Gay Marriage UK - Banned by law in church?

 

Gay weddings in the Churches of England and Wales will be explicitly banned under new laws on same-sex marriage, the Government has announced.

Culture Secretary Maria Miller said other religious organisations would be able to "opt in" and offer weddings to homosexual couples.

David Cameron has backed the idea of gay marriage in church but Mrs Miller said there was too much opposition.

Unveiling the Government's plans in the Commons, she promised that religious freedom would be protected via a "quadruple lock".

As well as the ban for the established churches, it will be illegal to force a religious organisation or individual to conduct a gay wedding or allow it to happen on their premises.

Top Doc says act less gay to pass exams!

A senior doctor has been accused of telling medical students to avoid acting gay if they want to pass their exams.

According to the Independent, Dr Una Coales made the recommendations in a guide setting out ways in which minority candidates can “neutralise bias”.

Journalist Patrick Strudwick reports that Dr Coales is now being investigated by the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP).

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.

Lesbian News Reader Jane Hill To Marry

Popular BBC Newsreader Jane Hill has confirmed  on Twitter that she will enter into a civil partnership with her partner, Sara.

Hill, 42, who came out publicly in 2009, has worked as a newsreader on the BBC’s 24-hour channel for 14 years and also continues to present broadcasts on BBC One

She wrote on Twitter: “Yes, Sara & I are getting hitched.”

She added: “Still a bit shocked I think! (and hungover).”

The Telegraph drew consternation from some quarters by including quotation marks in its headline “BBC newsreader Jane Hill is to ‘marry’ a woman cameraman”.

The paper’s celebrity news section said: “Having “outed” herself as homosexual in the BBC’s staff magazine, Jane Hill has now accepted a “marriage” proposal.

Fine for soccer player's anti-gay tweet.

The UK Football Association has fined a Crawley Town Footballer over a homophobic comment on his Twitter...




A Crawley Town FC midfielder posted a tweet on his twitter account last month reading: “Gays all over the tele what’s wrong with Britain! Sorry I’m #FullyHomophobic.”

This week, Hope Akpan was fined £1,200 after admitting the FA misconduct charge.

Mr Gay UK back!

Finalists Sam Kneen from Cardiff, Nik Chapman from Newcastle and Greg Lumley from Middlesbrough. Read their manifestos below.

Leeds has got used to the notion of a close connection with coronations, what with our Kate Middleton's elevation to Royal status, but the next on our civic agenda has nothing to do with the House of Windsor.

It's the crowning of Mr Gay UK, a post which has seen an interregnum for three years, but is now back with finalists from local heats who will be sorted into winner and runners-up next month, reports Martin Wainwright on the UK's Guardian newspaper's Northerner Blog.

I'm not quite sure what the Guardian's attitude, or that of its readers, is tobeauty contests but that's what the Comments thread is for, so please fire away. Certainly, this particular competition has a history which is every bit as colourful as Miss World's if not more so. I know you need to treat Wikipedia with caution, but its entry on Mr Gay UK is awash with curiosity-tempting links.

Liverpool's Gay Streets!

Liverpool has become the first city in Britain to have street signs emblazoned with the rainbow arch, the first of which was unveiled on Stanley Street at the heart of the city’s new gay quarter on Friday.

The signs, which appear along Stanley Street, Cumberland Street, Temple Lane, Eberle Street and Temple Street, have been introduced following the decision by the city’s council to officially recognise the Stanley Street Quarter as a gay area in August. The signage is one of the first visible initiatives to be implemented following this recognition.

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.  

Liverpool church linked to “home exorcisms” to cure gays

 The Frontline Church, Liverpool, which runs courses “helping Christian men and women out of homosexuality” has been described as being part of the “Dark Ages”.

The church’s courses are connected to the American LIFE Ministry, whose website instructs gay readers on home “exorcism”.

A document published on the Liverpool church’s website claimed people became gay as a result of “pain in childhood”.

Peter Burton Dies.

 One of gay journalism's most prominent early figures, Peter Burton, has died at the age of 66, reports the UK's PinkPaper.com can report.

The acclaimed writer and publisher is thought to have died from a heart attack.

