Di-ve: Pride Week 2013: Love is Love

http://www.di-ve.com/news/pride-week-2013-love-love
Article By:di-ve.com News: editorial@di-ve.com; 15 | 06 | 2013 at 11:18

Love is Love is the theme for this year’s Pride Week which will take place between June 17 and June 23, 2013 which will commemorate the 40th anniversary of the decriminalisation of sodomy and moves ever closer towards the enactment of a Civil Union Bill.

This year also marks the 10th anniversary of the Pride March which was first held in Malta in 2004 and this year will be held on the June 22, 2013 at 11.00h in Valletta. Representatives of all political parties have already confirmed their participation including various cabinet members. The Ministry for Social Dialogue, Consumer Affairs and Civil Liberties is supporting the Pride March event. Chiara, Glen Vella and Miriam Christine Borg will be performing following the March.

Equal Rights, Human Rights

Jonathan Brimmer, Communications Coordinator

Ministry for Social Dialogue, Consumer Affairs and Civil Liberties

May 2013

At a time when the fundamental rights of LGBT persons are being discussed in national parliaments across the European Union, a European-wide survey conducted by the EU Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) found that nearly a half of all respondents had felt discriminated against on grounds of sexual orientation in the past year before the survey. The results were presented during the first international ministerial forum organised by the Government of The Netherlands to mark the International Day against Homophobia and Transphobia (IDAHO) on 17 May 2013, which took place in The Hague.

All Out: Illegal to say gay

"Thank you to 85,000 All Out members who've already signed the petition. We must keep the global pressure up. Please help us now: sign the petition so we can be heard by world leaders and the media."  Polina A. in Russia http://www.allout.org/russia-attacks

Independent: The need for a sensitive civil union legislation on the position of children

http://www.independent.com.mt/articles/2013-06-12/opinions/the-need-for-a-sensitive-civil-union-legislation-on-the-position-of-children-1804992514/
Wednesday, 12 June 2013, 08:09 , by Martin Scicluna

The welcome determination of the government to enact legislation for the introduction of civil unions in Malta is a long over-due step in publicly accepting stable, same-sex relationships. Civil unions will provide a frame-work for homosexual couples to acknowledge their responsibilities, manage their financial affairs together and achieve legal recognition as civil partners. The creation of this new legal relationship will play an important role in increasing social acceptance of gay men and lesbians, removing discrimination and thus building a more inclusive and fairer society.

The fundamental premise on which such legislation should be built is that the rights, duties and remedies that arise as a result of same-sex couples opting in to a civil union should in general mirror as closely as possible those applicable to married couples. The aim should be that civil unions will deliver a significant majority of the rights and obligations that marriage confers.

Malta Today: De Marco says PN government let transgender persons down

PN deputy leader Mario de Marco unequivocally says that the PN administration let transgender persons down.
http://www.maltatoday.com.mt/en/newsdetails/news/national/De-Marco-says-PN-government-let-transgender-persons-down-20130610
Monday 10 June 2013 - 20:26 by Jurgen Balzan



In a bold statement which shifts the Nationalist Party away from the conservative stand the party took in recent years over the rights of transgender persons, PN deputy leader Mario de Marco said that the PN let the transgender community down by refusing to recognise their rights.

After saying that the previous PN government "might have let transgender persons down," in his address, de Marco stood up to correct himself as civil liberties minister Helena Dalli was about to start her speech.

Times: De Marco in apology to Joanne Cassar, regrets PN response to transgender people

http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20130610/local/transgender-rights-de-marco-in-apology-to-joanne-cassar.473336
Monday, June 10, 2013, 21:17



PN Deputy Leader Mario de Marco this evening apologised in Parliament for the Nationalist Party not having been sensitive enough to transgender persons and for not reacting quickly after the courts gave a different interpretation to the law on the fundamental human rights which Ms Joanne Cassar should have enjoyed.

He was speaking during the debate on the Civil Code (amendment) Bill which gives new rights to transgender people, including the right to marry.

Malta Gay Pride Week

June 2013      Malta Gay Rights Movement  32, Parish Street, Mosta, MST 2021Tel 21 430 009 - Mob 9925 5559 www.maltagayrights.org - mgrm@maltagayrights.org

MGRM would like to invite you to participate in this year's Pride Week events spread out between the 17th June and 22nd June.  Love is Love is the theme for this year’s Pride Week as Malta commemoratesthe 40th anniversary of the decriminalisation of sodomy and moves ever closer towards the enactment of a Civil Union Bill that will hopefully grant meaningful recognition and rights to same-sex couples. The report recently released by the EU’s Fundamental Rights Agency (FRA) sheds light on the social and human rights situation of LGBT people in all EU countries including Malta.

