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Listing of UK, Ireland and Europe LGBT Events

MAY 2009

May 31: UK: European Elections and the UK Gay, Transgender Voter. Commentary. All things considered, the Greens deserve the LGBT vote on Thursday.
May 27: Australia: Gay Blood Donation Campaigner Vows to Continue Fight After Australian Tribunal Upholds Red Cross Ban. Gay blood donation campaigner, Michael Cain, says he will not give up his fight for gay men who have safe sex to give blood, despite today’s decision by the Tasmanian Anti-Discrimination Tribunal upholding the current blanket gay blood ban.
May 26: USA: US Episcopal Church Gay Group Profoundly Disappointed in California Court Decision. Integrity USA, the LGBT group within the US Episcopal Church, today joined with those around the nation who expressed profound disappointment in the California Supreme Court’s “abdication of its responsibility” to offer equal protection to all California citizens in today’s decision regarding Proposition 8.
May 26: Peru: Peru to Ban Gay Police Who Cause Scandal? The British Ambassador to Peru has confirmed that the left-of-centre Lima government plans to ban gay police officers whose sexual behaviour causes scandal and damages the reputation of the police, Peter Tatchell, the gay human rights campaigner, said this morning.
May 25: UK: Gay Rights in USA: Nature versus Nurture Irrelevant in Rights Debate. Commentary by Warren J. Blumenfeld. Many opponents of same-sex marriage and hate crimes and anti-discrimination legislation assert that homosexuality is not something that people are born with but rather something they “choose” later in life.
May 24: UK: Birmingham’s ‘Green’ Gay Pride Deemed a Success. Birmingham Pride, which went ‘Green’ this year, was hailed as a success today, after several years of been hit by back weather over the Spring Bank Holiday weekend.
May 23: UK: Birmingham Pride in Pictures.
May 21: UK: Gay-Friendly Greens Urge EU-Wide Same-Sex Marriage. Britain’s two current Green MEPs, Caroline Lucas (South-East England) and Jean Lambert (London), are backing calls for an end to the ban on same-sex marriage in the UK and in other EU member states.
May 20: UK: Police in London Crack Down on Gay, Race and Other Hate Crimes. The Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) today carried out raids across London to crack down on domestic, homophobic, transphobic, race and other forms of hate crime in Operation Athena. A spokesperson said this evening that as of 5pm there had been 202 people arrested in the crack-down.
May 20: UK: Same-Sex Domestic Abuse Campaign to Be Launched at Birmingham Gay Pride. Pink Shield, the Birmingham group that acts as a link between the gay community and the West Midlands Police, is set to launch posters for its ‘Unzip the Silence’ campaign at Birmingham Pride this weekend.
May 19: Latvia: Anti-Gay Protest Countering Baltic Pride Might Have Been Illegal – Riga Police. The anti-gay rally and march staged on Saturday at the same time as Baltic Gay Pride could have been illegal, police revealed yesterday.
May 18: UK: Festival Fever Mounts for Birmingham’s ‘Pink Goes Green’ Gay Pride. S Club, Eurovision star Jessica Garlick and the UK’s leading Madonna-alike Melissa Totten are just a few names set to star on the festival’s main stage at Birmingham's environmentally-friendly Gay Pride this coming weekend.
May 17: Latvia: Almost 600 March in Riga’s Peaceful Gay Pride. Just under 600 people took part in the first Baltic Pride march staged yesterday in the Latvian capital. There were no problems – and no reported arrests.
May 17: Slovenia/Russia: Slovenia Expresses Concern Over Action Taken Against Moscow Gay Pride. Samuel Žbogar, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Slovenia and chairman of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe, last night expressed his concern about the action taken against the organisers of the Slavic Gay Pride parade in Moscow.
May 16: Latvia: Baltic Gay Pride in Riga - Four pages of photographs.
May 16: Russia: 40 Arrested as Moscow Anti-Riot Police Use Violence to Break Up Slavic Gay Pride March. Moscow police have used what the watching media describe as violent and oppressive tactics to break-up the peaceful Slavic Gay Price march in the city.
May 15: Latvia: Danish Ambassador Praises Latvian Courts at Baltic Gay Pride Reception. The legal system in Latvia has proved today that the rule of law is well established – and that the human rights of everybody are – and must be – respected, the Danish Ambassador, Uffe Wolffhechel, said this evening.
May 15: Russia: Gay Pride in Moscow: Report from a Chicago Activist. By Andy Thayer (Gay Liberation Network). After 14 hours of flights, last night I found myself in Eastern Europe for the first time in my life, warmly greeted by lesbian and gay activists who, despite state repression, are organizing their fourth annual pride event in this city. This year’s event is dubbed ‘Slavic Pride’, denoting the significant participation of activists from around the region.
May 15: Latvia: Judge OKs Baltic Gay Pride in Riga in Eleventh Hour Court Decision. The Baltic Pride march tomorrow lunchtime will go ahead, a top judge at Riga Administrative Court ruled today, less the 24 hours before the march in Vērmaņdārzs Park and surrounding streets is due to take place.
