31 May

Thursday 31 May 2012

Photo: Helen Westwood’s facebook profile picture

Gay Marriage may have moved a step nearer in Australia. The New South Wales upper house passed a motion calling on the federal government to allow gay marriage by 22 votes to 16, joining Tasmania and the ACT in having a parliamentary chamber call for the 1961 commonwealth Marriage Act to be amended to allow same-sex marriage.

During the debate, Labor MP Helen Westwood described being in a lesbian relationship and having eight grandchildren. “There’s just no evidence that my children or my grandchildren have been disadvantaged by being raised in a same-sex relationship,” she told the chamber on Thursday.

Nick Herbert. Photo: Sky

Meanwhile in Britain Nick Herbert, the justice and policing minister, waded into the row in the Conservatives about gay marriage. Mr Herbert, who has a civil partnership, said that he and others of the same sexuality are effectively being treated as second-class citizens, and opponents of same-sex marriage are making intemperate and unreasonable arguments. “I am getting rather fed up with people metaphorically jabbing a finger into my chest and saying I should put up with a civil partnership.”

Condoms and a banana. Photo: Izismile

At this time of year the health statistics seem to pour out like an overflowing medicine bottle and today we are on STDs. This year there is a two percent rise in the number of new sexually transmitted infections in England: 427,000. Young people and men who have sex with men are at highest risk, with new gonorrhoea cases up 61 percent in their group. The increase was mainly cases of gonorrhoea, syphilis and genital herpes, which were up by 25, 10 and five percent. Among gay and bisexual men who have sex with men, new cases of gonorrhoea were up 61 percent, with syphilis up 28 percent. The number of new chlamydia infections reported had risen by 48 percent on 2010′s figures.

Senator Ted Lieu. Photo in public domain

Reuters reports that a bill to ban an ex-gay therapy directed at children and teens passed California’s Senate on Wednesday, moving the state a step closer to becoming the first in the nation to ban the controversial treatment. The 23-13 vote in the Democratic-controlled Senate marked a major victory for opponents who say the therapy has no medical basis because homosexuality is not a disorder, and that the therapy can cause depression leading to substance abuse and suicide. “These therapies are dangerous,” Senator Ted Lieu, a Democrat who sponsored the bill, said on the Senate floor before the vote, citing the case of Ryan Kendall, an outspoken advocate of gay rights who underwent such therapy as a child. “Ryan was told that being gay made God cry,” Lieu said. “He testified that for 10 years of his life, he wanted to commit suicide. He has not done that and now he is speaking out against this type of therapy.”

Lord Browne’s comments over gays in senior positions, which we blogged yesterday, have drawn some criticism. “Homophobia in the workplace? Lord Browne would have had an easier time if he’d been open about his sexuality,” says Andrew Pierce. “… Lord Browne of Madingley, often described as Tony Blair’s favourite businessman, was one of the most influential men on the planet. In 2005 he was asked by the Financial Times if he was gay. He replied ‘you have got the wrong man there’. The journalists knew that he was lying. .. Browne, in his speech at Arup this week to launch the company’s Connect Out gay networking organisation, revealed he had lived in the closet for so long was because of his mother Paula. Mrs Browne regularly accompanied her son to BP social events to the evident bemusement of some of his colleagues.”

Your Activist – out at work from 1976 – with no detrimental effect on a career – has always advocated openness and honesty in such matters. Yes, Your Activist was lucky but still believes that honesty pays dividends.

SP

22 May

Tuesday 22 May 2012

Ravi. Photo: Time

Dharun Ravi, 20, yesterday was sent to jail for just 30 days for the death of Tyler Clementi, his room mate. He could have gone to prison for 10 years and been deported from the country after being found unanimously guilty in March of 15 charges, including invasion of privacy, interfering with a witness, tampering with evidence and the hate crime of “bias intimidation”. Despite saying that “society has every right to expect zero tolerance for intolerance” and criticising Ravi for his lack of apology, the judge angered gay-rights campaigners with the short jail term.

