10/21/11
UK: Black children perform poorly at school because ‘academic success is seen as gay’
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2011/10/21/black-children-perform-poorly-at-school-because-academic-success-is-seen-as-gay/
African-Caribbean children perform poorly at school because doing well is perceived as ‘gay’ or ‘feminine’, the head of the Jamaican Teachers Association has said.
10/21/11
Canada: Openly gay teen who killed himself was bullied, dad says
Jessica Geen
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2011/10/21/hundreds-mourn-gay-canadian-teenager-jamie-hubley/
OTTAWA, Canada — The father of a gay Ottawa teen who committed suicide Saturday told CBC News his son was constantly bullied throughout elementary school and into high school.
Allan Hubley also spoke Tuesday about his 15-year-old son Jamie’s ongoing depression over the bullying and his desperate desire for acceptance.
Hubley said the bullying began when Jamie was in Grade 7 and teens tried to stuff batteries down his throat on the school bus because he was a figure skater.
10/21/11
Cuba: Cuba’s communists to oppose LGBT discrimination
Paul canning – LGBT asylum news
http://sdgln.com/news/2011/10/21/cubas-communists-oppose-lgbt-discrimination
Cuban blogger Francisco Rodríguez Cruz reports that the official papers for the January Congress of the Communist Party of Cuba, its first in fourteen years, includes opposition to discrimination against LGBT people.
10/21/11
Australia: Prime Minister Julia Gillard may allow free vote on gay marriage
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2011/10/21/australian-prime-minister-julia-gillard-may-allow-free-vote-on-gay-marriage/
According to the Australian Daily Telegraph, government sources said she will state her position at some point next week.
10/21/11
Nigeria: Parliament using dirty tricks in push to pass anti-gay bill
Paul Canning – Lgbt Asylum News
http://sdgln.com/news/2011/10/21/nigerian-parliament-uses-dirty-tricks-push-pass-anti-gay-bill
Following two previous attempts the Nigerian parliament has revived its efforts at further criminalizing homosexuality in a new bill: “An Act to Prohibit Marriage between Persons of Same Gender, Solemnization Of Same And For Other Matters Related Therewith.”
And according to a report in Behind The Mask they are trying to get it passed by ‘wrong footing’ Nigerian activists and international attention.
10/20/11
USA (New Jersey): Governor calls teacher’s anti-gay remarks ‘disturbing’
Jessica Geen
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2011/10/20/new-jersey-governor-calls-teachers-anti-gay-remarks-disturbing/
Viki Knox, who works in Union High School in the Union Township school district, made the comments last week.
She called homosexuality “a perverted spirit that has existed from the beginning of creation” and a “sin” that “breeds like cancer”.
10/20/11
USA: Anti-gay propagandist heads to Moldova to speak against anti-bias bill
Evelyn Schlatter – Hatewatch at Southern Poverty Law Center
http://sdgln.com/news/2011/10/20/anti-gay-propagandist-heads-moldova-speak-against-anti-bias-bill
Paul Cameron, a virulently anti-gay and roundly discredited psychologist whose membership in the American Psychological Association (APA) was revoked in the early 1980s amid an investigation that he violated professional ethics, is on his way to Moldova next week to speak against proposed anti-discrimination legislation that would protect LGBT people.
10/19/11
USA: Facebook, Twitter and Google+ to mark ‘Spirit Day’ for bullied gay teens
Spirit Day, which was created last year by Canadian teenager Brittany McMillan, encourages people to wear purple on October 20th to remember LGBT teenagers who killed themselves after being bullied.
On the rainbow flag, purple represents ‘spirit’.
10/19/11
Northern Cyprus: More arrests for “gay sex” reported
Paul Canning – Lgbt Asylum News
http://sdgln.com/news/2011/10/19/more-arrests-gay-sex-reported-northern-cyprus
(Editor’s note: For an understanding of the complicated situation in Northern Cyprus, which is a self-declared state that calls itself the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, click HERE.)
It has emerged that at least five men have been arrested in Northern Cyprus for “homosexual offenses,” not three as previously reported.
10/19/11
Beirut: Activist in says he was fired for being gay
gayby.net
http://sdgln.com/news/2011/10/19/gay-activist-belarus-says-he-was-fired-being-gay
Alexander Poluyan, the gay activist in Belarus and the editor of Belarusian gay-lesbi portal GAYBY.NET, has been suggested to leave by mutual agreement the company where he has been working as an manager in the department of corporate communications (CORA).
10/19/11
Botswana: Former president calls for legalisation of homosexuality
Festus Mogae, the former president of Botswana, has said that homosexuality should be decriminalised to help tackle HIV rates.
Speaking to the BBC’s Africa Network, Mr Mogae said that while he does not “understand” homosexuality, gays and lesbians should not be arrested.
10/18/11
UK: ‘Three deaths’ after London church advice to stop taking HIV medicine
According to BBC London, some evangelical Christian churches are encouraging patients to stop taking anti-retroviral drugs because God can heal them.
10/18/11
Australia: Commonwealth country leaders ‘to be asked to decriminalise gay sex’
Leaders will meet in Perth, Australia, next week for the Commonwealth heads of government meeting (CHOGM).
Australian delegate Michael Kirby said today that the agenda will include a request to scrap anti-gay laws.
He told ABC Radio that HIV messages were “very difficult” to get across without removing laws against gay sex.
10/18/11
Zimbabwe: Prisoners can’t get condoms because homosexuality is illegal
The Prison Service said last week that condoms could “encourage” illegal gay sex among the 13,000-strong prison population.
HIV activists, who called the decision “tragic”, have been urging the Prison Service to do more to tackle the disease.
10/17/11
UK: Did the UN just get a LGBT rights concession from Uganda?
Paul Canning – Lgbt Asylum News
http://sdgln.com/news/2011/10/17/did-un-just-get-lgbt-rights-concession-uganda
Since the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) process began in 2007 at the Human Rights Council at the United Nations it has both forced governments to defend their polices as well as actually causing them to change them.
The current UPR session has already seen two countries agree to decriminalize homosexuality.
10/17/11
Ethiopia: Leaked cable shows limits of State Department’s reporting of LGBT issues abroad
Paul Canning – Lgbt Asylum News
Issues with relying on the US State Department for a accurate take on LGBT life in particular countries have been highlighted in the reporting of Daniel Berhane, the self described ‘leading blog in Ethiopia.
He has found a leaked Cable (here’s the cable) from US Embassy Addis Ababa, dated Dec. 30,2009.
10/14/11
USA (Nevada): First US military gay convention meets this weekend
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2011/10/14/first-us-military-gay-convention-meets-this-weekend/
The first convention for gay military personnel is meeting in Las Vegas this weekend.
The OutServe Leadership Summit, which began yesterday, is the largest gathering of openly gay troops since Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell was repealed last month.
10/14/11
Mexico: One transgender person murdered worldwide every other day, figures show
Paul Canning – Lgbt Asylum News
The Network of Sex Workers in Latin America and the Caribbean reported 28 August another murder of a trans Mexican sex worker. Elisarraráz Carmela Mendez, secretary of the Monarchs Civil Liberty Organization of Michoacan, was found at 5am at the Imperial Hotel in Morelia, Michoacan, west of Mexico City.
10/14/11
USA: Celebrities supporting the NOH8 campaign for gay marriage equality
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2011/07/14/celebrities-supporting-the-noh8-campaign/
More than 14,000 photos have been taken for the NOH8 campaign against California’s ban on gay marriage. PinkNews.co.uk looks at some of the best-known faces supporting the campaign.
10/11/11
USA: Nicole Kidman’s transgender film shelved
Jessica Geen http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2011/10/11/nicole-kidmans-transgender-film-shelved/
A Nicole Kidman film about a transgender painter has been shelved after another star pulled out.
10/10/11
Australia: South Australian premier Mike Rann calls for gay marriage
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2011/10/10/south-australian-premier-mike-rann-calls-for-gay-marriage/
South Australia’s outgoing premier Mike Rann has called for full marriage equality. Mr Rann said that the status quo was “discrimination” and that civil unions are a “halfway house”.
10/10/11
Poland: Transgender woman set to become Polish MP
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2011/10/10/transgender-woman-set-to-become-polish-mp/
Anna Grodzka, 57, of Krakow, believes she will be the world’s only sitting transgender MP if elected for the Palikot Movement party.
A gay man, Robert Biedron, is also expected to become an MP.
10/10/11
UK: Government to cut aid to anti-gay countries
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2011/10/10/government-to-cut-aid-to-anti-gay-countries/
The government will cut aid to poor countries which persecute gay people, international development secretary Andrew Mitchell has warned.
Aid ‘fines’ may be imposed on countries such as Uganda and Ghana for hardline anti-gay laws, the Mail on Sunday reported.
10/10/11
South Africa: Four convicted of Cape Town lesbian’s murder
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2011/10/10/four-convicted-of-cape-town-lesbians-murder/
Four men have been found guilty of murdering a lesbian in Cape Town, South Africa.
Zoliswa Nkonyana, 19, was stoned and stabbed to death after a night out in Khayelitsha on February 4th 2006.
10/10/11
Zimbabwe: Mugabe wants Archbishop of Canterbury to explain views on gays
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2011/10/10/mugabe-wants-archbishop-of-canterbury-to-explain-views-on-gays/
Zimbabwe president Robert Mugabe wants Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams to explain the church’s views on homosexuality and why it is being “prescribed” to Zimbabweans.
10/10/11
USA (California): Two gay Republican contenders in San Diego mayoral race
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2011/10/10/two-gay-republican-contenders-in-san-diego-mayoral-race/
Two of the contenders in San Diego’s mayoral race are openly gay Republicans.
District attorney Bonnie Dumanis, 59, and city councilman Carl DeMaio, 36, are open about their sexual orientation but the fact has barely featured in the race.
10/10/11
Europe: Europe’s “last dictator” can’t pronounce “homosexuality”
Paul Canning – Lgbt Asylum News
http://sdgln.com/news/2011/10/09/europes-last-dictator-cant-pronounce-homosexuality
The Belarussian gay website gayby reports that Belarus President Aleksandr Lukashenkо – who has been described as “Europe’s last dictator” – was unable to pronounce the word homosexuality on the first try at a 7 October press conference with Russian journalists.
10/10/11
Kenya: A gay divorce catches attention of Kenyans
Paul Canning – Lgbt Asylum News
http://sdgln.com/news/2011/10/09/gay-divorce-catches-attention-kenyans
The London gay wedding of Kenyan men Charles Ngengi and Daniel Chege Gichia sent shock waves throughout Kenya. There was outright and widespread condemnation of their marriage in Kenyan media through October 2009. And the pair were described as “the accidental gay rights trailblazers.”
10/09/11
Brazil: Is Gay Bashing Becoming More Popular in São Paulo?
Diane Anderson-Minshall
http://www.advocate.com/Crime/Gay_Bashing_Becoming_More_Popular_in_Sao_Paulo/
Gays are alarmed as two more men are attacked in São Paulo, Brazil.
10/09/11
USA (California): Changes in California Domestic Violence Laws
http://www.care2.com/causes/changes-in-california-domestic-violence-laws.html
As of September 14th, a new law in California allows victims of domestic violence to require landlords to change their locks within 24hrs of receiving a written request and a copy of a restraining or a police report that is no more than 180 days old.
10/07/11
USA: Student tells of ‘gay cure’ torture at hands of father
Jessica Geen http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2011/10/07/video-us-student-tells-of-gay-cure-torture-at-hands-of-father/
Samuel Brinton, a student at Kansas State University, said his Southern Baptist missionary father beat him, burned him and shocked him with electric currents.
10/06/11
Ecuador: Clinics accused of torturing LGBT people to “cure” them
Paul Canning – Lgbt Asylum News
http://sdgln.com/news/2011/10/06/ecuador-clinics-accused-torturing-lgbt-people-cure-them
Ecuadorean authorities have so far this year closed 27 “ex-gay” clinics that claimed to “cure” homosexuality following allegations of torture and abuse by former “patients.”
For a decade, lesbian groups have been calling for government action on the physical and psychological torture inflicted on lesbians to try to “cure” them.
10/05/11
Seychelles: An island to decriminalize homosexuality, other countries say no and not yet
Paul Canning – Lgbt Asylum News
The African country of The Seychelles has agreed to decriminalise homosexuality. The agreement is part of the country’s feedback to the United Nations Human Rights Council as part of the Universal Periodic Review process.
10/05/11
UK: We’ll cut your aid if you persecute gays, Britain warns African nations
International Development Secretary Andrew Mitchell has already cut aid to Malawi by £19million after two gay men were sentenced to 14 years hard labour.
10/05/11
USA: Presbyterian Church to ordain first openly gay minister
Miriam Lazewatsky – Glaad’s Faith & Campaigns Fellow
http://sdgln.com/news/2011/10/07/presbyterian-church-ordain-first-openly-gay-minister
Over 20 years ago, Scott Anderson’s ordination as a Presbyterian Church-USA minister was set aside after he was outed as gay by members of the church he led in Sacramento. A single couple had outed him in 1990, and Anderson responded honestly.
10/05/11
USA (Illinois): Chicago reins in Gay Pride Parade in effort to cut down on drinking
Fran Spielman – Chicago Sun-Times
http://sdgln.com/news/2011/10/05/chicago-reins-gay-pride-parade-effort-cut-down-drinking
CHICAGO — Chicago is altering the route, size and starting time of its annual Gay Pride Parade to curb public drinking and accommodate crowds that topped 800,000 last year.
The most important change is the starting time. The parade held on the last Sunday in June will step off at 10 a.m. instead of noon.
“Unless you’re a hard-core drinker, most people don’t drink at 10 o’clock in the morning,” said parade coordinator Richard Pfeiffer.
10/05/11
Ghana: LGBT people come out as civil society abandons them
Paul Canning – Lgbt Asylum News
http://sdgln.com/news/2011/10/05/ghana-lgbt-people-come-out-civil-society-abandons-them
Fed up with both day after day of nasty newspaper headlines and one civil society leader after another abandoning them, last Friday Accra’s gay community came out, one-by-one, at a major “straight” forum.
Ghanian blogger Graham Knight described the collective coming out as “remarkable.”
10/05/11
South Africa: Hundreds protest lesbian killings in South African province
Mike Nkalane – Sowetan Live
http://sdgln.com/news/2011/10/05/hundreds-protest-lesbian-killings-south-african-province
CAPE TOWN, South Africa — Hundreds of people protested outside the Western Cape legislature on Tuesday over the cases of 10 lesbians who were raped and murdered in the province.
The perpetrators have allegedly never been successfully prosecuted.
10/04/11
Nigeria: Lawmakers pushing for anti-gay bill
Savi Hensman – Ekklesia
http://sdgln.com/news/2011/10/04/nigerian-lawmakers-pushing-anti-gay-bill
Some Nigerian politicians are again trying to push through legislation to further criminalize lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans (LGBT) people and their friends.
Sex between people of the same gender is already a crime, and in some parts of the country, men who have sex with each other can be put to death – but certain people seem to believe this is not harsh enough.
10/04/11
Uganda: As LGBT bar closes in Kampala, Uganda tells UN that gays “recruit”
Paul Canning – Lgbt Asylum News
http://sdgln.com/news/2011/10/04/lgbt-bar-closes-kampala-uganda-tells-un-gays-recruit
Uganda’s only LGBT bar, Sappho Islands, closed Sunday night with the landlady saying, according to activist Frank Mugisha (who has just won another human rights award) that the “bar brings people who look strange”.
Activist Kasha Jacqueline said on Facebook that she was “heartbroken”.
10/03/11
Zimbabwe: Bizarre story of Mugabe supporting “gay” journalist leads to “sex audit” call
Paul Canning – Lgbt Asylum News
The latest reported escape from censure of a reportedly gay journalist working for Zimbabwe’s government media has led to a call for a ‘sex audit’ by an opposition, diaspora website.
10/02/11
USA: New York) NY Rejects Medicaid Funded Transgender Surgeries
http://www.inflexwetrust.com/2011/10/02/ny-rejects-medicaid-funde-transgender-surgeries/
A day after an advisory panel raised the idea of using Medicaid to pay for transgender surgery, Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s health department dropped it.
“No consideration is being given to any change in current state policy and any proposal to have gender reassignment surgery funded by Medicaid would be rejected,” said state Health Commissioner Dr. Nirav Shah.
10/02/11
Zimbabwe: Bizarre story of Mugabe supporting ‘gay’ journalist leads to ‘sex audit’ call
Paul Canning
http://madikazemi.blogspot.com/2011/10/in-zimbabwe-bizarre-story-of-mugabe.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+SaveMehdiKazemi+%28LGBT+asylum+news%29
The latest reported escape from censure of a reportedly gay journalist working for Zimbabwe’s government media has led to a call for a ‘sex audit’ by an opposition, diaspora website.
10/02/11
USA (Washington, DC): Obama hits GOP candidates on gay rights
Washington post
President Barack Obama says anyone running for president must support the entire U.S. military, including gay service members. He spoke Saturday at the annual dinner for the Human Rights Campaign. (Oct. 1)
10/02/11
USA (New York): FDNY welcomes 1st transgender firefighter in city history
Ginger Adams Otis and Erin Calabrese
http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/trans_gal_st_bravest_0GEcOhFN91GRfmxPCbE4AK
One of New York’s Bravest is breaking barriers — becoming the first transgender firefighter in city history.
The male-to-female firefighter has been openly welcomed by the FDNY, even as a Brooklyn judge handling a discrimination lawsuit against the department has blasted it for its lack of diversity.
10/02/11
Serbia: police detain 6 suspected extremists
CBS news
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2011/10/02/ap/europe/main20114457.shtml (AP) BELGRADE,
Serbia’s police say they have detained six people and prevented a gathering of a pro-Russian far-right group that threatened to burn an EU flag and spit on the portrait of the U.S. ambassador in Belgrade.
Riot police were deployed in large number across the capital Sunday to enforce a ban on a gay pride event and anti-gay protests, fearing they would turn violent.
10/01/11
USA: Kiss Ends Flight For Lesbians http://www.dragoncastle.net/community/2011/09/gay-kiss-ends-flight-for-lesbians/
A gay American actress and musician has accused a US airline of discrimination after being kicked off a flight for kissing her partner. Leisha Hailey, an actress on TV show The L Word and a member of band Uh Huh Her, became the latest in a growing line of celebrities to be marched off a Southwest Airlines flight.
10/01/11
Haiti: United Nations finally pledges protections for LGBT
Paul Canning
http://madikazemi.blogspot.com/2011/10/in-haiti-united-nations-finally-pledges.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+SaveMehdiKazemi+%28LGBT+asylum+news%29
The International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC) has won an important comittment for Haitian gay and HIV+ people, its Executive Director, Cary Alan Johnson, has said.
Johnson said that Nigel Fisher, humanitarian coordinator for the UN Stabilization Mission in Haiti has “pledged to help elevate the voices” of LGBT and HIV-Positive Haitians, “so their demands are met in the rebuilding process.”
10/01/11
Moscow: Dozens arrested after clashes at Equality March
SDGLN STAFF
http://www.sdgln.com/news/2011/10/01/dozens-arrested-after-clashes-equality-march-moscow
MOSCOW — Russia’s leading gay-rights activist Nikolai Alekseev, the head of GayRussia, is reporting today that dozens of people have been arrested following clashes at the Equality March in Moscow today.
Here is what he wrote on Facebook:
10/01/11
Canada: Right-wing Canadian group accused of transphobia for ‘confusion’ ad
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2011/09/30/right-wing-canadian-accused-of-transphobia-for-confusion-ad/
A right-wing Canadian group claims that school equality policies are “corrupting children”.
The Institute for Canadian Values ran an ad in the National Post this week urging adults to stop “confusing children” by teaching them about gay and transgender people.
10/01/11
Gay weddings can be performed by military chaplains, Pentagon says
Navy Lt. Gary Ross, right, and Dan Swezy exchange wedding vows on Sept. 20, 2011 in Duxbury, Vt. The two men recited their vows moments after the repeal of the military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy. (Toby Talbot – AP)
Pentagon will permit military chaplains to perform same-sex marriage as long as such ceremonies are not prohibited in the states where they reside, it said Friday.
09/30/11
Serbia: Belgrade Gay Pride banned
Paul Canning
http://madikazemi.blogspot.com/2011/09/belgrade-gay-pride-may-be-banned.html
Update 2 October: About 30 LGBT activists held a flashmob yesterday, stopping traffic for a few minutes on a main Belgrade street holding a ‘Ljubav. Normalno’ (‘Love. Normal’) banner. They were protected by riot police who have been deployed onto Belgrade streets yesterday and today.
09/30/11
USA: Toby Keith Speaks Up About Gays in the Military
CMT Insider
http://www.cmt.com/news/country-music/1671827/toby-keith-speaks-up-about-gays-in-the-military.jhtml
Editors note: Toby Keith speaks up about the repeal of the U.S. military’s “don’t ask, don’t” tell” policy on this week’s episode of CMT Insider, which airs Saturday (Oct. 1) at 1:30 p.m. ET/PT.
He Explains His Stance on “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”
09/29/11
UK: Man, 18, convicted of murdering gay pensioner
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2011/09/29/man-18-convicted-of-murdering-gay-pensioner/
An 18-year-old man has been convicted of murdering a gay pensioner.
Aiden Jackson, of Sleaford, Lincolnshire, faces a life sentence for the killing of 67-year-old David Cowley
09/29/11
UK:European Parliament calls for end of classifying transgender people as mentally ill
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2011/09/29/european-parliament-calls-for-end-of-classifying-transgender-people-as-mentally-ill/
The European Parliament has passed a resolution calling for the World Health Organisation to stop classifying transgender people as mentally ill.
‘Gender identity disorder’ is currently classified as a ‘mental and behavioural disorder’ in the WHO’s International Classification of Diseases.
09/29/11
Sexual Minorities Uganda, Frank Mugisha win Rafto Prize for human rights
Ken Williams – Sdgln Editor In Chief
http://www.sdgln.com/news/2011/09/29/sexual-minorities-uganda-frank-mugisha-win-rafto-prize-human-rights
OSLO, Norway – The annual Rafto Prize for human rights was today awarded to Sexual Minorities Uganda (SMUG) and its leader Frank Mugisha for working to promote the rights of LGBT people in Uganda.
09/28/11
Burundi: Gay Burundian wins UK asylum after 11-year battle
Paul Canning – Lgbt Asylum News
http://www.sdgln.com/news/2011/09/28/gay-burundian-wins-uk-asylum-after-11-year-battle
The gay Burundian asylum seeker Alvin Gahimbaze has won his 11-year battle for sanctuary in the UK.
Alvin fled Burundi with his sister, Danella, in 2000 when he was 16 years old. Alvin and his sister were fleeing ethnic clashes in which his family was massacred. Alvin is part of the persecuted Tutsi minority.
09/27/11
Turkey: Two steps forward for Turkey and LGBT
Paul Canning – Lgbt Asylum News
http://www.sdgln.com/news/2011/09/27/two-steps-forward-turkey-and-lgbt
Turkey has taken one small step forward for LGBT recognition with, for the very first time, a government minister meeting LGBT representatives.
09/27/11
Another day in the life of homophobic Russia
Paul Canning – Lgbt Asylum News
http://www.sdgln.com/news/2011/09/27/another-day-life-homophobic-russia
In the latest news from homophobic Russia: Moscow police have stopped investigating the bashing of a lesbian journalist; Moscow authorities refuse to register LGBT NGOs; and another Russian region wants to outlaw LGBT and pro-gay organizing.
But, in good news, ‘liberal’ St Petersberg held a successful LGBT festival.
Elena Kostyuchenko is a well-known Russian journalist who recently came out as lesbian in her newspaper, Novaya Gazeta.
9/26/11
Australia: Serco accused of negligence and assault in Australia
http://www.corporatewatch.org/?lid=4082
Events in Australia over the last month have shown outsourcing giant Serco’s claim to have a worldwide reputation to be more than just corporate speak: the company gets accused of abusing refugees wherever it is.
9/26/11
Cameroon: Human rights groups urge end to anti-gay laws
Sdgln Staff
http://www.sdgln.com/news/2011/09/26/human-rights-groups-urge-cameroon-end-anti-gay-laws
The Cameroonian authorities must end the persecution of gays and lesbians and repeal laws that criminalize consensual same-sex relations, five human rights organizations said today in an open letter to Paul Biya, the president of Cameroon.
Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch joined the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC), L’Association pour la Défense des Droits des Homosexuel(le)s (ADEFHO) and Alternatives Cameroun in urging the government to release all individuals detained under the discriminatory law.
9/24/11
USA: Gay Africans react to Obama’s UN comments in support of global LGBT rights
Paul Canning – Lgbt Asylum News
http://www.sdgln.com/news/2011/09/24/gay-africans-react-obamas-un-comments-support-global-gay-rights
Gay African activists have reacted positively to President Obama’s inclusion of LGBT human rights in his annual address to the United Nations General Assembly – a first for an American President.
Obama said:
“No country should deny people their rights, the freedom of speech and freedom of religion, but also no country should deny people their rights because of who they love, which is why we must stand up for the rights of gays and lesbians everywhere.”
9/24/11
Brazil: Rising Christian evangelism spurs LGBT rights pushback
Publico.Es – Cross-Posted From Lgbt Asylum News
http://www.sdgln.com/news/2011/09/24/brazil-rising-christian-evangelism-behind-lgbt-rights-pushback
Walking through the streets of Jardim São Luís, or many other neighborhoods on the outskirts of São Paulo, a Sunday afternoon is an experience. At every turn, succeed evangelical ceremonies, music and shouting. There is no denying the explosive rise of evangelical churches, especially in poor neighborhoods, who have managed to win with an attention to social problems that the Catholic Church in Brazil had neglected.
9/25/11
Libya: Transitional council believes mass grave found
CNN Wire Staff
http://www.cnn.com/2011/09/25/world/africa/libya-mass-grave/index.html?hpt=wo_c2
Tripoli, Libya (CNN) — Officials with Libya’s transitional government announced Sunday they have located a suspected mass grave thought to hold the remains of 1,270 people, victims of a 1996 massacre at Abu Salim prison.
9/24/11
China: Police sorry for failure to unearth deadly sex dungeon
CNN Wire Staff
http://www.cnn.com/2011/09/24/world/asia/china-sex-dungeon/index.html
A Chinese police official apologized Saturday for his department’s handling of a case in which a man allegedly killed two of six women he had held captive in his underground lair, where they were raped, forced into prostitution and featured in porn videos, state-run media reports.
09/23/11
USA: Video: Gay soldier booed at Republican presidential debate
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2011/09/23/video-gay-soldier-booed-at-republican-presidential-debate/
A gay soldier who submitted a question to a Republican presidential debate was booed by the audience. Stephen Hill, who is currently stationed in Iraq, used a video link to ask candidates at the Fox News/Google debate in Orlando whether they would reinstate the ban on openly gay soldiers.
09/23/11
USA (New York)Three students may face charges over teenager’s suicide
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2011/09/23/three-students-may-face-charges-over-teenagers-suicide/
New York police are considering charging a number of students over the suicide of a 14-year-old boy.
Jamey Rodemeyer, a student at Williamsville North High School, killed himself last Sunday.
He had suffered homophobic bullying and messages were left on his personal blogs urging him to commit suicide.
09/23/11
USA (Washington, DC): Obama administration opposes full severance pay for sacked gay troops
PinkNews.co.uk Staff Writer
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2011/09/23/obama-administration-opposes-full-severance-pay-for-sacked-gay-troops/
Although the ban on openly gay troops was lifted on Tuesday, the Obama administration was arguing in court yesterday against a lawsuit which seeks full severance pay for those sacked under the law.
09/23/11
Italy: Ten MPs accused of being ‘gay hypocrites’
PinkNews.co.uk Staff Writer
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2011/09/23/ten-italian-mps-accused-of-being-gay-hypocrites/
Ten Italian MPs have been accused of being “gay hypocrites”.
A US-based blog named the politicians, who include right-wing MPs and members of Silvio Berlusconi’s ruling party, and said they were secretly gay. According to AFP, the blog’s authors wrote: “We decided to start with these ten names to show clearly how hypocrisy and discrimination rule in the Italian parliament.”
09/22/11
South Africa: Saudi prince beaten by plainclothes police in gay nightclub in Cape Town
Melanie Nathan – SPECIAL TO SDGLN
http://sdgln.com/news/2011/09/22/report-saudi-prince-beaten-plainclothes-police-gay-nightclub-cape-town-south-africa
An attack on a gay Saudi prince by plainclothes police officers in Cape Town, South Africa, has been confirmed by a gay nightclub manager. The prince, however, won’t identify himself because he could be executed in Saudi Arabia for being gay.
09/22/11
USA: Margaret Cho: ‘I’d f*** Michele Bachmann and Christine O’Donnell’
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2011/09/22/margaret-cho-id-f-michele-bachmann-and-christine-odonnell/
She’s the Queen of stand-up. She’s twice been nominated for a Grammy. She wore a tasselled rainbow flag dress on Dancing With The Stars and has been one of the gay community’s most vocal allies. On The Cho Show she introduced America to anal bleaching. She’s a Drop Dead Diva with, according to one of her songs, a p**s that has won 15 Tonys. Laurence Watts caught up with comedienne Margaret Cho.
09/22/11
Philippine: President Aquino voices limited support for gay rights
Alma Mistry – RADIO AUSTRALIA
http://www.radioaustralia.net.au/asiapac/stories/201109/s3323966.htm
Philippine President Benigno Aquino III has voiced some support for gay rights, but stopped short of endorsing gay marriage or adoption. She made the comments during a visit to New York, where same-sex unions were legalised in July. The Philippines has a vibrant gay scene and a gay political party which has been pushing for an anti-discrimination bill for 11 years. But the Roman Catholic Church remains opposed to the Bill, claiming it will open the door to gay marriage.
09/22/11
Australia: ‘Speedo fetish’ man sued over websites
Jessica Geen
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2011/09/22/speedo-fetish-man-sued-over-websites/
An Australian man with a Speedo fetish is being sued by the brand for breaching its copyright.
Dave Evans, 24, is being sued by Speedo over a number of websites he owns which show men posing in – and out of – the skimpy swimwear.
09/22/11
Germany: Pope faces hostility from gay groups
Jessica Geen
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2011/09/22/pope-faces-hostility-from-gay-groups-in-germany/
Pope Benedict’s first official visit to his homeland of Germany is expected to meet strong opposition today.
The Pontiff has made informal visits to Germany in the past but this is his first official visit.
Up to 20,000 people, including gay rights campaigners, feminists, atheists and church abuse survivors, are expected to gather for a protest in Berlin.
09/22/11
USA: Lady Gaga says she will meet Barack Obama over anti-gay bullying
Jessica Geen
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2011/09/22/lady-gaga-says-she-will-meet-barack-obama-over-anti-gay-bullying/
Lady Gaga says she plans to meet President Obama to discuss homophobic bullying after one of her young fans killed himself.
Jamey Rodemeyer, 14, from Buffalo, New York, killed himself om Sunday after posting an online tribute to the singer. The teenager was gay and said no one had listened to his pleas for help over bullying
09/22/11
China: Dancer sacked from Chinese talent show because she’s transgender
PinkNews.co.uk Staff Writer
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2011/09/22/dancer-sacked-from-chinese-talent-show-because-shes-transgender/
A famous Chinese dancer says she was dropped as a judge on a TV talent show because she is transgender. Jin Xing, 44, had sex reassignment surgery in 1996. She was booked to appear for eight weeks on Feitong Fanxiang, a show for professional singers.
09/22/11
USA (Missouri): Video: Foo Fighters play ‘gay love song’ to God Hates Fags church
Staff Writer, PinkNews.co.uk
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2011/09/21/video-foo-fighters-play-gay-love-song-to-god-hates-fags-church/
The homophobic Westboro Baptist Church, known for its chants of ‘God hates fags’, protested the band’s Kansas City gig, claiming that the song Keep it Clean (Hot Buns) encourages “fornication” and “fags”.
09/21/11
USA (Oklahoma): Marines begin recruitment drive at gay community centre
Jessica Geen
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2011/09/21/marines-begin-recruitment-drive-at-gay-community-centre/
Marine recruiters pitched up at an Oklahoma gay community centre to find openly lesbian, gay or bisexual recruits. The 18-year-old law banning openly gay troops was finally repealed yesterday and Marine recruiters set up a stall at the Dennis R Neill Equality Center in Tulsa.
09/21/11
Australia: Tasmanian parliament backs gay marriage
Jessica Geen
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2011/09/21/tasmanian-parliament-backs-gay-marriage/
The Tasmanian parliament’s House of Assembly has backed gay marriage, putting pressure on the federal Labor government to follow suit.
This is the first time a house in any Australian parliament has voted in favour of marriage equality. Tasmania only voted to legalise homosexuality in 1997.
09/21/11
USA (New York): President Obama at UN: “We must stand up for the rights of gays and lesbians everywhere”
Ken Williams – SDGLN EDITOR IN CHIEF
http://sdgln.com/news/2011/09/21/president-obama-un-we-must-stand-rights-gays-and-lesbians-everywhere
The President Barack Obama forcefully spoke out for global LGBT rights during a speech today at the United Nations.
“No country should deny people their rights to freedom of speech and freedom of religion, but also no country should deny people their rights because of who they love, which is why we must stand up for the rights of gays and lesbians everywhere,” Obama said in the speech, which he used to address his opposition to Palestine’s UN bid for statehood.
09/21/11
Azerbaijan: Eurovision welcome for gays questioned again
Paul Canning – LGBT ASYLUM NEWS
http://sdgln.com/news/2011/09/21/azerbaijans-eurovision-welcome-gays-questioned-again
Azeri officials have again reassured journalists that gays will be welcome at the 2012 Eurovision song contest to be held in Azerbaijan’s capital Baku.
