www.gay-sd.com


COMMENTARY VICTORY FOR ARGENTINA!


ing people on both sides of the marriage battle. The issue of same-sex mar-


GENERALGAYETY LESL IE ROBINSON


A


rgentina suffered a distinct blow when its promising soc- cer team was bounced from


the World Cup. What did the country do to pick up its spirits? It passed gay marriage. Argentina is the first nation in


Latin America to legalize same- sex marriage. Gays and lesbians in Argentina will have all the legal rights and responsibilities that marriage affords straight couples. Goal! The days leading up to the


momentous decision were infused with pressure, with both sides pushing and pushing. About the only thing missing were vuvuzelas. And for all I know, some


Argentine soccer fans brought those horns home from South Africa and blew them in the streets of Buenos Aires, aggravat-


riage pitted the Catholic Church against Argentine President Cristina Fernandez. Time.com reported that Buenos Aires archbishop and Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio said, “This is no mere legislative bill, it is a move by the father of lies to confuse and deceive the children of God.” Fernandez responded that


Bergoglio’s statement was “really reminiscent of the times of the Inquisition.” The hyperbole was sky-high


As the final debate took place inside Congress, opponents stood outside reciting the rosary in freezing temperatures, and sup- porters chanted equality slogans. These people must’ve won-


dered if the senators had escaped out the back door—the vote didn’t take place until 4:05 a.m., after 15 hours of debate. The game lasted so long it went into penalty kicks. “Marriage between a man


and a woman has existed for centuries, and is essential for the perpetuation of the species,” as- serted Senator Juan Perez Alsina,


The hyperbole was sky- high enough to tickle St. Peter’s feet.


enough to tickle St. Peter’s feet. Polls indicated a solid


majority of Argentines favored same-sex marriage, even though the country is overwhelmingly Catholic. With the president of the nation a strong supporter of the bill, and the lower chamber having approved it in May, all that remained was for Argentina’s Senate to get in the game. In a march organized by the


Catholic Church and evangelical groups, 60,000 people descended on Congress the evening before the vote. Same-sex marriage sup- porters held smaller, loud rallies.


according to The Associated Press. Senator Norma Morandini


compared the discrimination closeted gays experience to the oppression Argentina’s past dicta- tors imposed. “What defines us is our humanity, and what runs against humanity is intolerance,” Morandini said. With that, every dictator


rose from his grave and tried to give her a red card, but no one noticed. At the end of the long, tense


session, the Argentine Senate ap- proved same-sex marriage 33-27,


with three abstentions. Argentina became the 10th nation in the world to approve gay marriage. On the same day the Catholic


Church lost the game, the Vatican announced that the “attempted ordination” of women is now one of the most serious crimes under church law, on a par with clerical sexual abuse of children. Altogether, the Catholic Church is shooting on the wrong goal. The first legal same-sex wed-


ding is scheduled for Aug. 13. Ernesto Rodriguez Larrese, 60, will wed Alejandro Vanelli, 61. The men have lived together for 34 years, so presumably they re- quire no pre-wedding counseling. Mexico City, which legalized


gay marriage last year, made an offer the guys might not be able to refuse. The city’s tourism minister promised a free honey- moon to the first gay couple wed in Argentina. The minister seeks to recognize tolerance and to promote gay tourism, a healthy, eminently practical combo. By the way, the two World


Cup finalists, Spain and Holland, both legalized gay marriage. All the soccer-playing nations in the world, and it was those two that made it. I’m just sayin’…☭


—Leslie Robinson thinks the


U.S. better hurry up and legalize gay marriage if it is ever to do well in the World Cup. E-mail Leslie at lesarobinson@gmail. com, and visit her blog at www. generalgayety.com.


July 30-August 12, 2010 GAY SAN DIEGO


FROM PAGE 5 HOUSING


“All these community groups


can go to our facilities, so there are more [services] concentrated within the home community,” Thomas Mc- Sorley, Townspeople’s director of re- source development, said. According to McSorley, between


July 2009 and June 2010, Townspeo- ple received roughly 9,500 service referrals by phone, served 2,500 walk-in clients and had 19,000 hits on its online rental listing. “The National AIDS Housing


Foundation has medical studies that show that women [with HIV] that are housed … are living 30 to 40 percent longer,” McSorley said. “Housing is healthcare.” At Sandoval’s apartment com-


plex, residents—including a young mother and her son—greet each other with questions about health- care, or a mention of a recent doctor’s visit. They share tips on services and discuss the effectiveness of medica- tions. Sandoval said Townspeople’s


residents often influence each other’s health for the better. Sandoval’s latest project is helping to organize events for a group called Viva Vivo, that of- fers the HIV-infected Latino commu- nity lessons on how to communicate with social workers and gain skills so they can take charge of their own health care. “I thought this was an opportu-


nity to ... bring them out and iden- tify their leadership skills,” Sandoval said. “I am teaching people how to take care of themselves with better communication and knowledge.”☭


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