Rev. Charles Worley called for gays and lesbians to be placed in a form of concentration camp. Catawba Valley Citizens Against Hate says it plans a peaceful protest on Sunday outside Providence Road Baptist Church, where Rev. Charles Worley delivered his controversial homily on May 13.

Gay England football fans travelling to Ukraine for Euro 2012 have been warned to keep a low profile for their own safety, after Kiev’s first ever gay pride parade was cancelled on Sunday amid fears of violence from far-right thugs. Television pictures showed Svyatoslav Sheremet, head of the Gay Forum of Ukraine, being kicked and jumped on by a group of men after the event was stopped.

Amnesty International said police in the capital advised organisers to abandon the march just 30 minutes before it was due to start after 500 ultra-right football hooligans had gathered. Thousands of England fans will travel to the eastern European country for Euro 2012, which begins on June 8.

Welcome to the summer of no love.

However some positive news from Britain’s National Health Service. Same-sex couples will be given the same rights as heterosexual couples under guidance issued by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence.

The recommendation follows implementation of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 2008 which abolished requirement for fertility clinics to take into account a child’s need for a father or a male role model before agreeing to treatment. Gay couples or single women now need only show they can provide “supportive parenting”.

Demand from gay couples paying privately for fertility services has boomed, and the number of lesbian couples undergoing IVF rose from 178 in 2007 to 417 in 2010.
One cycle of IVF can cost up to £8,000 privately. Because success rates are low – typically 20 per cent for a 38-year-old – couples can spend tens of thousands on treatment.

Many same-sex couples receive “outright discrimination” from health authorities, commented some gay spokespeople today, while anti-gay commentators said it amounted to a Government-backed attempt to “rewrite biology”.

SP

14 May

Monday 14 May 2012

Dr Damien Riggs. Photo: Flinders University, Australia

There is no scientific evidence that children with heterosexual parents ‘do better’ than those with same-sex parents. “The Australian Psychological Society conducted in 2007 a large review of literature on parenting by same sex couples, and found the evidence shows that children in these families do at least as well as those in heterosexual families,” said APS spokesperson Dr Judith Heywood.

That literature was based on 30 years of research tracking children in same-sex homes, added Dr Damien Riggs, a Flinders University lecturer in social work and planning. It suggested that on some measures, those raised by gay couples were better-adjusted than others, he said. If there were any negative consequences of growing up with non-heterosexual parents, they would be the consequences of discrimination, and those were the same across all marginalised groups.

Gay event in Burma. Undated photo: Gay Star News

The Guardian have been to Burma to see the gay community there.

“The nightclub is heaving… and packed with drunken dancers. At the bar, the young sons of Burma’s elite are buying bottles of Jack Daniel’s and Johnnie Walker with thick wads of dirty kyat notes…. a cultural transformation is taking place on the dance floor. Clubbers are grinding up against each other – girls on girls, boys on boys – singing along to American hip-hop blaring out of the giant speakers in the corner.

In a country that still criminalises homosexual activity – a legacy from when the British once ruled this country of 50 million – such sights have long been kept out of view. But as Burma slowly opens up, many of its lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) population are hoping they will no longer have to stay in the shadows.”

Wow. Be careful though.

“”When we cruise, we cruise with everyone else – gay or straight – because we don’t have 100% gay venues here,” says Chitoo, 33, a gay Burmese living in Rangoon. “If we did, the government would arrest us. But now Daw [Aung San] Suu [Kyi] is bringing human rights on to the table, and through her our voices will be louder than ever before.”

Some expect the change to be rapid, such as Douglas Thompson, a gay activist who founded the LGBT-friendly travel company Purple Dragon 15 years ago and has been operating tours in Burma and other south Asian countries ever since. “If it’s anything like India or China or Vietnam … when things begin to open up, people meet and communicate,” he says. “Gay is an idea that people bring with them. It’s a lifestyle that is really for most people [in Burma] still completely alien.”"

