Ireland says okay to same sex marriages
Ireland embraces same-sex marriage
Decisive Yes win in referendum
By Shawn Pogatchnik
DUBLIN, Ireland — Ireland’s citizens have voted in a landslide to legalize gay marriage, electoral officials announced Saturday — a stunningly lopsided result that illustrates what Catholic leaders and rights activists alike called a “social revolution.”
Friday’s referendum saw 62.1 per cent of Irish voters say Yes to changing the nation’s constitution to define marriage as a union between two people regardless of their sex. Outside Dublin Castle, watching the results announcement in its cobblestoned courtyard, thousands of gay rights activists cheered, hugged and cried at the news.
“With today’s vote, we have disclosed who we are: a generous, compassionate, bold and joyful people,” Prime Minister Enda Kenny proclaimed as he welcomed the outcome. Beside him, Deputy Prime Minister Joan Burton declared the victory “a magical moving moment, when the world’s beating heart is in Ireland.”
Ireland is the first country to approve gay marriage in a popular national vote. Nineteen other countries, including most U.S. states, have legalized the practice through their legislatures and courts.
The unexpectedly strong percentage of approval surprised both sides. More than 1.2 million Irish voters backed the Yes side, with less than 750,000 voting No. Only one of Ireland’s 43 constituencies recorded a narrow No majority.
Analysts credited the Yes side with adeptly employing social media to mobilize young, firsttime voters, tens of thousands of whom voted for the first time Friday. The Yes campaign also featured moving personal stories from prominent Irish people — either coming out as gay or describing their hopes for gay children — that helped convince wavering voters to back equal marriage rights.
Both Catholic Church leaders and gay rights advocates said the result signalled a social revolution in Ireland, where only a few decades ago the authority of Catholic teaching was reinforced by voters who massively backed bans on abortion and divorce in the 1980s.
Voters legalized divorce by a razor-thin margin in 1995 and now, by a firm majority, have dismissed the Catholic Church’s repeated calls to reject gay marriage. Abortion, still outlawed, looms as the country’s next great social-policy fight.
Dublin Archbishop Diarmuid Martin said the “overwhelming vote” against church teaching on gay marriage meant Catholic leaders in Ireland needed urgently to find a new message and voice for reaching Ireland’s young.
“It’s a social revolution... The church needs to do a reality check right across the board,” said Martin, who suggested some church figures who argued for gay marriage’s rejection came across as harsh, damning and unloving, the opposite of their intention.
“Have we drifted completely away from young people?” he asked. “Most of those people who voted Yes are products of our Catholic schools for 12 years.”
David Quinn, leader of the Catholic thinktank the Iona Institute, said he was troubled by the fact no political party and only a half-dozen politicians backed the No cause. “The fact that no political party supported them must be a concern from a democratic point of view,” he said.
Fianna Fail Leader Michael Martin, a Cork politician whose opposition party is traditionally closest to the Catholic Church, said he couldn’t in good conscience back the anti-gay-marriage side.
“It’s simply wrong in the 21st century to oppress people because of their sexuality,” he said.
Some political leaders in Canada approved of the result. Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne, who is openly gay, and federal NDP Leader Tom Mulcair both tweeted congratulations.
“Especially proud of my Irish roots today. A clear progressive message from voters & resounding victory for equality,” Mulcair tweeted.
After the result was announced, thousands of celebrants flooded into the Irish capital’s pubs and clubs — none more popular Saturday night than the city’s few gay venues. At the George, Ireland’s oldest gay pub, drag queens danced and lip-synced to Queen and the founding father of Ireland’s gay rights campaign, Sen. David Norris, basked in the greatest accomplishment of the movement’s 40-year history.
“The people in this small island off the western coast of Europe have said to the rest of the world: This is what it is to be decent, to be civilized and to be tolerant! And let the rest of the world catch up!” Norris, 70, shouted with jubilant zeal to the hundreds packing the disco ball-lit hall.
