THEGAYUK

Category: News

  • Wal-Mart Sued After Failing To Insure Gay Employees After DOMA Ruling

    The US’s biggest grocery retailer is being sued for discriminating against a same-sex couple.

    A woman is suing Wal-Mart, a company, which owns the UK Asda brand, after failing to offer health insurance to her wife after DOMA was struck down.

    Jacqueline Cote, 52, is suing her employer, Wal-Mart after failing to extend its insurance benefits to its gay employees after the Defence of Marriage Act, DOMA, was struck down in June 2013. Wal-Mart only started including same-sex couples in January 2014.

    Cotes is alleging that her wife, Diana “Dee” Smithson had spent, according to a complaint filed on Tuesday in Boston federal court, in excess of $150,000 (£95,913) on medical treatments fighting ovarian cancer, which were uninsured. She claims it is in violation of the federal Civil Rights Act of 1964.

    Wal-Mart did extend insurance benefits to gay couples in January 2014.

    In an email to Bloomberg who originally reported the story, Brian Nick, a spokesman for Wal-Mart said, “[Walmart’s] benefits coverage previous to the 2014 update was consistent with the law.”

    Ms. Cote’s class action suit will be the first of its kind since the United States Supreme Court made same-sex marriage legal across all of the USA.

     

     

  • ANGELA MERKEL: Marriage Between A Man A Woman

    The German Chancellor, Angela Merkel does not believe that gay couples should have the right to marry.

    ◉ Said that marriage is between a man and woman living together

    ◉ Chancellor is out of touch with the German people on the issue of same-sex marriage

    Angela Merkel revealed her thoughts on same-sex marriage yesterday in an interview posted on YouTube and while she supports LGBT equality, it stops at civil partnerships.

    Speaking to YouTuber Florian Mundt, who has over 2.6 million subscribers, Huffington Post reports she said,

    “We have come a long way; when I remember, 25 years ago, many people didn’t dare to say that they are gay or lesbian.

    “Luckily we overcame this; you can enter a partnership, a civil partnership.

    The Chancellor reiterated that she wanted to end discrimination and she wanted equality and was questioned about how she could end discrimination whilst differentiated between straight and gay couple’s rights to marriage.

    Merkel replied, “No discrimination,”

    “Marriage as a man and a woman living together.”

    “For me, personally, marriage is a man and a woman living together. That is my concept, but I support civil partnerships.”

     

    OUT OF TOUCH?

    Statistics show that Merkel is out of touch with the German people on the issue. A survey undertaken in 2013 by RTL Television and Stern magazine revealed that nearly three-quarters of Germans are in favour of same-sex marriage.

     

  • US Bakery Which Was Fined $135000 For Discrimination Makes 3 Times In Donations

    The Sweet Cakes bakery, at the centre of a legal battle which saw it fined $135,000 has raised over $348,000 in donations.

    A gay couple were awarded $135,000 in damages after the Sweet Cakes bakery refused to bake a wedding cake for them in 2013 on the grounds that it was against their religious beliefs.

    The owners of Sweet Cakes, Aaron and Melissa Klein, started a GoFundMe page asking supporters to help them with their legal costs.

    GoFundMe closed the campaign saying that it violated the site’s terms and conditions, but not before the fundraiser had racked up $109,000 in donations. The decision to pull the crowdfunder from GoFundMe came down to the fact that laws had been violated. GoFundMe allowed Sweet Cakes to take the funds already collected minus its fees and taxes.

    Another site, Continue To Give has allowed the campaign to go on and the Kleins have received over 232% of the $150,000 they’re asking for. The page encourages users to “help the Kleins through this hard time as they fight for religous [sic] freedom”.

    The page’s mission statement reads: “Every American should be free to live and work according to their faith without the government punishing them for doing so.”

    Continuetogive.com take 3.9% + $0.60 per donation. According to the site, the Sweet Cakes fundraiser has had 7611 donations. Meaning that it will have grossed around $25540.60

    In April owners of a Pizza parlour in Indiana said that they would refuse to serve a gay wedding, saying it would never deliver pizza to a gay wedding. A crowd funded was started and raised over $800,000.

