Gay Today: World

Filipino Gays Gain Strength

Swiss Activists Picket Justice Ministry

British Columbia: Same-Sex Partners Get Car-Insurance Rights

By Rex Wockner
International News Report

Filipino Gays Gain Strength

Filipino gays are becoming very public, Asia Week reports.

"Manila's homosexuals are not just out of the closet," the magazine said. "They are in the street, on TV and in the media. They hold flamboyant gay pride marches, and the Santo Nino Club, a largely homosexual association of fashion types, stages an annual religious parade featuring a statue of the child Jesus in designer robes.
fillipino.jpg - 21.77 K Gay activists in the Philippines: Making a stand for equal rights.
(Photo: Kabaklan Utsu)

"Homosexual Filipinos participate in public life with a verve unmatched anywhere in the region," the magazine said, adding that several A-list gays have become fixtures in the social circle of former First Lady Amelita Ramos.

Swiss Activists Picket Justice Ministry

swissflag.gif - 9.86 K Activists set off 60 alarm clocks outside the Swiss Justice Ministry in Bern August 17 to protest the government's failure to issue a long-overdue report on the situation of gay/lesbian couples.

The protest was designed to serve as a "wake-up call," organizers said. The report was due in 1994.

Swiss gay couples face routine discrimination in such areas as accessing disability benefits and transferring a lease after a death, the protesters said.

British Columbia: Same-Sex Partners Get Car-Insurance Rights

The Insurance Corporation of British Columbia has extended spousal benefits to same-sex partners in common-law-type relationships, the Westender reported.

ICBC insures all cars and drivers in Canada's westernmost province.

Regulations state that a gay relationship must exist for two years prior to an accident in order for the partner of an injured or killed person to claim benefits.