The Australian High Court has quashed a state-level law that
allowed gay marriages, on the grounds that gay marriage is an issue that should
be decided at federal level. A pro-gay-marriage spokesman called it a
“temporary defeat”, but a Christian spokesman said, “There have been nine
attempts in the last three years to change the laws on marriage. There have
been plenty of chances for the public and Parliament to have their say. It’s
time to move on.”
A Bill has been put forward to the UK Parliament to outlaw
“gay conversion” therapy. A doctor who represents many such people was
interviewed about this Bill on BBC Radio Five; he said “This is ideological
dictatorship and panders to [those] who loathe the idea that a homosexual can
change. Our charity has case histories of men and women who have successfully
changed … but this Bill would deny them the right to overcome unwanted
feelings.” He stressed that there is a wealth of scientific literature showing
that therapies can enable some, but not all, people to change unwanted feelings
of same-sex attraction.
A report which recommended that abortion be made a human
right, and which attacked conscientious objection by medical professionals, was
voted on by the European Parliament on Tuesday. The report had previously been
sent back to committee for revisions rather than being accepted, and it was
rejected again, though only by 334 votes to 327. The sponsor of the report was
far from gracious in defeat; to boos from some sections of the Parliament, she angrily
declared that “hypocrisy has prevailed over the rights of women” and that
“extremists have prevailed.” She apparently failed to see any irony in her
description of the democratic majority as “extremists.”
India’s Supreme Court has upheld a law that criminalises all
forms of “unnatural sex.” Although the law is widely held to include sodomy,
the Court found that the statute did not “target any class [of people]”, nor
did it “directly violate fundamental rights.” The Court did suggest that Parliament
might want to review the law.
The Northern Ireland Justice minister has said that a
consultation document will be produced recommending that abortion be allowed in
the province for children who are disabled or who were conceived in rape. He
made the announcement to the BBC rather than through the normal channels, thus
managing to offend the entire Northern Irish Assembly as well as pro-life
campaigners and disability rights campaigners.
In sport, England lost their semi-final to Australia in the
World League of women’s hockey; the Australians then lost the final 5-1 to the
Netherlands. However, England did manage something that few English teams have
ever done – they won a penalty shoot-out to win the play-off for 3rd
place against hosts Argentina.
And finally, a US man who is studying to become a Lutheran pastor
and plays in a church worship band has an unusual “day job”; he plays bass
guitar in (and is a founder member of) the heavy metal band Megadeth. David Ellefson said of his first time in a worship
band, in 1996, “I realised everybody can play pretty good! They’ve got real day
jobs, so they have great gear. And people aren’t throwing Budweisers at you and
heckling you.” Since 1996, Ellefson has sobered up, and eventually bought the
church’s building; it now hosts MEGA Life, a contemporary church service aimed
at recovering addicts. (His newly released autobiography might make an unusual
Christmas gift …)
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