ATLANTA — A vigil at Georgia Tech to remember a student gunned down by campus police turned violent Monday night. A police car was set afire as about 50 participants marched to the Georgia Tech Police Department headquarters in Atlanta. It was unclear who set the blaze. An unidentified individual was transported to Grady Memorial Hospital… (more…)
Online users have lashed out at Amazon for removing what fans dub a “hella gay” Bible from its electronic bookshelves. Elijah Daniel, commonly known to fans as the “mayor of hell,” rewrote the Christian Bible to feature celebrities like Taylor Swift, President Donald Trump, and Rihanna in his erotic religious text, according to the Independent. The… (more…)
A gang of men, in Plano Texas, who used gay dating websites to target gay men, have pleaded guilty to hate crime assaults. The three men, Chancler Encalade, Nigel Garrett and Cameron Ajiduah used gay dating sites to arrange meetings with men. once inside the victims’ home they would bound their victim with tape, assault them and verbally abuse them. They would also steal from their homes.
Once inside the victims’ home, they bound their victims with tape, assault them and verbally abused them. They would also steal from their homes.
According to Yahoo News, the men are facing life in prison sentences and a fine of up to $250,000.
A fourth man, Anthony Shelton is awaiting trial.
On the 23rd September, Worcester will play host to Worcestershire Pride 2017 – there will also be an LGBT+ Arts Festival in the run up to the day.
This is no parade for Worcestershire Pride – all the activities take place at The Fountains and Copenhagen Street Car Park, South Quay, Worcester until 8PM. A statement from the organisers of the event said,
“On September 23rd 2017, we’ll be running the first Worcestershire Pride event down by the riverfront in Worcester. We’re also running an LGBT+ Arts Festival in the run-up to the main day event and various fundraisers to unite the community whilst raising community funds for Worcestershire Pride” .
On the day there will be a dance tent, a family area, market stalls and a main stage. Local bar, Browns at the Quay, are providing bar services for the day, With Worcester’s premier gay bar, The Flag, Providing a second bar and club tent.
Fortis Living are providing a family fun area for those bringing youngsters with them. The University of Worcester has given funding so that we can also provide a “quiet” tent for those in our community who may need to to take a break from the crowds and noise due to mental health issues, being on the autistic spectrum or those with guide dogs who need to rest and have some water.
Live entertainment from our main stage on the day from 12 noon until 8 PM.
Hosted by local legends, Their Royal Highness: Princx and Ginny “Fancy a Slice” Lemon (as seen on this year’s X Factor)
We have live performances from Zara Sykes, Beth Prior, Nth Cave, Elea Calvet, Jenna Davinci, Wymsical Theatre, Stuart Woolfenden, Reigns, Dan Brown, George Howes, Yshee Black, Whoofy Powder, Roosa & Jared.
With X Factor alumni, Freddy Parker headlining the day.
Worchestershire Pride is completely free to attend, although if you want to donate, you are, of course, welcomed to do so! You can find out more about Worcestershire Pride at their website.
One woman, 60, was injured after a confrontation between two groups, gender critical feminists and trans-rights activists. The incident happened in Hyde Park on Wednesday.
The 60-year-old woman who was beaten up is a Humanist Minister and grandmother. Is a battered woman really what you think liberation is? pic.twitter.com/gKyo8b10A1
— Jen Isaacson ☀️ (@isacsohn) September 13, 2017
Many gender critical feminists are opposed to rights campaigning from and for transgender women. Some believe that only women born with a vagina and XX chromosomes are “real women”.
Maria MacLachlan, a ‘gender critical feminist’ suffered facial injuries at the famous Speakers’ Corner, in Hyde Park. She alleges that her camera was also smashed and the memory card was also stolen. She claims that one of the trans activists was her attacker.
A video of the scuffle uploaded to YouTube has been viewed thousands of times.
Speaking to the Mail On Sunday, Ms MacLachlan said,
“These studenty-looking types were turning up and some arguments started to take place but I kept well out of it.’
“I thought, ‘I can film this, it will be interesting.’ They were getting louder and louder. Then suddenly someone tried to grab my camera. It was scary. Someone kept trying to get my camera. I think it was a girl, but I couldn’t tell because they had a hoodie over their eyes.”
Taking to Twitter the UK’s largest LGBT+ charity, Stonewall made a statement, writing, “There is no place for violence in our movement, as a form of attack or retaliation”.
