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COLUMN: Tell Me Lies
It seems to me that the world is full of false perceptions. I often sit on the bus and see people walking around in skinny jeans who clearly think that their bottom is a lot smaller than it is. They don’t appear to notice that the denim is strained to breaking point and that they look bulbous in all the wrong places. The same goes for the milky blue-white flesh of an unwisely exposed upper arm or the sportswear on a man who’s likely to pass out running for a bus.
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COLUMN: The Battle For Social Equality
Saturday 29th March 2014 will forever be a wonderful day in the history of our country; the day same-sex couples were finally able to marry each other. It’s a wonderful progression in the struggle for equal rights and I am proud to be from a country that now has such laws. However, while it’s absolutely fabulous, we need to keep in mind that we are not done yet.
Although pretty much having complete legal equality, there remains a huge amount of social inequality in this country. We often hear about the situation for LGBT people around the world in places such as Russia, Uganda and even America (supposedly a free land), but what we don’t hear about enough is what it’s like for LGBT people living in this country. There seems to be an assumption that everything is going to be ok now because we have marriage equality, but let’s remind ourselves that homophobia, transphobia and discrimination are still rife.
I have some real life examples to refer to here. I have personally been barred from a pub in my local town for being gay. The explanation given to me by the manager was that I am a “f**king disgusting queer”. I challenged the barring and kicked up a fuss. It resulted in me being allowed back into the bar but it is something I chose not to do on principle.The same venue is now under different ownership and has changed its name, but discrimination still exists. I do a lot of work around LGBT community engagement with my local Council and am seen locally as the authority on anything gay (something I have never claimed to be), so I hear from a lot of people about their experiences of discrimination. Recently a gay couple were asked to leave the venue for kissing each other; something which is actually illegal. It has been brought to the attention of the Police but I am not aware that anything has been done about it.It’s not just an issue with one venue though. When hosting the first Warwickshire Pride festival in the summer of 2013 there was an incident of homophobia when a man called some of the stall holders “f**king queers”. Not too bad, perhaps. But what is bad is that the homophobe then went online to the stall holder’s Facebook page and began to message homophobic abuse to people and threaten them. The criminal offence was again reported to the Police but nothing could be done because it did not come directly from the person who was the victim of the abuse.A personal friend of mine has received transphobic abuse for a number of years and reported it to the Police on many occasions, even telling them some names of people who were being abusive. Nothing was done about the abuse and my friend continued to live in fear.It’s situations like this that give LGBT people such little faith in the authorities actually doing something about Hate Crime.Nationally we have political parties such as UKIP who appear to be anti-LGBT and say some really quite disgusting things about us. The scariest thing about that is the fact that these parties, particularly UKIP, are gaining a following. This will mostly be based on the apparent racist views of the party, but there will be people who agree with the anti-LGBT views too.In schools homophobic bullying is still rife. I know this first hand as I work with young people and regularly engage with schools in the area, or at least attempt to. Most schools don’t want to hear about sexuality and gender identity issues. You mention the acronym LGBT to them and they go into panic mode as if it’s something they want to avoid discussing. It’s here that the problem lies. I don’t necessarily think it’s down to schools not wanting to tackle homophobic bullying. I’d say it’s more a case of schools not being equipped to tackle it. What’s needed is a big change in the curriculum when it comes toPSHE/RSE (Personal, social, health and economic education) lessons. Schools must be required to discuss sexuality and gender identity with all students. And to do that I believe all teachers must attend diversity training that includes an LGBT section.These are necessary things that must happen if there is to be social change in this country. By educating our youth I believe we will find our society becomes more open and discrimination based on sexuality and gender identity lessens.The Police have a big responsibility too. Hate Crime is seen to be a priority but when homophobic or transphobic crimes are reported there seems to be little done about it. This results in a lack of trust in the Police and puts people off reporting the crimes. What we need is for the Police to better engage with LGBT people and offer some reassurance that reports of Hate Crime will be taken seriously and actually dealt with. The reporting process for Hate Crime itself also needs to be made easier and allow for a third party reporting the crime on someone else’s behalf if, for example, they are too scared to come forward.I am soon having a meeting with my MP to discuss these issues in detail and ask for his assistance in bringing positive social change locally. It’s a big ask, but I’ll continue lobbying the powers that be until it is a safer and more open society for LGBT people.
