Articles written by the PinkNews.co.uk 'staff writer' are authored by one or more of the PinkNews.co.uk editorial team.
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14 February 2006Lesbian gay and bisexual support for Shropshire 2 A gay youth group is to be launched in Shropshire to help young people cope with homosexual issues.The Terrence Higgins Trust (THT), an HIV and sexual health charity, has started an organisation for lesbian, gay and bisexual (LGB) young people. It will add to a number of services run from the charity's new office in Wellington. -
14 February 2006Christian groups helping gay people “recover” 3 Two Christian groups who say they help people "recover from homosexuality," are holding an event in St Louis, USA.Exodus International, had billboards installed along St. Louis roads last week. Focus on the Family, the other group, will host the meeting Feb. 25 at the First Evangelical Free Church in Manchester.The billboards say, "I questioned homosexuality. Change is possible. Discover how," and lists the Web site for Exodus. -
13 February 2006Scotland holds three gay weddings a day + At least three gay weddings have taken place in Scotland every day since the Civil Partnerships Act came into force.A survey by Scotland on Sunday has revealed a big demand for the civil partnership ceremonies and registrations, with 173 taking place in the past 53 days.The paper reports that another 385 homosexual couples have booked registrations to take place over the next three months. -
13 February 2006NFL accused of homophobia + One of only three NFL players to ever publicly reveal his homosexuality says the league discriminated against him by refusing to let him into the Super Bowl earlier this month.Former New York Giants offensive lineman Roy Simmons said he wasn't granted media access to the game because he is gay and HIV positive, and because he has said other pro football players are closeted homosexuals. -
13 February 2006Homophobic killer gets reduced sentence + A Supreme Court judge has axed five years off the 40-year sentence of Sean Burke, who was convicted of beating a gay man to death with a fireplace log in 1998.Judge Raymond Norko modified Burke's sentence for good behaviour, despite opposition from family members of the victims. Burke, who had been scheduled to be released in 2017, is now up for release in 2012. -
13 February 2006Airline refuse to let gay couple take travel prize + A travel group violated California's anti-discrimination laws when it refused to allow a gay couple to use tickets an employee won, the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California said in a letter urging the company to change its policies.The ACLU sent the letter on behalf of La Mirada resident Rob Anders, a long-time airline industry employee, who won round-trip domestic airfare on Northwest Airlines for him and a companion at his company holiday party last December. But when he tried to redeem the tickets for himself and his registered domestic partner, Northwest refused. -
10 February 2006Gay group question US Aids budget 2 A gay human rights group has raised uncertainty over President George Bush's budget proposal in regards to HIV and AIDS, released this month.The Human Rights Campaign believe his ideas present a mixed bag on the illness with modest funding increases in care and treatment programmes, additional cuts in Medicaid, and an increase in abstinence only programmes. -
10 February 2006Pete Burns announces gay marriage plans + Eighties pop star and celebrity big brother contestant, Pete Burns announced his engagement to boyfriend Michael Simpson, last night.The Dead or Alive front man broke the news in a televison interview with Richard and Judy on Channel 4. The couple showed off Vivienne Westwood diamante skull design rings.Mr Burns, who had a hit single in the 1980s with You Spin Me Round, declared how in love they were on the chat show, and confirmed they intend to have a same sex partnership. -
10 February 2006Gay group wants pride march back on calendar + A Northern Ireland gay rights group is protesting plans to scrap Belfast's Gay Pride March from this year's council calendar advertising local events.The Daily Ireland reports that the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) attempted to remove mention of the Mardi Gras style event from thousands of booklets due to be posted to residents. -
10 February 2006Legal lawsuit seeking gay marriage + Lambda Legal, an organisation committed to achieving full recognition gay civil rights, filed its opening brief in the New York Court of Appeals this week, appealing a December 2005 ruling which said that limiting marriage to people of different sexes is not unconstitutional.That ruling reversed the trial court decision handed down in February 2005 that found that same-sex couples have a constitutional right to marry. -
