THEGAYUK

Tag: AUSTRALIA

  • Australia says YES to gay marriage

    The people of Austraila has voted – and the resounding answer is yes to marriage between same-sex couples.

    Australia says YES to gay marriage

    The vote, which was non-binding, showed that 61.6% of people voted in favour of allowing same-sex couples to wed, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said.

    However, as the vote is non-binding it will have to be debated by politicians before becoming law. The Country’s Prime Minister, Malcolm Turnbull said that he was aiming pass the legislation in Parliament by Christmas.

    He said, “[Australians] have spoken in their millions and they have voted overwhelmingly yes for marriage equality,

    “They voted yes for fairness, yes for commitment, yes for love.”

    In neighbouring New Zealand, gay marriage was legalised in 2013, it was the 13th country in the world to allow marriage between two people of the same sex.

    CONGRATULATIONS

    Numerous stars and high profile organisations reacted to the news by praising Australia for their choice. Leading the congratulatory messages was gay icon, Kylie Minogue, who has long advocated for same-sex marriage.

    Canadian Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau tweeted,

    The Sydney Opera house even got into the conversation by Tweeting a rainbow-lit version of their famous landmark.

  • COMMENT | Religious bigots don’t deserve to keep their jobs

    The Archbishop of Sydney has said that religious believers could lose their jobs if same-sex marriage is legalised in Australia. If these religious believers are acting bigoted or being narrow-minded, then quite frankly, they don’t deserve to keep their jobs.

    He went on to say those religious believers could also face discrimination suits and bullying if the bill is passed. But what about the bullying and discrimination homosexuals have faced for years? He clearly doesn’t care about the homosexuals facing this. Hypocrisy. And such a caring attitude for a religious leader. Please excuse my sarcasm.

    He told worshippers that the government should “keep out of the friendship business and out of the bedroom.” Maybe he should take his own advice and keep out of the situation also. What right does being the Archbishop give him to interfere in friendship and bedroom matters?

    “The state has no business telling us who we should love and how, sexually or otherwise.” In his arrogance, he is, ironically, showing support of same-sex marriage. Thank you for that Archbishop. For once, we might actually agree on a point. No one should play God and tell anyone who they can love or marry. Pun intended. The fact we still need to vote on such matters is a disgrace in itself.

    This delightful human being carried on saying that it’s best for children to have a mother and a father. So Archbishop, what about the poor children who have been bought up in a single parent family because one parent died? Or the awful stories we hear of children being sexually abused by their mother and father?

    I’m no genius, but that is clearly not best for children. Issues in our society are not so black and white. It’s not a simple case of stating children should have heterosexual parents, one being a woman and one being a man.

    In my eyes, it’s best for children to have a role model who cares for them and loves them unconditionally and teaches them right from wrong. This could be a single parent or a mother and father or a mother and mother or a father and father.

    He continued in his arrogant preaching by saying if marriage is redefined, it will be very hard to speak up for real marriage anymore. What is real marriage, Archbishop? Beg my pardon for my simplistic views, but I thought marriage was the joining of two people who love each other whilst committing themselves, for richer, poorer, in sickness and in health etc.

    He said the vote had implications for religious freedom. This is actually so angering because the vote actually has massive implications for human freedom. The freedom for people to marry who they want to marry.

     

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  • Australia church ‘cancels wedding after Facebook gay marriage post’

    Australia church ‘cancels wedding after Facebook gay marriage post’

    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…)

  • AUSTRALIA, Here’s 11 things that failed to happen when same-sex marriage became law

    So much happened… but at the same time so little did!

    We thought we’d take a look at what HASN’T happened since marriage between two people of the same gender got the right to be treated like everyone else. Despite the warnings from right wing, religious fundamentalists these are the things that have failed to happen.

    1) The sanctity of straight marriage will crumble, wilt and die.

    Except of course for divorce, which has always been a bit of blight on the ‘death-do-us-part’ bit of marriage

    2) The floods…

    Won’t somebody think of the floods and the pestilence, the fire and brimstone? Some UKIPPER, whose name I can’t remember, not really care to remember said that gay marriage would bring about lots and lots of rain, of a Noah and Ark amount. Okay, there has been a little more precipitation than usual scientists are putting that down to global warming rather than gay marriage, because you know, that’s actually what’s happening…

    3) Children are still being born in and out of wedlock.

