Tag: Politics
The latest news, interviews, and views from the world of LGBT politics in the UK and internationally.
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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.’
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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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OPINION | Why the EU is important for the LGBT Community
With the rise of extremist parties in the UK and the challenges that face conventional political parties, one of the most contentious battles is over membership of the European Union. The United Kingdom became a member of the EU on the first of January 1973, and have since enjoyed the privileges of a single internal market, a standardised system of laws that apply in all member states and of course human rights.
But why is the EU so important to the LGBT community?
LGBT rights are protected under a range of EU treaties and laws that decriminalises homosexuality across all member states. But more than this under EU law there are provisions that combat discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation, which have been legally binding across Europe since the 1990s. The EU had single-handedly managed to create a framework for equal treatment in employment and occupation for our community.
In practice, the law protects every person who identifies with the LGBT from being discriminated against in the work place. This includes refusal of a job, being dismissed and even harassment during work.
But this is not all the EU has done for our community. In 2009, Lithuania was a battleground of gay rights and abuse. The European Commission made it a point to tone down the homophobic language and abused used freely in the country and even went as far to support the gay pride parade under threat of banning.
Since then the Council of the European Union have created a binding guideline that instructs EU diplomats around the world to defend the rights of the LGBT community. This is a global effort on behalf of the EU to protect the rights we have fought so hard to gain.
The legalisation of same-sex marriage in the UK has also been strongly influenced by the EU. Although the EU does allow some level of discretion in the implementation of the EU wide laws, some countries have abused this discretion to prevent same sex marriage. However the views of the EU are clear. It can be seen through the case law of the EU Court of Justice that same sex partners must be treated the same as those who are married.
The EU has ensured that Europe is most progressive continent in the world for recognising LGBT rights. Legalising same sex activity, marriage and slowly the right for couples to adopt. As well as providing a frame work of anti discrimination laws in the work place and allowing gays to openly serve in the military.
There is no doubt that the EU has made the world a safer and more accepting place for us. If the UK were to remove its self from the EU then it would also remove all EU wide law that protects our rights. Although we would have domestic law that to some extent offers similar protection, membership to the EU provides safeguards that force even the government to protect our rights.
No matter your views or opinion on the EU, we can all agree that they have significantly contributed to the protection of our community and without their support, it is highly unlikely that we would have come as far as we have in the struggle for equality.
Opinions expressed in this article may not reflect those of THEGAYUK, it’s management or editorial teams. If you’d like to comment or write a comment, opinion or blog piece, please click here.
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Green Party Calls For The End To Blood Discrimination
As the law stands in many parts of the UK, gay and bisexual men and MSMs (men who have sex with men) are forbidden from donating blood if they’ve been in a sexual relationship within the last 12 months.
Green councillors on Brighton & Hove City Council are calling for an end to the bar against gay and bisexual men donating blood within 12 months of sexual activity.
In 2011 a lifetime ban on donating blood by gay and bisexual men was lifted in most of the UK (except Northern Ireland); however any man who has had sex with another man within the last year is not permitted to donate blood.
To coincide with World Blood Donor Day (14th June), Green councillors announced they were tabling a motion at the next city council meeting (17th July) urging the Government to change the rules.
The time it takes for tests to show whether someone is infected with HIV and most other serious blood-borne infections is now three months and for Hepatitis C is six months so infection is detectable much earlier than 12 months.
Green Councillor Alexandra Phillips, proposer of the motion, said: “We welcome the 2011 change lifting the lifetime ban on gay and bisexual men donating blood but it doesn’t go far enough to end discrimination and help the supply of safe blood.
‘The current rules are still discriminatory and are not backed by logical analysis of risk. Good science would support a six month window before donating blood after a possible risk, for all donors, on the basis that tests for HIV and Hepatitis C can detect infection within that time. The health service desperately needs safe blood donations, but this discrimination bars perfectly healthy men from helping to save lives.
‘It is possible to have a safe donor system based on the prevention of harm yet which does not discriminate. Anyone wanting to donate blood should be asked the same basic questions irrespective of their sexual orientation. It is unethical to prevent a whole group of healthy people from donating blood when a blood donation might save a life.
‘”Now the council has responsibility for public health, we hope this motion will help reassure gay and bisexual men in our city that the council is set against such a discriminatory health policy and that the government should act.’