10 February 2006Florida gay couples push for legal protection 1 An anti-gay proposed Constitutional amendment that failed to gather enough signatures to be placed on the 2006 ballot should be thrown out altogether because it deceives voters, the American Civil Liberties Union argued before the Florida Supreme Court this week.The measure, which anti-gay groups have vowed to place on the 2008 Presidential ballot, would ban equal marriage rights, permanently block civil unions and threaten existing domestic partnership protections across the state. -
10 February 2006Adam Sandler to lead gay comedy + Adam Sandler is set to play a fireman in a gay comedy alongside Kevin James, about a fake same sex marriage.The film, called I Now Pronounce You Chuck And Larry is a reversed version of The Birdcage, where a gay cabaret owner and his drag queen companion agree to put up a false straight front so that their son can introduce them to his fiancé's right-wing moralistic parents. -
10 February 2006Good Night, And Good Luck + Considering that George Clooney's career started off with a pile of awful nonsense like Return to Horror High and Return of the Killer Tomatoes, and that his return to the big screen after finally getting famous with TV hospital drama ER was blighted by the disastrous campness of Batman and Robin and tedious nonsense of The Peacemaker, his successes of the last few years are nothing short of amazing.Not content with reviving both his own and director Steven Soderbergh's careers with a wonderfully charming performance in 1998's rom/com crime caper Out of Sight, he has gone on to turn in some genuinely great performances in a succession of modern classics. -
10 February 2006Aeon Flux 1 In 1991 MTV introduced a new adult-themed cartoon to its Liquid Television series, a dialogue-free short packed with stylishly frenetic action and centred around a girl in a leather bikini who got killed every episode on some kind of impossible mission. By 1995, this short cartoon had been expanded into a series of half-hour shows, now with dialogue and with the fetish gear-clad heroine actually managing to survive. -
10 February 2006The Fog + In 1980, writer/director John Carpenter scared the bejeezus out of everyone with his zombie ghost story The Fog - where a coastal town is terrorised by a strange mist and the loping masses of long-dead, cursed sailors. Its simplicity was a large part of its charm - it had no pretences to be anything other than a zombie horror B-movie, yet, by the standards of the time, its pacing and atmosphere were perfectly accomplished. -
9 February 2006Man jailed for killing gay admirer + A man who killed a gay admirer by stabbing him six times in the face has been jailed for lifeDaniel Doherty, 24, was found guilty of murdering of Stephen Hewitt, who was found with six knife wounds to his face, including two to his eye sockets, at his flat in Kenneth House. He was ordered to serve a minimum of 15 years by judge Michael Pert, at Nottingham Crown Court. -
9 February 2006Jude Law in biopic of gay Beatles’ manager + Actor Jude Law is reported to be lined up to play gay Beatles' manager Brian Epstein, in a film about the music mogul's life.The Liverpool Echo revealed two years ago, Mr Law, star of Alfie - wanted to play the part of the Beatles man and said he had been told he looked like the famous manager.The movie, described as a "quirky, hallucinogenic biopic", is expected to be premiered in Liverpool during Capital of Culture year 2008, according to the paper. -
8 February 2006Gay bar attacker shoots himself 1 An 18-year-old suspect in a gay bar attack in Massachusetts shot himself over the weekend in a shootout with Arkansas police officers.Bristol District Attorney Paul Walsh Jr. said Jacob D. Robida, who was wanted on suspicion of attacking several members of the New Bedford gay bar, Puzzles last week, turned a gun on himself after shooting and killing a lone police officer during a routine traffic stop on Saturday. -
8 February 2006Rise in homophobic assualts in Northern Ireland 3 Continuing violent attacks against the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community across Northern Ireland has been met with a lack of action from local authorities, forcing many to leave the country, according to a report from Gay.com.Ireland's gay activist group Rainbow Project believes Donegal is losing many lesbians and gay people who believe they are no longer able to live in the area. The area has seen a number of violent attacks over the last two years, the latest of which resulted in a man losing an eye. -
8 February 2006Warrant issued for gay film icon + An arrest warrant has been filed for gay film icon Natasha Lyonne, according to reports in the New York Times.The paper states that a bench warrant has been issued for Miss Lyonne's arrest - the third in a year - for failure to appear in court on charges of criminal mischief, harassment and trespassing.Charges were filed by a former neighbour who alleged the actress threatened to harm her, trashed her apartment and threatened to molest her dog.
