World
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21 March 2007Radio host apologises for gay slurs + American satirist Garrison Keillor has apologised for comments he made last week which caricatured gay men as "flamboyant" and questioned their suitability as parents.Keillor, a prolific writer and radio personality, is most famous in the UK for his role in last year's Robert Altman film, A Prairie Home Companion.He is also the voice of Honda UK's "Power Of Dreams" campaign. -
20 March 2007Russian faith groups come out against Pride march 4 Russia's Orthodox Church announced today that it is opposed to the planned Moscow gay Pride parade, as it believes homosexuality is harmful to society.Gay activists plan to hold the parade on the 14th anniversary of the decriminalisation of homosexuality in Russia.Representatives of Russian Muslims and Jews joined the calls for a ban on the parade. -
20 March 2007Italian family day out to oppose gay rights 1 Catholic organisations in Italy have announced that May 12 will be "Family Day", featuring a demonstration in Rome against legislation which will could give legal rights to civil unions.The planned civil unions will be both for heterosexual and homosexual couples, a proposal that has outraged the Catholic Church.The Family Day manifesto does not specifically mention the laws, but focuses on calls for legislation promoting more traditional families. -
20 March 2007Switch of tactics on marriage splits US activists 6 Supporters of gay marriage in America have been outraged by the tide turning against their cause, even amongst other gay rights advocates.Bills to legalise gay marriage have been introduced in the state of Rhode Island every year for the past ten years, and have been rejected every time.So this year, as well as filing for the legalisation of gay marriage, campaigners are fighting for basic rights enjoyed by heterosexual couples. -
19 March 2007Gay and black activists target St Pat’s Day parade 2 Irish gay rights activists protested against New York City's St Patrick's Day parade on Saturday after organisers again banned gay and lesbian groups from participating in the celebrations for the sixteenth year running.Irish Queers, a New York based gay rights group, lined the city's Fifth Avenue, and protested against the organisers which they later described as "religious-right bigots." -
19 March 2007Polish homophobia a Tory legacy, claims MEP 3 Labour MEP Michael Cashman has claimed that the language used by Polish ministers to oppose equal rights for gay people is a legacy of the previous Conservative government in the UK.Tens of thousands of teachers marched in Poland at the weekend to protest the proposed new law that would, "prohibit the promotion of homosexuality and other deviance" in schools."I am not in the least bit surprised by this," Mr Cashman told PinkNews.co.uk. -
19 March 2007Nigerian gay group claim new law could create exodus + A gay rights pressure group has condemned Nigeria's anti-gay marriage bill, warning that its passing would cause significant problems for other countries.Changing Attitudes Nigeria (CAN), an Anglican Church pressure group on LGBT rights, attacked a bill that would ban same-sex marriage and imprison anyone associated with promoting gay rights.Davis Mac-Iyalla, head of Changing Attitudes Nigeria, warned that acceptance of the bill would see vast numbers of Nigerians fleeing. -
19 March 2007US soldiers come out to expose military’s gay hypocrisy + A group of seven high-ranking military veterans have responded to recent remarks by General Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.Last week he called lesbian, gay and bisexual service members "immoral" and re-iterated his support for the military's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" ban on lesbian, gay and bisexual service members.The officers, who are all lesbian or gay, called on Congress to repeal the law, and demanded that General Pace apologise for his remarks. -
19 March 2007Swedes could be allowed gay church weddings 3 The Church of Sweden has given its support to proposals that would allow gay couples to marry in church ceremonies on the same basis as heterosexual couples.An official government report, due to be presented next week, would amend existing marriage laws to ensure that all couples have the same marriage rights regardless of their sexual orientation.Bishop Claes-Bertil Ytterberg, head of the Church of Sweden's Västerås diocese, signalled his support for the changes. -
19 March 2007UK choose Scooch but drag in vogue at 2007 Eurovision 1 The Ukraine has announced it will be represented at this year's Eurovision Song Contest by drag artist Verka Serdyuchka.In February the Danes chose drag act DQ to represent them at the competition. -
16 March 2007Cardinal says Pope should stop giving orders + An Italian cardinal has criticised other church leaders for opposing the legal recognition of same-sex partnerships.Cardinal Carlo Maria Martini told Italian pilgrims in Bethlehem yesterday that, "The Church does not give orders."His statement is seen by many as a clear rebuke to the Pope's stance in the current Italian same-sex union row. -
16 March 2007Analysis: Beginning of the end for “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” 1 Marine General Peter Pace, the US military's chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, called homosexuality "immoral" on Tuesday and likened it to adultery.Now military analysts said his comments suggest the armed forces have run out of rationales for banning known gays from service.The policy of "Don't Ask Don't Tell," introduced in the United States Armed Forces in 1993 by then-President Bill Clinton. -
16 March 2007Gay students to study at conservative rabbi school 1 A Los Angeles college of Conservative Judaism has accepted openly gay applicants for the first time since the ban on gay ordination was lifted.A spokeswoman for The Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies (L.A. -
16 March 2007More St Patrick’s Day controversy in New York 2 The outspoken organiser of America's largest Irish celebration has outraged firefighters in New York City by accusing them of turning up drunk to the St Patrick's Day parade.John Dunleavy is a hate figure in the gay community for refusing to allow LGBT Irish-Americans to take part in the march down 5th Avenue on 17th March.Last year Mr Dunleavy compared gay people to prostitutes and neo-Nazis. -
16 March 2007Caribbean islanders worried Elton will turn them gay 3 Sir Elton John may not perform at the Plymouth Jazz festival in Tobago over church leader's fears that he will 'turn' locals gay.Archdeacon of Trinidad and Tobago Philip Isaac yesterday expressed fears that:"His visit to the island can open the country to be tempted towards pursuing his lifestyle" according to the Jamaica Gleaner. -
16 March 2007First civil unions in a changed Mexico + A prominent journalist in Mexico City was legally joined with his male partner in one of the first same-sex civil unions in the city yesterday.Antonio Mendina , 38, is one of the 1200 gay and lesbian people who have registered to go through the new legal ceremony, yet another sign of the changing nature of Mexican society.Last week 22-year-old Christian Chavez, a member of the hugely popular Mexican pop band RBD, revealed his homosexuality.
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15 March 2007Gay bishop says coming out is God at work + The openly gay bishop of New Hampshire, Gene Robinson, has robustly defended his position.At a public meeting in Washington DC Bishop Robinson claimed that of the nearly 8000 parishes in the American Episcopal Church, only 47 have sought guidance from outside bishops after his ordination."If you want to know my homosexual agenda, it's Jesus," Bishop Robinson said. -
15 March 2007Hillary and Obama avoid answering homosexuality question + US Presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton has come under fire for saying on Tuesday that said she believed it is for "others to conclude" if homosexuality is morally wrong.Her comments were in response to the current Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the American armed forces, Marine General Peter Pace, who said in an interview on Monday that he thought homosexuality was immoral.Yesterday she issued a statement saying: "I disagree with what he said and do not share his view, plain and simple." -
15 March 2007Drop in number of gay dimissals from US military + The number of troops dismissed last year is less than half the total number of discharges in the year preceding the Sept. -
15 March 2007NY Mayor slams St Patrick’s Day parade gay ban 3 The Mayor of New York City has criticised the organising committee of the city's famous St Patrick's Day parade for banning gay and lesbians from participating.Michael Bloomberg, the city's leader since 2002, will march in the parade."I think all parades in this city should be open to everybody, no matter what your orientation or ethnicity or anything else is," Mr.