    The world realised that you don’t need a man and a woman to marry in order to have kids. Children are still being born, they are still being educated, fed and loved by their parents. Bob and Fred getting hitched at the end of the road had no impact on parents being able to have children – and actually, people understand that you don’t need to be married to make children – there isn’t a switch that is suddenly turned on when you say “I Do”.

    4) Pastor Rich Scarbrough didn’t combust or set himself on fire.

    Yep, this saint of a Christian man threatened to set himself on fire if marriage equality passed. We’ve been waiting patiently with a fire blanket in hand, but nothing. Not even a puff of smoke.

    5) Parents will have no say in the sex ed that their kids are taught in school…

    Well they do… and if you don’t want little Joanie to find out that actually what she’s feeling is totally normal, rather than her hiding away, feeling shame and alone – then perhaps you need to look at your parenting credentials.

    6) Equal rights for gays, bis and lesbians

    Even though we have marriage equality, we’re still not actually legally equal. Non-consummation doesn’t count (meaning basically that the law doesn’t recognise gay sex as equal to straight sex) for grounds for divorce…

    7) Bakers will be forced to make gay cakes.

    In the UK you can’t discriminate against people because of their sexuality or gender identity – but you can just refuse an order and not give a reason… So if you’re still a total f*ckwit bigot you still have your rights, you just have to be quiet about them, but actually when you do, it lets us all know to avoid you like the plague.

    8) Churches will be forced to have gay marriages.

    Nope. We’re still not allowed to get married in your sacred places. But we can come and be a guest and totally upstage your day with how fabulous we are. Especially if we start on the white wine before the first note of “Here Comes The Bride” starts.

    9) Man will be able to marry his pets

    Nope still not legal. And dear god Mary, why are you even thinking about animals marrying?

    10) Straight marriage will carry less kudos.

    People were concerned that gay marriage would cheapen the brand. Not like Britney’s 55-hour marriage.

    11) The world’s end

    Those fascinating people (read in a sarcastic tone) at the Westboro Baptist Church said that we’d all die and go to hell, but as I sit here – in Cashmere and I look out of the window, we’re still very much here.

  • TRAVEL | As a gay man where should I stopover on the way to Australia?

    TRAVEL | As a gay man where should I stopover on the way to Australia?

    This week a reader is looking to book a ticket to Australia but wants to ensure that the layover is in a gay-friendly destination.

    Dear Travel Team

    I’m in the process of booking a flight to Australia and I wanted to know where I should stop over. Many airlines offer a stop over in Abu Dhabi or Qatar or other Arab nations and I realise that homosexuality is legal in many of these countries. I was wondering which airlines offer the safest places to stop over for LGBT+ people

    John,

    Where is safe for gay people to stopover on a flight to Australia

    Hello John,

    Travelling to Australia is a long process and requires at least one layover on the way. There are two ways in which airlines traverse the planet to get to Australia – either westwards over North America, which involves a stopover in Los Angeles in the US or Vancouver in Canada. The other way is eastwards where there are many more layover options. However in many of these countries, as an openly gay man, you may face legal issues.

    Homosexuality is still illegal in many destinations in the Middle East, including Abu Dabi, Dubai and Qatar, which are all incredibly popular pit stops for the airlines. Some airlines also use Singapore or Malaysia where homosexuality is also illegal.

    So we would recommend looking at a stopover destination which is gay-friendly or where at least homosexuality isn’t illegal. Luckily there are loads of choices in the USA, Philippines, Japan, Canada and China. As an extra benefit, many of these countries have airlines operating the UK/Australia route which has the least expensive flights.

    Here are some of the places in which airlines stop where homosexuality is illegal:

    Air France stops in Abu Dhabi.

    Alitalia stops in Abu Dhabi.

    British Airways stops in Singapore.

    Emirates stops in Dubai.

    Etihad Airways stops in Abu Dhabi.

    Malaysia Airlines stops in Kuala Lumpur Malaysia.

    Qatar Airlines stops in Hamad Intl. Doha.

    Qantas stops in Dubai.

    Singapore Airlines stops in Singapore.

