THEGAYUK

Category: News

  • Labour vows: No More Homophobia. Ever

    With under 100 days till the general election, Labour have outlined plans to end Homophobia and anti-gay bullying in schools across the country.

    Labour will today publish its plan to eradicate homophobic bullying in every classroom, playground and dinner hall. The plan has the backing of Stonewall, campaigner and actor, Charlie Condou as well as other leading rights campaigners.

    Tristram Hunt MP, Labour’s Shadow Education Secretary, will announce the plan at Little Ilford School in London. Under the plan, Labour will:

    – Ensure that all new teachers are trained to tackle homophobic bullying;
    – Provide support for those teachers already in the system to receive training to tackle homophobic bullying;
    – Make age appropriate sex and relationships education compulsory in all schools;
    – Promote mental health services for young people living with the consequences of homophobic bullying;
    – Provide a national best practice ‘toolkit’ to equip schools with the resources to tackle HBT bullying.

    The announcement follows a Taskforce set up by Mr Hunt to consult and make recommendations on new measures to tackle homophobic bullying in schools and beyond. Mr Hunt will make the announcement on a visit to Little Ilford School at the beginning of LGBT History Month.

    Mr Hunt will say that schools have a duty to show a ‘zero tolerance’ approach to homophobic bullying:

    “The presence of homophobic bullying in our classrooms, playgrounds and dinner halls is deeply troubling, and it is very real. The use of homophobic language and other forms of homophobic bullying is damaging the life chances of so many young people. It has a daily effect that limits learning, and causes people long term damage. There is no place for it in our society – and never should it be ignored in our schools. Schools have a duty to show a zero tolerance approach to the use of homophobic language and bullying.”

    Mr Hunt will say that only by introducing new measures, will we rid the shadow of Section 28 that has been cast over our schools,

    “The legacy of Section 28 – a most pernicious piece of legislation – casts a shadow over our education system, both for those that are new to the schools workforce and for those who worked in schools whilst it was in operation. That is why repealing Section 28 alone, is not enough. We need new training for new and long-standing teachers, and others in the school workforce. Strategies for education, dealing with both prevention and resolution. And we need to act urgently to prevent the plight of homophobic bullying that is damaging the lives and life chances of thousands of pupils.”

    Charlie Condou, actor and campaigner, welcomes the announcement,

    “As a gay man, and as a parent, the tackling of homophobic bullying is obviously something that’s extremely important to me. School is where I want my kids to feel safe, to be nurtured and cared for when I’m not there. We’ve made so many advances for LGBT people over the last few years, but I truly believe that prejudice is learned behaviour and therefore we need to address LGBT issues at an early age. The word gay is still used as an insult in playgrounds across the country and the amount of young people still taking their own lives for being seen as different is quite distressing. I’m so glad that tackling homophobic, biphobic and transphobic bullying will be a priority for the next Labour government, as always, leaders in the struggle for LGBT equality”

    Stonewall, a charity that works on a cross-party basis, welcomes the announcement. Hannah Kibirige, Senior Education Officer at Stonewall, said,

    “Homophobic bullying and language are endemic in Britain’s schools, with a devastating impact on young people’s health, wellbeing and attainment. Through our work with more than 12,000 schools across the country, we know that teacher training is vital to tackling the problem. We have seen progress under this and the previous Government, but more still needs to be done. We welcome this commitment and will be calling on future governments to ensure that every teacher is equipped to tackle homophobic bullying and that every young person can reach their full potential.”

    The scale of the plight of homophobic bullying has been revealed in figures from Stonewall (published here today) that show of the current estimated 215,000 lesbian, gay and bisexual pupils in schools:

    · 52,000 will miss school in response to homophobic bullying;
    · 37,000 will change their future educational plans because of homophobic bullying;
    · The school work of 70,000 will suffer because of homophobic bullying.

    The figures show that whilst some schools, like Little Ilford School, are tackling with homophobic bullying, for thousands of other young people, the discrimination that they face is not being dealt with effectively.

  • Vile Homophobia Blasted At Johnny Weir On Super Bowl

    Openly gay former US skater and NBC sports commentator Johnny Weir suffers a tirade of homophobic abuse on Twitter as viewers vent about him hosting the pre-game Super Bowl show.