09/21/11
UK: Teen says he killed gay man because he came on to him
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2011/09/21/teen-says-he-killed-gay-man-because-he-came-on-to-him/
A Lincolnshire teenager accused of murdering a pensioner says he lashed out because the older man came on to him. Aiden Jackson, is accused of murdering David Cowley, 67, at Sleaford Rail Station in November last year. Previously, the teenager could not be identified because of his age. He recently turned 18.
09/20/11
USA: ‘Don’t ask, don’t tell’ ends, troops mark the day in different ways
Service members compelled to publicly reveal that they are gay or lesbian took advantage of the end of the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy in several ways Tuesday, as military officials reported no noticeable increase in activity at military recruitment stations.
09/20/11
USA: Video: US airman comes out to his father live on YouTube
James Park
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2011/09/20/video-us-airman-comes-out-to-his-father-and-broadcasts-the-video-on-youtube/
On the day that President Obama finally ended the ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ ban on openly gay people serving in the US military, a young airman came out to his father via the telephone and broadcast a webcam recording of the event on YouTube.
The airman, who has been slowly chronicling the coming out process using the user name AreYouSurprised, telephoned his father in Alabama to tell him that he was gay.
09/20/11
USA: Obama praises end of military gay ban
Jessica Geen
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2011/09/20/obama-praises-end-of-military-gay-ban/
Obama said: “Our armed forces have been both a mirror and a catalyst of that progress, and our troops, including gays and lesbians, have given their lives to defend the freedoms and liberties that we cherish as Americans.
The 1993 law was repealed today and the president said: “As of today, patriotic Americans in uniform will no longer have to lie about who they are in order to serve the country they love.”
09/20/11
Uganda: Nsaba Buturo, people like you make Ugandans appear hateful
Morris D.C. Komakech
http://www.monitor.co.ug/OpEd/Commentary/-/689364/1239056/-/12rd4i7z/-/index.html
How can you judge us because our society has suffered underdevelopment and claim that we hate ourselves for it without taking blame? When I look into the eyes of a young Ugandan today, I see frustration, hopelessness, anger and deeply seated regret for a future squandered. And the older Ugandans feel alike!
09/20/11
India: Mumbai police fine 150 gay men after breaking up party
Jessica Geen
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2011/09/20/mumbai-police-fine-150-gay-men-after-breaking-up-party/
Police in Mumbai raided a “gay rave party” early on Sunday morning, fining around 150 men for drinking alcohol and committing “obscene” acts.
The party, held in a residential complex in Jogeshwari, was raided at around 2am after a tip-off
09/19/11
USA (California): Madonna flash mob greets anti-gay Republican Michele Bachmann
Jessica Geen
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2011/09/19/madonna-flash-mob-greets-anti-gay-republican-michele-bachmann/
As she gave a speech at a hotel, campaigners outside danced to Madonna’s Like a Prayer and shouted slogans against the so-called ‘reparative therapy’ allegedly practiced by the Bachmann family’s Christian counselling service.
Dancers shouted: “Pray the gay away! That’s right, we‘re here and we’re not going anywhere!”
09/17/11
UK: Big step toward marriage equality, proposed for 2012
Ken Williams – SDGLN EDITOR IN CHIEF
http://sdgln.com/news/2011/09/17/uk-takes-big-step-toward-marriage-equality-all
LONDON — The United Kingdom, which is ruled by a coalition government under conservative Prime Minister David Cameron, said today that it would create a consultation to expand civil partnerships to marriage equality.
Lynne Featherstone, the UK’s Equalities Minister who is a Liberal Democrat, made the announcement that pleased marriage-equality supporters around the globe. She said the consultation would begin in March 2012 with the goal of changing the law ahead of the next election scheduled in May 2015.
09/16/11
Australia: Allows transgender and intersex passport options
Jane Fae
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/images/2011/09/australianpassport.jpg
Changes to passport rules in Australia are about to make travel a great deal easier for intersex or trans individuals. Under the new rules, gender may be recorded on passports as ‘M’, ‘F’ – or ‘X’.
09/16/11
USA (Massachusetts): Woman ‘too disgusted by gays to leave the house’
Jessica Geen
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2011/09/16/woman-too-disgusted-by-gays-to-leave-the-house/
A Catholic woman from Massachusetts says she is so disgusted by gay people that she fears leaving her house.
Stacy Trasancos, a stay-at-home mother of seven children, detailed her extreme homophobia on her blog, acceptingabundance.com.
She wrote on August 26th that after seeing two men “effeminately rubbing elbows” at a local swimming pool, she is becoming too fearful to go out.
9/15/2011
USA (Washington, DC): Ugandan LGBTI rights activist Frank Mugisha to receive 2011 Robert F. Kennedy human rights award
Josh Karlen
http://www.rfkcenter.org/node/157751
Frank Mugisha, a prominent young advocate for the rights of sexual minorities in Uganda, has been chosen to receive the prestigious Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Award. Mr. Mugisha is the Executive Director of Sexual Minorities Uganda (SMUG), a leading organization of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex (LGBTI) movement in the East African country.
09/15/11
Denmark: Kinnock’s daughter-in-law denies husband is gay on election eve
Staff Writer, PinkNews.co.uk
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2011/09/15/kinnocks-daughter-in-law-denies-husband-is-gay-on-election-eve/
The wife of Lord Kinnock’s son has had to deny that her husband is gay as she battles to become Denmark’s new prime minister.
Helle Thorning-Schmidt, the leader of the Social Democrats, said her family had been hit by a “grotesque” smear.
09/15/11
Cuba: A transgender man dies in custody, and other news about LGBT Cubans
Paul Canning – Lgbt Asylum News
http://sdgln.com/news/2011/09/15/transgender-man-dies-custody-and-other-news-about-lgbt-cubans
A number of expat Cuban websites, such as EU-funded Cuba Encuentro, are reporting the death in police custody in Havana of a trans man on Sept. 8.
09/15/11
USA: Authors say publisher told them to ‘straighten’ gay character
Jessica Geen
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2011/09/15/us-authors-say-publisher-told-them-to-straighten-gay-character/
Two authors who wrote a young adults’ post-apocalyptic novel say a publisher offered them a deal on the basis that they turn ‘straighten’ a gay character.
Sherwood Smith and Rachel Manija Brown’s book Stranger has five main characters, one of whom, Yuki, is gay and has a boyfriend.
09/15/11
Belgium: An ex-footballer turns gay porn star
Staff Writer, PinkNews.co.uk http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2011/09/15/ex-belgian-footballer-turns-gay-porn-star/
A Belgian former professional footballer has become a gay porn actor.
Jonathan de Falco, formerly of Racing Mechelen and Oud-Heverlee Leuven, says he always felt attracted to men but his sexuality was never public.
09/13/11
Uganda: Vice President says government is consulting on anti-gay laws
Uganda’s Vice President, Edward Ssekandi has said the government is taking “open objective consultation on the issue of homosexuality” in the country.
Mr Ssekandi (pictured with the writer) told the US Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Johnnie Carson, at a meeting held at the Uganda Mission in New York Thursday, that Uganda has not yet come up with a position on the issue of homosexuality. He added that open objective consultations with stakeholders were still underway before a report was presented to government for a decision.
The government owned New Vision newspaper reported today (September 23) that the meeting was attended by the minister for Foreign Affairs Sam Kutesa and Uganda’s head of Mission in New York.
09/13/11
UK: new group vows to fight for global gay rights
Paul canning – LGBT ASYLUM NEWS
http://www.kaleidoscopetrust.com/
A new international LGBT human rights organization based in the UK has launched today, Sept. 13.
The Kaleidoscope International Diversity Trust has been endorsed by all three major British party political leaders and its Honorary President is the Speaker of the British House of Commons, John Bercow MP. In his endorsement the British Prime Minister David Cameron said:
09/13/11
USA (Minnesota): In Suburb, Battle Goes Public on Bullying of Gay Students
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/13/us/13bully.html
ANOKA, Minn. — This sprawling suburban school system, much of it within Michele Bachmann’s Congressional district, is caught in the eye of one of the country’s hottest culture wars — how homosexuality should be discussed in the schools.
09/13/11
Iran: Gay Iranians to President: “We Are Everywhere”
Lucas Grindley
http://pflagmom.tumblr.com/post/10148254504/gay-iranians-to-president-we-are-everywhere
Gay Iranians are sending a message via a new Facebook group — “We are everywhere.”
09/13/11
Netherlands: The Dutch Trans Law Violates Human Rights
Steve W
http://www.care2.com/causes/group-netherlands-trans-law-violates-human-rights.html
Human Rights Watch released a report this week criticizing the Netherlands for stipulations in the Dutch Civil Code which, the group says, violates the human rights of transgender people.
The 85-page report, “Controlling Bodies, Denying Identities: Human Rights Violations Against Trans People in the Netherlands,” highlights the impact of a 1985 law, article 28 of the civil code, that continues to impact the lives of transgender people today. The requirements were in fact wholly progressive at the time they were enacted, putting the Netherlands at the forefront of equality where its trans citizens were concerned.
09/13/11
USA (Missouri): Compassion creates a family: A seriously ill young transgender woman and a middle-age nun form a bond
Alexandra Zavis- Los Angeles Times
http://www.kansascity.com/2011/09/13/3139058/compassion-creates-a-family-a.html#ixzz1XrP2nJCq
Sister Margaret Farrell peers uncertainly over her shoulder as she tries to maneuver a lumbering minivan across several lanes of morning traffic on the Hollywood Freeway.
09/13/11
USA (Washington, DC): Man charged in D.C. transgender shooting
Jeremy Borden
A 20-year-old man has been charged with attacking a transgender woman in the District early Monday morning, according to police.
Police have charged Darryl Willard, of Northeast, with assault with intent to kill while armed. He surrendered to police Tuesday morning, according to a press release.
09/13/11
USA: Medical Schools Neglecting Gay Health Needs, Study Says
The International Herald Tribune
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/12/world/americas/12iht-educBriefs12.html?_r=1
Medical school curricula in the United States and Canada devote an average of only five hours to the specific health care issues faced by lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender patients, a Stanford University School of Medicine survey shows.
09/12/11
Uganda: WikiLeaks bombshell! Uganda’s first lady is behind “Kill The Gays” bill
Paul Canning – LGBT ASYLUM NEWS
http://sdgln.com/news/2011/09/12/wikileaks-uganda-first-lady-is-behind-kill-gays-bill
The wife of the President of Uganda, Janet Musceveni, “is ultimately behind” the Anti-Homosexuality (AHB, “Kill The Gays”) Bill, according to a newly released US diplomatic cable.
The cable is among those newly released unredacted by WikiLeaks. It is signed by the U.S. Ambassador to Uganda, Jerry Lanier.
09/12/11
South Africa: Lesbian’s body found in bin
Apinda Mpako- Pan Africa ILGA
http://ilga.org/ilga/en/article/naoozWL1UX
A year later, missing Nonstikelelo Tyatyeka’s decomposing body is found in a neighbour’s home.
A murder suspect allegedly kept asking his victim’s mom whether her missing daughter had been found.
09/10/11
USA: US politician Sally Kern claims Gays are more dangerous than terrorists
Ahead of the tenth anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the United States, Republican member of the Oklahoma House of Representatives Sally Kern has renewed her claim that homosexuality has killed more people in the United States than terrorism.
09/09/11
UK (Scotland): Archbishop of Glasgow hits out at ‘foolish’ gay marriage supporters
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2011/09/09/archbishop-of-glasgow-hits-out-at-foolish-gay-marriage-supporters/
Another Scottish Catholic leader has attacked proposals to bring marriage equality to the country.
Mario Conti, the Archbishop of Glasgow, said that allowing gay marriage would be “foolish” and render marriage “meaningless”.
09/09/11
Kenya: Activist’s murder underlines fears of local LGBT people in the country
Paul Canning
http://sdgln.com/news/2011/09/09/activists-murder-underlines-fears-local-lgbt-people-kenya
The murder of a gay activist in Kisumu, Kenya’s third largest city in Western Kenya, underlines the climate of threat and hostility in which local LGBT exist, activists say.
US Christian school ‘asked lesbian student to leave’
09/09/11
USA (Connecticut): Christian school ‘asked lesbian student to leave’
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2011/09/09/us-christian-school-asked-lesbian-student-to-leave/
A Christian school in the US state of Connecticut allegedly asked a student to leave because she is a lesbian. Rachel Aviles, who was about to start her senior year at The Master’s School, a K-12 Christian school in West Simsbury, says she was asked to leave to avoid being expelled.
09/09/11
UK: Tom Robinson, writer of ‘Glad to be Gay’, examines bisexuality for BBC Radio 4
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2011/09/09/preview-radio-4-examines-bisexuality-with-tom-robinson-getting-bi/
Singer-songwriter Tom Robinson became a darling of the 1970s gay liberation movement with his song ‘Glad To Be Gay’
But just a few years later, he fell in love with a woman and was booed at the 1987 London Pride event.
London charity for older LGBT people seeks volunteers
09/09/11
UK: London charity for older LGBT people seeks volunteers
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2011/09/09/london-charity-for-older-lgbt-people-seeks-volunteers/
Opening Doors London, the charity for older LGBT people, is seeking donations and volunteers.
The service, run by Age UK, offers information, help, ‘befrienders’ and social activities for lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans people over the age of 50.
It is estimated that there are 100,000 older LGBT people in the capital and Opening Doors London says many are isolated from family and friends.
09/09/11
USA (Utah): Three gay men attacked in Utah in a fortnight
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2011/09/09/three-gay-men-attacked-in-utah-in-a-fortnight/
Three gay men have been been attacked in the US state of Utah in the last two weeks.
09/09/11
UK: Daily Mail writer Melanie Phillips and MSP Bill Walker tipped for Bigot of the Year
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2011/09/09/daily-mail-writer-melanie-phillips-and-scottish-mp-bill-walker-in-the-running-for-stonewalls-bigot-of-the-year/
Gay rights charity Stonewall has announced the nominees for its annual Hero and Bigot of the Year awards. Those in the running for Bigot of the Year include Daily Mail columnist Melanie Phillips who claimed gay charities were “brainwashing children” and MSP Bill Walker, who said gay relationships should not be “in any way equal” to straight ones.
09/09/11
UK: Website tracks ‘gay homophobes’
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2011/09/09/website-tracks-gay-homophobes/
Barely a week seems to go by without a new case of ‘gay homophobia’ – that is, professional homophobes apparently caught in the act they claim to despise.
Now, website Gayhomophobe.com tracks the number of days since the latest scandal.
09/09/11
UK: Police figures show rise in recorded anti-gay and transphobic crimes
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2011/09/09/police-figures-show-rise-in-recorded-anti-gay-and-transphobic-crimes/
Recorded hate crime in England, Wales and Northern Ireland fell by seven per cent last year – but crimes based on sexual orientation, transgender status and disability rose.
According to figures released by the Association of Chief Police Officers, recorded crimes based on faith and race decreased between 2009 and 2010.
09/09/11
Canada: The Country expected to follow U.K. in lifting ban on gay men’s blood donations
MONTREALGAZETTE.COM
http://sdgln.com/news/2011/09/09/canada-expected-follow-uk-lifting-ban-gay-mens-blood-donations
(Editor’s note: Sen. John Kerry is leading an effort in Congress to overturn the U.S. ban on gay men donating blood.).
OTTAWA, Canada — Health ministers in the United Kingdom decided Thursday to lift an indefinite ban on gay men donating blood, a move Canada seems likely to follow.
09/08/11
USA (Maryland): Governor: Gay marriage is possible but it will be a long fight
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2011/09/08/maryland-governor-gay-marriage-is-possible-but-it-will-be-a-long-fight/
The governor of Maryland, Martin O’Malley as well as the lieutenant governor, Anthony Brown, have warned that it will be a long fight to win full gay marriage rights with the same legal status as straight married couples but that it is achievable.
09/08/11
USA: ‘God Hates Fags’ church to picket Ground Zero and Nevada National Guard funerals
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2011/09/08/god-hates-fags-church-to-picket-ground-zero-and-nevada-national-guard-funerals/
The anti-gay Westboro Baptist Church, that protests at military funerals with signs saying ‘God Hates Fags’ will picket the funerals of three Nevada National Guard soldiers as well as protesting at the site of Ground Zero on the tenth anniversary of the 9/11 terror attacks.
09/08/11
Uganda: Fate of Uganda’s “Kill The Gays” bill is unknown
Paul Canning – Lgbt Asylum News
http://sdgln.com/news/2011/09/08/fate-ugandas-kill-gays-bill-unknown
Are we winning on the “Kill The Gays” bill? The short answer: We don’t know.
The longer answer is that reports said the anti-homosexuality bill (AHB) was to be reintroduced to the Ugandan parliament round about now, some reports said this could happen Wednesday, but this didn’t happen.
09/08/11
Uganda: Homophobic smear case adjourned as magistrate falls ill
Kikonyogo Kivumbi
http://www.mask.org.za/ugandan-homophobic-smear-case-adjourned-as-magistrate-falls-ill/
Kampala Chief Magistrate Eleanor Khainza has adjourned hearing of the controversial homophobic smear case against an influential Kampala pastor, Robert Kayanja to September 15, 2011.
09/08/11
South Africa: Two freed over South African lesbian’s murder
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2011/09/08/two-freed-over-south-african-lesbians-murder/
Two of the nine suspects accused of murdering a South African lesbian have been released.Zoliswa Nkonyana, 19, was stoned and stabbed to death after a night out in Khayelitsha, Cape Town, on February 4th 2006.
09/08/11
Uganda: The ‘family’ campaign calls for progress on anti-gay bill
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2011/09/07/ugandan-family-campaign-calls-for-progress-on-anti-gay-bill/
A ‘family’ campaign in Uganda is urging lawmakers to pass the notorious anti-homosexuality bill.
The Family Life Network and Uganda Coalition for Moral Values says the government should do the “right” thing, rather than bow to international pressure.
09/07/11
USA: State Department Responds to Ugandan “Kill the Gays” Bill
On Saturday, following a meeting with a bunch of fellow activists the evening before with Ugandan Anglican Bishop Christopher Senyonjo, his wife Mary and Rev. Canon Albert Ogle, President of St. Paul’s Foundation for International Reconciliation, we implored our network of friends, activists etc. to write a letter to Assistant Secretary of the US Department of State, Johnnie Carson to speak out loudly and publicly to Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, head of state and head of the Ugandan government, to strongly encourage him to permanently shelve the “Kill the Gays” legislation.
09/07/11
USA (Texas):College sued for federal discrimination against lesbian teacher
SDGLN STAFF
http://sdgln.com/news/2011/09/07/college-sued-federal-discrimination-against-lesbian-teacher
FORT WORTH, Texas — Lambda Legal today filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas claiming Tarrant County College officials violated the U.S. Constitution by preventing a qualified candidate from interviewing for full-time teaching positions because of their belief that she is a lesbian.
09/07/11
Iran: Execution Of Three Men For Sodomy
Dan Littauer – Executive Editor of Gay Middle East
http://www.gaymiddleeast.com/news/news%20326.htm
The Prosecutor General Office of Khuzestan Province, Iran announced in a press conference that three people were hanged at Karoun prison in Ahwaz city, for sodomy on early Sunday, Sept. 4, along with three other men. Khuzestan/Al-Ahwaz is a mostly Arab province in Iran and has the highest amount of executions in the country.
09/07/11
Iraq: UN reports on violent attacks on LGBT people in Iraq
Paul Canning – Lgbt Asylum News
http://sdgln.com/news/2011/09/07/un-reports-violent-attacks-lgbt-people-iraq
A report [PDF], released by the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) and the U.N.
09/07/11
USA (NewYork):Cyndi Lauper to open shelter for LGBT young people on Sept. 9
Ken Williams – Sdgln Editor In Chief
http://sdgln.com/news/2011/09/07/cyndi-lauper-open-shelter-lgbt-young-people-sept-9
(Editor’s note: Cyndi Lauper will perform at 8 pm Thursday, Nov. 8, at the Pala Casino in San Diego’s North County. Tickets are $50. Call (877) 946-7252 or go HERE.)
NEW YORK — Pop singer Cyndi Lauper and her colleagues will be opening a shelter for LGBT young people on Friday, Sept. 9.
09/06/11
USA (Wisconsin): VIDEO: Tammy Baldwin declares! Could make history as first out U.S. senator
Ken Williams – Sdgln Editor In Chief
http://sdgln.com/news/2011/09/06/video-tammy-baldwin-declares-could-make-history-first-out-us-senator
WASHINGTON — Rep. Tammy Baldwin, an out Democrat from Wisconsin, announced today that she would indeed run for the U.S. Senate and make a bid to become the first openly gay senator in American history.
09/05/11
Uganda: Parents launch bid to pass shelved gays Bill
Mulondo
http://www.monitor.co.ug/News/National/-/688334/1230484/-/bjcqkmz/-/
Parents under the Family Life Network and Uganda Coalition for Moral Values (UCMV) have opened a fresh campaign to force the government abandon economic and foreign policy considerations and pass the Anti-Homosexuality Bill 2009.
09/04/11
UK: Thousands of primary school pupils reported for homophobia
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2011/09/04/thousands-of-primary-school-pupils-reported-for-homophobia/
Thousands of primary school aged children have been labelled as homophobic by their teachers in the past year, information released under the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act has revealed.
The Manifesto Club, requested the information after media reports last year of childrens’ permanent educational records including references to alleged homophobic bullying.
09/02/11
USA (California): U.S. asks appeals court to kill Log Cabin Republicans lawsuit challenging DADT ban
Bob Egelko – San Francisco Chronicle
http://sdgln.com/news/2011/09/02/us-asks-appeals-court-kill-log-cabin-republicans-lawsuit-challenging-dadt-ban
PASADENA, Calif. — With the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” less than three weeks away, the Obama administration asked a federal appeals court Thursday to discard the lawsuit challenging the ban on openly gay and lesbian servicemembers and a judge’s ruling that declared it unconstitutional.
“Once ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ has been ended in 19 days, that is the end of this case, and there’s nothing for this court to do,” Justice Department lawyer Henry Whitaker told the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which held the hearing in Pasadena.
Mexico: VIDEO: Mexico stages first national march against anti-gay hate crimes
Paul Canning – Lgbt Asylum News
Mexicans gay and straight marched 13 August from the office of the Attorney General (PGR), Marisela Morales, to Mexico City’s main square (the Zocolo) to demand justice for Christian Sánchez and over 700 people killed in the country in 2011 so far for their sexual orientation.
08/30/11
USA (New York): Married lesbian Episcopal priest named finalist for Bishop of New York
SDGLN STAFF
http://sdgln.com/news/2011/08/30/married-lesbian-episcopal-priest-named-finalist-bishop-new-york
NEW YORK — The Rev. Tracey Lind, a married lesbian priest, is one of five finalist to become the next bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of New York.
Lind, who is dean of Trinity Cathedral in Cleveland, is 57 and married Emily Ingalls in 2010 in New Hampshire, according to the diocese.
08/30/11
Iraq: Iraq’s unwanted people live event:
Gaymiddleeast.com
http://www.gaymiddleeast.com/news/news%20325.htm
Wath a live stream event about IRAQ LGBT refugees. Includes an Exhibition, short video documentary and talks, including with an Iraqi refugee. WATCH LIVE HERE
08/26/11
USA: Expat Ugandans organize to fight “Kill The Gays” bill
Paul Canning – Lgbt Asylum News
http://sdgln.com/news/2011/08/26/expat-ugandans-organize-fight-kill-gays-bill
A group of expat-Ugandans living and working in the United States have launched a new lobbying group against the Anti-Homosexuality (aka “Kill The Gays”) bill (AHB) called OneFamilyOneVoice (1F1V).
08/26/11
USA: Methodist groups want to advance gay rights- Denomination will vote on changes in 2012
David Yonke
http://www.toledoblade.com/Religion/2011/08/26/Methodist-groups-want-to-advance-gay-rights.html
HURON, Ohio — Nearly 700 United Methodist clergy and laypersons from throughout the nation are meeting in Huron, Ohio, to discuss efforts to change their denomination’s rules barring ordination of gay clergy and the blessing of same-sex unions. If their efforts fail to change church law at next year’s General Conference — and many reform advocates expect they will be outvoted — a growing number of ministers plan to disregard the rules and start performing same-sex marriages.
08/25/11
Albania: Call for urgent investigation of extreme violence used by the police against a transgender in Tirana
PINK Embassy/LGBT Pro Albania, an organisation that works for the protection of LGBT community in Albania, wishes to express its deep concerns for the latest case of extreme violence used against a member of the transgender community in Tirana, Albania
08/24/11
Australia: Gillard Hears Case For Marriage Equality From Reform Advocates
Jennifer Josef- ILGA-ASIA
http://ilga.org/ilga/en/article/n8tozIg16N
Parliament House this evening the Prime Minister met a range of advocates for reform to hear their views and to answer their questions about her stated opposition to the issue. It was the first time an Australian Prime Minister has formally met advocates for marriage equality.
08/24/11
Turkey: Homophobic and transphobic violence must be stopped
Thomas Hammarberg
During my mandate as Commissioner for Human Rights, I have repeatedly received information about violence against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender, or LGBT, persons in Council of Europe member states. Many have suffered physical attacks and some have even been killed. Unfortunately, this is also a reality in Turkey.
08/24/11
Ireland: Gay kiss row ends with ‘a hug’
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-14645836
A popular student bar in Cork in the Republic of Ireland has ‘made up’ with two gay men who were allegedly asked to leave for kissing in public. The gay kisses at the Old Oak bar
08/24/11
Egypt: gays hope for change in culture after revolt
ILGA-ASIA
http://ilga.org/ilga/en/article/n8trAAu1DB
Just months ago, a raid by Egypt’s vice police would have been a concern at gatherings such as this fete for a man in red shorts who was turning 26. But on the recent sweltering Thursday night, as men in pastel-colored, V-neck T-shirts streamed in, a crackdown was the last thing on Bidak’s mind. She worried whether a certain woman might walk through the door
08/23/11
Kenya : “I Support Gays, So What?” Prof. Makau Mutua
Denis Nzioka, IGLA- Pan Africa
http://ilga.org/ilga/en/article/n8odOFk1YT
Prof. Makau Mutua, dean in an American university, says ‘Matters of human rights and dignity are not a popularity contest. We must do what is right’
08/23/11
Serbia: Politicians incite violence against gays
A gay rights organization has accused Serbian politicians of inciting violence against the gay community through state.
08/23/11
Ghana : A group tries to justify criminalizing homosexuality
ILGA Pan Africa
http://ilga.org/ilga/en/article/n8oDt1O10M
A Ghanaian anti-gay organization, the International Movement Against Same Sex (IMASS), has released a statement attempting to justify the criminalization of homosexuality
08/22/11
Nigeria: US anti- gay activist disapproves violence against homosexuals and trans people.
Sharon Slater, an American anti-gay activist and president of the Family Watch International said last week that she “rebukes violence against homosexuals and trans gender people.”
08/22/11
Botswana: Sexual minorities prepare case against government.
Skipper:
http://www.mask.org.za/botswana%E2%80%99s-sexual-minorities-prepare-case-against-government/
Three years since the registration of lesbians, Gays and Bisexuals of Botswana (LeGaBiBo) was rejected by the Botswana Registrar of Societies, there seems to be a light at the end of the tunnel.
08/22/11
Australia: New Australian Party drops candidate for gay marriage question
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2011/08/22/new-australian-party-drops-candidate-for-gay-marriage-question/
Australia’s newest political party has dropped one of its candidates, a former police officer, for asking whether he could hold personal views on issues including marriage equality.
08/22/11
Zimbabwe: Bishop seizing church homes from ‘pro-gay’ Anglicans
Stephen Gray
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2011/08/22/zimbabwean-bishop-seizing-church-homes-from-pro-gay-anglicans/
In Zimbabwe, the usurpation of the Anglican Church continues as widespread homophobia is used to fuel a schism that favours supporters of dictator Robert Mugabe.
Reverend Dzikamai Mudenda was driven from his home in Mabvuku, just outside Harare last week.
08/22/11
USA: (New Jersey) A bridal shop refused service to a bride-to-be when they discovered she was engaged to another woman.
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2011/08/22/us-bride-refused-a-dress-for-illegal-gay-wedding/
The shopkeepers of Here Comes the Bridge in the US state, became suspicious when Alix Genter amended her order form to read ‘partner’ rather than ‘groom’.
08/22/11
UK: Calls for East London to react to homophobic incidents
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2011/08/22/calls-for-east-london-to-react-to-homophobic-incidents/
Following a series of homophobic incidents in the East End, gay rights activist Peter Tatchell is calling for a show of solidarity by residents.
08/22/11
Switzerland: Video: powerful new Swiss film looks at failed asylum seekers – and what happens after return
Stefania Summermatter
Swiss filmmaker Fernand Melgar has returned to the Locarno Film Festivalwith a powerful documentary on forced deportations of failed asylum seekers.
Melgar’s work, shot at the Frambois detention centre in Geneva, is up for the Golden Leopard in the International Competition. He tells swissinfo.ch about why he was motivated to make the film.
08/22/11
Canada: Video: Problems encountered by LGBT refugee claims
Robert Lidstone, The University of Western Ontario
‘LGBT Identities, Governance, and Asylum’ session at the 13th conference of the International Association for Studies in Forced Migration (IASFM) held in Kampala, Uganda, July 3-6.
08/22/11
Zimbabwe: Outed gay journalist ‘not going anywhere’ – despite Mugabe’s threats
Paul Canning
A gay journalist, Robert Mukondiwa, discovered in flagrante delicto with a man in Namibia whilst covering a visit by President Mugabe says he is “not going anywhere”. This is despite the news of the outing apparently reaching Mugabe who reportedly asked who was ‘protecting him’.
08/22/11
Uganda: Cabinet drops Bahati’s gay Bill
Sheila Naturinda
http://www.monitor.co.ug/News/National/-/688334/1223104/-/bjwa2vz/-/
Cabinet has finally thrown out the Anti-Homosexuality Bill, 2009 on the advice of Mr Adolf Mwesige, the ruling party lawyer. However, Ndorwa West MP David Bahati, the architect of the Bill, insists the proposed legislation is now property of Parliament and that the Executive should stop “playing hide- and- seek games” on the matter.
08/22/11
UK: Decision to deny visa to Ugandan lgbt advocate is reversed
Jim Burroway
http://www.boxturtlebulletin.com/2011/08/22/36317
Last week, we reported that Britain’s Border Agency (UKBA) has denied a visa for Freedom and Roam Uganda (FARUG) founder and executive Kasha Jacqueline Nabagesera, who was scheduled to open a pride celebration in Derry, Northern Ireland later this month. Today, Paul Canning reports that UKBA has reversed its decision and granted Kasha a visa: Thursday, 18 August 2011
Video: Ugandan lesbian activist’s powerful speech to Amnesty International
08/22/11
USA: Christian Dominionism Is Not A Myth
Jim Burroway
http://www.boxturtlebulletin.com/2011/08/21/36282
On August 14, Michelle Goldberg sounded the alarm about the close ties that two GOP candidates for president, Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann and Texas Gov. Rick Perry have with extreme elements of far-right Cristianism known as Dominionism. Today, A. Larry Ross responds with a well-intentioned, but ultimately hopelessly informed counterargument that “Christian Dominionism is a Myth.” Ross’s argument rests on this crux:
08/21/11
New Zealand: Marriage Dream Dies Amid Threats
ILGA-ASIA
http://ilga.org/ilga/en/article/n8bV58T1Mh
A gay couple from Auckland, New Zealand, has given up on their dream of being married in New York, after threats were apparently made against family members in Pakistan
08/20/11
UK: Resource: Right to work for asylum seekers and refugees
This blog promotes the right to work (sometimes called permission to work) of asylum seekers and refugees at a global level. It is a unique resource to find caselaw, programs and recommendations on access to this right.
08/20/11
Uganda ‘Kill gays’ bill ‘back within fortnight’, reintroduction ‘by stealth’
Paul Canning
http://madikazemi.blogspot.com/2011/08/uganda-kill-gays-bill-back-within.html
According to two journalist sources in Uganda, the infamous ‘kill gays’ bill will be revived in that nation’s parliament “within two weeks”. Other reports have said this will happen ‘by stealth’.
08/20/11
Ecuador: Closes 30 clinics who wanted to ‘cure’ homosexuality with torture.
Raquel Perez Andrade
http://ilga.org/ilga/es/article/n8a42uW1KR
The investigation of the numerous complaints lodged by patients, has to know that these are worth clandestine centers of sexual abuse, insults and torture as methods of healing.
“It was degrading, humiliating, horrible,” said Paola Ziritt, 28, who was two years admitted to one of these hospitals. She spent three months in handcuffs in a room called the ‘sauna’ in there because there was only a few tubes. In addition, the guards threw urine and water ice on top.
08/20/11
Netherlands: Dutch launch massive, world-first HIV/Aids program aimed at world’s marginalised
Source:GNP+
TheMinistry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands has reserved € 35 million so that gay men, people who use drugs and sex workers in 16 countries can get easier access to information, condoms, antiretroviral treatment and care.
08/19/11
USA: Christine O’Donnell calls Piers Morgan ‘sexist’ and ‘creepy’ over gay marriage interview
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2011/08/19/christine-odonnell-calls-piers-morgan-sexist-and-creepy-over-gay-marriage-interview/
Tea Party darling Christine O’Donnell has explained why she walked out of a ‘Piers Morgan’ interview after the CNN host asked her about her views on gay marriage.
The politician, who is against gay marriage and has a history of anti-gay comments, tore off her microphone and walked off set during filming for Wednesday’s show after Morgan pressed her for her views.
