Get Adobe Flash player

Login

Twitter Tweets

markcolvin4markcolvin4: @LukeVernon my favourite song ever, and its my alarm on phone. Wakes me up in a good mood!
1 week ago from Twitter for iPhone
nffc2009nffc2009: @LukeVernon gimme shelter gives me the urge to watch my favorite film #goodfellas
1 week ago from Twitter for Android
LukeVernonLukeVernon: Or GLASTONBURY even. Not sure where Galstonbury is, but Im sure it doesn't have the worlds biggest festival. Sounds Texan.
1 week ago from txt
LukeVernonLukeVernon: In a restaurant in the middle of the US and the song with the best intro ever came on, Gimme Shelter. Which reminded me, in 3 weeks....
1 week ago from txt
LukeVernonLukeVernon: I shall be seeing one of the greatest live acts of all time, The Rolling Stones, @ THE greatest festival ever, GALSTONBURY! Yes, Im shouting
1 week ago from txt

Categories

poland

Poland s only gay MP attacked after Equality Parade

Robert Biedron remained optimistic about progressive attitudes towards gay people (Image: Blogspot) Poland s first openly gay MP has revealed that a man launched a homophobic attack on the group he was with after Warsaw s Equality parade, before turning on the MP himself. Robert Biedron, who was elected to parliament in 2011, said the incident occurred after he had attended the Warsaw Equality Parade on Saturday. Several thousand people took part in the march, which called for equal rights for all regardless of race, religion, or sexuality.

The introduction of civil partnerships were part of the march s agenda a move blocked by Polish deputies earlier this year. After the march had finished, Mr Biedron said he had retired to a cafe with a group of friends, where they were harassed by a man. An aggressive man insulted us, using homophobic statements, Mr Biedron told Polsat News.

He began to choke one of my friends and punched him in the face. When he recognized me he spat in my face, raised his fists and and kicked me in the stomach. The assailant then fled, but was arrested shortly afterwards.

This was an unpleasant incident, and it shows that there is perhaps no sense in burying one s head in the sand, Mr Biedron said. However, he remained optimistic about progress in attitudes towards LGBT equality in Poland. He noted that there had been no stones or bottles thrown at the march this year, unlike previous events.

He warned that there was a tendency among politicians to glorify such attacks in the name of conservative values. You cannot call bandits patriots, a tendency that one often hears from the lips of politicians, he said. Earlier this year the former President of Poland, Lech Walesa, remarked that gay politicians should be made to sit behind a wall in parliament.

Mr Biedron is a member of the liberal Palikot Movement, a party which also includes Poland s only transgender MP, Anna Grodzka. Ms Grodzka told PinkNews.co.uk that she, along with Mr Biedron, was proof that Poland was changing. I was very surprised by how many people voted for me, and that means the general situation in Poland has changed slightly, she said.

Discuss this Get the latest LGBT headlines in your inbox with our free daily newsletter!

Sign up

Continue reading

More "evolution"

The new head of the Anglican Fag Bathhouse, on the island formerly described as Britain, is evolving even faster than expected.

The Church of England leadership has been strongly opposed to David Cameron s plan s to redefine marriage which it maintains must be between a man and a woman.

But the new ... Continue reading

US: Congressman calls on FBI to investigate the killing of gay Mississippi mayoral candidate

The body of Marco McMillian was found on Wednesday 27 February (Facebook) A Mississippi congressman is asking the FBI to investigate the killing of gay mayoral candidate Marco McMillian. Democratic US Representative Bennie Thompson represents a district that includes Clarksdale, where Marco McMillian was running for mayor. Congressman Thompson said that he has confidence in the sheriff investigating the death but that he wants the FBI to get involved because that s what McMillian s family wants.

The congressman called the violence unconscionable. Last weekend, in a statement, McMillian s family said the victim had been beaten, dragged and burned. The body of the 34-year-old was found on Wednesday 27 February near the Mississippi River west of Clarksdale.