Major study finds children of gay parents do as well or better than peers

Major study finds children of gay parents do as well or better than peers 
Research conducted in Australia at the University of Melbourne suggests that children growing up in families with gay parents matched other children on measures of self-esteem and emotional well-being, and exceeded them in health and family cohesion. The Australian Study of Child Health in Same-Sex Families included 500 children from across the country, making it the world's largest study so far of gay parents and their children. Salon (6/5), The Daily Mail (London) (6/6), The Age (Melbourne, Australia) (6/5)

All Out: Russia: brutal murders

Gay hate and violence increasing in Russia as government cracks down on gay rights organisations. Sign the petition before Coming Out faces trial in 5 days. Dear Patrick, Crisis in Russia: two brutal murders for being gay within weeks. One man was stabbed to death by neighbours, and a younger man was beaten to death with rocks after coming out. The rise in attacks is happening asPresident Putin wages war on gays and lesbians. His government has banned Pride marches and is trying to bring in a new anti-gay law. And this Tuesday, a major Russian gay organisation will go on trial to fight closure. Putin is getting away with the crackdown because there’s little international media attention and no real pressure from other world leaders. But if we start with a massive petition, we can work to get the crisis on the to do list of every world leader and onto the front pages of newspapers.

Times: Civil Unions Bill in Parliament after the summer recess

http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20130606/local/civil-unions-bill-in-parliament-after-the-summer-recess.472709
Thursday, June 6, 2013, 07:06



The government will present a Bill on civil unions in parliament after the summer recess, civil rights minister Helena Dalli has announced.

The government, she said, was also working on the provision of more childcare service in line with electoral commitments.

Speaking at a dialogue meeting, she said the government was also making LGBT issues a priority. She stressed, however, that changes in the law do not mean life would automatically get easier for such people and it was important to raise awareness.

Malta Today: Civil partnership bill expected after summer

LGBT issues, consumer rights dominate consultation meeting with Minister Helena Dalli.

http://www.maltatoday.com.mt/en/newsdetails/news/national/Civil-partnership-bill-expected-after-summer-20130605
Wednesday 5 June 2013 - 21:08 by Raphael Vassallo


Social dialogue minister Helena Dalli

LGBT issues and consmer rights dominated tonight’s consultation meeting with Helena Dalli, minister for social dialogue, consumer rights and civil liberties: the third in a series of public dialogue sessions with the cabinet of ministers, held at the Auberge de Castille.

In reply to a question from the floor, Minister Helena Dalli confirmed that consultation is under way for a bill on civil partnerships for gay couples, in keeping with an electoral promise in the Labour Party manifesto.

Times: Commission in litany of reasons why the PN lost the election

http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20130604/local/commission-in-litany-of-reasons-why-the-pn-lost-the-election.472559

Tuesday, June 4, 2013, 21:40



A commission tasked by the PN to investigate the causes of the party's electoral defeat has come up with a litany of reasons while saying that the PN needs to rekindle a ‘feel good’ feeling among the party supporters.

The commission, chaired by Ann Fenech, said the reasons for the defeat included public disappointment over the bus service reform, the City Gate project, the pay rise to ministers, arrogance and a lack of good communication with the people, divisions within the party, the situation in Mepa and the cost of living.

Independent UK: Peers vote convincingly FOR same-sex marriage

http://www.independent.co.uk/incoming/wreckers-routed-as-lords-backs-gay-marriage-bill-8644639.html
5.6.2013 by Andrew Grice

Plans to legalise same-sex marriage cleared their crucial hurdle in the House of Lords last night, with peers rejecting a move to “kill the Bill” which will implement the move.

The first gay weddings are now expected to be held in July 2014 after the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Bill survived an attempt to block it after a heated two-day debate in the Lords.

PN: Rapport dwar ir-Riżultat tal-Elezzjoni Ġenerali 2013 b'ħarsa 'l quddiem

31.5.2013, Il-Partit Nazzjonalista fil-Gvern fis-snin 2008 – 2013
Ara r-rapport kollu [hawn].

L-EWWEL TAQSIMA - Għaliex tilef il-Partit Nazzjonalista?

Id-drittijiet tal-persuni omosesswali
Inħass li l-Gvern naqas milli jifforma politika ċara dwar id-drittijiet tal-persuni omosesswali u kien żball li l-liġi li tirregola dan il-qasam tħalliet fuq l-ixkaffa għal ħafna snin u għalhekk deher insensittiv.

IT-TIENI TAQSIMA - Għaliex rebaħ il-Partit Laburista?

