Author: News Desk

  • TODAY IN GAY | Germany celebrates its first same-sex weddings

    TODAY IN GAY | Germany celebrates its first same-sex weddings

    Bodo Mende, 60, and partner Karl Kreile, 59 tied the knot in south Berlin on the first day where gay marriages were allowed. The law was changed just three months before the first weddings took place.

    Same-sex marriage became legal in Germany after Chancellor Angela Merkel changed her stance on the issue, before that, gay couple were only permitted to be civilly partnered.

    In 2015 Angela Merkel revealed her thoughts on same-sex marriage in an interview posted on YouTube. While she said she supported LGBT equality, it stopped at civil partnerships.

    By extending existing law to gay couples, they would automatically gain the same tax advantages and adoption rights as their straight counterparts.

  • How many men did Jeffrey Dalmer kill?

    The film, My Friend Dahmer focuses on a year before he committed his first murder. That of Steven Hicks in 1978. Steven Hicks was killed after accepting a lift from Dahmer. He was killed by being bludgeoned by a dumbbell and then strangled. Dahmer then dismembered and crushed Hicks’ remains and scattered them in the woodlands near his home.

    It is thought that Dahmer killed 17 young men between 1978 and 1991. They were aged between 14 and 32 years old. Their names are:

    Steven Hicks 18, Steven Tuomi 25, James Doxtator 14, Ricard Guerrero 22, Anthony Sears 24, Raymond Smith 32, Edward Smith 27, Ernest Miller 22, David Thomas 22, Curtis Straughter 17, Errol Lindsey 19, Tony Hughes 31, Konerak Sinthasomphone 14, Matt Turner 20, Jeremiah Weinberger 23, Oliver Lacy 24, Joseph Bradehoft 25.

    Twelve of his 17 known victims were murdered in his North 25th Street home in Wisconsin. Three of the victims were killed in his grandmother’s house and his first and second victims were slain in his childhood home.

    He was given 16 life terms for his crimes. However, he only served a few years of his sentence.

    Was Jeffrey Dahmer gay?

    Yes, Jeffrey Dahmer identified as gay during his teenage years. However, did not come out to his parents. He is also known to have committed sex offences against underage males and indecent exposure.

    Many of his victims were also gay, but not all. Most of his victims were found at gay bars. He would typically offer them money for a nude photoshoot. He would get them drunk or drugged before having sex. He would usually kill his victims by strangulation. However, he was known to drill holes in his victims and pour a liquid into the cavities, including boiling water and hydrochloric acid.

    Is Jeffery Dahmer alive?

    Jeffrey Dahmer was killed while serving his prison sentence for the murders of his 17 victims. He was beaten to death in 1994, just three years into his sentence. Christoper Scarver was also serving time for murder at the Columbia Correctional Institute when he killed Dahmer with severe head trauma.

  • When is International Lesbian Day in 2020?

    When is International Lesbian Day in 2020?

    International Lesbian Day is an annual day to celebrate and bring visibility to lesbians in the LGBT+ community, it has been going since the 1990s. There is also the Lesbian Visibility Day, which has been observed since 2008.

    In 2020 International Lesbian Day takes place on the 8th October 2020 and is mainly observed in Australia and New Zealand.

    When in International Lesbian Day in 2020?
    (C) BIGSTOCK / DEPOSITPHOTO

    International Lesbian Day was first observed in the 1990s and was created to ensure the visibility of the lesbian community.

    What are the colours of the Lesbian Pride flag?

    There are, in fact, two lesbian flags. One is known as the Labrys flag, which features a battle-axe on a dark purple background. The other is what is considered the standard lesbian flag which consists of six shades of red and pink colours and a white bar in the centre. Sometimes it has a lipstick mark in the corner denoting that the holder is a “lipstick lesbian”.

    Can you buy lesbian jewellery or gifts?

    Yes, there are many stores which have gifts which have the lesbian colours assigned to them. Check out the amazing lesbian gift and jewellery range from our partner site, The Pride Shop.

    To find out other days in the LGBT+ calendar click here.

  • Icon Dame Shirley Bassey set to release new single and last ever album

    Icon Dame Shirley Bassey set to release new single and last ever album

    Listeners in the UK can tune into Radio 2 this Sunday to hear a brand new track from the legendary Dame Shirley Bassey.

    The single, and title track from her next album “I Owe It All To You” was written by Don Black, who famously wrote another of Shirley’s mega smashes, “Diamonds Are Forever”.

    Don Black will be playing the song on his very last show on Radio 2, at 11 PM.

    Could this be the last ever studio album from Shirley Bassey?

    It is assumed that this album will be Dame Shirley‘s, now 83, grand finale and one of her greatest pieces of work. As the title of the album would suggest, it’s a gift made with love for her fans to celebrate a lifetime of their support. 

    Speaking about the song, Don said, “I’ve had the phrase ‘I Owe It All To You’ floating around my head for some time. As soon as I heard that Shirley was making her final record a light came on!  I then wrote it with her in mind knowing that she doesn’t just sing songs she lives them. She is a songwriter’s dream and one of the best story tellers of all time. The lyric tells of the contentment that can be found on stage and the uncertainty that comes when the curtain comes down.

