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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29 March 2006High suicide risk amongst gay men + A mental health report will highlight a prevalence of self harm, suicide contemplation and poor mental health amongst gay and bisexual men in Northern Ireland, at a Belfast conference today.The three year study, Out on Your Own, conducted by the Rainbow Project, reveals a quarter of gay men have attempted suicide, two thirds have considered it and 30 per cent have self harmed. -
29 March 2006Moscow mayor asked to “review” gay pride ban + The Council of Europe has called on the mayor of Moscow to reinstate the city's gay pride parade.President of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities at the Council, Giovanni di Stasi asked Yuri Luzhkov to "review," his policy and allow the gay community to march in Russia in May as it is an entitlement according to human rights conventions of free expression and protection from discrimination. -
29 March 2006Gay blood welcomed in Portugal + The Portuguese gay community are now free to donate blood, after officials announced new blood screening tests last weekend.Officials have deemed a ban on gay blood donors as irrelevant after the introduction of new technology which will help detect HIV infected blood. -
29 March 2006Handbook to promote gay health issues + A research specialist is hoping to improve knowledge of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) issues amongst health providers in a recently published handbook.Michael Shankle a sexual orientation and health expert at the Pennsylvania Prevention Project edited The Handbook of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Public Health: A Practitioner's Guide to Service to prepare medical professionals for when they deal with the gay community. -
29 March 2006Undeveloped HIV drug appears in gay community + Scientists are pushing through a new AIDs treatment in reaction to fears that an immunity may be built up after reports of gay men already getting hold of the anti viral drug.Medical experts at the US Centre for Disease Control and Prevention believe they have developed a drug which could prevent the spread of HIV, since recently successful tests onmonkeys.
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29 March 2006Scotland considers adoption for gay couples + Gay couples in Scotland will be given adoption and fostering rights if upcoming legislation is passed by parliament.The Adoption Bill, which was produced yesterday, aims to counter a significant reduction in families available for vulnerable children by allowing gay and unmarried couples to adopt. -
29 March 2006Polish protests at gay bar closure + A former gay club in Warsaw which was due to be closed last weekend has been hijacked by 200 peaceful protestors aiming to preserve the "haven of left wing thought."Poland's President Lech Kaczynski, who is known for his anti gay views along with his brother, Law and Justice Party leader, Jaroslav, purchased the building and has no plans to continue using it as a premises for popular gay club and bar, Le Madame. -
27 March 2006Homophobic lecturer suspended + The university lecturer at the centre of racist, homophobic and misogynistic comments, has been suspended pending disciplinary action.Dr Frank Ellis, an academic at the University of Leeds, was blasted by students and minority groups last week after telling the student magazine that homosexuality is wrong and should be "weeded out of theological seminaries and that "there is a persistent gap in average black and white average IQ." -
27 March 2006ACLU defends blogger’s right to parody “ex-gay” group + The American Civil Liberties Union has come to the defence of a Californian man who received a cease-and-desist letter after posting a parody of a billboard advertisement for so-called "reparative therapy" on his website."The moment I saw the billboards last September, I was deeply offended. The inspiration for the parody I created came to me instantly. How would straight people feel if their very being, their sense of self was being so overtly disparaged?" said Justin Watt, a blogger from Santa Rosa, California. -
27 March 2006Scottish gay bars ready as smoking ban ignites 5 Smoking has now been stubbed out across bars and pubs in Scotland.The ban, which came into force yesterday to a mixed reception, applies to public places including restaurants, bars and clubs.A spokesman from gay establishment, the Claremont Bar in Edinburgh told PinkNews.co.uk, "We have been ready since the end of January, it is no big shock to us." -
27 March 2006Brokeback toy boys 6 An internet blogger has caused online tears, and praise after designing action figures dedicated to the gay cowboy movie, Brokeback Mountain.Jedi Doug, an action figure enthusiast from Canada, constructed the models by hand from other toys, and has featured them on his website along with models from other programmes such as Angel and Napoleon Dynamite. -
17 March 2006Gay affair break up captures the nation + A woman whose engagement fell apart after discovering her fiancé frequently visited gay saunas, has generated a hugely emotive and informative debate in a UK broadsheet.The case of Iris Scott, who just days before her marriage discovered that her boyfriend had betrayed her with sexual encounters with gay men, has caught the heart and minds of readers of The Times. -
17 March 2006Iraqi Ayatollah sparks outrage after decreeing death to gays 2 A gay rights group will hold an anti war protest in London this weekend after a senior Iraqi Shia leader called for homosexuals to be killed in the ""worst, most severe way," according to gay rights activists.Outrage claim that Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani of Iraq is encouraging the murder of gays and lesbians through his website where he replied to a question on sodomy and lesbianism saying it is punishable by death. -
17 March 2006Gay officer heats up tube shooting debate 8 A senior gay police officer has revealed he may pursue legal action against the Metropolitan police to defend claims that a member of Met chief Sir Ian Blair's private team knew the Stockwell Tube shooting victim Charles de Menezes was an innocent man just six hours after his death.Deputy Assistant Commissioner, Brian Paddick believes he is being accused of lying after the Met said that rumours of a senior officer knowing Mr Menezes was wrongfully shot just six hours after his death were untrue. -
17 March 2006St Patrick’s organiser compares gays to Nazis 2 The organiser of today's St Patrick's Day parade in New York has created further controversy over banning gay groups from the march after comparing Irish gays to Neo-Nazis.In an interview with the Irish Times, John Dunleavy, said: "If an Israeli group wants to march in New York, do you allow neo-Nazis into their parade? If African Americans are marching in Harlem, do they have to let the Ku Klux Klan into their parade?" -
16 March 2006Gays banned from St Patrick’s Day 2 As big green hats and Guinness cans begin to fill the world's biggest cities for this year's St Patrick's Day, it has emerged that gay groups have been rejected from taking part in the New York parade.The annual Irish celebration which is embraced by all cultures irrelevant of the nationality, has been thrown into a gay rights debate after the chairman of the Manhattan parade, John Dunleavy, blocked an approach from New York's gay council leader, Christine Quinn, to allow gay groups to join the march.
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16 March 2006Czech gays given marriage rights 1 The Czech lower parliament has overruled a presidential veto on gay marriage to allow same sex couples to register their relationships, gain access to each other's health information and raise children.Czech Republic President Vaclav Klaus had originally rejected the bill claiming it increased the state's power to interfere with individual lives and inhibited on the traditional views of family. -
16 March 2006Gay man challenges inheritance laws + A gay man in South Africa is to contest a law which stops him inheriting his dead partner's estate.Mark Gory had a gay marriage ceremony with his partner who later died without leaving a will. His lawyer claims that as there are no children, Mr Gory should be seen as the surviving spouse and therefore the legal heir. -
16 March 2006Support increases for gay pride ban + Two senior political figures have joined supporters of the Moscow Gay Pride ban.Jerusalem's acting mayor, Yigal Amedi and Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow and All Russia, have backed Moscow mayor Yury Luzhkov's decision to ban the event. -
16 March 2006Gay Navy officers to march with pride 2 Navy officers may be allowed to wear their uniforms at this year's EuroPride event in London, according to newspaper reports.The Royal Navy is expected to push the proposal at a conference on gay rights later today in an address by second sea lord, Vice Admiral Adrian Johns.He will refer to the navy's work with gay group Stonewall and the possibility of an "overt service presence" at the parade on July 1.