LGBT
Il-ħolqien tal-grupp LGBT fi ħdan il-Partit Laburista kien l-ewwel messaġġ li l-Partit Laburista kien qed ikun miftuħ għal kulħadd.

BBC News: New bid to find HIV vaccine begins in London hospital

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-22719391
30 May 2013 Last updated at 14:19 GMT

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By Jane DreaperHealth correspondent, BBC News

Scientists handle thousands of blood samples every year at the HIV vaccine laboratory in London

Continue reading the main story

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A fresh effort to find a vaccine for HIV is beginning at laboratories in a London hospital and two centres in Africa.

Scientists are recruiting 64 healthy adult volunteers for the trial, which is expected to take up to two years.

The work will be split equally between London, the Rwandan capital Kigali and Nairobi in Kenya.

This early trial is being run by the International Aids Vaccine Initiative (IAVI), a non-profit organisation.

Times: LGBTQQ, embracing differences

http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20130603/thezone-social/lgbtqq-more-tolerance-and-understanding.472323
Monday, June 3, 2013, 07:58 by Velislava Hillman


Paul Caruana Turner [Click on the hyperlink above to watch the video.]

What it's like to be a lesbian or gay in Malta?

What difficulties members of LGBTQQ - lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and questioning - are faced with on the island, at work, at university, on the street?

Watch the interview with Paul Caruana Turner, a law student, who forms part of LGBTQQ organisation; hear about what the organisation stands for and why it is important to educate society on the different sexual orientations its members may have.

Independent: Necessary and Contingent Dichotomy in Human Sexuality

http://www.independent.com.mt/articles/2013-06-02/opinions/necessary-and-contingent-dichotomy-in-human-sexuality-1731723264/
Sunday, 02 June 2013, 08:57 , by Michael Asciak

I would like to carry on where I left off last week on the subject of human sexuality. But before I turn my attention to the subject matter contained in the title, I would like to make a very important clarification regarding natural law.

Many people think that natural law means looking at what happens in the natural world, the world of biology, physics and chemistry, and applying the principles therein evident to law and ethics. Of course, nothing could be further from the truth and those that conceive of natural law in this manner are completely mistaken or have never taken the time to study its real meaning.

BBC News: First gay couple wed in France amid tight security

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-22706351
29 May 2013 Last updated at 17:23 GMT

The moment Vincent Autin and Bruno Boileau said "oui" at Montpellier city hall [Click here to watch the video.]

Continue reading the main story

Related Stories

• Hollande signs gay marriage bill
• France's gay marriage fight
• Gay marriage around the world

Two men have become the first gay couple to wed in France, just days after President Francois Hollande signed the same-sex marriage bill into law.

Vincent Autin and Bruno Boileau said "oui" in the southern city of Montpellier amid tight security.

Mr Hollande had warned he would not accept any disruption to the ceremony.

BBC News: HIV inner shell structure revealed

Researchers have for the first time unravelled the complex structure of the inner protein shell of HIV.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-22708437
30 May 2013 Last updated at 06:56 GMT

HIV escaping from a white blood cell

Related Stories

• Body's 'anti-HIV manual' recorded
• Analysis: A cure for HIV?
• Is HIV still a death sentence in the West?

The US team, reporting in Nature, also worked out exactly how all the components of the shell or 'capsid' fit together at the atomic level.

Until now the exact structure had proved elusive because of the capsid's large size and irregular shape.

The finding opens the way for new types of drugs, the researchers from the University of Pittsburgh said.

It was already known that the capsid, which sits inside the outer membrane of the virus, was a cone-shaped shell made up of protein sub-units in a lattice formation.

All Out: You can't cure gay [Banning Mobile phone Apps]

Wow – after just 24 hours the gay 'cure' app has disappeared from iTunes! Now only Google is left with the harmful app still available in their online store. Apple's amazing response came after more than 37,000 of us asked Apple and Google to pull the dangerous app "Setting Captives Free" from their online stores. Now, over 60,000 people have joined in asking Google to do the right thing. Join them by signing now: www.allout.org/gaycureapp

Independent UK: Nigeria officially passes ban on gay marriage

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/africa/nigeria-officially-passes-ban-on-gay-marriage-8638515.html
AP THURSDAY 30 MAY 2013

Lawmakers in Nigeria have passed a bill banning gay marriage, setting prison terms of up to 14 years.

Nigeria’s House of Representatives passed the bill in a voice vote. The Senate previously passed the bill in November 2011.

The bill is now expected to be signed into law by President Goodluck Jonathan.

It also criminalises registering gay clubs or organisations, as well as “public show of same-sex amorous relationships”.

