Politics
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26 July 2006Fire boss criticises “bigots” who shafted gay pride 5 Brian Coleman, openly gay Deputy Chairman of the London Fire Authority, has branded the 10 Scottish fire-fighters who refused to distribute leaflets at gay pride "bigots".The officers face disciplinary action after they refused to hand out standard fire safety leaflets at the Pride Scotia march in Glasgow last month. -
25 July 2006Ex-Cabinet minister becomes first peer to have civil partnership + Labour peer Chris Smith has become the first member of the House of Lords to have a civil partnership.The former Culture Secretary, had a private ceremony with long term partner Dorian Jabri last Friday at Islington Town Hall.The announcement was made in front of 200 guests, who turned up at the Serpentine Gallery on Saturday night assuming they were celebrating Lord Smith of Finsbury's 55th birthday. -
25 July 2006Researchers launch tenth Gay Men’s Sex Survey 1 Terrence Higgins Trust and Sigma Research launched the tenth annual National Gay Men's Sex Survey yesterday.Last year 16,000 men in the UK took part and this year they hope to get an even better response.The Survey is carried out by Sigma Research (University of Portsmouth) in collaboration with over 150 organisations as part of the CHAPS Partnership's health promotion work with gay men. -
25 July 2006McKellen breaks Pentagon gay policy + Gay actor Sir Ian McKellen has managed to overrule the Pentagon's Don't Ask Don't Tell policy after being made am honorary lieutenant colonel of the national guard.US military policy dictates that lesbian and gay recruits must keep their sexuality hidden, but the openly gay star was recently given the honour on a trip to Atlanta, Georgia. -
25 July 2006Gay families express pride + Hundreds of families from all over the world will gather in Provincetown for Family Pride's annual Family Week, a week-long conference and family adventure from July 29-August 5 2006.For the 11th consecutive year, Family Pride's Family Week will provide a safe, vibrant and engaging space for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) parents and their children to gather. -
24 July 2006Bill Gates makes million dollar AIDS pledge + The Bill Melinda Gates Foundation last week announced it is awarding $287 million in grants over five years to create an international network of scientists to speed up the development of an AIDS vaccine.The main goal of the 16 individual grants is to shift the development process from independent efforts in separate laboratories to large-scale collaborative efforts stretching across many labs and countries. -
24 July 2006Gay activists targeted at Riga Pride 1 Gay campaigners were attacked with eggs and bags of excrement and left feeling under siege by protesters last weekend as they aimed to quietly celebrate Riga Pride.Authorities in the Latvian capital had banned the gay parade on public order grounds, but activists including Outrage's Peter Tatchell and GayRussia's Nikolai Alexeyev decided to continue with smaller activities. -
24 July 2006On course for a healthy gay future + A London University is offering the first ever course in gay men's health promotion.The one-year course, which starts in September, is being run by the University of East London (UEL) in collaboration with sexual health charity, the Terrence Higgins Trust. -
24 July 2006London holds first gay employment fair + Deputy Assistant Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police Brian Paddick and representatives from the Trades Union Congress' (TUC) lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) committee will be among the guest speakers next month at London's first gay employment exposition for youths between the ages of 16 and 25.PACE, an LGBT mental health group and the London Development Agency (LDA) will host Out Working: Youth LGBT Job Fair, which promises to offer unemployed and economically inactive gay, lesbian and bisexual youths hands-on advice from experts at The Resource Centre in Islington on Thursday, 17 August 2006. -
24 July 2006Latvia “fails” democracy test after gay pride violence 1 Neo-Nazi, Christian fundamentalist and extreme nationalist protesters terrorised participants at the Gay Pride rally in the Latvian capital of Riga last Saturday . -
22 July 2006Gay group postpones WorldPride amid war talk 23 The Jerusalem WorldPride parade has been postponed until "after the war."The organisers of the event, Jerusalem Open House (JOH), announced last night that the rally will no longer take place due to the demands it would be making on security which is currently caught up in escalating tension in Lebanon and the Gaza Strip. -
21 July 2006London Mayor criticises Latvia’s “attack on human rights” 1 The Mayor of London has called the decision to ban Latvia's Gay Pride "an unacceptable attack on human rights."His words have been echoed by gay rights group Outrage, Amnesty International and the Latvian President, who have all criticised the authorities in Riga for cancelling the parade in the capital on public order grounds. -
21 July 2006Government urged to debate gay adoption “ramifications” 1 The Leader of the House of Commons Jack Straw has been called to initiate a debate on the "ramifications" of allowing gay couples to adopt in Northern Ireland.Mr Straw, setting out the timetable for debates leading up to and after Parliament's summer recess, was yesterday asked by Democratic Unionist MP for Strangford Iris Robinson, to schedule a gay adoption debate after the break as a matter of "urgency." -
21 July 2006Alabama appoints first lesbian representative 1 Patricia Todd made history this week when voters in Alabama's 54th legislative district sent the Democrat to the State House, marking the first time ever that the Alabama legislature will include an openly gay representative.The Gay Lesbian Victory Fund, the nation's largest gay and lesbian political action committee, endorsed Ms Todd and helped raise tens of thousands of dollars from its national network of donors to help fund her campaign. -
21 July 2006London gay pride group condemn Riga’s “return to dark ages” 1 Campaigning charity and organiser of Europe's largest gay event, Pride London, today condemned the decision of the City Council of Riga to ban the city's Gay Pride amid threats of violence from extremist groups.Pride London hosted EuroPride 06, the largest lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender celebration this year, attended by 600,000 people from all over Europe. -
21 July 2006Prescott cleared over anti-gay tycoon links + Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott broke ministerial rules when he did not immediately declare his stay at an anti-gay US tycoon's ranch, a Parliament watchdog concluded today.However, the House of Commons standards committee cleared the minister for not registering a cowboy outfit he received from Philip Anschutz after a stay at his Colorado home. -
21 July 2006Gay community going green + Gays and lesbians are going greener faster than any other group of people, according to research.Findings by advertising and marketing agency, Gasoline, suggest the pink pound, a measure of the amount of money the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community group has to spend, is going green faster than any other group. -
20 July 2006Latvian gays shocked at pride ban 1 Latvian gay rights groups have expressed shock at the decision to ban a gay pride march in the capital Riga.City officials yesterday announced the parade could not take place on public order grounds but refused to divulge information about the threats.
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20 July 2006Campaigners condemn gay hangings + To mark the first anniversary of Iran's hanging of two gay teenagers, Mahmoud Asgari and Ayaz Marhoni, in the city of Mashhad, Labour MP Chris Bryant hosted a public meeting at the House of Commons last night.Speakers included Chris Bryant MP and Azar Majedi, Chair of the Organisation for Women's Liberation in Iran. -
20 July 2006Homophobic attack victim remembered in school award 2 An annual award for human kindness and consideration has been created in the memory of murdered gay bar manager Jody Dubrowski at his old school in Stroud.Announcing the award Dubrowski's step father Mike Haddock told the children "We are all different but we have to know how to treat each other.
