Law
- Law
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7 November 2007Police investigating Stagecoach bus incident 21 Grampian police have told PinkNews.co.uk that they are investigating an incident on a bus involving a gay couple.It was reported on Sunday that two gay teenagers were threatened with ejection from a bus and then made to sit separately after a fellow passenger complained about their behaviour.Steven Black, 16, and Mark Craig, 19, were travelling on the bus from Aberdeen to Old-meldrum, Aberdeenshire. -
7 November 2007British man in prison for gay sex in Ghana 1 The Foreign Office has confirmed that a 63-year-old British national has been remanded in custody in the African country of Ghana charged with having sex with another man.John Ross Mcleod appeared in court at Accra on Monday. -
7 November 2007South Korea drops proposed orientation discrimination + When South Korea's Ministry of Justice proposed in early October a federal law that would prohibit certain forms of discrimination, sexual orientation and a wide range of other categories were included.According to Democratic Labour Party officials and news reports, however, the current version of the law has been changed to exclude protection from discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, military status, nationality, language, appearance, family type, ideology, criminal or detention record and educational status. -
6 November 2007Top law firm establishes LGBT staff network + One of the best-known names in the 'magic circle' of law firms has decided to set up a network for gay, lesbian, bisexual and trans staff just months after settling a claim of sexual orientation discrimination.A former partner at Clifford Chance made his claim in November last year and the firm settled the case for an undisclosed amount of money.Michael Bryceland's claim involved direct and indirect discrimination on the grounds of his sexual orientation. -
6 November 2007British man arrested at Malaysian orgy 2 Police in Malaysia, where sodomy is a crime, have raided a gay sex party and arrested 37 men, including a Briton.According to AP, police chief Azam Abdul Hamid said officers acting on a public tip-off had raided a fitness centre in northern Penang island on Sunday while a sex party was in progress. -
6 November 2007Los Angeles LGBT workers to get protections after cop test case + In what has been called a "momentous" decision, the Los Angeles City Council voted unanimously last week to approve settlement of the non-damages portion of a lawsuit brought by former Sergeant Mitchell Grobeson, the LAPD's first openly gay officer.The settlement provides a vast array of protections for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) employees and job applicants in Los Angeles, as well as those living with HIV.It mandates recruitment from the LGBT community. -
5 November 2007Lesbian group’s transgender ban challenged + An Australian transgender psychotherapist has taken a lesbian support group to an equal opportunities tribunal on the grounds of discrimination.Tracie O'Keefe in Sydney, claims that she was refused an invitation to an event organised by the gay organisation Sappho's Party because of their strict policy excluding transgender people.The group only allows those who were female at birth to join. -
5 November 2007Army sexual orientation discrimination tribunal begins 2 A lesbian soldier's life was made hell by a male sergeant who vowed to "convert" her, an employment tribunal will be told.According to Lance Bombardier Kerry Fletcher, 30, the senior officer told her that she had not yet experienced a "real man."He also added, "You don't know what you're missing."Her case is being heard at an employment tribunal in Leeds today. -
4 November 2007Aide had sex with royal father- new claims in blackmail plot 17 The aide at the centre of the alleged royal blackmail plot has now appeared to claim that he also had a gay relationship with the royal's father and a well known Conservative MP. -
2 November 2007Royal “blackmail plot” man refused bail 17 One of the two men charged with attempting to blackmail a minor member of the Royal Family was refused bail at a hearing at the Old Bailey today.Ian Strachan, 30, was arrested along with Sean McGuigan, 40, last month after police mounted a sting operation.They are alleged to have demanded £50,000 not to release a video showing an aide to a member of the Royal Family discussing engaging in oral sex with his employer.