Born in London's Hackney in 1945, he began to write for gay travel guide Spartacus in the late 1960s while running a separate magazine from a guesthouse in Brighton.

In 1973, he began writing for the broadsheet title Gay News and, by 1976, he was acting as PA to the editor Denis Lemon and serving as the paper's literary editor.

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.

Daily Mail's Melanie Phillips is the BIGOT of the year!

 Daily Mail columnist Melanie Phillips took on strong competition at Thursday night’s Stonewall Awards to become the charity’s Bigot of the Year.

Phillips was chosen by the Stonewall supporters as the figure to most notably have “gone out of their way to harm, hurt or snub lesbian, gay and bisexual people in the last year”.

In January, she accused the government of trying to brainwash children by including references to gays in lessons about censuses and population movement, and by teaching about the roles of the male in other species. Reports the UK's Pink News.

Praise for new gay film

After an extended tour of international film festivals, Andrew Haigh’s pitch-perfect gay love story comes home  to Britain festooned with praise and weighed down with acting awards for newcomers Tom Cullen and Chris New, reports the UK's Metro paper.

Cullen plays half-out lifeguard Russell, who hooks up with confident artist Glen on Friday night, only to discover that he is off to the US for good on Sunday evening.  That gives them just one weekend to fall in love…

Brighton FC calls for more action regarding anti-gay chanting.

The FA need to do more to address homophobic chanting in football grounds, argue fans of Brighton and Hove Albion FC.Many supporters of the club complain they experience hostility because the city is famous for being gay-friendly.

UK Hate Crimes Vigil Success

Two thousand people attended the third annual hate-crime vigil in London's Trafalgar Square, last weekend.

The event was organised by 17-24-30 in partnership with the Harvey Milk Foundation and came just days after Stuart Walker was found dead in Ayrshire, Scotland.

Sister vigils also took place around the country, with Brighton, Kettering, Leicester, Norfolk, Norwich, Plymouth, Sussex, Suffolk, and Stoke all hosting ceremonies.

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.

UK aid threat to anti gay nations

 

Great Britain has threatened countries which ban homosexuality with losing UK aid payments unless they reform, said UK Prime Minster David Cameron, at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Australia recently, writes Jason Shaw

Cameron says those receiving UK aid should "adhere to proper human rights". The news has been welcomed by gay and human rights campaigners around the UK, although some remain more than a little sceptical of far reaching and successful such threats will be.

The way David Cameron has threatened to withhold UK aid from governments that do not reform legislation banning homosexuality,  at first glance looks like a great positive leap forward.  However,  this threat applies to only one type of bilateral aid, general budget support, so would not reduce the overall amount of aid to any one country. Therefore, it’s highly likely that countries with oppressive regimes toward gay and lesbian people could and will still get aid from the UK government.  Money of the population of the UK feel could be better spent at home, especially considering the vast sums of money involved.      The ‘budget support’ second of aid the UK gives is just about 5% of the total annual aid budget of £7.46bn and has always been conditional direct assistance to governments.

Mr Cameron told BBC TV  that "British aid should have more strings attached",  however agreed that countries could not change immediately, and cautioned that there would be a "journey".  Some of the commonwealth nations are always slow to react to pressure from overseas, including that from those within the commonwealth.

"This is an issue where we are pushing for movement, we are prepared to put some money behind what we believe. But I'm afraid that you can't expect countries to change overnight.   Britain is one of the premier aid givers in the world. We want to see countries that receive our aid adhering to proper human rights.”

"We are saying that is one of the things that determines our aid policy, and there have been particularly bad examples where we have taken action.”  Cameron told how he had talked with "a number of African countries" and confirmed that more pressure had been applied by the UK’s Foreign Secretary William Hague.

Malawi is one of those countries that has already felt some of that pressure, it had £19 million of its budget support suspended over concerns about its attitude to gay rights,  poor progress on human rights and media freedoms.  Similar concerns have also been raised with the governments of Uganda and Ghana.

Read the full article -

Read more: http://technorati.com/lifestyle/article/uk-aid-threat-to-anti-gay/#ixzz1cT1Xr749






 

UK Gay News Round Up

A man has been arrested in connection with a serious assault in a Leicester gay pub.

