LAST UPDATED
19:00, UTC/GMT July 3 *London: 20:00, July 3
* Europe: 21:00, July 3
Sydney: 05:00, July 4
* New York: 15:00, July 3 *Daylight Saving Time
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and
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Gay News
Email:
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(UK)
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UPCOMING EVENTS
(click on graphic for details)
LONDON England
On now - Until July 4 (Parade
TOMORROW) LONDON
England
National Portrait Gallery (The Porter Galley) St. Martin's
Place Trafalgar Square
On now - to October 18
Admission to the Porter Gallery for this exhibition is £5.00
adults (£4.50 seniors, £4 students, under 12 free)
Admission to the National Portrait Gallery itself is free. UNITED KINGDOM
"Walking with Whitman" Stuart Maconie meets devotees of Walt
Whitman in Bolton and explores the history of the town's
unlikely yet enduring relationship with the American poet (click on logo above for more information)
BBC Radio 4
(FM, Digital, Cable and online only)
Sunday July 5 at 4:30pm (UK) (11.30am New York time)
This
programme is transmitted online and is available throughout the world. It
will also available on BBC i-Player shortly after transmission UNITED KINGDOM
"Gay Life After Saddam" Aasmah Mir discovers how life has
changed for gay Iraqis since the fall of Saddam Hussein (click on logo above for more information)
BBC Radio 5 Live (AM, Digital, Cable and online only)
Sunday July 5 at 7:00pm (UK) (2.00pm New York time)
(Note that this programme is subject to starting late if the
Wimbeldon men's final is a long match)
This
programme is transmitted online and is available throughout the world. It
will also available on BBC i-Player shortly after transmission LONDON England
"Strawberry and Chocolate" (18)
Winner of a Silver Bear at the Berlin
Film Festival and the first film with an openly gay character to
come from Cuba
Cinema 3 Barbican Centre
NOW ON - to July 9
Mariela Castro, the pro-gay
rights daughter of Cuba's president Raùl Castro, will be
attending the screening on Sat 4 Jul for a special discussion on
gay rights in Cuba, following the 8.45pm performance of
Strawberry and Chocolate. She will be joined by Alberto Roque, a
leading gay rights activist in Cuba and Juan Carlos Tabío. MADRID
Spain
Madrid Pride
On now - Until July 5 (Parade July 4)
LONDON England
Monthly Drinks Party
July 3 DERBY England
July 4
BOURNEMOUTH England
July 10 to 12 (Parade July
11)
TORQUAY England
July 16 - 19
NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE England
July 18 MARGATE England
July 18 NOTTINGHAM England
July 25 HULL England
July 25
BELFAST Northern Ireland
July 25 to August 1
(Parade August 1)
COPENHAGEN
Denmark
World Outgames
July 25 to August 2
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FIXED.
Friday July 3, 2009
Pink Paper - UK:
Virgin Gyms Censor PinkPaper.com to Protect Minors. By
Peter Lloyd. Virgin Active gyms are blocking the Pink
Paper website in order to protect minors, we can exclusively
reveal. The story unfolded when a Pink Paper user,
Adrian Tippetts, was unable to access our popular site at
the gym's Islington branch, yesterday.
Times of India - India:
Govt Unlikely to Appeal HC's Gay Order On Its Own.
Though under pressure from religious groups of all hues to
appeal against the Delhi High Court order legalising gay
sex, the Manmohan Singh government is unlikely to move the
Supreme Court on its own.
Times of India - India:
Victory for Choice. Editorial. In a
landmark judgement, the capital's highest court has struck
down an archaic provision of the Indian Penal Code (IPC)
which criminalises homosexuality. It has ruled that
Section 377, in so far as it penalises gay sex between
consenting adults, was in violation of fundamental rights.
In effect, this means that gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgenders cannot be
hauled up anymore in the capital if they are adults, and
engage in consensual sex.
Pink Paper - UK:
Poland's First Married Couple Start Action Group.
By Andrew Gilliver. Poland's first married gay couple
have started a new UK political action group, specifically
designed to help their peers back home. Polish gay
activist Waldemar Zboralski has been campaigning for queer
rights in his home country for over 25 years. Now living in
Manchester with his civil partner, Krzysztof Nowak, he feels
that the political situation in his homeland is worsening –
and is best remedied from Britain.
