THEGAYUK

Day: 3 October 2017

  • Just 15% of the world has marriage equality for gay people

    There’s still away to go.

    The number of people who have marriage in their country has now topped 1.1 billion people, but that’s just 15 percent of the total population of the world. Indeed there are over 70 countries in which homosexuality is still illegal.

    A new analysis undertaken by Melbourne-based LGBT rights activist, Tony Pitman, has revealed that just over 1.1 billion people now live in countries with marriage equality. This figure represents 15 percent of the entire world population and is expected to rise over coming months as Taiwan and several other countries join the list.

    “I first started doing these calculations in mid-2013,” said Tony. “Back then, the number was 600 million. Today’s it’s 1.1 billion. That’s an increase of half a billion people in just four years. Never before has the world seen a positive social change of such speed and magnitude. It’s extraordinary! And it’s definitely something to keep in mind during the current debate here in Australia.”

    Australia is in the middle of a two-month postal survey on whether to introduce marriage equality or not, a process that’s been marred by a series of overwrought scare campaigns from the “No” side.

    Optimistic for change

    However, despite the ugliness of the debate, Tony is optimistic. “I think these numbers give heart to everyone who’s concerned about achieving equality in Australia,” he commented. “They show that the debate here is part of an unstoppable movement that’s sweeping the world. There’s no doubt that marriage equality is inevitable in Australia. It’s just a question of when, not if.”

    “It’s clear that a win for the “No” vote would only serve to delay equality by a couple of years at the most,” added Tony. “All those hundreds of millions of dollars will have been spent just to buy a little more time for an unjust law. It’s an obscene waste of time, money and resources.”

    “The truth is that when a same-sex couple gets married, their happiness is increased, and no one else is affected in any way. It’s a simple reform that brings only positive outcomes. That’s the reason why it’s spreading around the world so rapidly. It’s a win for everyone. And it will eventually be a win for Australia too.”

  • Brittas Empire gay couple: We’d still be together after 20 years!

    It’s 20 years since The Brittas Empire was on our screens.

    You may remember the classic BBC comedy, The Brittas Empire – well the actors who played the gay couple, Tim and Gavin, say they’d still be together after all these years.

    At the time, Tim and Gavin were the first openly same-sex couple to ever appear in a British comedy on the BBC, and according to the actor who played Tim, Russell Porter, they’d still be together now and married. But they wouldn’t have had the reception at the infamous Whitbury Leisure Centre, “too many things could have gone wrong, it would have burnt down or blown up, or something” Russell joked.

    Tim Marriott (Gavin) and Russell Porter (Tim) reunited after 20 years since the Brittas Empire’s final show.

    The couple was played by Tim Marriott (Gavin) and Russell Porter (Tim)

    Speaking to THEGAYUK.com Russell said,

    “I think they would have been married by now…

    “At the time, I didn’t get the sense of how important it would be, as a gay man myself, I wanted to, as much as you can in farce, be fair to the characters. It wasn’t the gay thing that was the issue, it was the not understanding the gay issue – and that’s the gag. When auditioning (for the part) I said, ‘don’t ask me to be anymore fay or camp than I am already, I’m not going to go down that route’.

    “They (Gavin and Tim) are just two people – and it’s just another thing for (Gordon) Brittas to get wrong.

    “It’s only in passing introspect that I realise how important the characters were. The joke wasn’t mincing or those type of stereotypes, it was actually something else.

    “There were times in the early 90s and 00’s where people would come up to me and say ‘it was important for me to see your character’ (on mainstream TV)  and that’s genuinely moving.

    Reunited… Chris Barrie and the Whitbury New Town Leisure Centre crew reunited… 20 years on.

    The cast was reunited yesterday at the original leisure centre, which is actually based in Ringwood, near Bournemouth, to celebrate the 20 years since the last episode was screened and the renovation of the Ringwood leisure centre.

     

    *This article has been modified since it was published. Previously it described Tim and Gavin as the first ever depiction of a gay couple in British sitcom, which they were not, Agony, starring Maureen Lipman had a gay couple, Rob and Michael featured. That show ran from 1979 to 1981. 

  • Milo Yiannopoulos marries black boyfriend and declares himself ‘worst white supremacist ever’

    The ever controversial Milo Yiannopoulos has called himself the ‘worst white supremacist ever’ after marrying his partner.

    Milo just married his boyfriend, John,  in Hawaii over the weekend and in response to his detractors, some who have called the controversialist a white supremacist in the past, blasted his critics saying he must be the worst white supremacist… ever. Posting about his wedding on Instagram, Milo was at pains to reveal his new husband’s identity by obscuring his face or revealing his surname in pictures he published.

    The reception took place at the Four Seasons Resort Hualalai on Saturday.

    His now, husband wore a white jacket, which had “Blind For Love” inscribed on the back, whilst Milo wore, in typical camp flamboyance, a floral print Gucci jacket.

    A post shared by MILO (@milo.yiannopoulos) on

    ?

    A post shared by MILO (@milo.yiannopoulos) on

    A post shared by MILO (@milo.yiannopoulos) on

    The journalist and former Breitbart staffer uploaded a picture of his wedding cake topper and captioned the photo “It’s official”.

    Milo then captioned a post as “WORST WHITE SUPREMACIST EVER” after the Daily Mail released a story about the writer captioned, “alt-right poster boy”.

    WORST WHITE SUPREMACIST EVER

    A post shared by MILO (@milo.yiannopoulos) on

    He then captioned another press cutting with “this guy is a total failure as a racist”.

     

    This guy is a total failure as a racist

    A post shared by MILO (@milo.yiannopoulos) on

     

    Most lied about person in the US.

    Furthering the conversation about his private and public life, Milo went on to suggest that he must “be the most lied-about person in America”, calling reports about him marrying a Muslim man an “utter fabrication”.

    He said,

    “I must be the most lied-about person in America. Every day it’s something new. This week the press has invented a lie that my new husband is Muslim. It came completely out of nowhere. I don’t know why they are claiming this. I’ve seen it in a dozen press reports so far. Just an utter fabrication, never checked by anyone, billowing out into the internet and becoming “established fact” despite being totally untrue. This is how the media works, and it’s why you can’t trust a word they say”.