A Russian Orthodox church activist attacks a gay rights protester during an unauthorised rally in central Moscow. Photograph: Anton Tushin/AFP/Getty
Dozens of people have been detained in Moscow after Russian Orthodox church activists broke up two banned gay rights protests, throwing water and shouting prayers at gay demonstrators, throwing punches, grabbing their rainbow flags and trampling on them in front of television cameras outside the city hall and parliament. Almost all of the 30 gay rights protesters were detained, but hardly any Orthodox activists were detained.
Nikolai Alexeyev said he was detained for talking to journalists. “I am arrested at Moscow Pride City Hall protest,” he tweeted. “I have no words.” Police said about 40 people had been detained at the protests. Homosexuality was decriminalised in Russia in 1993, but anti-gay prejudice runs deep and the gay community remains largely underground.
Discrimination is still affecting too many gay men and women in Northern Ireland, says the Equality Commissioner there. The commission received 82 inquiries from people concerned about their rights in the last year. More people were harassed because of their sexual orientation when seeking access to goods and services.
“The law is in place to protect everyone from homophobic treatment and discrimination, and the Equality Commission would like to hear from more lesbian, gay and bisexual people about their experiences and advise them of their rights and options,” said the Commissioner, Mr Wardlow.
In 2011/12 the Police Service of Northern Ireland recorded 200 homophobic incidents, a decrease of 11 (5.2%) on the previous year.
Frank Mugisha. Photo: Mask
Ugandan gay activists have urged President Yoweri Museveni’s government to repeal the penal code that outlaws homosexuality in the East African country. The activists also want the government to block the controversial Anti-Homosexuality Bill, which will soon be introduced in parliament. Sex Minorities Uganda’s executive director Frank Mugisha said they were appealing to government to end the abuse of gays. “As we today mark 2012 International Day against Homophobia and Transphobia, the LGBTI community calls on the Parliament of Uganda to reject the Anti-Homosexuality Bill that is still pending in Parliament, that incites unnecessary hatred and violence in the communities where we live and makes us daily targets for hate crimes, making it impossible for us to live freely.”
The death of Gareth Williams, the MI6 officer who was found naked in a padlocked holdall in the bath at his London flat, was “criminally mediated”, and on the balance of probability, Williams was “unlawfully killed”, Coroner Fiona Wilcox concluded, but there was not enough evidence to deliver a formal unlawful killing verdict. She criticised the behaviour of MI6 and SO15, the Metropolitan police counter-terrorism unit, whose officer operated as a conduit between the intelligence service and detectives investigating Williams’s death. The head of the intelligence service made an unreserved apology to Williams’s family over the delay in reporting him missing and the subsequent anguish it caused. It was unlikely Williams’s death would ever be satisfactorily explained.
Hardly justice for Gareth.
Reuters
Russian police have arrested 17 gay rights activists while trying to unfurl rainbow flags at a May Day rally in St Petersburg. Police said they were to be charged with failing to co-operate with officers. “The first activists who unfurled their flags were detained. Some tried to raise posters, they were also detained,” said Yury Gavrikov, a local gay rights leader. “Two police officers would grab each person, with no warning.” More than 30,000 people took part in the city’s May Day celebrations, officials said. The rally was led by the ruling United Russia party, but also included representatives of the Communist party and nationalist groups.
UKIP
UKIP supporters burned a picture of openly gay mayoral candidate Brian Paddick in London’s Soho. The press officer for UKIP tweeted a picture of an image of Mr Paddick being burned in the capital’s historically gay district with the caption ‘@UKIPLondon2012 campaign on fire in Soho’. The press officer said that the man burning the photograph of Mr Paddick was himself gay and that the campaigners were burning his image as a Liberal Democrat politician, not as a gay man.
Gary Leek, who runs the Gayzout Network Edinburgh website, said: “Priscillas was always a traditional gay venue, which we never used to have in Edinburgh. There was nothing else like it. The clientele was mixed but everyone was welcome and it had its own niche. I think it appealed because it had something for everybody and it was more down to earth. They had a good mix of cabaret and music. People in other bars tend to come and go, but people in there at 8pm would still be there at 11.”