The 28-year-old man is being held in custody, police said.   Two men were severely burned in the incident, which happened in the early hours of Tuesday morning at the Rainbow and Dove pub in Charles Street.

It is thought that a fire was started in the beer garden.   The victims, aged 22 and 20, remain in hospital. One suffered “life-changing” burn injuries to his face, while the other is being treated for burns to his hands.  Police say there is no evidence that the attack was motivated by homophobia or that the victims were specifically targeted.   Officers are still appealing for witnesses to the incident. (pinknews)

The fomer SNP leader Gordon Wilson has been voted off the board of Dundee’s Citizens Advice Bureau over his views against gay marriage.

Mr Wilson, 73, lost the support of members after his Christian group Solas demanded a referendum on whether gay couples should be allowed to wed.

Solas, which has partnered with the Free Church, said last month that gay marriage was an “attack on marriage” and would violate the rights of heterosexual people.

In a statement, the director of Dundee Citizens Advice Bureau, Mary Kinninmonth said: “It’s sad that the tremendous achievements and work of Dundee CAB has been overshadowed by an issue which called into question its commitment to equality of opportunity.

“The board of trustee directors is keen to confirm that it is fully committed to the aims and principles of the Citizens Advice Bureau and equality of opportunity for all. The work of the bureau remains unaffected.” (pinknews)

Former Savage Garden singer Darren Hayes says he does not want to be pigeon-holed as a gay artist.

The 39-year-old musician, who came out five years ago, told News.com.au: “I don’t want to be a gay or a straight artist. I don’t make gay records – I make records.   “I don’t want to feel like I have to be a poster child for anything other than being a great artist. I don’t take that on board as being my responsibility as a gay man, because I think it’s really limiting.”

Hayes, who had a civil partnership in 2006, said he was inspired by Michael Jackson as a child.  He explained: “For me as a kid growing up, I was gay and I didn’t even realise it, let alone accept it. I was told I was gay before I could even imagine it. I was incredibly bullied – ferociously bullied – as a child.  “I looked to this man that the whole world thought was a freak and I thought, ‘That’s normal’, and he was this hero to me. He taught me to sing.”  (pinknews)

An 18-year-old man is being questioned in connection with the death of a gay barman in Ayrshire.

Police said the teenager was being “detained” over the murder of 28-year-old Stuart Walker.   Mr Walker was found dead with “horrible” injuries near an industrial estate in Cumnock. He had been beaten and burned.  A spokeswoman for Strathclyde Police said: “We can confirm that an 18-year-old man is currently detained in connection with this inquiry.”

The man was taken into custody last night, reports said.  Mr Walker’s death is not currently being treated as motivated by homophobia, although police say they are keeping an open mind.  Few details of his injuries have been released but police said he had been subjected to an “extremely violent and sustained attack”.

Officers said the attack was not thought to be random and that it was likely Mr Walker knew his attackers. (pinknews)

Councillors in Glasgow unanimously support gay marriage proposals

Councillors in the Scottish city of Glasgow have unanimously backed government proposals for gay and lesbian marriage.   Councillors in the Scottish city of Glasgow have unanimously backed government proposals for gay and lesbian marriage.   The motion, proposed by Councillor Alex Dingwall, was agreed unanimously at a meeting of the full council yesterday.   Glasgow is believed to be the first council in Scotland to back the proposals for a change in the law.

According to the Glasgow Council website, they will now respond to the Scottish Government’s consultation on same sex marriage and religious ceremonies for civil partnerships.    Councillor Dingwall said: “I’m immensely happy that today Glasgow has continued our city’s proud record of opposing discrimination in all its forms and unanimously supporting the campaign for marriage equality.   “In doing so we have rejected those who want to tell our LGBT community in Glasgow that they are not equal, that they are wrong, that they are evil. We are happy to join with the Unitarians, Quakers, Metropolitan Church, Liberal Judaism and others who want to provide equal marriage.   “This city said it out, loud and proud today; freedom, liberty and equality are the birthright of every citizen. I hope other councils will now follow Glasgow’s lead.”  (pinkpaper)

Foreign Secretary William Hague urges greater LGBT rights at Commonwealth summit

Britain's Foreign Secretary's has called for greater LGBT rights during his address at the Commonwealth People's Forum in Australia.
 
