About 200 gay couples held a mass commitment ceremony in front of Mexico City's Palace of Fine Arts Feb. 15. Around 3,000 spectators and guests attended the event. Two gay partnership measures are pending before the Mexico City city council, known as the Legislative Assembly. Egyptian gays are upset over the forced closing of 13 Turkish baths in Cairo which are heavily used by men seeking sex with men. The Ministry of Culture and Tourism says the baths are being shut down temporarily because they are in urgent need of repair.
Gays see another motive.
Egyptian Gays Jailed Over Web Site Two Egyptian men who created a gay-sex Web site have been jailed for committing an indecent act. Gamal was jailed for three years, Gebreel for 15 months. The judge said the men had acted disgracefully and defamed Egypt. The British government has proposed legislation that would let gay people claim compensation if their lover is killed. It shows something about the value attached to lesbian and gay relations and is the biggest boost to equality between gay and heterosexual relationships since the equalization of the age of consent.