Ken’s at Kensington. Photo: Ben Rushton BGR
Sydney, Australia’s famous gay sauna, Ken’s at Kensington, is to close due to the sale of the building on Sunday, May 20. The infamous sex-on-premises venue on Anzac Parade started life in 1973 after original owner Ken “Kandy” Johnson moved into what had been the home of another Sydney gay icon, the Purple Onion drag venue. The site was originally known as Ken’s Karate Klub, then Kensington Karate Klasses, an in-joke at a time when homosexuality was still illegal in NSW to explain why there were rubber mats all over the floors and “occasional sounds of groaning” from within.
The proposed new constitution for Zambia has been published and does not make its position on homosexuality clear, reports Zambian Watchdog. It does not out rightly rule homosexuality. It merely says on article 54 ‘that State shall recognise and protect the family as the natural and fundamental unit of society and the necessary basis of the social order. (2) A person who is eighteen years of age or older has the right to freely choose a spouse of the opposite sex and marry.’
An estimated 16,000 convictions could now be eligible for removal from police records along with malicious convictions for “loitering with intent”. Men may now apply to the Secretary of State to disregard convictions under section 12 of the Sexual Offences Act 1956, the offence of buggery, under section 13 of that Act, covering gross indecency between men and under section 61 of the Offences against the Person Act 1861, which governed “the abominable Crime of Buggery, committed either with Mankind or with any Animal”, as long as those involved were over the age of 16 and the action would not now be regarded as an offence.
Peter TerVeer, a former management analyst at the Library of Congress is claiming he was fired after he “liked” the “Two Dads” Facebook page for same-sex parents, a group that helps “promote the gay and lesbian community,” an act he says led to his boss discovering he is gay. When his manager, John Mech, discovered he was gay, TerVeer’s once-positive performance reviews turned negative, he alleges, and his boss started making derogatory statements about his sexual orientation.
It’s a wake-up call for employees who may not yet understand the extent to which their social media participation can impact their careers. This month Maryland became the first state to ban the practice of asking for a job candidate or worker’s social networking password; and Illinois is considering similar legislation. Facebook has threatened to “take action to protect the privacy and security of our users” in cases where employers seek passwords.
Your Activist has heard of similar problems in the UK.
Iain Stewart MP. Milton Keynes
UK town Milton Keynes’ first ever Gay Pride will take place on August 11 in Campbell Park. Headed with pride by openly gay MP Iain Stewart, the slogan is ‘Come on MK – it’s OK to be Gay!’ “Our aim is to raise awareness and encourage inclusive behaviour. Milton Keynes is vibrant, young, energetic and colourful and we should be allowed to celebrate this,” said joint organiser, 45-year-old Jo Green. She and her partner Tamara Smith have formed a non-profit making Community Interest Company called MKPride.
BBC Photo from 2001 of a gay club in Dubai
Two men, one of whom is from Britain, have been sentenced for three years in jail for having drunken gay sex in public in Dubai. Both will be deported after serving their prison terms. A 28-year-old British male teacher, identified only by his initials PA, admitted to having consensual gay sex with MB, a 40-year-old man from the Seychelles, next to a petrol station while drunk in February 2011. A man parked behind the petrol station saw them and reported them to police. They tried to escape when the police arrived, but were caught. During a court hearing in March they both admitted to having consensual sex and consuming alcohol. Each was sentenced to three years in jail.
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.
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.
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.
The case has prompted a national debate in Chile over hate crimes, with President Sebastian Pinera saying that his government won’t rest until a proposed anti-discrimination law is passed. Four suspects have been jailed on attempted murder charges, some of whom already have criminal records for attacks on gays. Hours after Daniel’s death, prosecutor Ernesto Vazquez formally requested that the charges be changed to premeditated murder, carrying maximum life sentences if convicted. He said the attack was clearly motivated by homophobia.
Gay Activist sends condolences and wishes for full justice to family, friends and colleagues of Mr Zamudio.
The bruises on his chest have not yet fully healed. The right side of his mouth will be wired shut for at least the next month. No arrest has been reported. The victim said he is happy with the diligence with which the Metropolitan Police Department is handling the case, but is unsure whether or not they’ll be able to find suspects without more witnesses. The victim’s memory is blurry.
Gay Activist wishes him a speedy recovery and full justice.