Police charged Lawrence Reed, 22, from Shelby, Mississippi, in connection with murder soon after the body was discovered. Coahoma County sheriff s spokesman Will Rooker said the investigation continues and authorities are looking at all possibilities, including whether hate crime laws would apply. Mississippi s hate crimes law covers acts motivated by bias against a victim s race but not sexual orientation.

However, a federal hate crimes law covers bias against sexual orientation.

Discuss this Get the latest LGBT headlines in your inbox with our free daily newsletter!

Sign up Continue reading

UKIP local deputy chair resigns over party s shift towards opposing equal marriage

Arnie Craven quit as deputy chairman of UKIP's Wakefield branch (Image: Twitter) A local deputy chairman for the UK Independence Party has resigned from his post due to what he described as a shift towards a more right-wing stance, opposing equal marriage. Arnie Craven, the former deputy chairman of the party s Wakefield branch has resigned, and said that he had done so following the removal of Olly Neville as chairman of its youth wing because he supported equal marriage. In January, UKIP removed Olly Neville as the chairman of its youth wing, Young Independence, in part due to his support for same-sex marriage.

Craven, who stood for the Airedale seat in 2012 said he had become increasingly concerned about the party s shift towards oppositing equal marriage, and a negative tone about immigration. He said that he joined UKIP in 2011, and that he was under the impression that Nigel Farage supported equal marraige. Writing in a blog post, he said: I support gay marriage and while I do believe immigration should be restricted, I m not happy about a tone that is so repeatedly negative about it.

I m not a right-wing populist. I m a liberal at heart. I want a state that gets off people s backs, not one that tells them who they can and can t marry.

The disgusting dismissal of my friend Olly as Youth Wing Chairman, because he dared to support gay marriage on live radio, just confirms the direction Ukip is moving in. It s not a direction that I can go. The party has received criticism for the situation with Olly Neville, as it had not removed officials before for stating that gay couples adopting is child abuse or that people who read PinkNews should be sectioned under the Mental Health Act.

Shortly after Neville s resignation, the UKIP Parliamentary candidate for the city of Chester, Richard Lowe was forced to resign following his support for equal marriage.

In January, the chairman of Conservative Future Ben Howlett says UKIP members who support equal marriage and are disgruntled with the party s row on the matter should consider joining the Tories.

Discuss this Continue reading

Poland: First gay and trans MPs take front-bench seats protesting former president s anti-gay remarks

Anna Grodzka was the first trans MP to be sworn in November 2011 Polands first openly gay and trans lawmakers took front bench seats of the Polish parliament on Wednesday to protest against remarks made by a former president who said gay members should sit behind a wall in parliament. Lech Walesa, the former President of Poland and Nobel Peace Prize laureate, came under fire for comments made in a TV interview with news channel TVN24 at the weekend, Mr Walesa, who left office in 1995, was questioned about his views on LGBT rights in Poland. Asked where in parliament he felt gay people could sit, he said: Homosexuals should even sit behind a wall, and not somewhere at the front, arguing that they should not be able to climb all over the majority .

Poland s first openly gay MP, Robert Biedron and the country s first trans MP, Anna Grodzka, took front bench seats in the assembly. Both are members of the country s progressive Palikot s Movement party, and their party leader, Janusz Palikot had arranged for them to sit there, relinquishing his own seat in order for Biedron to sit there, reports Canada.com. Lech Walesa is an important symbol for us all and for the whole world, Biedron told The Associated Press before attending the session.

I respect him and I d rather he used other words, words of acceptance and of respect for other people. The front row of the semi-circular lower chamber of the Polish assembly is normally reserved for party leaders, and prominent lawmakers. Grodzka and Biedron normally sit in the third row.

They will sit in the front row for a three-day period in protest. Grodzka recently made headlines after losing out on a deputy speaker job in a parliamentary vote. She was the first trans MP to be sworn in November 2011 Walesa s words have caused some to question whether he has permanently damaged his history as a champion of democracy.

All Out have begun a petition to get Mr Walesa to apologise for the remarks, which at the time of writing has received 4,378 signatures out of a goal of 5,000.

The former politician, father of eight and staunch Catholic, continually refused to apologise, and claimed that 95% of Polish people agreed with him.

