THEGAYUK

Category: News

  • Hotel Worker Convicted For Raping Man Attending Job Interview

    Sebastian Szerer, 39 was convicted of one count of rape today, Wednesday, 29 July, following a trial at the Old Bailey.

    The court heard that Szerer raped the 25-year-old man at the Rubens Hotel, Buckingham Palace Road, Westminster, on 15 April, 2012, when he went there for the interview for a job which did not exist.

    He conducted the interview and then showed the victim around the hotel.

    The court heard he then took him the Queen’s Suite at the hotel. Szerer then locked the room and proceeded to rape the victim.

    The victim kept the assault secret for a year until Szerer sent him a message on a social networking site stating “hello stranger”.

    It was this message prompted the victim to attend Victim Support and tell them about the rape.

    They then encouraged him to contact the police.

    On 23 April, 2013, Szerer was arrested and subsequently charged.

    Investigating officer, Detective Inspector Lee Davison, of Sexual Offences Exploitation and Child Abuse Command, said:

    “Szerer abused his position as Head House Keeper.

    “He purposely lured the victim to the hotel on the pretext of a job interview that didn’t exist. He then raped him. Thankfully he has been found guilty and I praise the victim today for his decision to report this rape to the police.

    “The Metropolitan Police’s Sexual Offences Exploitation & Child Abuse Command will pursue all such offenders to bring them to justice and I would encourage anyone who has suffered at the hand of another to report the matter in the knowledge that they will be believed and supported.”

    Szerer will be sentenced at the Old Bailey on Thursday, 30 July.

  • Boy Scouts End Ban On Gay Leaders In USA

    The Boy Scouts of America have voted to end a blanket ban on gay adult leaders, employees and volunteers.

    Voting 45 in favour to 12 against the change, a long-established blanket ban on gay employees and volunteers working for the Boy Scouts of America has been lifted, stating that,

    “No adult applicant for registration as an employee or non-unit-serving volunteer, who otherwise meets the requirements of the Boy Scouts of America, may be denied registration on the basis of sexual orientation.”

    However, the new policy will still allow church-sponsored groups to still discriminate by allowing the recruitment process to restrict candidates to those who share their doctrine.

    The Mormon Church have said that despite the caveat, which could be open to discriminating against LGBT leaders, that it might leave the organisation in any case. Its clear stance on discriminating against LGBT people might open the floodgates for our Church-sponsored groups, like the Roman Catholic Church to do the same.

    A statement released by Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints said,

    “The Church has always welcomed all boys to its Scouting units regardless of sexual orientation,

    “However, the admission of openly gay leaders is inconsistent with the doctrines of the Church and what have traditionally been the values of the Boy Scouts of America.”

    GLAAD President & CEO Sarah Kate Ellis said,

    “Finally, hardworking and devoted gay adult leaders can serve openly and honestly in Scouting without fear of rejection or retribution,

    “Today’s historic vote will strengthen Scouting and sends a message of acceptance that will resonate for years to come, as future Scout leaders are judged by their ability to lead and not their sexual orientation.”

  • THEGAYUK supports The Freedom To Donate Blood Campaign

    TheGayUK’s editor has come out in support of a movement to change the laws surrounding blood donations from HIV-negative gay men in the UK.

    Speaking to Freedom to Donate, Jake Hook, THEGAYUK’s Editor in Chief offered a bold statement to back the campaign.

    He said,

    “TheGayUK is firmly committed to supporting the rights of gay, bisexual men who want to donate blood. Refusing blood from gay men, at a time where blood stocks are at crisis point, is not only deeply offensive, but also sends a damaging message that gay and bisexual men are poisonous, damaged and are not equal both societally and legally.”

    Also supporting the campaign, the GMFA’s Chief Executive, Matthew Hodson said,

    “We need a sensible policy on blood donations, which can ensure a safe supply for much needed transfusions, without risk or prejudice.”

    As it stands, the law in the UK bans gay and bisexual men from donating blood if they have had sex with another man within 12-months.

  • This Man Is Taking Blood Discrimination To The High Court

    Tomás Heneghan is taking the Irish Blood Transfusion Service to court because he believes they are discriminating against him and gay men.

    The Irish student is taking the IBTS to the high court after they “permanently deferred” him despite being tested negative for any diseases or viruses.

