THEGAYUK

Tag: Northern Ireland News

Get the latest LGBT+ Northern Ireland news from THEGAYUK. Breaking news, features and interviews from the gay community in Northern Ireland, UK

  • Safer Sex Message Urged Ahead Of Belfast Pride

    Sexual health experts are supporting Belfast Pride, to make sure that everyone taking part in this year’s festival; ‘plays safe and stays safe’. Gay and bisexual men are at particular risk of sexually transmitted infections; latest available statistics from the department of health reveal that rates of gonorrhoea and syphilis in Northern Ireland’s MSM continue to soar.

    To tackle the problem, Belfast Pride has teamed up with Confidante, who have developed the world’s only home test, to detect 10 common STIs. Stephen Henderson, Manager at Confidante, says partnering with Belfast Pride, is about, encouraging men who have sex with men to take action:

    “One of the reasons that men who have sex with men, have such high STI transmission rates, is because they don’t get tested; perhaps they’ve had a bad experience previously; or perhaps they aren’t showing any symptoms – even though they are infected; many STIs are asymptomatic. We are encouraging MSM and everyone taking part in Belfast Pride to be proud of their sexual health, protect both their partner and themselves and to get tested.”

    Seán Ó Néill, Chair of Belfast Pride Festival, is supporting this focus on Sexual Health:

    “This year’s festival is about celebrating Diversity and calling for Equality – and this equality is needed within healthcare services for all citizens including LGBTQ people. We are pleased Confidante is coming on board as a partner of the festival and offering more choice in Sexual Health testing and we are working with them to get the message across to the MSM community in Northern Ireland, in particular, to play safe and stay safe”.

    The safe sexual health message comes ahead of today’s Belfast Pride Parade, 30 thousand people are expected into the city centre to take part in the event.

  • Politician Congrats Institute Backing Anti-Gay Marriage Bakers

    Jim Wells, a Northern Irish Assembley member has congratulated the Christian Institute (CI) for backing the bakery which refused a ‘gay marriage’ cake order.

    Jim Wells, 57, has taken to Twitter to congratulate the strongly gay apposed Institute by saying,

    ‘Well done to the Christian Institute for their strong backing of the family firm who refused to make a pro gay marriage cake.’

    The Ashers Bakers Co. a Christian run bakers in Northern Ireland, refused an order to make a pro ‘gay marriage’ cake because it went against the owner’s beliefs. The bakery is now facing legal action from the Equalities Commission.

    In response to the news that the Equalities Commission were seeking to undertake legal action, the minister tweeted,

    ‘Why is the Equality Commission wasting a large amount of tax payers’ money pursuing Ashers Bakery because it stands for taditional [sic] marriage?

    On its website the Christian Institute, which is described as a British evangelical Christian pressure group, has said, ‘The Christian Institute is backing this case which proves the need for the law to reasonably accommodate family-run businesses with firmly held beliefs.’ and is asking members of the public to donate to help support the Ashers Baking Company and ‘others like them.’

    The CI is a registered charity that has sought to retain section 28, to raise the age of consent for gay people and opposed the Civil Partnership Act and same-sex marriage act.

    The CI has backed many legal actions in the past, but has been unsuccessful in many attempts, most notably the CI backed Hotel owners Mr and Mrs Ball, who infamously denied lodgings to a gay couple. Numerous attempts of appeal have all subsequently failed.

    Wells has been in office since June 1998 and also believes that abortion in Northern Ireland should remain illegal, except in medical emergencies. According to Wikipedia Wells is an environmentalist and a young earth creationist, who believes the earth to be 6,000 years old.

    He is currently the Deputy Chair of the Committee for Health, Social Services and Public Safety and a member of the Committee for Justice for the Democratic Unionist Party.

  • PM David Cameron: Commitment To Equality On Bakery Discrimination

    UK Prime Minister David Cameron has spoken about equality after being questioned about a UK-based baker who refused a ‘gay-marriage’ cake order based on their ethos.

    During Prime Minister’s Question Time on Wednesday, David Cameron was asked by DUP MP Gregory Campbell, whether the news about the Northern Ireland bakery which refused to make a cake which featured a pro-gay marriage slogan was “an oppressive threat to religious freedom”.