I wish all the happiness in the world to any same-sex couple taking advantage of our new found freedom and choice to get married, but please do keep in mind that the battle is not over yet. -
COLUMN: The HIV Community
‘Community’ is a broad word that can be used in various ways in our society; it carries different definitions depending on the situation.
The main meaning we can all take away from this word is that it’s generally a large group of people that all share common values. Without realising, we must all fit into different communities – as a population, as a society, as a sub-culture, as a gender, race, sexuality…the list goes on. One question I wanted to ask before writing this, was, ‘Is there a HIV community in the UK?’ Having had a Google, I haven’t found a great deal so I thought I would explore the potential reasons why it appears to be lacking.
I was diagnosed back in October 2012 as having HIV and since then, it’s felt like a pretty solitary journey. I’ve felt that I’ve had to make a concerted effort to reach out to others that have this somewhat lonely and yet widespread virus, seeing as there are roughly 100,000 people living with HIV in the UK (to put into a visual context, that’s enough to fill the O2 Arena to full capacity 5 times over). I’ve mentioned in a previous article that stigma is a major issue that needs tackling, and here I find myself thinking that it’s stigma that’s probably the reason why we don’t have that community ‘feel’ when it comes to HIV. People are too scared to disclose their status and so any attempt of an open HIV community is diminished from the outset. I don’t feel part of anything larger, but then I wonder at the same time, do I actually want to be?
I think about the gay community, and to me, it’s something that is quite close knit. It tends to be in concentrated pockets in the UK, in areas that thrive such as popular cities, and everyone tends to be linked to someone through one way or another. Up until a few years ago, you’d find me every weekend out on my local scene, on a stage or podium dancing this derriere of mine off non-stop; shaking loose the stresses of life with friends and loosing calories in the process and maintaining a nice athletic physique with hardly any effort – sounds great right? The scene was my release, where I could fully be ‘me’. In time though, I got really bored. It’s a story we must all be able to relate to, the same places and same faces just weren’t enough for me anymore and so I withdrew myself. Being part of the gay community is something that fortunately we can choose, similarly I guess with any community. It’s a choice in our lives that we are very lucky to have as it has the power to alter us as people so dramatically. Who I am today, is not who I was those years back, when I was out every weekend.
So to choose to become part of a community and go looking for it if it does exist, where does someone with HIV go? Well, the main prevalent community that HIV people have is actually found online. I wonder how people reached out to each other before this though? I can only hazard a guess at support groups perhaps arranged by HIV drop-in centres or local hospitals. The internet is a HIV person’s saviour. We can hide behind anonymous identities if we wish to and say how we feel, reach out and get the support needed and make friends. My saving grace has remarkably been, Twitter. I have two accounts on Twitter, a personal one and my @HIVPozGuy one. I use the latter much more as I’ve developed a network of friends with HIV on there, and we all help each other out and provide a much needed resource of fun and laughter. It’s astounding that groups can be created from nothing, from simple connections made over wireless air-waves and wires, that can then become first-class compadres. My twitter friends live all over the place, but having them in my pocket on hand, makes them feel like they’re with me every day. We’re now in talks of arranging a meet up!
Twitter isn’t the only resource I found in terms of community. Other websites offer great forums, I think the first whistle-stop that every HIV person should stop at post-diagnosis before doing anything else, is to get themselves registered with The Terrence Higgin’s Trust website – ww.tht.org.uk. This is the main HIV charity in the UK with a growing number of members each day with brilliant resources and help. You can delve into the forums and get pretty lost and carried away with other peoples’ stories, and find common ground to rid those feelings of shame, anger, guilt, sadness and so on that many experience from their initial diagnosis. You can even call their helpline and speak with people that have HIV. My Step-Dad did this on the day I revealed my HIV status so he could gather an understanding of it, this he relayed to my mum and it put their anxieties at great ease (if you work/volunteer for THT reading this, massive thank you from me!). So THT isn’t just there for HIV people, it’s there to help out family and friends that have a close one with HIV.
So, to answer my question from the start – Yes, there is a community, and it’s mainly online. It’s not huge but it’s what people choose and make of it, that will allow them to construct their own idea of how to achieve that community ‘feel’, should they need it. I’m extremely content with the people I’ve got to know along the way so far and look forward to someday meeting them too.
by HIVPozGuy -
INTERVIEW | Olly Neville
Olly Neville, former chairman of the Youth Independent (YI), UKIP’s youth organisation was unceremoniously fired in January for expressing his support for gay marriage on the World at One programme on BBC Radio 4.