The strains in the UK’s coalition government are beginning to show. Defence Secretary Philip Hammond is the first senior member of the Government to break ranks and raise doubts over the Coalition’s commitment to legislate for gay marriage, suggesting yesterday that gay marriage was too controversial and not enough of a priority to spend political capital on. Mr Hammond appeared to link gay marriage with proposals to reform the House of Lords – neither of which, he said, were a priority for the voters. “If you stop people in the street and ask them what their concerns are, they’ll talk to you about jobs and economic growth, the level of the wages they’re earning, wanting to see real growth in wages again.”

His comments were met with irritation by the Liberal Democrats. A source close to the Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg said: “We would fully expect Mr Hammond to support government policy regardless of his views. Gay marriage is something which is backed by both the Prime Minister and the Deputy Prime Minister.”

Your Activist thinks it has no chance of being legislated for the time being.

SP

8 May

Tuesday 8 May 2012

Photo: Mary Altaffer/AP

The Guardian has been talking to five American gay activists about the progress on gay rights in the US.

“I’ve focused on journalism because there is no LGBT group where I feel at home. The loss of democracy is not unique to the LGBT movement, but tragic nonetheless. We all hate Citizens United, but let money rule our own movement. Progress still? We talk about it on our Gay USA show every week. But I miss the community the movement forged – and not because I’m nostalgic,” says Andy Humm.

“One thing I routinely tell younger LGBT activists who complain that we haven’t attained full equality, is to recognize the lightning speed with which the gay rights movement has achieved tremendous success. The two movements that created the platform for the successes of the LGBT movement are the feminist and black civil rights movements, struggles that took hundreds of years to secure freedom and equality. The LGBT community probably will have achieved total victory in less than a half-century, making ours the swiftest major social movement in history to achieve its goals,” says Ethan Geto.

John Bercow. Photo: Getty

Human rights reforms in the 76 countries around the world where homosexual activity is illegal are to be championed by John Bercow, the Speaker of the House of Commons. Mr Bercow will highlight the plight of gay men and women in 41 of the 54 Commonwealth countries which have not yet abolished laws criminalising homosexuality, in a speech to the Kaleidoscope Trust next week. In five Commonwealth countries gays face death. He will argue that the laws are on the statute book as a result of the nations’ colonial legacy from Britain. Mr Bercow is president of Kaleidoscope.

Some gay sperm? Photo: Medical News

A recruitment drive aimed at gay men has contributed to a significant reduction in the waiting times for Australian women seeking a sperm donor in their bid to have a baby. Australian women were waiting up to 18 months for donor sperm about a year ago. The waiting time is now about eight weeks thanks to the generosity of Australia’s gay men!

Now why is your Activist not a bit surprised?

SP

28 April: the body in the bag defies the experts

Saturday 28 April 2012

Don’t try this at home: an expert attempts to get inside a bag like the one in which Gareth Williams was found. Daily Record

31-year-old Gareth Williams was unconscious or already dead when he was put in the sports holdall.

Former Parachute Regiment reservist Peter Faulding failed 300 times to lock himself inside an identical bag (see pictures above). A second expert, William MacKay, and a yoga-practising assistant also made more than 100 attempts to recreate the feat without success.

Faulding said he believed a third party was present, describing theories that Mr Williams got inside the holdall by himself as “unbelievable scenarios”. Mr MacKay refused to rule out Mr Williams locking himself in the bag.

James Freeman, LGBT Weekly

Aaah. Gay marine Avarice Guerrero was greeted with a romantic wedding proposal as he returned to San Diego’s Camp Pendleton this week. Cory Huston dropped to one knee before asking Avarice, returning home from a long deployment, to marry him. It’s believed to be the first proposal of marriage and engagement between two gay men, not to mention two war vets, on a U.S. military base. “I was blown away,” Guerrero said. “I was shocked that after all we’d been through, he would honestly want to spend the rest of his life with someone like me.”

The Washington Post reports a shift in US public opinion over gay marriage. About time too. Opposition to gay marriage is significantly lower. The level of strong support for gay marriage is equal to the level of strong opposition. In the April 4-15 survey, 22 percent of Americans say they strongly favor permitting legal marriage for gays and lesbians; an identical percentage said they strongly oppose it.

