Marc Shoffman was chief correspondent of PinkNews.co.uk between 2005 and 2006. He was online editor between 2006 and 2007.
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24 October 2006Gay row spreads to Australian Anglicans 3 The Anglican row over homosexuality appears to be spreading from the US and Europe all the way to Australia after the Archbishop of Sydney reportedly received an "anguished letter" from another country pleading to become part of the more conservative church.It comes after the leader of the Episcopal Diocese of Connecticut, Bishop Andrew Smith, backed same sex blessings in the state where civil unions are allowed, but now conservative factions of the church have had enough. -
24 October 2006Model documents gay army abuse 1 Gay model Reichen Lehmkuhl has revealed the perils of the US military's Don't Ask Don't Tell policy after documenting the bullying and homophobic remarks he had to deal with while hiding is sexuality in the US Air Force.The boyfriend of N'Sync's Lance Bass, was a captain in the Air Force, but had to keep his sexuality secret amongst an 'institutionalised acceptance of homophobia.' -
24 October 2006Beenie Man defends anti-gay lyrics by blaming Israel 5 Controversial rapper Beenie Man has denied he is homophobic by turning to anti-Zionism.Beenie Man is regularly criticised by gay campaigners for the use of the anti-gay lyrics in his songs, he has previously blamed it on Jamaican culture, but has now accused Israel of being even worse on gay rights. -
24 October 2006EU expansion rules risk more rough sleeping + Westminster City Council has warned that new government rules on workers from Bulgaria and Romania could lead to an explosion of rough sleeping on London's streets, impacting on popular gay areas such as Soho and the West End.The council fears that new rules will not discourage thousands from arriving in the UK in the hope of securing a visa, and ending up destitute when they fail. -
23 October 2006Gay activists criticise “Catholic Taleban” 3 A Catholic activist in Scotland has been condemned as a "modern-day witch hunter" by the Gay and Lesbian Humanist Association (GALHA) after she harassed a priest over allegations of homosexuality.According to this week's Catholic publication The Tablet, Patricia McKeever, of radical Christian group Catholic Truth, has been "harassing and intimidating" Fr Ed Hone, a Redemptorist at St Patrick's in Edinburgh. -
23 October 2006African leader backs gay marriage + African National Congress Deputy Leader Jacob Zuma appears to be mending his fledgling relationship with the country's gay community after backing same sex marriage.Mr Zuma, who was criticised last month for calling the unions offensive to God, has now pledged his support for the law ahead of a vote in the South African Parliament. -
23 October 2006Campaigners push for Oz gay union law 2 The Victorian human rights group, Civil Union Action! (CUA), has praised the Australian Capital Territory Government's commitment to reintroduce a slightly modified version of the recently overturned Civil Unions Act 2006, and has urged the state's Premier Steve Bracks to follow their lead.The ACT Attorney-General Simon Corbell has told the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission's 'Same-Sex: Same Entitlements' inquiry that there are "no grounds" not to formally recognise same-sex relationships. -
23 October 2006Polish media outs homophobic PM + It is often said that most homophobes are themselves closet cases, so it should come as no surprise that leaked secret service documents in Poland have suggested that Prime Minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski may be gay.Mr Kaczynski, who is known for his opposition to gay rights since attacking same sex marriage earlier this year, was investigated in 1992 as officials aimed to establish his sexual orientation, the documents reveal. -
23 October 2006Gay charity refutes Beeb’s ‘gay workplace’ + Gay charity Stonewall has cast doubts on reports that the BBC's commitment to diversity has seen it overrun with lesbian and gay employees.It comes after the Mail on Sunday reported that the channel recently had an "impartiality summit" where issues of bias and representation were discussed. -
23 October 2006Support for Irish gay unions grows + As one Irish couple aim to get their Canadian marriage recognised by Irish courts, it appears that two-thirds of the country's electorate have sympathy for their plight.Katherine Zappone and Ann Louise Gilligan are currently awaiting a High Court decision on the status of their marriage in Ireland, and a survey by the Sunday Tribune and Millward Brown will bring great comfort to the couple after it showed increasing support for gay and lesbian couples having the same legal and financial rights as married couples. -
