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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5 December 2006Human rights boss: Gays don’t deserve rights 2 His appointment was controversial, and now gay groups seem to have been proven right after the head of Latvia's human rights committee told a press conference that the gay community should not be given equal rights to heterosexuals.Janis Smits told a press conference this week that gay people are not a legitimate minority and should "recover normal sexual orientation." -
5 December 2006Gay rights chief named as equality commissioner 5 The chief executive of gay charity Stonewall has been named as one of the commissioners for the new Commission for Equality and Human Rights.Ben Summerskill will provide guidance to the new body regarding his experience of campaigning for LGBT rights.Communities Secretary Ruth Kelly announced the names of nine new CEHR Commissioners this morning. The commission comes into being in Autumn 2007. -
4 December 2006Archers holds first ‘gay wedding’ 3 Radio 4 soap, The Archers, is set to have Ambridge's first ever civil partnership in a special edition of the BBC show next week.But like any BBC serial drama, there is the usual high jinx and family arguments over who will attend and will the family be the same again.Soap's longest running gay romance, involving Adam Macy (Andrew Wincott) and Ian Craig (Stephen Kennedy), began in April 2004 with a kiss in a polytunnel that left listeners in no doubt about how the farmer and chef felt about one another. -
4 December 2006Study reveals problems of same sex domestic abuse + More work is needed to raise awareness of domestic abuse in same sex relationships, according to a new study due to be discussed in Bristol next week.The study by Professor Marianne Hester of the University of Bristol's School for Policy Studies and Dr Catherine Donovan of the University of Sunderland, reveals that most survivors of domestic abuse do not report it to organisations such as the police and domestic abuse agencies. -
4 December 2006Gay couples leading housing market 2 Same sex couples are one of the main forces pushing the UK housing market, according to a new report.One in nine people (13%) are planning on buying a new home in the next 12 months, and it's twenty-something's (22%), same sex couples (21%) and singletons (17%) - not the traditional 2.4 child families that are driving the UK's housing market, according to new research from mortgage lender Birmingham Midshires 'Not so Average Joe' campaign. -
4 December 2006Gay rights fear for next generation 1 PinkNews.co.uk ExclusiveAlmost half of the next generation do not believe gay people deserve the same rights as heterosexuals, a global poll has revealed.A survey for the BBC World Service looked at the views of young people aged 15-17 in key cities on issues such as climate change, terrorism, and homosexuality.One question was, should homosexuals be given the same rights as heterosexuals? -
4 December 2006Over 15,000 gays and lesbians are civil partners 8 Over fifteen thousand same sex couples have taken part in civil partnerships in the last year, the Office of National Statistics revealed today.The figures, released on the eve of the first anniversary of the Civil Partnerships Act, states that there were 15,672 civil partnerships formed in the UK between December 2005 and the end of September 2006. -
1 December 2006HIV stigma causing ‘extreme poverty’ 1 HIV stigma and discrimination is driving people living with the virus into extreme poverty, a report revealed today.AIDS charities Crusaid and the National AIDS Trust launched a report into the rising numbers of people living with HIV in poverty to coincide with World AIDS Day this morning. -
1 December 2006World AIDS Day ‘focuses’ work 1 PinkNews.co.uk ExclusiveThe government will continue supporting efforts to prevent HIV transmission in the UK, the Public Health Minster said today.Welcoming World AIDS Day, Caroline Flint said today is an opportunity to focus on what needs to be done to tackle the virus.She warned that the UK should not be complacent about its attitude, "Here in the UK whilst we remain a relatively low prevalence country for HIV, rates of HIV are rising and we need to ensure that we reinvigorate HIV and AIDS awareness for the 21st Century." -
1 December 2006Gay students ‘ignored’ in sex education 2 On the 18th anniversary of the founding of World AIDS Day, and 25 years after HIV was identified, gay campaign group Schools Out is calling upon the government for a total re-think on its teaching policy.The group, which pushes for LGBT equality in education, claims that the government should be doing more about raising awareness of sexual health amongst school pupils. -