Jennifer Tyrrell and her son. MSNBC

The Boy Scouts of America has come under renewed fire over its controversial outright ban on gays and lesbians after it sacked Tiger Scout leader Jennifer Tyrrell on the grounds that she was a lesbian. Parents who were aware of Jennifer’s sexual orientation well before she took the boys of Ohio Pack 109 on camps and helped them build race cars for the annual Pinewood Derby, have rallied to her defence. Rob Dunn, a father of one of the scouts, said: “I teach my children to judge people on their actions, whether you agree with their lifestyle or not.”

Caesar Abangirah writes in the Ugandan Monitor that it is time to talk about homosexuality in Africa. “‘It is not part of our culture’, ‘Our religion does not accept it’, ‘It’s disgusting’, ‘it is for the whites.’ These are some of the common statements used to respond to homosexuality. Not once have we tried to sit down to think deeper into why someone would have a sexual attraction toward someone of the same sex.”

Andrew Talemwa and Dullaart Ssebandeke have set up a campaign dubbed “Let us Talk About it Africa” to open an African dialogue to constructively discuss and address issues of homosexuality, bisexuality, transgender and intersex. “For instance,” says Talemwa, “I had a hard time to deal with gay people…I avoided them and thought they were abnormal.” But after learning and talking about sexual diversity, Talemwa realises that “it is not a choice to be gay; it is by nature”.

SP

24 April

Tuesday 24 April 2012

Photo of Dr Mike Davidson: Peter Ould

The man behind the “Post Gay” campaign which has been banned from London transport is revealed as South African born Dr Mike Davidson, 57, of Belfast. He has really driven the “Post Gay” programme with his claims of having been “treated” for homosexuality himself. Davidson admits he didn’t have a “tactile” relationship with his father. He became a Christian when he was embraced by a speaker at summer camp. At bible college he had a homosexual relationship with a visiting professor. Davidson repressed his homosexuality for years until he moved to Britain in 1999, by which time he was married and had two children. Davidson had begun a secret life surfing gay websites and at this point he sought therapy. Davidson claims this therapy steered him back to heterosexuality. He believes homosexuality is a “Normal Development Aberration” where “Normal Development” is the process of reproduction between a man and a woman.

His Core Issues Trust makes it profoundly clear that homosexuality is not considered a “disease” but describing homosexuality as a “aberration” has offended many.

You can get all sorts of things on one of these. Amazon

Meanwhile Father Martin McVeigh, the priest under investigation after accidentally displaying pornographic images of men during a school meeting, has taken an immediate temporary leave of absence. Parents and parishioners were read a statement from the Catholic Church which exonerated Fr McVeigh, but many parishioners were not happy with the statement and have refused to allow their children to take part in any ceremonies conducted by him. The flash drive seems to have disappeared.

In the Independent Fiona Shaw reveals that telling your children you are gay is harder than telling your parents.

I know him, he’s… Photo: Clapham Guardian

A festival which hoped to promote the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community during the London Olympics has been cancelled.

Pride House at Clapham Common failed to secure sponsorship and headline artists. The venture was backed by an array of celebrities, ranging from Stephen Fry to Ben Cohen, and promised a vibrant line up of entertainment across a period of 18 days. There were high hopes it would raise the profile of Clapham, while creating awareness of homophobia in sport.

A political storm has erupted following the news it has been cancelled, with opposition councillors condemning Lambeth Council for pushing the plans ahead. Tory Councillor Shirley Cosgrave, Clapham Common ward councillor said: “We had concerns about the financial viability of the event and hope that lessons will be learnt about the need for rigorous checking of applications before such events are given the go-ahead.”

LGBT campaign group Stonewall said the cancellation of the festival will come as a blow to Britain’s gay community, with Olympics organisers failing to promote sexual diversity. A spokesperson said: “Unfortunately they have done little, if anything, to promote or reach out to the LGBT community. There is one openly gay paralympian show jumper on team GB. Given the Olympic Games legacy which said they would promote diversity, they are ignoring 3.7m around the country in sport.”

