Thirty-three Swedish gay groups staged the nation's first "Homoforum" December 6 and demanded that the government take action against hate crimes.

"Nazi-inspired incitement directed against homosexuals has increased in recent years," participants said. "Twenty-three percent of gay and bisexual men and women who took part in a recent study have been victims of crimes due to their sexual orientation. At least 27 persons have been murdered for the same reason during the last ten years.

"We do not intend to wait any longer to get the protection which today already exists to protect other targeted groups," they said. "Silence will justify further violence."

Gay Newfoundlanders won protection from discrimination December 9.

The provincial House of Assembly amended the Human Rights Code to ban discrimination based on sexual orientation in employment, housing, literature, and access to establishments and services.

"I'm absolutely elated," said Brian Hodder, co-chair of Newfoundland Gays and Lesbians for Equality. "This just proves that if you keep at them, they have to come through."

Some pension plans were excluded from the amendment because the federal Income Tax Act defines 'spouse' in a heterosexist manner.

The amendment still needs the signature of the lieutenant governor to become law, which is expected before Christmas.

Alberta and Prince Edward Island now are the only provinces that do not protect gays from discrimination. The PEI government has announced plans to amend its human-rights code. In Alberta, movement on the issue is stalled by a discrimination case that was appealed to the Canadian Supreme Court.

New figures from Australia's 1996 census show that 19,722 same- sex couples declared themselves as such -- about one-fourth of one percent of the population.

The state/territory breakdown was New South Wales, 8,913 couples; Victoria, 4,613; Queensland, 2,500; Western Australia, 1,561; South Australia, 1,254; the Australian Capital Territory, 538; Tasmania, 256 and the Northern Territory, 137.

Sydney is in New South Wales and Melbourne is in Victoria. The main cities elsewhere are Brisbane, Queensland; Perth, Western Australia; Adelaide, South Australia; Canberra, ACT; Hobart, Tasmania; and Darwin, Northern Territory.

--Rex Wockner's weekly International News dating back to mid-1994 is fully searchable at http://www.wockner.com

--Rex Wockner's weekly International News in its original format is archived at http://www.qrd.org/qrd/www/world/wockner.html