08/19/11
Hungary: Budapest Police start investigation against anti-gay protesters
Budapest, August 8, 2011 – The Organized Crime Unit of the Budapest Police has started investigation on charges of incitement to hatred and violence against a member of a community against homophobic protesters who were planning on disrupting the Gay pRide march and who assaulted gay pride marchers leaving he premises. According to current legislation, group violence against members of the LGBT community can be sanctioned by as much as eight year imprisonment.
08/19/11
Ireland: Marriage equality march takes place
Paul Kelly
http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/breaking/2011/0814/breaking29.html
Thousands of people took to the streets of Dublin today to march in favour of civil marriage equality.
The march began outside City Hall at 3pm and finished outside the Department of Justice on St Stephen’s Green.
08/18/11
USA: (Philadelphia)Youth detention center settles case involving tormenting of transgender girl
SDGLN STAFF
http://www.sdgln.com/news/2011/08/18/youth-detention-center-settles-case-involving-tormenting-transgender-girl
A discrimination complaint has been settled with the Philadelphia Commission on Human Relations (PCHR) against the City of Philadelphia Department of Human Services (DHS) and the Youth Study Center (YSC), among others.
Lambda Legal filed the complaint on behalf of L.P., now a 18-year-old transgender woman who was physically attacked by other residents and verbally abused by staff every day for almost a year and a half when she lived in the youth facility.
08/17/11
Cuba: Unique Cuba Wedding Dedicated to Fidel
Jennifer Josef
http://ilga.org/ilga/en/article/n7NkhS41RA
A gay dissident and a transsexual woman married on Saturday in what was said to be a first for Cuba, then draped themselves in the rainbow flag of gay pride and rode through the streets of Havana.
(Reuters) – In a simple civil ceremony surrounded by much hoopla, Ignacio Estrada, 31 and Wendy Iriepa, 37, signed a marriage certificate, exchanged rings and kissed before a state official, who wished them much happiness.
08/16/11
Honduras: Hondurans demand inquiry into 51 LGBT murders in past 6 years
INSIDECOSTARICA.COM
http://www.sdgln.com/news/2011/08/16/hondurans-demand-inquiry-51-lgbt-murders-past-6-years
TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras — Members of the lesbian and gay community in Honduras demanded on Monday outside the headquarters of the National Congress, the clarification of the murders of 51 homosexuals occurred in the last six years.
According to the protesters, the government maintains total silence and impunity for these crimes.
Wearing an allegorical costume of Goddess Themis, who represents justice, protesters also demanded respect for sexual diversity.
Doctor suspected in “horrific” slayings of his partner, their adopted son
08/15/11
Pakistan: Defending Gay Rights: It’s about Fairness, Tolerance and Human Decency
Sass Rogando Sasot- ILGA Asia
http://ilga.org/ilga/en/article/n7LEGy81zh
An event in support of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) pride was held in Islamabad recently and was hosted by the Deputy Chief of the US Embassy, Richard Hoagland. At its heart, the gathering promoted the idea of allowing people to be who they want to be, recognised the importance of being understood and valued, and advocated basic human rights. However, local Islamic parties and religious groups, such as the Jamaat-e-Islami, claimed that this event was an act of “cultural terrorism” by the Americans.
08/15/11
USA: (Washington) Doctor suspected of slaying his partner and their adopted son
Christine Clarridge – Seattle Times
http://Www.Sdgln.Com/News/2011/08/15/Doctor-Suspected-Horrific-Slayings-His-Partner-Their-Adopted-Son
SEATTLE — A physician found bloody and semiconscious in a First Hill apartment on Thursday has been ordered held in connection with the slayings of his partner and their toddler son.
A King County District Court judge on Saturday determined there was probable cause to hold Dr. Louis C. Chen in custody on investigation of two counts of aggravated murder in the double homicide. Chen remained hospitalized Saturday at Harborview Medical Center.
08/12/11
Cameroon: More arrests of gays, awful treatment in prison
Paul Canning
http://www.cameroon-tribune.cm/national/4-societe/65677-trois-homosexuels-interpelles-par-le-gmi-a-yaounde
The Cameroon LGBT group Alternatives Cameroun reports on more arrests of gay men in that country. Three were arrested 25 July in front of the Madison Night Club (Montée Mimboman) in the capital,Yaoundé.
08/10/11
Syria: “Anti-regime gay people” are being “hunted”
Sami Hamwi – Syria Editor at Gay Middle East
http://www.sdgln.com/news/2011/08/10/syria-anti-regime-gay-people-are-being-hunted
Editor’s note: This blogger for Gay Middle East gives a glimpse into the dangers faced by LGBT Syrians during the unrest.
It has been very dangerous to form any kind of gathering in Syria since the spark of the protests last March. Gay Syrians had avoided cruising and gathering for a few weeks before they started to become more aware of the best places and times for such actions.
08/10/11
Zimbabwe: New arrests for ‘sexual immorality’
A 55 year old white male who resides in Borrowdale has been arrested together with four black male accomplices on allegations of committing acts of sexual immorality.
08/09/11
Taiwan: Gay rights group to host lesbian weddings
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2011/08/09/taiwan-gay-rights-group-to-host-lesbian-weddings/
A gay rights group in Taiwan has said it will hold a mass lesbian wedding later this month.
Around 60 couples have signed up to the private event, while 1,000 tickets have been sold.
Organiser AJ Wang told AFP: “We are celebrating the recent legalisation of gay marriage in New York and we hope that Taiwan will make the same move in the near future.
08/10/11
Chile: The president backs civil unions
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2011/08/10/chiles-president-backs-civil-unions/
The president of Chile has proposed legalising civil unions for gay and straight couples.
Sebastian Pinera said that all couples deserve “respect, dignity and support of the state” in a speech this week.
08/08/11
Australia: Is Australia preparing to send LGBT refugees to Malaysia?
Paul Canning – Lgbt Asylum News
http://www.sdgln.com/news/2011/08/08/australia-preparing-send-lgbt-refugees-malaysia
As Australia’s High Court puts the controversial refugee swap deal with Malaysia on hold, questions remain on how Australia has and will treat LGBT refugees who arrive by boat.
08/05/11
Ghana: LGBT community forges an alliance of allies to fight homophobic attacks
Paul Canning
After initially trying ‘quiet diplomacy’, Ghanaian LGBT have formed an alliance with civil society supporters to oppose an increasingly vociferous anti-gay campaign in that country.
08/04/11
Germany: VIDEO: Last gay survivor of Nazi concentration camps dies at age 98
Ken Williams – Sdgln Editor In Chief
http://www.sdgln.com/news/2011/08/04/last-gay-survivor-nazi-concentration-camps-dies-age-98
BERLIN – Rudolf Brazda, thought to be the last surviving person forced to wear a “gay triangle” in a Nazi concentration camp, has died. He was 98.
08/01/11
Jamaica: VIDEO: Anti-homophobia campaigns launch in Jamaica, Uganda
Paul Canning – Lgbt Asylum News
http://www.sdgln.com/news/2011/08/01/video-anti-homophobia-campaigns-launch-jamaica-uganda
In two of the countries most identified internationally with homophobic hatred and violence, LGBT activists have launched campaigns.
Jamaica Forum of Lesbians All Sexuals and Gays (J-FLAG) had the support 28 July of the United States Ambassador to Jamaica, Pamela E. Bridgewater, as it launched ‘Unconditional Love’, a public service announcement (PSA) featuring Christine Straw, former Miss Jamaica World and Miss Jamaica Universe, and her gay brother Matthew Straw.
07/27/11
Colombia: Colombia high court: Sí to marriage equality, but in two years
Andrew Dier – Colombia Diversa
http://www.sdgln.com/news/2011/07/27/colombia-high-court-s-marriage-equality-two-years
Bogotá, Colombia — The Colombian Constitutional Court ruled on Tuesday afternoon that the Congress must create an equivalent of marriage for same-sex couples by June 20, 2013.
If the Congress refuses to act by then, gay couples will automatically have the right to go to any notary public or judge in the country to formalize their union.
“This is an historic decision for equality in Colombia,” said Marcela Sánchez, executive director of Colombia Diversa.
07/26/11
USA: International Lesbian and Gay Association granted UN accreditation
Jessica Geen – Pink News
http://www.sdgln.com/news/2011/07/26/international-lesbian-and-gay-association-granted-un-accreditation
The International Lesbian and Gay Association (ILGA) has finally won United Nations accreditation.
The group, which is one of the oldest international organizations fighting for gay rights, has been trying to gain recognition at the UN for years.
On Monday, countries voted 30-16 to grant the group consultative status to the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). ILGA gained consultative status in 1993 but lost it a year later.
07/26/11
Malawi: LGBT rights activists threatened with arrest for “treason”
Paul Canning
http://www.sdgln.com/news/2011/07/26/lgbt-rights-activists-malawi-threatened-arrest-treason
Malawi’s two leading LGBT human rights advocates are reportedly in hiding after being threatened with arrest for ‘treason’.
07/26/11
India: First married lesbian couple fear for their lives
Dean Nelson -The Telegraph
http://www.sdgln.com/news/2011/07/26/india-first-married-lesbian-couple-fear-their-lives
Editor’s note: This couple have been given police protection and moved to a safe house amid fears that the two women will be targeted in an honor killing.
NEW DELHI, India — Savita, a 25-year-old student at Choudhary Charan Singh University, and her 20-year-old wife Veena, 20, were married by a court in Haryana, close to New Delhi, earlier this month.
07/26/11
Norway: Lesbian couple credited with saving many lives during Norway massacre
Sdgln Staff
http://www.sdgln.com/news/2011/07/26/lesbian-couple-credited-saving-many-lives-during-norway-massacre
OSLO, Norway — A lesbian couple may have saved as many as 40 lives last Friday during the Norway massacre, according to news reports.
Hege Dalen and Toril Hansen are being hailed as heroes for piloting their boat to Utoya island on four trips as a heavily armed gunman was mowing down dozens of children at a camping outing.
07/24/11
Dominica: “Gays seem to have very nice qualities” – Parry Bellot bats for gay rights
Raquel Perez Andrade
http://ilga.org/ilga/en/article/n5vNP5y1g0
One government consultant says he is in full support of gay rights in Dominica. Government Productivity Consultant and Former Government’s Press Secretary Parry Bellot was speaking on the heels of an article published on Dominica News Online where a gay called on government to put measures in place to make homosexuality in Dominica non discriminatory
07/22/11
Ghana: AUDIO: Is it getting worse for LGBT people in Ghana?
Paul Canning
http://www.sdgln.com/news/2011/07/22/audio-it-getting-worse-lgbt-people-ghana
Law lecturer Kissi Agyabeng of the Ghana Law School explains the position of the law vis a vis homosexuality, lesbianism, and sex crimes in Ghana. He spoke with Dzifa Bampoh of the Radio Station JoyFM.
07/22/11
Ghana: Minister calls for effort to ’round up’ suspected gays
Alex Duval Smith
In a new burst of African homophobia, a government minister in Ghana has drawn support after calling on the country’s intelligence services to track down and arrest all gays and lesbians.
The call from Paul Evans Aidoo, the minister for the Western Region of Ghana, marks the latest in a series of expressions of officially condoned homophobia across the continent.
07/21/11
USA (Minnesota): Anoka-Hennepin School District sued over bullying
Kelly Smith , Star Tribune
http://www.startribune.com/local/north/125958688.html
Two national civil rights groups and a Minneapolis law firm filed suit against the Anoka-Hennepin School District on Thursday, claiming that staff members in Minnesota’s largest district didn’t do enough for students bullied because of their perceived or actual sexual orientation.
07/21/11
USA (Minnesota): Researchers Discover Sex-Change Gene
http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-07-gene-required-male-sex-life.html
University of Minnesota Medical School and College of Biological Sciences researchers have made a key discovery showing that male sex must be maintained throughout life.
The research team, led by Drs. David Zarkower and Vivian Bardwell of the U of M Department of Genetics, Cell Biology and Development, found that removing an important male development gene, called Dmrt1, causes male cells in mouse testis to become female cells.
07/21/11
UK: Government to consider removing ‘insult’ from Public Order Act
Jessica Geen
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2011/07/21/government-to-consider-removing-insult-from-public-order-act/
Currently, section 5 of the Public Order Act 1986 says that “a person is guilty of an offence if he … uses threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour … within the hearing or sight of a person likely to be caused harassment, alarm or distress thereby.”
The government says it will “assess the benefits” of removing the crime of causing ‘insult’ from the Public Order Act.
07/21/11
Uganda Now: Gearing Up for Another Round with the “Kill the Gays” Bill and Keeping the Heat on the U.S. Evangelicals- NYC
Center for Constitutional Rights
Discussions on the resurgence of the anti-homosexuality bill in Uganda
07/20/11
USA(Philadelphia): Conservative Archbishop Named for Philly
http://www.advocate.com/News/Daily_News/2011/07/20/Conservative_Archbishop_Named_for_Philly/
Denver Roman Catholic archbishop Charles Chaput, who calls same-sex marriage “the issue of our time” and supported the decision of a Colorado Catholic school not to reenroll the children of a lesbian couple, has been named archbishop of Philadelphia.
07/20/11
UK: No 6. to record sexuality-based asylum claims in Europe
Paul Canning
http://sdgln.com/news/2011/07/20/breakthrough-united-kingdom-record-sexuality-based-asylum-claims
LGBT Asylum News has learned that information on sexuality-based asylum claims have been imputed into the Central Information Database of the UK Border Agency (UKBA) since 1 July.
The UK joins only five other countries which record data on the number of LGBT persons benefiting from
asylum/subsidiary protection due to persecution on the ground of sexual orientation: Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Latvia and Estonia.
07/20/11
USA (Washington, DC): Transgender Woman Killed
Yusef Najafi
A transgender woman was shot and killed in Northeast D.C. during the early morning hours of Wednesday, July 20. The Metropolitan Police Department has little information about the suspects other than that they are ”two black males,” according to MPD Public Information Officer Gwen Crump.
07/18/11
Uganda: First lady “backed homophobic smear campaign” against rival of her favorite pastor
Paul Canning
The fanatical evangelical Christian First Lady of Uganda, Janet Museveni, has been named in a Ugandan court as a participant in a homophobic smear campaign.
07/18/11
UK: Four excel in Stonewall’s gay guide to universities
Harriet Swain
http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2011/jul/18/stonewall-university-gay-friendly-guide
Top marks for being gay-friendly go to Imperial College, UCL, Wolverhampton and Portsmouth
Chris Dye, Stonewall’s education officer, who helped to put together the guide, suggests its very existence has prompted institutions to improve. “All universities were notified last year that they were being profiled,” he says. “The checklist has allowed them to compare themselves with other institutions and that may be why they have got better.”
07/14/11
South Sudan, world’s newest country, off to bad start on LGBT rights
Paul Canning
http://sdgln.com/news/2011/07/14/south-sudan-worlds-newest-country-bad-start-lgbt-rights
South Sudan, the world’s newest country, was proclaimed 11 July and its President, Salva Kiir Mayardit has declared that his promise of equality would not be extended to lesbians and gays.
07/12/11
Pakistan: Trans Bashers Arrested
http://www.advocate.com/News/Daily_News/2011/07/12/Trans_Bashers_Arrested_in_Pakistan/
Police in Peshawar, Pakistan, Monday arrested seven men for assaulting, sexually harassing, and then shaving the heads of five transgender people.
07/12/11
New Zeland: Teacher: Don’t Say “Gay” — Negatively
Trudy RIng http://www.advocate.com/News/Daily_News/2011/07/12/NZ_Teacher_Dont_Say_Gay_Negatively/
New Zealand schoolteacher Warren Bowers is on a campaign against the word “gay” — not because he’s homophobic (he’s a gay man), but because he sees students using it pejoratively.
07/12/11
UK: Stonewall ‘deeply disturbed’ at equality commission U-turn on religious rights
Jessica Geen
Gay rights charity Stonewall has condemned a move by the Equality and Human Rights Commission to intervene in two legal cases where Christians workers refused to serve gay people.
Chief executive Ben Summer skill told PinkNews.co.uk that the body must state clearly that it does not agree that religious beliefs should allow people to discriminate against gays and lesbians
07/12/11
USA: Video: Clinic owned by Michele Bachmann and husband tries to ‘cure’ gays
Jessica Geen
Video footage has been emerged of a counsellor at a clinic owned by Michele Bachmann and her husband telling a gay man he can become straight.
07/12/11
Australia: Lady Gaga declared honorary citizen of Sydney for gay rights campaign
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2011/07/12/lady-gaga-declared-honorary-citizen-of-sydney-for-gay-rights-campaign/
The bisexual star was honoured by Lord Mayor Clover Moore, who called her a “powerful force” for gay people after she urged Australia to legalise gay marriage.
According to AFP, he said: “Lady Gaga has been a powerful force for the gay and lesbian community in Sydney and we have a rare honour for people whose achievements embrace the ideals and spirit of our city – the title of ‘honorary citizen of Sydney’.
“I would like to pay tribute to her for using her star power to focus the world’s attention on the prejudice still directed at gay men and women.”
07/12/11
UK: Equality commission wants more ‘compromise’ on gay rights vs religious beliefs
Jessica Geen
The commission, which has been accused of bias against faith, hopes to intervene in a number of cases in which Christian workers were sacked or disciplined for refusing to provide services to gay people. Lawyers have called for more “compromise” and “accommodation” around several cases due to come before the European Court of Human Rights shortly
07/11/11
UK: Deputy speaker Nigel Evans: ‘I lost 35 years of my life in the closet
Jessica Geen
Nigel Evans gives good interview. In contrast to some MPs, who seem to be regurgitating press releases, he’s candid, humorous and happy to chat away.
The Tory MP, who is the hugely popular deputy speaker of the House of Commons, came out as gay last December, saying he was tired of living a lie.
07/11/11
Australia: MP challenges overseas gay marriage ban
Jessica Geen
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2011/07/11/australian-mp-challenges-overseas-gay-marriage-ban/
A South Australian gay MP says he will challenge the country’s ban on gay marriages abroad.
Upper house MP Ian Hunter and his partner of 22 years, artist Leith Semmens, intend to tie the knot in New York, following that state’s legalisation of gay marriage.
07/11/11
UK : Deportation of gay man who was tortured in Uganda is halted
Paul Canning
http://www.sdgln.com/news/2011/07/11/uk-halts-deporting-gay-man-who-was-tortured-uganda
The removal of Ugandan gay asylum seeker Robert Segwanyi was tonight “deferred” at the last minute. He had been moved today to a Heathrow “removal center” for an early morning July 11 flight to Kampala.
07/11/11
USA: (Louisiana) U.S. Supreme Court asked to review Louisiana’s refusal to respect out-of-state adoption by same-sex parents
SDGLN Staff
“By treating adopted children whose parents are unmarried worse than other adopted children, Louisiana violates two well-established federal constitutional protections, both of which embody principles of equal treatment and unify us as a nation.”
07/08/11
USA: Pentagon Shift Ends Ousters Under ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell
Sean Collins Walsh
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/09/us/09military.html?_r=2
WASHINGTON — The Pentagon instructed the military on Friday to stop removing personnel who are gay from service and to begin accepting applications from homosexual recruits who are otherwise qualified to serve. Aubrey Sarvis, executive director of Servicemembers Legal Defense Network, which advocates for gay members of the military, said the provision regarding applications to join the service would not have a large impact. The “don’t ask, don’t tell policy” prevented the military from asking about orientation during the application process, he said, so the only people who were rejected upon entry were those who voluntarily offered that information in an interview.
07/06/11
UK: One year on from gay asylum ruling, have things changed?
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2011/07/06/comment-one-year-on-from-gay-asylum-ruling-have-things-changed/
One year ago, the Supreme Court unanimously handed down a landmark decision in LGBT human rights. Yet one year on from this major legal shift, many working to support LGBT asylum seekers believe that the situation for them is actually getting worse.
07/06/11
UK: Lesbian asylum seeker wins right to stay
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2011/07/06/lesbian-asylum-seeker-wins-right-to-stay-in-uk/
A lesbian asylum seeker from Jamaica has been granted the right to stay in the UK after immigration judges ruled that she could face persecution if sent home.
07/05/11
USA: (California) Trial to begin in slaying of gay teen Lawrence King
SDGLN staff writer
http://www.sdgln.com/news/2011/07/05/trial-begin-slaying-gay-teen-lawrence-king
Prosecutor Maeve Fox will argue that McInerney methodically plotted the execution of King and has added a hate crime charge, saying that the teen’s actions and hatred of gays were partially motivated by his alleged neo-Nazi beliefs.
07/04/11
Pakistani: Conservatives: Gays Are “Social Garbage”
Trudy Ring http://www.advocate.com/News/Daily_News/2011/07/04/Pakistani_Conservatives_Gays_Are_Social_Garbage/
A group of conservative Pakistani religious and political leaders has spoken out against a gay rights event held last month at the U.S. Embassy in the capital city, Islamabad, issuing a statement calling LGBT people “social garbage” and equating support for LGBT people to terrorism.
07/03/11
Canada: Ontario to Mandate LGBT Student Support Groups
Trudy Ring
http://www.advocate.com/News/Daily_News/2011/07/03/Ontario_to_Mandate_LGBT_Student_Support_Groups/
The Ontario government will take steps to assure that support groups for LGBT students are available in all schools in the Canadian province, both public and Catholic, beginning this fall. Provincial parliament member Glen Murray, who is gay, calls the move “a huge step forward.”
07/03/11
Uganda: LGBTI Activist attacked, House set ablaze at night
http://www.mask.org.za/ugandan-lgbti-activist-attacked-house-set-ablaze-at-night/
The Uganda Police are investigating an arson attack on the rental home of LGBTI activist Mr Najib Kabuye on Sunday July 3, 2011 in Kampala.
The case has been reported at the Nabweru Police Post, about 20 minutes drive from Kampala City Centre.
06/28/11
USA: Pentagon Confirms New DADT Discharges
The Pentagon confirmed Monday that more service members have been discharged under “don’t ask, don’t tell” pending certification of the policy’s repeal, with one individual’s discharge approved as recently as Thursday.
06/28/11
USA: (Massachusetts) Nine Teens and Preteens Charged in Mass. Hate Attack
Police say nine people, ranging in age from 12 to 19, attacked and robbed a gay man as he walked home alongside a Springfield, Mass., park Tuesday morning.
06/28/11
Cuba: Are Cuba’s communists getting ready to support LGBT rights?
Paul Canning
http://sdgln.com/news/2011/06/28/are-cubas-communists-getting-ready-support-lgbt-rights
Mariela Castro Espín, the daughter of Cuban President Raúl Castro and a leader for LGBT rights on that island, told the 20th World Congress for Sexual Health, held in the Scottish city of Glasgow 18 June, that Cuba’s Communist Party may soon be ready to recognise gay and lesbian rights, even though her father has cautioned her that the time may not yet be ripe
06/28/11
India: Parents ‘using sex reassignment surgery for more sons’
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2011/06/28/indian-parents-using-sex-reassignment-surgery-for-more-sons/
According to the respected Hindustan Times newspaper the “shocking, unprecedented trend, catering to the fetish for a son, is unfolding at conservative Indore’s well-known clinics and hospitals on children who are one to five years old”.
India’s ratio of male to female births has long been a concern. Sons are considered a blessing and daughters a burden, as girls must be married off with a large dowry.
06/28/11
Anna Paquin: ‘We should talk about bisexual prejudice’
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2011/06/28/anna-paquin-we-should-talk-about-bisexual-prejudice/
The 28-year-old actress, who is married to her co-star Stephen Moyer, came out as bisexual last April when she filmed an advert for an LGBT charity.
Speaking to W magazine, she said: “Frankly no one had ever asked me about being bisexual before.
06/28/11
Scotland: Civil servants banned from saying ‘homosexual’
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2011/06/28/scottish-civil-servants-banned-from-saying-homosexual/
According to the Herald, the new rule states: “It is not acceptable to use the word ‘homosexual.’ This term is offensive to many people as it is the term that was used in law to make same-sex sexual relationships illegal.”
06/27/11
Iran:LGBT activists distribute leaflets against homophobia
Paul Canning
http://sdgln.com/news/2011/06/27/iran-lgbt-activists-distribute-leaflets-against-homophobia
Elahe Amani reports on Women’s News Network that the “We are everywhere” online campaign by Iranian LGBT for the International Day against Homophobia and Transphobia (IDAHO) extended to Iran itself.
06/27/11
Colombia: Bogotá opens two more LGBT community centers
Andrew Dier – Colombia Diversa
http://sdgln.com/news/2011/06/27/colombia-bogot-opens-two-more-lgbt-community-centers
BOGOTA, Colombia — In 2007, Bogotá became the first city in Latin America to open an LGBT community center. This week, just after the annual commemoration of Bogotá Pride, the city government is tripling its commitment with two more.
06/27/11
USA: Todd Akin: ‘At The Heart Of Liberalism Is Really A Hatred Of God’
Lucia Graves
WASHINGTON — Rep. Todd Akin (R-Mo.) is drawing fire for claiming a “hatred of God” informs liberal beliefs.
The comments, first reported by liberal website Right Wing Watch, came during a radio interview with Family Research Council President Tony Perkins last week, as Akin and Perkins discussed NBC’s decision to remove the words “under God” from the Pledge of Allegiance aired during its coverage of the U.S. Open Championship.
06/27/11
UK: Poll says Muslims are ‘proud’ of Britain’s gay rights
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2011/06/27/poll-says-muslims-are-proud-of-britains-gay-rights/
A poll of British Muslims suggests that almost half say they are proud of the country’s stance on gay rights.
According to the research by think-tank Demos, 47 per cent of Muslims agreed with the statement: “I am proud of how Britain treats gay people.”
06/27/11
Israel: Holding LGBT conference in Israel will inflame homophobia
The decision of the International LGBTQ Youth and Student Organisation (IGLYO) to hold its General Assembly (GA) in Israel this December is divisive, exclusionist, mistaken and regrettable.
It will probably mean that some Palestinian, Arab and Muslim delegates will not be able to attend, because of travel restrictions between their countries and Israel.
06/25/11
USA: Reactions to N.Y. Vote F elt Around the World
Winston Gieseke
http://www.advocate.com/News/Daily_News/2011/06/25/Reactions_to_NY_Vote_Felt_Around_the_World/
Across the country and around the globe, the news of New York’s legalization of gay marriage dominated the wires. The impact of the Empire State’s vote was felt in newspapers like the U.K. Telegraph, which predicted that the news “will be the cause of huge celebrations in America at this weekend’s annual gay pride festivities in New York,” as well as theBelfast Telegraph, which labeled it “a breakthrough victory in the state where the American gay rights movement was born.”
06/22/11
U.K: David Cameron to Address Homophobia in Sports
Trudy Ring
http://www.advocate.com/News/Daily_News/2011/06/22/UK_David_Cameron_to_Address_Homophobia_in_Sports/
Activists and athletes are expected to attend U.K. prime minister David Cameron’s annual LGBT reception Wednesday night, with this year’s focus on combating antigay attitudes in sports.
06/22/11
Turkey: Amnesty International asks Turkey to Protect LGBT Rights
Trudy Ring
Human rights organization Amnesty International has called on Turkey to adopt laws protecting LGBT people against discrimination and violence, which according to Amnesty are widespread in the nation.
06/20/11
Nepal: U.S. couple makes history: Asia’s first public lesbian wedding
THE TIMES OF INDIA
http://sdgln.com/news/2011/06/20/us-couple-make-history-asias-first-public-lesbian-wedding
KATHMANDU, Nepal — There were no howls of outrage or attempts at disruption but only good-natured curiosity and non-stop traditional music as American psychologist Courtney Mitchell tied the knot with fellow American Sarah Welton, a lawyer by profession, in Kathmandu valley’s celebrated Dakshinkali temple on Monday, making it Asia’s first public lesbian wedding and an additional feather in the cap of Sunil Babu Pant, Nepal’s only openly gay legislator.
06/20/11
USA: Ninth Circuit Protects Rights of Asylum Seekers Facing One-Year Filing Deadline
U.S. immigration laws require individuals seeking protection to apply for asylum within one year of their arrival in the United States. Nirmal Singh appealed the immigration judge’s rejection of his asylum case after the judge found that it was not enough for Mr. Singh to testify as to his date of entry, but that he had to produce documentary corroboration to show when he entered the United States.
06/18/11
Colombia: Bogota’s highest court affirms right of sexual identity expression
Andrew Dier – Colombia Diversa
http://sdgln.com/news/2011/06/18/colombia-highest-court-affirms-right-sexual-identity-expression
BOGOTA, Colombia — In a case concerning a male prisoner who self-identifies as a woman in the rural eastern plains of Colombia, the Colombian Constitutional Court announced this week that it had overturned a lower court ruling that prohibited her from wearing makeup and earrings.
In the lawsuit, Lastra Ortiz, reported intense and constant harassment by prison guards because of her gender identity.
06/17/11
China: Hong Kong: “Ex-Gay” Therapist’s Appearance Spurs Protest
Advocate.com Editors http://www.advocate.com/News/Daily_News/2011/06/17/ExGay_Therapists_Appearance_Spurs_Protest/
LGBT activists demonstrated in Hong Kong Friday as a specialist in “ex-gay” therapy gave a seminar to city social service workers, possibly the first such government-sponsored presentation in the world.
06/17/11
UN human rights council passes first ever effort to address LGBT discrimination
Frank Jordans
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/06/17/un-gay-rights-protection-resolution-passes-_n_879032.html
The United Nations’ Human Rights Council, meeting in Geneva, voted 23 to 19 on Friday, June 17, to approve a resolution that expresses “grave concern at acts of violence and discrimination, in all regions of the world, committed against individuals because of their sexual orientation and gender identity.”
06/15/11
USA: Gov’t Awards $250k To Create LGBT Resource Center
Chris Johnson
http://www.washingtonblade.com/2011/06/15/u-s-govt-awards-250k-to-create-lgbt-refugee-center/
The Obama administration on Wednesday announced that it has awarded $250,000 to a Chicago-based human rights organization to create the first-ever resource center supporting the resettlement of LGBT refugees in the United States.
06/15/11
USA: Patrick Leahy Wants to Keep Refugees Safe – And Here
Victoria Neilson, op-ed contributor
http://www.advocate.com/Politics/Commentary/Patrick_Leahy_Wants_to_Keep_Refugees_Safe_And_Here/
Today, Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt. introducedlegislation – known as The Refugee Protection Act – to lift that deadline. Its passage would make all the difference in the world for LGBT people fleeing abuse and homophobia abroad.
The legal director for Immigration Equality explains why a minor change to a 1996 law was a major blow to LGBT people seeking asylum in the U.S, and why Sen. Patrick Leahy could change all that.
06/14/11
USA: (California)Bankruptcy court rules against gay-marriage ban
Paul Elias
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/top/all/7610710.html
SAN FRANCISCO — The country’s largest consumer bankruptcy court has sided with a gay couple seeking to file a joint bankruptcy petition, taking the extraordinary step of deciding the federal law prohibiting same-sex marriages is unconstitutional. The ruling written by U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Thomas Donovan wasn’t the first blow to the Defense of Marriage Act in federal court. That came last year when a federal judge in Boston declared the law an unconstitutional violation of equal protection guarantees.
06/14/11
USA: (California) Prop. 8 ruling: gay judge didn’t need to recuse himself
A US judge refused to vacate a decision last year that declared California’s anti-gay marriageProposition 8 unconstitutional. Backers of Prop. 8 had wanted the decision thrown out on the grounds that the judge who made the decision is gay and therefore should have recused himself from the case.
06/13/11
Kenya: Pro-gay Kenyan senior legal appointees reach last hurdle
Paul Canning
http://sdgln.com/news/2011/06/13/video-pro-gay-kenyan-senior-legal-appointees-reach-last-hurdle
The Kenyan Parliament will decide tomorrow, 14 June, on the appointment of Dr Willy Mutunga and Nancy Baraza to that country’s top judicial and public prosecutorial jobs. Both have a pro-gay history and that – plus Mutunga’s earring – have led to an enormous fight between civil society and anti-gay forces, led by the Church. Mutunga supported the foundation of the Gay and Lesbian Coalition of Kenya and Baraza is writing a PHD thesis on LGBT human rights.
06/11/11
Tracy Morgan Anti-Gay Allegations
http://glaadblog.org/2011/06/10/tracy-morgan-anti-gay-allegations/
Tina Fey and NBC Chairman Bob Greenblatt have spoken out against anti-gay violence and GLAAD has called on Tracy Morgan to speak out and meet with families who have lost loved ones to anti-LGBT violence.
He said if his son that was gay he better come home and talk to him like a man and not [he mimicked a gay, high pitched voice] or he would pull out a knife and stab that little N (one word I refuse to use) to death”
06/10/11
UK: Gay rights campaigners call for mosques to ban anti-gay speakers
A group of gay rights campaigners has demanded that mosques in east London must ban homophobic speakers.
The call follows a £100 fine for a man convicted of pasting anti-gay stickers around the area.
06/10/11
UK: Watch: Viral video shows the impact of homophobia
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2011/06/10/watch-viral-video-shows-the-impact-of-homophobia/
A viral video by charity Albert Kennedy Trust (AKT) is raising awareness of the devastating impact homophobia can have.
The film shows gay celebrities as people facing abuse, harassment, drug addiction and homelessness because of their sexual orientation.
06/10/11
Canada: Catholic school bans rainbows
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2011/06/10/canadian-catholic-school-bans-rainbows/
A Canadian Catholic school has banned pupils from using rainbows, the symbol of the gay pride movement.
St Joseph Catholic Secondary School in Ontario apparently told students holding a June 3rd anti-homophobia event that they couldn’t use the colourful symbol.