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2 November 2007Prison for tennis coach who had sex with 13-year-old 1 A former tennis protege turned coach has been sentenced to nearly three years in prison.Last month Claire Lyte, 29, was convicted of four counts of sexual activity with a child at Liverpool Crown Court.During her three week trial, the court heard testimony from the mother of a 13-year-old girl, who caught them in bed together in 2005.Lyte's worked as a coach at the Lawn Tennis Association academy in Loughborough, Leicestershire and the girl was one of her pupils. -
1 November 2007Met found guilty over Menezes shooting 1 London's police force has been found guilty of breaching health and safety laws when they gunned down Jean Charles de Menezes in Stockwell undergound station in July 2005.On their second day of their deliberation the jury found the Metropolitan Police guilty.The Met was fined £175,000 and ordered to pay £385,000 costs by judge Mr Justice Henriques at the Old Bailey. -
1 November 2007Hate church loses Marine funeral case 5 A jury in the United States has awarded the father of a Marine whose funeral was targeted by Fred Phelps' anti-gay group nearly $11m in damages.It is the first individual lawsuit brought against Westboro Baptist Church (WBC) for its protests at military funerals.Albert Snyder claimed that protesters from the Kansas-based anti-gay group destroyed his only chance to bury in peace the son he lost in Iraq. -
31 October 2007Pride petrol bomber charged with hate crime + Prosecutors in Croatia yesterday charged a 25-year-old with a hate crime for attempting to throw petrol bombs at a Pride parade.Identified only as Josip S, he is the first person accused of a hate crime in the country since they became an offence under the country's Penal Code in 2006.Police spotted him at the Pride event on 7th July with petrol bombs but he fled the scene. -
31 October 2007Magistrate who refused to rule on gay adoption loses appeal 9 A former magistrate who claimed unfair dismissal after he was told he could not pick and choose which adoption cases to rule on has lost his appeal.In March 62-year-old Andrew McClintock learned that his legal action against the Lord Chancellor, claiming that his Bible-influenced opinions should allow him to be excused from approving gay adoptions, was rejected by an employment tribunal.He said he was disappointed by today's decision by an employment appeal tribunal and vowed to take his case to the Court of Appeal.
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30 October 2007Royal in “gay sex and drugs blackmail plot” named on US TV 25 A member of the Royal Family has been named on American TV news as the target of alleged blackmailers.Interviewed on Fox News, journalist Nicholas Davies named a member of The Queen's family.The British press are legally restrained from revealing the identity of the person, thought to be a "minor" Royal, though it has been reported that he or she does not carry out any public duties. -
30 October 2007Porn to be used as evidence in military trial + Gay pornography found on the computer of a US Navy doctor has been accepted as evidence in his trial on charges that he made secret video recordings of Naval Academy midshipmen having sex in his home, a military judge ruled.Even if Commander Kevin Ronan is found innocent at the conclusion of his trial this month, the emergence of such evidence often triggers a military investigation into a service member's sexual orientation, which could mean the end of his military career. -
29 October 2007MP welcomes removal of “gay panic” defence + A Gay Labour MP in New Zealand has praised the decision by the country's Law Commission to remove the "gay panic defence."Charles Chauvel said that the defence, which allowed a person charged with murder to claim that they were driven into a state of violent temporary insanity by a sexual advance from the victim, was unacceptable.The defendant rarely wins acquittals but if pleaded successfully the murder charge is reduced to manslaughter. -
29 October 2007Royal Family targeted in “gay sex blackmail plot” 25 Two men will appear at the Old Bailey next month charged with attempting to blackmail a minor member of the Royal Family.Ian Starchan, 30, and Sean McGuigan, 40, were arrested last month after police mounted a sting operation.They are alleged to have demanded £50,000 not to release a video showing a member of the Royal Family engaged in oral sex with an aide.
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28 October 2007Co-op Bank change civil partner policy after PinkNews.co.uk expose 96 Following an investigation by PinkNews.co.uk, the Co-operative Bank have announced that they will include a "civil partnership" option on its banking application forms.PinkNews.co.uk readers Joe and Neville Temple, who have cohabited for 42 years tried and failed to persuade Smile, the internet subsidiary of the Co-Op Bank to add an option for the legal status of Civil Partner to its application forms.
