Law
- Law
-
22 January 2007Gay helplines attacked by hoaxers + The Gloucestershire gay helpline has been the victim of a text message scam that is reducing its ability to respond to genuine calls.Text messages are being sent to random phones asking the recipient to call the free helpline number urgently. -
22 January 2007Police warn of internet dangers + The Metropolitan Police have issued a warning to gay men to be more cautious when sending pictures online after a London man was humiliated by an internet sneak.The two men met on an internet dating site and the victim sent the other man a sexually explicit picture of himself.When they stopped chatting online, the other man reprinted the image on a poster with libellous text. -
19 January 2007Alleged rapist and serial killer in court + A 42-year-old man has appeared in court in Louisiana charged with nine counts of first degree murder.Ronald Dominique pleaded not guilty to the charges, which relate to the rape and murder of nine men in Terrebonne County between 2002 and 2005.The accused was arrested by police at a homeless shelter last month. -
18 January 2007Nigerian anti-gay laws about to pass + New legislation currently being debated by politicians in Nigeria could be the most serious crackdown on the rights of gay and lesbian people since the Iranian revolution.The proposed laws are presented as a defence of marriage, but gay activist Peter Tatchell argues they seek to remove the few rights sexual minorities have in the troubled African state. -
18 January 2007Crystal meth users now face seven years in jail + People who take and deal in methamphetamine, commonly known as crystal meth, face the severest penalties possible from today when it is reclassified from a Class B to a Class A substance.The Home Office decided to reclassify last year, after an explosion in the use of the drug amongst gay men who attend nightclubs. -
17 January 2007Moscow Gay Pride row moves to Euro court 1 The ongoing dispute between gay activists in Russia and the Moscow city authorities will now move to the European Court of Human Rights.As reported on PinkNews.co.uk, in May 2006 the city's mayor, Yuri Luzhkov, refused to issue a permit for the Pride march.Gay activists pressed on with Moscow Pride on 27th May, despite the ban, police arrests, and violence from neo-fascists. -
17 January 2007Top Manhattan firm in gay lawsuit + One of New York's most prestigious law firms is being sued for discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation by one of their own lawyers.28-year-old associate Aaron B Charney says in his suit that senior colleagues subjected him to "lewd and illegal conduct," The New York Times reports.Sullivan Cromwell, founded in 1879, is one of America's best known - and profitable - law firms.
-
16 January 2007Gay judge hearing Tube bomb trial 1 The first openly gay man to be appointed a High Court judge is presiding over the trial of six men accused of conspiracy to murder and conspiracy to cause explosions.The charges relate to an attempt to bomb the London underground system on July 21st 2005, two weeks after the devastating attacks of July 7th.Muktar Ibrahim, Manfo Asiedu, Hussein Osman, Yassin Omar, Ramzi Mohammed and Adel Yahya all deny the charges. -
16 January 2007Czech gay man wins landmark discrimination case + In yet another sign of positive change in the new EU states, a gay man has won damages after being denied a job as a masseur because of his sexuality.Lech Sydor, a 43-year-old Czech citizen, was awarded 70,000 koruna (£1,660) and received an apology for his treatment, AFP reports.The landmark ruling is the first time that a Czech court has ruled on an issue of work discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation.
-
16 January 2007Transsexual’s two passports request denied 1 Norwegian police officials have turned down a request from a transsexual to be issued with two passports.The 63-year-old, reported to be a crime fiction author, accused the authorities of trans discrimination.The Aftenposten newspaper in Oslo reported yesterday that the Ministry of Justice had dismissed the accusation of discrimination. -
16 January 2007Men and women involved in homophobic attack + Two brothers were set upon by a gang of men and women, punched, kicked and knocked to the ground in a homophobic attack in County Durham.The attack happened in the village of Spennymoor in the early house of Monday morning.The brothers, aged 26 and 21, were on their way home from a nightclub when they passed the Victoria Inn, the BBC reports. -
15 January 2007Lesbian partner ordered to pay child support 57 A custody battle between two lesbians is highlighting the differing attitudes to same-sex relationships in America.Janet Jenkins and Lisa Miller got married in 2002 in Vermont, the only state that currently has legal gay civil unions.Shortly afterwards the couple decided to have a child and Miller became pregnant through articifial insemination.
-
15 January 2007Transsexual postal worker convicted of hiding mail 2 A postman who is on the NHS waiting list for gender reassignment surgery has been convicted of hiding and dumping post.43-year-old Michael Pearson, from Cleckheaton, West Yorkshire, told Dewsbury Magistrates Court that gangs of youths were victimising him during his postal round in Birstall, throwing stones at him and taunting him about his effeminate appearance. -
11 January 2007£9,000 gay chatline bill run up by thief 1 An unlucky Liverpool businesswomen has been told by a judge that she is still liable for £9,000 worth of calls to gay chatlines made on her mobile phone.The Liverpool Echo reports the unusual case of Mrs Anne Jeffrey, who runs a successful ironing business.The business had several mobile phones on contract from Genesis Communications, one of which Mrs Jeffrey lent to her son. -
11 January 2007Suspect arrested in trans murder case 1 A 43-year-old man has been charged with murder after police in Washington DC found the body of a transsexual woman in an apartment in the city.The victim has been identified as Grafton Lee Person, 42.Police arrested the suspect, Preston Logan, after he was caught shoplifting at a 7-Eleven at 8:30am last Saturday.
-
11 January 2007Lesbian loses rape charity tribunal + A 40-year-old Glasgow woman has lost an employment tribunal against Scottish Rape Crisis Network.Claire Phillips had claimed that she was fired after complaining that she had been outed as a lesbian by a fellow employee.She did not want her colleagues to know she is gay, she told the tribunal.
-
11 January 2007Orkney composer cancels ceremony plans 5 Composer Sir Peter Maxwell-Davies has decided to shelve plans to marry his partner on the Orkney Islands.Sir Peter, the Master of the Queen's Music, was at the centre of a media storm earlier in the week when he accused council officials on the islands of homophobia.Orkney Island Council had told Sir Peter, 72, that the registrar on the island of Sanday, where the composer lives, is not legally able to carry out civil partnerships ceremonies. -
8 January 2007Orkney hits back at unfair press coverage 5 PinkNews.co.uk exclusive Council staff on the islands of Orkney have spoken exclusively to PinkNews.co.uk about the media storm that has engulfed the remote Scottish outpost.A communications officer for the island group's local authority spoke to PinkNews.co.uk in an attempt to put right inaccurate reports in London newspapers. -
8 January 2007Transsexual loses £500,000 unfair dismissal claim + A transsexual who claimed she was forced to leave her job at Hitachi Data Systems after changing sex has lost her claim for half a million pounds compensation.It was thought to be the largest claim ever made under the Sex Discrimination (Gender Reassignment) Regulations 1999.Jessica Bussert, formerly Josh, had claimed she was demoted after surgery to "feminise" her face and breasts.
-
8 January 2007Canadian lesbian couple tie the knot behind bars + Two Canadian inmates have become the first lesbian couple to get married while in prison.The Edmonton Sun reports that the pair, whose names have not been released by prison officials, exchanged vows over the weekend.As reported by PinkNews.co.uk, a lesbian couple in Belgium went through a civil ceremony last week while both still incarcerated.