06/10/11
USA: Family of Kirk Murphy says ‘sissy boy’ experiment led to his suicide
Sarah Anne Hughes
“Well, I was becoming a little concerned, I guess, when he was playing with dolls and stuff,” Kaytee Murphy told Anderson Cooper on CNN. “It just bothered me that maybe he was picking up maybe too many feminine traits.”
06/10/11
Africa: Champions of HIV/AIDS in Africa
Zambian news
http://www.zambia-weekly.com/index.htm
Keneth Kaunda and Festus Mogae, former Presidents of Zambia and Botswana, respectively have condemned Malawi’s criminalization of homosexuality as harmful tp the fight against HIV/AIDS. “We can preach about behavioral change, but as long as we confine gays and lesbians into dark corners because of our inflexibility to accommodate them, the battle on HIV/AIDS can never be won” said Mogae.
06/10/11
Uganda: COMMENTARY: An eyewitness to homophobia, from Uganda to the UN
The Rev. Canon Albert Ogle – SPECIAL TO SDGLN
http://sdgln.com/commentary/2011/06/10/commentary-eyewitness-homophobia-uganda-un
Interpretation of history, particularly religious history, must always be done with the meticulous skill of a surgeon, or the patient may die. Left to the devices of amateurs or God forbid, politicians, lots of people will remain seriously wounded or die.
06/10/11
USA: (Texas): Anti-gay hate group to sponsor Texas Gov. Rick Perry’s national prayer rally
Ryan Lenz – HATEWATCH AT SOUTHERN POVERTY LAW CENTER
http://sdgln.com/news/2011/06/10/antigay-hate-group-sponsor-texas-gov-rick-perrys-national-prayer-rally
The American Family Association (AFA), a virulent anti-gay hate group based in Tupelo, Miss., has agreed to pay for a national day of prayer being organized later this summer in Houston by Texas Gov. Rick Perry, a longstanding ally to prominent figures in the anti-gay movement.
06/10/11
Kenya: Gay Kenyans launch online forum
bbc.co.uk
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-13728536
A website for gay Kenyans has been launched in the capital, Nairobi, to help the small openly homosexual community cope with discrimination.
06/09/11
Cameron: Campaign to free Cameroon man jailed for homosexuality
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/jun/09/campaign-cameroon-man-jailed-homosexuality
Human rights campaigners have demanded the immediate release of a Cameroonian man jailed for three years for homosexuality.
Jean-Claude Roger Mbede appears to have been a victim of entrapment by the security forces, which regularly target and prosecute gay men
Australia: Man killed gay housemate over sexual advances
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2011/06/09/australian-man-killed-gay-housemate-over-sexual-advances/, An Australian man killed his gay housemate when the man made drunken sexual advances to him, a court has heard.
Aaron James Johnstone, 29, admits attacking 46-year-old Philip Higgins at their Seaford home in September 2006 but denies he intended to kill him, AAP reports.
Uganda: Saving Uganda From Sin – Increased Activism
Olive Eyotaru Yemima
http://www.ugpulse.com/articles/daily/People.asp?about=Saving+Uganda+From+Sin+-+Increased+Activism&id=1222
Thirty-eight of fifty-three African nations criminalise homosexuality in some way. In sub-Saharan Africa, the government of South Africa is the only official entity to acknowledge gay rights. According to human rights organisations, about 500,000 homosexuals live in Uganda out of a total population of 31 million
06/09/11
USA: (California) Bishop ends ban on blessing of same sex couples
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/jun/09/us-bishop-ends-ban-same-sex-blessings
Gay marriage still unauthorised but California bishop gives support to same-gender civil marriages, domestic partnerships and relationships
06/08/11
UK: Christian writer to walk 160 miles to repent homophobia http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/blog/2011/jun/08/christian-writer-symon-hill-repent-homophobia
City centre churches to host events encouraging repentance of homophobia.” Given the turmoil in Christianity (ie the Anglican Communion) over the issue of homosexuality, it’s an eye-catching subject heading for an email. Detail from Symon Hill’s Repenting of Homophobia website
06/08/11
Puerto Rico: HRC condemns anti-gay violence
SDGLN STAFF
http://sdgln.com/news/2011/06/08/hrc-condemns-anti-gay-violence-puerto-rico
Three LGBT Puerto Ricans have been found dead over the past several days and 18 LGBT Puerto Ricans have been murdered over the last year and a half, according to reports.
On Tuesday, it was reported that Ramón “Moncho” Salgado was found dead along the side of a highway; Karlota Gómez Sánchez, a transgender woman, was found shot to death at an intersection on Monday; and Alejandro Torres Torres was found stabbed to death over the weekend.
06/08/11
USA: Love Will Make A Way: The Intersections of Interracial and Same Sex Marriage
The Rev. Dr. Jacqueline J. Lewis
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/the-rev-dr-jacqueline-j-lewis/love-will-make-a-way_b_871878.html
As a woman in an interracial marriage and as a senior pastor of a church, I think it is essential that we stand up for the rights of all people to marry. It is important to make our voices heard by our legislators in New York before June 20, as lawmakers will most likely vote this June about whether we will have marriage equality for gay and lesbian couples in New York State. Straight allies and Christians need to write, march, and call for justice alongside our gay brothers and sisters.
06/07/11
Ghana: National spy agency ‘investigating’ homosexuals
Francis Kokutse
http://www.africareview.com/Special+Reports/-/979182/1176316/-/10s7k61z/-/index.html
In the past few days, the issue of homosexuality has suddenly become a national concern in Ghana, with the Bureau of National Investigations (BNI) even reported to be investigating those practising it. Speaking in the regional capital of Takoradi, Mr Aidoo said there was need to investigate the phenomenon which had contributed to the growing rate of HIV/Aids in the country.
UK: Scout Association unveils plans to attract more gay members and leaders
The Scout Association has revealed plans to increase its amount of gay members and leaders. Inevitably, the idea has been criticised by those who claim this move will shift the focus away from the Association’s “Christian Values”.
UK: Credit scoring company Equifax discriminating against trans clients
Jane Fae
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2011/06/06/credit-scoring-company-discriminating-against-trans-clients/
The discovery came about after a number of complaints from trans men and women who felt they had been treated badly when applying for credit in their new name. The UK has two credit scoring agencies – Experian, the largest, and Equifax – and complaints appeared mostly to cite Equifax.
UK: Gay men verbally abused through PA system by Trafalgar Square busker
Christopher Brocklebank
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2011/06/06/gay-men-verbally-abused-through-pa-system-by-trafalgar-square-busker/
At lunchtime last Thursday, Paul Jorgensen and Gareth McCallion were crossing Trafalgar Square in central London when a busker targeted and verbally abused them using homophobic language. Mr Jorgensen initially responded by calling the busker a homophobe before approaching a member of the police and having the busker arrested and charged with a hate crime.
France: Lesbian couple successfully dodge French gay marriage ban
Christopher Brocklebank
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2011/06/06/lesbian-couple-successfully-dodge-french-gay-marriage-ban/
Ms Nicot said of her marriage: “It’s a symbol for millions of gays and lesbians who would like to have the same rights.”
The deputy major of Nancy, Laurent Henart, told the Associated French Press: “It’s the first marriage in France of its kind.” The newly-married couple later joined around 2,000 members of the LGBT community for a march through the city.
USA: Westboro Protests Outside NBA Finals
Advocate.com editors
http://www.advocate.com/News/Daily_News/2011/06/06/Westboro_Protests_Outside_NBA_Finals/
Members of the Westboro Baptist Chruch protested a new NBA policy against antigay slurs Sunday night outside game 3 of the league finals in Dallas. Group bosts of more than 43,000 protests, nationwide.
More on this church’s picketing stories: http://www.the33tv.com/about/station/newsteam/kdaf-accused-hate-group-to-picket-dallas-story,0,1660478.story
USA: (New York)Homophobic New York senator’s lesbian granddaughter speaks out
http://www.advocate.com/News/Daily_News/2011/06/05/Lesbian_Granddaughter_of_Ruben_Diaz_Speaks/
“When I was younger, marriage equality was not an issue for me,” said Erica, who was discharged from the Navy under the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy. “But now, as my grandfather ceaselessly and callously comments on the issue, each and every word stings, since I live with my girlfriend of 2½ years, Naomi Torres, and our two sons, Jared and Jeremiah Munoz.”
USA: BFI has footage of first male-to-male television kiss – featuring Sean Connery
The footage, which was found at the US Library of Congress and given to the BFI, has led to questions over how it came to be screened.
Israeli: Knesset Speaker angers orthodox Jews over involvement in Gay Pride Month
Reuven Rivlin the Speaker (presiding officer) of the Knesset – the Israeli parliament – has angered conservative Jewish Knesset members (MKs) over his plans to meet with leaders of the gay community in Israel in honor of Gay Pride Month.
06/05/11
UK: Do say gay: LGBT sexuality isn’t the problem – bigotry is
Emily Band
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/jun/05/gay-lgbt-sexuality-bigotry
Rates of suicide, self-harm and bullying are high in LGBT people. Repressing discussion of our sexuality will only worsen the problem. Growing up being different is not easy. This is especially true in schools: signs of weakness or difference attract bullies like ugly moths to the light. This is especially true for LGBT students, who are statistically more likelyto be bullied.
USA: Gates says No Opt-Out for DADT Repeal Opponents
http://www.advocate.com/News/Daily_News/2011/06/06/Gates_No_Opt_Out_for_DADT_Repeal_Opponents/
“The reality is that you don’t all agree with each other on your politics, you don’t agree with each other on your religion, you don’t agree with each other on a lot of things,” Gates said. “But you still serve together. And you work together. And you look out for each other. And that’s all that matters.”
Kenya: The country stands to lose African values in debate over gay rights
Martyn Drakard
http://www.speroforum.com/a/54980/Kenya-stands-to-lose-African-values-in-debate-over-gay-rights
Dr Mutunga is co-founder of the Kenya Human Rights Commission, which receives funding from a German aid agency to foster gay rights and get acceptance for sexual orientation. The Commission also supports liberal moral views on the right to life. In an article he authored in 2003, Mutunga wrote: “I think the influence of religion in this country is very harmful.
USA: (Florida) Homophobic group flies aeroplane banner warning families about Disney’s Gay Day
The Florida Family Association contracted the plane on Friday and Saturday to fly a banner that read: “Warning Gay Day At Disney.”
In a statement it said: “Thanks to the generosity of many supporters, Florida Family Association contracted this aircraft company to fly a seven foot high banner for ten hours the day before and ten hours the day of Gay Pride Day at Disney World.”
USA: Home Depot won’t cave in to anti-gay boycott by the American Family Association
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2011/06/05/home-depot-refuses-to-cave-in-to-anti-gay-boycott-by-the-american-family-association/
US retailer Home Depot has said that it will not cave into a boycott by the homophobic American Family Association (AFA) who object to the chain’s pro-equality workplace policies.
06/04/11
Australia: Anger swells over bid to gay-proof Australian beach
Cameron Houston – THEAGE.COM.AU
http://sdgln.com/news/2011/06/04/anger-swells-over-bid-gay-proof-australian-beach
MELBOURNE, Australia — A proposed ”gay-proof fence” designed to stop lewd behavior on the foreshore of a popular nudist beach has divided residents on the Mornington Peninsula, and infuriated equal opportunity groups.
06/02/11
Germany: Catholic doctors claim homeopathic “gay cure”
Christoph Seidler – SPIEGEL ONLINE
http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/0,1518,766281,00.html
The Lesbian and Gay Federation in Germany (LSVD) is outraged. Following news reported this week by the online magazine Telepolis that the Union of Catholic Physicians (UCP) has been offering homeopathic “Therapy Options for Homosexuality” on their website, the advocacy organization called the suggestion an “insult,” and an “impertinence” that showed “a lack of respect for homosexuals and bisexuals.”
South Africa: Court fines S. African envoy over hate speech
Tabu Butagira
The court found the article and accompanying cartoon amounted to hate speech, propagating hatred and harm as a result of which homosexuals experienced “emotional pain and suffering”, The Mail & Guardian reported online.
05/31/11
Nepal: Census recognizes ‘third gender’
Manesh Shrestha, CNN
http://edition.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/asiapcf/05/31/nepal.census.gender/index.html?hpt=T2
Kathmandu, Nepal (CNN) — When census gatherers went door-to-door visiting 5.6 million households across Nepal this month, they collected information not only on the country’s men and women, but also on a so-called third gender.
05/27/11
ILGA State-Sponsored Homophobia Report: A World Survey of Laws Prohibiting Same Sex Activity Between Consenting Adults
The research, by Eddie Bruce-Jones & Lucas Paoli Itaborahy, Birkbeck College School of London, United Kingdom was updated in May 2011. http://old.ilga.org/Statehomophobia/ILGA_State_Sponsored_Homophobia_2011.pdfDownload the report in English
05/27/11
USA: (Nevada) Sen. Coburn talks Ensign case
MSNBC
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/43200441#43200441
Oklahoma Republican Senator Tom Coburn is speaking out about his role in the scandal that finally led Nevada Republican John Ensign to resign from the Senate. MSNBC’s Lawrence O’Donnell gets details from Jon Ralston, a columnist for the Las Vegas Sun.
05/27/11
USA: (Georgia) Bishop Eddie Long settles sexual misconduct suit out of court
Elizabeth Tenety
Georgia megachurch preacherBishop Eddie Long has settled out of court with four young men who accused him of sexual misconduct, Long’s spokesmansaid Thursday. BJ Bernstein, attorney for the plaintiffs, was similarly tight-lipped. “The matter has been resolved,” read a statement. “Neither attorney Bernstein nor the plaintiffs themselves will be available for interview on this matter, now or in the future.”
05/27/11
USA: (Washington, DC) Adults Estimate That 25% of Americans Are Gay or Lesbian
Lymari Morales
http://www.gallup.com/poll/147824/Adults-Estimate-Americans-Gay-Lesbian.aspx
WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. adults, on average, estimate that 25% of Americans are gay or lesbian. More specifically, over half of Americans (52%) estimate that at least one in five Americans are gay or lesbian, including 35% who estimate that more than one in four are. Thirty percent put the figure at less than 15%. Those with lower incomes, the less educated, women, and young people give the highest estimates
05/27/11
USA: In Obsession With Gays, ‘Pro-Family’ Groups Ignore Real Marriage Crisis
Wayne Besen (TWO)
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/wayne-besen/in-obsession-with-gays-pr_b_867490.html
It seems that America could use a genuine pro-family movement instead of hate groups using “family values” as a cover for their anti-gay activities. According to the Census Bureau
05/27/11
USA: House of Representatives passes bill to delay lifting of military gay ban
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2011/05/27/us-house-passes-bill-to-delay-lifting-of-military-gay-ban/
The amendments require the chiefs of all four military services to certify that the change won’t hurt military readiness, something gay rights campaigners say is a deliberate effort to slow down the repeal effort
05/27/11
India celebrates second gay film festival
Jessica Geen
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2011/05/27/india-celebrates-second-gay-film-festival/
“The participation of people at large shows a change in social attitudes – gays are not seen as ‘criminals’ anymore. The image of a gay man or woman is changing.”
05/27/11
UK: Christian ‘gay cure’ therapist guilty of malpractice
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2011/05/27/christian-gay-cure-therapist-guilty-of-malpractice/
A Christian therapist who tried to turn a gay undercover journalist straight has been found guilty of professional malpractice
05/27/11
France: Sarkozy ally compares gay marriage to bestiality in French parliament
The 58-year-old MP from Montauban was speaking at a debate to open marriage to same-sex couples across France.
She appalled fellow politicians by exclaiming: “So in that case, why not unions with animals? Or polygamy?”
05/27/11
USA: (Illinois) Catholic groups stop foster care services over gay parents
Rather than place children in need of homes with gay couples, they have chosen to stop offering foster care services altogether.
The case recalls a British Catholic charity’s legal battle to bypass equality laws.
Leeds-based Catholic Care lost the latest round of its fight at a tribunal last month. It says it should not be forced to accept gay couples.
05/27/11
USA: (Georgia) US Sheriff’s department ‘paid evangelicals to turn lesbian straight’
James Park
Amanda Booker, who is now in custody over a separate incident, is suing officials after she claims Bartow County Sheriff’s Department in Georgia forced her to attend gay conversion therapy instead of taking her to a drug rehabilitation centre.
05/27/11
USA: (New York) Mayor Bloomberg: ‘Gay marriage is a fundamental civil right’
“I can’t tell them that marriage is not for them. I can’t tell them that a civil union is good enough.
“In our democracy, near equality is no equality. Government either treats everyone the same, or it doesn’t. And right now it doesn’t.”
05/26/11
USA: DOJ Should Do Justice by Prosecuting Ensign
Melanie Sloan (Roll Call)
http://www.rollcall.com/issues/56_129/-205956-1.html
Just caught this tonight. Coburn, top Family associate with 10 recent trips to Uganda spending at least $187,000 of taxpayer dollars, is going down with Ensign’s ship. These people are so perverse they are darwin-ing themselves out of existence
05/26/11
Brazil: President suspends school anti-homophobia campaign
Jessica Geen
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2011/05/26/brazils-president-suspends-school-anti-homophobia-campaign/
Brazil’s president has suspended an anti-homophobia campaign in schools because she thought the DVDs and leaflets were not appropriate for children.
“I voted for her in the last elections,” he told BBC News, “because I thought she would defend the rights of lesbian, gay and bisexual citizens.”
05/26/11
Grenada: Men arrested for gay sex
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/images/grenada.jpg
Two men on the Caribbean island of Grenada have been arrested for having gay sex.
The men, aged 41 and 17, could face up to ten years in prison – the maximum penalty for same-sex acts.
05/26/11
USA: (Minnesota) Three men arrested for gay hate attack in Minnesota
James Park
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2011/05/26/3-men-arrested-for-gay-hate-attack-in-minnesota/
Police arrested three men accused of severely beating a gay man because of his sexuality.
The three men, named as Matthew Warren Thomas, 24; Chad Vincent Hands, 21 and Ryan Andrew Frane, 23, were arrested and transported to a county prison.
Police say that they assaulted an unnamed 22-year-old man at around 2:24 on Monday morning. He suffered cuts and bruises to his face and hands
05/25/11
USA: (Nevada) Governor signs transgender protection law
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2011/05/25/nevada-governor-signs-transgender-protection-law/
The bill means that companies with more than 15 employees cannot discriminate against staff on the basis of their gender identity. They may demand appropriate dress codes and grooming standards for the individual’s preferred gender.
05/25/11
Australia: A lesbian attempts to remove sperm donor from child’s birth certificate
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2011/05/25/australian-lesbian-attempts-to-remove-sperm-donor-from-childs-birth-certificate/
Sofia Marita, whose ex-partner is the biological mother of the ten-year-old girl, wants Neil Richards’ name wiped from the girl’s records, the Sydney Morning Herald reports
05/24/11
USA: Right-Wing Group Fuels Homophobia At The UN
Kerry Eleveld
http://equalitymatters.org/blog/201105240010
The leader of a right-wing organization, who made a name for herself by pushing abstinence-only based programs in Africa and has ties to the virulently antigay Ugandan pastor, Martin Ssempa, is stepping up efforts to promote homophobic messages among delegates at the United Nations
05/23/11
USA: ‘Beginners’ brings gay lessons to a straight world
http://www.365gay.com/news/beginners-brings-gay-lessons-to-a-straight-world/
Gay movies for mainstream audiences usually come in two flavors.
There are the martyr movies- Milk, Philadelphia – where a noble gay person comes to a tragic end through no fault of his own, becoming a hero through his suffering; and there are the coming out movies, where a young person’s adolescence is made more complicated by her realization that she’s a lesbian.
Beginners is something different.
05/23/11
USA: Coming out
Sarah Kramer (New York times)
Bullying and suicides of gay and lesbian teenagers are in the headlines, the military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy has been repealed, and the debate over same-sex marriage continues to divide the country. Against this backdrop, many L.G.B.T. youth wonder how accepting society will be.
05/23/11
Scotland: Church of Scotland votes to allow gay ministers
Severin Carrell
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2011/may/23/scottish-church-gay-ministers
Scotland’s largest protestant church lifts temporary ban imposed after appointment of gay minister in 2009
05/22/11
Uganda: Will the gay Bill face tougher battles?
Philippa Croome
http://www.monitor.co.ug/News/National/-/688334/1166742/-/c1gmgmz/-/index.html
Uganda and the Anti-Homosexuality Bill have become synonymous on the international stage. On either end of the debate at home are its author, MP David Bahati, and one of its most vocal opponents, gay rights activist Kasha Jacqueline Nabagesera.
05/21/11
Uganda:Man Talk: Christians Vs homosexuals
Dennis Matanda
http://www.monitor.co.ug/LifeStyle/Relationships/-/691230/1165790/-/dqgdfm/-/index.html
If Uganda, as a homogenous society, is against those who are not like everyone else, why do the majority Christians tolerate Muslims and Jews in their midst? As outlandish as we might find the spectre of homosexuality, we owe the parents of those who are gay some kind of allegiance and so, for their sake, speak out for the rights of their children.
05/19/11
Italy: Priest Sex-Abuse Case Hits Church of Pope’s Adviser
Alessandra Pieracci and Giacomo Galeazzi
http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2072613,00.html?xid=rss-world
Father Riccardo Seppia, a 51-year-old parish priest in the village of Sastri Ponente, near Genoa, was arrested last Friday, May 13, on pedophilia and drug charges. Investigators say that in tapped mobile-phone conversations, Seppia asked a Moroccan drug dealer to arrange sexual encounters with young and vulnerable boys. “I do not want 16-year-old boys but younger. Fourteen-year-olds are O.K. Look for needy boys who have family issues,”
05/19/11
World: Divine dispatches: a religion roundup
Riazat Butt
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/belief/2011/may/19/rapture-divine-dispatches
Making the most of the Rapture; gay Jews seek acceptance; the Catholic church brings back fish Fridays
05/18/11
Arab World: Call for Papers: The Lesbian Subjectivity in the Arab World
IGLHRC -Special Issue
http://www.iglhrc.org/cgi-bin/iowa/article/takeaction/partners/1398.html
This special issue of Al-Raida is intended to shed light on the problematic position of the lesbian in Arab cultures on various interdisciplinary levels. It is also intended to question the politics of love and friendships in the Arab cultures, in an attempt to examine the perplexing position of the lesbian subjectivity and the perils of “coming” out of the complicated Arab closets. Contact: Ms. Myriam Sfeir, at myriam.sfeir@lau.edu.lb and to the guest editor, Dr. Iman Al-Ghafari at, dr.iman.gh@gmail.com
05/18/11
Moscow: Mayor bans gay Pride march again
Jessica Geen
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2011/05/18/moscow-bans-gay-pride-march-again/
Activists applied to hold the event in Bolotnaya Ploshchad city park on May 28th but Mayor Sergei Sobyanin’s administration turned down the request, citing a risk of public disorder
05/18/11
USA- (World Bank Headquarters) African Activists Oppose Cuts To Ugandan Aid
Chris Johnson
http://www.washingtonblade.com/2011/05/18/african-activists-oppose-cuts-to-ugandan-aid/
The panel was sponsored by several organizations — including UNAIDS, World Bank GLOBE, Inter-American Development Bank GLOBE and the Council for Global Equality — to observe the International Day against Homophobia and Transphobia observed, “Responding to the anti-homosexuality bill in Uganda by cutting off international aid to the country might not be a good idea”
05/18/11
USA: California- San Francisco Giants join campaign against anti-gay bullying
Jessica Geen
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2011/05/18/san-francisco-giants-join-campaign-against-anti-gay-bullying/
The San Francisco Giants have become the first professional sports team in the US to join the It Gets Better campaign against homophobic bullying.
More than 6,000 people signed a Change.org petition asking the baseball team to join the initiative.
Giants spokeswoman Staci Slaughter told Reuters that the team will produce a video for the campaign before hosting an annual LGBT night on August 29th.
05/17/11
Indonesia: Indonesian Statement for International Day Against Homophobia (IDAHO)
Hartoyo
http://www.iglhrc.org/cgi-bin/iowa/article/takeaction/partners/1395.html
“Stop Violence and Hate Based on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity”
Indonesia is still one of those countries whose regional policies (Perda) in several provinces criminalize homosexuals, such as in South Sumatera and West Sumatera in which homosexuals are considered prostitutes and in Law no. 44/2008 on Pornography citing that homosexuality is a deviant sexual behavior.
05/17/11
Philippines: Hate Crime Alliance Calls on Philipine Government to End Killings of LGBT People
Marlon Lacsamana
ttp://www.iglhrc.org/cgi-bin/iowa/article/takeaction/partners/1396.html
Since 1996, Hate Crime Watch has collected a total of fifty six (56) media reports of LGBT related killings. This should therefore stop. Contact: mtlacsamana@gmail.com
05/17/11
USA: Illinois trans woman sues employer over toilet ban
Jessica Geen
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2011/05/17/illinois-trans-woman-sues-employer-over-toilet-ban/
A trans woman from the US state of Illinois is suing her employers for barring her from using the women’s toilet. She worked for crafts store Hobby Lobby for a “number of years” while living as a man, her lawyer says.
05/17/11
USA: Lady Gaga in Metro: ‘Huge Progress’ in Gay Rights
Michael Freidson
http://www.iglhrc.org/cgi-bin/iowa/article/pressroom/iglhrcinthenews/1394.html
“I care about social and human rights,” Lady Gaga told Metro when plotting this issue, “because it affects my fans.” She couldn’t have picked better timing: Today is International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia, a day dedicated to raise awareness for gay rights worldwide.
05/17/11
Vietnam: The Start of PFLAG Vietnam
IGLHRC
http://www.iglhrc.org/cgi-bin/iowa/article/takeaction/partners/1397.html
“There is so much prejudice and stigma around LGBT and so much to gain just from raising awareness and speak out in public. The vision really is very simple: All people should enjoy the right to see their individuality, their love and their relations accepted and respected.”
Mr. Staffan Herrström – Ambassador of Sweden to Vietnam
05/17/11
World: Activists celebrate 7th International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia
Jessica Geen
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2011/05/17/activists-celebrate-7th-international-day-against-homophobia-and-transphobia/
LGBT campaigners are celebrating the seventh International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia (IDAHO)
05/17/11
World: Gay rights are human rights
Philip Dayle
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/libertycentral/2011/may/17/gay-rights-human-rights
More political energy is needed to enforce international human rights laws concerning sexual orientation at a national level
05/17/11
World: The Commonwealth is a bastion of homophobia
Peter Tatchell
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2011/05/17/peter-tatchell-the-commonwealth-is-a-bastion-of-homophobia/
Today is IDAHO – the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia. In countries all over the world, there are events calling for the universal decriminalisation of homosexuality and equal human rights for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people
05/16/11
Australia: Violence breaks out between Christians and gays in Australian city
Jessica Geen
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2011/05/16/violence-breaks-out-between-christians-and-gays-in-australian-city/
Police had to intervene when a clash broke out at a gay rights rally in Adelaide, Australia, this weekend.
The rally was held to mark International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia (IDAHO).
05/16/11
Azerbaijan: Concerns over Eurovision 2012 host Azerbaijan’s gay rights record
Jessica Geen
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2011/05/16/concerns-over-eurovision-2012-host-azerbaijans-gay-rights-record/
Although homosexuality was decriminalised in 2001, LGBT people in the Muslim country are said to still suffer oppression and harassment. After winning Saturday’s Eurovision Song Contest, the country has won the right to host next year’s competition
05/15/11
Israel: Orthodox Jewish gays seek acceptance, but clash over tactics and religiosity
Bernat Armangue / Associated Press )
“We know of three people who tried, and eventually took their lives,” said Ron Yosef, an openly gay Orthodox rabbi from the coastal city of Netanya.
05/13/11
SA condemns ‘odious’ Ugandan anti-homosexuality bill
Jessica Geen
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2011/05/13/us-condemns-odious-ugandan-anti-homosexuality-bill/
The US State Department has strongly condemned Uganda’s anti-homosexuality bill. Addressing journalists yesterday, State Department spokesman Mark Toner said: “No amendments, no changes, would justify the passage of this odious bill. Both [President Barack Obama] and [Secretary of State Hillary Clinton] publicly said it is inconsistent with universal human rights standards and obligations.”
05/12/11
SA: Early H.I.V. Therapy Sharply Curbs Transmission
Donald g. Mcneil jr.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/13/health/research/13hiv.html?_r=2&smid=tw-nytimes&seid=auto
Patients with H.I.V. were 96 percent less likely to pass on the infection if they were taking antiretroviral drugs — a finding that is so overwhelming that it is likely to change the way American AIDS doctors treat patients and what treatment policies are adopted by the World Health Organization and other countries, said Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, which paid for the trial.
05/11/11
Poland waives visa fees for Warsaw gay pride parade participants
Warsaw Business Journal
http://www.wbj.pl/article-54480-poland-waives-visa-fees-for-warsaw-gay-pride.html?typ=ise
Citizens from Belarus, Russia and Ukraine will be able to attend the June 11 gay pride march in Warsaw without paying the usual visa fees.
05/10/11
France: Immigration reform means seriously ill can be kicked out
Christophe Martet
http://madikazemi.blogspot.com/2011/05/in-france-immigration-reform-means.html
Gone is the law allowing seriously ill foreigners to stay in France to receive care or treatment which enables them to stay alive.
05/10/11
France: Homophobia within the family ordered to Dax
Yagg.com
http://yagg.com/2011/05/10/lhomophobie-dans-le-cadre-familial-condamnee-a-dax/
It takes courage and persistence to brave the obstacles and make the decision to complain in his own family, because of homophobia and sérophobie. Yet what makes Persiaux Renaud, a journalist who has been insulted and threatened with death by his stepfather and took the case to court, in what appears to be one of the top complaints made to homophobia in the family.
05/10/11
Syria: Gay reporting from the Syrian frontline
Sami Hamwi, GME Syria Editor
http://www.gaymiddleeast.com/news/news%20302.htm
Gay Middle East’s Syrian Editor Sami Hamwi has been reporting for the website as that country descends further into a massive government crackdown on any opposition.
Today it has been reported that Syria is using Iranian tactics and shutting down electronic avenues for activists to communicate with each other and with the outside world.
05/10/11
Turkey: Warning over European Court of Human Rights
Amnesty International
http://madikazemi.blogspot.com/2011/05/warning-over-european-court-of-human.html
European leaders must protect the independence and integrity of the European Court of Human Rights.
“The European Court of Human Rights – though challenged by an increasing backload of cases – remains the jewel in the crown of the human rights protection system in Europe,” said Avner Gidron, Senior Policy Advisor at Amnesty International.
05/10/11
UK: Foreign secretary William Hague says Britain is lobbying Uganda over anti-gay bill
Jessica Geen
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2011/05/10/foreign-secretary-william-hague-says-britain-is-lobbying-uganda-over-anti-gay-bill/
“We oppose this bill and will continue to raise our concerns with Ugandan government. We urge Ugandan MPs to reject it.”
05/10/11
USA: Barney Frank To Uganda: Pass The Kill The Gays Bill, Say Goodbye To Foreign Aid
David Badash
http://networkedblogs.com/hHknx
“If the bill before the Ugandan parliament becomes law, it must be the policy of the United States government to oppose any aid to Uganda from the World Bank, the African Development Bank, or any other international financial institution of which we are a member.”
05/10/11
USA: Presbyterians Approve Ordination of Gay People
Laurie Goodstein
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/11/us/11presbyterian.html?_r=3
After 33 years of debate, the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) has voted to change its constitution and allow openly gay people in same-sex relationships to be ordained as ministers, elders and deacons.
05/09/11
Netherlands: ‘Westernization’ is now a reason for asylum (for some)
Paul Canning
http://madikazemi.blogspot.com/2011/05/in-netherlands-westernization-is-now.html?utm
The Dutch Conservative government has recently changed the criteria for one group of asylum seekers, thinking it had solved a political problem, only to raise the question of why they’re not applying it to others.
Immigration and Asylum Minister Gerd Leers has agreed that some girls could not be returned to Afghanistan if they are ‘too westernized’.
05/09/11
Russia: Moscow Mayor allows ‘death to gays’ protest, no approval yet for any gay event
Paul Canning
http://madikazemi.blogspot.com/2011/05/moscow-mayor-allows-death-to-gays.html
The Moscow city government has allowed a far-right and Orthodox religious picket in the heart of the city calling for gays to be violently attacked and sent to death camps.
Activist Viacheslav Revin said that :
“The participants held placards calling for violence against gays. Homophobes do not hide their desire to send the gays to death camps, as Hitler did during the reign of the Nazis.”
05/08/11
Saudi Arabia: Blackmail of gay men “common” in Saudi Arabia, Gulf States
Paul Canning
http://madikazemi.blogspot.com/2011/05/blackmail-of-gay-men-common-in-saudi.html?
Saudi Arabia has been described as a ‚Äúgay heaven‚Äù because strict gender segregation supports what’s called a “flourishing” underground gay sex scene, but for those who fall foul of official prohibitions, through being discovered or being entrapped, jail and flogging awaits.
05/08/11
Cameroon: Entrapment leads to long prison sentence for gay man
Paul Canning
http://madikazemi.blogspot.com/2011/05/in-cameroon-entrapment-leads-to-long.html?utm
The man, Roger Jean-Claude Mbede, had sent a text to a man he believed to be gay but when he went to meet him the appointment “has proven to be an ambush”, the group’s statement said, and he was arrested 2 March by ‘elements’ of the SED (Secretary of State for defense)
05/07/11
USA: Historic Gay Rights Documents Displayed in Library of Congress
Steve Williams
http://www.care2.com/causes/civil-rights/blog/historic-gay-rights-documents-displayed-in-library-of-congress/
From the title of the exhibit, Kameny, now 85, said he can claim a new title for himself.
