by Rex Wockner
Gays to be protected in new Thai Constitution
The Thai government's Constitutional Drafting Assembly reportedly has agreed to include GLBT people in the new constitution, adding a clause protecting "those of other sexual identities" from discrimination.
The vote by the 100-member committee was unanimous. The draft constitution will be put to a national referendum in August.
The current Thai government was installed by the military after a coup d'etat in September 2006.
Dutch gay group seeks to ban bashers from gay areas
The Netherlands' leading gay organization, COC, has suggested that convicted gay-bashers be slapped with a court order prohibiting them from entering Amsterdam's gayest areas, such as the bar district on Reguliersdwarsstraat.
Police have received 10 reports of gay-bashings this year.
Although the Netherlands is arguably the gay-friendliest nation on the planet, a few subgroups of the population — including, notably, immigrant Moroccan youths — have been known to stage gay-bashing outings.
COC originally stood for Cultuur en Ontspannings-Centrum (Culture and Leisure Center) but the organization now is known solely by its former initials.