In the 1970s and 1980s, Norris waged an often lonely two-decade legal fight to force Ireland to quash its Victorian-era laws outlawing homosexual acts. Ireland finally complied in 1993, becoming the last European Union country to do so. This time, the gay community in Ireland managed to build a decisive base of support.
“People from the LGBT community in Ireland are a minority. But with our parents, our families, or friends and co-workers and colleagues, we’re a majority,” said Leo Varadkar, a 36-yearold Irish cabinet minister who in January announced on national radio he was gay. “For me, it wasn’t just a referendum. It was more like a social revolution.”
Many gay couples took the moment to declare their intentions or renew their vows. One lesbian couple in Limerick proposed on bended knee at the vote count there, while one of Ireland’s most prominent advocates for gay marriage, American- born Sen. Katherine Zappone, asked her wife live on Irish TV: “Today in this new Ireland, Ann Louise Gilligan, will you marry me?”
The couple, who met at Boston College and already were married legally in Canada in 2003, sued Ireland unsuccessfully in 2006 to have their marriage recognized as valid. Once parliament passes enabling legislation by this summer, that Canadian wedding licence will become legal in Ireland. But Zappone and Gilligan, a former nun, still plan an Irish ceremony.
“There’s nothing like an Irish wedding,” Zappone said.
The Dublin Castle crowds saved their greatest roars of approval for Panti Bliss, Ireland’s most famous drag queen, who strode gingerly into the castle’s central square in high heels and a body-hugging floral dress to conduct a joint live interview on Irish TV beside Justice Minister Frances Fitzgerald and Sinn Fein party chief Gerry Adams.
“It feels like we asked the whole country to marry us and they just said Yes,” said Panti, a.k.a. Rory O’Neill, who in an Internet speech last year inspired a national debate on the level of homophobia in Irish society.
“Today’s vote isn’t actually for 46-year-old aging drag queens like me. This vote is about all the young faces out there,” Panti said, gesturing to the square-full of mostly 20-something onlookers, some donning rainbow-coloured feather boas and parasols.
Panti said within a few years, going to a gay wedding “will become an ordinary, normal part of life — and that’s what changes hearts and minds.”
When asked whether she — Panti’s preferred gender of pronoun — intended to marry, the already surreal scene turned flirty.
“Sure, why not, if I can find the right fella,” Panti said, slyly putting an arm around a beaming Adams. Laughter cascaded through the crowd.
Political analyst Sean Donnelly, who has covered Irish referendums for decades, said Saturday’s landslide marked a stunning generational shift. He noted that two decades ago in Ireland’s last tortuous vote challenging a benchmark Catholic teaching, voters barely approved divorce — but only because heavy rain deterred voters in the then-conservative west. More than half of Ireland’s constituencies recorded No majorities to divorce.
Not this time. Even far-flung Donegal in Ireland’s northwest corner, renowned for its reactionary record of voting against the national mood, voted Yes to gay marriage.
“We’re in a new country,” Donnelly said. “When I was reared up, the church was all-powerful, and the word ‘gay’ wasn’t even in use in those days. How things have moved from my childhood to now.”
— The Associated Press, with files from The Canadian Press
Powered by TECNAVIACopyright (c)2015 Winnipeg Free Press, Edition 24/05/2015
170 bikers charged in Waco shootout
170 bikers charged in Waco shootout
Melee at restaurant leaves nine dead
By Nomaan Merchant and David Warren
WACO, Texas — About 170 members of rival motorcycle gangs were charged with engaging in organized crime Monday, a day after a shootout at a Texas restaurant that killed nine people and wounded 18.
The crowd of suspects was so large authorities opened a convention centre to hold them all before they were arrested, police said.
Sunday’s melee at the Twin Peaks restaurant in Waco drew a broad police response that included placing officers atop buildings and highway overpasses to watch for other bikers rushing to the scene to retaliate.