Following his sacking, Mr Neville claimed UKIP was “on the wrong side of history” on gay marriage and proceeded to publicise on Twitter emails that were sent him by party leaders.
The Gay UK chats with Mr Neville about his sacking, UKIP and what it is like to be catapulted into the media spotlight.Why did you first join UKIP?
I joined UKIP because I am a libertarian, and they are a self-described libertarian party. UKIP’s manifesto had a few decent policies – flat taxes, low regulation, tax cuts for the poorest, mainly economic things whereas most other party’s manifestos were dire at best. When I joined their policy on issues like Equal Marriage was a free vote. I thought UKIP were what they said they were, genuinely libertarian leaning, a party that genuinely wanted to shrink the state, and supported internal debate as Nigel Farage (leader of UKIP) said it did. I never realised I would be quite so wrong.What was your first formal position within the party?
I first was elected Young Independence Elections officer in around August 2011, I went on to become Social Media Director in March 2012.When were you first elected to the role of Youth Chair?
I was elected November/December time.How long did you hold the position?
About a month.What are your reasons for supporting gay marriage?
Ideally, I would like to see marriage de-nationalised or privatised – so no state involvement at all. However that option is not on the table, if the state is going to be involved at all it should do it equally. I see no legitimate reason why the rights of one group in society should be denied. Simply put I have found no good arguments against equal marriage, whereas there are many very good reasons – equality of opportunity, equality before the law, the state having no right to interfere in agreements between two consenting partners etc. Sexual orientation is no basis to deny people access to marriage. If two people want to get married and a religion or a venue is happy to let them do so then no one has any right to stand in their way.Why do you think UKIP have adopted an anti-gay marriage stance?
In my eyes their opposition is pure political opportunism. They changed the policy to oppose equal marriage because they thought they could win votes. They wanted to woo angry socially conservative members off the Tories, and get some headlines. Being the only significant party to oppose Equal Marriage beside the BNP was also sure to get UKIP media attention. It’s not a principled stand it’s a short-term grab for votes and attention.How did you respond to that policy being decided and what stopped you from leaving the party?
At the time I was on the Young Independence Council – the executive of the youth wing. Pretty much everyone on it opposed the policy and disagreed with it. YI is a lot more socially liberal than the main party. I opposed it but being in UKIP you put up with a lot of nonsense policies – the immigration one for example or the idea that we need to double the military budget. Young growing parties have teething stages and bad policies come in. I didn’t realise that UKIP were going to make the policy quite so central, indeed I didn’t realise that until the party chairman angrily emailed me telling me how central the policy was after my interview. That was shocking, I hadn’t expected UKIP to try and win so much political capital out of actively denying rights to minorities. I didn’t leave because the youth wing was still very sensible, the future of the party as I saw it were behind equal marriage, let the angry social cons have their day for now.Did you anticipate the reaction you had from party leaders after the comments you made on the BBC?
No, the interview with the BBC was about 10-15 minutes long and mainly about the growth of YI. The comments on equal marriage were not a central part of the interview. But even so I didn’t think UKIP would go quite so crazy, after all Nigel Farage talks about legalising drugs, Paul Nuttall talks about bringing back the death penalty etc, Nigel had said that he believed in free speech in the party and indeed the UKIP party rule book states officers are allowed to voice their own opinions. I didn’t think they’d agree but I never expected so much vitriol.What made you tweet the emails you had from party leaders?
When it got leaked that I had been fired for supporting equal marriage there was quite a reaction. Whenever people criticise or go against UKIP their equivalent of the SNP’s ‘cyber-nats’ come out in force on Twitter to attack those that disagree, usually quite passionately and aggressively. There were all sorts of defences used by UKIP’s online members. The emails from the party Chairman show quite clearly why I was fired. I tweeted them to provide clarity.Do you regret having done so?
Not at all, I wanted everyone to see why I had been removed, for standing up for something I believe in.How did it feel when your fellow colleagues’ resigned in protest over your sacking?