“I suppose you can say at this point, I have become one of the creators of the United States, which I never would have imagined in 1961,” Kameny said with a chuckle. “All I can say is from the long view, 50 years, we have moved ahead in a way that would have been absolutely unimaginable back then.”
05/06/11
Malta: Updated: Anger over ‘gay conversion’ claim – protest planned
Times of malta.com
http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20110506/local/anger-over-gay-conversion-claim-prosest-planned.363943
A claim by a pastor of the Evangelical Church in Malta that the Lord had ‘converted’ three men out of their homosexuality has angered the local gay community and many others.
Gordon John Manche earlier today posted an event on facebook called “Gay no more- Made new by the power of Christ” to encourage young people to attend a “spiritual gathering” where three formerly gay youths would speak about their conversion out of homosexuality
05/06/11
Mexico: Groups fail the murder of Leija Herrera
H. Castro and R. Valadez
http://www.lajornadaguerrero.com.mx/2011/05/06/index.php?section=politica&article=003n1pol
The struggle for diversity has been peaceful, we demand respect, activists claim
Social organizations, academics, writers, party representatives and members of civil society activist condemned the assassination of Quetzalcoatl Leija Herrera, described his death as “homophobic hate crime.” In a letter to Governor Angel Aguirre, the Attorney General, the CODDEHUM and media, demanded punishment for this and other attacks against homosexuals “who have been complicit in the silence and impunity by the state and its institutions” .
05/06/11
Syria: A Gay Girl in Damascus becomes a heroine of the Syrian revolt
Katherine Marsh
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/may/06/gay-girl-damascus-syria-blog
She is perhaps an unlikely hero of revolt in a conservative country. Female, gay and half-American, Amina Abdullah is capturing the imagination of the Syrian opposition with a blog that has shot to prominence as the protest movement struggles in the face of a brutal government crackdown
05/05/11
Argentina: Harassment causes suicide and Chile protests police assault on gay student
AG magazine
http://madikazemi.blogspot.com/2011/05/in-argentina-harassment-causes-suicide.html
The Federación Arg LGBT (FALGBT, Argentina LGBT Federation) is concerned about recent reports of violence against lesbians, gays and transgender people. And activists in Chile want clarification of what happened with a detained gay Chilean living in Argentina.
05/05/11
Australia: Transgender people most likely abused
Adele Horin
http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/transgender-people-most-likely-abused-20110504-1e8jr.html
THE Human Rights Commissioner, Catherine Branson, has called on the federal government to introduce federal laws to protect people from discrimination on the grounds of their sexual orientation or gender identity
05/05/11
Brazil: Supreme Court legalizes civil unions
Timothy Kincaid
http://www.boxturtlebulletin.com/2011/05/05/32364?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+BoxTurtleBulletin+%28Box+Turtle+Bulletin%29
Most justices of the Supreme Court (STF) has recognized civil unions between homosexuals, ensuring these couples the same rights as heterosexual couples. Of the eleven ministers of the Supreme Court, six had already voted in favor of the thesis until late afternoon on Thursday. If no request for examination and any minister to change the vote, the trial is set. Only José Antonio Dias Toffoli, former attorney general of the Union and who starred in one of the processes in question, did not participate in the discussion by declaring itself prevented.
05/05/11
USA: (Massachusetts) Council approves Lenk for seat on state’s top court
Michael Levenson,
http://articles.boston.com/2011-05-05/news/29513443_1_confirmation-first-african-american-chief-justice-gay-rights-activists
Barbara A. Lenk, a veteran Massachusetts Appeals Court judge, won confirmation yesterday to a seat on the Supreme Judicial Court, becoming the first openly gay judge to serve on the state’s highest judicial body.
05/05/11
USA: Ethics Cuts Gay Spouse Disclosure Proposal
Amanda Becker
http://www.rollcall.com/issues/56_117/financial-disclosure-same-sex-couples-205356-1.html?ET=rollcall:e10248:80119382a:&st=email&pos=eam
One of the ironies of anti-gay antagonism is that it sometimes results in gay people being removed from provisions that are designed to eliminate abuse. Sometimes anti-gays are so determined to deny that gay people have real lives and real relationships that they are willing to allow gay couples (which don’t really exist, you see) to get away with behavior that would otherwise be banned.
05/04/11
Uganda: Uganda gay activist Kasha Jacqueline Nabagesera hailed
BBC
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-13278374
Ugandan gay activist Kasha Jacqueline Nabagesera has been given the prestigious Martin Ennals rights award. The 10 organisations which make up the award jury said she was courageous and faced harassment because of her work.
05/04/11
USA: (New York) Andrew Cuomo Hopeful New York Will Legalize Gay Marriage
ON TOP MAGAZINE STAFF
http://www.ontopmag.com/article.aspx?id=8268&MediaType=1&Category=26
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said Tuesday that he’s “optimistic” that lawmakers will approve a gay marriage bill.
“I’m optimistic that marriage equality will pass,‚Äù Cuomo told reporters, the New York Daily News reported. ‚ÄúI think it is long overdue. I’ve been talking about that issue for a year. I know it’s failed before, but I think this is a different day.‚Äù
05/04/11
USA: Rhode Island Civil Unions Bill Introduced; Gay Marriage Supporters Declare War
Carlos Santoscoy
http://www.ontopmag.com/article.aspx?id=8269&MediaType=1&Category=26
Rhode Island Representative Peter Petrarca introduced a civil unions bill on Tuesday angering gay marriage supporters, the AP repported.
Petrarca’s proposed legislation would give gay and lesbian couples the same rights as marriage in the state. However, such unions receive no federal recognition
05/03/11
UK: Papers please! Officials roaming British streets in ‘illegals’ hunt
Awale Olad
http://madikazemi.blogspot.com/2011/05/papers-please-officials-roaming-british.html
Damian Green MP, the minister responsible for immigration, said:
“The UK Border Agency officers across the country have carried out a major enforcement crackdown which has generated a large number of arrests, cash seizures and prosecutions.”
05/01/11
USA: Trans People Face Injustice At Every Turn (VIDEO)
Steve Williams
http://www.care2.com/causes/human-rights/blog/trans-people-face-injustice-at-every-turn-video/
The National Center for Transgender Equality and the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force released a report earlier this year which gave a startling look into the level of discrimination America’s trans and gender non-conforming community must still suffer. Now, In The Life Media has created a brief documentary based around the report that really contextualizes the problems trans-identifying women face.
05/01/11
USA: Two Gay Men Raising 12 Children In Arizona
ON TOP MAGAZINE STAFF
http://ontopmag.com/article.aspx?id=8244&MediaType=1&Category=26
Steven and Roger Ham are raising 12 children in Arizona, a state that bans gay and lesbian couples from adoption and marriage.
The Hams, known as daddy and papa to their adoptive children, were profiled in Sunday’s The Arizona Republic.
04/30/11
Nepal: Transgender Nepalis Perform Traditional Wedding Blessing for Royal Couple at British Embassy
Special Correspondent
http://ukgaynews.org.uk/Archive/11/May/0101.htm
KATHMANDU, A dozen of Nepal‚Äôs “third gender‚Äù marked the British royal wedding with a traditional Nepali blessing ceremony at the British Embassy in Kathmandu in Friday afternoon.
04/29/11
USA: Why do Americans still dislike atheists?
Gregory Paul and Phil Zuckerman
Long after blacks and Jews have made great strides, and even as homosexuals gain respect, acceptance and new rights, there is still a group that lots of Americans just don’t like much: atheists.
04/28/11
Italy: Italian minister slams Ikea’s gay ad
The Swedish wire
http://www.swedishwire.com/business/9530-italian-minister-slams-ikeas-gay-ad
ROME (AFP) – A top Italian official on Saturday called an Ikea advertisement with two gay men holding hands “in bad taste”, invoking the ire of opposition parties and rights groups.
“I find it serious and in bad taste that a Swedish multinational comes to Italy to tell Italians what they should think,” Secretary of State for family policy Carlo Giovanardi said in a television interview.
04/28/11
USA: US Marines begin training to accept gay soldiers
Jessica Geen
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2011/04/28/us-marines-begin-training-to-accept-gay-soldiers/
US Marines have begun training in preparation to accept openly gay troops. Before President Obama signed an order to repeal the 17-year-old ban, there was concern that the Marines in particular would react badly to serving alongside out gay colleagues
04/27/11
France: Last known gay holocaust survivor to receive France’s top honour.
Christopher Brocklebank
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2011/04/27/last-known-gay-holocaust-survivor-to-receive-frances-top-honour/
Rudolf Brazda, 97, who spent three years in Buchenwald concentration camp, was recommended for the honour by President Sarkozy.
04/27/11
Norway: Norwegian health minister: abortion reprisal fears ‘unacceptable’
Michael Sandelson and Ramona Tancau
http://theforeigner.no/pages/news/norwegian-health-minister-abortion-reprisal-fearsunacceptable/
Surgery department manager at Flekkefjord hospital, Marcus Gürgen, told NRK earlier today gynecologists at the medical facility used their legal right to refuse to perform abortions. One is afraid of violent reprisals from anti-abortionists.
“He does not want a rock thrown through his window should he decide to carry this procedure out here, even though I believe it won’t occur.”
04/27/11
Pakistan: Pakistan allows trans men and women their own gender category
Christopher Brocklebank
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2011/04/27/pakistan-allows-trans-men-and-women-their-own-gender-category/
The country’s Supreme Court has ruled that Pakistanis who do not consider themselves to be either male or female should be allowed to choose an alternative sex when they apply for their national identity cards.
04/27/11
Poland: Poland to end gay marriage abroad discrimination
TheNews.pl
http://www.thenews.pl/international/artykul154190_poland-to-end-gay-marriage-abroad-discrimination.html
Polish registry offices will be issued with new certificates which will effectively end in Poland discrimination against same sex couples wanting to get married or enter into a civil partnership abroad.
04/27/11
South Africa: Lesbian raped and murdered in South African township.
Christopher Brocklebank
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2011/04/27/lesbian-raped-and-murdered-in-south-african-township/
Noxolo Nogwaza, a 24-year-old lesbian, was found dead in an alley in Kwa-Thema township, South Africa, on Easter Sunday morning. It is believed she was raped and murdered.
A gay man has received hospital treatment after being beaten up in a homophobic attack at the weekend.
Chas Andersen, 20, from Bethnal Green, was knocked to the ground and punched twice in the head while trying to use a cash machine on Clapham High street in south-west London, opposite the gay KAZ Bar.
04/27/11
UK: Gay man beaten in homophobic south London attack.
Christopher Brocklebank
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2011/04/27/gay-man-beaten-in-homophobic-south-london-attack/
Chas Andersen, 20, from Bethnal Green, was knocked to the ground and punched twice in the head while trying to use a cash machine on Clapham High street in south-west London, opposite the gay KAZ Bar.
04/27/11
USA: West Point Refuses To Readmit Lesbian Cadet.
Amelia Thomson-DeVeaux
http://www.care2.com/causes/civil-rights/blog/west-point-refuses-to-readmit-lesbian-cadet/
Katherine Miller, a lesbian cadet who resigned from West Point last year when she said she could no longer lie about her sexuality, was recently refused readmission to the academy. This was because, although the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy was ended late last year, the repeal is not yet in effect, at least according to West Point
04/26/11
Australia: Asylum seekers breaking the law face deportation as Labor gets tough
Alison Rehn
http://www.news.com.au/national/fast-exit-to-follow-trouble/story-e6frfkvr-1226044726193
Any asylum seeker convicted of a crime while in detention will fail the Government’s character test and almost certainly face deportation. Changes to the immigration laws will make it easier to send rogue detainees back to their country of origin or, at the very least, prevent them from being eligible to apply for permanent protection visas.
04/26/11
Japan: First openly gay candidate wins in Tokyo ward
Natsuko Fukue
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20110426a9.html
OSAKA ‚Äî Openly gay candidate Taiga Ishikawa won a seat in the Toshima Ward Assembly in Tokyo in Sunday’s election, marking a historic first.
“I hope this news will give a hope to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people who still feel isolated from the society,” said Ishikawa. “I will do my best to make Toshima Ward more friendly to LGBT people, young people and foreigners.”
04/26/11
Russia: Activist says Moscow authorities authorized gay rally
Interfax
http://www.interfax-religion.com/?act=news&div=8404
Moscow, April 26, Interfax – Moscow gay pride parade organizer Nikolay Alexeyev says the Moscow authorities have for the first time authorized a gay rally in Moscow’s Bolotnaya Square
04/26/11
UK: Catholic adoption agency loses gay adoption fight.
Riazat Butt
http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2011/apr/26/catholic-adoption-agency-gay-lesbian
Leeds-based agency Catholic Care told it must consider gay and lesbian couples as prospective parents
A Catholic adoption agency has lost a two-year battle to be excluded from laws that ban discrimination against homosexuals.
Leeds-based Catholic Care wanted exemption from the 2007 Sexual Orientation Regulations, which require it to consider gay and lesbian couples as prospective parents.
04/25/11
USA: (California) Proposition 8 ruling should be voided because gay judge was biased, backers say
L.A Now Staff Writer
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2011/04/backers-of-proposition-8-say-gay-judge-who-declared-the-measure-unconstitutional-was-biased-ruling-s.html
In a court filing, the sponsors of the ban on gay marriage, ProtectMarriage, asked the chief judge of the federal court in San Francisco to nullify last August’s ruling by former U.S. District Chief Judge Vaughn R. Walker, who retired earlier this year.
04/25/11
USA: Rachel Maddow: ‘I’m definitely not an autocutie’
Hadley Freeman
http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2011/apr/25/rachel-maddow-us-news-anchor
The top US news anchor on why she prefers jokes to anger and why she is proud to be gay
I’ve long held three basic beliefs about the ethics of coming out:
*Gay people — generally speaking — have a responsibility to our own community and to future generations of gay people to come out, if and when we feel that we can.
*We should all get to decide for ourselves the “if and when we feel that we can” part of that.
* Closeted people should reasonably expect to be outed by other gay people if (and only if) they prey on the gay community in public, but are secretly gay themselves.
04/25/11
USA: Texas May Bar Transgender Marriage.
Jim Vertuno
http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,2067351,00.html
(AUSTIN) — Two years after Texas became one of the last states to allow transgendered people to use proof of their sex change to get a marriage license, Republican lawmakers are trying to roll back the clock.
Advocates for the transgendered say a proposal to bar transgendered people from getting married smacks of discrimination and would put their legally granted marriages in danger of being nullified if challenged in court.
04/24/11
Nigeria’s gay church is reborn amid a climate of fear
Shyamantha Asokan
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/apr/24/gay-nigerians-church-services-secret
In Nigeria, religion is central to everyday life but many Christian churches exclude gay members House of Rainbow church offers underground prayer and preaching to Christians ostracised by rampant homophobia.
04/22/11
USA: Baltimore County McDonald’s beating video goes viral
Justin Fenton
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/baltimore-city/bs-md-ci-viral-video-mcdonalds-20110422,0,4613709.story
A video of a vicious beating at a Baltimore County McDonald’srestaurant went viral Friday, garnering hundreds of thousands of views on websites and prompting the fast-food giant to issue a statement condemning the incident. Gay advocacy group says attack on transgender woman a hate crime
04/22/11
USA: Suicide Pact: Minnesota Teens Haylee Fentress and Paige Moravetz Commit Suicide at Slumber Party
Dan Savage
http://blogtown.portlandmercury.com/BlogtownPDX/archives/2011/04/22/two-bullied-teenage-girls-kill-themselves-in-minnesota
A slumber party in Minnesota ended in tragedy when two eighth grade girls fulfilled a suicide pact, killing themselves and leaving behind suicide notes telling their families that they loved them.
04/21/11
UK: Man, 18, arrested over east London anti-gay stickers
Jessica Geen
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2011/04/21/man-18-arrested-over-east-london-anti-gay-stickers/
An 18-year-old man has been arrested in connection with homophobic stickers plastered around London’s east end. The teenager, from Leamouth, was arrested on suspicion of a public order offence yesterday, police said.
04/21/11
USA: Rock Hill gay beating prompts SC hate crime bill
Andrew Dys
http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2011/04/21/2238262/rock-hill-gay-beating-prompts.html
ROCK HILL In the wake of a brutal beating of a gay man caught on a Rock Hill store’s videotape, the sponsor of a hate crime bill that last year went nowhere in the General Assembly plans to reintroduce the bill next week and ask that it be discussed immediately by legislators.
04/21/11
USA: Virginia- Anti-gay bias ban stripped from proposed adoption rules
Olympia Meola
http://www2.timesdispatch.com/news/2011/apr/21/tdmain01-gay-rights-protection-stripped-from-propo-ar-986480/
The revised regul Gov. Bob McDonnell has said he thinks the current standards for adoptions are proper.
Virginia’s Board of Social Services has struck language from proposed adoption regulations that would have barred private agencies from discriminating against prospective parents based on their sexual orientation.
04/20/11
Kenya. Kenyan woman weds her US bride in same-sex union
Antony Karanja
http://www.nation.co.ke/News/Kenyan+woman+weds+her+US+bride+in+same+sex+union/-/1056/1148360/-/6vjxac/-/index.html
Terry Wakonyo Ng’endo, 24,(Kenyan) and Courtney Nicole, 25, wedded in a same-sex civil union at the Polk County Courthouse last Friday in Des Moines, Iowa where homosexual marriages in Iowa became legal on April 3, 2009
04/20/11
USA: Father Kills Daughter’s Girlfriend, Mother
The Advocate
http://www.advocate.com/News/Daily_News/2011/04/20/Father_Murders_Daughters_Girlfriend_and_Mother/
Police in Austin said that Jose Alfonso Aviles, upset that his daughter was in a lesbian relationship, shot and killed her girlfriend and her mother Monday evening.
04/20/11
USA: Washington Forum debates protection for refugees persecuted for their sexuality.
UNHRC
http://www.unhcr.org/4dae9ea16.html
WASHINGTON, DC, United States, April 19 (UNHCR) – A senior UNHCR official has called for stepped up efforts to protect the thousands of refugees and asylum-seekers persecuted every year for their sexual orientation and gender identity.
04/19/11
Hungary: Hungary approves new ‘anti-gay’ constitution.
Jessica Geen
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2011/04/19/hungary-approves-new-anti-gay-constitution/
Hungarian politicians have approved a new constitution which bans gay marriage. The document restricts marriage to heterosexuals and does not protect LGBT people from discrimination
04/19/11
India: Haryana widows battered to death.
BBC News
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-13125674
Two widows have been bludgeoned to death by a man in the northern Indian state of Haryana, officials say. Police arrested a 23-year-old man, the nephew of one of the women. He was on parole, having served a sentence for rape. Eyewitnesses told police he killed his aunt and another woman in full view of other villagers, after he accused them of being in a lesbian relationship.
04/19/11
Malaysia: Malaysia sends 66 boys to gay cure camp.
Jessica Geen
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2011/04/19/malaysia-sends-66-boys-to-gay-cure-camp/
Malaysian authorities have admitted sending 66 teenage boys thought to be gay to a camp to learn “masculine behaviour.”
04/19/11
Russia: Racism and abuse in asylum centres.
Daniel Sandford
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-13131359
Fofana Baleymory, Benjamin N’Guessan and Frederic Karangwa say they are persecuted in Russia
A BBC investigation into Russia’s treatment of asylum seekers has found disturbing evidence of neglect, abuse, and overt racial discrimination by officials. Most people who come to Russia seeking political asylum arrive at the international airports in Moscow and St Petersburg, or cross the country’s southern borders.
04/19/11
USA: FBI Investigates Antigay Mob Attack
The Advocate
http://www.advocate.com/News/Daily_News/2011/04/19/FBI_Investigates_Antigay_Mob_Attack/
The FBI is investigating the attack against a young gay man by a mob of eight or more men in Rock Hill, S.C., that was captured on video.
04/18/11
USA: Teen Suicide Attempts Tied to Social Environment
Jennifer Warner
WebMD Health News
Laura J. Martin, MD
http://teens.webmd.com/news/20110418/teen-suicide-attempts-tied-social-environment?src=RSS_PUBLIC
A negative social environment may increase risk for suicide attempts by lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) teenagers.
A new study shows the risk of suicide attempts among LGB teens is 20% higher in communities that are less supportive of homosexuality than in supportive social environments.
Heterosexual teens living in supportive social environments also reported 9% fewer suicide attempts than teens in unsupportive environments.
“The results of this study are pretty compelling,” researcher Mark L. Hatzenbuehler, PhD, of the Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia University, says in a news release. “When communities support their gay young people, and schools adopt anti-bullying and anti-discrimination policies that specifically protect lesbian, gay, and bisexual youth, the risk of attempted suicide by all young people drops, especially for LGB youth.”
04/18/11
Ireland: Irish trans woman wins £30,000 for discrimination
Jessica Geen
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2011/04/18/irish-trans-woman-wins-30000-for-discrimination/
Louise Hannon claims that her employer, First Direct Logistics Limited, discriminated against her after she revealed she was transitioning.
04/18/11
Kenya: Gay and Albino in Kenya.
Denis Nzioka
http://www.gaykenya.com/news/3957.html
A gay albino shares his story of double prejudice.
04/18/11
US study: Gay teen suicide risk higher in conservative areas.
Jessica Geen
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2011/04/18/us-study-gay-teen-suicide-risk-higher-in-conservative-areas/
An American study suggests that attempted suicide rates among gay teenagers are higher in areas considered less liberal. The research involved more than 32,000 high school students in the state of Oregon.
04/18/11
USA: Brewer Backs Anti–Gay Adoption Bill
Michelle Garcia
http://www.advocate.com/News/Daily_News/2011/04/18/Brewer_Approves_Antigay_Adoption_Bill/
Arizona governor Jan Brewer signed a bill Monday mandating that married heterosexual couples be given priority consideration when agencies are placing children for adoption or foster care.
04/18/11
USA: Speaker Boehner’s DOMA Defense Lawyer, Paul Clement, Is Announced — and Faces Questions
Chris Geidner
http://www.metroweekly.com/poliglot/2011/04/paul-clements-defense-pro-and.html
Today, the House of Representatives Bipartisan Legal Advisory Group, through Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio), announced that it would be intervening in cases challenging the Defense of Marriage Act’s constitutionality, a move authorized earlier this year by the Republican members of the BLAG
04/16/11
USA: Former Marine convicted of murdering gay professor.
Indystar.com
http://www.indystar.com/article/20110416/NEWS02/104160370/Former-Marine-convicted-murdering-gay-professor?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|Communities
Bloomington — An ex-Marine who admitted killing a gay Indiana University professor two days after they had a sexual encounter has been convicted of murder by a jury that found the slaying was intentional and not committed in the heat of anger.
04/15/11
Australia: Gay refugees face prejudice across the world
Tony Grew
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-7403.html/
Biplob Hossain, a gay refugee from Bangladesh who is seeking asylum in Australia, and Joaquin Ramirez, facing deportation to El Salvador, have highlighted the plight of gay men who flee their countries to escape persecution.
04/15/11
Uganda: Uganda Ambassador describes how David Kato should share responsibility for his murder.
LGBT-EP.EU
http://www.lgbt-ep.eu/news-stories/uganda-ambassador-david-kato-should-share-responsibility-for-his-murder/?utm_source=feedburner
In a shocking letter to the President of the European Parliament, the Ambassador of Uganda in Brussels asserts that David Kato “should share responsibility in this very unfortunate incident.” A highly-respected and recognised human rights defender in Uganda, David Kato was murdered on 26th January 2011 following his vocal stance in favour of LGBT people‚Äôs human rights.
04/15/11
UK: Hundreds protest outside John Snow pub that kicked out gay couple for kissing.
James Park
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2011/04/15/hundreds-protest-outside-john-snow-pub-that-kicked-out-gay-couple-for-kissing/
A large protest of hundreds of people gathered outside the John Snow pub in Soho, central London earlier this evening in reaction to a gay couple being ejecting from the venue for kissing.
04/15/11
USA: California set to teach gay history and rights in schools
Alex Spillius
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/educationnews/8454857/California-set-to-teach-gay-history-and-rights-in-schools.html
California is set to become the first US state to require the teaching of gay history and rights.
Children would take lessons on issues affecting gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgender people, with schools granted discretion about what age to start the lessons.
The law was passed by the state’s senate and is likely to pass the assembly easily, which is also controlled by the Democrats, before being signed by Governor Jerry Brown.
04/14/11
UK: Gay victim was lured into ambush by hate gang Leicester Court told.
Suzy Gibson
http://www.thisisleicestershire.co.uk/news/GAY-VICTIM-LURED-AMBUSH-HATE-GANG/article-3448623-detail/article.html?
A gay man suffered a fractured skull after being lured to a park where a gang of four beat him up, a jury heard.
04/14/11
USA: Geithner Pledges To Work Against LGBT Abuses Overseas
Chris Johnson
http://www.washingtonblade.com/2011/04/14/geithner-pledges-to-work-with-mdbs-against-lgbt-abuses-overseas/
Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner has pledged to voice opposition to LGBT human rights violations overseas through U.S. participation in multilateral development institutions — such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund — and to work to restrict funds from these banks to foreign governments that allow such abuses
04/13/11
USA: Civil Rights Complaint Details Systemic Abuse of Sexual Minorities in U.S. Immigration Detention
NIJC
“These complaints document stories of abuse, humiliation, and neglect, often in isolated detention facilities where people have little access to the outside world. Given DHS’s inability to protect vulnerable individuals in its custody from abuse, the Obama administration must take concrete steps to reduce its expansive detention program and to use alternatives to detention.
04/13/11
Australia: Australian Facebook group outed gay soldiers.
Jessica Geen
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2011/04/13/australian-facebook-group-outed-gay-soldiers/
The Australian Defence Force (AD) has been accused of failing to discipline soldiers who were involved in an online hate campaign against their gay colleagues.
04/13/11
Lithuania: Lithuanian Parliamentary Committee Votes to “Improve” the Ban on “Gay Propaganda”
UK Gay News
http://ukgaynews.org.uk/Archive/11/Apr/1301.htm
VILNIUS, (LGL) ‚Äì A majority of the members of the Committee on Legal Affairs of Lithuanian Parliament today voted for the “improvement of a legislative amendment which seeks to establish harsh fines for the ‚Äúpropagation of homosexual relations in the public.
“This is a one more warning act of institutionalised homophobia which prevails among Lithuanian lawmakers,” commented Valdimir Simonko, chair of the national LGBT advocacy association Lithuanian Gay League (LGL).
04/13/11
Uganda: Cabinet wants gays Bill dropped.
Sheila Naturinda
http://www.monitor.co.ug/News/National/-/688334/1143542/-/c2qtroz/-/index.html
A Cabinet sub-committee formed to study the Anti-Homosexuality Bill 2010 and report back to Cabinet, yesterday added a spin into the Bill and called for its withdrawal.
04/13/11
USA: Conservatives Declare War on “Gay”
The Advocate.com
http://www.advocate.com/News/Daily_News/2011/04/14/Conservatives_Declare_War_on_the_Word_Gay/
Attendees at the Awakening conference for social conservatives this past weekend suggested that their fight begins with changing the terms of debate, namely, swapping the word ‚ “gay‚” for alternatives including ‚ “sodomy‚” and ‘anti-Christian.”
04/13/11
USA: Lift Ban on HIV Infected Organ Transplants? HIV Patients Want Access.
Steve Williams
http://www.care2.com/causes/health-policy/blog/lift-ban-on-h-i-v-infected-organ-transplants-hiv-patients-want-access/
HIV infected patients who need replacement organs say they should be allowed to access organs from HIV positive donors and federal health officials are considering whether its time to lift the current ban on such organ transplants.
04/13/11
USA: Want a Birth Certificate? First Tell Us If You’ve Ever Had an Abortion.
Robin Marty
http://www.care2.com/causes/womens-rights/blog/want-a-birth-certificate-first-tell-us-if-youve-ever-had-an-abortion/
In Georgia, In the days after giving birth a new mother is sleep deprived, emotional, exhausted, and hormonal. Which makes her a perfect target for intrusive questions about her private life in the guise of bureaucracy.- We are talking about whether or not she had an abortion before, so that she her baby’s birth certificate can be processed.
04/12/11
Uganda: “Huge” anti-gay campaign unfolding in Uganda.
Paul Canning
http://madikazemi.blogspot.com/2011/04/huge-anti-gay-campaign-unfolding-in.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+SaveMehdiKazemi+%28LGBT+asylum+news%29
Despite reports that Uganda’s ‘kill the gays’ bill has been stopped in the Ugandan Parliament following an announcement by President Yoweri Musevini‚Äôs government, anti-gay forces have upped their efforts to have it become law.
04/12/11
USA: New Jersey trans man fired from men-only job.
Jessica Geen
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2011/04/12/new-jersey-trans-man-fired-from-men-only-job/
A New Jersey transgender man has been fired after his employers decided that he did not fulfill a men-only requirement of the job. El’Jai Devoureau, 39, was hired by a drug treatment centre last summer and was required to watch men giving urine samples for drug testing.
04/11/11
Chile: Lesbian judge in Chile fights for new US anti-discrimination laws.
Steve Brewer
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2011/04/11/lesbian-judge-in-chile-fights-for-new-us-anti-discrimination-laws/
A lesbian judge from Chile is calling for new anti-discrimination laws to be introduced across North and South America. Karen Atala, 47, lost custody of her three daughters in 2004 because of her sexual orientation. She won custody of her children in two hearings, but they were overturned by the Supreme Court in 2006.
04/10/11
UK: Homosexual men allowed to give blood but sex banned for decade.
Andy Bloxham
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/8441054/Homosexual-men-allowed-to-give-blood-but-sex-banned-for-decade.html
Homosexual men are to be allowed to give blood for the first time, in a move which will increase fears of transfustion patients contracting HIV.
A bag of donor blood stored in blood bank Photo: ALAMY
The ban on gay men donating blood is being lifted because it was decided that the rule could be discriminatory and might breach equality legislation.
04/10/11
USA: Religious Fundamentalists at Heart of Uganda’s Human Rights Problem.
africanactivist.org
http://www.africanactivist.org/2011/04/us-department-of-state-religious.html
The United States Department of State submitted its annual Country Reports on Human Rights Practices to the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate as required by law for “countries that receive assistance” among others. The Uganda Report mentions the religious fundamentalists by name at the heart of Uganda’s human rights problem.
04/09/11
Italy: Academic who blamed fall of Roman Empire on gays under pressure to resign.
James Park
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2011/04/09/academic-who-blamed-fall-of-roman-empire-on-gays-under-pressure-to-resign/
A leading but controversial Italian academic is facing calls for him to resign as vice president of the country’s Centre for National Research after he claimed that homosexuality caused the fall of the Roman Empire.
Professor Roberto De Mattei, vice-president of Italy’s Centre for National Research, a devout Catholic who previously claimed that the Japanese earthquake and tsunami was “divine punishment”, made his claims in an interview for a religious radio station.
During his interview with Radio Maria, Professor De Mattei said:”The collapse of the Roman Empire and the arrival of the Barbarians was due to the spread of homosexuality
04/09/11
Malaysia: Four Malaysian homosexuals seek asylum in the UK.
G Vinod
http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/2011/04/09/four-malaysian-homosexuals-seek-asylum-in-the-uk/
Four Malaysian men have sought refuge in the UK due to fear of persecution under the Malaysian Penal Code.
04/07/11
Belgium: Video: Anti-gay Catholic archbishop slapped in face with custard pies Jessica Geen
Jessica Geen
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2011/04/07/video-anti-gay-catholic-archbishop-slapped-in-face-with-custard-pies/
A Belgian Catholic archbishop who said HIV is “justice” for gays has been hit in the face with custard pies.
Archbishop Andre-Joseph Leonard, the head of the country’s Catholic Church, was targeted on Tuesday while speaking at a university near Brussels.
04/07/11
Mexico: Police arrest five gays as being “a threat to families”
Puebla Online
http://madikazemi.blogspot.com/2011/04/mexican-police-arrest-five-gays-as.html
Municipal Police in the city of Pueblawas arrested and sent to court qualifier to a group of five gay men for the “crime” of “being a nuisance and a danger to families,” that drew these men into prostitution in one of the main thoroughfares of the capital.
04/07/11
Uganda: Daily Monitor: – National |Anti-gay activists call for passing of Bill against homosexuality,
Sheila Naturinda
http://www.monitor.co.ug
Anti-homosexuality activists have presented a petition in Parliament, calling for the passing of the anti-gay Bill. The petition, signed by two million people countrywide, was presented to the Speaker of Parliament, Mr Edward Ssekandi, yesterday by anti-gay activists led by Pastor Martin Ssempa.
04/06/11
Czech Republic: 5,000-year-old ‘transgender’ skeleton discovered
Jessica Geen
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2011/04/06/5000-year-old-transgender-skeleton-discovered/
Archaeologists have discovered a 5,000-year-old skeleton which they believe may be the remains of a transgender person.
The male skeleton was found in a suburb of Prague and is buried in a manner previously only seen for female burials. The body is believed to date from between 2900 and 2500BC and is from the Corded Ware culture of the Copper Age.
04/04/11
China: 60 arrested in Shanghai gay bar raid.
Jessica Geen
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2011/04/04/60-arrested-in-shanghai-gay-bar-raid/
More than 60 people were arrested this weekend when police raided a gay bar in Shanghai. According to AFP, police in the Chinese city said that patrons at Q bar were watching “pornographic” shows. Police arrived in the early hours of Sunday morning and arrested staff, DJs and patrons, detaining some for 12 hours.
04/01/11
Poland: Polish MP expelled for lesbian joke
Jessica Geen
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2011/04/01/polish-mp-expelled-for-lesbian-joke/
A Polish MP has been expelled from his party for making a sexist joke about lesbians. Robert Wegrzyn of the centre-right Civic Platform party was given the boot this week, two months after he made the off-colour joke. In February, when asked for his views on civil partnerships, he responded: “We can forget about gay men, but I would gladly watch lesbians.” He went on to criticise gay people for “flaunting” their sexuality.