Politics - UK:
Go on Sarah, Get Gordon Brown to Lift the Gay Marriage Ban.
By Peter Tatchell. We've come a long way, baby! In
1972, I helped organise London's first Gay Pride parade.
There were only 700 of us. We got lots of boos and no
support from MPs. How times change. This Saturday,
hundreds of thousands of gay people, and their straight
friends, will converge on central London for the annual Gay
Pride parade.
Politics - UK:
Parties Battle for Pink Vote as Gay Pride Hits London.
By Ian Dunt. Labour and the Conservatives are engaged
in an ugly battle for the pink vote as London prepares to
host the annual gay Pride celebrations this weekend.
But the struggle is not reserved to the two main parties.
Factions of the gay community are also taking shots at the
government, with surveys showing clear support for the
Tories from the gay community.
BBC News - UK:
Minister in Tory Homophobia Claim. By Brian
Wheeler. Culture Secretary Ben Bradshaw has said "a
deep strain of homophobia still exists on the Conservative
benches". Mr Bradshaw, one of three gay men
currently in the cabinet, made the comments as a new poll
suggested more gay people were turning to the Tories.
Pink Paper - UK:
Lesbian Jailed for £100,000 Online Fraud. By Peter
Lloyd.
A gay woman who conned innocent chat-room users out of their
life savings has been jailed for four and a half years,
today
Irish Times - Ireland:
Most Gay Pupils Bullied in School - Youth Service. By
Olivia Kelly. Most lesbian, gay, bisexual or
transgender (LGBT) second-level students have suffered
homophobic bullying, the Belong To youth service has told an
Oireachtas Education Committee. More than 20,000 post-primary students are
lesbian, gay or bisexual, representing an average of
two students in every classroom. A smaller number of
students identify as transgender, according to
Belong To.
The Scotsman - UK:
Kirk Looks to End Gay Row as Minister Takes Up Post.
By Frank Urquhart and Craig Brown. The gay lover and
former wife of a homosexual minister who almost caused a
schism in the Church of Scotland will tonight attend the
service to mark his controversial appointment to a new post.
The Rev Scott Rennie, 37, will be inducted at Aberdeen's
Queen's Cross Church where he will become the first
openly-gay preacher in the Kirk to minister to a
congregation.
USA and the AMERICAS
San Diego News Network - USA:
Congressman Brian Bilbray Missing in Action.
Commentary by Stampp Corbin. Early Tuesday morning a
sailor was found dead at Camp Pendleton. August Provost, 29,
was found in a military guard shack; shot, gagged and
reputedly burned. He was also an openly gay man prior to
entering the military. Rep. Bob Filner (D-Calif.) was
at Pendleton for over 5 hours the day of the murder and no
one in the Navy thought it was important enough to tell the
Congressman.
Dallas Morning News - USA: Fort Worth Mayor Wants Federal Review in Gay Bar Raid.
Fort Worth Mayor Mike Moncrief
called on federal prosecutors Friday to ensure a thorough
review of last week’s bar raid that resulted in a serious
head injury to one patron.
ASIA
China Daily - China:
Beijing Youth Pave Way for Gay Acceptance. By
Monique Ross and Paul Sutherland. Although traditional
attitudes towards homosexuality in China's major cities are
rapidly changing fueled by the rise of a new generation, in
rural China it still remains a taboo topic.
AUSTRALASIA
GayNZ - New Zealand:
Ashburton Rugby Boss Denies Sex Charges. A
rugby team captain is on trial in the Timaru District Court
after a male complainant says he was sexually assaulted by
him.
Thursday July 2, 2009
DELHI HIGH COURT JUDGEMENT
Times of India - India:
Homosexuality No Crime: Delhi High Court.
In a historic judgement, the Delhi High Court on
Thursday decriminalized homosexuality by reading down
section 377 of the Indian Penal Code. The Section 377 of
the IPC as far as it criminalizes gay sex among
consenting adults is violation of fundamental rights,
said the high court. However, Section 377 of the Indian
Penal Code which criminalizes homosexuality, will
continue for non-consensual and non-vaginal sex.
Newstrack - India:
Decriminalise Homosexuality Says Delhi High Court.