Undated photo: Alamy

Gay and bisexual men are neglected and discriminated against by a health service that tends to focus solely on their sexual health.

6,900 gay and bisexual men who had used NHS healthcare services in the last year were surveyed by Stonewall who found that a third had negative experiences. Confidence in confidentiality systems and lack of opportunities for discussion were so poor that the same proportion had not even come out to their GP or other staff. The men said they were more likely to be open about their sexual orientation with their manager and work colleagues than with healthcare professionals.

3% of gay men and 5% of bisexual men had tried to kill themselves compared with 0.4% of all men. 7% of gay and bisexual men had deliberately harmed themselves, compared with just 3% of all men.

Among younger gay and bisexual men aged 16 to 24, 6% had tried to take their own life and 15% had harmed themselves. 50% of those surveyed had experienced at least one domestic violence incident from a family member or partner since the age of 16, compared with 17% of all men. (This does not surprise Your Activist. Our page on domestic violence in gay relationships is one of our most downloaded pages.)

Many patients were discriminated against by doctors and nurses. “I overheard the reception staff say to a nurse: ‘The poof is here for his appointment,’” David, 23, told Stonewall. Jack, 37, described how his doctor wrote “homosexual” in capital letters on a letter he had to take to hospital after breaking his wrist. Every time a different doctor pulled up his details on the computer, the same tag would appear.

Patients report health professionals assuming that because they were gay, they must be HIV positive, and of their partner’s rights being ignored.

Your Activist has been lucky so far with his own medical professionals, but recognises that there are areas of the health service which need improvement and further training. Gay Activist thinks the NHS as a whole suffers from an Imperious and bossy culture which is unhelpful.

SP

17 April

Tuesday 17 April 2012

Tim Farron MP. Grough

Lib Dem MP Tim Farron has regrets over accepting an intern from a religious charity who believe in ‘curing gays’. He now says its claims that gay people can be “cured” are “grossly offensive, homophobic and wrong.” Mr Farron said he will not employ another of its interns. Mr Farron said: “I don’t agree with the idea of a gay ‘cure’ and I think it is grossly offensive, homophobic and wrong. As soon as I was told about the ‘gay cure’ conference, I asked my office to investigate as a matter of urgency. I am a Christian and I am also a liberal who strongly supports equality in all areas. As a result, I will not be having another CARE intern.”

Focus Taiwan

Gay people in Taiwan are under many different forms of stress caused by factors that range from isolation and fear of family rejection to societal expectations, according to a poll of 2,785 gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender people.

79 percent worry that their family will not accept their sexual orientation. 68 percent of homosexuals feel pressured by family expectations that they will enter into heterosexual marriages. Other pressures result from negative media reporting of gay issues (57 percent), the public’s expectations regarding gender roles (49 percent), the expectations of older generations and company bosses (44 percent), and verbal and physical abuse (39 percent), the poll shows. More than 20 percent of the respondents also said they did not have any gay-friendly friends, classmates or teachers.

Demonstrations will take place in the US today to highlight the fact that gay married couples must list themselves as ‘single’ on federal tax returns. The United States does not recognise gay marriages at a federal level and so prevents couples from tax benefits straight couples receive. Marriage Equality USA said its local chapters will make a public point on the federal tax return deadline today that gay couples face a moral and financial disadvantage over straight couples.

Lisa Stapley. Photo: Andrew Price

Regular readers are aware that we pass on bad and shameful news as well as good and positive news. We wish all news was positive but it is not and your Activist lives in the real world, not Hollywood. Lisa Stapley, a Police community support officer, specifically recruited by the police because she was gay, passed confidential information to the closely knit lesbian community in Wrexham. The most serious example of this was sending a text message to a friend telling her to get out of town because the police were looking for her. Stapley, 39, dubbed “Lisa Filth” by other lesbians because of her job, was jailed for 10 months after she admitted four charges of misconduct in public office. After sentencing, deputy chief constable, Ian Shannon, said: “This case demonstrates our resolve to thoroughly and rigorously investigate any instance where the integrity of our staff may be called into question. In any case, where corruption is found, we will ensure that those responsible are brought to justice, as we have done in this case.”