Councillor Mike Jones, who is an NHS sexual health adviser and is seconding the motion, said: ‘It’s absolutely crucial that blood supplies are safe and there should be proper measures in place to deal with risky individuals – but these rules mean in practice the vast majority of healthy gay and bisexual men are prevented from donating blood.
‘The result is we cut the supply of safe blood to the NHS while high-risk heterosexual donors remain free to donate. The blood of a healthy gay man who is in a monogamous relationship and who has only had oral sex will not be used whereas a heterosexual man who has had multiple opposite-sex partners and who refuses to take safe sex precautions will not usually be questioned about his behaviour or have his blood excluded.’
Mike added: ‘Given that only around 5% of healthy people actually donate blood, rather than discriminating against large sections of the population, it would be far better and fairer to treat donors on a case-by-case basis using precise questions so that those gay and bisexual men who are willing to give blood would answer questions that accurately identify their degree of risk, so we aren’t turning away people who could be saving lives.’
The Department of Health’s Advisory Committee on the Safety of Blood, Tissue and Organs partly justifies the ban on the higher incidence of Hepatitis B in gay and bisexual men than the rest of the population since this infection could remain undetectable for several months under current testing. However advocates of a non-discriminatory approach say this could be addressed by a targeted Hepatitis B vaccination programme among gay and bisexual men.
Green councillors say health authorities should implement a ‘Safe Blood’ education campaign targeted at the men who have sex with men to ensure that no one donates blood if they are at risk of HIV and other blood-borne infections arising from unsafe sexual activity. This should be backed by a health promotion campaign for Hepatitis B vaccination within the gay and bisexual community.
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LGBT Domestic Abuse Charity Welcomes Minister Commitment
LGBT charity welcomes Welsh minister’s commitment to do more to improve LGBT domestic violence services.
Broken Rainbow UK, the LGBT domestic violence charity, welcomes Lesley Griffiths, the Welsh Minister for Local Government commitment to introduce an LGBT-inclusive bill later this month to reform domestic abuse services.
Responding to research into the barriers faced by lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans people in accessing domestic violence services, conducted on behalf of the Welsh Government and published last week Griffiths stated, ‘Regardless of their gender or sexuality, everyone should feel they can access free and confidential support if they are experiencing domestic abuse, harassment or sexual violence.
‘While the research published today identifies some examples of promising practice underway in Wales, there is more we and service providers can and must do tackle this crime and to promote the support services available to all victims.’Shannon Harvey, Senior Researcher at NatCen Social Research, referring to the research, explains how it, ‘demonstrates how a narrow focus on the needs of heterosexual, cisgender women can leave LGBT people feeling that these services aren’t appropriate for them.
‘These LGBT people’s experiences of abuse remind us that even while patriarchy may be an explanation for many women’s experiences of victimisation, if we accept that violence is about power and control, we must acknowledge that other dimensions of power and inequality can play a part too.’Jo Harvey Barringer, Managing Director (Interim), Broken Rainbow UK, echoed Shannon Harvey’s concerns for trans people experiencing domestic violence, ‘Despite legal protections in place for trans people this research suggests, in line with our own experiences of supporting callers to our helpline, that trans* women can still face difficulty in accessing women-only refuges.’
Broken Rainbow UK was pleased to announce during their first ever awareness month this May that they are also removing barriers to accessing their own services for individuals that cannot afford to call their helpline, with the introduction of a parallel Freephone 0800 number sponsored by BNP Paribas.‘We know that members of the trans community can often be amongst the poorest members of the LGBT communities with increased difficultly in gaining employment, so we believe our new 0800 number combined with our existing 0300 will ensure everyone needing support can reach us’, Wendy Wilde, Service Delivery Manager, Broken Rainbow UK.
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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…
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OPINION | Meet The Next Generation Of The BNP
It’s scary, very scary, what happens when you get a bunch of 13-18 year olds and fill their heads with British National Party rubbish.
We want, we want, we want, never gets – didn’t your mother tell you?
I’m sitting here, not sure whether to laugh or to shudder in fear – as the British National Party (BNP) releases a video on to its YouTube page with several young people spouting about who they feel is to blame for the downturn of the UK’s moral compass and their demands for the future of this country.
So who is to blame? Well, us militant homosexuals are given a mention (high five), the media, bankers, businesses and I think My Little Pony had a mention somewhere.
At the end of the ill-edited, terribly lit video, with a soundtrack that would make Han Zimmer cry into his hands, a youngster, we’ll call him Marvin, looks deadpan into camera and like a BNP Zombie says, ‘This is not a request, this is a demand… We are BNP Youth.’