  • Nearly Half Of Grindr Guys Have Found A Long Term Relationship

    When you think of Grindr, a long -term relationship might not be the first thing that comes to mind, but a recent survey by the tech company reveals that nearly 50% of guys have found love online.

    Nearly 50% of Grindr users have said that they have or had found long-term relationships on the social app that revolutionised the gay dating scene.

    47% of 2500 men surveyed said that they had found loving, long-term relationships on the app. A statement from the app’s blog said,

    “A whopping 47% of survey respondents said that they had found long-term friendships on Grindr – which goes to show that there are plenty of guys out there who aren’t just looking for Mr. “Right Now.”

    In a recent review of gay dating apps by THEGAYUK’s dating guru Scott Sammons said,

    “Love it or hate it the fact is that most (emphasis on most, but not all) gay men have been on it at some point over the last six or seven years. I gave it up for two years when I was with my boyfriend and didn’t miss it but now that I’m single again it does become a little habit,

    “On the ‘looking for love’ scale, if you go onto it with low expectations when it does happen (and I know that it has) then it’s a pleasant surprise.”

  • Another Gay Bar Closes In London, Barcode Closes Without Warning

    London’s once-thriving gay scene is diminishing after another venue has announced its closure last month.

    Barcode in Vauxhall has announced without warning that it is to close on Saturday after 9 years in existence.

    Barcode is just one of a number of other gay spaces that have closed in London this year. Black Cap and The Joiner’s Arms were both shuttered in 2015.

  • Eurovision 2016 To Be Hosted In Stockholm

    Eurovision 2016 will be hosted in Stockholm it has been decided – and the TV producers have come up with a unique concept…

    Swedish host broadcaster SVT and European Broad Casting Union (EBU) have decided that Eurovision 2016, the 61st in the show’s history, will be hosted in Stockholm. Together with SVT, the City of Stockholm will create a new innovative arena concept, including all four venues – Tele 2 Arena, Ericsson Globe, Hovet and Annexet – in the Stockholm Globe District.

    The 60th competition, held in Vienna, saw Sweden’s Mans Zelmerlow win beating Russia and Italy. The UK’s Electro Velvet managed to scrape 5 points coming 24th out of 27.

    The main events will take place at all four venues in the Stockholm Globe District. The finale will take place in Ericsson Globe on May 10-14th 2016.

    “The solution with multiple arenas enables us to produce the Eurovision Song Contest in the Globe, have the press centre at the Hovet and the delegations area at the Annex. The Jewel in the Crown is to take Eurovision Song Contest to the next level by incorporating Tele2 Arena during the evening of the finale” ,says Martin Österdahl, executive producer of the Eurovision Song Contest in 2016.

  • WATCH | The Fight Against Gay Cures In China

    A documentary by AJ+, the Al Jazeera digital video channel has uncovered China’s widespread practice of conversion therapy, or “gay cure”.

    The 8-minute documentary follows a gay man, Yanzi Peng, who launches a lawsuit against a clinic after he experienced their conversion therapy.

    The clinic claimed that they could make gay people heterosexual with the use of hypnosis and electric shock treatment.

    Homosexuality has been legal since 1991 in Hong Kong, and 1996 iin Macau. It was legalised nationwide in 1997. The Chinese Society of Psychiatry declassified homosexuality as a mental illness in 2001.

    China has no discrimination protections for its LGBT community.

  • LGBT Community Has New Pub In Bangor, North Wales

    A year after Bangor’s only gay venue, The Three Crowns burnt down the new management of The White Lion hope to give the LGBT community a safe space in North Wales. (more…)

  • Old Compton Street snubbed in OutTraveler Top 200 Bar List

    Despite having the highest concentration of gay pubs and bars in the UK, London’s iconic Old Compton Street missed out in OutTraveler.com’s 200 of the greatest gay bars in the world.

    Stalwart venues such as Soho’s Ku Bar, Admiral Duncan and Molly Moggs missed out to a bar in Dalston and Vauxhall in OutTraveler’s top 200 bars of the world.

