THEGAYUK

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  • Everything you need to know about Stoke-On-Trent Pride

    Stoke-on-Trent celebrates its tenth annual Pride event this weekend.

    Here’s everything you need to know, where to go and when to turn up in order to join in with Stoke-On-Trent Pride on the 16th July 2016.

    What time does Stoke-On-Trent Pride beginning.

    Stoke-On -Trent Pride officially opens at 12:00PM in Northwood Park. The activities close at 6:30PM. There is no parade and all activities take place in the park.

    Where is Stoke-On-Trent Pride?

    The pride takes place in Northwood Park, see the map below.

    What does Stoke-On-Trent Pride cost?

    Wristbands must be bought in order to take part in the Pride events. These wristbands cost £5 for adults, £3 for teenagers and under 16s can access for free. Tickets are not sold in advance and can be bought at the park.

    Who’s performing at Stoke On Trent Pride

    There’s a full line up of artists on two stages including the Proud To Be and Building Bridges stages.

    The Proud To Be stage will host:

    The Voice‘s Vangelis Polydorou, Vinyl Overdrive, Rozalla, Pixie Flowers, The Fabulettes, Kelly Wilde, Steve Ayres, Jason Prince, Stacey Jackson, Sam Solace, Baseline Blonde and Dan Budd as Robbie Williams,

    The Building Bridges stage will host

    Nathan Thursfield, Kyle Finn, Mini Mix, Beverly Tight Lipps.

    What should I bring to pride?

    We’ve created a list of Pride survival ideas. Take a look – but don’t forget to bring sunscreen, money and fully charged phone!

  • Theresa May appoints pro-gay equality Amber Rudd in key Parliament position

    Theresa May appoints pro-gay equality Amber Rudd in key Parliament position

    The new Prime Minister Theresa May has appointed Amber Rudd as the new Home Secretary.

    Embed from Getty Images

    Amber Rudd has been appointed by Prime Minister Theresa May as the new Home Secretary. Ms. Rudd who has been in Parliament since 2010, has “consistently voted for equal gay rights” according to TheyWorkForYou.com

    The MP for Hastings And Rye, who campaigned to remain in the European Union,  entered the House of Commons on 6th May 2010.

    Since the beginning of her Parliamentary career, Ms. Rudd has had to vote on six pieces of legislation pertaining to the rights of gay and lesbians in the United Kingdom. The majority of which were to do with issues surrounding same-sex marriage.

    She voted in favour of all votes, ensuring that Britain’s gay community enjoy marriage equality.

    Home Secretary is an important role for the safety of Britain’s population. It requires close contact with emergency services, such as the police and intelligence services to reduce crime and terrorism. The LGBT community will be looking to Ms Rudd to reduce hate crimes in the UK. This year in London alone homophobic crime soared 20 per cent year on year.

    Mrs May becomes the second female Prime Minister of the UK after David Cameron resigned following Britain’s decision to leave the EU.

     

  • Andrea Leadsom withdraws from Tory leadership race

    Andrea Leadson has withdrawn from the Conservative leadership race.

    By Policy Exchange (Flickr: Andrea Leadsom MP) [CC BY 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

    Gay marriage opponent Andrea Leadsom has withdrawn from the Prime Minister race, meaning that Theresa May will now become Brtain’s next Prime Minister.

    The controversial candidate announced that she was no longer going to go ahead with her campaign to run the country.

    Her withdrawal means that Theresa May, who has been the Home Secretary since 2010, will become the UK’s next Prime Minister.

    The race for a new Prime Minister for the UK was triggered after David Cameron resigned from his position after the European Union referendum last month saw 52 per cent of the country voting to leave the EU.

    Andrea Leadsom was criticised heavily during her campaign because of her views on key equality issues, such as same-sex marriage which she did not vote on in 2013 and said had caused “hurt” to Christians across the UK.

     

     

     

     

     

  • Andrea Leadsom | Gay marriage hurts Christians

    Andrea Leadsom says she’s “not happy” about gay marriage laws because of the hurt it has caused Christians.

    By Policy Exchange (Flickr: Andrea Leadsom MP) [CC BY 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

    Andrea Leadsom has claimed that she was never happy with the current marriage laws in the UK because of the “hurt caused to many Christians”. The Prime Minister candidate abstained from voting in 2013 when same-sex marriage was being debated in Parliament.

    ALSO READ: OP ED: David Cameron wanted us to believe that the Tories had changed – but it’s bullshit politics as usual.

    ALSO READ: Where do the PM candidates stand on gay issues?

     

    The candidate, who if successful, will become the unelected leader of the UK, called the laws “divisive” and “absurd” in 2013 and maintained in an interview this morning on ITV that marriage was, “a Christian service that was for men and women who wanted to commit in the eyes of God”.

    During her interview Leadsom said,

    “I believe the love of same-sex couples is as every bit as valuable that of opposite sex couples – absolutely committed to that. But nevertheless, my own view actually, is that marriage in the biblical sense is very clearly from the many many Christians who wrote to me on this subject – in their opinion – can only be between a man and a woman.”