In a landmark judgement the Delhi High Court today
decriminalised homosexuality. A two-judge bench
comprising Chief Justice A P Shah, and Justice S
Muralidahr said the criminalisation of gay sex among
consenting adults is a violation of fundamental rights.
Note: this ruling appears to apply to the
Union Territory of Delhi only, and
not the whole of India. This is what
The
Associated Press is reporting. However
Reuters is
reporting it applies to all of India.
UK Gay News - UK: TUC Warns Spread of
Far Right Across Europe Could Increase Gay Hate Crimes.
Hate crimes against gay men and women could increase in
the European Union following the spread of
‘far right’
political parties in last month’s European elections,
the TUC General Secretary Brendan Barber warned this
morning. Mr. Barber was addressing the 12th annual
TUC LGBT conference in London.
UK Gay News - UK:
Tatchell to March with Sarah Brown in London’s Gay Pride.
Gay rights campaigner Peter Tatchell promised this
morning to be on his best behaviour on Saturday at Pride
London when he marches through the streets of central
London with the Prime Minister’s wife, Sarah Brown.
Ekklesia - UK:
Catholics Join Gay Pride. Gay Catholics, their
parents, families and friends, will be out and about at
Pride London this Saturday (4 July 2009) joined by
churches in central London. Catholic groups will
share a stall in the Community Market Place in London's
Trafalgar Square.
MOLLIE SUGDEN
The death was announced last night of the comic
actress Mollie Sugden, most famous for her role
as Mrs. Slocombe in the BBC's hit sit-com Are
You Being Served? which ran from 1972 to 1985.
One of the campest TV shows of all time, the
series is one of the very few British sit-coms
to be screened in its original form in the USA.
When many PBS TV stations started showing the series (almost 30
years after the programmes were made) it became
a cult hit, especially within the American gay
and university communities.
BBC Wales News - UK: Man Guilty of Murdering
Gay Lover. A convicted conman has been found
guilty of murdering his gay lover in a hotel room.
Glenn Rycroft, 33, denied killing Gareth MacDonald, 30,
from Prestatyn, Denbighshire, in a Travelodge hotel near
London on 14 September 2007.
USA and the AMERICAS
The Guardian - UK:
Mennonites in Ohio Protest Exclusion of Gays.
By Meghan Barr. Gay and lesbian Mennonites dressed
in bright pink have gathered with others outside the
church's biannual convention in Columbus to criticize
its leaders for trying to push them out.
Fort Worth Star Telegram - USA:
Fort Worth Chief Suspends Operations with TABC as
Incident Investigated. By Bill Miller.
Joint operations between Fort Worth police and the Texas
Alcohol Beverage Commission have been suspended during
investigations into an inspection early Sunday that
resulted in the injury of a man at a new gay club near
the city's hospital district. Page includes a video
report.
New York Gay Gay City News - USA:
Now Choi Is Really Out. By Paul Schindler.
Lieutenant Dan Choi, a New York Army National
Guardsman and Arabic translator, was discharged under
the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy by a military
administrative board on June 30.
Raw Story - USA:
As Gay Discharges Continue, Sailor
Is Murdered. By John Byrne.
A 29-year-old Navy sailor was found dead at a Southern
California military base Tuesday in a suspected homicide
that activists say may have been related to his
sexuality.
New York Times - USA:
New York Gay Newspaper
Suspends Publication. By Jennifer 8. Lee.
The New York Blade, one of the two major gay and lesbian
newspapers in New York City, has laid off its editor in
chief and suspended publication, the chief executive of
its publishing company said on Wednesday.
Q Notes - USA:
Stephen Moller Released One Week Early. By
Matt Comer. The man found guilty of the May 15,
2007, killing of openly gay Sean Kennedy was released
from prison a week early.
AFRICA
New Vision - Uganda:
FUFA Bans Ayieko Over
Sodomy Claims. By Swalley Kenyi. FUFA
[the Uganda Football Federation] has slapped an indefinite suspension on tactician
Charles ‘Mbuzi’ Ayieko over sodomy allegations.
The suspension comes at a time Police in Lira is
investigating the Horizon FC coach on allegations he
attempted to sodomise brothers Isaac Omara and David
Doii two weeks ago.
The Independent - South Africa:
FIFA Demand Explanation Over FUFA Anti-Gay Letter,
Sanctions Could Follow. By Joe Powell.
