its statutory code:

●“Materials adopted by a local school board . . . shall . . . comply with state law and state board rules . . . prohibiting instruction . . . in the advocacy of homosexuality.”

●“Propaganda of homosexualism among minors is punishable by an administrative fine.”

●“No district shall include in its course of study instruction which: 1. Promotes a homosexual life-style. 2. Portrays homosexuality as a positive alternative life-style. 3. Suggests that some methods of sex are safe methods of homosexual sex.”

●“[I]nstruction relating to sexual education or sexually transmitted diseases should include . . . emphasis, provided in a factual manner and from a public health perspective, that homosexuality is not a lifestyle acceptable to the general public and that homosexual conduct is a criminal offense.”

Amid the rush to condemn Russia’s legislation, however, it is useful to recognize that only the second quoted provision comes from the Russian statute.

The other three come from statutes in the United States. It is Utah that prohibits “the advocacy of homosexuality.” Arizona prohibits portrayals of homosexuality as a “positive alternative life-style” and has legislatively determined that it is inappropriate to even suggest to children that there are “safe methods of homosexual sex.” Alabama and Texas mandate that sex-education classes emphasize that homosexuality is “not a lifestyle acceptable to the general public.” Moreover, the Alabama and Texas statutes mandate that children be taught that “homosexual conduct is a criminal offense” even though criminalizing private, consensual homosexual conduct has been unconstitutional since 2003. 

read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/us-hypocrisy-over-russias-anti-gay-laws/2014/01/31/3df0baf0-8548-11e3-9dd4-e7278db80d86_story.html

The bill, written out of fear that the state may soon face an Oklahoma-style gay marriage ruling, will now easily pass the Republican Senate and be signed into law by the Republican governor. The result will mark Kansas as the first state, though certainly not the last, to legalize segregation of gay and straight people in virtually every arena of life.

If that sounds overblown, consider the bill itself. When passed, the new law will allow any individual, group, or private business to refuse to serve gay couples if “it would be contrary to their sincerely held religious beliefs.” Private employers can continue to fire gay employees on account of their sexuality. Stores may deny gay couples goods and services because they are gay. Hotels can eject gay couples or deny them entry in the first place. Businesses that provide public accommodations—movie theaters, restaurants—can turn away gay couples at the door. And if a gay couple sues for discrimination, they won’t just lose; they’ll be forced to pay their opponent’s attorney’s fees. As I’ve noted before, anti-gay businesses might as well put out signs alerting gay people that their business isn’t welcome.

read more: http://www.slate.com/blogs/outward/2014/02/13/kansas