May 13: Latvia: Gay Pride in Riga on Saturday in Doubt as City Council Calls Extraordinary Meeting. Baltic Gay Pride in Riga this weekend is in doubt, it emerged this afternoon. Pressure from local city councillors has resulted in the City’s committee on demonstrations and pickets announcing that they will reconvene tomorrow (May 14) to reconsider the matter.
May 13: Latvia: Majority of Riga City Council Members Call for Ban of Saturday’s Gay Pride Parade. More than half of the members of the Rīga City Council – 34 in all – signed a letter yesterday to the executive director of the city, Andris Grīnbergs, calling on him to cancel permission that was given to hold the Baltic Gay Pride Parade in Vērmaņdārzs Park on Saturday.
May 12: UK: Gay Euro MEP Ban at IDAHO Rally: “We Made a Mistake”, Birmingham Council Says. Birmingham City Council this morning admitted that it “made a mistake” when MEP Michael Cashman was prevented from speaking at a rally to mark International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia in the city centre at the weekend.
May 11: UK: Canterbury Gay Pride Group Completely Dismissed by City Council. An LGBT group in Canterbury today accused the local council of dismissing their concerns, following a six-month battle involving the Local Government Ombudsman.
May 11: UK: Liverpool Town Hall to Fly Gay Flag with Pride for First Time. For the first time in its history, Liverpool Town Hall will be flying the rainbow flag – a symbol of gay and lesbian community pride. The flag will take pride of place on the roof of the Town Hall on Sunday (May 17) to mark the International Day Against Homophobia (IDAHO).
May 11: Russia: Tatchell To Attend Moscow Gay Pride. Despite threats to bash and arrest the marchers, British gay human rights campaigner Peter Tatchell will attend this Saturday’s Moscow Gay Pride parade – this year renamed Slavic Gay Pride to support the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) equality struggles in all Slavic countries, Russian and non-Russian.
May 9: UK: Gay Euro MEP Gagged by Birmingham Council at IDAHO Rally. The president of the European Parliament’s all-party ‘intergroup’ for gay and lesbian human rights was barred by Birmingham City Council from addressing a rally for International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia (IDAHO) staged this afternoon in the city’s Chamberlain Square.
May 8: Latvia: Riga City Council Gives OK to Gay Pride March. A Riga City Council committee has today approved the march in the city centre during Baltic Gay Pride, officially known a Baltic Friendship Days. The march is scheduled for Saturday May 16 at Vermanes Darzs park, the location of the first officially approved parade in 2007.
May 8: Ireland: Irish Civil Partnerships Condemned as “Sexual Apartheid” by UK Gay Campaigner. Irish government plans to introduce British-style same-sex civil partnerships have been condemned as “retrograde, divisive, second best, discriminatory and sexual apartheid” by LGBT rights and Green Party parliamentary candidate Peter Tatchell.
May 7: USA: New Documentary Film Called 'Outrage' US Exposes Politicians Who, They Claim, Are Homosexual and Don’t Support Gays. Page contains embedded video of Mike Rogers from PageOneQ talking about 'Outrage' on Let's Talk Live hosted by Natasha Barrett and Doug Mckelway. Also link to trailer. 'Outrage' opens in the USA tomorrow.
May 7: UK: Time to Tackle Homophobia in Faith Community, Says TUC. The TUC will join human rights organisations, academics and faith communities to address the growing problems of homophobia and transphobia, at a conference in London next week.
May 6: USA: Gay Marriage: Maine Governor Signs Bill to End Discrimination in Civil Marriage. Governor John E. Baldacci today signed into law LD 1020, An Act to End Discrimination in Civil Marriage and Affirm Religious Freedom in Maine. This means that there are now five states in USA that have passed marriage equality laws.
May 6: UK and Ireland: Gay Groups in UK and Ireland Rally Against Worldwide Homophobia. Changing Attitude Ireland, the Christian pro-gay network, is to hold special church services in Cork, Belfast and Dublin to mark Day against Homophobia and Transphobia (IDAHO) on Sunday May 17.
May 5: Italy: Italian Constitutional Court Will Rule on Gay Marriage. By Alexander Schuster. Is the Italian Civil Code unconstitutional in indirectly limiting marriage to opposite sex couples? This is the question put forward to the Constitutional Court by the Tribunal of Venice.
May 5: Russia: Gay Marriage Campaign Starts in Russia. Two women will apply for a marriage license in Moscow on May 12, it emerged this afternoon. The announcement was made today during a press conference for Slavic Pride which is planned for later this month in Moscow.
May 5: France: International Congress on Gay Rights in France Will Mark IDAHO 2009. An international congress on homophobia and transphobia has been organised by the French, Dutch and Norwegian governments and will take place in Paris on May 15 as part of a worldwide initiative to mark the International Day against Homophobia and Transphobia. (IDAHO).