Uganda Talks can exclusively reveal that the governing
body of world football, FIFA, has written to the Uganda
Football Federation (FUFA) demanding an explanation
“regarding recent media reports of an apparent FUFA
campaign against homosexual related acts”. Article 6 of
the FIFA Code of Ethics bans discrimination of all
kinds.
AUSTRALASIA
Gay NZ - New Zealand:
Tamihere Challenged as Complaints Mount.
The NZ AIDS Foundation has thrown down the gauntlet to
homophobic talkback host John Tamihere, suggesting that if he is serious about
the need to stem the spread of HIV he is welcome to meet
with NZAF staff to discuss ways that he could assist the
Foundation in its work against HIV.
Wednesday July 1, 2009
Agence France Press - France:
Uganda to Fight Donor Pressure on Gay Rights:
Minister. Uganda will resist pressures
from donor countries to soften its stance on
homosexuality and plans to pass a new law that
significantly clamps down on gay rights, a
minister said Wednesday. "I have been
receiving a number of friends from outside
Uganda telling me that we should go slow on the
rights of people who promote anal sex," Ethics
Minister James Nsaba Buturo said.
Pink Paper - UK:
Cameron Says Sorry for Section 28. By Tris Reid-Smith.
Conservative leader David Cameron has apologised
for Section 28 and predicted his party will have
the first openly gay prime minister, Pink Paper
can exclusively reveal. [...] And he
defended the party’s new European allies, saying
they have shifted from their previous homophobic
views.
The Telegraph - UK:
The Tories' Gay Pride Event Is so Very 1990s.
Commentary by Alex Singleton. I don’t know
who came up with the plan to run a “Conference
Pride” event at the Tory conference this year,
but it sounds dreadful. It’s so very
early Nineties - an era when Britain was still
uncomfortable about gay people.
Washington Post - USA:
Judge Upholds Start Date of D.C. Gay Marriage
Law. By Keith L. Alexander. A
Superior Court judge decided today not to delay
enactment of a July 6 law that the D.C.
government recognize same-sex marriages
performed in other jurisdictions.
CNN - USA: National
Guard: Gay Iraq Veteran Must Leave Service. A panel of New York National
Guard officers has recommended that an Iraq war veteran who
acknowledged his homosexuality must leave the service,
his supporters said Tuesday.
Raw Story - USA:
Pentagon Mulls Easing 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' Law: Gates.
The Pentagon is considering how it might ease the
"don't ask, don't tell" law requiring gays to
keep quiet about their sexual identity or face
expulsion from the military, Defense Secretary
Roert Gates said Tuesday.
The Independent - UK:
Almost Everywhere Is Touched by the Stonewall Riots Now.
Commentary by Johann Hari. It is now 40
years since the start of a riot for freedom in a
small tavern in New York City – and the riot has
never stopped. It is spreading slowly across the
world, to every continent, to Mumbai and
Shanghai and Dubai. Everywhere it goes, it wins,
in time. Yet on 28 June 1969, it seemed only
like another Sixties ruck in the muck against
corrupt cops.
Detroit News - USA:
Obama Tells Gay Activists: Trust Me.
Commentary by Deb Price. President Barack
Obama's unprecedented White House celebration of
the four-decades-long struggle of gay Americans
for full equality hit all the right notes,
including the host's acknowledgement that
politicians' pretty words are no substitute for
getting rid of discriminatory laws.
Fort Worth Star Telegram - USA:
Web Helps Mobilize Protest Against Incident at
Gay Club. By Eva-Marie Ayala.
Officers with the Texas Alcoholic Beverage
Commission and Fort Worth police began their
inspection of the Rainbow Lounge about 1 a.m.
Sunday. By 2:30 a.m., seven people had
been arrested on suspicion of public
intoxication and one man was injured. Patrons of
the gay nightclub were outraged, saying
excessive force was used. At 3 a.m., a
Facebook page was started, encouraging people to
attend a protest Sunday afternoon
The Advocate - USA:
Bank Offloads HX Magazine. Putting to
rest rumors that long-running New York-based
HX Magazine was on its way out, New York
Press confirmed with owner-founder Matthew
Bank on Tuesday that the magazine had been sold.