    Dame Shirley added, “Don has a gift of writing beautiful songs. This track feels instantly classic and the lyrics mirror exactly how I am feeling. It’s as if Don found a way into my mind! “I owe it all to you, you were always there; making my dreams take flight”. This song is for my fans” 

  • BLACK HISTORY MONTH | LGBT+ Icons: Marsha P Johnson

    BLACK HISTORY MONTH | LGBT+ Icons: Marsha P Johnson

    October 1st Marsha P Johnson

    Our first featured black LGBT+ icon could only be this person. It’s Marsha P Johnson. Marsha was one of the prominent figures in the Stonewall Uprising in 1969. We have much to thank her for

    Follow Warwickshire Pride on Twitter or Facebook

    Check out all the icons here

  • TODAY IN GAY | Historic convictions for consensual gay sex can be removed from criminal records

    TODAY IN GAY | Historic convictions for consensual gay sex can be removed from criminal records

    In 2012, men who had been convicted of having sexual relations with another man or men could apply to have that charge or conviction removed from their criminal records.

    In October 2012, under a David Cameron led Conservative/Liberal Democrat-run government, men with historic convictions for consensual gay sex could apply to have them disregarded, as the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 came into force.

    Under the Act men who were convicted of “gross indecency” or consensual buggery, that is no longer illegal, can apply to have their convictions disregarded.

    Homosexuality or sex between men was illegal in the UK for most of the 20th century. England and Wales became the first nations with in the UK to decriminalize it in 1967. Scotland followed over a decade later to decriminalise in 1981 with Northern Ireland finally changing the law to allow men to have sex with men in 1982.

    The 2012 Act also includes amendments which enable gay and bisexual men maliciously convicted of ‘loitering with intent’ under Section 4 of the Vagrancy Act 1824 to have those convictions removed from their criminal record too.

  • Porn star Drew Dixon reveals where he got his “evil pigeon” tattoo from

    Porn star Drew Dixon has admitted that he got his rather distinctive bird tattoo design off someone’s Pinterest page. In a candid social media post, the star told fans that people, who asked about the ink, often mistook the bird for an “evil pigeon” before admitting he had no idea what kind of bird it was, saying that the design was actually “from Pinterest”.

    The tattoo was a birthday present from Drew to Drew and according to the performer, “marked a change” in his life, adding, “It symbolises my freedom, to be able to spread my wings and take flight, go where the wind takes me, see the world in its glory, looking at the bigger picture, taking everything in before making decisions”.

    https://www.instagram.com/p/CFodncHhcpM/

    The star who has recently been working with Lucas Entertainment was recently spotted in Nottingham, UK, for a mass orgy-scene organised by the studio.

  • When is National Coming Out Day in 2020?

    When is National Coming Out Day in 2020?

    National Coming Out Day is an important part of the LGBT+ calendar and it takes place in the middle of October.

    National Coming Out Day was first celebrated in 1988 and aims to bring awareness the how LGBT+ people often have to navigate the tricky process of coming out to the people around them. Of course, many LGBT+ people face multiple coming outs over their lifetimes. Coming out is a process by which an LGBT+ people tells co-workers, schoolmates, family or friends that they are non-heterosexual.

    It was first celebrated or marked in the USA 1988 by Robert Eichberg and Jean O’Leary and the official logo was created by artist, Keith Haring. Since its inauguration the day has become widely celebrated outside of the US.

    October 11 was chosen because it is the anniversary of the 1987 National March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights.

    In 2020 National Coming Out Day takes place on the 11th October 2020.

    What does the Rainbow flag represent?

    The rainbow flag was first designed and unveiled in 1978 by San Francisco artist, Gilbert Baker, who sadly passed away in 2017.

    Speaking about the rainbow as a symbol for LGBT+ folx Gilbert Baker said,

    “There was no other international symbol for [the LGBT+ community] than the pink triangle which the Nazis used to identify homosexuals in concentration camps,

    “Even though the pink triangle was and still is a very powerful symbol, it was very much forced upon us”.

    Can you buy rainbow jewellery or gifts?

    Yes, there are many stores which have gifts which have the rainbow colours assigned to them. Check out the amazing asexual gift and jewellery range from our partner site, The Pride Shop.

    To find out other days in the LGBT+ calendar click here.

  • Gay man killed by machete after hookup goes terribly wrong

    Gay man killed by machete after hookup goes terribly wrong

    A man has been “hacked to death”, apparently by his Grindr hook up, in the Bronx, New York.

    An unnamed and unidentified male in New York has been killed in an apparent machete attack after his hookup date “violently cut him into pieces”, over what is thought to be a disagreement over sexual activities. It is believed the two met over the gay dating/ hook up, Grindr.

    The alleged killer, Juan Alonso, was found, according to the New York Post to be wearing women’s underwear, bra and dress.