    She said that she would have preferred for civil partnerships to be made available to both gay and heterosexual couples.

    She continued,

    “I think we’ve muddled the terms of marriage, civil partnership, church etc. I would have liked that to have been clarified.I didn’t really like the legislation – that was the problem. But I absolutely support gay marriage.”

     

  • Adam Lambert, RuPaul, Britney and P!nk team with all star choir for Orlando single

    Adam Lambert, RuPaul, Britney and P!nk team with all star choir for Orlando single

    A starfield of musicians have teamed together to release an emotional single in memory of those who died at the homophobic attack at Pulse nightclub last month.

    A whole host of stars including Adam Lambert, RuPaul, Britney and P!nk have joined together to release a touching single called “Hands” with the proceeds going to the Equality Florida Pulse Victims’ Fund, the GLBT Community Center of Central Florida and GLAAD.

    Last month 49 victims were massacred when a lone gunman walked into the Pulse nightclub at 2:00AM and started shooting into the crowded club. Over 50 people were also injured in the attack, which is the single most deadly gun attack in American history.

    “Hands,” is a musical tribute to the 49 victims of the shooting at Pulse Nightclub in Orlando, Florida. The track features Mary J Blige, Jason Derulo, Britney Spears, Tyler Glenn, Selena Gomez, Halsey, Ty Herndon, Imagine Dragons, Juanes, Adam Lambert, Mary Lambert, Jennifer Lopez, the Trans Chorus of Los Angeles, Kacey Musgraves, MNEK, Alex Newell, P!nk, Prince Royce, Nate Ruess, RuPaul, Troye Sivan, Jussie Smollett, Gwen Stefani, and Meghan Trainor.

    BUY THE SONG: iTunes

     

  • “Heartless” lesbian couple sentenced to life in prison for murder of two-year-old son

    “Heartless” lesbian couple sentenced to life in prison for murder of two-year-old son

    A mother and her civil partner given life sentences for the murder of Liam Fox, Rachel’s two-year-old son.

    Rachel Fee and her civil partner Nyomi handed life sentences in prison after being found guilty of the murder of Liam Fee, the two-year-old son of Rachel.

    The toddler died from blunt force trauma which caused his heart to rupture. The court heard that he also suffered numerous injuries including bone fractures.

    Rachel Fee, 31 and Nyomi Fee, 29 denied that they had murdered Liam, but were found guilty after a seven week trial at the High Court in Livingston, Fife, Scotland.

    Rachel Fee was sentenced to 23 and a half years in prison and Nyomi Fee was sentenced to 24 years.

    Passing sentence judge Lord Burns told the pair that they had, “subjected to a prolonged course of violent behaviour” on Liam.

    Prosecutor Alex Prentice QC told the court the women were guilty of “unyielding, heartless cruelty”.

    Rachel Fee’s defender Mark Stewart QC maintained that Ms. Fee maintained she was innocent of Liam’s murder whilst Brian McConnachie QC, defending Rachel Fee said that Ms. Fee thought there had been a “miscarriage of justice”.

  • Are we heading for a sexual health crisis? 10 per cent increase in STIs for gay and bisexual men

    Figures published by Public Health England (PHE) today show that once again that Britain’s gay and bi men’s sexual health is heading into a crisis.

    © sakkmesterke | Depositphotos
    © sakkmesterke | Depositphotos

     

    Figures released by PHE today show that in total there were 434,456 sexually transmitted infections reported in England in 2015. Well over 10 per cent of those (54, 275) were from gay and bisexual men. The greatest impact age group for those presenting sexual transmitted infections is within the 25 and under age bracket.

    The increase of 54,275 gay and bisexual men reporting sexual transmitted infections represents a 10 per cent increase on 2014’s statistics.

    Overall there was a small decrease, around three per cent, in reports for the entire population, but gay and bisexual men bucked that trend.

    Dr Gwenda Hughes, head of STI surveillance at PHE said,

    “The new statistics show STI rates are still very high among gay men and young adults.

    “We need to do more to raise awareness about STIs and how they can be prevented, especially the effectiveness of using condoms. We recommend that anyone having sex with a new or casual partner uses condoms and tests regularly for HIV and STIs. It is also vital to ensure there is easy access to STI testing and treatment services that meet the needs of local populations.”

    NHS England came under intense criticism earlier this year when it “washed its hands” on providing PrEP for the gay and bisexual community.  It announced it was removing the anti-HIV drug known as PrEP from the the official commissioning process.

    The PHE have reiterated their advice for sexually active men, suggesting,

    Consistent and correct use of condoms can significantly reduce risk of infection and regular testing for HIV and STIs is essential for good sexual health.

    Anyone under 25 who is sexually active should be screened for chlamydia annually, and on change of sexual partner. Gay and bisexual men should test annually for HIV and STIs and every 3 months if having condomless sex with new or casual partners.