19 October 2006Netherlands grants asylum to gay Iranians + Gay Iranian asylum seekers in the Netherlands will not be sent back to their home country.Reacting to pressure from human rights groups, Dutch Immigration Minister Rita Verdonk has granted gays and lesbians from Iran special asylum rights. -
19 October 2006Potential Prime Minister criticises gay equality delay 18 A potential candidate for Prime Minister has criticised government ministers for delaying new equality legislation.John McDonnell, who earlier this year declared his intention to stand for the Labour party leadership when Tony Blair relinquishes the post, expressed alarm at reports that government figures such as the Prime Minister and Communities Secretary Ruth Kelly were caving into pressure from Christian groups to allow exemptions in the new Sexual Orientation Regulations. -
19 October 2006Brokeback bids reach $80k + Bidding for cowboy boots, hats and other memorabilia from gay love story Brokeback Mountain is coming to a close with top prices hitting over $80,000 so far.The auction to raise money for the Human Rights Campaign's (HRC) work, ends tomorrow and has seen an "overwhelming response." -
19 October 2006Mayor wins Nazi jibe appeal + London Mayor Ken Livingstone has won an appeal against a finding that he brought his office into disrepute after making controversial comments comparing a Jewish journalist to a concentration camp guard.In February the adjudication panel of the Standards Board for England ruled that the Mayor brought his office into disrepute when he acted in an "unnecessarily insensitive" manner following a reception held commemorating 20th anniversary of Chris Smith being the first MP to reveal he was gay. -
19 October 2006Gay equality delay bad for healthcare 18 Care workers have expressed concern at the delay of the Sexual Orientation Regulations after it was announced that the new laws will not come into force until April 2007 because of the huge number of responses to the legislation.The Liberal Democrat's Women and Equality spokesperson Lorely Burt has been leading calls for the minister to step down after reports that the new Equality Act may be amended to allay fears of Christian groups, her demands were echoed by the Gay and Lesbian Humanist Association. -
18 October 2006Gay police oppose advert ruling 10 PinkNews.co.uk ExclusiveThe Gay Police Association (GPA) has expressed outrage at the decision of an advertising watchdog that it had insufficient evidence to back up a controversial advert linking religious beliefs to homophobic attacks.The Advertising Standards Authority yesterday ruled that the advert which appeared in the diversity supplement of The Independent to coincide with EuroPride last July may have caused offence to Christians and the statistics in the advert had not yet been verified. -
18 October 2006Homophobic incidents ranked third biggest US hate crime + Homophobic attacks are still a big problem in America, human rights campaigners have warned after official statistics revealed that incidents based on sexual orientation were the third largest hate crime in the USA last year.The Federal Bureau of Investigation figures released this week show that homophobic assaults made up 14.2 percent of over 7000 hate crimes, behind race and religious hatred. -
18 October 2006Gay voters given election guidance 3 As the US population prepares for the Congressional elections, a gay rights group has prepared a document helping the LGBT community decide who to vote for.The Human Rights Campaign (HRC) has compiled a scorecard that outlines how they have voted on GLBT issues during the 109th Congress. -
18 October 2006Ex-Chief Rabbi attacks gay pride march 24 A controversial ultra-orthodox Israeli Rabbi has joined protests against the WorldPride march in Jerusalem.Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, spiritual leader of the Shas political party and former Sephardic Chief Rabbi, has given his backing to the rally against the parade describing it as "filth." -
18 October 2006Christian handbook snubs gays + A Christian directory has been accused of homophobia after snubbing gay members of the faith.The UK Christian Handbook, which is produced every two years and provides contacts for organisations and services related to the religion, has reportedly snubbed advertising requests from the Lesbian and Gay Christian Movement (LGCM.)