    The victim, who has not be named, was found by Alonso’s roommate, who came home to find a bloodbath, with Alonso purportedly standing over his victim, holding the machete.

    The building’s supervisor, John Gonzalez, told the New York Daily News that the victim had been “cut up and left “on the floor in pieces”.

    “Dispute escalated”

    Alonso was taken into custody where he was psychologically evaluated, and charged with murder, manslaughter and criminal possession of a weapon according to the police.

    Officials are investigating whether there was a “dispute over not liking certain sex activities and it escalated,

    “The perp is not in his right mind,” a police source said. “He might have taken drugs,” a spokesperson for the police said.

    Please check out our hook up and dating tips for safely hook up when using a dating app.

  • Uncapped PrEP access to be rolled out across England

    Uncapped PrEP access to be rolled out across England

    Councils around England will now be able to offer uncapped access to PrEP, the revolutionary HIV prevention medication for those who need it.

    It was announced earlier this year that the DHSC had set aside a budget for local authorities in England to deliver PrEP to those “who need it most”.

    The initial budget was set at £16 million but was slashed to £11.2 million, which a spokesperson for the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) said, that the cut accounted “for the fact that the rollout of the routine commissioning of PrEP was paused during the pandemic.”

    The rollout was delayed due to the Coronavirus pandemic, but roll out of pre-exposure prophylaxis is now expected to begin from 1 October, meaning that gay, bi, and men who have sex with men, will be able to access PrEP via their local sexual health services for free.

    PrEP advocate and campaigner Greg Owen took to social media to explain the news.

    “There should now be nothing standing in the way of this important HIV transmission prevention drug”

    Speaking about the rollout, Richard Angell, Head of Policy and Public Affairs at Terrence Higgins Trust, said, “With three working days before the start of October – the delayed but finally promised launch of uncapped PrEP access in England – the Health Department has finally allocated funds to local government to start the rollout. There should now be nothing standing in the way of this important HIV transmission prevention drug finally becoming a reality in England. This follows years of painstaking battling and further delays due to Covid-19.

    “We now need to see PrEP made rapidly available right across the country – the wait has been too long. We know hard working local officials and many clinics put the wheels in motion for a start of October launch to make the most of this game-changer for HIV prevention – this allocation of funds should mean people are ready to go.

    “More work is needed to ensure all groups affected by HIV know about PrEP and how to access it, but this is undoubtedly an important step forward as we work towards ending HIV transmissions in England by 2030.”

    What is PrEP?

    Pre-exposure prophylaxis, or PrEP, it is a drug treatment protocol using a prescription medicine called Truvada and has been shown in trials to be highly effective in preventing HIV in gay and bisexual men, when taken daily and used in combination with other infection prevention measures.

    Truvada contains two medicines (tenofovir and emtricitabine) and is already routinely used in combination with other medicines to treat existing HIV infection.

  • Has one anyone gay, lesbian, bi or transgender ever won Strictly Come Dancing?

    Has one anyone gay, lesbian, bi or transgender ever won Strictly Come Dancing?

    Let’s start with the number of LGBT+ contestants that have appeared on the show. Out of the 222 contestants of the show, there has never been an out or openly LGBT+ winner of the show.

    What’s even more concerning there has never been an openly transgender contestant on the show that has been running since 2004. There have also been very few openly lesbian or bisexual stars on the show.

    The closest any LGBT+ contender has come to winning was Julian Clary in series three who placed third. Colin Jackson was a runner-up in his series, but he was not out at the time of his appearance in the show.

    Of 222 contestants since the show’s premiere in 2004, these are the openly LGB stars of the show.

    Series 1

    Jason Wood was the first openly gay person to take part in the show in 2004. He was paired with Kylie Jones and was voted out in week 2. The winners of the series were Natascha Kaplinsky and Brendan Cole.

    Series 2

    Julian Clary performed alongside Erin Boag and came third. The winners of the series were Jill Halfpenny and Darren Bennett Cole.

    Series 3

    Colin Jackson appeared in the third season, however, he was not openly gay at that time. He came second in the competition. The winners of the series were Darren Gough and Lilia Kopylova.

    Series 9

    Russell Grant danced with Flavia Cacace and was booted in week 8. The winners of the series were Harry Judd and Aliona Vilani.

    Series 12

    Scott Mills was paired with Joanne Clifton and was voted out in week 6. The winners of the series were Caroline Flack and Pasha Kovalev.

    Series 14

    Will Young appeared in the show and danced with Karen Clifton until he with withdrew in week 3.

    Judge Rinder danced alongside Oksana Platero and was voted out in week 11. The winners of the series were Ore Oduba and Joanne Clifton.

    Series 15

    Rev Richard Coles danced with Dianne Buswell and was voted out in week 3.

    Susan Calman danced with Kevin Clifton and was voted out in week 10. The winners of the series were Joe McFadden and Katya Jones.

    Series 16

    Dr Ranj Singh danced opposite Janette Manrara

    Series 17

    There were no openly LGBT+ participants in Series 17.

    Series 18