McLennan County Justice of the Peace W.H. Peterson set bond at $1 million for each suspect. He defended the high amount, citing the violence that quickly unfolded in a shopping market busy with a lunchtime crowd.
“We have nine people dead because these people wanted to come down and what? Drink? Party?” Peterson said. “I thought it was appropriate.”
Peterson said all nine were from Texas.
Police acknowledged firing on armed bikers. But it was unclear how many of the dead were shot by gang members and how many had been shot by officers.
Waco police Sgt. W. Patrick Swanton said the Waco Convention Center was used to hold the suspects temporarily as police rushed to secure many parts of the city amid reports of rival bikers going elsewhere to continue the fight. Those at the convention centre were later taken to jail.
It’s too early to determine how many motorcycle gang members will face murder charges, Swanton said.
Five gangs had gathered at the restaurant as part of a meeting to settle differences over turf and recruitment. Prior meetings had been held at the restaurant, and managers there had dismissed police concerns over the gatherings, he said.
“They were not here to drink and eat barbecue,” Swanton said. “They came here with violence in mind.”
Twin Peaks — a national chain that features waitresses in revealing uniforms — on Monday revoked the franchise rights to the restaurant, which opened in August.
Company spokesman Rick Van Warner said in a statement the management team chose to ignore warnings and advice from the company and did not establish the “high security standards” the company requires.
The Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission on Monday issued a seven-day suspension of the restaurant’s liquor licence, but owners had the option of reopening to serve meals.
Police and the restaurant operators were aware of Sunday’s meeting in advance, and 18 Waco officers in addition to state troopers were outside the restaurant when the fight began, Swanton said.
Swanton has repeatedly declined to identify which gangs were involved in a fight that began with punches then grew to include chains, knives and then guns.
However, many men detained in the hours after the shooting were seen wearing leather vests that read Bandidos or Cossacks.
McLennan County Sheriff Parnell McNamara, whose office is involved in the investigation, said the nine dead were members of those gangs.
More than 100 motorcycles were in the parking lots around the restaurant Monday, along with another 50 to 75 vehicles that probably belong to gang members, Swanton said.
All were scheduled to be towed from the scene, about 150 kilometres south of Dallas.
Swanton said authorities had received threats against law enforcement “throughout the night” from biker groups and stood ready to confront any more violence. Officials stopped and questioned motorcycle riders. Agents from the FBI and the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives were assisting local and state authorities.
In a 2014 gang-threat assessment, the Texas Department of Public Safety classified the Bandidos as a “Tier 2” threat, the second highest. Other groups in that tier included the Bloods, Crips and Aryan Brotherhood of Texas.
The Texas assessment does not mention the Cossacks.
— The Associated Press
‘We have nine people dead, because these people wanted to come down and what? Drink? Party? I thought it was appropriate’
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Copyright (c)2015 Winnipeg Free Press, Edition 19/05/2015
Winnipeg family waits for justice in india
Family waits for justice in India
Arrests made in case of slain Winnipeg man
By Carol Sanders
A HALF-DOZEN suspects have been arrested in India in connection with the April 14 shooting death of a Winnipeg man.
The older brother of 46-year-old Harinder Singh Sran, who was shot and killed in Punjab, said all but one of the suspects are in police custody.
Winnipegger Devinder Sran said he fears for his own safety while waiting for the wheels of justice to turn in his brother’s homicide investigation.
“I don’t go out much,” Devinder said by phone from Punjab.
Organized crime was involved in the land grab that led to his brother’s shooting, he alleges. He’s trying to stay out of sight while the criminal investigation is underway.
“I hope they are doing a good job,” Devinder said of the police probe. He expects charges to be laid and the case to move forward in the next two weeks.
Devinder went to Punjab with Harinder for a visit in early April. On the day he died, Harinder was accompanying two female cousins from Canada who were trying to uphold their property rights in their ancestral village, Kaliye Wala in Moga district.