A statement from Trans Health London said,
“We condemn violence against women in all forms. We’re proud that many self-organising activists, allies and supporters stood against hatred, misogyny and intimidation.”
The police were called no arrests were made.
* A previous version of this article used the word fight, this has now been changed to altercation, confrontation and incident.
Police in Belfast have said that two young men were homophobically assaulted in the Beechmount area of Falls Road early Sunday morning. Detectives are appealing for information from anyone who may have been in the area or heard anything.
The two victims were reportedly attacked near the Beechmount area of Falls Road at around 2:50 AM on Sunday morning.
It is believed that the alleged assailants walked towards the Donegal Road/Whiterock area.
If you have information regarding this matter please contact police on 101 quoting reference No 390 of 17/09/2017 or confidentially ring independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
The three male youths, two aged 16 and one aged 17, were each sentenced to six months in prison at Uxbridge Magistrates’ Court on 14 September, after admitting violent disorder and, in one case, possession of an offensive weapon.
In the early hours of 15 February 2017 two men, who are in a relationship, boarded a train from Reading to London and fell asleep. The three defendants, who cannot be named for legal reasons, got on at Hayes and Harlington.
One of the 16-year-old defendants walked through the carriages and spotted the victims asleep and resting on each other. He went back to inform the other two.
The trio then returned and engaged the victims in a conversation before attacking them. They were punched and kicked several times. One was stamped on whilst the other was hit over the head with a glass bottle. The sustained attack left both victims with extensive bruising to the head and face and one lost two teeth.
Following a British Transport Police investigation, the three defendants were charged and later pleaded guilty to violent disorder. One of them also pleaded guilty to possessing an offensive weapon.
The CPS argued that the attack was motivated by hatred of the victims’ actual or perceived sexual orientation and asked the court to treat the incident as a homophobic hate crime. This was accepted and each defendant received a four-month prison sentence increased to six months because of the hate crime element. They were also each ordered to pay £100 in compensation to each of their victims.
The prosecution also successfully applied for one of the victims and another witness to give evidence from behind a screen to allay their fears about being targeted or intimidated.
Lauranne Middleton from the CPS said: “This was a violent assault and we successfully argued that it was fuelled by the defendants’ homophobia.
“Where prosecutors have evidence that an attack was motivated by hostility towards someone’s sexual orientation, they will ask the court to consider this as an aggravating factor which deserves a harsher sentence.
“This successful prosecution demonstrates how seriously the CPS treats such cases and our commitment to bringing offenders of hate crime to justice.”
Luckily there are a few tricks to help keep your shirt tucked into your trousers.
First of all, you should make sure you get a fitted or tailored shirt – these could be a little more expensive than off the rack options but you can’t put a price on being dressed to impress.
RealMenRealStyle suggests also that you have a shirt that has at least 3 inches of extra fabric beyond your belt line.
RealMenRealStyle suggests that you create a “Military fold” when tucking your shirt into your trousers.
Firstly you need to take the excess material at the sides of your shirt, just above the waistline and fold it in on itself, so the shirt becomes tighter around your waist. When you’ve gathered enough material you tuck the folds into your trousers.
This isn’t tucking your shirt into your underwear, but an under top, like a vest, which you tuck into your underwear and your shirt sits on top. The fabric of the underwear or vest top should interact just enough with the shirt to keep it in place.
But the best – most ingenious way of keeping your shirt firmly tucked is the shirt stays. Think of braces – but made specifically to keep your shirt ends attached to your socks.
Simply attach the double end to your shirt, one towards the front, the other towards the back and then attach the other, singular end to your socks. Ta Dah! Your shirt ends are going nowhere.
We found this rather nifty pair from Amazon for just £5.99 or these guy suspenders will do the trick.
Watch the video below!
Surrogacy is an expensive process, particularly for gay men and is difficult to achieve in the UK. Outside the UK, where rules are more relaxed about the advertising for surrogate mothers and payment process, just a quick read of our Journey To Fatherhood columns will show that a hopeful father could be spending over $150,000 in order to find a surrogate to carry a child.
In the UK it is illegal to advertise for a surrogate and illegal to pay them to carry your child. You can offer to pay “reasonable expenses” however because of these restrictions it can be near impossible to find a partnership.
