I told my best mate that I’m gay when I was 15. He said, “that’s fine, but I’m not” and that was the end of the discussion. We’re still great mates today. The best reaction I had to coming out was from a friend who shrugged her shoulders and said, “and…?” as if it was no big deal and she couldn’t care less. Really it shouldn’t be a big deal and we shouldn’t need to come out. Perhaps one day people won’t need to.
Out of my first day of a new job
ANDY
I told the woman I was working with on my first day at a new job. It was a fresh start and she had no preconceptions about me so it was easier to tell a stranger. I was 21 so kinda old to be coming out really. She wasn’t bothered so it was nice to be finally open about how I had been feeling for years.
My girlfriend did not take it well..
SEBASTIAN
My girlfriend – she destroyed her own bathroom.
Mother’s always know part 1
GLEN
I told my mum when I was 17 years old. Her response was , “I’m your Mother and I already know you are gay, any decent Mother would know her child”.
Mother’s always know part 2…
DARREN
My mum asked me. “Are you gay?” when I was 19. But I think most mothers already know.
I’ve been to paradise, but I’ve never been to me.
GRAHAM
I guess the first person was myself. It took a while for me to be comfortable with that. The first people I then told was in the middle of an acting class whilst training at Drama School. The lesson was about getting your message across to an audience and the lecture was making people stand up and tell everyone something. He picked on me and so I stood up and came out with not too much thought about it. The room went quiet with little eye contact and I thought ‘what the hell have I just done’, but afterwards everyone kept coming up to say well done and that they were all proud of me. My sexuality wasn’t an issue for any of them and I’d never felt so free to be myself…
See Mothers do know…
MICHELLE
Trust me, mothers know, it’s the torture of waiting for your child to tell you that’s di cult, watching all that angst is heartbreaking.
The man who murdered a police officer and then disposed of the body by horrifying means is found guilty of his murder and will be sentenced next month.
A man who killed a serving police officer he met on Grindr has been found guilty of his murder and disposing of his body by dissolving it in acid and other horrific means will be sentenced next month.
Stefano Brizzi, 50, went to great lengths to dispose of 59-year-old Gordon Semple, by dismembering him and getting rid of him in a manner which “amounts to cannibalism”. Police investigating Semple’s death also revealed that they found “a number of bottles of chemicals scattered over the hallway floor and in the bathroom,” when they arrived at Brizzi’s address.
CREDIT: Metropolitan Police
On Friday, 1 April, Gordon Semple, who dedicated 30 years of his working life to the police, was on duty and had been at a meeting in London Bridge. Phone evidence has shown that at just after 14:00hrs that day he used the dating app Grindr to arrange to meet Brizzi for sex at his south London flat.
That afternoon Brizzi strangled Gordon Semple to death and over the following week set about systematically disposing of his body in a bid to either avoid being caught or ensuring that Gordon could never be identified.
In a statement released to the press Detective Chief Superintendent Peter Ayling said,
“Fuelled by drugs, Stefano Brizzi murdered Gordon and then set about systemically disposing of his body, the detail of which is quite frankly distressing to read and hear.
“The investigation has evidenced the sickening lengths that he went to dismember Gordon and dispose of his remains, not just in the immediate aftermath of the murder but over the days that followed, and amounts to cannibalism.
“Brizzi clearly and coldly laid a false trail by contacting Gordon on Grindr five days after he himself had murdered him and weaving a fictious account of what took place that afternoon.
“Brizzi was unaware that Gordon was a police officer and the investigation has proved that the two men had never met before. Only Brizzi will know the reasons why that day he became a killer.”
SHOCKING DETAILS
Detective Chief Superintendent Peter Ayling continued,
“The details of Gordon’s murder have shocked and traumatised his partner, family, friends and colleagues.
“The responding officers and all those involved in the investigation into Gordon’s death have been affected by it, made all the worse by knowing he was a colleague. It is a testimony to their professionalism that Brizzi has been convicted.
“Sadly, it is clear from the investigation that Gordon, a man who had dedicated the last three decades of his life to policing London, was behaving on duty in a way that no police officer should. Gordon held a position of trust, and he broke that trust.
