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20 February 2008Australian military to march in Mardi Gras parade 2 Members of the Australian Defence Forces will take part in the Sydney Mardi Gras parade for the first time this year.Permission was granted by the Chief of the Defence Force earlier this month and 60 marchers, comprising servicemen and women and non-uniformed personnel, and a float, will participate in the world-famous parade on March 1st.They have not been given permission to wear uniform. -
20 February 2008Man arrested on suspicion of cruising murder 9 A 29-year-old man handed himself in at a police station earlier today and has been arrested on suspicion of murdering a 50-year-old gay man.The murder suspect will be questioned by detectives about a knife attack in a public toilet in Walton-on-Thames in Surrey yesterday afternoon.The victim was stabbed at 3pm yesterday in toilets near Walton Bridge that police said are "a popular meeting place for men." -
20 February 2008Israeli politician claims gays cause earthquakes 14 An outspoken member of Israel's parliament has said recent earthquakes that have hit the country are a consequence of gay rights laws.Shlomo Benizri, who is a member of the ultra-Orthodox Shas party, was speaking in a Knesset (parliament) debate on earthquake preparedness.After reading passages from the Old Testament, he said that in his view one cause of earthquakes is that "the Knesset gives legitimacy, to sodomy. -
21 February 2008Obama’s momentum is a serious challenge to Clinton + In politics, the operative rule to live by is -"it ain't over till it's over" — and the Democratic national convention is still six months away. -
21 February 2008Black US state legislator comes out + Democratic Connecticut State Representative Jason Bartlett made the decision on Thursday to come out publicly as a gay man.Bartlett says he has always preferred to keep his personal life private, but felt the announcement was needed to quell the rumours about his sexual orientation.Bartlett's coming out makes him unique in the political world as the first openly gay black state legislator. -
21 February 2008Stonewall advert vandalised in Blackburn 5 One of 600 billboard adverts questioning homophobia in schools that have been displayed across the country has been attacked by vandals.The poster in the town of Blackburn, was "covered in abusive graffiti," the Lancashire Telegraph reports.Advertising space in England, Scotland and Wales was donated to gay equality organisation Stonewall by Titan Outdoor Advertising Ltd.The message - 'Some people are gay. -
21 February 2008Malta’s gay group ask for equal rights + The gay, lesbian, bisexual and trans communities in the tiny EU nation of Malta have presented a petition asking for a range of measures to be introduced to protect them through the law, and have received the backing of a fringe political party.Alternattiva Demokratika leader Harry Vassallo said yesterday that the recognition of gay rights would be a step forward, according to the Times of Malta.He said he was supporting the petition organised by the Malta Gay Rights Movement. -
21 February 2008Toilet murder victim is named 9 A gay man who was fatally stabbed in a public toilet in Surrey known as a cruising spot has been named as Peter Jeffrey Akers.The 50-year-old from Wallington was attacked with a large carving knife at around 3pm on Tuesday in toilets near Walton Bridge that police said are "a popular meeting place for men."He was taken by air ambulance to St Peter's Hospital in Chertsey where he died at 5.30pm. -
21 February 2008DUP minister’s gay rugby comments “nasty and spiteful” 7 A Northern Ireland minister responsible for sport has been accused of playing party politics with his recent attack on a gay rugby team.Edwin Poots said earlier this week that he "cannot fathom" why such a team is necessary and said it was a form of "apartheid."Yesterday the executive director of the cross-community Alliance Party claimed that Mr Poots' comments were made because his party, the DUP, lost a recent council by-election. -
21 February 2008Lesbian may run for mayor of New York City + A recent speech by Christine Quinn, the Speaker of New York City's council, has sparked rumours that she may run for Mayor.Ms Quinn, a Democrat, is one of the most prominent lesbian politicians in America.In her State of the City address earlier this month she said: "I want every New Yorker to hear me when I say: We are ready."Various commentators have interpreted this to be a clear signal she intends to run for Mayor of the city. -
21 February 2008Presidential candidate denies affair with lobbyist + John McCain, the US Senator from Arizona who is the frontrunner to receive the Republican party nomination for President, today rejected media reports that he had an extra-marital affair.The New York Times yesterday claimed he had a relationship with Vicki Iseman nine years ago when Senator McCain was also running for President."I'm very disappointed in the article. -
21 February 2008Gays holding hands on TV upset Irish viewers 4 The provocative sight of two men holding hands while explaining why they favour same-sex marriage over civil partnerships triggered a flood of complaints to an Irish broadcaster yesterday."Switchboards at TV3 were jammed with irate callers when Mark McCarron and Paul Kenny became the first male couple to display their affections on the Irish airwaves," reports the Irish Daily Mirror. -
21 February 2008HIV+ gay men at “increased risk” from smoking diseases 2 HIV positive gay men are more likely to suffer from a variety of smoking related illnesses than HIV negative smokers, a gay health charity has claimed.Gay Men Fighting AIDS (GMFA) said: "evidence for this has been growing over the last few years, and these increased risks often have nothing to do with a weakened immune system."The group points to an increase in the number of cases of 'non-AIDS defining cancers' among people who are living with the virus. -