In a place where land values have skyrocketed, thousands of non-resident Indians struggle with real estate and property rights issues, say reports from South-Asian Canadian news websites.
The Canadian women had been in Punjab since September trying to maintain ownership of their late brother’s 27-acre farm.
Their cousin, Harinder, was killed the same day the Canadians had registered a criminal complaint against three local people whom they alleged prepared a fake will laying claim to the farm, Punjab news media reported.
One of those named in the complaint was the wife of the Canadian women’s brother, who died several years ago. The Tribune reported Baljinder Kaur of Kaliye Wala claimed as her own the land her two Canadian sisters-in-law received as part of their ancestral parental property.
She allegedly prepared a fake will to get the land transferred in her name, claiming it was bequeathed to her by her father-in-law, the newspaper reported.
The Canadian sisters filed a complaint against her, alleging the will was fabricated. They and Harinder were on the land in dispute when he was shot to death.
Harinder was a Canadian citizen who had lived in Winnipeg and owned and operated his own taxi cab, like his older brother Devinder.
Harinder’s widow and two children, who attend University of Manitoba, went to India for his funeral last month, a cousin in Winnipeg said previously.
Devinder is staying in Punjab while waiting for the homicide investigation to come to a head and formal charges to be laid.
He said he’s keeping a low profile to stay safe until the case makes its way to court.
While he’s “definitely” afraid for his own life, he’s standing his ground until his brother’s killers are brought to justice.
“I’m doing OK,” he said.
He will soon have to return to Winnipeg but plans to return to Punjab if and when there is a trial, he said.
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Powered by TECNAVIACopyright (c)2015 Winnipeg Free Press, Edition 15/05/2015
2 hurt in custody-death protests
2 hurt in custody-death protests
BALTIMORE — Thousands of protesters took to the streets Saturday to demand answers in the case of Freddie Gray, the largest rally since the 25-year-old black man died in police custody last week. After hours of peaceful demonstrations, pockets of protesters smashed police car windows and storefronts.
The protests came a day after Deputy Commissioner Kevin Davis said Gray should have received medical attention at the spot where he was arrested, before he was put inside a police transport van handcuffed and without a seat belt — a violation of the department’s policy. Grey died April 19 after suffering a fatal spinal injury while in custody. His death has intensified a national debate over police treatment of African- Americans.
Authorities have not explained how or when Gray’s spine was injured. Video showed him being dragged into a police van, and police have said he rode in it for about 30 minutes before paramedics were called.
Gray’s death has been compared to those of other unarmed black men who died at the hands of police in New York City and Ferguson, Missouri.
Residents voiced their anger Saturday at how the department and the city’s officials are handling the investigation into Gray’s death.
Protesters threw cans and plastic bottles in the direction of police officers. One protester broke the window of a police cruiser, grabbed a police hat inside and wore it while standing on top of the cruiser with several other protesters.
At least two people were hurt in the mayhem, and three people were detained.
— The Associated Press
Police and protestors line up against each other across from Camden Yards in Baltimore Saturday.
ALGERINA PERNA / BALTIMORE SUN / TNS
Powered by TECNAVIACopyright (c)2015 Winnipeg Free Press, Edition 26/04/2015
I was sickened by what I saw
‘I was sickened by what I saw’
Video of shooting has cop charged with murder
By Bruce Smith and Jeffrey Collins
NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. — The fatal shooting of a black man running from a white police officer inflamed the nation’s debate over police use of force Wednesday, and the mayor and police chief of South Carolina’s third-largest city said they were “sickened” by what a bystander’s video revealed.
The officer, who has been charged with murder, was fired, and the mayor said he ordered enough body cameras for every officer on the street. But that did little to quell the outrage of an angry crowd at North Charleston’s city hall, and the officials were shouted down by protesters calling for justice.
The officer reported he fired in selfdefence after the suspect he pulled over Saturday for a broken brake light grabbed his stun gun. Police shared his version with the public and promised a full investigation.