And if you’re wondering what exactly what was said about the LGBT+ community, the one in the pink says (we’ll call her Chelsea), ‘The militant homosexuals who push for gay marriage and gay adoption in order to destroy the traditional family unit.’
Then the one in the black top and festive flower in the her hair pipes up (We’ll call her Edwina):
‘We want the promotion of the traditional family and our core Christian values.’
I can’t help think that these children, yes they are children, have been done a complete disservice by their parents, their political education and the BNP. This video will forever be a monument to their beliefs – and in an ever changing and more progressive society, these kids are already looking like dinosaurs.
In a time where nothing can be deleted from the omnipotent internet, I wonder what these children will think, when they look back on this, as they get a little more worldly wise in 5, 10, 15 years.
This video is called, BNP Youth- Fight Back, but I’m not sure they really know who they’re fighting. It seems like everyone as far as I can tell. This is a political party, it seems, hell bent on isolating itself into the nether regions of this country, demanding not to be taken seriously – and I say, good – stay there.
It seems the BNP have a new generation… My advice – don’t feed them after midnight and keep away from water.
Interestingly, comments have been turned off for the video on YouTube – but you can leave your thoughts and comments below – play nicely now…
Opinions expressed in this article may not reflect those of THEGAYUK, its management or editorial teams. If you’d like to comment or write a comment, opinion or blog piece, please click here.
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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.’
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OPINION | Arizona – The Pink Dollar Wins?
I’ve watched in total bewilderment as the recent situation in Arizona unfolded. In the past few weeks, we’ve some draconian measures come into force in terms of gay rights and archaic laws adopted in countries around the world but also some breaking down of barriers as gay marriage is accepted in others.
We seem to win some ground in some parts of the world, and lose it in others – but the recent registration in Arizona beggars belief.
Let me give you a layman’s view of this legislation:Senate bill 1062 was passed by the Republican controlled Arizona legislature last week and would have given Arizona business owners with “sincerely held” religious beliefs the legal right to refuse service to anyone if it would conflict with those beliefs.
Thats it in a nutshell – it gives a business downer carte blanche to refuse service to anyone the owner believes to contravene their ‘sincere’ religious views. The widely held view is that this is aimed at gays and lesbians and the whole marriage question. Cake shops can refuse to deal with the LGBT community on religious grounds, not personal feelings – but who can differentiate between the two? And how do you prove this?
This comes hot on the heels of several high profile law suits in America when services were refused to LGBT couples wishing to purchase goods or services, based mainly on the business owners religious beliefs.
With the new and growing area of LGBT marriage, some businesses are embracing it, as it is a money-spinner in these tough economic times – others seem happy to turn away the business.
Now, once this bill had been passed, and highly advertised through social media with everyone and his tanning salon having an opinion (and quite rightly), we then come to the next amazing turn of events. I swear to god (pun intended) if this turns out to be an ad campaign for Arizona Tourism, it should win awards.
My favourite piece on Facebook this week about this actually quotes one Arizonan as saying that they hadn’t realised that “gays spent money” and the whole issue of it being bad for business hadn’t occurred to them. They actually went on to blame the “gays” for this as we (the gays) should have brought it to their attention before they agreed the legislation!
In what must be a most embarrassing turn of events, the governor for Arizona, a seemingly sensible woman named Jan Brewer has vetoed this bill. The state senators even came out (pardon the pun) against it, stating it would be catastrophic for the state in terms of business, commerce and tourism.
Even big business came out (yes, I did do it again!) against it, with Apple, American Airlines and Marriott trying to tell the state what a mistake it was making! The NFL was said to be investigating shifting the agreed Superbowl away from the state as it feared a backlash.
Even Obama’s regime waded in, stating it trusted in the integrity of the state governor – but also doubted the ability of the bill to hold up in the supreme court!
On behalf of my fellow gays, I apologise for not making the entire state of Arizona aware that we have money and like to spend it. Please be aware that our pink pounds, dollars, euros do actually get used to buy products and services – but not in places that feel they have the right to judge us for what we are. We vote with our very well shod feet honey and go where we are welcomed!
I feel 2014 is going to be an interested and challenging year for human rights everywhere – watch this space!
Opinions expressed in this article may not reflect those of THEGAYUK, it’s management or editorial teams. If you’d like to comment or write a comment, opinion or blog piece, please click here.