Jamaica’s best-known gay activist was murdered in Kingston June 9. Brian Williamson, 59, was found lying in a pool of blood in his bedroom with multiple knife wounds.

“The condition of his body ... and his visibility as a gay man lead us to suspect this is a hate-related crime,” the Jamaica Forum for Lesbians, All-Sexuals and Gays said in a statement.

Police say the murder was more likely related to robbery, pointing out that Williamson’s room was ransacked and his safe was missing. They are looking for two men who were seen at the residence shortly before the crime.

Williamson’s roommate, Desmond Chambers, said of one of the suspects: “I have seen him here about six times [and] anything him want, Brian give him. Brian give him money, Brian give him food and help him to purchase [newspaper] to sell on the road.”

The head of Amnesty International USA’s gay-rights program, Michael Heflin, commented, “Brian Williamson was a courageous individual prepared to speak out for one of the most marginalized and persecuted communities in Jamaica: the gay and lesbian community.”

Germany’s government has proposed legislation to equalize the rights of registered same-sex partners with those of married people, Deutsche Welle reported June 5.

Justice Minister Brigitte Zypries said the first of two bills will go to the Bundestag, the lower house of Parliament, this summer and will be crafted to not require consent from the Bundesrat, the upper house, where it probably would be rejected.

“Lesbian and gay couples are a social reality in Germany,” Zypries told the daily Berliner Zeitung. “That is why we also want to grant them, to the extent it complies with the constitution and its unique protections of marriage and family, the same rights as married couples.”

Noël Mamère, a member of France’s parliament and mayor of the Bordeaux suburb of Bègles, conducted the marriage of a gay couple June 5 despite the national government’s threats to prosecute him.

Shopworker Bertrand Charpentier, 31, and nurse Stéphane Chapin, 34, arrived at Bègles city hall in a Rolls-Royce to the cheers of gay activists. Two hundred riot police kept the gays and a small number of right-wing protesters from clashing. Reports described the scene as a “media frenzy.”

“Your marriage is a first, and I hope it will become something normal,” Mamère told the couple.

“I think the fight I am leading is a political fight ... for the defense of an open society, to combat all forms of discrimination including homophobia,” he told reporters earlier.

Shortly after the wedding, Interior Minister Dominique de Villepin launched a “sanctions procedure” against Mamère. He could be suspended, fired or fined 1,500 euros (US$1,840).

Jerusalem’s third gay-pride parade attracted thousands June 3, Ha’aretz reported. Two antigay demonstrators were arrested for throwing eggs.

Dozens of armed police officers escorted the march from the Ben Yehuda pedestrian mall to Liberty Bell Park, via King George and Keren Hayesod streets. A “happening” and party followed in the park.

Jerusalem Mayor Uri Lupolianski later told reporters he tried to prevent the parade but lacked the power to do so.

“If I had the legal means for stopping a parade that harms the city and its residents, I would prevent the parade,” he said. “I tried to do so, but it was made clear to me that I don’t have the authority.

“This parade is not only ugly, it’s also a provocation,” the mayor said. “Even people distant from Jerusalem must grasp that this is a sacred city for the Jewish people and the world as a whole. ... If somebody has some sort of deviant trait, it doesn’t mean that he has to raise its banner in public.”

Lupolianski likened the parade to Jews marching with pork in the middle of an Arab neighborhood.

“They came just to arouse anger, to fight and bring about disgusting things,” he said.

The Chilean Supreme Court June 2 denied a lesbian custody of her daughters because she’s gay, Human Rights Watch reported.

Karen Atala, a judge from the town of Los Andes, had been awarded custody of her three daughters by an appeal court. Her former husband contested the decision, arguing the court wrongfully put Atala’s rights before those of her children.

In a 3-2 decision, the Supreme Court panel agreed, saying the children’s emotional and sexual development could be harmed by the absence of a father in the home and “his replacement by another person of the female gender.” It also expressed concern that Atala’s children could suffer discrimination and rejection since “their exceptional family situation is significantly different from that of their classmates and neighborhood peers.”

The justices also criticized the lower court for “a serious fault or abuse” because it chose not to uphold “the preferential right of the children to live and grow up in a normally structured and socially reputable family, according to the proper traditional model.”

No further appeal is possible.

An Iranian transsexual denied asylum in Sweden committed suicide in Stockholm, Aftonbladet reported June 3.

In Iran, the woman, Fatemeh, had been sentenced to 50 lashes for homosexuality, and she feared for her life if she were forced to return home, the report said.

But the Swedish Migration Board rejected her application for asylum and the decision was upheld by the Aliens Appeals Board.

Gay organizations demonstrated outside the offices of the two boards on June 2.