But the officer’s story quickly unravelled after a nervous bystander’s shaky video was shared with the dead man’s family and then the world.
It shows Patrolman Michael Thomas Slager firing repeatedly at Walter Lamer Scott as the unarmed 50-year-old tries to flee. The video begins with what appears to be a brief physical altercation over the officer’s Taser, which falls to the ground shortly before the officer pulls out his Glock pistol and fires eight times. Scott then crumples to the ground about nine metres away. Not once in the moments before or during the shooting can the officer be heard yelling “stop” or telling the man to surrender.
Moments later, the officer is seen walking back and picking up what appears to be the Taser, then returning to drop it at Scott’s feet as another officer arrives to check the dying man’s condition.
The video changed everything, authorities and advocates said Wednesday.
“What if there was no video? What if there was no witness, or ‘hero’ as I call him, to come forward?” L. Chris Stewart, a lawyer for the dead man’s family, told The Associated Press. “We didn’t know he existed. He came out the blue.”
Slager was promptly abandoned by his attorney and charged with murder after the video was made public by the slain man’s family Tuesday afternoon.
Mayor Keith Summey announced the officer was immediately fired and that he’s ordering 150 more body cameras, so every uniformed officer on the street will wear one, a key demand of the Black Lives Matter movement that is growing nationwide.
“I have watched the video. And I was sickened by what I saw. And I have not watched it since,” police Chief Eddie Driggers said.
The news conference was meant to quiet the uproar, but both the mayor and chief were interrupted by chants of “no justice, no peace” and other shouted questions they said they could not answer.
Outside city hall, local organizer Muhiydin D’Baha repeatedly hollered, “Eight shots in the back!” through a bullhorn. The crowd yelled, “In the back!” in response, aiming to coin a new phrase to supplant the “hands up, don’t shoot!” refrain that grew out of other officer-involved killings.
Scott’s family and Stewart appealed to keep protests peaceful, saying the murder charge shows the system is working in this case so far.
But Stewart does plan to sue police, and said they acted decisively only because of the video, which was recorded by a whispering man who tried to avoid the officers’ attention as he peered over a chain-link fence into the empty lot where Scott died.
That man, Fayden Santana, told NBC on Wednesday he approached the scene because he noticed Slager controlling Scott on the ground and heard the sound of a Taser before Scott got loose and ran away.
“I remember the police had control of the situation,” Santana said. “He had control of Scott. And Scott was trying just to get away from the Taser.”
Local police turned over the investigation to state law enforcement. The video also prompted the FBI and the Justice Department’s civil rights prosecutors to announce a federal probe Wednesday. At the White House, spokesman Josh Earnest said the video is “awfully hard to watch” and said he wouldn’t be surprised if U.S. President Barack Obama has seen it, “given the amount of media attention that this issue has received.”
The video prompted defence attorney David Aylor to drop his client the day after asserting he fired to save his life. Slager appeared without a lawyer at his first court hearing Tuesday and was held without bond for murder, which could put him in prison for 30 years to life.
Police also said investigators are reviewing a police dash-cam video that may show the beginnings of the traffic stop, and they released radio dispatch traffic, including the sound of Slager breathing heavily as he chases Scott into the empty lot. A passenger in Scott’s car also was detained, according to the police reports.
The video begins after both men have left their cars, and after Slager appears to hit Scott with a Taser. Scott pulls away, and the object falls to the ground, trailing wires. Slager then recovers the object and drops it near the body as a black officer approaches. Then, he picks it up again as the officers talk.
The black officer, Clarence Habersham, made no mention of Slager or any of his actions in his brief official report, according to a copy obtained by the AP.
Scott had four children, was engaged and had been honourably discharged from the U.S. Coast Guard, with no violent offences on his record, Stewart said.
— The Associated Press
See video at winnipegfreepress.com
Powered by TECNAVIACopyright (c)2015 Winnipeg Free Press, Edition 09/04/2015