04/01/11
Saudi Arabia: Gay British man arrested and beaten in Saudi Arabia.
Jessica Geen
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2011/04/01/gay-british-man-arrested-and-beaten-in-saudi-arabia/
A British man was arrested and beaten in Saudi Arabia by religious police when they discovered he was gay. Stephen Comiskey, a 36-year-old nurse, was threatened with beheading and thrown in a cell, the Sun reports. He says he was tricked by religious police who sent him a text message pretending to be a friend. Homosexuality is a capital offence in Saudi Arabia.
03/29/11
Sweden: Anton Hys√©n: ‘Anyone afraid of coming out should give me a call’
Patrick Barkham
http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2011/mar/29/anton-hysen-afraid-coming-out
Top-flight world football has no openly gay players, except one – Swedish midfielder Anton Hysén. So why did he make the move, and what has been the reaction?
Anton Hys√©n looks every inch the modern footballer. The 20-year-old Swede has his initials tattooed behind one ear and his parents’ names on each forearm. On his left arm, in particularly elaborate lettering, is: “UNWA”. This is Hys√©n’s tribute to Liverpool, his birthplace, and the terrace anthem of his favourite club ‚Äì You’ll Never Walk Alone.
03/28/11
Finland: Thousands leave Finnish Lutheran church over anti-gay campaign
Jessica Geen
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2011/03/28/thousands-leave-finnish-lutheran-church-over-anti-gay-campaign/
Thousands of people have reportedly left the Lutheran Evangelical Association of Finland after a campaign against homosexuality. The week-long campaign, which was drawn up by several Christian groups and ended this weekend, was met with anger. Called “älä alistu” (“don’t acquiesce”), it claimed that gay people can become straight and urged youths not to give in to thoughts of homosexuality
03/28/11
Haiti: Needs of LGBT Haitians Largely Ignored in Post-quake Recovery Efforts.
IGHRC
http://www.iglhrc.org/cgi-bin/iowa/article/pressroom/pressrelease/1370.html
In the days and weeks after the earthquake, we were shouted at in the streets‚ “You gay people, take your sin and go, you are responsible for this tragedy‚” said Reginal Dupont, Program Manager at SEROvie. ‚ÄúMany masisi were attacked, verbally and physically.‚Äù This irrational blaming of LGBT people for natural disasters is a global phenomenon, with conservative evangelicals like Pat Robertson having blamed homosexuality for the devastation of Hurricane Katrina as well as other natural disasters.
03/25/11
Breaking: Uganda’s ‘Kill The Gays’ Bill Appears To Be Dead | The New Civil Rights Movement.
David Badash
http://thenewcivilrightsmovement.com/ugandas-kill-the-gays-bill-appears-to-be-dead/legislation/2011/03/25/18278
Uganda’s internationally-denounced bill that would have allowed for all Ugandan gays to be put in jail for life, appears to be dead.
03/25/11
Canada: Canada to financially assist persecuted gay asylum seekers.
James Sanders
http://news.pinkpaper.com/NewsStory/5074/25/03/2011/canada-to-financially-assist-persecuted-gay-asylum-seekers.aspx
A project to help asylum seekers persecuted because of their sexuality has been launched in Canada.
Immigration Minister Jason Kenney said his department – Citizenship and Immigration Canada – will donate a financial grant to help sponsor refugees and relocate them.
03/24/11
UN Gay Rights Vote Result Of Growing Global Support for LGBT Rights.
Tanya Domi
http://thenewcivilrightsmovement.com/un-gay-rights-vote-result-of-growing-global-support-for-lgbt-rights/legal-issues/2011/03/24/18230
The United Nations this week, in an historic vote led by the United States and cosponsored by 85 countries, voted to condemn violence against LGBT people around the world — in stark contrast to a vote last November that initially allowed gays to be executed without cause. How did it happen? What are the roots of this new-found tolerance and support? Columbia University human rights professor and Eurasia expert Tanya Domi points to Eleanor Roosevelt and Hillary Clinton as two pieces of a very large puzzle as she explains the backstory.//newline////newline//Despite horrific incidents of violence perpetrated against gay people from New York City to Moscow, from Kampala to Sarajevo and from Dakar to Tehran, Wednesday’s burgeoning, supportive vote by the UN Human Rights Council that condemned violence against persons for their sexual orientation or gender identity and affirmed that international human rights values and principles apply to sexual minorities, was actually set in motion in Vienna in 1993, when the UN convened the World Conference on Human Rights–called by many historians a “rare and defining moment.”
03/23/11
USA: Obama administration calls on United Nations to support gay rights.
Julie Mianecki
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-obama-gays-20110323,0,5104981.story
‘Human rights are the inalienable right of every person, no matter who they are or who they love,’ Ambassador Eileen Chamberlain Donahoe says. The move is the latest by Obama in support of gay rights
03/20/11
INDIA: Transgenders Want Political Space In Tamil Nadu.
ILGA
http://ilga.org/ilga/en/article/mTO8fsa1Gp
The 30,000-strong transgender community, mostly living in the fringes of society in Tamil Nadu, wants political space in the state to voice their plight.
03/19/11
UNITED STATES: Don’t Blame Me for Your Mess!.
ILGA
http://ilga.org/ilga/en/article/mTAhgX51Ss
Terry Angel Mason, author of “Love Won’t Let Me Be Silent,” talks against homophobia and discrimination. “I am tired of being attacked, robbed, and denied equal rights by heterosexual religious zealots who blame same-gender-loving people for their failed marriages.”
03/16/11
DRC: Congolese victims of sexual violence call for help from the international community.
UNHCR
http://www.unhcr.org/4d80b63b6.html
Women at the Mugunga III camp for the forcibly displaced in North Kivu province, Democratic Republic of the Congo.
MUGUNGA III CAMP, Democratic Republic of the Congo, March 16 (UNHCR) – Marie* was first raped three years ago during a raid on her village that left her husband and 10 children dead – she was about 70 years old at the time.
03/16/11
Refugee from Uganda | The Bilerico Project.
Davina Kotulski
http://www.bilerico.com/2011/03/refugee_from_uganda.php
To date, he has not been granted asylum. I met Moses at a forum on LGBT asylum presented at the Pacific School of Religion in Berkeley and sponsored by Rev. Roland Stringfellow of the Center for Lesbian and Gay Studies. …
03/11/11
Remarks to the Press on the Release of the 2009 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices.
Hillary Rodham Clinton, Secretary of State
http://www.state.gov/secretary/rm/2010/03/138241.htm
Secretary Clinton comments on the importance of the Human Rights report to foreign policy, aid, and activism efforts. (A link to 2009 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2009/index.htm)
03/07/11
NZ: New Zealand sees high number of gay/bisexual HIV diagnoses.
Jessica Geen
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2011/03/07/new-zealand-sees-high-number-of-gaybisexual-hiv-diagnoses/
New Zealand has seen an alarming number of gay and bisexual men diagnosed with HIV last year. According to the AIDS Epidemiology Group at the University of Otago, 90 of the 149 new infections diagnosed last year were found in men who have sex with men. HIV campaigners said that rates of the disease in gay and bisexual men were the worst they had ever been, surpassing even the 1980s.
03/03/11
Turkey: Turkey’s first openly gay football referee continues legal battle
Christopher Brocklebank
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2011/03/03/turkeys-first-openly-gay-football-referee-continues-legal-battle/
Turkey’s first openly gay referee has said he will push on with his legal battle against the Turkish Football Federation, who barred him from officiating over matches in 2008
03/02/11
Mozambique: Mozambicans seek constitutional amendment to enshrine gay rights.
Stephen Gray
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2011/03/02/mozambicans-seek-constitutional-amendment-to-enshrine-gay-rights/
An LGBT association in Mozambique has welcomed clarification of the law by the country’s justice minister at the UN, but has expressed concern that the constitution and penal code are still ambiguous on gay rights.
03/01/11
USA: Rev. Peter J. Gomes Is Dead at 68; A Leading Voice Against Intolerance.
Robert D. Mcfadden.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/02/us/02gomes.html?_r=1&src=me&ref=homepage
The Rev. Peter J. Gomes, a Harvard minister, theologian and author who announced that he was gay a generation ago and became one of America’s most prominent spiritual voices against intolerance, died on Monday in Boston. He was 68.
2/29/11
Malta: Maltese trans man wins right to be recognised as male
Jessica Geen
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2011/03/29/maltese-trans-man-wins-right-to-be-recognised-as-male/
A transgender man in Malta has won the right to have his birth certificate changed to ‘male’. The 26-year-old, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was born female but said he had always felt and acted like a man. He has had gender reassignment surgery abroad. Malta insists that trans men and women must have ‘irreversible’ surgery in order to change gender
02/28/11
Zealand: Website blaming gays for Christchurch quake shut down.
Staff Writer, PinkNews.co.uk
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2011/02/28/website-blaming-gays-for-christchurch-quake-shut-down/
A website that blamed the earthquake in Christchurch, New Zealand, on gay people, has been shut down by its Utah-based web hosting provider, BlueHost. It follows complaints from the readers of PinkNews.co.uk and other LGBT media.
02/21/11
Israel: Israel appoints first out gay judge.
PinkNews.co.uk Staff Writer
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2011/02/21/israel-appoints-first-out-gay-judge/
The first openly gay judge has been appointed in Israel. Dori Spivak, an attorney and former Civil Rights Association chairman, was appointed as a judge at the Tel Aviv Labor Court on Friday. He is the deputy director of the Tel Aviv University’s law clinics and a longtime gay rights activist.
02/21/11
USA: Moses Kushaba, gay Ugandan, worships at IHOP in effort to pressure Lou Engle.
David Martin
http://iplextra.indiatimes.com/article/03OI0zZ7BC37G?q=Uganda
Kushaba and Love had hoped to present Engle with petitions asking that he restate his position on Uganda. Engle has said his ministry did not support the anti-homosexuality bill there. But his appearance at the prayer rally amounted to an endorsement. Kushaba said Engle and other evangelicals from the United States “incited” hostilities against gays.
02/15/11
Uganda: Video: Scott Mills experiences ‘bizarre’ Ugandan gay cure ritual.
PinkNews
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2011/02/15/scott-mills-describes-ugandan-gay-cure-ritual/
Gay Radio 1 DJ Scott Mills has described a “bizarre” ritual in which he was battered with chickens to turn him straight. Mills said: “They have these witch doctors who claim they can cure people. I went to see one and I knew they were just fleecing people for money. “He’d say weird things like, ‘You’re very sick, so you need to go and buy a cow then we’ll transport your spirit into the cow’.
02/14/11
Uganda: The World’s worst place to be gay.
Scott Mills
http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00yrt1c/The_Worlds_Worst_Place_to_Be_Gay/
Scott Mills travels to Uganda where the death penalty could be introduced for being gay.
02/11/11
Botswana: MP says he hates gays and lesbians.
PinkNews
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2011/02/11/botswana-mp-says-he-hates-gays-and-lesbians/
A Botswana politician says he agrees with Zimbabwean president Robert Mugabe’s views on homosexuality. Pono Moatlhodi, who is the deputy speaker of the Botswana National Assembly, told a January meeting on HIV prevention that he would “never tolerate” gays and lesbians.
02/11/11
Jamaica’s gays finding refuge by applying for U.S. asylum.
Shankar Vedantam
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/02/11/AR2011021106013.html?referrer=emailarticle
From the time he was in grade school in his native Jamaica, Andrae Bent was the target of taunts and attacks.
02/11/11
Scott Mills: ‘Gay hatred is everywhere in Uganda’.
Jessica Geen.
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2011/02/11/scott-mills-gay-hatred-is-everywhere-in-uganda/
The situation for gay people in Uganda was far worse than he expected, Scott Mills says. Speaking to PinkNews.co.uk about an upcoming documentary, the gay Radio 1 presenter told how he feared for his own safety in the country. Mills met anti-gay MP David Bahati as part of filming for ‘The World’s Worst Place to be Gay?’.
02/10/11
Bishop Supports Gay Ugandans, Defies Death Threats.
Jocelyn Edwards
http://www.religiondispatches.org/archive/sexandgender/4211/%E2%80%9Cgod_created_you%E2%80%9D%3A_bishop_supports_gay_ugandans,_defies_death_threats
Bishop Senyonjo defends Uganda gays “ God created You” he tells them. When asked about the threats he says, “The Threats are There, But the Struggle Will Go On”
02/07/11
Bahrain: More than 100 gay men arrested in Bahrain.
Staff Writer, PinkNews.co.uk
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2011/02/07/more-than-100-gay-men-arrested-in-bahrain/
Up to 130 gay men were reportedly arrested last week at a private party in Bahrain. Reports said that the event, at a sports club in Hidd, was a gay wedding and guests were said to have been spotted in make-up and women’s clothes. It was raided by police after neighbours complained about noise levels on Thursday night. The men, mostly from Bahrain and Gulf countries, were arrested on the charge of “conduct against public morals”.
01/31/11
Archbishop reacts strongly to queries over homophobic climate in Uganda.
Irish Times
http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/world/2011/0131/1224288605110.html
THE ARCHBISHOP of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, reacted strongly to media questions in Dublin yesterday which queried the role of the Anglican primate of Uganda, Most Rev Henry Luke Orombi, in fomenting a climate in which gay activist David Kato was murdered there last Wednesday. Meanwhile a service in Trinity College Dublin was told yesterday that “any church that preaches intolerance is contributing to the very real and deadly consequences of homophobia”.
01/31/11
Japan: Concerned Over Homophobic Comments by Governor of Tokyo
IGLHRC
http://www.iglhrc.org/cgi-bin/iowa/article/takeaction/resourcecenter/1325.html
On December 3, 2010 when speaking to the Parent Teachers Association in Tokyo, the Governor of Tokoyo, Mr. Shintaro Ishihara, referenced the Tokyo Metropolitan Ordinance on Healthy Youth Development, and said, “It’s not just for the kids, homosexuals appear on TV as if it was no big deal. In Japan, things are way too uncontrolled. I will see to it [the revised bill’s passage] with a sense of mission.”
01/30/11
Uganda – Gay activist murder prompts Ugandan reflection.
Barry Malone
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/01/30/idINIndia-54513920110130?pageNumber=2
Alan Kasujja, host of a breakfast radio show in Kampala, used his broadcast on Friday to urge Uganda to turn its back on homophobia and focus on other issues.//newline//”I have tons of friends who are gay,” Kasujja told Reuters. “These are people who I have gone to school with, who I have worked with. They are our brothers and sisters, our children. “So am I supposed to join ill-informed, undereducated people who advocate for them to be ostracised? Sorry, I cannot be part of that,” he said.
01/28/11
Can We Talk Honestly about Homosexuality?
Editorial, Saturday Monitor Uganda.
http://www.monitor.co.ug/OpEd/Editorial/-/689360/1097060/-/91oahk/-/index.html
A Ugandan paper response to the murder of David Kato in an editorial that emphasizes the need for tolerance: “People like David Kato and others who might be gay are Ugandans and enjoy the same rights and protections of the law as heterosexuals. We cannot send them into exile neither, lock them away, or hang them… Peaceful and stable societies only emerge when we understand and try to accommodate those who are different from us, or who disagree with us Рnot by ostracising or killing them.”
01/28/11
Gays Seeking Asylum in U.S. Encounter a New Hurdle.
Dan Bilefsky
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/29/nyregion/29asylum.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1&partner=rss&emc=rss
Chris Rhatigan, a spokeswoman for the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, said each case is examined individually, both for evidence of sexual orientation and the conditions of the country of origin. While she declined to comment specifically on the examples cited by Mr. Marrero and Ms. Neilson, Ms. Rhatigan said such behavior by immigration officers would not be condoned.
01/28/11
Scuffles at Funeral of Uganda Gay Activist.
Justin Dralaze, Reuters
http://af.reuters.com/article/topNews/idAFJOE70R0HS20110128
“Scuffles broke out between locals and friends of a murdered Ugandan gay activist at his funeral on Friday after the pastor conducting the service berated gay people and villagers refused to bury the coffin.”
01/27/11
On The Brutal Murder of David Kato.
Moses Mworeko, VenusPlusX.org.
http://www.venusplusx.org/?p=606
Internationally-recognized sexual freedom activist Moses Mworeko responds to the murder of fellow gay Ugandan David Kato.
01/27/11
Statement by President Obama on the Killing of David Kato.
News Article
http://www.stonewalldemocrats.org/news/statement-president-obama-killing-david-kato
I am deeply saddened to learn of the murder of David Kato. In Uganda, David showed tremendous courage in speaking out against hate. He was a powerful advocate for fairness and freedom. The United States mourns his murder, and we recommit ourselves to David’s work. //newline//At home and around the world, LGBT persons continue to be subjected to unconscionable bullying, discrimination, and hate. In the weeks preceding David Kato’s murder in Uganda, five members of the LGBT community in Honduras were also murdered. It is essential that the Governments of Uganda and Honduras investigate these killings and hold the perpetrators accountable.//newline//LGBT rights are not special rights; they are human rights. My Administration will continue to strongly support human rights and assistance work on behalf of LGBT persons abroad. We do this because we recognize the threat faced by leaders like David Kato, and we share their commitment to advancing freedom, fairness, and equality for all
01/27/11
Uganda Gay Rights Activist Killed.
Staff Writer, PRI.
http://www.theworld.org/2011/01/27/uganda-gay-rights-activist-killed/comment-page-1/
“Ugandan gay rights campaigner David Kato has been beaten to death, activists say. The police confirmed Kato’s death and say they have arrested one suspect. Last year Kato sued a local newspaper which had outed him as homosexual. The newspaper published the photographs of several people it said were gay next to a headline reading “Hang them”. Homosexual acts are illegal in Uganda, punishable with up to 14 years in prison.”
01/26/11
AFRICA: Crackdowns on gays make the closet safer.
Staff Writer, PlusNews.
http://www.plusnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=87793
A brief, helpful catalogue of human rights abuses against LGBT Africans.
01/24/11
Should LGBT issues be part of lesson plans for children as young as four?.
BBC
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-12266349
Teachers are to be encouraged to include Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender issues in subjects like maths and geography to children as young as four.
01/24/11
South African Lesbians Targeted for Rape and Violence.
Delia Robertson, Voice of America.
http://www.voanews.com/english/news/africa/South-African-Lesbians-Targeted-for-Rape-and-Violence-114495619.html
“In South Africa, lesbians are often targeted for rape and violence in a phenomenon some perpetrators call corrective rape – indicating they believe a lesbian’s sexual orientation can be changed through rape and violence.”
01/18/11
Cameroon: Controversy over EU Project for Homosexuals.
Anne-Mireille Nzouankeu, Radio Netherlands.
http://www.rnw.nl/africa/article/cameroon-controversy-over-eu-project-homosexuals
“The government of Cameroon has called in January on the European Union to stop funding a project to assist homosexuals.”
01/14/11
Uganda Ruling Small Victory in Gay Struggle.
Moses Odokonyero and Blake Evans-Pritchard, Alertnet.
http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/uganda-ruling-small-victory-in-gay-struggle
“ “As for the extent to which the (recent Ugandan court) ruling will radically change the profound homophobia that has gripped the country, that will be another matter’[ said Human Rights Watch researcher Marie Burnett]. ‘I think there is still a long battle ahead to afford sexual minorities in Uganda adequate protection.’ ”
01/13/11
The Cameroon disapproves of homosexual organizations funding
Josie R. MATIA
http://www.cameroon-tribune.cm/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=63074:financement-des-associations-homosexuelles-le-gouvernement-desapprouve-lunion-europeenne&catid=1:politique&Itemid=3#contenu
The Foreign Minister on Thursday expressed the feeling the Head of Delegation of the European Union, Raul Mateus Paula. For the Cameroonian authorities, the laws of the Republic must be respected by all. In deciding to fund organizations that violate laws, the EU is violating the provisions of the Vienna Convention governing priorities and consular cooperation between states. Clearly, for the Cameroonian government, the law must be respected by all, without conditions.
01/11/11
Zimbabwe: Zim Gay Actor is Engaged.
Staff Writer, Voice of the People Zimbabwe.
http://www.radiovop.com/entertainment/5243-zim-gay-actor-is-engaged.html
“The first Zimbabwean actor to reveal that he was gay… Frank Malaba has announced on Face book that he is now engaged to his long time boyfriend, Lee Lucas Strydom.
01/10/11
Honduras: Update: Three More Murders in Honduras, Including Yet Another Travesti Woman.
IGLHRC
http://www.iglhrc.org/cgi-bin/iowa/article/takeaction/globalactionalerts/1308.html
Over the past two weeks, three travestis have been murdered in separate incidents in Honduras. In two of the incidents, the victims were set on fire either before or after their deaths. This means that in the past year and a half, there has been a total of now 31 the murders of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex (LGBTI) people in Honduras. Join the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC) and the Honduran LGBTI organization Red Cattrachas in calling for immediate investigations and demanding state action to prevent future killings on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity.
01/09/11
The UK magazine has just concluded an on-line debate on gay marriage.
The Economist
http://www.economist.com/debate/days/view/635
Basically the “fors” outweigh the “againsts” by 2:1. It has some interesting stats on same-sex marriage, and children brought up by same-sex partners. Useful for referencing in other debates!
01/07/11
Germany: Refugee surge forces Berlin camp to re-open
Monster and Critics
http://madikazemi.blogspot.com/2011/01/refugee-surge-forces-berlin-camp-to-re.htm
A surge of asylum seekers arriving from world trouble spots, including Afghanistan, Somalia, Iraq and Iran, has forced Berlin authorities to re-open a huge refugee housing site.
Only recently, government officials had considered putting the 22,000-square-metre Marienfelde Refugee Camp up for sale.
01/07/11
USA: Truth Wins Out – Prospects for Marriage Equality Strong in Rhode Island, Maryland
Evan Hurst
http://www.truthwinsout.org/blog/2011/01/14026/
Good news for us, bad news for Maggie Gallagher’s Whack-A-Mole show. Nothing is a done deal yet, but it looks hopeful in Maryland:
01/06/11
Homosexuality In Ghana: An Increasing Growth In Numbers.
Stephen Atta Owusu, GhanaWeb.
http://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/NewsArchive/artikel.php?ID=200705
‚ÄúGhana is a democratic state that allows for freedom of expression but is careful not to link it with freedom of choice. The former is very much respected by all Ghanaians but the latter, which allows everyone to be what he is, is frowned upon by all. This attitude is in contravention of United Nation’s declaration of human rights which states that all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. The declaration continues that all human beings are endowed with reason and conscience.‚Äù
01/06/11
Zimbabwe: International Committee for Prostitutes’ Rights: In the Eye of the HIV/Aids Storm.
Ignatius Banda
http://www.bayswan.org/ICPRChart.html
Bulawayo ‚Äî Teenage commercial sex workers are finding themselves at the centre of the HIV/AIDS storm amid concerns of widespread lack of condom use and a spike in the number of infections among this demographic, despite the country’s continuing HIV/AIDS campaigns, which health authorities say has seen a drop in prevalence in the past few years.
01/03/11
Uganda: Court bans media from outing gays.
Agence France-Presse
http://www.hindustantimes.com/Uganda-court-bans-media-from-outing-gays/Article1-645975.aspx
A Ugandan judge ruled in favour of a petition to stop media companies from outing homosexuals on Monday, a lawyer told AFP. The judge ruled that publishing the identities of people perceived to be homosexual, violated Uganda’s constitutional right to privacy, said John Francis Onyango who represented the three gay rights campaigners
01/02/11
Uganda bars media from outing gays.
Staff Writer, BBC
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-12107596
“A Ugandan High Court judge has ruled that media companies in the country should not publish the identities of people they say are homosexuals.”
01/01/11
Canadian commissioners must marry gay couples.
Dan Kerpenchuck
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2011/01/11/3110653.htm?section=justin
An appeals court says public marriage commissioners cannot refuse to marry same-sex couples on religious grounds.//newline//Advocates for gays and lesbians say this case sets an important precedent that will help to deter discrimination against same-sex couples who want to marry.//newline//The Supreme Court of Canada affirmed the validity of same-sex marriages in 2004.
12/30/10
UN General Assembly overturns anti-gay vote.
Rex Wockner, Bay Area Reporter.
http://www.ebar.com/news/article.php?sec=news&article=5359
“The United Nations General Assembly on December 21 overturned its recent vote that removed a reference to sexual orientation from a resolution against extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions.”
12/29/10
Anti-gay Ugandan pastor Martin Ssempa charged with blackmail.
Angela Dallara, San Diego Gay and Lesbian News.
http://sdgln.com/news/2010/12/29/anti-lgbt-ugandan-pastor-martin-ssempa-charged-blackmail
“Ugandan pastor Martin Ssempa has been charged with blackmail for allegedly paying a man to falsely accuse another pastor of sexual assault. Ssempa is notorious in Uganda and around the world for his anti-LGBT sentiments and past efforts. Ssempa, along with seven other anti-LGBT Christian activists, is accused of hiring and paying a man named Robson Matovu to claim that he was sodomized by Pastor Robert Kayanja of Rubaga Miracle Centre Cathedral in Kampala.”
12/23/10
Turkey: Dismiss Charges Against Transgender Activists.
IGLHRC
http://www.iglhrc.org/cgi-bin/iowa/article/pressroom/pressrelease/1288.html
Police Harassment of Transgender Activists Must End//newline// On June 19, 2010, three human rights defenders were arbitrarily detained by police officers while driving through the Seyranbaglari Mah neighborhood in Ankara
12/22/10
UN Restores Sexual Orientation Reference To Violence Measure, After U.S. Push.
Nikola Kraslev, Radio Free Europe.
http://www.rferl.org/content/un_sexual_orientation_gays_lesbians_transgender_violence/2255644.html
‚ÄúThe United States has successfully persuaded the United Nations to include “sexual orientation” as a category of vulnerable populations whose targeted killings the world body condemns.//newline//The resolution was adopted by the General Assembly on a vote of 122 in favor and 0 against, with 59 nations abstaining.//newline//Controversy broke out after African and Arab states successfully stripped the resolution of a reference to killings for reasons of “sexual orientation,” which was included along with killings for racial, national, ethnic, religious, or linguistic reasons, and killings of refugees, indigenous people, and other groups.‚Äù
12/21/10
Gay rights row breaks out over amended UN resolution.
Anita Snow, Guardian UK.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/dec/21/gay-rights-row-un-resolution
“A culture war has broken out at the UN over whether gay people should be offered the same protections as other minorities whose lives are threatened. The issue will come to a head today when the general assembly votes on renewing its routine condemnation of the unjustified killing of various categories of vulnerable people. It specifies killings for racial, national, ethnic, religious or linguistic reasons, and includes refugees, indigenous people and other groups. But because of a change promoted by Arab and African nations and approved at committee level, the resolution drops ‘sexual orientation’ and replaces it with ‘discriminatory reasons on any basis’.”
12/21/10
Netherlands: As the Netherlands freezes, the government evicts asylum seekers
Trouw
http://madikazemi.blogspot.com/2010/12/as-netherlands-freezes-government.html
Despite promises by Minister Leers (immigration and asylum) are in the freezing cold, asylum seekers put on the street. That happened recently in the refugee camps and Geeuwenbrug Emmen and is today the couple Harut and Mary Melkenyan from Armenia in Apeldoorn azc waiting.
12/20/10
Antigay Atmosphere Permeates Uganda.
Barbara Bradley Hagerty, NPR News.
http://www.npr.org/2010/12/20/132147169/anti-gay-atmosphere-permeates-uganda
‚Äú ‚ÄòHomophobia has always existed in Uganda,‚Äô [said gay Ugandan Frank Mugisha.] ‚ÄòBut I would say it’s greatly increased over the past two years, ever since American evangelicals came to Uganda.‚Äô ‚Äù
12/17/10
Uganda: Press Statement On The Blocking Of Screening A Human Rights Documentary By Hon Nsaba Buturo.
Rev. Dr. Cindi Love.
http://www.uhrc.ug/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=282%3Apress-statement-on-the-blocking-of-screening-a-documentary-by-hon-nsaba-buturo&catid=43%3Apress-realeses&Itemid=126
Would jesus discriminate? Dr. Cindi Love, Executive Director of Soulforce responding to Uganda’s gay death penalty bill
12/14/10
Stop The Anti-Gay Genocide In Uganda.
Wayne Besen
http://www.truthwinsout.org/pressreleases/2010/12/13518/
Wayne discusses the consequences of the bill and suggests a few of the options to prevent a catastrophe.
12/14/10
Uganda: Buturo blocks documentary.
Andrew Bagala
http://www.monitor.co.ug/News/National/-/688334/1072064/-/ck0r14z/-/index.html
Ethics Minister James Nsaba Buturo yesterday blocked the showing of a documentary, saying the organisers wanted to indoctrinate the youth on homosexuality.
12/13/10
UN Secretary-General Calls for End to Discrimination and Violence Against LGBT People at Milestone Event;
IGLHRC
http://www.iglhrc.org/cgi-bin/iowa/article/pressroom/pressrelease/1277.html
In an unprecedented public appearance in support of global LGBT rights UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and United States Ambassador to the UN Susan Rice appeared on a panel condemning violence against LGBT and the continued criminalization of gay people in more than 70 countries worldwide.
12/12/10
Africa: Gays in Africa face growing persecution.
Sudarsan Raghavan
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/12/11/AR2010121103045.html
Persecution of gays is intensifying across Africa, fueled by fundamentalist preachers, intolerant governments and homophobic politicians. Gay people have been denied access to health care, detained, tortured and even killed, human rights activists and witnesses say.
12/12/10
Civil Society Pressures Governments to Successfully Reverse Discriminatory Vote at UN.
IGLHRC
http://www.iglhrc.org/cgi-bin/iowa/article/pressroom/pressrelease/1291.html
The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) voted overwhelmingly in favor of restoring reference to “sexual orientation” in a high-profile resolution condemning extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions. The reference to sexual orientation had been removed by an earlier amendment at the committee level by governments opposed to ensuring protection for individuals targeted because of their actual or perceived sexual orientation.
12/11/10
Anti-gay Attacks Soaring in Africa.
Staff Writer, UPI News.
http://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2010/12/11/Anti-gay-attacks-soaring-in-Africa/UPI-30351292095504/
“Gay people across Africa are facing an unprecedented wave of persecution powered by fundamentalist religion, human-rights activists say. ‘It has never been harder for gays and lesbians on the continent,’ Monica Mbaru, Africa coordinator for the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission in Cape Town, South Africa, told The Washington Post.”
12/10/10
U.N., U.S. Officials Call for Gay Rights.
Staff Writer, Associated Press.
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/12/10/world/main7138538.shtml
“U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon called for an end to laws around the world that criminalize homosexuality, stressing the need to pay more urgent attention to gay and gender identity rights on Friday as the world marked Human Rights Day. ‘Today, many nations have modern constitutions that guarantee essential rights and liberties. And yet, homosexuality is considered a crime in more than 70 countries,’ Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said. ‘That is not right.’ ” 
12/08/10
In Africa, homosexuality emerging as hot-button issue.
Scott Baldauf, Christian Science Monitor.
http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Africa/2010/1208/In-Africa-homosexuality-emerging-as-hot-button-issue
‚ÄúLong seen as a fringe societal taboo far from the realm of African politics, homosexuality is emerging as a hot- button issue throughout much of the continent.¬†Kenya, East Africa’s economic hub, joined the trend in late November when Prime Minister Raila Odinga told supporters in the Nairobi slum of Kibera that he would order police to arrest gays. ‚ÄòWe will not tolerate such behavior in the country. The Constitution is very clear on this issue, and men or women found engaging in homosexuality will not be spared,‚Äô Mr. Odinga said in Swahili, in comments that were taped by several news organizations. ‚ÄòAny man found engaging in sexual activities with another man should be arrested. Even women found engaging in sexual activities will be arrested.‚Äô ‚Äù
12/03/10
Uganda: 120 Sabiny girls circumcised.
Frederick Womakuyu
http://newvision.co.ug/D/8/12/740060
SOME cried. Some were confused. Others still traumatised, while many were left speechless.They looked on in disbelief as a local female surgeon tried in vain thrice, probably using a very blunt knife, to cut off a girl’s clitoris.
11/28/10
Kenya: Capital FM Kenya: Arrest gays, Kenyan PM orders.
Bernard Momanyi
http://www.capitalfm.co.ke/news/Kenyanews/Arrest-gays,-Kenyan-PM-orders-10670.html
Odinga has lost his mind in this recession…
11/26/10
Botswana: GLAD TO BE GAY.
The Voice Botswana NewsBlog.
http://www.thevoicebw.com/2010/11/26/glad-to-be-gay/
First lesbian couple to publicly declare their love
11/26/10
CBC News – World – Ugandan media, politicians campaign against homosexuality
Carolyn Dunn
http://www.cbc.ca/world/story/2010/11/22/f-uganda-anti-gay.html#ixzz16Q6xUHNY
Gays and lesbians in Uganda say they are living in fear, targets of a media and political campaign to wipe homosexuality from the face of the East African country.
11/26/10
Moses Kushaba discusses the “Kill the gays” bill
KPFA 94.1 FM– Berkeley, CA
http://www.thepriceofuranium.com/images/mp3s/kpfamosesugandamilksf.mp3
BLANK
11/25/10
Congo: Male rape victim in DR Congo speaks out.
BBC Newsnight
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/newsnight/9230126.stm
The Democratic Republic of Congo is in the grip of a humanitarian crisis brought on by five years of brutal war. Sexual violence has been used as a weapon by all sides and no-one is immune.//newline//In a country where homosexuality is taboo, Newsnight hears rare testimony from a man who was raped by soldiers while he was walking to his farm.