Discuss this Continue reading

Lech Walesa: Nie Solidarnosc

Nobel Peace Prize laureate Lech Walesa has provoked outrage among liberal Poles by suggesting homosexuals in parliament should sit behind a wall. Walesa, the deeply religious former president of post-Communist Poland, was speaking during an interview on Saturday broadcast by news channel TVN 24 in which he was asked about homosexual rights. Asked where homosexuals should sit in the parliamentary chamber, he said: "No minority should climb all over the majority.

Homosexuals should even sit behind a wall, and not somewhere at the front. "They must know they are a minority and adapt themselves to smaller things." Reuters. Ghastly Thatcherite Catholic anti-gay fuck. In a previous TV Interview in 1993 he outed Poland's Prime Minister, Jarolslaw Kaczynski.

It's a sign of how Poland has changed - and that Walesa is now yesterday's man - that another conservative (!) politician has reported him for incitement to hatred, and he made his comment because its parliament now has both an openly gay and a trans politician. PS Warsaw is a very beautiful city - rebuilt by the Soviets after the Nazis razed it to the ground - with some lovely people and some nice gay and gay-friendly venues, and a very interesting underground scene - in my experience all young Poles are either devoted Catholics or anarchists. Mini travel feature there.

You're welcome! Continue reading

Gay football group criticise Daily Mail over Joey Barton article

The Daily Mail s Martin Samuel has angered Joey Barton and GSFN The Gay Football Supporters Network (GSFN) has criticised the Daily Mail for publishing an article suggesting footballer Joey Barton would make a suitable gay hero for the sport, because it trivialises the debate about homophobia in football. Earlier on Wednesday afternoon, Barton, 31, who is heterosexual and married, tweeted his displeasure over an article written by the Mail s sports columnist Martin Samuel. So here s a thought, Samuel wrote.

Joey Barton continues his quest for intellectual and social respectability. Why not come out as gay? Instant credibility, instant respect, untouchable by the Football Association or future employers.

His past misdeeds mentally reprocessed and explained. Barton responded on Twitter with a series of comments. He said: I will probably have to sue.

I don t really need the money or the hassle. So I offer this as a olive branch. Actually, no.

Theres no olive branch. Enough s enough. Its just wrong and a little bit weird why he would write this.

In light of the Leveson enquiry, it seems a strange thing to print. I mean I have never even met the guy. He doesn t know me.

Shocking. Responding to the row, Chris Basiurski, chair of GFSN said: We find Martin Samuel s comments in the Daily Mail regarding Joey Barton today unhelpful as they distract from the more important message of trying to create a positive atmosphere in football for LGB&T people. It does nothing to address the very real experiences of homophobia we see in football on a regular basis.

We welcome Joey Barton s positive contribution to the debate in the past and hope he is not discouraged from supporting the LGB&T community in the future. At the start of the year, Barton was praised for taking part in a BBC Three documentary about the lack of openly gay footballers. He criticised the archaic views of some coaches within the industry and said it was a subject close to heart because his uncle is gay.

Last week, Manchester United goalkeeper Anders Lindegaard urged gay players to come out of the closet because gay people need a hero . Former England international Gareth Southgate added that in his opinion it would not be a problem for gay footballers to be accepted in the dressing room. In response, GFSN s Chris Basiurski said he welcomed the positive comments, but added: The GFSN is working to create an atmosphere in football that would allow a footballer to come out if they wanted to, free from any form of discrimination or abuse.

We would never presume to ask someone to come out, that is a personal decision for each LGB&T individual to take. We also do not assume that any player who did come out would become an automatic hero or role model. Any player would be under enormous pressure, both in terms of media coverage and the response by fans and players on the pitch.

Front page headlines for footballers are not always good news.

