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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7 December 2006Police promise more raids against gay hate + Last week's police raids in London targeting suspected perpetrators of domestic, race hate and homophobic violence will not be the last, a member of the Metropolitan Police's Violent Crime Directorate has warned.DCI Gerry Campbell said last week's operation signals the Metropolitan Police Service's commitment to taking on hate crime offenders, but added that it is not a one off job. -
6 December 2006Gay Republicans welcome HIV law change + A gay Republican lobby group has applauded the US President after he eased travel restrictions for HIV travellers entering America.The Log Cabin Republicans welcomed an announcement from the White House on World AIDS Day that President George W Bush would issue an executive order allowing HIV-positive people to enter the US on short-term tourist or business visas without having to seek special permission. -
6 December 2006Cheney’s lesbian daughter is pregnant + Dick Cheney's daughter is having a baby, according to reports.While states across America argue over same sex marriage and gay parenting, the Vice President's daughter, Mary Cheney, is likely to create a shining example of same sex families.A source told the Washington Post that Ms Cheney and Heather Poe are "ecstatic." -
6 December 2006Grandfather Cheney urged to help gay families + A gay family group are calling on Vice President Dick Cheney to consider the US administration's attitude towards gay rights now that his daughter is set to have a baby with her lesbian partner.The front page of the Washington Post's website announced today that Mary Cheney, Vice-President Cheney's gay daughter, is pregnant. -
6 December 2006Northern Ireland politicians call for gay rights repeal 13 Northern Ireland politicians are calling on the UK government to repeal the Sexual Orientation Regulations to be introduced in the province in the New Year, until the Assembly is fully restored.DUP MP Jeffrey Donaldson has tabled an Early Day motion to Parliament asking for the law to be delayed by the Northern Ireland Secretary Peter Hain, as in the rest of the UK, for further consultation. -
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.
