Civil Partnerships have now been greenlit for opposite-sex couples.
The UK government has agreed to open civil partnership to heterosexual couples equalising the law for straight and gay couples. Speaking about the decision, Human Rights campaigner, Peter Tatchell said,
“The planned opening of civil partnerships to opposite-sex couples is wonderful news. It is the successful culmination of a 14-year equality campaign that was begun in 2004 by myself and the LGBT+ organisation OutRage! When Labour first introduced civil partnerships but restricted them to same-sex couples we argued that this was discrimination. We campaigned for equal civil partnerships for all,” said human rights advocate Peter Tatchell.
“We are delighted that Charles Keidan and Rebecca Steinfeld have continued this campaign and finally won this stunning result. They secured the backing of the Supreme Court in June this year, when it ruled that the ban on opposite-sex couples was unjustified and contrary to human rights principles. The government’s decision was a necessary response to the judgement of the highest court in the land.
“We thank the government for listening to the judges, human rights law and the appeals of the many unmarried opposite-sex couples who want a civil partnership,” said Mr Tatchell.
Civil Partnerships were first offered to gay couples in 2004 by the Labour government as a way for gay and same-sex couples to protect and formalise their relationship inline with traditional marriage. There have been over 60,000 civil partnerships in the UK since the law was introduced.
A longstanding magazine was closed after publishing a series of outrageous homophobic articles.
Publishers of the 33-year-old magazine, Shincho 45 made a decision to close the magazine after a series of homophobic articles, Queerty is reporting.
It all started in August when Mio Sugita, a junior lawmaker in the ruling party, the Liberal Democrat Party made a series of claims stating that same-sex couples were “unproductive” and shouldn’t be able to claim benefits.
In this instance, it’s thought that by “unproductive” she meant couples unable to conceive a child.
It caused a huge upset. Even the Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who is childless, warned that Sugita should be “more mindful of her words.”
The publisher’s own president Takanobu Sato said that the article showed “outrageous prejudice” towards gay couples.
In its next issue, Shincho 45 cemented its future by publishing a further SEVEN articles defending Sugita’s original article.
In one of these articles, gay and bisexual men were referred to as SMAG – sadist, masochist, ass fetish, and groper.
Following the publication, the publisher released a statement saying, “It is undeniable that our editing of articles and scrutiny of feature series in the pipeline has grown perfunctory over the years as we struggle with the magazine’s dwindling circulation and numerous trials and errors
“We both thank and apologize to our readers and all parties concerned for their support and cooperation over the years”.
Katie Hopkins thinks the Girlguiding organisation is “imploding” after it ruled, in keeping with the Equality Act 2010, that trans girls are allowed to join its ranks. The organisation recently made a statement clarifying that children who identify as female could join.
In a statement, Girlguiding wrote, “Girlguiding is for all girls, and that includes trans girls. We are working in line with the Equality Act 2010 and review our policy and practice regularly in line with the new guidance and best practice as it emerges.”
Hopkins Hits Out
Writing directly to the CEO of Girlguiding Hopkins wrote, “Please can I politely request a chat. I identify as a trans-pescatarian on Fridays and prefer to be referred to by my non-binary nickname Uber-Twat. Breaking news – Your organisation is imploding.”
The right-wing commentator who then urged her considerable Twitter following to “get your daughters” out after The Times ran a story which suggested that trans girls would be sharing showers with biological females.
Hopkins warned, “Get your daughters out of there. And fast. Say no to mandatory madness”.
When the West Yorkshire Police dept said it was “great to see” Girlguiding “standing up for trans rights” Hopkins couldn’t hold back her fury tweeting, “What about the rights of our daughters to shower and sleep safety with other little girls? Why are the police so willing to throw our children under the bus to climb aboard with trans-rights?”
