Civil unions could impact HI politics in elections

HONOLULU (AP) — John Smith has long voted for Republicans, including Gov. Linda Lingle’s two gubernatorial bids. However, the 73-year-old retiree said he’s about done with the GOP after Lingle’s veto of a same-sex civil unions measure last week.

“Maybe it’s emotion, but I’m approaching that stage,” said Smith, the father of a lesbian. “I think it’s such a violation. I’ve had it with the Republicans.”

Smith may be an anomaly, but he is one face of the potential ramifications Lingle’s veto and the lingering civil unions issue may have on Hawaii’s politics.

Those consequences could take many forms. For example, Democrats and independents who oppose civil unions may be drawn to GOP Lt. Gov. James “Duke” Aiona, who hopes to succeed Lingle in November.

Aiona, a fervent Christian with conservative positions on social issues, is calling for a constitutional amendment defining marriage as between a man and a woman, a proposal that faces huge hurdles in the Democrat-controlled Legislature.

Still, civil unions could become a hot topic in the gubernatorial and a handful of legislative contests this fall. Activists on both sides insist residents who care about the issue will be galvanized to vote in November.

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Mexico City sees 271 gay weddings in 4 months

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexico City has seen 271 gay and lesbian couples get married since the capital enacted the first law in Latin America explicitly allowing same-sex marriages.

The city government says there have been 142 marriages between men and 129 between women in the four months since the law went took effect March 4.

The government said Tuesday that 18 foreigners were among those married, and the rest were Mexican citizens. The largest number of marriages occurred in the first month after the law took effect.

Mexico’s Supreme Court is considering challenges to the law, which applies only to the capital, but the measure will remain in effect while the review is under way. A decision is expected sometime around August.

UK top court rules in favor of gay asylum seekers

LONDON (AP) — Britain’s Supreme Court on Wednesday overturned a decision to deport two gay asylum seekers who face persecution in their homelands.

A lower court had backed the government’s decision to return the men to Iran and Cameroon on the grounds that they would be safe as long as they kept their sexuality secret.

Five judges ruled unanimously that this was a violation of the men’s rights. They said that “to compel a homosexual person to pretend that their sexuality does not exist ... is to deny him his fundamental right to be who he is.”

Same-sex sex acts in Iran are punishable by death, and in Cameroon by several years in jail.

The court said authorities should reconsider the cases of the two men.

Britain has had a change of government since the lower court’s ruling. The Conservative-Liberal Democrats coalition, which took office in May, said it agreed with the Supreme Court judgment.

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Gay marriage opponents to rally in NH

MANCHESTER, N.H. (AP) — Gay marriage opponents are rallying in Manchester, N.H., on Thursday in support of the unions being limited to between one man and one woman.

Kevin Smith, executive director of Cornerstone-Action, said his organization and the National Organization for Marriage are sponsoring the City Hall Plaza event from noon to 1 p.m.

Smith said the rally will send a message to lawmakers who supported New Hampshire’s gay marriage law that they will be held accountable at the polls.

A gay bishop for the Church of England?

LONDON (AP) — The Church of England may be on the verge of promoting a gay priest to bishop, a step that would widen the split over sexuality in the global Anglican Communion.

If that happens, it would appear to be a significant turnaround for Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, spiritual leader of the Church of England and the world’s Anglicans, who recently imposed sanctions on the U.S. Episcopal Church for electing a lesbian bishop.

According to newspaper reports, Williams is prepared to back the elevation of the Very Rev. Jeffrey John, who withdrew seven years ago from an appointment as a suffragan (assistant) bishop in the face of a heated controversy about his homosexuality. Williams’ office will not comment.

“I think the strength of the opposition is much weaker this time,” Rev. Canon Giles Goddard, the chairman of Inclusive Church, said Tuesday. His group was founded by people disappointed by John’s failure to become a bishop in 2003.

John, who is now dean of St. Albans Cathedral, might be seen as a more acceptable candidate than the U.S. bishop because he has declared he is celibate — and therefore not in violation of church teaching.

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Civil unions veto prompting talk of Hawaii boycott

HONOLULU (AP) — Gov. Linda Lingle’s veto of legislation to grant civil unions to same-sex couples is generating rumblings of a possible boycott of tourism-dependent Hawaii.

Gay rights activists are discussing retaliatory actions but haven’t made any decisions. Still, the Internet is abuzz with expressions of anger, and some are urging people to avoid the Aloha State.

Leaders of Hawaii gay rights groups say a boycott would hurt isle residents and businesses that have supported civil unions, and that the issue needs more discussion. Other local activists say a boycott may be justified.

Lingle on Tuesday vetoed the bill, saying it was tantamount to same-sex marriage.