1 December 2006Hilary Benn calls for HIV action + Silence is not an option in the battle against HIV and AIDS, the International Development Secretary said last night.Speaking at the London School of Economics on the eve of World AIDS Day, Hilary Benn warned that it is unacceptable to ignore the stigma and discrimination surrounding HIV and AIDS while "7,500 people will die of AIDS tomorrow, while 11,000 will be infected with HIV." -
1 December 2006Prime Minister backs HIV fight 1 Gay men are amongst groups who get the least help because of the stigma surrounding HIV, the Prime Minister said today.Writing in the Daily Mirror, Tony Blair vowed to keep up the fight against HIV and AIDS.His remarks come on World AIDS Day, 25-years after the first diagnoses of the virus. -
1 December 2006Gay activist reveals Harmondsworth homophobia + Harmondsworth and all Britain's asylum detention centres are inhuman hell-holes that should be closed down, gay rights campaigner Peter Tatchell said today.He spoke after a riot at Harmondsworth asylum detention centre over conditions this week.The Chief Inspector of Prisons, Anne Owers, issued a damning report on Tuesday, describing conditions in Harmondsworth as the worst she has ever seen in an immigration and asylum detention centre. -
1 December 2006Gay venues smoke free by July 2007 5 All enclosed public places and workplaces in the UK will become smokefree from 1st July 2007, Health Secretary Patricia Hewitt announced today.Gay venues have already told PinkNews.co.uk that they feel they can cope with a ban, which will be introduced in Wales and Northern Ireland in April 2007 and in England in July 2007. -
30 November 2006Dawn raids target homophobia + Five hundred police officers raided addresses and arrested perpetrators of domestic, race hate and homophobic crimes across the capital this morning.The dawn raids are one part of a two-week initiative to put the fear back onto the offenders, and encourage victims to report crimes.The number of domestic violence incidents reported to police in 2005/06 was over 108, 000, with 24% of incidents accounting for all reported violence and 20% of all murders. -
30 November 2006Deputy PM defends gay rights laws 18 Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott is often accused of not having much relevance in government, but yesterday he took a stand for gay rights.Representing Tony Blair at Prime Minister's questions, Mr Prescott backed the incoming Sexual Orientation Regulations amid criticism from a Northern Ireland MP. -
30 November 2006Gay MEP attacks ‘un-Christian’ Church equality reaction 18 PinkNews.co.uk ExclusiveLabour MEP Michael Cashman has joined government condemnation of remarks made by Christian leaders regarding the new Sexual Orientation Regulations.Former EastEnder turned politician, Mr Cashman, the head of the European Parliament's Intergroup on Lesbian and Gay Rights, described comments by the Catholic Archbishop of Birmingham, Vincent Nichols, and the Bishop of Rochester, Michael Nazir-Ali, as well as a controversial advert in the Times, as "totally un-Christian." -
30 November 2006US Jews to discuss gay behaviour 3 The Jewish Conservative Movement in the US is preparing for a vote on the issue of gay rabbis and same sex marriage next week with members of the community predicting that ordination and unions will be given the nod.It comes in reaction to rabbinical students pushing for "ordination regardless of orientation" and many rabbis coming out or performing same sex ceremonies despite a ban. -
30 November 2006European Parliament rejects gay discrimination claims + The European Parliament's Bureau has rejected accusations that it has ignored anti-discrimination policies regarding sexual orientation.The department was criticised by the International Lesbian and Gay Association after a draft resolution of the European Parliament's Secretariat, the administrative arm of the political body, had initially included sexual orientation, but was later amended. -
30 November 2006PinkNews leads opposition to Christian ad 18 PinkNews.co.uk ExclusiveAn anti-gay advert from Christian groups in the Times on Tuesday has already prompted an influx of complaints to the advertising watchdog as a result of a campaign launched by PinkNews.co.uk.The gay community reacted with outrage earlier this week after a group of Christian leaders calling themselves Coherent and Cohesive Voice, placed an advert in the newspaper accusing the government of taking away "freedom of conscience" through the new Sexual Orientation Regulations.