    Mr Heneghan, 23, who had been donating blood since he was eighteen, honestly disclosed the fact that he had slept with a man which is when the IBTS “deferred him”, which effectively acts as a ban on donating blood. The IBTS enforces a lifetime ban on any man who has had anal or oral sex with another man.

    Mr Heneghan considers giving blood a “civic responsibility” his counsel said.

    The European Convention on Human Rights prohibits discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation. However, there is a provision for discriminating if it is reasonable and proportionate. Mr Heneghan is arguing that each individual must have an inquiry with regard to whether they can donate to ensure that a blanket ban on gay men giving blood is not discriminatory.

    The Irish Times reports that Mr Justice Seamus Noonan is satisfied that this is an appropriate case against the IBTS, the Minister of Health and the State.

  • Elaine Paige Makes History With Live On-Air Gay Marriage Proposal

    Musical theatre superstar Elaine Paige has made history on her BBC Radio 2 programme as she read out a marriage proposal from Pieter to his boyfriend Keith.

    Regular Radio 2 listener Keith, was on air with Elaine Paige when she read out a moving letter from his partner Pieter. The letter was about “what love is.”

    At the end of the letter Pieter popped on the line and proposed to him a first for Elaine’s programme on BBC Radio 2.

    A spokesperson for the show said,

    “Elaine was, as I’m sure many of the listeners were, almost in tears. It was beautiful. Pieter then came on the line and popped the question to his long time love.”

    The proposal which left Keith in shock was immediately accepted with Keith saying it was a “brilliant surprise” and “out of the blue”.

    The on air proposal was met with support from many Twitter users congratulating Keith and Pieter on their new engagement.

  • Memorial Fund For Teen Allegedly Killed By Boyfriend Raises $13K

    A memorial page, which was set up to raise money for the funeral for a teenager who was allegedly killed by his boyfriend in a violent domestic attack, has raised nearly $13,000.

    Stephen Sylvester died after he was reportedly brutally attacked by his boyfriend Bryan Canchola after an argument about cheating. Canchola is now facing charges of murder in Texas, USA.

    Although Stephen’s funeral was on the 24th July, a memorial fund is raising money for a memorial for the Austin teenager who died from a head injury.

    The page, which was organised by Amy Dawn Robinson has raised $12,345 with donations from 236 people in just 9 days.

    In his obituary, Stephen was described as someone who “arrived into this world the same way he lived, with as much spunk and glitter as any one person could handle.”

    Canchola is in the Travis County Jail and his bail is set at $500,000

    If you are affected by issues raised in this story, please contact Broken Rainbow http://www.brokenrainbow.org.uk or call 0800 999 5428.

  • Ivan Massows vows that his work is not yet done

    Ivan Massow may have been snubbed by the Conservative Party as a candidate for the London Mayoral Race 2016, but does he have independent ideas?

    Ivan Massow was seemingly snubbed by the Conservatives in favour of Tory insiders, however, that hasn’t dampened Massow’s hopes of being London Mayor. In a response to a Tweet asking him if he’d run as an independent candidate for London’s Mayor in 2016, the finance expert, responded, “I feel my work here isn’t yet done!”

    Massow along with, Sol Campbell and Philippa Roe were all sidelined in favour of Conservative MP Zac Goldsmith, Deputy Mayor for policing and crime Stephen Greenhalgh, leader of the Conservative Party in the London Assembly Stephen Boff and MEP Syed Kamall.

    He also replied to another well-wisher, who encouraged the Brighton-born Massow not to give up, by simply replying: “I Won’t.”

    If Massow decides to run as an independent he will be joining Siobhan Benita and Rosalind Readhead.

  • Ivan Massow Out Of The Mayoral Race In Favour Of Tory Insiders

    Despite being a favourite with the public, openly gay Ivan Massow has failed to make the Tory party’s candidate shortlist for the London Mayoral race in 2016.

    Ivan Massow who created the first company to offer insurance policies and financial services to gay people in the 1990s, when many companies weren’t ensuring gay people or were offering crippling premiums, has lost his campaign to become London’s mayor in 2016 after the Conservative party snubbed him in favour of an MP, an MEP a London Assembly member and the Deputy Mayor.

    The Conservatives also snubbed ex-footballer, Sol Campbell who is also a party outsider. The shortlist also snubbed women in favour of an all male line up.

    Last week the Brighton-born mayoral hopeful, Massow, 47, released a video campaign in which he was asking Londoners to invite him to stay over for the night in order for him to get a hands-on look at what were high priority issues for Londoners in 2015/16.