It was actually really unexpected. I’d felt pretty isolated when getting bombarded with angry emails from party higher ups so when suddenly a load of people said that they were leaving too it was nice to know that I was supported, that other people who could look at the situation objectively found the parties treatment of me beyond the pale as well. Many of the people who left I already really respected within UKIP and YI and so for so many of the parties young ‘big hitters’ to leave at the same time really made me realise that it was good to take a stand on your principles as people would respect you for it. The fact so many people left from high up in YI that the council has had to shut down until the next elections really spoke volumes about how wide the gap in opinion as between ‘old’ UKIP and the Youth Wing.Are you still a member of UKIP?
Absolutely notDo you belong to another political party?
No, I am done with compromising. Being in UKIP was a huge compromise that ultimately blew up. I would rather stick to my principles than toe party lines. The way UKIP changed its view on gay rights just to win over a few angry Tories and get a few more points in opinion polls really hammered home how principles have no place in politics and no party really has any. UKIP are like all the others, willing to sell out for a sniff of power. I don’t want to be in anything like that.What is your view on the Conservative party’s pledge to leave the European Court of Human Rights?
I’m Eurosceptic but Europe and the EU has never been a high priority of mine, just like it isn’t a high priority of most of the electorate. As an anarchist I’m not a fan of any centralised bodies, be it EU, ECHR, UN etc but there are so many much bigger issues in my opinion. It’s a bit of a sideshow to the real issues but that’s what a lot of politics is.Has the UKIP sacking had an effect you personally or professionally?
Not hugely, obviously it catapulted my name into the media for a few days, which was a bit weird. Finding my picture in the metro on my way to work was a bit of a double take moment. I had a lot of people – former employers and friends I hadn’t talked to for a while contacted me to congratulate me on taking a stand. I also got a lot of positive feedback on the Internet, apart from the UKIP tribalists obviously. Strangely no one at my work seems to have realised it happened, it was my second day at a new job when it came out and my phone didn’t stop ringing the whole time.Do you think UKIP’s strong showing in the Eastleigh by-election demonstrates public support for UKIP’s position on same-sex marriage?
With pretty much every poll showing overwhelming public support for Same Sex Marriage I doubt it. People vote on big issues like the economy, welfare, education. UKIP wins votes because it positions itself as an anti politics party. It’s anti establishment, anti that notion of corrupt careerist MP’s. I think UKIP does very well setting itself up as a party for the disillusioned and the angry, not just those angry at politics in general but those from former parties who feel let down – whether its Labour for deserting the working man, the Tories from deserting ‘right wing principles’ or the Lib Dems for deserting civil liberties. UKIP promises all things to all people – its un-costed Manifesto promising £600bn in spending cuts but only outlining about £40bn in spending increases demonstrates that. -
FILM REVIEW | Fragments
A series of spectacular experimental short films which explore memory and gay culture. Art lovers prepare to be amazed…
1. Kiss ★★★★
A superb silent composition consisting of a single couple in frame, kissing. The black and white film has an air of romanticism and sexual lust about it. Following on from this, the same clips are played, but this time in colour and with the sound of kissing. This was a less attractive portrayal. An excellent arrangement of film and artistic questioning.
2. Birthplace ★★★
A spoken memory about growing up in a strong family unit which radiated out into the village culture. This is juxtaposed with a grainy Super 8 film full of exaggerated hue. Nostalgic and heartfelt.
3. Things Art Different Now ★★★
A film with a kind of painterly image quality. Single face shots are placed into context through a memory of persecution and the painful sadness of friends dying. A ghostly reflection on the AIDs epidemic.
4. Happy ★★★★★
This short displays a lyrical based approach with strong conceptual integrity. There is a continual flux of beliefs and desires through this duality of religious speech versus popular culture icons, such as Judy Garland. Outstanding and poignant dichotomy. The one to watch!
5. Postface ★★★★
An exploration into the life of Montgomery Cliff, where an accident left him in pieces. The film work replicated this idea through a fragmented pausing and playing of film; a very experimental approach. It is suggestive of the consequences of his accident. Although this type of work probably will not be understood by the majority of people, it certainly comes highly commended for all the experimental art film lovers out there.
6. I’m Leaving on Wednesday ★★★
This looks at love and memory of this love though a footage style of filming. The passion when eyes lock together, the closeness, the feeling, the companionship. A gentle film.
7. Pop! ★★
This short film is like a collaged composition; a mash up between film, words, music and artistic overlay. Slightly confusing and ambiguous.