SP

3 April

Tuesday 3 April 2012

Macky Sall. Photo: Umuseke

Macky Sall, who takes office as the new president of Senegal has been asked to improve legal protection for gay and lesbians. Human Rights Watch have asked him to repeal of Article 319.3 of the west African state’s penal code, which makes gay acts illegal by criminalising “indecent acts” and “acts against nature” with a punishment of between one and five years in prison, and other measures.

Gay NI

Gay Activist mostly hears of gay publications closing down, so it is heartening to hear about the launch of a new gay magazine in Northern Ireland, Gay NI. The first issue features Ben Cohen of Stand Up. Gay NI Magazine evolved from the gayni.net website which hosted listings and other information for the LGBT community in Northern Ireland for the last two years and is available in Northern Ireland newsagents with a £2 cover price.

Five legally married same-sex couples filed a lawsuit in America this week challenging the 1996 law that bars the recognition of same-sex marriages. The suit argues that its impact is particularly harsh on couples of an American citizen and a foreigner. The lawsuit was brought by Immigration Equality.

Same-sex marriage advocates said it was likely to become the most prominent suit seeking to overturn the Defense of Marriage Act, based on its effect on gay or lesbian immigrants who want to gain legal residence through marriage to American citizens. Under immigration law, a citizen can apply for a foreign spouse to obtain legal permanent residency, with a document known as a green card. Since unlike many other visas, there are no limits on the number of green cards available to spouses of citizens.

SP

29 March

Thursday March 29 2012

(L-R) Peter Lawrence and Don Gallagher. Sky

A gay banker has won his appeal against a decision to award his former partner £1.7m of the couple’s wealth. Peter Lawrence, 47, claimed West End actor Don Gallagher was receiving more than he was entitled to because judges had taken into account a £2.4m London flat he bought before they got together. The case is believed to be the first involving a civil partners to reach the Court of Appeal.

Lord Justice Thorpe said same-sex partnerships enjoy exactly the same rights as straight marriages under the law but said the original financial calculations had followed “too theoretical a map”. The 55%-45% division of assets seemed unfair given the fact Mr Lawrence’s flat had soared in value while the couple were together, he said. “Whether approached on a needs basis or a fair-sharing basis, I would propose a lump sum of £350,000,” said the judge.

Now an interesting snippet. The Law Commission is currently reviewing legislation on how married couples and civil partners can claim financial support from one another after a divorce or dissolution, which includes looking at ‘non-matrimonial’ property which has been acquired before a relationship begins or has been received as a gift or through inheritance. The commission is expected to report back in 2013.

Disturbing news from Moscow. A bill banning the “promotion of homosexuality” to minors was introduced into the State Duma on Thursday, less than a week after similar legislation came into force in St. Petersburg. Novosibirsk regional lawmakers submitted the bill, which calls for fines of up to 500,000 roubles for promoting a gay lifestyle in the media and through “public activities that promote homosexuality as normal behavior.” “The propaganda of homosexuality is widespread in modern Russia,” says a note attached to the bill..

The legislation argues that exposure to a gay lifestyle is particularly dangerous for children and teens who are not able to properly evaluate what they are seeing. The bill will stir fears in the gay community about an increase in discrimination and a crackdown on every manifestation of homosexuality — from gay-pride events to the arts and media.

Giles Chichester: PA

Giles Chichester, a Conservative MEP for the South West who represents the Tory Party in Brussels, has written to the Prime Minister urging him not to legalise same-sex marriage which he calls a “bizarre” move that will prompt a grassroots party revolt.

Mr Chichester believes it is a “mystery” why Mr Cameron is pushing the “militant gay agenda” championed by pressure groups. While supportive of same-sex civil partnerships, he warns the proposals, launched this month, are among a series of policies working to “undermine the traditional family”…. “Should this measure go through, it will cause many Conservatives to question their loyalty to a party which is no longer supporting values inherent to the party.”