21 February 2008Gay stars present awards at Brits + Actor Sir Ian McKellen and singer Will Young were among the presenters at last night's Brit awards.Sir Ian joked that he had only come along so he could meet singer Mika.Boy band Take That, who began their career more than a decade ago playing in gay clubs, won the awards for best British live act and best British single. -
22 February 2008LGBT Community Sweep Up Theatre Awards + The LGBT community has swept up major prizes at the annual whatsonstage.com awards - the only theatre awards decided by the public.Hairspray, which features male actor Michael Ball in the lead female role, won seven awards - including best new musical, best director and best actress in a musical. -
22 February 2008Cry for Help from Refugee Sheds Light on Desperation of Gays in Iran 30 A poignant plea for help from a gay Iranian refugee in Malaysia is shedding light on the desperation and fear experienced by homosexuals in Iran and those who have fled their home country to seek refugee status in other countries.The letter, penned by a young gay man calling himself Sepehr, contains a heartbreaking tale of life as a homosexual in Iran and the suffering caused by the necessity of fleeing to another land to escape persecution and possible death. -
22 February 2008China Launches First HIV Prevention Programme for Gay Men + China's Ministry of Health is set to implement its first ever national programme to curb the spread of HIV/AIDS among gay men, its 2008 work agenda revealed yesterday.The programme marks a subtle new phase in the one-party-state's attitudes towards homosexuality, which - while not overtly discriminatory - have followed the 'Three nos' criteria since sodomy was decriminalised in 1997: No approval, no disapproval and no promotion. -
22 February 2008Lesbian Police Officer Wins Day in Court 1 A lesbian police officer's lawsuit against her police department can go trial, a Los Angeles judge has said.Shelby Feldmeier claims male officers made frequent and offensive remarks about homosexuality while she was working as a probationary officer at Wilshire Station.Superior Court Judge Edward A. -
22 February 2008US Big Brother Housemate’s Gay Porn Past Revealed + America's Big Brother 9: Till Death Do Us Part has only been on air a few weeks, but already the hope for the first ever gay "showmance" seems to have been dashed.Sexy Neil Garcia was forced to leave the show—and his partner Joshuah Welch because of still unnamed personal reasons outside of the house. -
22 February 2008Irish Poet Under Fire For ‘Sexual Grooming’ 2 The famous Irish poet, Cathal O Searcaigh a staple of second level school syllabuses - has been accused of the "sexual exploitation and grooming" of 16 year old Nepalese boys who he befriended and assisted financially in their education.Allegations about the poet's relationship with the young boys surfaced after the screening of Fairytale of Kathmandu, a documentary on Mr Searcaigh's charitable work in Nepal made by a former friend of his.
Articles from February 2008
Top stories
US: Illinois equal marriage group pledges $500,000 effort to promote same-sex marriage+
South Australia to debate motion to formally congratulate New Zealand for marriage equality1
US: Advocates hope to get equal marriage question on 2014 Arizona ballot+
US: Russian gay people urge boycott of 2014 Russian Winter Olympics2
Archbishop of York: Would the Church of England rather bless ‘sheep and trees’ than gay couples?23
European Parliament express concerns on lack of gay rights provision in trade treaty1
US: Baltimore Pride features mass same-sex wedding+
Lord Hylton anti-equal marriage ‘union’ amendment withdrawn14
Ian McKellen, Elton John and David Furnish become new faces of Pride London2
Lord Dear tells PinkNews reader: ‘I want to improve the equal marriage bill and I’m not homophobic’24
- Archbishop of York: Would the Church of England rather bless 'sheep and trees' than gay couples?23
US: Gay Catholics to turn their backs on Cardinal who compared Pride to Ku Klux Klan rally13
New 'Gay Marriage No Thanks' group launches with 'ten good reasons' to oppose equal marriage82- US: Russian gay people urge boycott of 2014 Russian Winter Olympics2
Lib Dems' Baroness Williams to support anti-equal marriage 'union' amendment52
Live blog: Highlights from the House of Lords committee on same-sex marriage14
Ricky Martin: I wish I could come out as gay again, 'it's just beautiful'18
In Photos: As One in the Park 201317- South Australia to debate motion to formally congratulate New Zealand for marriage equality1
- Lord Hylton anti-equal marriage 'union' amendment withdrawn14
Daily Mail's Andrew Pierce: I'm called a 'homophobe' and 'Uncle Tom' for opposing equal marriage103
Lord Tebbit: I wouldn't have been surprised if Jimmy Savile was homosexual84-
New 'Gay Marriage No Thanks' group launches with 'ten good reasons' to oppose equal marriage82
Mixed martial arts fighter: 'Equal marriage could lead to incest, bestiality and child marriages'69
Maria Miller tables Public Order Act amendment protecting critics of equal marriage64
Tory Lord Mawhinney tables 'traditional marriage' amendment for equal marriage bill62
Lord Hylton tables new wrecking amendment for the equal marriage bill61-
Lord Dear proposes new amendment to equal marriage bill concerning 'traditional marriage'60
Gay rights opponent Tory MP Edward Leigh knighted in Queen's Birthday Honours list56
French mayor: 'I will go to the gallows' before performing a same-sex wedding53
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