8. How To Talk To Kids ★
With a miminal music overlay, reminiscent of Sigur Ros, this film wasn’t as well executed as it could have been. Forgettable.
9. Like Rats Leaving A Sinking Ship ★
Poetic in expression, but incoherent in storyline. However, this incoherence perhaps adds to its beauty.
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Top 6 Best Gay Apps
There are over 775,000 Apps in Apple’s App store and around 872 of those are labelled as gay – so, it’s a bit of search to find the right one for you, luckily we’ve done some downloading to find you the good, the best and the brilliant.
Well occupying the top spot is Joel Simkhai’s ubiquitous Grindr App, which has dominated the App scene for a few years now. What started off as a personal hookup App for Simkhai, has literally changed the way gay men date around the globe. Last year we had a chat with the genius behind Grindr – read the interview here.
Bashing. We wrote about this App a short while ago and initially weren’t sure what to think, however on reflection, Bashing is a brilliant App to bring visibility to the hundreds of gay bashings that happen across the world. The developers say, “Sometimes it seems like homophobia is claiming the streets. And in order to address this problem, people need to know what happens and where.”
Pinknews. It’s a must for every gay on the go, keeping you abreast of the homophobic happenings across the globe. Contributed to by a team of journalists Pinknews has won a number of awards for its content and it’s a free App too!
Gaydio. If you like your radio gay, then you have to download Gaydio. Recently Gaydio took over from Gaydar Radio to become the UK’s number 1 gay radio station. Playing a steady stream of current chart hits Gaydio also keeps you informed with daily gay round ups and breaking news from the Sky News Centre.
My Free Gay Agenda, is a powerful personal calendar app. What we love about the MGA App is its “Today In Gay” feature, which gives you ‘a daily historical synopsis of key “historical events” from the gay community. Insightful – and apparently today in 2005 Alan Cumming launched his fragrance ‘Cumming’ at Fred Segal in Los Angeles.
And finally, well we have to plug our own TheGayUK App.Every gay business, bar, hotel, sauna and sexual health service in the UK listed in one place – and you can find which one is closest to your present location. Plus our full magazine is available for free as well as RSS news feeds from all your favourite news organisations around the world – what more could you want? (Yes there are also pictures of hot mens!)
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Eddie Izzard To Run For Mayor Of London
British cross dressing comedian to run for London mayor in plan to move from comedy to politics.
Move over Boris Johnson, Eddie is in town.
Known for his cross dressing, high profile comedy king, Eddy Izzard believes that an injection of comedy will improve life in the UK.
Speaking to the Sun’s TV Biz (http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/showbiz/tv/article4859858.ece) he said: “I’m going to chuck in comedy in six years to go into politics. I’ve proved I can be determined and do things in a different way. And you need comedy in politics. There are lots of decisions to be made and people get bored talking about things that are only slightly different. It’s very dry so you need comedy to make it palatable.”
Mr Izzard recently made a BBC show called, Meet The Izzards, in which geneticists identified that 2.8% of his DNA was Neanderthal.
He said: “The TV project struck a powerful blow against racism by illustrating that the ideal of racial purity was “bullshit” because all humans are related.”
Taking another incredible political step, next March, Izzard plans to run 27 marathons in 27 days, in tribute to the number of years former South African president Nelson Mandela was in captivity.
His first attempt this year was filmed by Sky, and will air later on in the year, however Izzard was forced to abandon the challenge when began to urinate blood.
He isn’t nervous at failing a second time, saying: “I guarantee I will do it. I will drag myself round. I did think, ‘What if I fail a second time?’ But Mandela tried and failed, tried and failed. Then he had a bit of success and failed. I will do the same thing — I’ll go again until I do it. Mandela is a big hero of mine.”
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RECIPE | Easter Simnel Cake
This traditional Easter fruit cake is a personal favourite mainly because it’s topped with toasted marzipan and also cooked with a layer of marzipan inside. The top is traditionally decorated with 11 marzipan balls to represent the 12 apostles (minus Judas), however I personally prefer to make a marzipan plait but you can decorate with chocolate eggs if you like. Either way it’s a great almond cake that gives you a chance to use up the marzipan and bags of fruit left over from the Christmas cake…
CREDIT: TheGayUK Cooking Time: 1hr 45mins (Pre heat the oven to 150c)
You Will Need: A 20cm or 8’ cake tin lined with greaseproof paper.