    Wearing a sparkly football themed costume, of blue rhinestones and matching face make up Johnny Weir, who retired from figure skating last year, certainly knows how to make a statement, however, his appearance has left many users of social media sending a torrent of homophobic abuse.

    Who in the hell is this queer bate with Tara Lapinski on NBC Super Bowl coverage?…

    — HutcH (@HutcHAmericanRN) February 1, 2015

    https://twitter.com/lturpin28/status/561965895447486464?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.archive.thegayuk.com%2F_snippet%2Fblog%2F4009928388%2F9344501%2Fn2I3xoFtAc7ws4IZ3R7EIu7ArYw.html

    https://twitter.com/MyMindOnGeorgia/status/561978324986363904?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.archive.thegayuk.com%2F_snippet%2Fblog%2F4009928388%2F9344501%2FMuNld5VXCXo9n0R3MRMHwd8tv7g.html

  • Mormon church backs LGBT rights – with one condition

    In a rare press conference at the Mormon Church Headquarters in Salt Lake City on Tuesday, a Church Spokesman called for a truce with LGBT groups.

    Well, a partial one anyway. Mormon leaders pledged to support anti-discrimination laws for gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgender people, as long the laws also protect the rights of religious groups. In exchange, the Mormon Church wants gay rights advocates — and the government — to back off some of their very questionable practices.

    “When religious people are publicly intimidated, retaliated against, forced from employment or made to suffer personal loss because they have raised their voice in the public square, donated to a cause or participated in an election, our democracy is the loser,” said Elder Dallin Oaks, a member of the church’s Quorum of Twelve Apostles. “Such tactics are every bit as wrong as denying access to employment, housing or public services because of race or gender.”

    However Tuesday’s announcement doesn’t change church doctrine, including its opposition to gay marriage, Mormon leaders said. “But we are suggesting a way forward in which those with different views on these complex issues can together seek solutions that will be fair to everyone,” said Elder D. Todd Christofferson, a member of the Quorum of Twelve Apostles, one of the church’s top tiers of leadership.

    Let we forget Mormons have fought the legalisation of same-sex marriage, and the pernicious PROP 8 to strike it down in California was a Mormon-backed referendum

  • Duke and Duchess of Cambridge Reject Campaign For Gay Pardons

    Prince William and his wife Kate have refused to join the movement to pardon gay men who were criminalised in the UK for being gay, despite a huge campaign led by Benedict Cumberbatch and Stephen Fry.

    The campaign is seeking the pardon of around 49,000 men who were prosecuted for their sexuality, a crime that was highlighted in the blockbuster film, The Imitation Game, starring Cumberbatch, who portrayed Alan Turing. Alan Turing was a computer scientist who in World War II cracked the infamous enigma code, which helped to bring about a swifter end to the war against the Nazis. Sir Winston Churchill described the code breaker as having “made the single biggest contribution to the Allied victory in the Second World War”.

    Around 15,000 men are still estimated to be alive.

    Within years of this great achievement, Turing was convicted of Gross Indecency, and his punishment was to be chemically castrated. Within two years he had committed suicide.

    In 2009, Gordon Brown posthumously pardoned Turing with an “unequivocal apology”. Four years later the Queen granted a pardon under the Royal Prerogative of Mercy. Campaigners are asking that pardons like these be extended to all men who were charged and convicted of these homophobic laws.

    In a letter to the Government, which was published in the Guardian, campaigners called for royal family to add their support to the cause, saying,

    “The UK’s homophobic laws made the lives of generations of gay and bisexual men intolerable.

    “It is up to young leaders of today including the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge to acknowledge this mark on our history and not allow it to stand.

    “We call upon Her Majesty’s Government to begin a discussion about the possibility of a pardoning all the men, alive or deceased, who like Alan Turing, were convicted.”

    A spokesman for the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge said the issue was a matter for the government and they would not make any public comment on it.

  • Grindr Ads Infected With Virus That Autodials £1 A Minute Phone Line

    Users of the gay hook up app Grindr have complained that their phones started calling premium rate numbers after a rogue advertiser pushed mobiles to call without their owner’s permission.

    The malware ads, which have now been withdrawn, caused mobile phones to automatically dial premium rate numbers when users opened the Grindr app. Speaking to TheRegister.co.uk a Grindr spokesperson said,

    “Grindr is aware of this issue and takes it very seriously. Ensuring that our users have the best experience possible is one of Grindr’s top priorities and we will not stand for users having to deal with malicious advertisements.

