THEGAYUK

Category: News

  • Isle of Man makes history with gay marriage

    A new law allowing same sex marriage in the Isle of Man will come into effect today, following the announcement of Royal Assent to the legislation in Tynwald on Tuesday

    Cake, Gay Marriage, gay wedding
    CREDIT: © ivonnewierink Depositphotos

    Final implementation of the Marriage and Civil Partnership Amendment Act has been welcomed by Chief Minister Allan Bell CBE MHK, who described the move as an ‘historic moment’ for the Isle Of Man.

    The Act enables same sex couples to marry either in a civil ceremony, in a register office or approved premises, or in religious premises (except those of the Church of England) subject to the agreement of the religious organisation in question.

    The legislation also makes the Isle of Man the first place in the British Isles to allow opposite sex couples to enter into civil partnerships as an alternative to marriage. Civil partnerships have been available to same sex couples in the Isle of Man since 2011.

    Mr Bell commented,

    “Recognition of marriage for same sex couples in Manx law is a truly historic moment, showing just how far the Island has travelled over the past 30 years. It sends out a clear message that the Isle of Man today is a modern, open and inclusive society where equal rights are respected. I believe that the values of fairness and tolerance reflected in this legislation are shared by the overwhelming majority of our population.”

    The Marriage and Civil Partnership Amendment Act takes effect from July 22 under an appointed day order made after Royal Assent was announced in Tynwald. The appointed day order is not subject to Tynwald approval.

    There will also be some consequential secondary legislation on a supplementary order paper at this sitting of Tynwald, relating to fees, social security and pension schemes.

    It will be possible for same sex couples to convert their civil partnerships into marriages free of charge, if this is done under the standard procedure in a registrar’s office before November 1 this year.

  • Man set on fire in apparent “homophobic” attack near Middlesbrough

    Man set on fire in apparent “homophobic” attack near Middlesbrough

    A 20-year-old man was left with serious injuries after being set alight in an apparent homophobic attack on Teeside.

     

    CREDIT: ©-Chalabala-Depositphotos

    CREDIT: ©-Chalabala-Depositphotos

     

    A young man on Teeside has been left with serious burns after being set alight in a suspected anti-gay attack early Wednesday morning.

    The 20-year-old required skin grafts and was treated at the North Tees University hospital.

    His legs were sprayed with aerosol and set alight.

    CREDIT: Google Maps 2016

     

    According to ITV.com he was set set upon by four men who questioned the victim about his sexuality as he walked through the Holy Trinity Church grounds in Stockton-on-Tees, near to Middlesbrough in the North east of England, at 3AM in the morning.

    One of the men, described as white, in his early 20s, short blonde hair and of medium build is alleged to have sprayed aerosol onto the victim’s legs before lighting the highly flammable liquid. He was wearing jogging bottoms and was topless.

    After setting his legs on fire the group ran away.

    The Cleveland police are looking for information from anyone in the area and should call 101.

     

  • NICE attacker reportedly “bisexual” after using gay hook up apps

    The attacker who killed 84 and injured 202 others, was allegedly “bisexual” according to reports after gay hook up apps were found on his phone.

    http://gty.im/576512506

    Tunisian born, French National, Mohamed Lahouaiej-Bouhlel killed 84 people and injured 202 more in the city of Nice last Thursday when he ploughed a hired truck into crowds of revellers celebrating Bastille Day on the French Rivera.

    The attack happened just a month after the gun attack on a gay night club in Orlando.

    According to a number of reports, the 31-year-old attacker had used gay hook up apps on his phone before his own death, when the city’s police shot him at the end of the rampage.

     

    Embed from Getty Images

     

    Embed from Getty Images

    Although no evidence has been found to suggest that Lahouaiej-Bouhlel committed the massacre on behalf of the Islamic State, (ISIS), the terror organisation claimed the attack as theirs, saying that he was a “soldier” for their cause.

    According to leaked reports, investigators found Lahouaiej-Bouhlel’s phone to have gay and straight hook up and dating apps installed, with a number of topless selfies.

    The Daily Mail have reported that one of Lahouaiej-Bouhlel’s lovers was a 73-year-old man.

    ISIS have zero tolerance for gay and bisexual men. Men who are found to be having homosexual relationships are most often executed. They are usually thrown off a multi-storey building in front of a crowd, who then stone the victim to death if he has survived the fall.

    Lahouaiej-Bouhlel’s family confirmed that he was not particularly religious saying that he often ate pork, got drunk regularly and did not observe Ramadam. French Prime Minister Manuel Valls said that investigators were working on the assumption that he had been radicalized very recently and quickly.

    The attack in Nice is the third terrorist event in France in 18 months.

    The first of which was the attack on the Charlie Hebdo magazine offices, the second was in a supermarket two days later, both in Paris – and then in November when 130 people were murdered in coordinated attacks across the French capital.