11/22/10
UK: Islamic schools ‘teaching pupils that gays should be executed’
PinkNews.co.uk Staff Writer
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2010/11/22/islamic-schools-teaching-pupils-that-gays-should-be-executed/
Around 5,000 children at Islamic weekend schools are being taught homophobic and anti-semitic views, it has been claimed. According to a BBC Panorama investigation to be screened tonight, the Sharia law classes use textbooks which tell children that the penalty for gay sex is execution, that “Zionists” are plotting to take over the world for the Jews and the correct way to cut off the hands and feet of convicted thieves. One book for six-year-olds asks children what happens to someone who does not believe in Islam. The answer, according to the programme, is “hellfire”.
11/22/10
UK:Network of schools teaching Muslim children that gays should be stoned to death – Gay Traveller.
Tim
http://www.gaytravellersnetwork.com/profiles/blogs/uk-network-of-schools-teaching
A network of at least 40 unofficial and largely-unregulated part-time schools are teaching thousands of Muslim children in the UK that gays should be executed…
11/22/10
UN: UN case study in Muslim, African and communist homophobia.
Jonathan Kay
http://fullcomment.nationalpost.com/2010/11/22/jonathan-kay-at-the-un-a-case-study-in-muslim-african-and-communist-homophobia/#ixzz167lqk2C0
//newline//JEWEL SAMAD/AFP/Getty Images)//newline//Moses, a gay Ugandan man seeking asylum in the United States, hides his face with a makeshift hood as he attends a press conference in Washington, DC,//newline//No one expects Saudi Arabia, Cuba and Liberia to start printing gay-marriage licenses any time soon. But would it be too much to ask that these countries at least oppose the targeted murder of homosexuals?//newline//As it does every two years, a committee of the United Nations General Assembly has been fashioning a resolution calling for states to prosecute the extrajudicial killings of people because of their race, nationality, ethnicity, religion, language or other identifying characteristics. In past years, sexual orientation has been part of this list. But thanks to an amendment supported by a group of African and Muslim nations — which passed by a vote of 79-70 — the reference to sexual orientation has been struck from this year’s resolution. The effective message is that killing someone because they’re gay just isn’t that bad.
11/21/10
Saudi Arabia: Child marriage seen as a cure for gayness
Brian Whitaker
al-bab.com –http://madikazemi.blogspot.com/2010/11/in-saudi-arabia-child-marriage-seen-as.html
According to Sabeeha, one of the major benefits of early marriage (and by “early” we’re talking here about early teens) is that it preserves you from getting into illicit romances or ‚Äì heaven forbid ‚Äì turning gay.
11/19/10
Uganda: Government halts sex workers conference.
Isaac Khisa
http://www.africareview.com/News/Uganda%20Government%20stops%20sex%20workers%20conference/-/979180/1056556/-/view/printVersion/-/j7uk4qz/-/index.html
A planned conference by sex workers, which was scheduled to start Thursday in Entebbe, was abruptly halted by the government, saying it was illegal. The conference organised by Akina Mama Wa Afrika, an international women’s rights NGO with offices in Kampala, was to be held in a hotel in Entebbe.//newline//Addressing journalists in Kampala Thursday, Ethics minister James Nsaba Buturo said the conference, which government learnt of on Wednesday, had attracted prostitutes from Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania.
11/18/10
Cameroon’s Gay Crusader.
Michelle Garcia
http://www.advocate.com/News/News_Features/Cameroons_Gay_Crusader/
In a country with strict antigay laws, Cameroon’s Steave Nemande is working to ensure that LGBT citizens have the basics ‚Äî like money for rent and food to eat in prison.
11/12/10
KPFA News: Uganda’s Anti-Homosexuality Act, a.k.a., Hang-the-Gays Bill returns
Ann Garrison
http://twincities.indymedia.org/2010/nov/kpfa-news-ugandas-anti-homosexuality-act-aka-hang-gays-bill-returns
Milton Allimadi, Ugandan-American editor and publisher of the New York City-based Black Star News, says that the bill’s resurgence serves to distract from Uganda’s real political crisis as much as to persecute its LGBT community:
11/09/10
Criminalising homosexuality in the DRC .
Sokari Ekine
http://www.afronline.org/?p=10216
The DRC parliament is in the process of discussing legislation which will criminalise homosexuality.//newline//There are a number of major difference between the DRC Bill and legislation proposed in for example, Nigeria and Uganda which have proposed similar legislation. First the DRC does not presently have any laws on homosexuality and secondly this Bill includes a clause criminalising zooophilia which is directly associated with homosexuality “.//newline//The Bill is framed in the usual language that homosexuality is “unAfrican” against ‘our’ culture, ‘threat’ to family and religious preservation. In other areas the Bill is similar in that it also aims to criminalise any activities that directly or indirectly aim to promoting the rights LGBTI persons, therefore, in accordance with section 174h3 of the Bill, “all publications, posters, pamphlets, (or) films highlighting or likely to arouse or encourage sexual practices against nature are forbidden within the territory of the DRC (Section 174h3)” and “all associations that promote or defend sexual relations against nature are forbidden within the territory of the DRC.”
11/04/10
Even after death, abuse against gays continues.
Staff Writer, Associated Press.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/36376840/ns/world_news-africa/page/2/
‚ÄúIn the past two years, at least four men suspected of being gay have been exhumed by angry mobs in cemeteries in Senegal. The violence is especially shocking because Senegal, unlike other countries in the region, is considered a model of tolerance. ‚ÄòIt’s jarring to see this happen in Senegal,‚Äô says Ryan Thoreson, a fellow at the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission who has been researching the rise of homophobia here. ‚ÄòWhen something like this happens in an established democracy, it’s alarming.‚Äô ‚Äù
11/02/10
Uganda court orders anti-gay paper to shut: group.
Staff Writer, Reuters.
http://af.reuters.com/article/topNews/idAFJOE6A103F20101102
“A Ugandan newspaper that published names and pictures of what it said were homosexuals in Uganda and called on authorities to hang them has been ordered to cease publishing, a gay rights leader said on Monday. Frank Mugisha, chairman of the Sexual Minorities Uganda (SMU), said his group had petitioned the high court to order Rolling Stone to stop work because it was exposing innocent people to discrimination, ridicule, intimidation and possible violence.”
10/25/10
Africa: ‘Hate Has No Place in God’s House’.
Desmond Tutu
http://www.essence.com/news/commentary_2/desmond_tutu_hate_has_no_place_in_gods_h.php#ixzz15NN8yfe0
Today I pray for people in Africa and throughout the world who long for freedom because they are lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender. It grieves me to be retiring at this crucial moment in history, so I write to you in this open letter, to invite you to pick up the work that remains to be done. More than 70 countries still imprison or execute gay and transgender people, and bullying and murders are all too common. This must change.
10/22/10
‘Hang them’: Ugandan paper publishes photos of ‘Top’ 100 gays.
Staff Writer, Mmegi Online
http://www.mmegi.bw/index.php?sid=11&aid=5817&dir=2010/October/Friday22
‚ÄúThe front-page newspaper [of Ugandan tabloid Rolling Stone] story featured a list of Uganda’s 100 ‚Äòtop‚Äô homosexuals, with a bright yellow banner across it that read: “Hang Them.” Alongside their photos were the men’s names and addresses.‚Äù
10/21/10
Turkey: Case Dismissed Against Transgender Activists in Turkey.
IGLHRC
http://www.iglhrc.org/cgi-bin/iowa/article/takeaction/resourcecenter/1234.html
A Turkish judge has dismissed the case against 5 transgender activists from Pembe Hayat LGBT Solidarity group an Ankara-based transgender rights organization, citing the lack of evidence against the defendants.
10/21/10
Uganda gays in hiding after ‘hang homos’ article.
Jody Clarke, The Irish Times.
http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/world/2010/1021/1224281621954.html
“At least four gay Ugandans have been attacked and many more are in hiding following the publication of an article in the country’s Rolling Stone newspaper, which called for ‘the hanging of homos’.”
10/20/10
Gays Reportedly Attacked in Uganda After Newspaper Publishes List of ‘Top 100’ Homosexuals.
Fox News
http://www.foxnews.com/world/2010/10/20/ugandan-embassy-defends-equal-rights-gay-list-appears-newspaper/
At least four gays have been attacked in Uganda since the publication of a front-page newspaper story that listed the African nation’s 100 “top” homosexuals, according to activists there.//newline//The October 9 article in a Ugandan newspaper called Rolling Stone included photographs and addresses of the 100 individuals alongside a yellow banner that read: “Hang Them.”
10/10/10
Gay rights in Africa: now for the good news.
Paul Canning, Guardian UK.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/oct/10/gay-rights-africa
“Increasingly the movement is becoming mainstreamed as legitimate stakeholders in the civil society,” [said openly gay Kenyan senate candidate David Kuria]. “It is not uncommon to hear people now talk on the issues of sexual minorities in the same sentence with other minorities ‚Äì this coming from people who only a couple of years, even months ago would not have even listened to such issues.”
10/07/10
‘Pink Protest’ to be held at University of Cape Town.
Christopher Brocklebank, PinkNews.com.
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2010/10/07/pink-protest-to-be-held-at-university-of-cape-town/
‚ÄúStudent activists at the University of Cape Town, South Africa, are planning to stage an anti-homophobia protest today after a symbolic ‘pink closet’ sculpture intended to highlight the effects of homophobia was burnt down.‚Äù
10/07/10
Immigration Judge to Asylum Seeker: You Don’t Look Gay.
Stephanie Mencimer, Mother Jones.
http://motherjones.com/mojo/2010/10/bush-immigration-judge-gay-asylum-seeker
The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals reverses the decision of Carey R. Holliday, a Bush-appointed immigration judge in Florida who refused asylum to a Serbian man on the grounds that he did ‚Äúnot appear to be overtly gay…it is not readily apparent to a person who would see this gentleman for the first time that, that is the case, since he bears no effeminate traits or any other trait that would mark him as a homosexual.‚Äù
10/07/10
PERU: Call on Peruvian Authorities for Justice in Murder of HIV/AIDS and Gay Activist.
IGLHRC
http://www.iglhrc.org/cgi-bin/iowa/article/takeaction/globalactionalerts/1213.html
The National Police of Peru have undertaken a comprehensive investigation and have arrested and charged someone with the murder of activist Juan Osario.
10/06/10
Russia: A Russian Court Made a Revolution and Declared the Ban of the St. Petersburg Gay Pride Illegal.
Nikolai Alekseev
http://www.iglhrc.org/cgi-bin/iowa/article/takeaction/partners/1221.html
This very good news is not orphan. It came after what has been a crazy week in Russia.//newline//First, there was the decision of the Russian President to dismiss the Mayor of Moscow. Yuri Luzhkov was the man who qualified gay prides as “satanic gatherings” and gays as “weapons of mass destruction”. He is also the one who used the word “faggot” to name us on TV and who called gays responsible for spreading HIV in Russia. But most of all, Yuri Luzhkov deserves his name in the Guinness World Records Book for personally banning over 200 LGBT public actions in Moscow. I had the chance to see one of our applications with the word “to ban” written from his hand.
10/05/10
Bashing gays simply not on; wishing them away is an exercise in futility.
Alfred Mugambi, Kenyan Daily Nation.
http://www.nation.co.ke/oped/Opinion/-/440808/1026632/-/nx94b6z/-/
A Kenyan lawyer editorializes against anti-gay voices in his country, arguing that “[i]t is a documented historical fact that liaisons of a romantic nature between men have existed among a number of African tribes, including as close to home as the Buganda kingdom. It does not get more African than that. The upshot of this is that there is really nothing like “African culture”.
10/01/10
El Salvador: The violation of the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender persons in El Salvador.
IGLHRC
http://www.iglhrc.org/binary-data/ATTACHMENT/file/000/000/439-1.pdf
Acts of violence and discrimination against the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender population in El Salvador keep occurring, and the perpetrators remain unpunished
10/01/10
Kenya: Murugi urges Kenyans to accept gays.
Galgalo Boch
http://www.nation.co.ke/News/Murugi%20urges%20Kenyans%20to%20accept%20gays%20%20%20/-/1056/1024376/-/14hqsd/-/index.html
A Cabinet minister has stirred a hornet’s nest with a suggestion that Kenyans should accept homosexuality and learn to live with it. The Minister says the government is ready to allocate resources for community’s welfare
09/30/10
On Homosexual Sex.
Wisdom K. Mprah, GhanaWeb.
http://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/NewsArchive/artikel.php?ID=194313
A Ghanian editorialist argues “[t]hat homosexual sex is not Ghanaian can’t be true; what may not be Ghanaian is homophobia. Homosexual sex is practiced in all cultures including Africa. A little honesty on the part of Ghana scholars will settle this matter. I am not implying homosexual sex is accepted it our culture, but it was never imported. Homosexual sex existed in Ghanaian cultures, but Ghanaians had their own ways of dealing with sexual offences, including homosexual sex; the kind of homophobic behavior we are exhibiting is rather not Ghanaian.”
09/30/10
Rwanda: Anglican Archbishop-Elect Vows to Fight Gay Marriage.
Eugene Mutara
http://allafrica.com/stories/201009300297.html
Archbishop elect, Onesphore Rwaje, “Anything that is contrary to God’s family set-up is not acceptable; there is nowhere in the Bible where same-sex marriage is encouraged. God created a man and woman to be the basis of a family,” the Archbishop-elect told The New Times, a week after he was elected to succeed Kolini.
09/30/10
Rwanda: Anglican Archbishop-Elect Vows to Fight Gay Marriage.
Eugene Mutara, AllAfrica News.
http://allafrica.com/stories/201009300297.html
‚ÄúArchbishop elect Onesphore Rwaje‚Ķ , has vowed to follow in his predecessor’s footsteps by taking a firm stand against homosexuality. “Anything that is contrary to God’s family set-up is not acceptable; there is nowhere in the Bible where same-sex marriage is encouraged. God created a man and woman to be the basis of a family.‚Äù In the past, Rwaje has referred to homosexuality as a form of ‚Äúmoral genocide‚Äù and ‚Äúcultural imperialism.‚Äù
09/29/10
Focus on gays not real issue for Africa, says Angolan bishop.
Trevor Grundy, Episcopal Life Online.
http://www.episcopal-life.org/81808_124796_ENG_HTM.htm
Andre Soares, Bishop of Angola, has said that “the main problems facing Angolan Christians are not gay and lesbian rights, abortion, or the ordination of women as priests, but poverty, disease, malaria, and the re-emergence of tuberculosis, HIV and AIDS, as well as the need for wider democracy.”
09/28/10
Ugandan Tabloid Grossly Distorts An American Paper’s Interview With Gay Asylum Seeker.
Jim Burroway, Boxturtle Bulletin.
http://www.boxturtlebulletin.com/2010/09/28/26682
Uganda’s notoriously anti-gay “Red Pepper” tabloid alleges rape, sexual aggression, and more, while grossly distorting Kushaba Moses Mworeko’ Metro Weekly interview//newline////newline////newline////newline////newline////newline////newline////newline////newline////newline//
09/28/10
WATCH: C Street: The Fundamentalist Threat to American Democracy.
C-Span
http://c-spanvideo.org/program/295732-1
Jeff Sharlet discusses his latest book at DC’s Politics and Prose bookstore, carefully laying out the financial, logistical, and theological connections that tie the Family to the Ugandan situation.//newline////newline////newline////newline////newline////newline////newline////newline////newline////newline//
09/24/10
Dismantling the myth that homosexuality = Western culture.
Natasha Barsotti, Xtra News Canada.
http://www.xtra.ca/public/Vancouver/Dismantling_the_myth_that_homosexuality_Western_culture-9186.aspx
Out Ugandan activist Val Kalenda shares her personal story and analysis of the political situation in her country: “Government knows it is easier to hunt down homosexuals than to provide quality social services. This is how politicians in Africa keep themselves in power. Our government should be focusing on providing nondiscriminatory healthcare, tabling anti-corruption bills and holding fair and free presidential and parliamentary elections next year. The state has no business in what happens between two consenting, same-sex adults unless one of them is complaining.”
09/17/10
UN chief Ban Ki-moon urges repeal of anti-gay laws.
Associated Press
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gJYNH2s-C9t79VHX2SYvl7VNQkzQD9I9N6TG1
U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon has called on countries to abolish laws that discriminate against gays and lesbians, arguing that cultural concerns cannot justify discriminating against people because of their sexual orientation.
09/10/10
Report: Legal Representation Helps Asylum Seekers Succeed in Court.
Marcia Coyle, National Law Journal
http://www.law.com/jsp/nlj/PubArticleNLJ.jsp?id=1202471654528
‚ÄúAsylum seekers’ rate of success in the nation’s immigration courts is the highest it has been in 25 years and one significant factor is increased legal representation, new research has found.¬†‚Äú
09/08/10
Exporting Homophobia: American far-right conservative churches establish influence on anti-gay policy in Africa.
Jody May-Chang, Boise Weekly
http://www.boiseweekly.com/boise/exporting-homophobia-american-far-right-conservative-churches-establish-influence-on-anti-gay-policy-in-africa/Content?oid=1767227
‚Äú”I saw a member of parliament who attended, talking very bitter and vowing to kill everyone–including their sons and daughters–if they were proved homosexuals,” [Ugandan gay activist Peter Yiga] told¬†BW¬†by Internet video conference from Uganda‚Ķ “The church and other leaders have done a lot to brainwash people, and all the community now is readily spitting fire against homosexuality. They are planning to kill or panga [machete] us. We have been running from house to house because when a neighborhood learns about your orientation, then you should expect mob justice anytime.‚Äù
09/03/10
Muckraker: Is Mugabe the only person with rights?.
Staff Writer, Zimbabwe Independent
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/opinion/27855-muckraker-is-mugabe-the-only-person-with-rights.html
“Mugabe has also been “scoffing” at advocates of gay rights. He took the visit of the wholly unknown Anglican Bishop Walter Roberto Crespo from Ecuador, to denounce homosexuality as “dirt” and “filth”. President Mugabe was “revered” in Ecuador we were told. We wonder how many Ecuadorians have actually heard of him?”
09/03/10
Muckraker: Is Mugabe the only person with rights?.
Staff Writer, Zimbabwe Independent
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/opinion/27855-muckraker-is-mugabe-the-only-person-with-rights.html
“Mugabe has also been “scoffing” at advocates of gay rights. He took the visit of the wholly unknown Anglican Bishop Walter Roberto Crespo from Ecuador, to denounce homosexuality as “dirt” and “filth”. President Mugabe was “revered” in Ecuador we were told. We wonder how many Ecuadorians have actually heard of him?”
09/01/10
Dangerous Liaisons.
Jeff Sharlet, The Advocate.
http://advocate.com/Print_Issue/Cover_Stories/Dangerous_Liaisons/
“Antigay Americans are losing the culture war, so they’re exporting their hatred to Uganda, Zimbabwe, and Nigeria — where their fervor is so welcome it threatens to sweep the entire continent.”//newline////newline////newline////newline////newline////newline//
09/01/10
Human rights in HIV
Lim Wey Wen
http://thestar.com.my/health/story.asp?file=/2011/1/9/health/7655975&sec=health
The protection of human rights is key in the efforts to control the HIV epidemic. THE personal testimonies recorded in the World AIDS day brochure of the WHO Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean tells the story of how human rights fulfilment and violations can facilitate or impede people’s access to effective HIV prevention measures and treatment. Samer, a male person living with HIV (PLHIV), tells of his experience with the consequences of a breach to his right to privacy.//newline//“I was feeling very sick, so sick that they took me to the hospital. They found out I was HIV positive there. They told my brother before they told me. My family did not want me around the house any longer.”
08/30/10
NZ Denies ’Ex Gay’ Group Charity Status.
Kilian Melloy, Edge Boston
http://www.edgeboston.com/index.php?ch=news&sc=&sc2=news&sc3=&id=109692
‚ÄúThe New Zealand arm of “ex gay” group¬†Exodus has lost a bid to gain charity status, because the government there says that being gay is okay–and not a disease requiring charitable support, reportedGayNZ.com¬†in an August 30 article.‚Äù
08/30/10
NZ Denies ’Ex Gay’ Group Charity Status.
Kilian Melloy, Edge Boston
http://www.edgeboston.com/index.php?ch=news&sc=&sc2=news&sc3=&id=109692
‚ÄúThe New Zealand arm of “ex gay” group¬†Exodus has lost a bid to gain charity status, because the government there says that being gay is okay–and not a disease requiring charitable support, reportedGayNZ.com¬†in an August 30 article.‚Äù
08/27/10
How the ’Ex-Gay’ Movement Fosters HIV Infection.
Kilian Melloy, Edge Boston
htthttp://www.edgeboston.com/index.php?ch=news&sc=&sc2=news&sc3=&id=109640
‚ÄúA news outlet dedicated to HIV issues says that the “ex-gay industry,” which is predicated on the claim that gays and lesbains can be “cured” and “converted” to heterosexuality, relies on a fear of AIDS to help spread its message–but that in practical effect, such groups contribute to the spread of the virus.‚Äù
08/27/10
How the ’Ex-Gay’ Movement Fosters HIV Infection.
Kilian Melloy, Edge Boston
htthttp://www.edgeboston.com/index.php?ch=news&sc=&sc2=news&sc3=&id=109640
‚ÄúA news outlet dedicated to HIV issues says that the “ex-gay industry,” which is predicated on the claim that gays and lesbains can be “cured” and “converted” to heterosexuality, relies on a fear of AIDS to help spread its message–but that in practical effect, such groups contribute to the spread of the virus.‚Äù
08/26/10
Is Being Gay a White, European Thing?.
Titiana Kumeh, Alternet
http://www.alternet.org/rss/breaking_news/272343/is_being_gay_a_white,__european_thing/
‚ÄúUgandan parliament member¬†David Bahati thinks so. The author of the East African country’s¬†anti-gay bill¬†told¬†Harper‚Äôscontributing editor¬†Jeff Sharlet¬†that “‘If you come here [to Uganda], you’ll see homosexuals from Europe and America are luring our children into homosexuality by distributing cell phones and iPods and things like this,’” Sharlet¬†recounts¬†in an interview on yesterday’s “Fresh Air.” How iPods lead to same-sex relationships is beyond me save maybe constant replays of Katy Perry’s “I Kissed a Girl.”As Sharlet points out, it’s actually¬†anti-gay hysteria¬†that’s getting exported to Uganda, and the exporters are evangelicals from the US of A.‚Äù
08/25/10
Listen: Finding The Root Of Anti-Gay Sentiment In Uganda.
Staff Writer, NPR news
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=129422524&ps=cprs
Jeff Sharlet discuses the Ugandan situation with Fresh Air’s Terry Gross.
08/24/10
Gay Ugandan In Exile Calls On Anglican Leaders To Denounce Uganda’s Anti-Homosexuality Bill at the All African Bishops Conference.
Wayne Besen, TruthWinsOut.org.
http://www.truthwinsout.org/pressreleases/2010/08/10640/
“It is time for Christian leaders in Africa to start promoting peace and stop persecuting LGBT people,” said Kushaba Moses Mworeko, who recently escaped to the United States. “I call on the Anglican Church to speak out forcefully against the Anti-Homosexuality Bill and to support decriminalizing gay relationships across the continent. As the church grows in Africa it must choose to be a force for good and not intolerance.”//newline////newline////newline////newline////newline////newline// //newline//
08/24/10
Homosexuality against word of God: African bishops.
Staff Writer, AFP
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5iyxmjNLH6o69kaFrcez0tmc7V7cA
“Today, the West is lacking obedience to the word of God,” Reverend Ian Ernest of Mauritius told journalists on the sidelines of the conference. “It is for us (Africans) to redress the situation,” he said, adding that he has severed all ties to the Episcopalian churches in Canada and the United States that have allowed gays to enter the clergy.
08/23/10
Monday Watercooler: Ugandan lawmaker prefers dead gays.
James Withers, 365gay.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mark-canavera/the-kuchu-beehive_b_666033.html
“Uganda’s David Bahati gets a profile in the Daily Monitor, and each time the legislator opens his mouth he lies though his lying teeth. The infamous lawmaker, known for sponsoring Uganda’s “kill gays” bill, is presented as a humble family man who just wants to give back to the community. As for his proposed law, he argues it is based in his profound worries about the future for Ugandan children. And heavens no, he doesn’t hate gays. As long as they are killed. “It is in Leviticus. Go and read – the penalty for homosexuality is death.”
08/05/10
What is So African About Anti-Homosexuality and Anti-Terrorism?.
Chambi Chachage, AllAfricaNews
http://allafrica.com/stories/201008060884.html
‚ÄúAncient and contemporary history, whether that of Africa or the world, does not confirm [the conclusion that] ‘Homosexuality is one of the greatest paradoxes of our time, a pervasion that is gradually being imposed on Africa.’ This is an ancient practice – even if it was not performed in public in certain places – here and elsewhere. Somehow the practice has persisted to our times.‚Äù
08/02/10
Nana Lithur right on the rights of homosexuals – CHRAJ.
Staff Writer, Ghana News Agency
http://www.ghananewsagency.org/s_social/r_18829/
Anna Bossman, Deputy Commissioner in charge of Legal and Investigations for Ghana‚Äôs Commission for Human Rights and Administrative Justice, stated in a press conference that “(t)he constitutional provision on human rights is clear‚Ķ we cannot put moral judgment on it‚Ķ every person in Ghana, whatever his race, place of origin, political opinion, colour, religion, creed or gender shall be entitled to the fundamental human rights and freedoms.‚Äù
08/02/10
The Kuchu Beehive.
Mark Canavera, Huffington Post
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mark-canavera/the-kuchu-beehive_b_666033.html
Self-described “Kuchus” – the Swahili term used to designated people who self-identify as LGBTI in Uganda – are busy organizing grassroots responses to the country’s proposed Anti-Homosexuality Bill, fueling a wave of sexual minority activism unprecedented in sub-Saharan Africa.
08/01/10
More than 70 countries make being gay a crime.
Emily Dugan, The Independent
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/politics/more-than-70-countries-make-being-gay-a-crime-2040850.html
Research conducted by the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association shows that 76 countries still prosecute people on the grounds of their sexual orientation , seven of which punish same-sex acts with death.
08/01/10
More than 70 countries make being gay a crime.
Emily Dugan, The Independent
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/politics/more-than-70-countries-make-being-gay-a-crime-2040850.html
Research conducted by the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association shows that 76 countries still prosecute people on the grounds of their sexual orientation , seven of which punish same-sex acts with death.
07/31/10
Argentina: “And now I pronounce you…‚Äù.
Andres Duque, Blabbeando
http://blabbeando.blogspot.com/2010/07/argentina-and-now-i-pronounce-you.html
Same-sex marriages take place all over Argentina the day that country’s marriage equality legislation took effect.
07/31/10
Argentina: “And now I pronounce you…‚Äù.
Andres Duque, Blabbeando
http://blabbeando.blogspot.com/2010/07/argentina-and-now-i-pronounce-you.html
Same-sex marriages take place all over Argentina the day that country’s marriage equality legislation took effect.
07/31/10
Homosexuality will not be tolerated, says south Sudan president.
Staff Writer, Sudan Tribune
http://www.sudantribune.com/spip.php?article35815
Regional President Salva Kiir Mayardit told Dutch media that homosexuality will be persecuted in southern Sudan in the event that a 2011 referendum results in the political autonomy of that area: ‚Äúis not in our character […] it is not there and if anybody wants to import it to Sudan […] it will always be condemned by everybody.‚Äù
07/29/10
Have gays in Uganda been arrested? Ssempa says no, Mbale says yes.
Warren Throckmorton, Crosswalk.com
http://www.crosswalk.com/blogs/EWThrockmorton/11635562/
In an interview hosted by a conservative Christian media outlet, Ugandan anti-gay extremist Martin Ssempa made the dubious claim that ‚Äú¬†in the history of Uganda for the last 50 years‚Ķ since we’ve had a law against homosexuality, no homosexual has been arrested or killed for homosexuality.‚Äù
07/28/10
The Promised Land.
Will O’Bryan, Metro Weekly
http://www.metroweekly.com/feature/?ak=5459
Kushaba Moses Mworeko, an openly gay Ugandan seeking asylum in the US, recounts his life story. Mworeko’s account of political repression, religious intolerance, forced marriage, and Christian redemption illustrates in a powerfully personal fashion what’s at stake in the fight for Africa. //newline////newline////newline////newline////newline////newline////newline//
07/27/10
Obama’s Gay Rights Push ‘Distressing,’ Says So. Baptist Leader.
Michelle Vu, Christian Post Reporter
http://www.gospelherald.net/article/society/46515/obamas-gay-rights-push-distressing-says-so-baptist-leader.htm
Barrett Duke, vice president for public policy and research at The Ethics Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention, echoed the anxieties of many American evangelicals following the UN’s decision to grant NGO consultant status to the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission: “It is extremely distressing that the Obama administration would exert extraordinary pressure on the United Nations to gain membership for a group that is so obviously opposed to the foundational American principle of freedom of speech.”
07/26/10
Bishop Okoh’s war on homosexuality.
Savitri Hensman, guardian.co.uk
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/belief/2010/jul/26/archbishop-okoh-nigeria-homosexuality
A Guardian UK editorialist develops a progressive theological case against Nigerian Bishop Okoh’s anti-gay stance.
07/26/10
Zimbabwe gay rights activist cleared of porn charges.
Staff Writer, AFP
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20100726/wl_africa_afp/zimbabwegayscourt_20100726151637
Ignatius Muhambe, the Zimbabwean gay rights activist arrested and tortured for his alleged criticism of President Robert Mugabe, has been acquitted of the charged that he possessed gay porn.
07/26/10
Zimbabwe gay rights activist cleared of porn charges.
Staff Writer, AFP
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20100726/wl_africa_afp/zimbabwegayscourt_20100726151637
Ignatius Muhambe, the Zimbabwean gay rights activist arrested and tortured for his alleged criticism of President Robert Mugabe, has been acquitted of the charged that he possessed gay porn.
07/22/10
Corrupting Influence.
Richard Rosendall, Metro Weekly
http://www.metroweekly.com/news/opinion/?ak=5446
“Oppression of women and gays, suppression of free speech, and denial of religious freedom are not legitimized because they are practiced by African governments. Any human being and any society can oppress. To insist otherwise infantilizes the designated victims and provides cover for new predators.”
07/22/10
Latin America’s Support for Same-Sex Marriage.
German Lodola and Margarita Corral, Americas Quarterly
http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/1728
This scholarly article examines trends in public opinion regarding marriage equality throughout Latin America: “The data reconfirm that citizens in Latin America and Caribbean, on average, express relatively low levels of support for same-sex marriage. But there is also significant cross-national variation. At the individual-level of analysis, our statistical analysis indicates that strong religious values and more conservative ideologies have a significant negative impact on individual support for homosexuals having the right to marry. In addition, we found that levels of support are higher among wealthier people, individuals living in larger cities, and women. In our analyses of national-level factors, we found strong empirical evidence supporting the classic claim that both economic development and education increase tolerance for homosexual rights.”
07/22/10
Latin America’s Support for Same-Sex Marriage.
German Lodola and Margarita Corral, Americas Quarterly
http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/1728
This scholarly article examines trends in public opinion regarding marriage equality throughout Latin America: “The data reconfirm that citizens in Latin America and Caribbean, on average, express relatively low levels of support for same-sex marriage. But there is also significant cross-national variation. At the individual-level of analysis, our statistical analysis indicates that strong religious values and more conservative ideologies have a significant negative impact on individual support for homosexuals having the right to marry. In addition, we found that levels of support are higher among wealthier people, individuals living in larger cities, and women. In our analyses of national-level factors, we found strong empirical evidence supporting the classic claim that both economic development and education increase tolerance for homosexual rights.”
07/22/10
Lesbian seeks US help amid Ugandan Crackdown.
Andrew Aylward, San Francisco Chronicle
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/07/21/MNT01EH4AB.DTL&feed=rss.gay
Val Kalende, an out Ugandan lesbian who lost her job as a reporter after criticizing the proposed Anti-Homosexuality Bill, recently completed a speaking tour funded by the US State Department intended to raise awareness of the plight of LGBT people in her country. Kalende warns that a modified version of the bill will likely be passed and be used by President Yoweri Museveni to crack down on political opponents.
07/22/10
Uganda Rejects AU Gay Group.
Cyprian Musoke, The New Vision Uganda.
http://www.newvision.co.ug/D/8/13/726692
The Ugandan foreign service has opposed the pending recognition of a gay-rights NGO, the Coalition of African Lesbians, as on official observer of African Union conferences. The Ugandan ambassador cited the importance of “(protecting).. African values” in her statement.
07/21/10
ASIA-PACIFIC: Laws against homosexuality ‘spreading HIV infections’.
Jessica Geen
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2010/07/21/laws-against-homosexuality-spreading-hiv-infections/
This has made the pope cave in on Condom usage. Anti-gay laws in the Asia-Pacific region are causing higher rates of HIV infections, the UN has warned. In a statement released at the World AIDS Conference in Vienna, the UNDP said: “Some 19 of 48 countries in the Asia Pacific region continue to criminalise male-to-male sex.
07/20/10
Anglican Prelate: Gays, Muslims Attempting Takeover of African Nation.
Kilian Melloy, Edge Boston
http://www.edgeboston.com/index.php?ch=news&sc=&sc2=news&sc3=&id=108220
Nigerian Anglican Bishop Nicholos Okoh made comments to the British press regarding his fears of the growing influence of Islam and increasing visibility of LGBT people in sub-Saharan Africa. Okoh calls for “ideological purity” among young Nigerians, and advocates breaking ties with the gay-friendly global Anglican Communion.
07/19/10
US gay rights group gets UN accreditation.