William Hague, who is also the First Secretary of State and previously served as leader of the Conservative party from 1997 to 2001, made the comments ahead of the event's official opening in Perth.   Currently, more than 40 of the 54 Commonwealth member states continue to punish same-sex behaviour with criminal sanctions. Over half the world's countries that criminalise homosexuality belong to the Commonwealth.

Penalties include life imprisonment in Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Pakistan, Uganda, Bangladesh and Guyana.   
"It is a great pleasure to be here in Perth for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting," he said.    
"I congratulate Australia for their adept stewardship of this year’s CHOGM. It has been a particularly testing time for the country after floods wreaked devastation earlier this year and it is a tribute to them that their energy and commitment in hosting this CHOGM has not in any way diminished.

"This is in large part due to Australia’s Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd, who I know shares my vision for a stronger Commonwealth; acting as an even greater force for democracy and prosperity and speaking out on the most pressing issues of our time."       He then said: "The UK would like to see the Commonwealth do more to promote the rights of its lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender citizens.    "It is wrong in our view that these groups continue to suffer persecution, violence and discrimination within the Commonwealth and that many members still have laws criminalising homosexuality.

"A Commonwealth that lives up to its values is one where all its citizens are free to live their lives in a safe and just society."  (pinkpaper)




GT 400
GT magazine marks its landmark 400th issue with four celebratory covers featuring iconic gay men – sportsman Matthew Mitcham, actor Sir Ian McKellen and singer Joe McElderry – and the world's most famous female gay icon, Lady Gaga.

The issue celebrates 37 years of GT (Gay Times) from its humble beginnings in 1974 as HIM Magazine,  the UK’s first newsstand title for gay men.

The issue features the great and the good of 37 years of our collective ‘Gay Times’ including Matthew Mitcham, Sir Ian McKellen, Joe McElderry, Will Young, Matt Lucas, Brian Dowling, Paul O’Grady, Gok Wan, Chris Bryant MP, Mike Mills, Nick Bowles MP, Rikki Beadle-Blair, Jonathan Harvey, Scott Mills, John Barrowman and Patrick Wolf.

Kim Watson – Managing Director (Media and Marketing) highlights the importance of the 400th issue. 

“I’m delighted to be celebrating 400 issues of Gay Times, with such an eclectic mix of gay icons, moments and current affairs. Cramming 37 years of gay culture, news and history into one edition was never going to be an easy task. I’m looking forward to the events we have planned to help us celebrate our heritage, and this major milestone in publishing and gay business. I’m also really looking forward to seeing the first moving digital issue.”

The editor of GT, Darren Scott, said: "Reaching 400 issues of any magazine is an incredible achievement, but it's especially brilliant for us to be able to look back at how things have improved for gay people since GT started life in 1974. Seeing, and celebrating, how we've been able to help – in whatever small part – with those changes along the way is a fantastic feeling. 

"It's wonderful to be able to see, and show, that it does get better."
pinkpaper

 

Politicians make a mockery of democracy

Once again our politicians make a mockery of democracy, once more they are self serving individuals who care little for the thoughts of the population, and more about their own self importance and position.  This, the most recent debate and vote on the UK’s membership of the EU on only took place in parliament because over 100,000 people signed an online partition on the governments own’ website. Every petition that gains over that number is promised to be debated in the chamber.  These petitions, are by there very nature the voice, indeed they indicate the will of the people, people can really have a say in how decisions are made.  

Regardless of what you may think of the choices laid in the question on the UK’s membership of the European Union, it was a wonderful example of how the view of the people,  the voices of population,  the backbone of the country, were being heard and could really have a say in the running of the country.  It was a wonderful and precious symbol of democracy in progress, a beacon of light, something to be proud of,  well at least for a while, until the views of the very few decided that we the people shouldn’t have a voice, that our views really don’t matter and that this whole petition malarkey is a farce.   Not one of the single parties in the house allowed their members to make up their own minds, its not surprising that Cameron’s Conservatives instigated a three line whip to ensure their MP’s voted against the motion.  Cameron said no and that was that – screw the will of the people.