Politics
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12 December 2006Gay community fear ageing 1 LGBT baby boomers have more distinct concerns about ageing with regard to financial stability, personal support and end-of-life legal issues than those in the general population, according to a new survey."Out and ageing: The MetLife Study of Lesbian and Gay Baby Boomers," the first national survey of its kind, found both men and women fear outliving their income in retirement. -
12 December 2006Archbishop ignores homophobic bullying 4 PinkNews.co.uk ExclusiveA gay MP has expressed concern over how faith schools address sexuality after the Archbishop of Birmingham told the Commons education committee that there is no need for policies on addressing homophobic bullying.Liberal Democrat MP Stephen Williams, a member of the Select Committee, yesterday asked Vincent Nichols, head of the Catholic Education Service, what faith schools are doing to address anti-gay bullying, but the archbishop retorted that there is no need for such policies. -
12 December 2006DUP ‘whipping up homophobia’ 12 Alliance Party Leader David Ford has backed proposed equality protections laws in Northern Ireland and has hit out at the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) for whipping up unfounded fears to discriminate against gay people.DUP MP Jeffrey Donaldson had called for a debate asking for the law to be delayed by the Northern Ireland Secretary Peter Hain, as in the rest of the UK, for further consultation, claiming the regulations will inhibit religious rights. -
12 December 2006South Oz introduces gay community officers + Southern Australia is looking to combat hate crimes in the state by introducting Gay and Lesbian Liaison Officers.The move, welcomed by the gay community, will see 16 trained police officers as a point of call for LGBT people who are victims or are worried about hate crimes.Chief Inspector Martin Jeffrey Bruhn, said it would build trust with the gay community. -
11 December 2006Gay councillor to fight key Tory target 1 Gay Barnet Council leader Mike Freer has been selected as the Conservative Parliamentary Candidate for Finchley Golders Green, for the next General Election.Mr Freer was selected last night by the local Party to represent former Tory Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher's old constituency, a number one target for the Conservatives. -
11 December 2006Lesbian Tory ‘feels at home’ after selection 2 PinkNews.co.uk ExclusiveConservative Party Vice-Chairman Margot James has spoken of her delight at being selected to contest the Stourbridge seat at the next general election, claiming it will be like "going home."Ms James, the party's first openly lesbian female candidate at the last election, will fight Labour MP Lynda Waltho for the Black Country constituency of Stourbridge, a key Conservative target, after being selected last week. -
11 December 2006Romney has a ‘pro-gay’ past 2 Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney has proudly spouted his negative attitudes towards gay issues since coming to power two years ago.However, it has now been revealed that Mr Romney, a vocal opponent of his state's gay marriage laws, once courted the gay community for their support in a 1994 campaign for the US Senate. -
11 December 2006Ex-Tory leader undermines party’s ‘pro-gay’ image 3 Former Conservative leader Iain Duncan Smith has come close to embarrassing the party's attempts at modernisation after appearing to suggest that gay couples cannot bring up children.Launching a report on the importance of marriage and family to society, Mr Duncan Smith said gay couples were "irrelevant" to the work. -
11 December 2006Lesbian Tory selected for marginal seat 2 Conservative Vice-Chairman Margot James has been selected to run for a key marginal seat at the next General Election.Ms James, the party's first openly lesbian female candidate at the last election will fight Labour MP Lynda Waltho for the Black Country constituency of Stourbridge, a key Conservative target. -
11 December 2006Gay council leader splits from wife 1 The leader of Glasgow City Council, Stephen Purcell, has announced hat he has split with his wife and he is gay.It comes after increased speculation regarding his private life.One of Mr Purcell's close friend's, Jim Tait, told the Daily Record: "The reason he is speaking about this now is to put an end to the rumours which were circulating. -
11 December 2006Lifting gay military ban will create ‘safe nation’ + Gay campaigners are calling on the US to repeal its ban on openly gay military recruits after a report on the Iraq War highlighted the importance of language experts, some of whom have been sacked for being gay.Warning that "all of our efforts in Iraq, military and civilian, are handicapped by Americans' lack of language and cultural understanding," the Iraq Study Group, a panel of ten bi-partisan experts convened to examine military strategy in the war in Iraq, emphasised in a report last week the importance of recruiting and retaining language experts. -
11 December 2006Gay activist deplores Holocaust denial conference 1 PinkNews.co.uk ExclusiveGay rights campaigner Peter Tatchell has described Iran's plans to host a conference on Holocaust denial this week as an "incredible insult to all minorities who suffered under Nazism."Since coming to power in 2005, Iranian President, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, has insisted that the Holocaust is a Zionist conspiracy, the event this week invites so called 'experts' to debate whether the event happened. -
11 December 2006Northern Ireland debates gay equality law 12 The new Sexual Orientation Regulations may lead to harassment claims from gay pupils against teachers, Northern Ireland MPs warned today.Beginning an Assembly debate on whether Northern Ireland should delay the regulations as in the rest of the UK until April 2007, Democratic Unionsist MP Jeffrey Donalldson warned that the laws will create an 'intimidating environment' for teachers. -
11 December 2006Brit sets gay union precedent in Peru + Peru held its first gay marriage ceremony last week, setting a precedent for the South American nation.News site LivinginPeru.com reports that a British citizen and his Peruvian partner formalised their union under British law in a ceremony held at the British Embassy in Lima. -
11 December 2006Northern Ireland tied on gay equality 12 Stormont politicians have ended a debate on new gay equality laws in a stalemate.DUP MP Jeffrey Donaldson had called for a debate asking for the law to be delayed by the Northern Ireland Secretary Peter Hain, as in the rest of the UK, for further consultation, claiming the regulations will inhibit religious rights. -
8 December 2006Northern Ireland Assembly to debate gay laws 3 Members of the Northern Ireland Assembly will hold a debate on a motion from the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) to repeal Sexual Orientation Laws until later next year rather than the scheduled date of January 2007.DUP MP Jeffrey Donaldson has called for a debate asking for the law to be delayed by the Northern Ireland Secretary Peter Hain, as in the rest of the UK, for further consultation, claiming the regulations will inhibit religious rights.
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8 December 2006New York health board rejects trans document changes + The New York City Board of Health voted unanimously this week against a measure to allow transgender people to amend their birth certificates without requiring that they undergo sex reassignment surgery.Transgender advocates who worked with the Board of Health to propose these policy changes have voiced their surprise and disappointment about the vote -
8 December 2006UK Youth denounce Polish homophobia + The UK's national youth council has called on politicians of all parties to denounce publicly the attitude of the Polish government towards LGBT people.The British Youth Council, a coalition of over 150 youth organisations, including GirlGuiding UK and the NUS, issued a statement today highlighting the multiple incidents of discrimination and homophobia involving high-ranking Polish government officials and politicians. -
8 December 2006Scotland passes gay adoption law + A law allowing gay couples in Scotland to adopt passed yesterday, overcoming religious opposition and a last minute attempt to amend it.Despite calls from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland to oppose the bill, MSPs backed the Adoption and Children (Scotland) Bill by 101 votes to six.The bill aims to counter a significant reduction in families available for vulnerable children by allowing gay and unmarried couples to adopt. -
8 December 2006Media hails first gay divorce 2 Since the clock stuck midnight on Tuesday 5 December 2006 the mainstream press has been desperately scraping the barrel searching for the first gay couple in a civil partnership to divorce.The PinkNews.co.uk phones were jammed with researchers, and some more high profile broadsheets coyly asking, "Do you know any civil partners getting a divorce now that it's been a year since the legislation?"