Uncaptioned Photo: Gay Star News
The excellent and improving-all-the-time Gay Star News have been speaking to Chris Morgan, Gay Games Ambassador who recently produced a timeline tracing the history of LGBT sport in the UK. It was not until the 1970s that the first LGBT sports clubs began to form, with running, swimming and tennis among the first to establish dedicated gay and lesbian teams. The first Gay Games were held in San Francisco in 1982. Since the 1980s new clubs have continued to be established in every conceivable sport. Establishing an LGBT sports club is hard work, takes an enormous amount of energy and requires a number of passionate people to give the club focus and momentum. Making a club sustainable beyond that initial core group of people is equally challenging and it’s not uncommon for clubs to have a short lifespan if they have been unable to build a strong membership base or the infrastructure required for future growth.
Tut tut. Gay Activist reports bad as well as good news although we take no pleasure in it.
The matter was reported to police after teachers at the boy’s school became aware of what had happened. Officers working in Lothian and Borders’ Amythest Team interviewed Atkins. They were unable to charge him due to a loophole in the law at the time which meant consensual sex with males aged 12 to 16 was not a criminal offence. Detective Constable Andrew Dick, who interviewed the boy, who is now 19, said: “The pupil felt he had been sexually assaulted.” In his police interview Atkins denied there had been any inappropriate contact.
Robbie Burnett, lawyer for the GTCS, told the panel the only option was to strike Atkins from the register as “his conduct fell below the standard expected of a registered teacher”. The panel decided that, because Atkins had known the boy was still at school, he should be struck from the register. They said his name would be referred to the government to consider whether he should be allowed to work with children in future.
The Blue Diamond Society, Nepal’s leading gay rights group, has launched Nepal’s first gay sports event. The two-week event at the national football stadium and other venues around Kathmandu will feature Nepali participants in track and field, volleyball, football, martial arts and tennis. Asia already stages the “Asia-Pacific Outgames”, another multi-sport gay event, but this has only been hosted by New Zealand and Australia. Nepal’s version which is due to take place in late September will be the first in Asia.
“The aims for organising the Blue Diamond National Sport Competition 2012 are to mainstream LGBT people into the larger society, promote healthy lifestyles, encourage physical fitness, and promote health mentally and spiritually,” said Nepalese MP Sunil Pant.
The United Arab Emirates Lesbian Gay Bisexual and Transgender group has collected first hand witness accounts which the campaigners insist prove that the party did happen and arrests arrest did take place. Adilah, a lesbian member of UAE LGBT, said: “My friends were at the party and it did happen, we now know that the hotel security staff tipped off the police who then proceeded with the arrests. People were released the following day after signing a testimonial they would “not do it again”, although two people we know of are still unaccounted for and may be still held in prison because of their sexuality.”
Four years ago Frank Mugisha begged his colleagues to join him for his first demonstration in support of gay rights in Uganda. Only four came along, reports the Washington Post. This week, during a march against gender-based violence led by the gay advocacy group Sexual Minorities Uganda, the Ugandan activist saw more than 30 colleagues walk the streets of Kampala holding pro-gay posters. “For us, this is a sign of progress,” Mugisha said, pointing to the white tarpaulin under which his group assembled after Monday’s hour-long march. “We are no longer afraid of anything. We even have a banner.” Mugisha carries a sense of optimism that is slowly germinating within the tightly knit gay community. The mere fact, Mugisha said, that Ugandans are now having a national conversation on gay rights is itself an achievement. In the past, the subject was taboo. “We see a shift in public opinion, and I guess it’s because many Ugandans are talking about homosexuality a lot,” he said. “There are some local leaders who are now willing to meet and talk to us. The only problem we have is the belief people have that we are promoting homosexuality and recruiting children.”
MPs will raise the issue after a Dutch newspaper revealed details of the punishments – which had not been exposed by an official investigation into sexual abuse within the Church published last year. The NRC Handelsblad, a daily evening paper in the Netherlands, identified a man called Henk Heithuis, as one of the young men who were castrated as well as nine other minors. After reporting two monks to the police for abusing him in a Catholic boarding home, he was surgically castrated in 1956, when he was still a minor.
Mr Heithuis. NRC Handelsblad
Cornelius Rogge, 79, a well-known Dutch sculptor who knew Mr Heithuis witnessed the phyiscal evidence of the castration. ‘We once asked Henk to drop his pants when the women were gone. He did that. He was maimed totally. It was a huge shock,’ he said.
The surgical removal of testicles was regarded as a treatment for homosexuality and also as a punishment for those who accused clergy of sexual abuse. Mr Heithuis was castrated at the age of 20 – in 1956 he had accused Catholic clergy of sexually abusing him in his Church run care home.