Tuesday June 30, 2009
UK and EUROPE
France 24 - France:
Muslim Mayor Flies Flag for Gays in Dutch Suburb.
By Alix Rijckaert (AFP).
A harassed gay minority in a conservative suburb
in otherwise tolerant Amsterdam has found a
guardian angel in the local Muslim mayor.
Ahmed Marcouch, 41, is on a self-appointed
mission to end homophobia in Slotervaart, just a
stones' throw from the capital but light-years
away from its anything-goes mentality.
Homovision - UK:
Video: Peter Tatchell on London Pride.
How has Pride changed, is it still relevant,
does it still do what it was hoped to do all
those years ago? Peter Tatchell talks
about the commercialisation of Pride, the lack
of politics, his urge for us all not to forget
the politics behind Pride, and what you can do
if you’re bored of the feathers, the arts and
the parties during Pride Week.
Pink Paper - UK: Judge
Suspended After Alleged Rent Boy Relationship.
By James Sanders. A judge has been
suspended after allegations that he had a
nine-month relationship with a male prostitute.
Judge Gerald Price, QC, 60, a senior circuit
judge who has sat for nine years in courts in
South Wales, is to be investigated after claims
by Christopher Williams, 25.
Bridgwater Mercury - UK:
Attacked for Being Gay. By Laura
Nesbitt. Bridgwater man says he is too
scared to leave his home after he claims he was
brutally attacked because he is gay.
Jason Saunders, aged 18, says he was repeatedly
kicked and punched by five people he says
taunted him over his sexuality and his ginger
hair.
The Times - UK:
Gay Icons at the National Portrait Gallery.
Review by Tim Teeman. We knew, after the
initial flurry of controversy when this show was
announced, that there was going to be no Judy,
no Dusty, no Barbra, no Liza. Gay Icons, the exhibition, would
recast the notion of what a gay icon was, and
those who expected divas with fabulous voices,
frocks, pill addictions and capacities to suffer
were in for disappointment. Gay Icons,
opens at the National Portrait Gallery, London
WC2, on Thursday July 2 and continues until
October 18.
Daily Mail - UK:
First Glastonbury... Now Sarah Brown Is 'To March in Gay Pride Parade'.
Prime Minister's wife Sarah Brown is planning to
take part in the London Gay Pride parade,
Downing Street has confirmed. She will
show her support for the gay and lesbian
community by joining the 5,000-strong march on
Saturday.
USA and the AMERICAS
Venezuelanalysis - Venezuela:
Gay Pride March in Caracas.
Individuals of every sexual orientation and
gender identity arrived from the four corners of
the country and marched this Sunday in Caracas
to promote respect for sexual diversity.
Newsweek - USA:
A Long Road Traveled. There will
undoubtedly be political struggles ahead, but
for one gay activist, meeting with President
Obama on the anniversary of Stonewall was a
deeply emotional event. Essay by Michael
Adams.
ABC News - USA:
POTUS to LGBT: "Welcome to Your White House".
By Yunji de Nies. ABBA's "Dancing Queen"
filled the East Room, as more than 200 prominent
gays and lesbians gathered for the first ever
celebration of Pride month at the White House.
The President and First Lady entered to
thunderous applause. President Obama told
the group he is committed to equality for their
community. See also
CBS News,
CNN.
Washington Post - USA:
At White House, Obama Aims to Reassure Gays.
By Michael D. Shear. President Obama
opened the doors of the White House to hundreds
of gay and lesbian leaders yesterday, continuing
his cautious outreach to a constituency that has
loudly criticized his efforts on their behalf.
The White House - USA:
Remarks by The President at LGBT Pride Month Reception.
The official White House transcript of the
remarks of President Obama in the East Room at
the Reception for LGBT Pride Month - and the
40th anniversary of Stonewall.
The Guardian - UK:
Don't Ask, Don't Tell: Gay Veteran of Iraq Takes
on US Army. By Daniel Nasaw in
Washington. On paper, Dan Choi is
everything the US military could have hoped for.
He is a graduate of the prestigious West Point
academy, has served a tour in Iraq, and is
fluent in Arabic and Korean. But despite
his talents and experience, the army is seeking
to get rid of Choi because of another personal
quality it considers incompatible with military
life: Choi is openly gay.