    The East Londonderry MP said those ‘freedoms’ should be protected by a conscience clause, which top UK Judge Baroness Hale called for earlier in the year. The clause would suggest that religious beliefs could be protected over discrimination against minority groups.

    The Prime Minister, although unaware of the case in hand said,

    ‘I think that a commitment to equality – whether we are talking about racial equality, equality between those of different sexes, equality in terms of people who have disabilities, or, indeed, tolerance of and equality for people with different sexualities – is a very important part of being British.’

    Ashers Bakery Co. business owners who refused an order from Queerspace, which was in support of same-sex marriage, could now face legal proceedings by the Equality Commision if it doesn’t ‘recompense the customer’.

    Although same-sex marriage is legal in England & Wales, Northern Ireland is yet to change the law with regards to marriage. In April a same-sex marriage motion was defeated in NI.

    The Bakery is unapologetic when it comes to their discrimination saying, ‘Although we have found this experience certainly unsettling and disruptive to our day-to-day business, we are certainly convinced that we have made the right decision.

    ‘We do continue to take the stand and stance that we do take.’

  • Northern Ireland Christian Baker Denies Gay Marriage Cake Order

    A bakery in Northern Ireland which denied a pro-same-sex marriage cake order, based on its owners’ beliefs could now face legal proceedings.

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  • Could Bad Smells Be Causing Homophobia?

    With Northern Ireland’s LGBT fight for marriage equality still hanging in the balance an interesting culprit is being eyed up.

    Last month the same-sex marriage motion was defeated 51-43 in Northern Ireland, but there maybe more than just religious traditions and conservativism that is stopping the UK from becoming entirely same-sex marriage equal. Sewage and Bad Smells.

    According to a new report, a team of psychologists and political scientists headed by: Thomas G. Adams, John C. Blanchar and Patrick A Stewart, from the University of Arkansas have found that people are less likely to support gay marriage if they’re in a smelly enviroment.

    According to the results which were published in the PLOS ONE journal, ‘Disgust is increasingly seen as playing an important role in the formation and maintenance of political and social attitudes’.

    ‘Self-reported socio-political attitudes were compared between participants in two experimental conditions: 1) an odorless control condition, and 2) a disgusting odor condition. In keeping with previous research, the present study showed that exposure to a disgusting odor increased endorsement of socially conservative attitudes related to sexuality. In particular, there was a strong and consistent link between induced disgust and less support for gay marriage.’

    779 people took part in the experiment, the majority of participants were Caucasian/white self-described Christian and heterosexual.

    Time to get the JPG out boys…

  • Same-Sex Marriage Motion Defeated In Northern Ireland

    Same-sex marriage rights has suffered a set back in Northern Ireland today after MLA’s voted 51-43 against refining the definition of marriage.

    NI Assembly has rejected the same-sex motion for the third time, in a damning blow for the gay community in Northern Ireland.

    51 Assembly Members (MLAs) voted against the Sinn Féin backed motion, while 43 MLAs voted for it, making Northern Ireland the only region in the UK which has no same-sex marriage law.
    Chris Hazzard, A Northern Irish Assembly member tweeted his disappointment in the failure of the motion saying:

    ‘Very proud to have backed call for equality for LGBT constituents across #SouthDown today – sad that only 50% of South Down MLAs voted yes’

    He then retweeted a comment from @SouthDownSF

    ‘Once again SDLP reps for South Down abstain and fail to support equality for our LGBT constituents. #sdlpfail #EqualMarriage #equality4all’

    Last year a similar motion was voted 53 to 42.

    Same-sex marriage is currently legal in England and Wales – Scotland is yet to set a date to enact marriage equality, but is due to follow later this year. Northern Irish LGBTs will have to wait until the motion is tabled again.

    Amnesty International says the Northern Irish Assembly will not be able to block marriage equality indefinitely.

    Patrick Corrigan, Director of Amnesty International, said: ‘Politicians in Northern Ireland who continue to block marriage rights for same-sex couples are like latter-day King Canutes, trying in vain to hold back the tide of equality.

    ‘States may not discriminate with regards to the right to marry and found a family, on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity.

    ‘That obligation is clear in international law.’

  • THEATRE: One Man 35 Characters

    The MAC and award-winning theatre company Prime Cut Productions are preparing to tell the fascinating and compelling real-life story of Charlotte Von Mahlsdorf in I Am My Own Wife, the newest theatre co-production at the MAC.

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