    “We have both direct advertisers as well third-party ad networks which supply advertising to the app. The ads you reference were served by one of these third-party ad networks.

    “While we do have a number of safeguards in place to monitor for ads on third-party networks, we serve billions of ads on our network, so there is the occasional chance that ads like this may appear.

    “In this instance, we immediately reached out to our third-party networks to have these malicious ads removed.”

    One user told the website, that even if you tried to cancel the call you were still charged the connection fee. Some users have reportedly been stung with bills of up to £65, for calls they didn’t know were being placed by their handsets.

    TheGayUK reached out to Grindr to find out whether refunds or compensation would be offered to users affected by the malware.

  • Another Man Thrown To His Death By ISIS For Being Gay

    Another horrifying set of pictures have been released reportedly showing a man being thrown off a tall building after being found guilty of being gay.

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  • She Is A Chaka-Fan For Sam Smith

    She Is A Chaka-Fan For Sam Smith

    Sam Smith has been hanging out with disco diva Chaka Khan and she’s even gave the openly gay singer a signed hand fan.

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  • We Can Finally Welcome Joel Grey To Our Cabaret

    In one of the worst kept secrets in show business 82-year-old Hollywood & Broadway Star actor Joel Grey finally came out publicly as gay. He told People Magazine “I don’t like labels, but if you have to put a label on it, I’m a gay man,”

    He says his friends and family know, but the Cabaret star, who was married to actress Jo Wilder for 24 years and raised two children, including actress Jennifer Grey, hasn’t spoken publicly about his sexuality before now.

    Grey is best known for his role as the M.C. in the stage and movie versions of Cabaret for which he won both a Tony & an Oscar, making him one of only eight people who have won both awards for the same role. He is also only the second out gay actor who has won an OSCAR: the other being Jodie Foster. (Canadian actress Anna Paquin who won when she was just aged 11 for her role in The Piano later publicly identified herself as bisexual).

  • Demis Roussos: King Of Kitsch Kaftans Dies

    Larger than life Greek pop singer Demis Roussos who started his career as part of the progressive rock group Aphrodite’s Child along with fellow member Vangelis, became a major presence as a solo artist in the UK pop scene in the mid-1970s.

    His most successful single “Forever And Ever” was No. 1 in the Charts in 1976, and he followed that with five other Top Ten Hits. As his career grew so did his waistline and so too did his signature kaftans which were the epitome of camp, and they just got bigger and brasher.

    Roussos’s other claim to fame came in June 1985, when he was one of the passengers of TWA Flight 847 from Athens to Rome, which was hijacked by Hezbollah-backed terrorists and diverted to Beirut. He and most of the 153 passengers were held on the plane for 17 days.

    Demis Roussos 15 June 1946 – 25 January 2015

  • LGBT Victim Support Helpline Opens In UK

    Stop Hate UK are pleased to announce the launch of a helpline offering advice, support and telephone-based advocacy to victims of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Hate Crime.

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  • Man Arrested For Having Sex With Postbox In Middle Of Shopping Arcade

    A drunken man who was aroused by a Royal Mail Postbox so much so, that he approached it with his trousers down and started to rub himself against it has been found guilty of sexual offences and has been made to sign the Sex Offenders’ Register.

    Paul Bennett, 45, was arrested and charged after he started to rub himself against a mailbox in front of horrified on-lookers at Scholes Precinct in Wigan, Greater Manchester. Alarmed witnesses called the police after the man exposed himself and began shouting “wow”. After finishing the act, witnesses say that he then started swinging on a lamppost.

    The court heard that the man began shouting abuse and became agitated as he was pulled away from the postbox by police officers. He pleased guilty to two counts of indecent exposure and using threatening and abusive words with abusive behaviour at Wigan and Leigh Magistrates Court, the Manchester Evening News reported.

    A witness who saw the scene has been said to be disgusted, Katie Beattie, prosecuting, said: “The victim was disgusted and alarmed by his behaviour. She rang the police.”

    Bennett, who was defended by Martin Jones said, “The lady watched for sometime and was ashamed, disgusted and upset and my client accepts that. Clearly there are issues that need to be addressed.”

    He was ordered to pay £50 compensation to a victim who witnessed the scene and £150 in court costs. He was also made to pay £60 in victim surcharges and had to sign the Sex Offenders’ Register.