BBC News - UK:
The March of Gay Politics. Jon Kelly
on how the impact of the Stonewall riots 40
years ago is still being felt by politicians in
the United Kingdom.
Q Notes - USA:
What Are You Fighting For? Commentary
by
Jeff Olsen. It’s clear that the
majority of the human population is usually
fighting for something. It could be
fighting for Equal Rights to ensure better lives
for younger generations to come or getting
people to recycle more or it could be fighting
with your neighbor’s dog over who gets to the
Sunday morning newspaper first. Whatever
the situation, there is a lot of competition out
there. However, it really hits home hard
when you are fighting for something that will
change your life in some way and affect the
lives of those you care about.
Dallas Morning News - USA:
Fort Worth Police Better Start Clarifying Gay Bar 'Check'.
Commentary by Jacquielynn Floyd.
The Fort Worth Police
Department still has some explaining to do about
what happened early Sunday at a southside gay
bar called the Rainbow Lounge. Or some
clarifying or some illuminating or some
supplementary detailing – anything to
mitigate the apparently self-administered
public-relations shot-to-the-foot it suffered
after what it keeps calling a routine "bar
check."
BBC News America - UK:
40 Years Since Stonewall Riots. Video
report. Jerry Hoose, who took part in the
Stonewall rebellion, looks back.
Salon - USA:
The Big Chill: Why Obama Defends DOMA as He
Works For Repeal. Commentary by John
Mortimer. As the LBGT community
decries the Obama Administration’s recent defense of the
indefensible Defense of Marriage Act ( DoMA),
the community ought to be holding their own
activists’ feet to the fire. Propagandists and
bloggers really must learn to make distinctions
with very real legal differences and to stop
mindlessly cutting and pasting every gossipy
piece of rubbish delivered to them.
AUSTRALASIA
GayNZ - New Zealand:
Blood and Drug Evidence in Ambach Trial.
As the
prosecution lawyers in the Ambach murder trial
nears the end of their case blood stains and
drugs have been the main subjects of evidence in
the Auckland High Court today.
Reuters - UK:
Russian Gays Ready to Protest During Obama Visit.
By Tatyana Ustinova and James Kilner. Gay
rights activists in Moscow plan to ignore a ban and
rally in favour of same-sex marriages when U.S.
President Barack Obama visits next week, one of
their leaders said on Monday.
Irish Times - Ireland:
Dublin Pride Celebrations Soured by Anger Over Civil
Partnership Bill. By
Genevieve Carbery. The was dissatisfaction
with the Civil Partnership Bill among a larger than
expected crowd which marched in the Dublin Pride
Parade at the weekend. The city centre was
filled with colour, costumes, balloons, music,
whistles and chants on Saturday as thousands of
members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and
transgender (LGBT) community made their way from the
Garden of Remembrance, down O’Connell Street and
Dame Street to a rally at Dublin City civic offices.
The Independent - UK:
End of the Road for an Iconic Champion of Gay Rights. Commentary by Rob Sharp.
Think free-sheet and you think of multi-coloured
commuter-fodder littering public transport, not
necessarily about one of the country's most
community-cohesive, progressive publications. But
the Pink Paper, the country's only gay national
newspaper, has long championed the threats and
triumphs facing Britain's gay community with a cover
price totalling a big round zero. This week,
the Paper became the recession's latest media
victim.
Yorkshire Evening Post - UK:
Leeds Lesbian in Bedroom Bloodfest. By
Richard Edwards. An alcoholic lesbian stabbed
a friend twice after he let himself into the bedroom
she was sharing with her lover. And, Leeds
Crown Court heard, Ann-Marie Lacey talked her victim
into protecting her by telling the police he had
been knifed by a street robber.
USA and the AMERICAS
Raw Story - USA:
Texas Gay Community Outraged at Nightclub Raid.
By David Edwards and Daniel Tencer. Forty
years to the day after Stonewall — when a police
raid of a New York gay club led to riots and
launched the modern gay-rights movement — police in
Fort Worth, TX, are being accused of repeating the
incident. Early Sunday morning, Fort Worth
police, accompanied by agents of the Texas Alcoholic
Beverage Commission, raided the Rainbow Lounge, a
newly-opened gay club in Fort Worth.