  • Catholic Church in Scotland speaks in support of tackling homophobia in schools

    The Scottish Catholic Church has indicated that they are keen to tackle homophobia in schools.

    The Catholic Church in Scotland have spoken in support of dealing with homophobia in the classroom according to campaign group Time For Inclusive Education (TIE).

    TIE have been campaigning to introduce teacher training in Scottish classrooms to deal with and tackle homophobia in schools. The campaign has received the support of a host of cross party politicians; including Scottish Liberal Democrats leader Willie Rennie, co-convener of the Scottish Green Party Patrick Harvie and Conservative MSP Oliver Mundell.

     

    ALSO READ: Interview with the co-founders of TIE

     

    Speaking with the Sunday Herald this weekend, a spokeswoman from the Catholic Church in Scotland responded to the campaign’s calls, stating,

    “The Church is working with the Catholic Head Teacher association to ensure that all teachers have adequate knowledge, understanding and training and feel confident in addressing all aspects of relationships education, including LGBTI matters, in an appropriate and sensitive way.”

    Last month, party leaders pledged swift action on the group’s calls for LGBTI inclusive education during a parliamentary debate on which steps should be taken to advance equality following the Orlando massacre in June which left 49 dead and 53 others injured.

    During the session, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, who has publicly supported the TIE campaign, restated her pledge to work with the campaigners during her term in government.

    She said,

    “I don’t want to live in a country, yet alone be First Minister of a country, where any young person has to feel that, somehow, because of their sexual orientation or gender identity, they are subject to judgement or made to feel in any way less than any other individual in our society. I have given a commitment to working with the campaign for inclusive education.”

  • FBI find no evidence that Orlando massacre was a hate crime

    FBI find no evidence that Orlando massacre was a hate crime

    The FBI has said that it has found no evidence that the gun attack in Florida that killed 49 people in a gay club was a hate crime.

    Embed from Getty Images

     

    Investigators in Orlando, Florida, have said that they’ve not found any evidence that the gun attack that left 49 dead and 53 injured was a hate crime or that the gunman chose the venue because it was a gay club.

    Speaking to the Washington Post a spokesperson for the FBI said,

    “While there can be no denying the significant impact on the gay community, the investigation hasn’t revealed that he targeted Pulse because it was a gay club.”

    On the 12th June Omar Mateen entered the gay club Pulse at around 2AM, and began shooting indiscriminately at the patrons. He killed 49 people and injured 53 more in a rampage that lasted several hours.

    After the attack there were a some reports that Mateen had downloaded and used several gay dating apps and had used them to lure victims to the clubs, however the FBI were unable to find any evidence to suggest that this was true.

    There was also speculation that Mateen was HIV positive, however an autopsy report, which hasn’t been released to the public reveals this to be an untrue rumour.

     

  • This man proposed to his boyfriend with the help of Jess Glynne

    This man proposed to his boyfriend with the help of Jess Glynne

    This cute couple just got engaged in front of a 6000-strong audience at a Jess Glynne concert.

     

    On Thursday night, Lewis Nicholls gave his boyfriend, Darren, the ultimate surprise by organising with superstar Jess Glynne to proposed to him live on stage in front of 6000 people at her concert at the Eden Project.

    Lewis told THEGAYUK that he messaged Jess’s manager weeks before the concert to say how much he loved his boyfriend and wanted to show everyone how he felt and to see if he could propose to Darren live on stage.

    He said,

    “To my disbelief they replied and was so excited to make it happen.

    “During the concert we went on the stage (he thought it was just to watch a song) and then Jess came out and  got us out on stage and introduced us on stage to the crowd.”

     

    It was then Lewis got down on one knee and proposed – telling Darren, that he was the “happiest he had ever been.”

    “It was just amazing, the crowd were cheering so loud, chanting and showing so much love, we also got a photo with Jess on stage and the 6,000 people are behind us”

     

    jess glynne

    Jess then hugged the pair, saying she’d “never ever forget” the proposal.

    Watch it unfold on YouTube

    So cute… Congrats guys!

     

  • More hate crimes prosecuted than ever before

    The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has confirmed that more hate crimes, including homophobic and transphobic crimes, have been prosecuted than before.

    CREDIT: ©-ronfromyork-Depositphotos
    CREDIT: ©-ronfromyork-Depositphotos

    The CPS is reporting that it is prosecuting more hate crimes than ever before, including homophobic and transphobic crimes.

    Year on year the CPS’s success in bringing more prosecutions has risen 4.8 per cent (15,442) from 2014/15 which was a rise against 4.7 per cent the year before 2013/14.

    Overall the conviction rate was high for homophobic crimes was 83 per cent of prosecutions resulting in a conviction for the perpetrator of the crimes. This was a rise from 81.3 per cent in the previous year.

