Politics
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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. -
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. -
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?" -
8 December 2006No going back on gay marriage – Canadian PM + The Conservative Prime Minister of Canada has conceded defeat over his plans to re-open the debate over gay marriage.In July 2005, under the previous Liberal administration, Canada became the fourth country to allow gay and lesbian couples to get married.During the 2006 election campaign, the Conservatives had pledged to re-open the debate about the issue. -
8 December 2006Ad watchdog investigating ‘anti-gay equality’ ad 18 PinkNews.co.uk ExclusiveThe Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has launched an investigation into an advert from Christian groups in The Times newspaper last month which described new gay equality laws as an attack on "conscience."It called on the government to include an opt out in the new Sexual Orientation Regulations. -
8 December 2006Cabinet row over goods and services discrimination 3 Ruth Kelly and Peter Hain are at loggerheads over the introduction of new rules barring discrimination against LGBT people.Regulations making it illegal to refuse goods or services on the grounds of sexual orientation are being introduced in Northern Ireland before England and come into force on January 1st.As the Northern Ireland Assembly is suspended, decisions about the province are taken by the Secretary of State, Peter Hain. -
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. -
7 December 2006Scotland rejects adoption prejudice + The Scottish Parliament this afternoon rejected a motion to block gay and lesbian couples from adopting by 98 votes to 11.The motion was proposed by Scottish Nationalist MSP Roseanna Cunningham. -
7 December 2006Gay university staff face coming out fear 1 There are still some elements of fear surrounding coming out in the workplace for lesbian and gay university staff, Stonewall claims.The gay charity has expressed fears that universities do not do enough to tackle equality as it is assumed that the institutions are automatically liberal.Stephen Frost, the manager of Stonewall's workplace programmes, said many lesbian, gay and bisexual staff fear coming out would limit their career opportunities or cause bullying. -
7 December 2006Socialists urge MSP to resign over gay adoption view + Scotland's socialist Party has condemned moves by Nationalist MSP Roseanna Cunningham to table amendments today which could effectively block gay couples from adopting children.Ms Cunningham argued ahead of a Holyrood debate today, that moves to allow the Bill to proceed would be "against nature's design."Solidarity party members have called on Ms Cunningham to accept SNP commitments to equality or resign.
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7 December 2006Civil partners not rushing to divorce 8 A group of gay lawyers specialising in same sex relationships, predicts few couples will apply to end a civil partnership when the first opportunity arrives on 21 December.Instead lawyers at QueerPod have seen an increase in gay clients in heterosexual marriages seeking a divorce to form a civil partnership.