Dallas Voice - USA:
Gays, Lesbians Rally in Fort Worth Over Bar Raid.
By Tammye Nash. About 18
hours after officers with the Fort Worth Police
Department and agents with the Texas Alcoholic
Beverages Commission raided a Fort Worth gay bar,
about 150 to 200 people gathered on the steps of the
Tarrant County Courthouse in downtown Fort Worth
Sunday night, June 28, to protest the raid.
The raid happened on the 40th anniversary of the
Stonewall rebellion
Washington Blade - USA:
Judge Could Block D.C. Marriage Law. By Lou Chibbaro Jr.
If a D.C. judge approves a request for a court
injunction to postpone the July 6 deadline to
complete requirements for a voter referendum, the
city’s same-sex marriage recognition law would be
blocked from taking effect on July 7, according to
an election board official.
Washington Post - USA:
Pride at the White House. Commentary by
Jarrett Barrios. The Stonewall Riots of 1969
[...] have been commemorated in various ways.
There have been protests, rallies, academic lectures
and parties. Today is the first time Stonewall will
be remembered in the tony quarters of the White
House. I have to admit I was ambivalent when I
received the invitation, with its fancy curlicue
script (truly, just like my sister's wedding
announcement) and a return address that read simply
"The White House."
National Public Radio - USA:
40 Years Later, Stonewall Riots Remembered.
Audio report by Margot Adler. Forty years ago,
gay street youth started a riot at a bar in New York
City that would forever change the struggle for gay
rights in America.
Yagg - France:
Doug Ireland, Journaliste: “Stonewall Est Devenu un
Mythe, Quoiqu’un Mythe Utile et Rassembleur”.
Par Christophe Martet. Doug Ireland, un
journaliste américain, remonte le fil de ses
souvenirs et livre son regard – forcément critique –
sur l’héritage stonewallien et la communauté LGBT
d’aujourd’hui. For those who do not read
French and want to read this article, click
HERE for a Google French-to-Englishon-line
translation.
ASIA
CNN International - USA: India Faith Leaders: Anti-Gay
Law Must Stay. By Harmeet Shah Singh.
Religious groups in India have warned they will
oppose any move to legalize homosexuality as the
federal government prepares to hold talks on a law
that classifies same-sex acts as crimes.
India's Hindu nationalist main opposition has in the
meantime called for a national debate on the
legislation that law minister M. Veerappa Moily last
week said would come up for a discussion within the
government.
The Independent - UK: India's
Gays Prepare to Join the Rainbow Nation.
By Andrew Buncombe in Delhi. The Indian
government is considering rewriting a law drafted
more than 100 years ago that criminalises
homosexuality. The news emerged as the capital,
Delhi, held its second gay rights march yesterday
and other cities across the nation played host to
similar parades.
See also
The Times.
Sunday June 28, 2009
HOMO
NEST RAIDED - QUEEN BEES ARE STINGING MAD New York Daily News
Headline - June 29, 1969
FOUR
POLICEMEN HURT IN 'VILLAGE' RAID Melee in Sheridan Square
Follows Action at Bar New York Times
headline - June 29, 1969
40th
ANNIVERSARY OF STONEWALL
Police raids on gay
establishments were common in the 1960s, but in
the early hours of a summer morning in ’69,
patrons at the Stonewall Inn in New York have
had enough.This time, when
the cops barge into the bar, the drag queens and
gay men fight back, resulting in six nights of
protest on the streets of the bohemian West
Village.A year later, New
York’s first gay-pride parade is held, and a
political movement has begun. - Newsweek
NY1 News - USA:
Thousands March In Support Of Gay Pride.
First report of the Pride parade in New York
City - the page included embedded video report
from the streets of Manhattan.
New York Times - USA:
40 Years Later, Still Second-Class Americans.
Op-Ed by Frank Rich. Like all students
caught up in the civil rights and antiwar
movements of the 1960s, I was riveted by the
violent confrontations between the police and
protestors in Selma, 1965, and Chicago, 1968.
But I never heard about the several days of
riots that rocked Greenwich Village after the
police raided a gay bar called the Stonewall Inn
in the wee hours of June 28, 1969 — 40 years ago
today.
New York Daily News - USA:
Memories of Stonewall Are Still Alive.