Independent: No to Same Sex Marriage: Yes to same civil rights

http://www.independent.com.mt/articles/2013-05-29/opinions/no-to-same-sex-marriage-yes-to-same-civil-rights-1707704321/
Wednesday, 29 May 2013, 09:21 , by Martin Scicluna

Many in the gay community have castigated me for failing to recommend the immediate introduction of same-sex marriage in Malta in my report, “Same Sex: Same Civil Entitlements”. As the Lead Author of the report, two considerations were at the forefront of my mind when I wrote it. The first was the need to bring about long over-due social justice for homosexuals in our society. And the second was to make proposals which would stand a chance of achieving a large measure of national and political consensus.

The arguments on grounds of social justice are clear-cut. Same-sex couples in Malta currently have no way of gaining legally recognised status for their relationships. The lack of legal recognition means that they are denied access to most of the rights or responsibilitites that are given to married couples to reflect the commitment they have made to each other. For a same-sex couple, there are many difficulties that arise from the law’s failure fully to recognise committed same-sex relationships.

MGRM: Pride March Invitation [22 nd June]

Pride Week 2013 - Love is Love

 

The Malta Gay Rights Movement (MGRM) would like to invite you to this year’s Pride March. This year’s event is planned to take place on Saturday 22^nd June 2013, gathering at 10:30am in Great Siege Square, Valletta.

Pride is a symbolic manifestation which is held in many different cities around the world. It aims to increase the visibility of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender persons and their integral role in the societies where they live.

Independent: On Human Sexuality

http://www.independent.com.mt/articles/2013-05-26/opinions/on-human-sexuality-1682014213/
Sunday, 26 May 2013, 08:30 , by Michael Asciak

Much has been written and said lately about human sexuality. Some of it stems from reason, much of it from pure emotivism. Sex and procreation have gone together since the times before humans appeared on earth. Sexual reproduction evolved as an advantageous type over asexual reproduction because it endowed the species with genetic variation and therefore better able to withstand natural holocausts and avoid extinction. When humans evolved into the higher order mammals that they are, they received the sexual baggage that all other mammals had. Being sexual creatures that consisted of two equal but different genders to the species, they necessarily complemented each other anatomically in copulation and this led to the generation of their offspring. So does practically every higher order biological creature save the lower order species. Even plants contain gender! Human sexuality has existed since the existence of human beings but sexual reproduction itself preceded it by several million years. Since the human species is the only highly self-reflective species on earth, the nature of its sexuality does not hinge solely on procreation but also on agapic mutual sharing of love and emotions. One end of our sexuality does not exist without the other. So it has been for hundreds of thousands of years, generation after generation. It does not make any sense to look at human sexuality without both of these finalities closely intertwined.

Malta Today: Anti-gay marriage protest in France turns violent

Nearly 100 people arrested in Paris when a protest against a new French law allowing same-sex marriage turned violent.

http://www.maltatoday.com.mt/en/newsdetails/news/world/Anti-gay-marriage-protest-in-France-turns-violent-20130527
Monday 27 May 2013 - 09:22



Several hundred thousand opponents of same-sex marriage took to the streets of the French capital to demonstrate against the reform, which was signed into law by President Francois Hollande last week.

While the rally was peaceful throughout much of the day, police said they arrested 96 hardline opponents to the gay marriage law.

Police said those arrested were detained for refusing to disperse or for occupying private property.

Malta Today: Lesbian drama scoops top prize at Cannes Film Festival

Intimate love story about two young French women wins the Palme d’Or for best film at renowned Cannes Film Festival.

http://www.maltatoday.com.mt/en/magazinedetails/magazine/film/Lesbian-drama-scoops-top-prize-at-Cannes-Film-Festival-20130527
Monday 27 May 2013 - 09:52


Actresses Adele Exarchopoulos and Lea Seydoux in 'Blue is the warmest colour'

Blue is the Warmest Colour, an intimate love story about two young French women, has won the Palme d'Or for best film at the Cannes Film Festival.

The three-hour coming-of-age movie has attracted attention for its explicit sex scenes as well as the acclaimed performances of actresses Adele Exarchopoulos and Lea Seydoux.

Times: Protest over gay marriage laws [in France]

http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20130526/world/protest-over-gay-marriage-laws.471364
Sunday, May 26, 2013, 19:02 by PA



Tens of thousands of people protested against France's new gay marriage law in central Paris today.

The law came into force over a week ago, but organisers decided to go ahead with the long-planned demonstration to show their continued opposition as well as their frustration with President Francois Hollande, who had made legalising gay marriage one of his keynote campaign pledges in last year's election.