Mr Heithuis died two years after the castration in a car crash.
The investigation received 1,800 reports of sexual abuse by clergy or volunteers within Dutch Catholic dioceses in the period since 1945.
Gay Activist repeats: The Catholic Church are in no position to lecture anyone else about how to live their lives.
The wartime genius, whose work helped crack the Nazi Enigma cipher during the Second World War, was convicted in 1952 and committed suicide two years later. An application for a pardon has already been rejected and although Commons leader Sir George Young pledged to have another look at the case, he stressed it was unlikely that the outcome would be different unless there was new evidence.
When lesser mortals are being given the chance to clear our names under the Protection of Freedoms Bill, it seems somewhat tardy to deny Mr Turing the same justice.
More needs to be done to catch those guilty of homophobic crimes in Northern Ireland, the Policing Board has urged. The PSNI’s scrutiny body says 27% of all crimes committed in Northern Ireland last year were detected, but for incidents with a homophobic motivation the “clearance rate” was only 17% and more work was needed. The detection rate for crimes against transgender individuals was 12.5% last year, although the number of incidents was low. Chair of the human rights and professional standards committee Conall McDevitt said the committee made 18 further recommendations to the police.
Patrick Chamberlayne QC, for Mr Lawrence, said the settlement was “flawed” and “bizarre”. He told Lord Justice Thorpe, sitting with Lord Justice Moses and Mr Justice Ryder, that the flat should have been excluded from the settlement, leaving Mr Gallagher with a £620,000 settlement, made up of half the value of the cottage and a pension pot. “This was of course a civil partnership, rather than a marriage, and although exactly the same principles apply, it is a simple truth that in homosexual relationships it is more likely that the couple will not have children, and that they will therefore each continue to pursue their careers throughout the partnership… Some homosexual couples, of course, choose to have children by adoption or surrogacy or may already have children from previous relationships and the same principle will apply as a heterosexual couple. Equally, the dual career situation applies irrespective of whether the couple is a heterosexual one in a marriage or a homosexual one in a civil partnership.”
The case is one of the first times that a court has adjudicated in a civil partnership separation involving two parties who had very different levels of wealth. Mr Lawrence, a £390,000-a-year financial analyst with JP Morgan, and his former partner separated in 2008. Although they had been in a civil partnership for only seven months, they had been together for 11 years.
The court heard that while Mr Gallagher had worked on and off as an actor — including a spell in the West End production of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert — he had devoted much of his time to a “home-making” role. In June last year, when the separation was finalised in court, Mrs Justice Parker ruled that their joint assets totalled about £4 million.
Mr Gallagher was offered an allowance of £28,000 by an earlier court but Mr Lawrence is appealing. The case continues.
Credit to Hong Seok-cheon, an actor, who is famous in Korea as the former host of a children’s show that was South Korea’s version of “Sesame Street” and a costar of a popular 1990s sitcom. He came out 12 years ago. Within 24 hours, the network summarily fired him from his jobs as a regular guest on several talk shows and slapstick host of the children’s show. No one would take his calls. Hong says he received so many death threats he shut himself up at home and began drinking heavily and contemplating suicide. Previously a nonsmoker, he began going through three packs a day. “I knew my career was over,” he said. “It was like somebody suddenly dropped a bomb on everything I had worked so hard for. One day it was there, and the next it was gone.”
He is the first gay man to discuss sex and sexual orientation on-air in South Korea. 77% of Koreans in one poll said they believed “homosexuality should be rejected.” “In South Korea, we’re led to believe that gay sex is dangerous, alien and dirty. For so many years, I’ve been treated as an outcast in my own country. I’m just so happy to be here today, talking openly about who I really am.”
Erwin van der Borght. Photo SVT
“Laws criminalizing consensual same-sex relationships must be repealed by the Cameroonian government, Amnesty International said as it called for the release of those currently in prison for homosexuality, “It is time to end the arrest, detention, prosecution and other forms of persecution and discrimination against people perceived or known to be gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender,” said Erwin van der Borght, Amnesty International’s director for Africa. Since March 2011, 13 people in Cameroon have been arrested for allegedly practising homosexuality. Most have been targeted on the grounds of their perceived sexual orientation, rather than on any alleged participation in prohibited consensual acts. In virtually no cases have the police or other eyewitnesses claimed to have seen the alleged homosexual acts,” reports All Africa.
