Fiji Bans Discrimination Against Gays

The new constitution of the South Pacific nation of Fiji bans discrimination based on sexual orientation, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation reported last week.

The sexual-orientation clause has raised the hackles of some politicians and church leaders, who say it will increase homosexuality and permit gay marriages. The Methodist Church and the Fiji Council of Churches petitioned Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka to overturn the measure.

Rabuka responded by asking the attorney general to try to amend the clause out of the constitution via action in the Parliamentary Committee on Consequential Legislation.

South Africa is the only other nation that bans discrimination based on sexual orientation via its constitution.

Mardi Gras Pumps $99 Million Into Australian Economy

Party-goers at this year's Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras dress up like the characters from "Pricilla , Queen of the Desert." (Photo: John Hudson)

This year's Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras pumped $99 million (US$60 million) into Sydney's economy, according to survey data released last week by organizers.

That makes Mardi Gras the most economically significant cultural or sporting event in Australia.

Mardi Gras President Bev Lange commented, "Given the significance of Mardi Gras' annual return to the national economy, it is time that equal rights for gay and lesbian people were delivered."

South Sydney Mayor Vic Smith said, "Not only should this silence the critics, but demonstrate what a valuable investment Mardi Gras is to Sydney."

The data was compiled by the University of New South Wales' Australian Graduate School of Management.

400,000 At Montreal Pride

Montreal's sixth-annual gay-pride parade attracted 400,000 people to St. Denis Street Aug. 3, police said. "It doubles [in size] every single year," organizer Henri Labelle told the Montreal Gazette. "We're a good parade, we're a colorful parade."

The first march, in 1993, attracted only 5,000 people.

Mayor Pierre Bourque took part for the first time this year.

The march ended with a flood of humanity into the Gay Village on East St. Catherine Street where a massive outdoor party continued into the night.