I screwed up on gays, says Church leader

Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams today apologised to the lesbian and gay community in the UK for not valuing their contribution to society properly, and appealed to other churchmen for unity over the selection of gay bishops and gay and lesbian worshippers.

“There are ways of speaking about the question that seem to ignore these human realities or to undervalue them. I have been criticised for doing just this and I am profoundly sorry for the carelessness that could give such an impression … (the debate over gay ordinations) had not been helped by those who ignored the fact that many worshippers were gay, as well as many “sacrificial and exemplary priests”.

Gay murder – jury discharged

The jury hearing the trial of Rodney Greenland who has been charged with the murder of gay hairdresser Simon Amers of Chantry, Ipswich, has been discharged today ‘for legal reasons’. Earlier the jury heard that:

The two men, who did not know each other, had met in The Plough public house in Dogs Head Street, Ipswich when they were out drinking in the town on July 27. The pair then went back to Mr Amers’ flat late that night. Mr Jackson told the jury they would hear evidence from a forensic pathologist that Mr Amers, who was homosexual, had seven stab wounds to his chest and abdomen and slash wounds to his throat. His body was discovered three days later by a friend who had not been able to get in touch with him.

Is the Football Association dragging its feet?

The FA’s commitment to tackling homophobia in the game came under question today after the launch of a much-heralded film designed to confront the issue as part of the FA’s Kick it Out campaign was cancelled at the last minute.

The campaign had been in development for almost two years and had been billed as an important moment in an embryonic drive to tackle homophobia among players, fans and administrators

How not to refer to constituents and voters

A Conservative councillor is under investigation for allegedly referring to homosexuals and victims of domestic violence as “the queen team” and the “scream team” at a public meeting, reports the Telegraph. Councillor Keith Parker of Brentwood Council has been referred to the ethical standards committee for using the terms. The council code of conduct states that council members “should have respect for others and promote equality by not discriminating against unlawfully against any person and by treating people with respect regardless of race, age, religion, gender or sexual orientation.”

The Councillor claims he has received supportive messages from the gay community and that he was mis-heard.

Lord Browne reflects on his public outing

Businessman and now Chairman of the Tate Gallery Lord Browne was outed when his former lover broke the story of their secret relationship to journalists. At the time Lord Browne said they had met while exercising in a park. In fact, the two men had met through a gay escort website, Suited and Booted. Lord Browne now has a new partner and has told The Telegraph how he feels now about the way he panicked as he was being outed by the press.

It is not very often I blog a story in the City Pages!

The single man remembered

Only the other day I added the names of Don Bachardy and Christopher Isherwood to the Roll of Honour. Today the BBC note the publication in 1964 of Isherwood’s then ground breaking and honest autobiography, A Single Man, which became one of the foundation stones of the gay rights movement which grew up during the 1960s. The BBC also have footage from 1964 of Don and Chris driving in what looks like San Francisco, and Don drawing Chris.

A Single Man was a fine book. But all of Chris’s books were fine. Now it appears that a film version of A Single Man is to be released.

Nota lota bottle

Harriet Harman has bowed to pressure and confirmed that the government will not attempt to force through clarifications on who churches must employ, reports Pink News. So much for the European Court telling us it was illegal, then. I wonder what Europe will have to say. I should imagine it will be something pithy, like people who remember the bad old Conservative years of Section 28 and Not Promoting Homosexuality etc etc. For David Cameron, although apologising for Section 28 etc etc, has announced there will be no gay rights laws under his command.

No wonder Alan Horsfall and Ray Gosling, gay activist stalwarts of the UK gay movement, think we have entered a new Dark Age.

Roll of honour

As my contribution to Lesbian and Gay History Month in the UK, I have started compiling a roll of honour for gay people who have made a significant contribution to society. Click on the ‘Roll of honour’ tab. I will be adding names to it. If you have any further suggestions for the roll, please leave a message here for me.

Another arrest in Malawi

Activist Peter Sawali, 21, was arrested on Saturday night for hanging gay rights posters proclaiming “gay rights are human rights” in townships and along a main highway, to protest the trial of a newly-wed gay couple for “gross indecency”.

“He claimed to have been fighting for gay rights and will be charged with “conduct likely to cause breach of peace,” said a police spokesperson quoted by Independent Online.

Homosexuality is illegal in Malawi, where consensual gay sex is punishable by up to 14 years in jail.

Too much orange for Gay Activist

Reuters USA reports that film companies are preparing a film about 1970s anti-gay campaigner Anita Bryant, whose efforts to turn gays into straights put gay rights back for years in the USA.

In 1959 and ‘60, she was a major pop star with three million-selling records. After marrying and settling in Florida, she reverted to Christian music and, projecting a wholesome image, began plugging such blue-chip companies as Coca-Cola, Kraft Foods and Holiday Inn.

Her most famous celebrity endorsement gig was for the Florida Citrus Commission, for which she sang in a series of TV commercials, closing each ad with the tag line, “A day without orange juice is like a day without sunshine.”

By the mid-’70s, Bryant was a Christian celebrity. She published several best-selling books and won Good Housekeeping’s “Most Admired Woman in America” poll for three consecutive years.

In 1977, she switched to political activism, launching a crusade to repeal a new Miami-Dade County ordinance prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.

“As a mother, I know that homosexuals cannot biologically reproduce children; therefore, they must recruit our children,” she said. Her Save Our Children coalition got the new law overturned within a year, and it took 20 years for it to be reinstated.

Note that recruit. Such language is today regarded as homophobic.

Anita Bryant belongs in the history book.