    Despite being the Head of Policy for London for the Conservative Party in the 1990s and having been asked to be a London Mayoral candidate for the party in that same period, his sudden resignation in a protest against the homophobic and antiquated Section 28 made front page news at the time, which made him unpopular with some Tory leaders.

    Taking to his Twitter account last night Ivan said:

    “Just heard by text that I didn’t make it onto the list. Really want to thank everyone who’s supported me and my team. It was quite a journey.”

  • UPDATE: BBC News Now Reports On Norwich Pride Despite Being On Its Doorstep

    UPDATE: BBC News have now run a story on the Pride and its parade.

    In a move many in Norwich’s LGBT+ community will question, the BBC News had failed to report on Norwich Pride, despite being on the doorstep of the Norwich BBC headquarters.

    BBC News have now run a story on its website about the pride parade.

    With offices overlooking the main pride area, questions are being asked why the BBC failed to report on Norwich’s pride event yesterday, which drew large numbers of people into the city’s centre yesterday.

    The BBC News website failed to report on the pride event, which featured original members of the Lesbian And Gays Support The Miners group, who featured in the blockbuster hit Pride in 2014. It appears that the only story reported in Norfolk yesterday was, “Beach rocks moved to protect cliffs”.

    ITV’s news team did report on the Pride and its parade.

    BBC Radio Norfolk did, however, have Norwich Pride’s chairman Nick O’Brien on to talk about the pride parade and the Pride was featured in the tea time TV bulletin, yesterday evening.

    THEGAYUK reached out to BBC England news team to ask why the Pride celebrations were ignored.

  • Top Stories: Enrique, Harry’s Foreskin, Essential Gay Films and My First Porn

    From Enrique Inglesias’s penis selfie to the BBC defending an implied gay sex scene, here are the top 6 stories you read on TheGayUK this week.

    First off when pop star hunk Enrique took a selfie of his penis on a fan’s camera, the world went wild for it, despite not actually seeing the “hero”. We’ve been searching for the camera on which he took the picture ever since.

    Then a Canadian penis activist made news when he wanted every teenage fan to know that Harry Styles has a foreskin. He is on a crusade to get people, especially in the US, to know that foreskins are beautiful and natural… okay.

    Our very own Greg Mitchell made a splash with his column on his very first porn shoot. Greg shared his experience of working for a top US porn producer.

    The BBC found itself having to defend an “implied” sex scene between Ben Mitchell and Paul Coker after 48 complaints were made to OfCom.

    Openly gay Conservative candidate for London Mayor Ivan Massow released an interesting campaign in which he said he wanted to stay overnight with a new Londoner every night for 30 nights.

    and finally…

    Also the Scottish Pride event, Free Pride, came under intense criticism this week after it decided to ban all non-trans drag queen from performing at its event. It later reversed it’s policy after becoming the focus of international headlines.

     

     

  • Gay Man In Texas Charged With Murder After Violent Attack On Boyfriend

    Bryan Canchola, a 20-year-old from Texas has been charged with the murder of his boyfriend after a violent fight over suspected cheating.

    The Austin American-Stateman reports, that the Texas man has been charged with first-degree murder after allegedly beating his 18-year-old boyfriend, Stephen Sylvester, to death. According to Canchola’s co-workers the pair had been dating for two months.

    Sylvester was found unconscious by police at his home, but died later from injuries sustained in a brutal attack.

    A roommate told police that he had heard fighting between the two boyfriends after he arrived home in the early morning and it was then that Canchola accused Sylvester of cheating. The fight apparently escalated with the roommate hearing “banging and violent crashing”.

    According to arrest warrant affidavit the roommate also heard Sylvester’s pet dog crying out in pain after Canchola reportedly threatened to kill it.

    The last picture on Stephen’s Instagram account is of Canchola and him in an embrace. In the profile section of his account Stephen wrote: “This is my life’s journey, Dare to follow?”

    The roommate found Sylvester after the fight, conscious but with bleeding coming from the back of his head and transported him to University Medical Center Brackenridge. However, Sylvester left the hospital before receiving medical treatment. He returned back to his apartment.

    Later, Canchola called the police to report that the 18-year-old was unconscious. He was once again rushed to the hospital but died of bleeding on the brain according to an autopsy. He also suffered a neck fracture.

    Chanchola is in the Travis County Jail and his bail is set at $500,000

    A friend has set up a GoFundMe page to help fund Stephen’s funeral.