    Virgin Austrailia stops in Abu Dhabi.

    Virgin Atlantic stops in Singapore.

    Airlines which fly to Austraila using stopovers in countries which are gay-friendly or where it is not legal to be gay.

    Air China stops in Capital Intl in China.

    All Nippon Airways stops in Haneda Japan.

    Air Canada stops in Canada (Vancouver).

    American Airlines stops in Los Angeles, USA.

    Asiana Airlines stops in Seoul in South Korea.

    Cathay Pacific stops in Hong Kong.

    China Eastern Airlines stops in Shanghai, China.

    China Southern Airlines stops in Baiyun Intl in China.

    KLM stops in Guangzhou, China.

    Lufthansa stops in Los Angeles, USA.

    Thai Airways International stops in Suvarnabhumi Intl, Thailand.

    Philippines Airlines stops in Manila, Philippines.

  • Australian senates puts a stopper on gay marriage vote

    Australian senates puts a stopper on gay marriage vote

    The public vote on whether gay couples are able to marry has been stopped by the Australian senate in a move being celebrated by gay marriage supporters.

    gay marriage vote in Australia
    CREDIT: GoodGuyPaul/Pixabay / CC

    Austraila’s government’s proposal to hold a public vote on making same-sex marriage legal has been defeated in the upper house of parliament. Same-sex marriage is not currently legal in any of Austrailia’s states. Civil partnership or registered relationships are available in most of Austrailia’s states. Those relationships, however, are not considered marriages under federal law.

    Latest opinion polls show that most Australians support gay marriage.

    Instead of a public vote, the upper house has suggested that parliament itself will make the decision. It’s a decision that looks to be shelved until the next term of parliament.

    Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull is a supporter of same-sex marriage but is said to be “reluctant” to allow his Liberal party a free vote. The opposition, Labor party, announced that it would not support the bill, which will make passing a same-sex marriage law very difficult.

    Gay guys kissing, gay marriage
    Portrait of a loving gay male couple on their wedding day.

    According to the BBC Attorney-General George Brandis accused the Labor Party of “playing politics with gay people’s lives”. He said,

    “A vote against this bill is a vote against marriage equality,”

    “Those who claim to believe in marriage equality, but nevertheless, for their own cynical, game-playing reasons, are determined to vote against it, should hang their heads in shame.”

    Same-sex marriage campaigners widely support this move, who would prefer the issue to be decided in parliament rather than leaving the decision to a public vote.

  • ACID Lube Man spared jail

    ACID Lube Man spared jail

    The man who tried putting ACID into lube dispensers at a gay sex club in Sydney has been spared jail.

    The man who tried to put hydrochloric acid into lube dispensers at a gay club in Sydney earlier this year has been spared jail. The man, Hengky Irawan, 62, has been handed a ‘good behaviour bond’ instead.

    Owners at the Aarows in Rydalmere were alerted to the actions of Irawan after a detection system fitted to the dispensers drew attention to the tampering.

    Despite the fact that the acid would have caused tremendous injuries had someone used tampered lube, the man, who was described as having a mental illness by his defence, has been handed a ‘good behaviour bond’, meaning that he was spared jail time.

    The Magistrates failed to see the crime as a hate crime.

    Magistrate Beverley Schurr said,

    ‘It was directed towards patrons at the nightclub because he felt aggrieved about being kicked out earlier in the year.

    ‘It was ‘not about their sexual orientation [it was because he was] angry about being excluded himself.’

     

    The court heard how he was kicked out of the club earlier in the year.

  • Australian newspaper prints cartoon which compares gay people to the Nazis

    An Australian newspaper has caused outrage after it published a cartoon by controversial right-wing cartoonist Bill Leak depicting a rainbow coloured Nazi army.

    The Australian newspaper has caused widespread offend today after it published an illustration by the controversial right-wing cartoonist Bill Leak. The picture features rainbow suited Nazi troopers, with the caption Waffen-SSM which seems to link same-sex marriage to the Nazi’s military Waffen-SS wing.

    The Australian is owned by media mogul Murdoch.

    Australia is currently debating whether same-sex marriage should be made legal. The Government is planning to hold a public referendum on the issue of same-sex marriage,

    The picture has been found particularly offensive because the Nazi’s were known to have arrested 50,000 gay men and executed 15,000 of them during their time in power.