Discuss this Continue reading

Desmond Tutu: Uganda should drop totally unjust anti-gay law

Archbishop Desmond Tutu is a strong supporter of gay rights Archbishop Desmond Tutu has called on Uganda to scrap its proposed Anti-Homosexuality Bill. The former Archbishop of Cape Town told reporters on Tuesday at the All Africa Conference of Churches I am opposed to discrimination that is unfair discrimination . He went on to say of Uganda s pending bill, which proposes the death penalty for homosexual acts in certain circumstances, that it was totally unjust and the archbishop urged Ugandan lawmakers not to pass the legislation.

Last month, Ugandan parliamentary Speaker Rebecca Kadaga promised to bring a vote on the proposed law before Christmas. Ugandans are demanding it, she previously declared. With state-sponsored homophobic laws a visible presence across the continent of Africa, Archbishop Tutu said the church must stand with minorities.

My brothers and sisters, you stood with people who were oppressed because of their skin colour. If you are going to be true to the Lord you worship, you are also going to be there for the people who are being oppressed for something they can do nothing about: their sexual orientation, he said. Archbishop Tutu added that people do not choose their sexual orientation, and would be crazy to choose homosexuality when you expose yourself to so much hatred, even to the extent of being killed.

In July, Archbishop Tutu called for the global decriminalisation of same-sex relationships to aid the fight against HIV, comparing anti-gay laws to racial segregation in his home country of South Africa.

Discuss this Continue reading

Tory MP Bob Stewart: I will vote against same-sex marriage, but I m not homophobic

Bob Stewart says marriage is a union between a man and a woman Conservative MP Colonel Bob Stewart has told David Cameron and the Chief Whip Sir George Young that he plans to vote against equal marriage when the motion comes before the Commons next year. The former British Army officer, who in 2010 became the MP for Beckenham in south east London, says he remains opposed to same-sex marriage ceremonies, although he now accepts civil partnerships. In an interview with his local paper, the MP said: To me marriage is a sacrament and, by definition, religion and tradition, a union between a man and a woman.

As such, I view marriage, whether organised simply by the state or a combination of church, temple, mosque and state, to be different to civil partnerships and special in a unique way. Personally I am not in the least homophobic and have great and true friends who are gay. Mr Stewart went on to say: I accept civil partnerships now although I must admit that I was vehemently against them when I was a young man.

Of course we lived in different times then and society has changed me with it. Last month, Mr Stewart s name appeared in a list of more than 100 Conservative MPs who have expressed concerns over David Cameron s plans to allow same-sex marriage. Mr Stewart has also reinstated his support for the anti-gay Coalition for Marriage (C4M) petition, which has called on the prime minister to drop his backing for marriage equality.

On a point of principle I have informed the government that, should there be a vote in the House of Commons asking MPs to vote in favour of so-called gay marriages I will not support the idea. I have also signed the Coalition for Marriage petition, Mr Stewart said. The government is due to outline its official response to this year s equal marriage public consultation later this month.

In November, Tory MP and former general Sir Edward Garnier told a constituent that gay couples in civil partnerships should feel free to describe their relationships as a marriage, although it should not have to require a change in the law.

Discuss this Get the latest LGBT headlines in your inbox with our free daily newsletter!

Sign up Continue reading

Poland: Gay man wins homophobia case against Danish supermarket Netto

Netto must now pay the claimant over 3,500 A court in western Poland has ordered the Danish-owned supermarket chain Netto to pay a gay former employee damages after he was called a faggot by a manager. Polish Radio reports Ireneusz Muzalski, 44, a cashier at a Netto store in Slubice, near the Polish border opposite Germany, suffered homophobic abuse and on one occasion was branded a male bitch and a whore in front of staff and customers. The unnamed manager in question denied that Mr Muzalski had been sacked as a result of his sexual orientation, however, the claimant disagreed and said: He asked how it was possible that the firm employed such a faggot and in the end he fired me, Mr Muzalski revealed to Poland s Gazeta Wyborcza newspaper.

Monika Wieczorek, a lawyer who represents the Polish Society of Anti-Discrimination Law (PTPA), said that the ruling is significant because of the amount awarded in damages. Netto must now pay Mr Muzalsk 18,000 zloty (around 3,579) as well as court costs. Discuss this Get the latest LGBT headlines in your inbox with our free daily newsletter!

Sign up Continue reading