“Eight gay men have been murdered in their homes in Gauteng in the past two years in strikingly similar circumstances. The men were all found with their hands tied behind their backs. The most recent murder occurred just over a week ago. There have been no arrests. And, with incomplete forensics and not a single prosecution, a family is now resorting to private investigation.”
There may also be a further victim.
The latest victim, theatre manager Rulov Senekal, was found bound and suffocated in his home on February 26 after a meeting with two men in his apartment the night before, as your Activist reported recently.
HIV activist and ex-TV presenter Jason Wessenaar was murdered in his home in Pretoria West on December 18 last year. He was stabbed seven times in the neck during what appeared to have been a struggle. The murder weapon was different, but there are similarities with the other cases.
Barney van Heerden was found in his Orange Grove house on September 19, strangled and bound after he had let someone into his home. His laptop and cellphone were taken, and again there were no signs of forced entry.
Siphiwe Selby Nhlapo was murdered a week before that. Bound and strangled in his apartment in Kliptown, he had acid poured onto his face. Some clothes and a television were taken from the scene.
Last August, a landlord, who cannot be named, was found strangled and bound at his home in Northcliff. Police believe he had tried to fight off his attacker before he was bludgeoned with a heavy object. He was bound and strangled. Tenants found the body the following morning. Again, there was no forced entry, and almost nothing was stolen.
Oscar O’Hara was killed last May in Kensington. He had been house-sitting for author Ivan Vladislavic. He too was tied up and strangled. Again, very few valuables were taken.
In December 2010, Jim Cathels was found dead in his apartment in Berea. He was bound and strangled. Yet again there was no forced entry and little was taken from the scene.
Manolis Veloudos was bludgeoned with a laptop and bound and strangled in his Linden home in April 2010. A man was arrested for the crime, but the murder charge has since been dropped.
Another gay man, Thebe Mogamisi, is known to have arrived in Joburg from Bloemfontein late last year to pursue a relationship he had started online. He vanished on December 31 and is yet to be found.
Rulov Senek al, Thebe Mogamisi, Manolis Veloudos, Jim Cathels, Siphiwe Selby Nhlapo, Jason Wessenaar, Barney van Heerden and the un-named victim, and their colleagues, friends and families all deserve justice.
Photo: Moti Milrod/Haaretz
After years of being shunned by the mainstream political parties in Israel, gay activists are now making progress.
“After years during which … only Meretz and Hadash had gay divisions, over the past year three centrist parties have joined the pink wave. The first of the large parties was Kadima, which a year ago set up the Kadima B’Ga’ava (Kadima with pride ) section. Labor and Likud also recently established divisions for the gay community.
The two newest members, Labor and Likud, this week held an evening forum at the Evita bar in Tel Aviv. In the presence of a small audience, almost exclusively male, members of the gay community were encouraged to register with the parties. “I joined the Likud around a decade ago, unconnected to the LGBT issue. A person does not have to change his political affiliation because of his sexual orientation,” said the chairman of Pride in the Likud, Dr. Evan Cohen, a lecturer in linguistics at Tel Aviv University,” reports Haaretz.
The Montreal Gazette notes that during the Bruins-Rangers game Sunday on NBC there was a public service announcement aimed at ending homophobia in sports. (That’s it above and it is good.) Eight NHL players, including Rangers goaltender Henrik Lundqvist, Ducks right-wing Corey Perry and Senators rightwing Daniel Alfredsson, are featured in the ad for the You Can Play campaign.
Project founder Patrick Burke said the campaign is intended to “make locker rooms safe for all athletes, rather than places of fear, slurs and bullying.” The message was “shown for the first time during the first intermission of NBC’s Sunday afternoon telecast of the Bruins-Rangers game” and that 35 NHL players “have committed to take part in the project.” His younger brother Brendan acknowledged that he was gay while serving as the manager of the college hockey team at Miami of Ohio. Brian Burke marched in Toronto’s gay pride parade with Brendan, and again after Brendan died in a 2010 car accident.
Brian Burke’s open and accepting attitude is in marked contrast to that of baseball icon Tommy Lasorda. He was estranged from his son Tommy Jr., who died of AIDS in 1991. Lasorda has steadfastly denied his son was gay. “It is important for straight athletes at all levels to step up and let gay athletes know they will be accepted, and to let other straight athletes know that homophobic language and attitude is never appropriate.”
