Badpuppy Gay Today |
Thursday, 18 September 1997 |
FIVE PARIS GAY CLUBS SHUT DOWN Armed with a court order, police closed five gay nightclubs in Paris at the end of August due to alleged trafficking in ecstasy and cocaine. Hit in the bust were Queen, Les Folies Pigalle, Scorpion, l'Enfer and Cox. They will remain shut for six months unless appeals reverse the decision. The National Union of Gay Enterprises (SNEG) and ACT UP/Paris responded with charges that police target gay clubs more than straight clubs. "Once again, the police and the public authorities have chosen repression," ACT UP said. "The police are knowingly practicing discrimination against the homosexual community." SNEG President Bertrand de Tilleul noted that "closing the clubs ... will only send the dealers out into the streets," while Folies Pigalle Manager Dominique Jouan pointed out that there is no legal right to search customers for drugs. RENT BOYS MURDER ROME GAYS At least 18 gay men have been murdered in Rome in the 1990s by straight immigrants posing as male prostitutes, according to police and gay leaders. The latest victim was university professor and New York Times correspondent Louis Inturrisi. Like the others, he was killed in his own home and there were no signs of forced entry. Other victims include an actor, a banker, a priest, a television director, a businessman, a hotel owner, and a theatre critic. "Most of these murders have been committed by prostitutes, probably foreigners, who go to their clients' homes and then rob them," a senior police chief told Reuter. "We're dealing with heterosexual, illegal immigrants posing as male prostitutes and murdering for money," agreed Jorge Quevas, co-owner of the popular gay club Max's. "Rome is more like a mountain village when it comes to accepting homosexuality. There is a lot of prostitution here exactly because people feel more comfortable with anonymous sex." BUENOS AIRES LIFTS GAY BAN AT 'LOVE MOTELS' Gay couples are now welcome at pay-by-the-hour "love motels" in Buenos Aires, Argentina. A new city ordinance, which Mayor Fernando de la Rua let pass into law Aug. 27, removes language that prohibited same-sex couples from using the facilities, which are popular among young people who live with their parents as well as folks having affairs or patronizing prostitutes. De la Rua had vetoed an identical measure June 1, saying that if gays were allowed in the motels then thugs would pose as homosexual couples to rob the establishments. But now, he said, he's decided to respect "the free sexuality" of the city's residents. ______________________________________________________________________________________ Rex Wockner's weekly International News dating back to mid-1994 is fully searchable at http://www.wockner.com ______________________________________________________________________________________ |
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