The Canadian province of Saskatchewan granted same-sex couples access to marriage Nov. 5 – following in the footsteps of British Columbia, Manitoba, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Quebec and the Yukon Territory.

Like judges in the other jurisdictions, Justice Donna Wilson of the Saskatchewan Court of Queen’s Bench Family Law Division declared the opposite-sex definition of marriage unconstitutional.

“The common-law definition of marriage for civil purposes is declared to be ‘the lawful union of two persons to the exclusion of all others,’” she wrote.

Five couples had sued for the right to marry.

Eighty-five percent of Canadians now live in jurisdictions where same-sex marriage is legal. The next province expected to move on the matter is Newfoundland and Labrador.

Colombia’s Constitutional Court ruled Oct. 28 that a gay man’s foreign partner has the right to immigrate to the nation.

In a case from the island of San Andrés, the court declared that gay people cannot be denied due process or the right to freely develop their personalities.

The island’s refusal to grant a residency permit to the foreign partner “created an obstacle to the intent of maintaining a stable relationship as a gay couple,” the court said.

Legislative action is required to extend the ruling to cover other bi-national same-sex couples.

Germany’s lower house of parliament, the Bundestag, granted more rights to registered same-sex couples Oct. 29.

The measure does not need assent from the upper house, the Bundesrat, and will take effect in January.

Registered same-sex couples will be allowed to access state widow/widower pensions, adopt each other’s biological children, and refuse to testify against each other. They also will be treated as married in the areas of separation, divorce, alimony and division of assets.

“Gays and lesbians are still not treated equally in how they are able to live their lives, and there is no reason for that,” Justice Minister Brigitte Zypries said in support of the changes.

She hopes to eventually extend every right of matrimony to registered same-sex couples.

Honduras’ National Congress voted unanimously Oct. 28 to amend their constitution to ban same-sex marriage and gay adoption.

The amendment must be approved again by a future Congress before taking effect.

In response, gay-rights groups threatened to out prominent homosexuals in government, business and journalism.

About 5,000 Hondurans belong to the nation’s eight gay organizations.

Honduras has a population of 6.8 million.

Bermuda’s government plans to amend the Human Rights Act to ban discrimination based on sexual orientation, The Royal Gazette reported Nov. 1.

The measure, which will cover housing and employment, will be introduced in the House of Assembly next summer.

“The changes will take us out of the dark ages and create an awareness about living openly rather than hiding these things in the closet,” said Community Affairs Minister Dale Butler.

One man was killed and four were injured Oct. 30 in an apparent gay-bashing spree against people leaving Heaven nightclub near Royal Festival Hall in London’s Charing Cross district.

David Morley, 37, died in the hospital following emergency surgery. He was a survivor of the 1999 nail-bomb attack on the gay Admiral Duncan pub, where he worked. Three people died and 73 were injured in that explosion.

On Nov. 6, police charged Barry Lee, 19, and two 16-year-old boys with Morley’s murder. They also were charged with attempted grievous bodily harm of two other victims, robbery, violent disorder and conspiracy to commit robbery. There are four additional suspects who have not been charged yet.

“That David should survive one instance of hate crime against London’s gay population only to then be killed in a later attack makes this weekend’s appalling incident even worse,” Ben Summerskill, head of the gay-rights group Stonewall, told the BBC.

Sixty percent of sailors and 75 percent of Royal Marines are uncomfortable with the United Kingdom’s open policy toward gays in the military, London’s Sun newspaper reported Oct. 30.

Polling conducted by the military also found that 29 percent of ships’ hands and 47 percent of commandos object strongly to the policy.

Liberal Democrat defense spokesperson Paul Keetch told the paper: “If we want a 21st century fighting force, some of the 20th century attitudes need to be tackled. Just like our society, our armed forces have some way to go before there is full acceptance of human differences.”