Speaking in 2013, an associate from Pinder Reaux told us,
In the UK, although surrogacy arrangements are permitted by law, it is illegal for a woman to make a profit from offering a surrogacy service. Any such commercial contracts are not legally binding or enforceable and any person, who charges for negotiating a surrogacy arrangement, or advertising such arrangement, will commit a criminal offence under the Surrogacy Arrangements Act 1985. For those who are considering surrogacy, it is therefore imperative to be aware of the law before such time as you engage in the process.
As well as limiting any payment to ‘reasonable expenses only’ the UK law states that the surrogate woman who gives birth, whether she is genetically related to the child or not, is regarded as the legal mother of the child, with the absolute right to change her mind following the birth (s33 Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 2008). It is only the subsequent granting of a parental order transferring the legal parentage to the married/unmarried couple which makes the process complete.
The petition’s creator, Scott McKinnell states,
“IVF treatment for couples that are unable to have children naturally is a fantastic way to have a precious family. Gay women are also able to have IVF treatment to be able to have a biological family which is also a blessing, but for gay men, there is no way of doing this.
“Women around the country are happy being surrogates but you are not allowed to advertise this making surrogacy being legal very hard to come by. The greatest gift is a gift of life to someone that cannot produce it”.
If the petition reaches 10,000 signatures by 14th March 2018, the Government will respond to the petition. If it reaches 100,000 the petition will be considered for debate in Parliament.
To sign the petition visit https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/200291
As one of the longest running Pride events in the world, London plays host to one of the largest, most influential, most recognised and most impactful parades and events, but it can only do this thanks to the committed help of more than 100 year-round volunteers. In order to meet growing demand, and to help ensure Pride in London continues to grow and succeed for all LGBT+ people, organisers are appealing for people to apply for the many roles currently available – and to have a direct say in plans for next year.
In 2017 the team launched a major advertising campaign to highlight hate crime, it broadcast TV adverts in an LGBT+ awareness campaign – the first to ever specifically highlight bisexual people, it launched a Facebook Live discussion programme, put on a parade with 28,000 participants and more than 1m spectators, and took its campaign internationally displaying messages of love from London in Times Square, New York and at World Pride in Madrid.
On the back of Pride’s own surveys, consultations and feedback sessions throughout the summer, the re-structure will expand the board. Five positions on the Board of Directors are currently open. These are:
Director of Volunteer Management
Director of Community Engagement
Director of Marketing
Director of Events
Director of Fundraising
The recruitment process will be open, and the organisers are especially keen to hear from a diverse mix of applications.
Applications will close on Friday, 6th October and Board members will be conducting interviews during w/c 9th and 16th October.
Wider recruitment for core team roles will continue during October and there will be an ‘open day’ to enable those who are interested in volunteering to meet and find out more about Pride in London and the roles available.
Recognition and thanks go to former board directors Patrick Lyster-Todd (one of the founders of Pride in London) and Mohsin Zaidi, both of whom worked tirelessly to help build the UK’s biggest and most diverse Pride Festival. Their camaraderie will be missed.
The board restructure and recruitment drive is the first step in wider changes to Pride in London following feedback sessions and an evaluation of its mission for the coming years. Further announcements on this will be made in due course.
Alison Camps, co-chair of Pride in London, said,
“After five years, it has been important for us all at Pride in London to take stock and ensure we are in the best possible place to deliver the best event we can.
“We can only do that if we adapt and grow and ensure the entire LGBTQ+ community is involved and is a part of the movement.
“Volunteering with Pride in London has been one of the most exciting and enjoyable experiences I’ve ever had, and it is an incredible privilege to be part of it. I hope more people join us, and help create an event and movement that is as impactful and successful as ever.”
Commenting, co-chair Michael Salter-Church, who helped set up Pride in London in 2012, said,
“Five years ago, a small group of committed volunteers came together to rescue London’s Pride, after previous organisers fell into financial difficulty. That small team has now grown to more than 100 all-year-round volunteers.
“2017 saw one of the largest parades the city has seen, and solidified the LGBTQ+ community at the heart of London and the UK. It also proved the strength of support towards Pride and how important the event is to LGBTQ+ people at home and abroad.
“I am looking forward to welcoming many more people to the Pride family and gearing up to being better than ever in 2018.”
Information about roles will be available at prideinlondon.org/volunteer
Australia’s prime minister Friday defended a church’s right not to marry some couples following reports a woman’s wedding was cancelled after she posted support for same-sex marriage on Facebook ahead of a national vote. A voluntary postal ballot involving up to 15 million Australians on whether gay marriage should be legalised is underway, with the results… (more…)