Homophobic bullying a daily occurrence at the Met

In London today a gay former police inspector  told how he was forced out of his job after being unlawfully arrested by  two “homophobic” and drunk special constables in 2007.

Richard Hendron, 31, from Richmond has filed papers at the UK’s High Court  claiming that he was victimised by his police bosses and managers after the wrongful arrest. He said he was forced to leave London’s  Metropolitan Police  two years after the incident due to the constant bullying he endured on a a daily basis.

Was Cape Town Woman Shot For Being A Lesbian

A young woman has been gunned down right in front of her mother and her six year-old niece and activists say she may have been killed because she was a lesbian.

Phumeza Nkolonzi, 22, died after the unknown gunman kicked in the door to her home in the Cape Town township of Nyanga and shot three times without saying a single word. He fled after stealing Phumeza's mobile phone.

Over 1000 attend Stuart Walker's funeral.

  More than 1000 people attended the funeral of the murdered barman Stuart Walker last week.

It was a crime that attracted worldwide headlines due to the horrific way in which  Mr Walker died.  The young gay man was found “horrible” injuries at a lampost near an industrial estate in the Scottish town of Cumnock last month.  Not only had he been savagely beaten he had also been set on fire. 

Many of the Cumnock's  9000 inhabitants attended the funeral service for the man that was the “life and soul of our family” according to his sister.    She also said: “You were our ray of sunshine when you were here. And now you will forever be our brightest star, watching over us.”

The day of Stuart’s death, 22 October, was described as “one of the darkest in Cumnock’s recent history” by the vicar, Reverend Patterson.  A Leona Lewis track was played as around 600 mourners following the hearse to the town cemetery.

Earlier this month an  18-year-old who was arrested and has now been charged with murder, theft and attempting to pervert the course of justice.  Ryan Esquierdo, also from Cumnock, remains in police custody, however as yet there are no answer to question the family and the community most desperately seek,    why he had taken the life is this friendly and popular man.

 

Homophobic racist attack in Gosport.

 Hampshire Police are asking for help after an attack in Gosport.   They need to hear from anyone who witnessed the attack, in which a 28-year-old man and a 19-year-old woman were followed by three men along Gordon Road in Gosport at around 1.30 on the morning of 5th November.

It was when they got to the junction at Bury Road, the three men made homophobic comments to the 28 year-old man before two of them knocked him to the ground. He was kicked and punched.  The 19-year-old was racially abused before they managed to escape.  

Nightmares for two arson victims at Leicester gay pub

A man who was injured when he was doused with a flammable liquid and set on fire at a Leicester pub has said he still has nightmares about the attack.

A £5,000 reward has been offered after a serious assault at a Leicester pub which resulted in two men receiving burn injuries.

The incident took place at about 12.40am on Tuesday October 25 at the Rainbow and Dove Public House in Charles Street.   The fire ignited in the beer garden at the pub and two men, aged 21 and 20, were taken to Nottingham City Hospital. 

Murder hunt finds £150,000 in bags!

 Officers investigating the murder of a reclusive property developer have found £150,000 in cash at his two homes in London.  William John Saunderson-Smith, who was known as John, was found dead two weeks ago, having suffered a blunt trauma head injury.

The 58-year-old was known to frequent gay clubs in central London but police, who admit details on the circumstances leading to his death remain "sketchy", are not treating it as a homophobic crime.

The body of Mr Saunderson-Smith was found in Dewhurst Road, West Kensington, London, on the afternoon of October 21, reports the Press Assoc.

Man avoids prison in sex case.

A  20 year-old gay man has been spared jail this week after it emerged he had an affair with a boy six years his junior.
Davrian Smythe, 20, and the boy exchanged 178 pages of Facebook messages in less than four months and started meeting regularly for sex, Exeter Crown Court was told.

Gay Attacked in Reno

A gay man was violently attacked by homophobes in Reno, Texas, last weekend – being stabbed with a broken beer bottle and thrown onto a fire during the attack.
Burke Burnett (pictured) said he was at a party in the small town when four men suddenly attacked him, shouting “pussy-ass faggot,” “gay bitch” and “cock-sucking punk."
Speaking to the Dallas Voice newspaper, Burnett said it took 30 stitches to close stab wounds to his back and forearm, as well as a cut above his left eye.
He also sustained second-degree burns and severe bruises when he was then thrown onto a lit burn barrel.


According to reports, none of the other party-goers came to his assistance, except to drive him to the hospital when they saw he had burnt flesh peeling off of his body.
“They knew I was gay," he told the Voice. "I’m convinced they were trying to kill me. I’m scared for my life...I’m scared to go home. These guys have nothing to lose.”




Jeff Sugg, from the Reno Police Department, released a statement Monday saying: “The Reno Police Department is currently investigating an aggravated assault that took place last weekend.
"The investigation is ongoing and additional information will be provided when available.”

Stuart Walker, found burned and beaten by Scottish roadside.

Continue reading the main story

Stuart Walker was last seen alive two hours before his body was discovered

Stuart Walker from Cumnock, was found dead with "horrible injuries" near Caponacre Industrial Estate, Cumnock, just before 05:00 on Saturday.Police are investigating the final hours of a man whose burned body was found at the side of an Ayrshire road.

It is thought the 28-year-old had been beaten and burned.