What about the rights of our daughters to shower and sleep safety with other little girls? Why are the police so willing to throw our children under the bus to climb aboard with trans-rights? pic.twitter.com/EptaGr2lgA
Apparently, people have been sending gifting company Moonpig pictures of their genitals. It’s such a common occurrence the company have had to ask their customers to stop uploading pictures of their junk to put on the front of greetings cards.
Taking to Twitter, Moonpig wrote, “please stop uploading pics of your genitals to our cards it is against our ts and cs”.
The request almost immediately made the company trend on Twitter as thousands of people interacted with the request. It was liked by nearly 25,000 people in just a few hours.
please stop uploading pics of your genitals to our cards it is against our ts and cs
A London-based charity has won an award at this year’s Patient Information Awards.
Compassion in dying was selected as the winner of the BMA equality, diversity and inclusion special award for the resource they produced in collaboration with LGBT charity for the older people, Opening Doors London, and Stonewall. The awards were hosted by the British Medical Association yesterday (Tuesday 25 September) at BMA House in Tavistock Square, London.
‘Your treatment and care: Planning ahead for the LGBT community’ is the first ever resource designed specifically for the LGBT community on end-of-life care planning. It was based on extensive research which found that those in the LGBT community can face specific and significant barriers stopping them from getting the end-of-life care they want. This can include healthcare professionals making assumptions about their preferences for care and a lack of understanding about what or who is important to them. This guide was therefore designed to set out the different ways in which LGBT people may plan ahead.
Accepting the award, Natalie Koussa, Director of partnerships and services at Compassion in Dying, said, “We’re absolutely thrilled to win the diversity and inclusion award. ‘Planning ahead for the LGBT community’ was developed as the first resource of its kind in order to support people from LGBT communities with very specific decision-making processes that they experience towards the end of life, so we’re thrilled to be recognised for this work.”
BMA representative body chair, Dr Anthea Mowat, said, “It is a privilege to be able to recognise the great work of Compassion in Dying as the first-ever winners of the BMA’s special award for equality, diversity and inclusion.
“The LGBT community, particularly older people, can face specific and significant barriers to getting the end-of-life care they need and it’s a sign of progress that there’s now, for the first time, a resource specifically aimed to help gay, lesbian, trans and bisexual people plan ahead for their future treatment and care in case they become unable to communicate their decisions.
“The resource, produced with help from Stonewall and Opening Doors London, will take the complexity out of a decision that’s quite hard to understand but a very important aspect of compassionate healthcare and highlights the diverse concerns of LGBT people.”
Note to readers: This is a press release, published forrecord.
Before coming out to his teammates, 22-year-old DeVine described his worry on how they would react on hearing the news. He said, “I’m a gay athlete. There aren’t too many of us, so when I came out to my college team, that was a really tough time for me.”
However, to their credit his teammates were nothing but supportive.
He said, “I remember that being a pretty emotional time, and just feeling my whole team wrap around me and feeling that love in a place where I hadn’t really felt it, that was definitely special for me.
“Just seeing them kind of prove me wrong was definitely special, something I’ll never forget.”
DeVine comes from Seattle, Washington and studies at Standford University. He has swum for the US Nations and World Championship.
Sodomy laws have been amended in Trinidad and Tobago to allow adult men to have sex with each other. Justice Devindra Rampersad gave a final ruling on legal challenges by LGBT+ activist Jason Jones, to amend the wording of certain sections of the Sexual Offences Act.
Two sections underwent wording change.
Wording has been amended in section 13, with the words “without consent”. The section now reads,
“13. (1) A person who commits the offence of buggery is liable on conviction to imprisonment for twenty-five years. (2) In this section “buggery” means sexual intercourse “without consent” per anum by a male person with a male person or by a male person with a female person.”
In section 16 the words “a male person and a female person” are deleted and replaced with “persons”
“(1) A person who commits an act of serious indecency on or towards another is liable on conviction to imprisonment for five years.