    The OutTraveler.com top 200 lists only venues in the UK, 7 in England and 2 in Scotland. Despite there being over 50 venues in London, the list included just 4 bars including, Dalston Superstore, Fire, Heaven and the Royal Vauxhall Tavern, snubbing all venues in Old Compton Street.

    Brighton’s iconic scene was awarded just one venue, Revenge and Manchester’s Canal Street, in its entirety was given a special mention.

    The OutTraveler editors wrote,

    “As with any list, it’s impossible to be definitive. We’ve taken nominations, suggestions, polled friends and experts around the world, and even done a bit of on-the-ground research. We’ve also tried to arrive at a list that satisfies everyone from a pierced and leather-clad cub to a skinny, go-go boy wannabe. But we’re sure that this will only stoke the fires of debate.”

  • Naked Streaking For Tigers Makes A Comeback

    Naked streaking across London Zoo is back… and it’s for Tigers…

    This is the kind of story we love. People getting naked for a cause. Hurrah.

    The Zoological Society of London an international conservation charity, is looking for men and women to get naked and streak through the heart of London Zoo to bring awareness and raise money for the endangered tiger. Over the last two years, the streak has raised a whopping £115K. The funds go towards helping ZSL’s work for wildlife and conservation projects.

    Ali Corbett, Challenge Events Manager, at ZSL, said: “We can’t wait to welcome racy runners to ZSL London Zoo for the only official streak in London!

    “Over the past two years the risqué run has raised more than £115k for tiger conservation, and we’re hoping this year we can inspire courageous cat-lovers to bare all and help us raise even more funds to continue our work for wildlife.”

    The 300 places available are being pounced on fast, sign up at www.zsl.org/streak

  • Fundraising Evening Raises Emergency Funding For HIV Patients

    Over £1,000 has been raised to provide emergency nonclinical support for members of the Bloomsbury Patient Network at a Robert Grace Trust fundraising evening.

    For the last five years donations from the charity have provided support for patients of the Bloomsbury Clinic – one of the largest HIV clinics in Europe.

    The £1,100 raised will support patients in need at times of crisis and to help them engage in their care. Some items that have been purchased in the past include groceries, powdered milk for babies, school uniforms, beds, mattresses, fridges, cookers and hostel accommodation. The fund also subsidises travel and child care so that patients can attend the Bloomsbury Network’s events.

    Christopher Sandford, Patient Representative at the Bloomsbury Clinic, said,

    “The emergency fund is designed to help people when they have no-one else to turn to in times of crisis. If someone cannot afford to eat, or has nowhere to live, or can’t send their children to school, can’t afford the fares to attend the clinic, then you can’t expect people to take their medication effectively and stay healthy.

    “We are grateful to the Robert Grace Trust for their continued support of our work. So many people’s lives have been filled with hope thanks to the fund.”

    Attendees enjoyed wine and nibbles as the speakers – Patricia Pearson, Chair of the Robert Grace Trust; Dr Laura Waters, Consultant Physician at the Bloomsbury Clinic; and Christopher Sandford – discussed recent developments in HIV treatment and the difference the emergency fund has made.

    Sean, a patient who volunteered at the fundraiser, said:

    “I just wanted to say how moved and proud I was listening to the presentations. When I think back to that first year of diagnosis there was so much to adjust to and joining the Bloomsbury Network has meant everything to me in terms of keeping me healthy, stable and supported. That is thanks to the incredible work that the Patient Representative Team does, building a supportive welcoming community. It is truly one of my favourite places to be. I was so moved listening to the stories from the emergency fund and so inspired by the idea of how the patient representatives are empowering so many people and transforming lives, including mine.”

    The Bloomsbury Patient Network, run by three patient representatives, offers peer support for people to live positively with their HIV diagnosis. They offer a range of social, educational and motivational events thought the year.

    Robert Grace was a South-African architect and a patient of the Bloomsbury Clinic. The Trust was founded in his memory after he passed away in 1987 to provide emergency support for patients and carers.