Will O’Bryan, AP
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gJYNH2s-C9t79VHX2SYvl7VNQkzQD9H29TPG0
The U.N. Economic and Social Council has voted to accredit the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission after strong lobbying by the U.S. administration. The 54-member council approved the U.S.-based group’s application for consultative status by a vote of 23-13 with 13 abstentions.
07/18/10
No gay voice in new Zimbabwe constitution: Mugabe.
Staff Writer, AFP
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5giVWswVTzJxcH8bsrK5UdZzkuKKQ
Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe said the country will not listen to those who want gay rights to be mentioned in a draft of the new constitution: “We say no to gay rights.”
07/18/10
No gay voice in new Zimbabwe constitution: Mugabe.
Staff Writer, AFP
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5giVWswVTzJxcH8bsrK5UdZzkuKKQ
Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe said the country will not listen to those who want gay rights to be mentioned in a draft of the new constitution: “We say no to gay rights.”
07/15/10
Kuwait: Did X Factor ‘out’ a gay asylum seeker, putting him in danger?
Paul Canning
http://madikazemi.blogspot.com/2010/07/did-x-factor-out-gay-asylum-seeker.html
The production company for hit TV show X Factor passed the real name to the Sun newspaper of a contestant who is a young Middle Eastern gay asylum seeker, he has claimed in comments published by Manchester’sLesbian and Gay Foundation (LGF) and then Pink Paper
07/15/10
Nigeria: Homosexuality and pedophilia must be condemned, says primate.
Matthew Davies, Episcopal Life Online
http://www.episcopal-life.org/81808_123483_ENG_HTM.htm
Anglican Archbishop Nicholas Okoh of Nigeria told¬†reporters at a July 14 press conference that “same-sex marriage, pedophilia and all sexual pervasions [sic]¬†should be roundly condemned,” further claiming that ‚Äú(the Christian) church in the West [is using] their money to spread the homosexual lifestyle in African societies and churches; after all Africa is poor.”
07/13/10
U.S. Church Lends Help To Anti-Gay Ugandan Pastor.
Barbara Bradley Hagerty, NPR
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=128491183
Kevin Odor, head pastor of the Las Vegas-based Canyon Ridge Christian Church which financially supports Ugandan anti-gay extremist Martin Ssempa, dubiously claims that the latter has been misrepresented in American media and “sees no reason to condemn the minister… [nor to] denounce the Anti-Homosexuality Bill.”
07/12/10
Church loses partnership over “kill the gays” bill.
Warren Throckmorton, Salon.com
http://www.salon.com/life/lgbt/?story=/news/feature/2010/07/12/uganda_gay_legislation
Citing “direct conflict with the overarching public health goals of the health district,” the Southern Nevada Health District severed its ties with Canyon Ridge Community Church, a conservative evangelical congregation with close ties to Ugandan anti-gay extremist Martin Ssempa. SNHD once regularly cooperated with the Church to provide HIV testing services.
06/15/10
Documentary: Exporting Hate (watch).
In The Life Media
http://www.inthelifetv.org/html/episodes/108.html
In 2009, the Ugandan Parliamentary proposed an anti-homosexuality bill that would impose the death penalty on serial offenders of homosexual acts. Inciting fear and sanctioning homophobia, the bill has caused LGBT Ugandans to be hunted in their communities and forced into exile. IN THE LIFE focuses on the evangelicals behind the bill, and exposes the political and financial influence used by powerful conservatives in the U.S. to export their anti-gay agenda overseas.”
06/04/10
Steven and Tiwonge could be rearrested if they continue loving each other.
Simangele Mzizi, BehindTheMask
http://www.mask.org.za/steven-and-tiwonge-could-be-rearrested-if-continue-loving-each-other/
While the two Malawian gay men Steven Monjeza and Tiwonge Chimbalanga have been granted a presidential pardon on “humanitarian grounds”, annulling a 14 year sentence for “gross indecency and unnatural acts”, speculation is mounting on the exact conditions of their release.
06/04/10
Steven and Tiwonge could be rearrested if they continue loving each other.
Simangele Mzizi, BehindTheMask
http://www.mask.org.za/steven-and-tiwonge-could-be-rearrested-if-continue-loving-each-other/
While the two Malawian gay men Steven Monjeza and Tiwonge Chimbalanga have been granted a presidential pardon on “humanitarian grounds”, annulling a 14 year sentence for “gross indecency and unnatural acts”, speculation is mounting on the exact conditions of their release.
06/04/10
Ugandans Opposed To Homosexuality – Museveni.
Ephraim Kasozi and Patience Ahimbisibwe, The Monitor (Uganda).
http://www.monitor.co.ug/News/National/-/688334/931836/-/x0qbxj/-/index.html
President Museveni said Ugandans are opposed to homosexuality because it is not part of African culture. Speaking to Christians who gathered to mark the Uganda Martyrs Day at the Anglican shrine in Nakiyanja, President Museveni castigated Europeans for imposing what he called western culture onto African countries.
06/04/10
Ugandans Opposed To Homosexuality – Museveni.
Ephraim Kasozi and Patience Ahimbisibwe, The Monitor (Uganda).
http://www.monitor.co.ug/News/National/-/688334/931836/-/x0qbxj/-/index.html
President Museveni said Ugandans are opposed to homosexuality because it is not part of African culture. Speaking to Christians who gathered to mark the Uganda Martyrs Day at the Anglican shrine in Nakiyanja, President Museveni castigated Europeans for imposing what he called western culture onto African countries.
06/03/10
How Religious Leaders Fuel Homophobia In Burundi.
Jerina Chendze Messie, BehindTheMask
http://www.mask.org.za/how-religious-leaders-fuel-homophobia-in-burundi/
Religious leaders and organisations have greatly fuelled homophobia in Burundi. These are the findings of a report titled Religion and homophobia, released recently by the Movement for Individual Freedoms (MOLI), a lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) organisation in Burundi.
06/03/10
How Religious Leaders Fuel Homophobia In Burundi.
Jerina Chendze Messie, BehindTheMask
http://www.mask.org.za/how-religious-leaders-fuel-homophobia-in-burundi/
Religious leaders and organisations have greatly fuelled homophobia in Burundi. These are the findings of a report titled Religion and homophobia, released recently by the Movement for Individual Freedoms (MOLI), a lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) organisation in Burundi.
06/02/10
Two Pakistanis Jailed for Attempted Gay Marriage.
Advocate.com Editors
http://www.advocate.com/News/Daily_News/2010/06/02/Two_Pakistanis_Jailed_for_Attempted_Gay_Marriage/
Pakistan has jailed two people for what authorities claim was an attempted gay marriage, though the twosome deny they were putting on a ceremony or are even in a relationship.
06/02/10
Two Pakistanis Jailed for Attempted Gay Marriage.
Advocate.com Editors
http://www.advocate.com/News/Daily_News/2010/06/02/Two_Pakistanis_Jailed_for_Attempted_Gay_Marriage/
Pakistan has jailed two people for what authorities claim was an attempted gay marriage, though the twosome deny they were putting on a ceremony or are even in a relationship.
06/01/10
Homosexuality – is Zuma barking with dogs one day, howling with foxes the next?
Staff Writer, BehindTheMask
http://www.mask.org.za/homosexuality-–-is-zuma-barking-with-dogs-one-day-howling-with-foxes-the-next/
President Jacob Zuma’s statement repudiating the 14 year sentence of a Malawian gay couple, who were later released, was nothing but his lips making the right noises because they are expected to, concerned South African citizens have said.
06/01/10
Homosexuality – is Zuma barking with dogs one day, howling with foxes the next?
Staff Writer, BehindTheMask
http://www.mask.org.za/homosexuality-–-is-zuma-barking-with-dogs-one-day-howling-with-foxes-the-next/
President Jacob Zuma’s statement repudiating the 14 year sentence of a Malawian gay couple, who were later released, was nothing but his lips making the right noises because they are expected to, concerned South African citizens have said.
06/01/10
President Obama Praises Release Of Tiwonge And Steven.
Staff Writer, BehindtheMask
http://www.mask.org.za/president-obama-praises-release-of-tiwonge-and-steven-declares-gay-pride-month/
In a Press Statement, The White House has praised President Bingu wa Matharika’s pardon of Tiwonge Chimbalanga and Steven Monjeza.
06/01/10
President Obama Praises Release Of Tiwonge And Steven.
Staff Writer, BehindtheMask
http://www.mask.org.za/president-obama-praises-release-of-tiwonge-and-steven-declares-gay-pride-month/
In a Press Statement, The White House has praised President Bingu wa Matharika’s pardon of Tiwonge Chimbalanga and Steven Monjeza.
06/01/10
Watch: ‘Missionaries of Hate’, a new Documentary explording American Evangelical anti-gay efforts in Uganda.
Andy Towle, Towleroad.com
http://www.towleroad.com/2010/06/watch-missionaries-of-hate-a-new-documentary-exploring-american-evangelical-antigay-efforts-in-ugand.html
Current TV premiered an important new documentary called Missionaries of Hate which explores efforts of American evangelicals to foment hatred and violence against gays in Uganda in the name of religion.//newline//Watch all six segments, plus interviews with the director Mariana van Zeller, American Evangelical Scott Lively, and Ugandan MP David Bahati, author of the “kill the gays” bill.
06/01/10
Watch: ‘Missionaries of Hate’, a new Documentary explording American Evangelical anti-gay efforts in Uganda.
Andy Towle, Towleroad.com
http://www.towleroad.com/2010/06/watch-missionaries-of-hate-a-new-documentary-exploring-american-evangelical-antigay-efforts-in-ugand.html
Current TV premiered an important new documentary called Missionaries of Hate which explores efforts of American evangelicals to foment hatred and violence against gays in Uganda in the name of religion.//newline//Watch all six segments, plus interviews with the director Mariana van Zeller, American Evangelical Scott Lively, and Ugandan MP David Bahati, author of the “kill the gays” bill.
06/01/10
Zimbabwe Veterans Vow To Fight Homosexuals.
Alice Chimora, AfrikNews
http://www.afrik-news.com/article17719.html
Zimbabwe’s ageing liberation fighters have made a vow: “there will be no room for gays in Zimbabwe”. They say it is against what they fought for during the liberation struggle. “You cannot change the direction of a struggle, but only improve the road. Do you think those who died for the liberation of the country died for gay marriages?”, asked Jabulani Sibanda, the veterans leader.
06/01/10
Zimbabwe Veterans Vow To Fight Homosexuals.
Alice Chimora, AfrikNews
http://www.afrik-news.com/article17719.html
Zimbabwe’s ageing liberation fighters have made a vow: “there will be no room for gays in Zimbabwe”. They say it is against what they fought for during the liberation struggle. “You cannot change the direction of a struggle, but only improve the road. Do you think those who died for the liberation of the country died for gay marriages?”, asked Jabulani Sibanda, the veterans leader.
05/27/10
African Statesman Condemns Homosexuality As An ‘Abomination’.
David Smith, Guardian UK
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/may/25/gay-rights-africa-malawi
Former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo publicly condemned homosexuality and defended the rights of African nations to persecute LGBT people, citing his own conservative Christian beliefs. Obasanjo sits on the Africa Progress Panel with such pro-equality activists as Kofi Annan and Bob Geldof.
05/27/10
African Statesman Condemns Homosexuality As An ‘Abomination’.
David Smith, Guardian UK
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/may/25/gay-rights-africa-malawi
Former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo publicly condemned homosexuality and defended the rights of African nations to persecute LGBT people, citing his own conservative Christian beliefs. Obasanjo sits on the Africa Progress Panel with such pro-equality activists as Kofi Annan and Bob Geldof.
05/27/10
Detained Gay Activists Beaten And Tortured By Police.
Violet Gonda, SWRadioAfrica News
http://www.swradioafrica.com/news260510/detainedgay250510.htm
Two LGBT activists arrested for their criticism of President Robert Mugabe have been tortured at the hands of Zimabwean police. The police have also sought to locate and persecute citizens associated with the activists.
05/27/10
Detained Gay Activists Beaten And Tortured By Police.
Violet Gonda, SWRadioAfrica News
http://www.swradioafrica.com/news260510/detainedgay250510.htm
Two LGBT activists arrested for their criticism of President Robert Mugabe have been tortured at the hands of Zimabwean police. The police have also sought to locate and persecute citizens associated with the activists.
05/25/10
Zimbabwean Police Charge Gay Activists With Undermining Mugabe.
Brian Latham, Businessweek
http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-05-25/zimbabwean-police-charge-gay-activists-with-undermining-mugabe.html
Ellen Chademana and Ignatius Muhambi, two Harare-based LGBT activists, were arrested by Zimbabwean police after materials critical of President Robert Mugabe’s homophobia were found in a raid on their office.
05/25/10
Zimbabwean Police Charge Gay Activists With Undermining Mugabe.
Brian Latham, Businessweek
http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-05-25/zimbabwean-police-charge-gay-activists-with-undermining-mugabe.html
Ellen Chademana and Ignatius Muhambi, two Harare-based LGBT activists, were arrested by Zimbabwean police after materials critical of President Robert Mugabe’s homophobia were found in a raid on their office.
05/24/10
UK: Shock figures on homophobic bullying in schools revealed by NUT surveys
Christopher Brocklebank
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2010/05/24/shock-figures-on-homophobic-bullying-in-schools-revealed-by-nut-surveys/
Prevalance of Homophobia surveys conducted in the north-west of England by Oldham National Union of Teachers have revealed shock figures relating to homophobic bullying in schools.
05/21/10
Bonela Scores For Gays And Lesbians
Maranyane Ngwanaamotho, Mmegi Online.
http://www.mmegi.bw/index.php?sid=1&aid=2467&dir=2010/May/Thursday20
The Botswana Network Of Ethics, Law and HIV/AIDS will lead a coalition of groups representing LGBT people and sex-workers to meet with government representatives. The unprecedented dialogue will address an array of policies, including Botswana’s sodomy laws.
05/21/10
Bonela Scores For Gays And Lesbians
Maranyane Ngwanaamotho, Mmegi Online.
http://www.mmegi.bw/index.php?sid=1&aid=2467&dir=2010/May/Thursday20
The Botswana Network Of Ethics, Law and HIV/AIDS will lead a coalition of groups representing LGBT people and sex-workers to meet with government representatives. The unprecedented dialogue will address an array of policies, including Botswana’s sodomy laws.
05/05/10
The Unitarian Universalist UN Office expresses great concern over Lou Engle and TheCall Uganda.
Unitarian Universalist UN Office
http://www.uu-uno.org/2010/05/the-uu-uno-expresses-great-concern-over-lou-engle-and-thecall-uganda/
The Unitarian Universalist United Nations Office expresses “great concern over the deception employed by Lou Engle in traveling to Uganda to take part in TheCall Uganda—an exploitative and homophobic crusade against the human rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people,” publicly criticizing the growing influence of the American Christian right in African politics.
05/05/10
The Unitarian Universalist UN Office expresses great concern over Lou Engle and TheCall Uganda.
Unitarian Universalist UN Office
http://www.uu-uno.org/2010/05/the-uu-uno-expresses-great-concern-over-lou-engle-and-thecall-uganda/
The Unitarian Universalist United Nations Office expresses “great concern over the deception employed by Lou Engle in traveling to Uganda to take part in TheCall Uganda—an exploitative and homophobic crusade against the human rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people,” publicly criticizing the growing influence of the American Christian right in African politics.
05/04/10
Being Gay In Morocco.
Djamel Belayachi, Afrik.com
http://www.mask.org.za/another-latest-post-just-to-check-total/
Samir Bergachi, founder of Kif-Kif, Morocco’s first gay-rights organization, and Mithly, the first dedicated gay publication in the Arab world, discusses the difficulties faced by LGBT people in conservative Muslim socities.
05/04/10
Being Gay In Morocco.
Djamel Belayachi, Afrik.com
http://www.mask.org.za/another-latest-post-just-to-check-total/
Samir Bergachi, founder of Kif-Kif, Morocco’s first gay-rights organization, and Mithly, the first dedicated gay publication in the Arab world, discusses the difficulties faced by LGBT people in conservative Muslim socities.
04/24/10
Uganda: Ugandan Cabinet Committee Recommends Passing Anti-Gay Bill On the Down Low.
Jim Burroway, Boxturtle Bulletin.
http://www.boxturtlebulletin.com/2010/04/24/22024?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed:+BoxTurtleBulletin
A special Ugandan parliamentary committee has recommended rebranding the infamous Anti-Homosexuality Bill by either changing its name or combining it with an existing Sexual Offences Act. A leaked committee report reveals that the original title of the legislation appeared to be “(stigmatize)… and (target) a particular group of people.”
04/24/10
Uganda: Ugandan Cabinet Committee Recommends Passing Anti-Gay Bill On the Down Low.
Jim Burroway, Boxturtle Bulletin.
http://www.boxturtlebulletin.com/2010/04/24/22024?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed:+BoxTurtleBulletin
A special Ugandan parliamentary committee has recommended rebranding the infamous Anti-Homosexuality Bill by either changing its name or combining it with an existing Sexual Offences Act. A leaked committee report reveals that the original title of the legislation appeared to be “(stigmatize)… and (target) a particular group of people.”
04/20/10
Uganda: Statement from Spectrum Uganda: Stop Hate Campaigns in the name of Jesus Christ.
Unitarian Universalist UN Office
http://www.uu-uno.org/2010/04/statement-from-spectrum-uganda-stop-hate-campaigns-in-the-name-of-jesus-christ/
The PRO Spectrum Uganda calls upon organizers of The Call to Uganda to cease promoting the discrimination and persecution of LGBT people and instead promote social justice for all.
04/20/10
Uganda: Statement from Spectrum Uganda: Stop Hate Campaigns in the name of Jesus Christ.
Unitarian Universalist UN Office
http://www.uu-uno.org/2010/04/statement-from-spectrum-uganda-stop-hate-campaigns-in-the-name-of-jesus-christ/
The PRO Spectrum Uganda calls upon organizers of The Call to Uganda to cease promoting the discrimination and persecution of LGBT people and instead promote social justice for all.
04/15/10
HOCA opens homosexuality debate in Rwanda.
Staff Writer, BehindTheMask
http://www.mask.org.za/workers-demonstrate-in-johannesburg-over-wage-payments/
A public admission by the Director of Horizon Community Association (HOCA), Naome Ruzindana, that homosexuality does exist in Rwanda has sparked controversy in that country, with public figures dubbing it an abomination that contradicts the Rwandan culture.
04/15/10
HOCA opens homosexuality debate in Rwanda.
Staff Writer, BehindTheMask
http://www.mask.org.za/workers-demonstrate-in-johannesburg-over-wage-payments/
A public admission by the Director of Horizon Community Association (HOCA), Naome Ruzindana, that homosexuality does exist in Rwanda has sparked controversy in that country, with public figures dubbing it an abomination that contradicts the Rwandan culture.
04/15/10
Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life: Islam and Christianity in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Luis Lugo and Alan Cooperman, Pew Research Center.
http://pewresearch.org/pubs/1564/islam-christianity-in-sub-saharan-africa-survey
Since 1900, the number of self-identified Christians living in sub-Saharan Africa has increased nearly 70-fold to 470 million, accounting for nearly a quarter of the Christian church globally. The report analyzes, among other things, the recent evanglization of African Christianity, and finds that “throughout sub-Saharan Africa, Christians and Muslims alike express strong opposition to homosexual behavior, abortion, prostitution and sex between unmarried people” and large majorities expect their leaders to hold “strong religious beliefs.”(download the complete PDF report.)
04/15/10
Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life: Islam and Christianity in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Luis Lugo and Alan Cooperman, Pew Research Center.
http://pewresearch.org/pubs/1564/islam-christianity-in-sub-saharan-africa-survey
Since 1900, the number of self-identified Christians living in sub-Saharan Africa has increased nearly 70-fold to 470 million, accounting for nearly a quarter of the Christian church globally. The report analyzes, among other things, the recent evanglization of African Christianity, and finds that “throughout sub-Saharan Africa, Christians and Muslims alike express strong opposition to homosexual behavior, abortion, prostitution and sex between unmarried people” and large majorities expect their leaders to hold “strong religious beliefs.”(download the complete PDF report.)
04/13/10
Zambia: Channel Funds To Projects, Not Gay Rights, Donors Urged.
Staff Writer, AllAfricaNews
http://www.mask.org.za/zambia-channel-funds-to-projects-not-gay-rights-donors-urged/
Assemblies of God Bishop Joshua Banda has advised the donor community to channel their funds to development programmes rather than supporting practises such as homosexuality that he characterizes as “alien to the Zambian society.”
04/03/10
Harvard Law School Conference: Diverse Sexualities/Disparate Laws: Sexual Minorities, the State and International Law (Keynote Address).
Cary Alan Johnson, International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission.
http://www.iglhrc.org/cgi-bin/iowa/article/pressroom/iglhrcscommentaries/1110.html
The closing speaker at a Harvard Law School conference on LGBT issues in international law discusses the promises and problems facing global equality activism in the 21st century.
03/29/10
South Africa: ‘Gay cure’ doctor charged with sexual abuse of patient.
Pinknews Staff Writer
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2010/03/29/gay-cure-doctor-charged-with-sexual-abuse-of-patient/
Dr Aubrey Levin, A Canadian psychiatrist who was known as Doctor Shock for experiments on gay people in apartheid-era South Africa has been accused of sexually abusing a male patient.
03/27/10
South Africa: The woman who spent 7 months in a male cell.
Staff Writer, Haute Haiku
http://globalvoicesonline.org/2010/03/27/south-africa-the-woman-who-spent-7-months-in-a-male-cell/
Denise Abbah, a South African female acquitted of attempted robbery and hijacking in South Africa, was imprisoned in a male cell for seven months as she waited for her trial. The prison officials mistook her for a transvestite. Ms Abbah is now seeking justice as she is suing the Department of Correctional  Services for damages amounting to R100 000.
03/25/10
Lesbian Kiss at Gay Holocaust Memorial Draws Protest.
The Advocate
http://www.advocate.com/News/Daily_News/2010/03/25/Lesbian_Kiss_at_Berlin_Gay_Holocaust_Memorial_Draws_Protest/
A gay Holocaust memorial that plans to display a video of a lesbian kiss is drawing protests, not from antigay activists but from historians.
03/12/10
In Africa, a step backward on human rights.
Desmond Tutu
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/03/11/AR2010031103341.html
Archbishop Desmond Tutu writes that the anti-gay sentiment spreading across Africa needs to stop.
03/11/10
Saudi Jailed and Flogged for Gay Video (1,000 Lashes).
Staff Writer, GaysWithoutBorders
http://gayswithoutborders.wordpress.com/2010/03/11/saudi-jailed-and-flogged-for-gay-video-1000-lashes/
A 27-year-old Saudi man from Jeddah has been sentenced to 1,000 lashes, a year in jail and a fine of 5,000 riyals ($1,330) after appearing in an amateur gay video.
03/09/10
Uganda’s Trade Status to be Reviewed by State Department and the Pope Turns a Blind Eye to “Kill the Gays” Bill.
Waymon Hudson, Bilerico Project.
http://www.bilerico.com/2010/03/ugandas_trade_status_to_be_reviewed_by_state_depar.php
The US State Department is responding to a letter by Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) about the Bill currently in the Ugandan Parliament by saying it is “a serious affront to internationally accepted human rights standards.” Senator Wyden’s letter called for a review of Uganda’s preferred trade status under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), which authorizes duty-free importation of certain goods from preferred status countries.¬† As a condition of receiving preferred status under AGOA, a country must not be engaged in “gross violations of internationally recognized human rights.”¬†
03/08/10
Kenya: Are Muslims Preparing an Anti-Gay Pogrom In Kenya?
Jim Burroway, Boxturtle Bulletin
http://www.boxturtlebulletin.com/2010/03/08/20932
Baraka FM, a Kenyan Muslim radio station previously involved inciting anti-gay mob violence, has broadcast a threat against an HIV/AIDS research center in Mombasa.
03/04/10
State Department Investigating LGBT Treatment In Uganda and Throughout Africa.
Jim Burroway, Boxturtle Bulletin
http://www.boxturtlebulletin.com/2010/03/04/20774
In response to a letter penned by Senator Ron Wyden’s (D-Washington) questioning the legitimacy of Uganda’s African Growth and Opportunity Act preferred trade status, the State Department has released a statement assuring that the campaign to defeat the Anti-Homosexuality bill has reached the “highest levels” of diplomacy, characterizing the controversy as “priority in our bilateral relationship.”
02/25/10
Mexico: As gays prepare to marry in Mexico City, Jalisco queers act-up for their rights.
Staff Writer, Blabbeando
http://blabbeando.blogspot.com/2010/02/mexico-as-gays-prepare-to-marry-in.html
In response to conservative legal challenges to Mexico City’s December 21, 2009 marriage equality bill, a grassroots actvist effort has been organized by LGBT people in the state of Jalisco. Building occupations, kiss-ins, and outings have all been used by protesters to defend their newly-recognized rights.
02/25/10
Uganda is Only the Beginning.
Patricia Nell Warren, Bilerico Project
http://www.bilerico.com/2010/02/uganda_is_only_the_beginning.php
Across eastern and central Africa, laws targeting LGBT people (and in many cases their allies) are being proposed by politically powerful conservative Christians working in close social and financial association with American evangelical groups, many of which received federal tax dollars as “faith-based” organizations. President Obama has spoken out against the now-infamous Ugandan campaign, but has yet to address intensifying persecution in Burundi, Zimbabwe, Rwanda, and Kenya.
02/25/10
Ugandan Pastor Wars Reignite, Benny Hinn Accused of Sodomy.
Jim Burroway, Boxturtle Bulletin
http://www.boxturtlebulletin.com/2010/02/25/20604
Ugandan tabloid Red Pepper has accused a “well-known [Ugandan] pastor” of having sexual relations with disgraced American televangelist Benny Hinn. The charge, since cleared by police, represents the latest development in the country’s “Pastor Wars” which have involved politically powerful evangelical leaders (such as anti-gay extremist Martin Ssempa) maligning rivals with allegations of homosexuality.
02/24/10
Clergy Dispute C Street Group’s Tax-Exempt Status.
Peter Overby, NPR news
http://www.scpr.org/news/2010/02/24/clergy-dispute-c-street-groups-tax-exempt-status/
A group of clergy have filed a complaint with the IRS disputing the tax-exempt status of the C Street Center, the Capitol Hill facility closely affiliated with the secretive and notoriously anti-gay Fellowship organization which provides housing to some of Congress’ most theologically and politically conservative members. The complaint alleges that C Street’s activities violate the legal definition of the term “church,” citing a lack of public worship, dedicated clergy, and questionable fundraising practices.
02/24/10
Homosexuals Anonymous Had Kenya Event In 2009, Anti-Gay Persecution Campaign Now Underway.
Wayne Besen, TruthWinsOut.org
http://www.truthwinsout.org/pressreleases/2010/02/7197/
American ex-gay actvist group Homosexuals Anonymous held a conference in Kenya in November, an event which was followed by a rash of anti-gay violence and the arrest of five people alleged to have planned an illegal gay wedding near Mombasa.
02/23/10
Uganda Wants to Kill the Gays and Their Little Friends, too.
Staff Writer,The Gaytheist Agenda
http://gaytheistagenda.lavenderliberal.com/2010/02/23/uganda-wants-to-kill-the-gays-and-their-little-friends-too/
Uganda’s proposed Anti-Homosexuality bill does more than introduce unconscionably harsh penalties for gay sex – by criminalizing acts of activism and sympathy, the legislation aims to stigmatize straights allies who would stand up for LGBT neighbors, friends, and family members.
01/17/10
United Arab Emirates: Gay men arrested in Dubai
The National
Awad Mustafa
http://madikazemi.blogspot.com/2010/01/gay-men-arrested-in-dubai.html
Two men who allegedly used the internet to offer sexual services appeared separately before the Dubai Criminal Court of First Instance yesterday.
01/07/10
Group Concerned at Rising Homophobia.
Chris Ncube, The Zimbabwean.
http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=36528:group-concerned-at-rising-homophobia&catid=52&Itemid=32
“An international HIV/AIDS advocacy group has raised concern at the escalation of homophobia in Africa, naming President Robert Mugabe as among those persecuting homosexual people on the world’s poorest and arguably most conservative continent.”
12/15/09
Honduran LGBT Rights Activist Assassinated
Advocate
http://www.advocate.com/News/Daily_News/2009/12/15/Honduran_LGBT_Rights_Activist_Assassinated/
Activists suspect government agents in the drive-by killing of LGBT activist and coup protester Walter Trochez
11/30/09
Kenya: 16 Days of Activism: Special office in Kenyan refugee camp help victims of sexual violence.
UNHRC
© UNHCR/E.Hockstein
A Somali woman walks through rows of makeshift shelters in one of the camps at Dadaab. UNHCR is supporting efforts to help the victims of sexual violence and domestic abuse.
DADAAB, Kenya, November 30 (UNHCR) ‚Äì In Hagadera, one of three sprawling refugee camps in north-west Kenya’s Dadaab region, there’s a group of women who call themselves “survivors.” They are victims of sexual violence, a scourge which reaches into the overcrowded camps, home to some 270,000 people, mainly Somalis, who have fled their troubled homeland.
11/09/09
Sweden Gets Lesbian Bishop.
Trudy Ring
http://www.advocate.com/News/Daily_News/2009/11/09/Sweden_Gets_Lesbian_Bishop/
A partnered lesbian will serve the Church of Sweden as bishop of Stockholm, the capital city. Meanwhile, A gay Holocaust memorial that plans to display a video of a lesbian kiss is drawing protests, not from antigay activists but from historians.
10/31/09
London Hate-Crimes Rally Draws Thousands.
Advocate
http://www.advocate.com/News/Daily_News/2009/10/31/Thousands_Rally_Against_Hate_Crimes_in_London/
Thousands gathered in London Friday night to rally against the sudden surge of antigay hate crimes in the area, including the recent murder of 62-year-old Ian Baynham, who was en route to a club for a night on the town when he was attacked.
10/28/09
Can Shepard Bill Help Stop Global Hate Crimes?.
Neal Broverman
http://www.advocate.com/News/Daily_News/2009/10/28/Can_Shepard_Bill_Help_Stop_Global_Hate_Crimes_/
Discussion on whether or not the new hate-crimes bill protects gays in Iraq and Jamaica
10/27/09
U.N: Counterterrorism Plots Violate Human Rights.
Matthew Breen
http://www.advocate.com/News/Daily_News/2009/10/27/UN__Counter-Terrorism_Plots_Violate_Human_Rights/
A dangerous side effect of counterterrorism is emerging in some countries, and its victims are women and transgender people.
06/03/09
Iran: No Man’s Land: Gay Iranian refugees
Tim Murphy
http://madikazemi.blogspot.com/2009/06/no-mans-land-gay-iranian-refugees.html
‚ÄúIn Iran, we don‚Äôt have homosexuals, like in your country…we do not have this phenomenon. I don‚Äôt know who‚Äôs told you that we have it.‚Äù
— Remarks by Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in a speech at Columbia University, September 24, 2007
05/13/08
Police in Moldova Watches As Homophobic Mob Assaults Gay.
Boris Balanetkii
http://gayrepublic.org/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=2456&lead=1
(Moldova) РOn Sunday, participants in the 7th Moldovan Pride were precluded from marching peacefully in support of anti-discrimination legislation and tolerance in the centre of Chisinau. Police did not guarantee the right to freedom of assembly. Large aggressive coordinated groups, including extremist religious groups, members of the neo-fascist movement “New Right”, and legionnaires blocked the bus with participants, forced the door, violently hit the windows, and attempted to remove the engine, while shouting “lets get them out and beat them up”.
10/01/07
Nowhere to Turn: Blackmail and Extortion of LGBT People in Sub-Saharan Africa
IGLHRC
http://www.iglhrc.org/binary-data/ATTACHMENT/file/000/000/484-1.pdf
This illustrates how LGBT Africans are made doubly vulnerable by the criminalization of homosexuality and the often-violent stigmatization they face if their sexuality is revealed. Based on research from 2007 to the present, the volume features articles and research by leading African activists and academics on the prevalence, severity and impact of these human rights violations on LGBT people in Cameroon, Ghana, Malawi, Nigeria, and Zimbabwe.
06/02/06
Pardoned Malawi gay couple thank ‘caring and tolerant’ president.
Staff Writer, PinkNews.co.uk
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2010/06/03/pardoned-malawi-gay-couple-thank-caring-and-tolerant-president/
The gay couple pardoned for homosexuality offences by Malawi’s president last week have thanked him for releasing them.
06/02/06
Pardoned Malawi gay couple thank ‘caring and tolerant’ president.
Staff Writer, PinkNews.co.uk
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2010/06/03/pardoned-malawi-gay-couple-thank-caring-and-tolerant-president/
The gay couple pardoned for homosexuality offences by Malawi’s president last week have thanked him for releasing them.
05/26/06
Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell: How Do Other Countries Treat Gay Soldiers?
Stephen Kurczy, Christian Science Monitor.
http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Global-News/2010/0526/Don-t-ask-don-t-tell-How-do-other-countries-treat-gay-soldiers
By continuing to deny gays open military service in the face of overwhelming public support for the repeal of DADT, the United States sides against 25 fellow NATO signatories except Turkey and with countries such as Venezuela, Pakistan, and Yemen.
06/26/09
Egypt: Buried alive
2003 Liberation Publications, Inc
http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Buried+alive+in+Egypt%3A+Egyptian+gay+men+are+still+being+entrapped+and…-a0102453330
Police have systematically arrested and tortured suspected homosexuals, vice squads have logged on to chat rooms posing as gay men. Forming friendships under a false identity, the police set up an expected first date, then meet their “suspects” with a brutal arrest.