(2) Subsection (1) does not apply to an act of serious indecency committed in private between—
(a) a husband and his wife; (b) “persons” each of whom is sixteen years of age or more, both of
whom consent to the commission of the act; or (c) persons to whom section 20(1) and (2) and (3) of the Children Act apply. (3) An act of “serious indecency” is an act, other than
sexual intercourse (whether natural or unnatural), by a person involving the use of the genital organ for the purpose of arousing or gratifying sexual desire.
In April 2018 those two sections of the Sexual Offences Act were ruled unconstitutional by judge Devindra Rampersad.
What about Ageism, HIV stigma and effeminism, users ask…
CREDIT: Ryazan / BIGSTOCK
Banning racism is on the agenda at Grindr and many of the gay hook up apps, but users are keen to point out that Grindr is failing on other discriminatory language including ageism, HIV stigma and anti-effeminate sentiments.
Recently Grindr announced a new policy, dubbed Kindr, which looks to rid the platform of all types of discrimination, however, users point out that aside from racism there is a whole heap of discrimination that goes seemingly unchecked via people’s profiles.
Grindr says it will now moderate language on users’ profiles, saying they’d rather “hear about what you’re into, not what you aren’t”. Some, however, are concerned that the announcement seemingly only touches on racism. However, the editor of Into, Grindr’s online magazine, has said that the new policy will take into consideration any discriminatory language.
Zach Stafford said, “So, I am seeing some confusion around #Kindr and wanted to clear one big thing up: Discriminatory language like ‘no fats, no femmes, no Asians’ is officially considered discriminatory and will now be banned on Grindr”.
Hi hi,
So, I am seeing some confusion around #Kindr and wanted to clear one big thing up:
Discriminatory language like ‘no fats, no femmes, no Asians’ is officially considered discriminatory and will now be banned on Grindr.
Anger is mounting after the troubled House of Fraser refused to take gift cards for purchases. They have also failed to issue replacement cards for old gift cards and vouchers.
When the store was sold to Sports Direct, customers were told to send in their gift cards in August, in order to be issued a replacement card. However, the firm has yet to issue any new cards, leading to anger and worry from customers.
Sports Direct also announced last week that customers who ordered with House Of Fraser online before the chain was bought should not expect to receive the goods they paid for or get a refund.
According to the BBC, the firm’s PR has not responded to call for comment.
House of Fraser was bought by Sports Direct owner Mike Ashley, who said that he planned to keep the majority of the 59 stores open. He said that he wanted to return the store chain into the “Harrods of the high street”.
Drain of goodwill
Since the Sports Direct take over, House of Fraser has been beset with public relation issues. If the company decides to void all gift cards it could drain any goodwill left with consumers.
Droves of former and current customers have taken to Twitter to air their frustration.
Despite the buyout by Mike Ashley, House of Fraser still seem to be teetering. The stores refusal to even assist online/gift card customers will drain away any goodwill and loyalty and imperil the companies chances of survival. Would you shop there now? https://t.co/n2y1IY791o
I don’t have a gift card but it’s simple, don’t shop there anymore. Customers should use their power more and give money to companies that respect the customer is the reason there’s a business at all https://t.co/9nukWLVWyi
To make a claim against the store you will need to write to the administrator with proof of your vouchers or gift cards.
Administrators EY said : “Customers can submit a claim against the HF Stores Realisations Limited (formerly House of Fraser (Stores) Limited). However, this will be treated as an unsecured creditor claim and unfortunately they will only receive a very modest recovery against the amount claimed.”
If you bought your cards with your credit card you could try claiming with them. According to the BBC, “Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act can make credit card providers jointly liable for breaches of contract with a trader when people buy on a credit card”.
A new way of getting new music to the masses or just music to chill to?
RealityDudes have released their latest scene, (starring muscular hunk Dustin Steele and buff babe Julian Knowles) except, slightly unusual we think, as the website, WeLoveGayPorn.com (NSFW) has pointed out they’ve used an actual song as the sound bed for the scene.