“However, nothing should distract from the actions of Stefano Brizzi and the blame for Gordon’s death lies firmly with this man. A killer whose cold calculated actions are so grotesque they are beyond comprehension. Nothing will bring Gordon back, but I hope that the verdict will help all those who loved and cared for him; who considered him a friend and who worked alongside him to come to terms with how they feel and start to move on.”
GRINDR
The investigation by the Met’s Homicide and Major Crime Command established that both Gordon and Brizzi routinely used Grindr to meet like-minded men for sex and drug use.
Over the 24 hours prior to Gordon’s murder, Brizzi was using Grindr to chat to men and invite them to his flat, his messages show that he was getting increasingly frustrated during this time as people failed to show up. He had been taking drugs and had been awake all night.
Two hours after Gordon had arrived at the flat he continued to use Grindr to invite other men to join them whilst Brizzi’s own messages clearly showed he was becoming less interested in what was happening.
The last message that Gordon sent that day was at 19:04hrs. Only 20 minutes later a call to Gordon’s mobile went unanswered – Police believe by then he was dead.
In evidence, the prosecution outlined that Brizzi’s motive was unclear, but he told one of the responding officers that despite not knowing him he simply did not like Gordon.
DEVASTATED FAMILY
A statement on behalf of the family of Gordon Semple said,
“Gordon was a loyal and much loved long term partner, brother, brother in law, uncle, cousin and friend to all.
“We were devastated when the news broke of Gordon’s murder and the circumstances which are still incredibly hard to deal with. It is still insurmountably upsetting.
“At Gordon’s funeral we met many of his friends and work colleagues – we were proud to hear how fondly they thought of Gordon.
“Gordon will be sadly missed by our family. Gordon we miss you so much, may you rest in peace.”
Donald Trump has said that the gay marriage laws in the US are “fine” and “done”.
CREDIT: By Michael Vadon [CC BY-SA 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia CommonsFollowing last week’s shock US Presidental election result in which Donald Trump was made President-elect, many gay rights activists have raised concerned that the same-sex marriage law, which was enacted in 2015 would be repeal.
Concern was sparked when Trump said that he would “consider” the repeal of the legislation during an interview with Fox News during his presidential campaign.
However, seeming to calm some concerns, the President-elect said during his CBS 60 Minutes interview, that gay marriage was “fine” with him and the courts had decided to rule in favour of same-sex marriage and it was “done”.
He said,
“it’s done,” adding “these cases have gone to the Supreme Court, they’ve been decided. And I’m fine with that,” adding that his views on the subject are “irrelevant.”
Trump has in the past said that he does not believe that gay people should be discriminated against, but that he was against gay marriage.
Being a dad is hard, being a gay dad harder; being a gay dad to a teenage daughter is mind boggling. This week it has mainly been about bras. Now as a gay man of nearly forty with a rapidly increasing waistline and a rapidly receding hairline the last place you expect to find yourself is in the teenage underwear section of M&S. My daughter has decided this week she needs support in a certain area.
The extent of my underwear shopping consists of logging on and ordering Calvin Klein 3 pack of briefs still in a medium, just.
The choice of colour is red, black or white but I have been known to push the boat out and buy some pink on occasion. Now I am thrust into this world of uplifts, padding and underwire. The choice of colour and styles is overwhelming as the aisles and aisles of bras stretch out in front of us.
At this point I think both me and my daughter are both feeling a touch embarrassed so I do what any gay man worth their salt would do and engage the services of the friendly female shop assistant. This would surely ease the tension all round and allow my daughter to be fitted with her underwear properly and allow us to exit in as short a time as possible.
CREDIT: jackmac34 / pixabay / CC
After explaining why we are here I safely deposit my daughter with the shop assistant only to hear at earth shattering levels, “I am not putting a bra on in front of her!” Pulling my daughter aside I make clear there is no reason to change in front of the assistant she is merely there to help and ensure the bra fits.
Drama avoided, I take a seat in the men’s section and await the return of both. After what seems like an eternity they return with several items discreetly wrapped with nothing more for me to do than pay the bill.