     

     

  • Man accused of pouring ACID into gay club’s lube dispenser appears in court

    A man who was arrested after allegedly pouring highly corrosive ACID into a lube dispenser at a gay club in Sydney, Australia has appeared in court.

    CREDIT: THEGAYUK

     

    Hengky Irawan, 62, from Mortdale appeared in Parramatta Local Court yesterday after he was arrested for tampering with a gay club’s lubricant dispenser. He was charged with administering poison intended to injure or cause distress or pain, as well as entering a building with intent to commit an indictable offence and malicious damage.

    After his initial arrest a month ago, he was granted conditional bail after it emerged that he allegedly tried to replace anal lubricant with hydrochloric acid. 

    Hydrochloric acid is a clear, highly corrosive acid which if comes into contact with skin can cause irreparable damage with a corrosive effect.

    The club had installed security sensors on its dispensers which is how Irawan was apprehended by the club’s security personnel.

    The defendant’s laywer  asked the court for a 6 week adjournment so that Irawan undergo a psychiatric assessment, which was granted.

    The case will continue on the 1st of November.

     

     

  • The top gay travel destinations revealed

    The top gay travel destinations revealed

    So you’re owed some holiday time. It’s time to pack your shiz up and go on vacay.

    Are your work colleagues starting to give your work station a wide berth and “concerned” look because you’re giving off that all-work-no-play-makes-Jack-go-crazy look?

     

    But where to go? The world is your oyster.

    Well users over at Ranker.com have been voting on the best holiday destinations to go to if you’re LGBT…

    Here’s where they suggested:

    San Francisco

    Ah, possibly the gayest location on earth. Don’t forget to visit the Castro and breath in all that gay history.

    Paris

    I mean they say Gay Paris don’t they!

    Seattle

    The weather may not always be perfect, but its stance on equality has always been incredible having legalised same-sex marriage in 2012 and having provisions for gay state employees since 2001. Bravo.

    New York City

    How you doin’…

    Montreal

    First of the Canadian cities to get voted on… Best time to go would be early August when the city celebrates Pride.

    Vancouver

    gay vancouver
    CREDIT: Pixabay / gtriay

    Let the vibrant city invigorate. Check out Davie Village and Commercial Drive.

    Melbourne

    It’s where Please Like Me is filmed… and find out what our roving travel guy Nick Baker thought of it.

  • Muriel’s Wedding To Be Made Into Stage Show

    Muriel’s Wedding To Be Made Into Stage Show

    That’s right folks, “You can’t stop progress” as Muriel’s Wedding is to be made into a new musical stage show adapted to stage by, “What a coincidence”, it’s the original film’s writer and director PJ Hogan.

    © Sydney Theatre Company / Global Creatures
    © Sydney Theatre Company / Global Creatures

     

    The show will feature all those much loved ABBA numbers whilst both the script and Muriel herself will be re-set in 2017. Will marriage be easier to find in this new world of social media and app dating?

    Speaking to AussieTheatre.com.au PJ Hogan said, “I’ve been asked many times to put Muriel’s Wedding on stage and I’ve always said no – mainly because the film seemed to do what I wanted it to do, and has somehow resisted the obscurity that time and changing fashions are apt to visit upon everything and everyone. So why tempt fate and invite Muriel (and a singing Muriel, at that) to cavort in 2017?

    “Back in 1994 Muriel had a problem that seemed peculiar to her… how do you become famous (that is loved/admired/envied by all) when you have no discernible talent, no achievements, and when no one believes in you except you? The new millennium has provided the tools for dreamers afflicted by obscurity: Twitter, FaceBook, Instagram, You Tube, not to mention that Hogwarts for the irrelevant, Reality TV.

    “Muriel was born to be a Millennial. So a Millennial she has become. Who sings.”

    Sadly the tickets prices may be a little ‘sky-high’ for us Brits as the world premier takes place at the Roslyn Packer Theatre, Sydney, Australia. Though fingers are crossed for a speedy export to the UK.

    If you are travelling out there next year from the 20th Nov – 30th Dec 2017, then you can pre-book tickets at: SydneyTheatre.com.au