Police are aware of reports about Mr Walker's sexuality and are trying to establish a motive. They said there was nothing to suggest a homophobic crime.

Det Insp John Hogg, of Strathclyde Police, said: "We are still working towards identifying a motive for this murder. I am aware of all the speculation in the media regarding Mr Walker and his death.

He came on to me, claims murderer.

A Lincolnshire teenager accused of murdering a pensioner says he lashed out because the older man came on to him.

Aiden Jackson, is accused of murdering David Cowley, 67, at Sleaford Rail Station in November last year.

Previously, the teenager could not be identified because of his age. He recently turned 18.

CCTV footage of homophobic attack

The Police in London have today released CCTV footage of a vicious homophobic attack  in Charing Cross on two gay men. 

The black and white film clearly shows the two victims, one aged 22 and the other 25, walking in the direction of Tottenham Court Road at around 1.30am in the morning of August 9th.

The film then shows a group of four men following them, and suddenly the younger man is hit from behind and knocked out.   The other victim pushes one of the attackers who punches him several times while shouting homophobic abuse.

Mr Gay UK PC charges dropped.

A gay policeman who won Mr Gay UK has had the last of a series of charges against him dropped.

PC Mark Carter, from Birkenshaw, was cleared in June of three counts of sexual assault and one count of rape.

The 28-year-old was due to face trial later this year for possessing the anabolic steroid stanozolol.

However, the Crown Prosecution Service said it was satisfied he was using the drug for medicinal purposes.

Forced to leave school for being lesbian.

A young lesbian student was encouraged to leave her Christian high school for being open about her homosexuality, it emerged this week.


Rachel Aviles was one of the most popular kids at The Master's School, a K-12 Christian school in Connecticut's West Simsbury, according to Hartford Courant. She also excelled at extra-curricula activities.


Immediately after announcing she was a lesbian, Aviles claims she was encouraged to withdraw – or face expulsion.   But when she came out to her teachers following a school trip, their relationship is said to have soured beyond repair.   
Aviles' former coach Heather Lodovico, spoke about the incident.   "She texted me and said something like 'They kicked me out,' and I made a joke, 'What, are you pregnant?' and she said, 'No, worse. I'm gay,'" said Lodovico.

The school's meadmaster, Jon Holley, has rejected opportunities to discuss the case because of "privacy concerns"

Salt Lake City see's three gay men attacked in two weeks.

Three gay men have been been attacked in the US state of Utah in the last two weeks.

Early on Thursday morning, 32-year-old Cameron Nelson was attacked in American Fork as he took out rubbish at a hair salon.

He was treated in hospital for minor injuries and says his attackers – two or three men – hurled anti-gay abuse at him.

Hate Crime Rise in UK

Recorded hate crime in England, Wales and Northern Ireland fell by seven per cent last year – but crimes based on sexual orientation, transgender status and disability rose.
 According to figures released by the Association of Chief Police Officers, recorded crimes based on faith and race decreased between 2009 and 2010. There were 51,920 recorded crimes based on race, religion, sexual orientation, transgender status and disability in 2009. Last year, this figure fell to 48,127.

Teenager ‘murdered gay man after promising him sex’

 

^{17-year-old Lincolnshire boy has been accused of murdering a 67-year-old man after arranging to have sex with him.}

^{Lincoln crown court heard that the teenager, who cannot be identified due his age, met David Cowley at Sleaford Rail Station in November last year and was driven by the older man to a remote spot at Ballast Pits off Mareham Lane.}

Choi trial opens with clash over White House protest rules

 

A lawyer representing gay former Army Lt. Dan Choi questioned five U.S. Park Police officers Monday over the validity of their decision to arrest Choi last November after he handcuffed himself to the White House fence to protest the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” law.

Defense attorney Robert Feldman asked the questions while cross-examining the officers during the first day of Choi’s trial at U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. Choi faces a possible sentence of six months in jail or a $5,000 fine if convicted on a misdemeanour charge of disobeying a lawful order to disengage from the fence.

Jury deliberations resume in Calif gay murder trial

 

Jury deliberations will resume Monday in the trial of a California teen accused of murdering a gay classmate at school three years ago.  Jurors began their discussions on Friday to determine whether 17-year-old Brandon McInerney is guilty of first-degree murder in the slaying of 15-year-old Larry King at E.O. Green Junior High School in Oxnard. The panel is expected to deliberate for only a couple of hours because a juror has a prior commitment.

Deliberations begin in slaying of gay student

 

Jurors began deliberating Friday in the murder trial of Brandon McInerney, the 17-year-old accused of shooting a gay classmate to death in 2008. The jury began weighing eight weeks of testimony in a trial that included nearly 100 witnesses. Many of those testifying were students and teachers at E.O. Green Junior High School in Oxnard who saw tensions on campus rising after 15-year-old Larry King began coming to school dressed in makeup and girl's boots.

Kentucky lesbian couple beaten and attacked with fireworks

 

 

A lesbian couple were attacked with fireworks during Independence Day celebrations in Kentucky, in what has been described as a hate crime attack.

Misty Turner and Brandy Standifer had lived openly in Harlam County with Turner’s 5-year-old son and a 3-year-old daughter for three years and had not previously experienced any problems in the community because of their sexuality.