We both have a sense of relief as we leave the shop. Bras bought and no more to be said on the subject. Or so I thought. On returning home, like any girl after a shopping trip, she disappears upstairs to try on her newly purchased items. Then the voice from beyond, “DAD! DAD! these bras don’t fit me.”
That’s it for this week. I’m done with bras. Next week periods…
Gaz Beadle is showing off a new gym range and a giving us a little bit extra…
We all know by now that Gaz from Geordie Shore is not shy when it comes to what’s in his underwear and now he’s using his assets to promote the 11 degrees gym range.
Gareth Lee the LGBT activist who initially ordered a cake in 2014 which bore the inscription “Support gay marriage” had his order denied by the company whose bosses cited that the “order was at odds” with their beliefs. They added that the supportive message was “in contradiction with what the Bible teaches.”
Last month judges at the Court of Appeal upheld the original judgement. However, the family behind the bakery is not satisfied and the family’s legal team have written to the Appeal Court judges in Belfast, “to consider giving a short ruling on the question of whether (an) appeal to the United Kingdom Supreme Court is available in this case”.
The McArthurs have insisted that the issue was never with Mr Lee’s sexuality, but with the message that he had requested on the cake.
At least seven men in America have accidentally shot their penis with a handgun since 2010.
CREDIT: Pixabay | Kerrtu / CC/
The initial report from the website, deathandtaxes.com has suggested that five American men shot off their penis between 2010 to 2013 and we’ve managed to find another two reported cases where men accidentally put a bullet through their dicks.
Usually from holstering their gun in their trousers.
This is just a drop in the ocean to the number of self-inflicted gunshot wounds recorded in the US.
In 2011 the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control released figures that suggested there were 73,883 non-fatal firearms injuries that year, 14,675 (19.86%) were unintentional. That same year there was, according to stats released by the CDC, 591 deaths due to “accidental discharge” and a further 248 due to “undetermined intent”.
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Ever thought of screengrabbing someone’s Snapchat and sharing it? Well, be careful because if you do, you could face two years in prison.
So Snapchat is home to a lot of naughty pictures (apparently). We’ve not spent too much time there, obvs, but reliable sources tell us this is the truth. Well, you could face up to two years in prison if you share “private” pictures of someone without their permission under British copyright law.
That news might come as a bit of welcome relief for certain male celebrities who have had their private stash of naughty pictures released to the world recently.
In March this year the then culture minister Ed Vaizey was asked whether steps “to prevent Snapchat images being made public without the consent of the image owner”, would be presented, by MP Jim Shannon.
Vaizey replied,
“Under UK copyright law, it would be unlawful for a Snapchat user to copy an image and make it available to the public without the consent of the image owner.
“The image owner would be able to sue anyone who does this for copyright infringement.”
“Last year there was a new piece of legislation introduced, which actually set out the specific crime of revenge porn. There is a specific charge that can be brought and so the option is there and should probably be taken if the information has been distributed to a large number of people.
“What the legislation says is that where you’ve got photographs and the phrasing is, “… of a private or sexual nature …” That doesn’t mean you have to be showing intimate body parts or anything like that. It can be in a sort of context that’s perceived to be sexual.
“If they are disclosed and it’s done without consent and the purpose of disclosing them was to cause distress or embarrassment, which when you think about it, it would be very difficult to not be the case. Then, there’s a potential crime that’s taken place.”
Of course, if you’re worried about your pink bits being on display to the entire world it might be best never to put them on the web in the first place. Remember nothing you share on the internet is secure.
Gorski continued,
“Where these images are taken consensually then you need to be thinking very carefully about whether you actually want to do it or not. Not putting yourself in the position where there are images around in the first place is the easy fix but not necessarily something that someone will always want to do.”
Gay rights, such as same-sex marriage could be under threat now that Donald Trump has been elected President of the United States. It all depends on who he chooses to appoint as a new Supreme Court Justice. There is currently one vacancy on the bench after the extremely conservative Antonin Scalia died in February.
The Supreme Court, which makes rulings on social issues such as gay marriage and abortion, has nine judges and they are appointed by the President. They are only replaced when they die, decide to retire or a impeached for wrong-doing.