Ingredients:250g Butter
250g Dark Soft Brown Sugar
250g Plain Flour
4 Eggs
Pinch Salt
1.5 tsp Mixed Spice
450g Raisins & Sultanas
70g Mixed Peel
1 Lemon Zest
Apricot Jam
450g Marzipan
Method:1) Cream the butter and the sugar together in a bowl.
2) Mix in the eggs one at a time
3) Add the flour, salt and mixed spice and mix in
4) Finally add the raisins, sultanas, mixed peel and zest of a lemon mixing for a final time
5) Place half the mixture into your prepared tin and spread out flat
6) Next add a layer of marzipan to the uncooked mix leaving a 1cm space around the edge.
7) Next add the remaining mixture on top of the marzipan and level off the top. Place into the pre-heated oven and cook for 1hr and 45mins.
8) Once cooked leave out to cool before pasting the top of the cake with a hot apricot jam (40 seconds in a microwave should be enough). Whilst the apricot is sticky add a layer of marzipan and any marzipan decorations you wish to add to the top. Place the cake under a hot grill until the marzipan starts to turn a golden brown.
9) Again leave to cool before adding any chocolate eggs or serving with a cup of tea.
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Top List Of Gay-Friendly Healthcare Providers Published
Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust tops Stonewall’s 2013 list of gay-friendly healthcare providers.
Stonewall today publishes the results of its inaugural Healthcare Equality Index, showcasing the most gay-friendly healthcare organisations in England. Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust heads the list with Liverpool Community Health NHS Trust in second place followed by London Ambulance Service NHS Trust.
The Healthcare Equality Index is a new tool for health providers to benchmark and track their progress on equality for their lesbian, gay and bisexual patients and communities. Sussex Partnership NHS Trust leads the Top 10, following their success at being the top performing NHS employer in Stonewall’s Top 100 Employers 2012.
Thirty two healthcare organisations entered the Index, providing services to over 15 million patients across all regions of England. Organisations were assessed against criteria including policy and practice, engagement and communication, health promotion and staff training.
James Taylor, Stonewall’s Senior Health Officer, said: ’Every healthcare organisation that secured a place in the Top 10 has performed well. Our ground-breaking research consistently demonstrates that many lesbian, gay and bisexual people still face poor health outcomes and experiences when they use the NHS. Every organisation that entered this Index is helping to tackle health inequalities and deliver a 21st century health service accessible to everyone, regardless of sexual orientation.’
Lisa Rodrigues CBE, Chief Executive at Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust, said: ‘We’re utterly delighted to be awarded the number one position in the first Stonewall Healthcare Equality Index. We see the award not as a sign that our work is done. But rather, we have made a strong start. It’s our honour and duty to provide the best possible treatment and care to the 100,000 people a year we serve.’
The Healthcare Equality Index 2013 can be downloaded from www.stonewall.org.uk/HEI
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Red boxes with pink stripes dominates the web
The internet was awash with the colour red and pink yesterday as the iconic Human Rights Campaign logo went viral.
Facebook and Twitter users shared the red logo, with pink stripes, hundreds of thousands of times on Tuesday, 26th March 2013, which is the first day of oral arguments in marriage equality cases before the US Supreme Court.
The logo, which is normally, blue and yellow was altered for the occasion.
“Red is a symbol for love, and that’s what marriage is all about,” Human Rights Campaign spokesperson Charlie Joughin told MSNBC.com on Tuesday. “We wanted to give people an opportunity to show their support for marriage equality in a public and visible way.”
High profile supporters who showed their red and pink square included Star Trek’s George Takei, Beyoncé and Madonna.
The Human Rights Campaign (http://humanrightscampaign.tumblr.com/) says its website has seen a 600% increase in traffic since posting the revamped logo.
The Supreme Court is hearing oral arguments in the case of Proposition 8, which bans gay marriage in the state of California.
The controversial constitutional amendment, which was backed by voters, passed in November 2008, which provides that “only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognised in California.”
Proposition 8 overturned the California Supreme Court’s decision, just months after it voted that same-sex couple did have a constitutional right to marry.
After the oral arguments, the US Supreme Court could maintain the 2008 state ban, retract it in just California or void all state same-sex marriage bans in the US.
Following his sacking, Mr Neville claimed UKIP was “on the wrong side of history” on gay marriage and proceeded to publicise on Twitter emails that were sent him by party leaders.