Sunil Gupta at an earlier exhibition at London’s Tate. Jeff Mather Photography

Meanwhile the same European Parliament adopted its annual report on EU citizenship – in which it laments that same-sex couples still face disproportionate obstacles when moving inside the European union. The European Parliament “reiterates its previous calls for Member States to ensure freedom of movement for all EU citizens and their families, without discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation or nationality”. Specifically, the Parliament reminds Member States that they must implement the rights granted under the Free Movement Directive, not only to married heterosexual couples, but also to registered partners and same-sex spouses.

A gay art exhibition in India has been stopped. The exhibition celebrating gay life which opened in Delhi last week has been closed by police following an anonymous complaint of obscenity. The exhibition at the Alliance Française featuring photographer Sunil Gupta’s work is titled Sun City and Other Stories: Paris-San Francisco-Delhi. The exhibition opened to a rapturous response last week.

The police say they received a complaint on Saturday. An officer reportedly said: “[the caller] said a blue film was being played at Alliance Française. Since it is a diplomatic area, the police cannot enter the premises. Hence an area assistant sub-inspector went [there] and spoke to the manager and they decided to take action accordingly.”

“The absence of leadership and role models in the gay community leads to lack of identity, purpose and direction for gay men. There is no compelling vision for the future that serves as the motivation to change the old mindsets about sexuality that permeate the gay lifestyle. Gay men need a new vision that catapults the gay community into a more fulfilling and meaningful future.

The evidence for the problem is easily seen in gay media channels and by listening to the opinions of heterosexuals about gay men. A person can come to a Pride Parade and witness the demonstration of sexual acts, eroticism and sexual innuendo instead of being presented with new ideas and inspiration to live a meaningful and purposeful life,” says Paul Angelo.

“It is important to act now because sex-centered lifestyle doesn’t work any longer. Love, happiness, good health and financial independence require more than sexual compatibility. In addition, the world is changing faster than ever and the economic and social hardship will only get worse in the coming years. By acting now, gay men can get a head start in creating the ultimate lifestyle and in enjoying the benefits of a loving partner, successful career and a healthy lifestyle.”

Oh, dear. Life was so much simpler when all you had to worry about was your Ring of Confidence.

SP

Thursday 22 March 2012

Madonna. Photo: Jeff Haynes/Reuters

Good for Madonna. She has promised to defy a recent law against homosexual “propaganda” in St. Petersburg this summer. Calling the legislation, which imposes fines for promoting homosexuality among minors, a “ridiculous atrocity” on her Facebook page, she said she would address the issue during her show.

You couldn’t make it up – two men on a gay cruise of the Caribbean were arrested yesterday in Dominica, after someone on the port spotted them having sex in a country where sex between two men is illegal. The pair could now face a jail term. Police Constable John George said authorities boarded the cruise ship and arrested the two men on suspicion of indecent exposure and sodomy.

Your Activist cannot understand why any gay man or lesbian would want to go anywhere near such rampantly homophobic countries. Suntans can be acquired elsewhere.

The current ban on gay and unmarried couples adopting children in Northern Ireland should remain in place until the Stormont Assembly decides otherwise. John Larkin, QC, said adoption laws were to ensure child welfare rather than satisfy the wishes of would-be parents. Mr Larkin was representing the Department of Health in a legal challenge brought by the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission. The body is attempting to force a legislative change which would bring adoption laws into line with the rest of the UK. It claims the current status, as it stands in the Civil Partnership Act 2004, is discriminatory and breaches human rights. The case continues.

George Broadhead. UK Gay News

One of the UK’s most senior gay humanist campaigners is glad that Archbishop Dr Rowan Williams is to stand down from Church of England post. George Broadhead, a veteran gay-rights campaigner and the secretary of the UK’s only gay humanist charity – the Pink Triangle Trust – pointed out that Dr Williams’s tenure as the Archbishop of Canterbury has been one of disappointment for LGBT people. “Ten years ago [his appointment] was welcomed by some LGBT activists, notably Christian ones, as they believed him to be on the liberal wing of the Church of England and [that he] would take a benign stance on LGBT relationships and rights,” he said. “However, they were soon disillusioned.”

SP