As it stands the judges are balanced between liberal and conservative politics. However, two liberal judges, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, 83, and Stephen Breyer, 78, may choose to retire soon which would leave Donald Trump able to replace those with more conservative judges meaning that the political skew of the Supreme Court would be conservative rather than liberal.
When same-sex marriage was legalised across all 50 states the vote was made 5 to 4. The four Justices who voted against the decision (Chief Justice John Roberts, Antonin Scalia, Clarence Thomas, and Samuel Alito) were all conservative leaning judges.
Democrats do have the ability to block a judge’s appointment using a filibuster in the Senate.
The Court of Appeal has upheld a High Court judgement which ruled NHS England has the legal power to fund PrEP.
(C) marcbruxel Depositphotos
NHS England claimed earlier this year that it does not have the power to commission PrEP but a judicial review brought by the National Aids Trust determined that NHS England could commission PrEP. NHS England appealed this ruling on Thursday 15 September 2016.
PrEP is a ‘game-changing’ pill that, when used alongside condoms, testing and treatment, could help bring the beginning of the end for HIV.
The Court of Appeal issued its ruling on their appeal today, in a judgment that confirms that NHS England can legally fund the HIV prevention drug PrEP.
Ian Green, Chief Executive of Terrence Higgins Trust, said,
“PrEP is nothing short of a game-changer and, if used alongside condoms, regular testing and treatment, it could be the vital piece of the puzzle to help end the HIV epidemic for good.
“Two courts have now ruled that NHS England does in fact have the legal power to fund PrEP. It is time for NHS England to do the right thing and respect its legal duty to consider funding this highly effective treatment.
“The conduct of NHS England around the funding of this treatment has reminded us that, 30 years on, HIV is still stigmatised in a way that many other health conditions are not.
“Every day the NHS delays access to PrEP, 17 people are diagnosed with HIV – and the lifetime cost to the NHS for each diagnosis of HIV is £360,000. PrEP must be prioritised and made available now to those at risk.
“There is still a long way to go before people at risk have access to this groundbreaking pill that will protect them from HIV – but thanks to today’s decision, we are a step closer to a world without HIV transmissions.”
Cllr Kevin Davis, London Councils’ Executive member for health, said,
“We are pleased that the court has stood by the original judicial review decision that NHS England can be held responsible for funding the HIV prevention drug PrEP, which we have always said.
“Now the appeal has reached its conclusion, we urge NHS England to consider the results of its public consultation on PrEP and make a swift decision on how the drug will be made available.
“HIV is a big issue for London as nearly half of all people living with HIV in the UK live in the capital and 57 per cent of new HIV diagnoses are in London.
“Given these worrying statistics, it is crucial to use all available methods, including PrEP, to protect people at risk of contracting HIV and reduce rates of infection, particularly as the long term impact and cost of living with HIV are significantly greater than prevention.”
The world is still stunned by the dramatic results of the US Presidential election which saw Donald J Trump become President-elect of the USA. However, despite his win, only 25.5 percent of the votes cast were actually for Donald. Hillary actually managed to scrape an extra 0.1% of the vote. Which is just under 200,000 votes.
In the US voting system, candidates compete to obtain the most electoral votes rather than the popular vote. Each state has a number of electoral votes depending on its size. Some states like California have 55, while others like Alaska, despite its massive size, have just three. It depends on the state’s population.
Whoever gets the most votes in a state wins all the state’s electoral votes. We have something similar in the UK – and it’s called “First Past The Post”. A candidate must reach 270 electoral votes to win.
Just over half of all eligible voters took to the polls in the US elections.
According to the United States Election Project, 46.9 percent of around 231,556,622 eligible Americans (that’s 108,600,055 people) did not make it to the voting booth. The turnout was much lower than the two previous elections of 2008 and 2012.
By Gage Skidmore from Peoria, AZ, United States of America
And if you’re wondering how many votes were cast for each candidate:
25.6% voted for Clinton
25.5% voted for Trump
1.7% voted for Johnson
So people, remember when there’s an election get out and vote.