Now, there was a time when most porns had a cheesy euro dance track behind the action, but lately, most studios just go with the sweet sweet sounds of the plunge and an occasion “ah yeahhh… f**k yeahhh etc etc”.
So naturally, we were inquisitive as to the song and the singer, if you’re wondering it’s an Andy Powell track called, “Pretty Little Lies” featuring Linda Roan. It was released in 2017. Stream it here
What do you think? A good addition to the action or a slightly creepy distraction?
Wanna check out the porn promo? Click here (NSFW obviously)
Fans of vibrant ITV Saturday Night shows may recognise race driver Charlie Martin from the muscle-fest that is Ninja Warrior. Managing to get up The Wall first time, she showed the world what an athlete she is in front of millions of viewers.
(C) ITV
The Wall, however, was far from the first huge obstacle Charlie’s had to overcome. Being gendered male at birth, Charlie had previously taken on greater challenges than anything Ben what’s-his-face and the giggly moustachioed one from football (Klammy, or something, I think he’s called) could throw at her.
After decades rising through the motorsport ranks, during which time she made the transition to female, Charlie found a race seat in the popular Protyre Motorsport Ginetta GT5 Challenge with a race-winning team, Richardson Racing.
The aim? To fight her way up the Ginetta motorsport ladder, all the way to Le Mans and the famous 24-hour race. No transgender driver has ever taken part in this icon of world motorsport – and so a chance to add her name into the annals of history beckons.
When I first spoke to Charlie, she was adjusting to life back in the UK after years of racing in France on the hill climb circuit. She raced everything from Peugeot 205s and Westfield sportscars, to single seater ‘Formula’ cars (principally a Formula Renault she engineered herself) and Le Mans style prototypes like her Norma M20. During her time she made a habit of winning (and breaking course records by huge chunks – over two seconds at one track), until she felt she could progress no further within French hillclimbing, and decided to move to more traditional circuit racing.
So now you can race my NGK Spark Plugs car on @thegranturismo ! You can even wear my suit and helmet, so awesome – just search #gocharlie 👍😁
Back in the UK she’s been racing wheel to wheel with highly-successful drivers in the GT5 category. And Charlie has continued to shine. Straight away Charlie found her way onto the podium over and over again, and now, towards the end of this first season back racing in the UK, she is causing quite a stir in the championship.
Currently backed by Bloc Eyewear, NGK Spark Plugs and more, she’s attracting big-name sponsors, too.
Her highlight? Well, during the year she was invited back over to France to test a V8-powered Ligier JSP3 LMP3 car, as close to a true Le Mans competitor as it’s possible to get, so maybe her circuit racing is not necessarily the highlight of 2018 after all. The Ligier packed over 480bhp into a tiny weight, and with oodles of downforce to force the car into the tarmac the cornering speeds were much more like what Charlie was used to from her single-seater days. Again, Charlie shone.
Go Charlie Go!
Could Charlie do it? Could she get her name into the history books for breaking new ground at Le Mans? Time will tell – and even if it does not happen for a couple of years, she is certainly in a fantastic position. Not only is she quick, but her prowess on Ninja Warrior leaves no doubt as to whether she is physically fit enough to cope with the unique demands of endurance racing, too.
She is also a big advocate for equality, and speaks frequently at events such as Rainbow Laces Summit by Stonewall. She’s also encouraged her fellow competitors to wear rainbow stickers on the race cars; to show their support too.
In motorsport, the stopwatch could not care less about your gender, sexuality, age, disability or anything – it can only record time – and if Charlie continues to smash lap records and win silverware, there’s no reason to think she could not go all the way.
Will you lend her your support? I know I’ll be cheering her on.
See more of Charlie’s progress and learn about her experiences at her own website http://www.gocharlie.co.uk/ and follow her on social media at https://twitter.com/GoCharlieM https://www.facebook.com/charliemartinofficial/ and https://www.instagram.com/gocharliem/?hl=en