    Solicitor General Robert Buckland said,

    “Tackling hate crime has always been a priority for the Government. We have worked extensively to improve our collective response to this issue and in particular to improve recording of hate crime, so that we now have a fuller picture of the scale of the problem.”

     

    ALSO READ: Homophobic crime soars by 20 per cent in London

    ALSO READ: Homophobic and racist chants heard in London day after BREXIT vote.

     

    There were 1439 homophobic and transphobic cases prosecuted by the CPS in the UK 2015/16.

    Alison Saunders, Director of Public Prosecutions said,

    “My message is that a hate crime is exactly that – a crime – and will not be ignored. Hate crime creates fear and has a devastating impact on individuals and communities. Nobody should have to go about their day to day life in fear of being attacked.

    “This report shows that more of these incidents are being recognised as hate crimes, so they are reported, investigated and prosecuted as such. It is important that this trend continues and no one should simply think that this abuse – on or offline – will be dismissed or ignored.

    “More than four in five prosecuted hate crimes result in a conviction, which is good news for victims. Over 73 per cent are guilty pleas – this means that more defendants are pleading guilty due to the strength of the evidence and prosecution case, so victims do not have to go through the process of a trial.

    “The CPS has undertaken considerable steps to improve our prosecution of hate crime and we will continue this improvement.”

  • 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!

  • David Cameron said one last good bye and Twitter was scathing

    The former Prime Minister of the UK, David Cameron took to Twitter to say one last good. The responses were scathing to say the least.

    Photo: Crown copyright Credit: Georgina Coupe
    Photo: Crown copyright
    Credit: Georgina Coupe

     

    David Cameron, who expressed his joy in being able to bring same-sex marriage to the UK during his time as PM, sent one last tweet as Prime Minister simply stating:

    It’s been a privilege to serve the country that I love.

    The responses weren’t so obliging.

    https://twitter.com/joelycett/status/753271779439837184

    https://twitter.com/PhatPoch/status/753255092313288704

    https://twitter.com/EthanDLawrence/status/753279718523277315

    https://twitter.com/CausticCorner/status/753255405782982656

    https://twitter.com/KellDeggers/status/753255146084237313

    https://twitter.com/GLove39/status/753255158319083520

    https://twitter.com/AdamMcKola/status/753258783560830978

    https://twitter.com/captain_az/status/753267826207711232

    https://twitter.com/CJBurgess11/status/753255399499923456

     

    What do you think too harsh?

  • BREAKING | UK gets first openly gay Cabinet member

    The UK’s new Prime Minister Theresa May, has appointed the UK’s first openly gay Cabinet member Justine Greening.

    Justine Greening, who came out during Pride In London has been announced by Theresa May as the new Education Secretary making her the first openly gay member of the cabinet. She replaces Nicky Morgan, who tweeted that she was “disappointed” to be leaving the job.

    Nicky Morgan was also the government’s Equalities minister, a position for which garnered a great deal of criticism after she voted against gay marriage in 2013.

    Yesterday Mrs May appointed the pro-LGBT Amber Rudd as the new Home Secretary.

    Ms. Greening has, according TheyWorkForYou.com, generally voted in favour of LGBT equality however was absent for a number of key votes, including a vote on the Equality Act (sexual discrimination) in 2007, which makes it unlawful to discriminate on the basis of sexuality during the provision of goods and services and she was absent on two pieces of legislation which impact the same-sex marriage bill.

  • Man found hanging from tree was gay man whose family “despised” gays

    Man found hanging from tree was gay man whose family “despised” gays

    A young black man who was found hanging from a tree in Atlanta, has been confirmed as Michael George Smith Jnr. known to his friends as London Jermaine.

    A young African-American man who committed suicide by hanging himself from a tree in a public park has been identified as Michael George Smith Jnr. known to his friends as London Jermaine. London Jermaine identified as a gay man, who described members of his family, on his social media account, as despising gay people.

    The discovery of Smith’s body became a trending topic on Twitter after many believed that his hanging was a modern-day lynching.

    The Fulton Country Medical Examiner’s office confirmed that his death was caused by suicide with no defensive wounds or signs of struggle apparent on the 22-year-old’s body.

    Moments before he took his life, the student wrote a heartbreaking message on Facebook telling his friends and family that he’d see them “in the next life”.

    He wrote,

    “I see y’all in the nextLife… Deadass. Father forgive me.”

    The Georgia Tech student had posted a message on the 17th June which accused his mother of teaching his siblings to “despise” gays.  He said,

    “My mother is teaching my siblings to dispise Gays.. I’m done with Life. I’m Hurt To The Core.”


    According to another post an unnamed sibling told him:

    “God doesn’t born gay people. You make yourself gay.”

    In the UK, the Samaritans can be contacted on 116 123. In the US, the National Suicide Prevention Hotline is 1-800-273-8255. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is on 13 11 14. Hotlines in other countries can be found here