    THEGAYUK runs an online Q&A sexual health service for free – ask your questions anonymously here.

  • Stephen Crabb: Gay cure support “complete fabrication”

    Stephen Crabb: Gay cure support “complete fabrication”

    PM hopeful Stephen Crabb has said that any suggestion of him being homophobic or that he supports so-called gay cures is “complete fabrication”.

    Embed from Getty Images

    MP Stephen Crabb has said that any suggestion that he supports so-called gay cures or that he is homophobic is a “complete fabrication”. He also called the idea of gay cures reprensible.

    Speaking on the Radio 4 show, Today, the MP for Preseli Pembrokeshire said, “I don’t believe that being gay is a sin” and idea of “gay cure” is “reprehensible”

    As a member of Parliament Stephen Crabb has voted against every piece of legalisation that would protect or equalise the rights of gay and lesbians in the UK.

    In 2007 Crabb voted against the Equalities Act (Sexual Orientation) which protects gay people from discrimination in the provision of goods, facilities, services, education and public functions because of their sexuality.

    In 2013 Crabb voted against allowing same-sex couples the ability to marry. He was then absent for all other votes concerning the interests of LGBT people in the UK, including allowing Armed Forces based outside the UK the ability to marry.

    Crabb has stood by his voting decisions by saying, “It wasn’t a clear-cut vote for me, but I don’t regret any vote I’ve taken.”

    Last week THEGAYUK emailed each of the five candidates for assurances that if they got into power that gay rights and LGBT equalities would not be eroded or rolled back.

    Today, four days on, only Michael Gove’s office has responded.

  • Michael Gove “no question of LGBTQ+ rights being reduced”

    As the Conservative leadership battle continues today, Michael Gove became the first candidate to answer calls to allay fears that rights and equalities for the LGBT+ community could be eroded with a new leadership.

    Embed from Getty Images

    David Cameron‘s coalition government with the Liberal Democrats was famed for ushering a new era of acceptance from the Tories. Gay marriage was secured and the Tories’ checkered history was somewhat restored.

    However 136 Tory MP voted against the law – two of them are standing for the top job in Westminster (Stephen Crabb and Dr Liam Fox) – and one abstained from the vote altogether (Andrea Leadsom).

    In fact more Conservative MPs voted against same-sex marriage than for it.

    Only Michael Gove and Theresa May voted positively for the new law.

    On Friday afternoon THEGAYUK emailed each of the five candidates for assurances that if they got into power that gay rights and LGBT equalities would not be eroded or rolled back.

    Today, four days on, only Michael Gove’s office has responded.

    Spokesman for Michael Gove said,

    “There is no question of LGBTQ+ rights being reduced in any way if Michael becomes Conservative leader. He is proud to have voted in favour of equal marriage and will continue to stand up for LGBTQ+ rights at home and abroad.”

    THEGAYUK’s editor Jake Hook said,

    “I’m very pleased that Michael Gove has given his assurance to the community that he’d continue to stand up for our rights. However I’m incredibly concerned that none of the other candidates have responded to a community that has long suffered at the hands of past Conservative governments”

  • North Wales Pride flies Orlando flag sent directly from the US

    North Wales Pride flies Orlando flag sent directly from the US

    Organisers at North Wales Pride have been proudly flying a City Of Orlando flag.

    Today North Wales Pride have been paying tribute to the victims of the Orlando massacre last month.

    They flew the official City of Orlando flag which was sent to them by the State Dept. especially for North Wales pride.

    Tonight the pride have organised a vigil in tribute to the 49 people who were slain when a lone gun man opened fire in the crowded gay club in Florida in what is the worst mass shooting in American history and the greatest loss of LGBT+ life this century.

    Tickets are still available on the door, at Hendre Hall in Bangor, North Wales,

  • Here are the assurances the 5 PM candidates have given the gay community if they get into power

    Here are the assurances the 5 PM candidates have given the gay community if they get into power

    There are five candidates currently vying for the top job in Westminster, we asked them all about how equality and security for LGBT people in Britain will be protected if they got into power.

    All images (C) Wikipedia / CC

     

    When David Cameron announced his resignation after the UK voted to leave the EU, five candidates threw their hats into the ring to become Britain’s next Prime Minister.

    All five have a troubling history with LGBT+ rights and equalities – whether through directly voting against legislation offering equality and security or abstaining or being absent from crucial votes altogether.

    This has led many in the LGBT+ community to be anxious about rights and security in the future under another leader of the current Conservative government.

    Yesterday after THEGAYUK wrote to each of the candidates, Theresa May, Stephen Crabb, Liam Fox, Michael Gove and Andrea Leadsom to ask them what reassurances they could offer to the gay community against legislative rollback on laws affecting the LGBT+ community and the current equality we enjoy.

    Here’s what each candidate has said.

     

     

    Nothing.

    UPDATE: Monday 8:51AM

    Over two days –  nothing concrete to assure the LGBT+ community that they’ll be safe within a new Conservative government.