Politics
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9 March 2007Quebec DJ sacked for “club of fags” comment + A Canadian shock jock has been pulled from the airwaves for making homophobic comments about the Parti Quebecois and its local candidates during an election campaign.Saguenay radio host Louis Champagne fell foul of the authorities at popular radio station CKRS when he described the Parti Quebecois as a "club of fags."Champagne also said that local factory workers would not vote for gay candidates. -
8 March 2007Rapper’s documentary prompts MPs on bullying 1 The Channel 4 Schools documentary Coming Out To Class has generated interest at Westminster.The programme, presented by gay rapper QBoy, talked to young people who had come out of the closet while still at school.Lib Dem education spokesman Stephen Williams was inspired to table an Early Day Motion in the House of Commons after the documentary. -
8 March 2007Analysis: Nigeria attacks the heart of human rights + Legislation proposed by the Nigerian government last year designed to ban and criminalise same sex marriages and those who assist with it, is expected to be enacted by the National Assembly before the April 2007 elections.The Same Sex Marriage Prohibition Act 2007 in its current form provides that persons of the same sex and those who marry them or is a witness thereto will be committing a crime with a mandatory sentence of five years imprisonment. -
8 March 2007Blood donation and insurance companies get regulations opt-out 3 The new Sexual Orientation Regulations contain an opt-out for insurance companies and blood donor clinics that allows them to continue to discriminate on the grounds of sexual orientation.The SORs, published yesterday, protect gay, lesbian and bisexual people in England, Scotland and Wales from discrimination when accessing goods and services.Regulation 27 provides an exception to the SORs where a person is treated less favourably on grounds of his sexual orientation. -
8 March 2007MPs vote for an elected House of Lords + The House of Commons last night voted by a wide margin to have a fully elected House of Lords.The vote was not on an Act of Parliament and therefore will not immediately become law.It is thought that many traditional-minded MPs voted for the most radical proposal in order to scupper plans to elect a proportion of peers. -
8 March 2007Catholic Church attacks gay rights bill 2 A conference of bishops has said that new legislation which will grant rights to unmarried straight and homosexual couples will weaken marriage.The new law was a manifesto commitment by the ruling leftist coalition of President Tabare Vasquez.The government of Uruguay has brought forward the new law, and it will be voted on by the lower house of parliament later this week. -
8 March 2007Regulations will come into force on April 30th 1 New laws protecting lesbian, gay and bisexual people from discrimination when accessing goods and services will come into force at the end of next month.The Sexual Orientation Regulations will be subject to a vote in both Houses of Parliament before they can be implemented.The regulations were published by the government yesterday after months of political argument. -
7 March 2007Sexual Orientation Regulations published today 57 The Government has today published the Sexual Orientation Regulations for Great Britain.Communities Secretary Ruth Kelly published the new regulations, which outlaw discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation in the provision of goods and services.The regulations come into force on the 30th April. -
7 March 2007Government confirms protection but ends gay only bars 5 The Communities Secretary Ruth Kelly earlier today published the government's planned regulations to protect from discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation.While it protects the LGBT community from discrimination, it means the legal end of gay or lesbian only bars.Ms Kelly, who despite being the combining her role as Communities Secretary and Minister for Equality has yet to vote in favour of gay rights. -
6 March 2007White House gay activist dies + An HIV+ man who worked as a White House aide to President Bill Clinton and spoke out against government indifference to AIDS has died aged 56.Bob Hattoy made a memorable speech to the Democratic National Convention in 1992, in which he told America that he did not want to die.He had just learnt that he had AIDS, and he castigated then-President George Bush senior for doing nothing about the disease. -
6 March 2007Italian government split on gay partnership law 4 The Italian government stands divided over a bill which would give inheritance and healthcare rights to gay couples.The centre-left coalition government covers a variety of views on the subject, many of which are swayed by the country's staunch Catholicism.One opponent of the bill is senator Paola Binetti, a member of the conservative Catholic group Opus Dei. -
6 March 2007Canadian leader tearful over anti-gay abuse + A homophobic attack by a radio host left Andre Boisclair, the Parti Quebecois party leader, clearly emotional while giving a speech on Sunday.Bosclair, an openly gay candidate for local election in the region of Saguenay in Quebec, choked up while talking about the importance of tolerance. -
6 March 2007Hillary Clinton quietly courts the gay vote + The only female contender for the Presidency of the United States made an unpublicised appearance at a gay event on Friday.Senator Hillary Clinton spoke at a lunch hosted by Human Rights Campaign, the leading gay rights advocacy group in America.However, her office did not publicise her comments and yesterday she dodged questions as to why she spoke so warmly in favour of gay rights. -
6 March 2007Riga Mayor backs Gay Pride march + The new Mayor of the Latvian capital has backed gay rights march in the city later this year.In an interview with Diena newspaper, Janis Birks said he was ashamed at events last year, when bags of human excrement were thrown at gay marchers.Last month London Pride announced they would be "twinning" with Riga Pride as a sign of solidarity. -
5 March 2007Polish government rapped by EU over gay views 1 Polish Prime Minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski summoned his deputy Roman Giertych for talks on Monday after he spoke out against homosexuality and abortion.Giertych is the leader of the League of Polish Families, a far-right party currently enjoying coalition with Kaczynski's ruling Law and Justice party.He angered Kaczynski last week by asking the European Union to stop "homosexual propaganda" and ban abortion. -
5 March 2007Spain grants new identity rights to transsexuals + The Spanish government has passed legislation allowing transsexuals to officially change their name and gender without needing to undergo gender reassignment surgery first.Despite opposition from the conservative Popular Party, the law progressed through the country's lower legislative chamber last week.The new legislation asks transsexuals to obtain and present an official medical diagnosis outlining a clinically proven case of gender dysfunction. -
5 March 2007War hero comes out then speaks out + The first American soldier to be wounded in the current Iraq conflict gained a sensational amount of publicity, including a visit from the President and Mrs Bush.Now Marine Staff Sgt. -
5 March 2007San Francisco Mayor vilified for “porn day” + The Mayor of San Francisco, Gavin Newsom, has been mocked after commemorating a studio that produces gay pornography.Newsom honoured the 40th anniversary of Colt studios by designating last Friday as "Colt Studio Day."The 39-year-old mayor gained international attention in 2004 when he instructed city officials to issue same-sex marriage licenses. -
5 March 2007Commentator causes a commotion with the F word 2 Right-wing polemicist Ann Coulter, who once called Arabs towel heads, has outraged American political class by calling a Presidential candidate a faggot.Speaking at the influential Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington on Friday, the publicity-seeking Ms Coulter said:"I was going to have a few comments on the other Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards. -
5 March 2007Ruth Kelly adviser resigns over gay rights + A senior aide to the Communities Secretary quit her job after clashes over the new Sexual Orientation Regulations, it has been reported.Rachel O'Brien left her £50,000 a year post last week.
