Zelensky Says Ukraine’s Government May Allow Civil Partnerships for Same-sex Couples.

THE NEW YORK TIMES: President Volodymyr Zelensky, responding on Tuesday to a citizen petition that called for the legalization of same-sex marriage in Ukraine, raised the prospect of “civil partnerships,” but said the Constitution’s definition of marriage as the union of one man and one woman could not be changed during wartime.

A Pride parade in Kyiv, Ukraine, last year. The war has spurred efforts to secure equal rights for L.G.B.T.Q. Ukrainians, including the right to marry. | Efrem Lukatsky/Associated Press
Mr. Zelensky was responding after the petition garnered support from more than 25,000 Ukrainians. Ukraine does not recognize marriage rights for same-sex couples, nor does it have a statute allowing them to enter into civil unions. Calls to grant those couples equal rights have grown in part because of the sacrifices of L.G.B.T.Q. soldiers helping the country fight Russia’s brutal invasion.

Under Ukrainian Ministry of Defense regulations, the military must inform the parents and spouse or other close relatives of a soldier who is killed. But those rules do not apply to same-sex couples who are unable to legally wed.

In Ukraine, same-sex couples do not have the automatic right to visit a hospitalized partner, to share property ownership, to care for a deceased partner’s children, to claim the body of a partner killed in war or to collect death benefits from the state. The petition urging Mr. Zelensky to support marriage rights for same-sex couples was initiated by Anastasia Sovenko, 24, an English teacher from Zaporizhzhia, in southern Ukraine, who identifies as bisexual. » | Michael Levenson | Tuesday, August 2, 2022

Brazil's Top Court Approves Civil Unions for Same-sex Couples
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Brazil's Supreme Court ruled on Thursday night that civil unions between same-sex couples must be allowed in this nation with more Roman Catholics than any other.

In a 10-0 vote, with one abstention, the justices said gay couples deserve the same legal rights as heterosexual pairs when it comes to alimony, retirement benefits of a partner who dies, and inheritances, among other issues.

The ruling, however, stopped short of legalising gay marriage. In Latin America, that is legal only in neighbouring Argentina and in Mexico City.

Same-sex civil unions granting some rights to homosexual couples are legal in Uruguay and in some states of Mexico outside the capital. Colombia's Constitutional Court has granted same-sex couples inheritance rights and allowed them to add their partners to health insurance plans.

Brazil's ruling sets a judicial precedent that must be honoured by all public institutions, including notary publics where civil unions must be registered.

"This is a historic moment for all Brazilians, not just homosexuals. This judgment will change everything for us in society – and for the better," said Marcelo Cerqueira with the gay rights group Grupo Gay da Bahia. "Gays, lesbians and transsexuals will be recognised as being more human. We'll be more accepted by having our rights honoured." » | Friday, May 06, 2011

Religious Gays Offered 'Conversion Therapy'
YNET NEWS: Association of religious homosexuals sets up fund subsidizing treatments aimed at changing sexual tendencies. 'There is no clear ruling in the world of research that one can or cannot change,' explains organization's director

For years, organizations for homosexuals have refused to acknowledge the possibility of changing a person's sexual inclination. A newly established association of religious gays and lesbians is now giving those psychological "conversion therapies" a chance.

Moreover, the association even plans to subsidize these treatments for its disadvantaged members who cannot afford to pay for them.

The move, which is expected to reignite the dispute over these treatments' efficiency and mental risks, may actually allow for wide cooperation between rabbis and senior educators in the religious public and groups of gays and lesbians from the sector.

So far, rabbis have distanced themselves from all gay organizations, perceiving their members as people who have not tried to change and are not seeking to emerge from the conflict they live in. >>> Kobi Nahshoni | Friday, February 25, 2011

Hawaii Legalizes Same-sex Unions
THE VANCOUVER SUN: Hawaii legalized same-sex civil unions, as its governor signed into law a bill giving gay couples the same rights as heterosexual married partners.

Gay rights campaigners on Wednesday welcomed the signature by Governor Neil Abercrombie, following approval by lawmakers last week, although they said it did not allow gay couples to formally marry.

"This bill has been a long time coming for committed couples in Hawaii who have been denied the basic right to take care of their families," said Laurie Temple, a lawyer for the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Hawaii.

"While we continue to work to achieve the freedom to marry for all couples, we commend the legislature and Governor Abercrombie for taking a stand against baseless discrimination by passing this bill." >>> AFP | Thursday, February 24, 2011

Argentina: Challenging the Church
Watch Journeyman Pictures video here | Wednesday, October 31, 2007

Quakers to Perform Gay Wedding Ceremonies
THE INDEPENDENT: A religious denomination today reignited debate on same-sex unions after agreeing to perform marriage ceremonies for gay couples.

The Quaker church, also known as the Religious Society of Friends, already offers religious blessings to couples in civil partnerships.

But today, at its yearly meeting, held at the University of York, the church opted to extend this to same-sex weddings.

Quakers will ask the Government to change the law, which does not recognise gay marriage, to allow Quaker registering officers to register same-sex partnerships in the same way as marriages.

Michael Hutchinson, of Quakers in Britain, said: "Many of our meetings have told us that there are homosexual couples who consider themselves to be married and believe this is as much a testimony of divine grace as a heterosexual marriage.

"They miss the public recognition of this in a religious ceremony."

During this week's meeting, Quakers spoke about their personal experiences of committed relationships, agreeing that "whereas there was a clear, visible path to celebration and recognition for opposite sex couples" the same was not always true for those in same-sex relationships, a minute released by the church said.

It said: "This open sharing of personal experience has moved us and added to our clear sense that, 22 years after the prospect was first raised... we are being led to treat same-sex committed relationships in the same way as opposite-sex marriages, reaffirming our central insight that marriage is the Lord's work and we are but witnesses.

"The question of legal recognition by the state is secondary."

All those present at today's meeting, numbering around 1200, agreed to take steps to revise relevant parts of Quaker faith and practice in order to treat same-sex marriages in the same way as more traditional unions. >>> Celia Paul, Press Association | Friday, July 31, 2009