Kate Nocera meets 'Tree' a bar tender at the
Stonewall Inn on the night of the riots - and he
still works there.
National Public Radio - USA:
Stonewall At 40: Gay Rights Hits Middle Age.
By Marc Acito. Sure, the gay liberation
movement may be turning forty, but since a lot
of gay guys moisturize, we look a lot younger.
For those of you who are what we call
"homosexually impaired," let me give you a quick
history... Audio, from All Things
Considered, is available on this page.
The Age - Australia:
Gay Rights Movement: 40 Years Dince Stonewall
Riots. By Luis Torres de la Llosa
(AFP). Forty years ago, a New York City
bar called the Stonewall Inn shot to global
attention when its gay clientele staged a revolt
against police harassment, launching the US
homosexual rights movement.
New York Times - USA:
Political Shifts on Gay Rights Lag Behind
Culture. By Adam Nagourney. For
15 minutes in the Oval Office the other day, one
of
President Obama’s top campaign lieutenants,
Steve Hildebrand, told the president about the
“hurt, anxiety and anger” that he and other gay
supporters felt over the slow pace of the White
House’s engagement with gay issues.
UK and EUROPE
UK Gay News - UK:
“We Will Not Be Intimidated” – Organisers of
Budapest Gay Pride.
Extreme right wing groups plan to stop September’s Pride march “by all means
necessary”. Organisers of Budapest
Gay Pride are calling for world-wide support for their September event
which, they say, is no longer only about the rights of gay and lesbian
people, but about the freedom of everyone.
Independent on Sunday - UK:
The IoS Pink List 2009. It's
back - as controversial and, we believe, as
necessary as ever. Here is this year's roster of
the 101 most influential gay and lesbian people
in Britian today.
Independent on Sunday - UK:
Ben Bradshaw: Glad to Be 'More Wagner than
Wenger'. Jane Merrick meets Ben
Bradshaw, the openly gay Minister of Culture and
Sport - and the first cabinet minister to be in
a civil partnership.
South Wales Echo - UK:
Gay Pride Event Pulls Crowds.
Thousands of revellers flocked to Swansea's
first-ever outdoor gay pride event.
Organisers are hailing it a success and say
plans are already underway to hold another
Swansea Pride next year.
The Observer - UK:
Under the Gaydar. By Patrick Strudwick.
Henry Badenhorst has certainly been a quiet
revolutionary. As Gaydar, the website he
co-founded 10 years ago, became the world's most
successful online dating site, Badenhorst
remained silent. The site has transformed the
way people relate to each other on and offline,
an influence reaching far beyond its original
ambition of hooking up single gay men. But apart
from Badenhorst's regular namechecks on gay
power lists - he tends to vie for position
alongside the likes of Elton John, Ian McKellen
and Evan Davis - we know almost nothing about
him.
AFRICA
Scotland on Sunday - UK:
Uganda Gay Purge Puts Football Coach on Spot.
By Ewing Grahame. A Scottish football
manager could lose his job leading an African
football team unless he signs a form condemning
gays. Bobby Williamson, the former Rangers
and West Bromwich star who is now head coach of
the Ugandan national squad, has been asked to
take part in an anti-sodomy offensive in the
country, where homosexuality is illegal.
Global Voices - USA:
The Plight of Gays and Lesbians in Kenya.
By Haute Haiku in Nairobi. As much as Nairobi is
being described as one of the cosmopolitan
cities in Africa and where a lot of homosexuals
find solace in, homophobia is widespread.
ASIA
The Times of India - India:
Families to Stand by LGBT Community During Pride
March. By
Priya M Menon. On Sunday, the city will
host the Chennai Rainbow Pride March, Chennai
Vaanavil Ula', for the first time. Members of
the Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender (LGBT)
community will get together to express their
solidarity, create awareness and, above all,
celebrate their visibility. Significantly,
standing by them will be supportive parents,
family members and friends.
The Times of India - India:
Is India Ready to Accept Gays?
Commentary by
Manoj Mitta.
If the government musters courage to
decriminalize homosexuality, or if the Delhi
high court effects such a change on the petition
challenging Section 377 of IPC, India will shed
the dubious distinction of being among the 10
countries that impose life sentence for gay sex.
Saturday June 27, 2009
Irish Times - Ireland:
Gay Pride March Held in Dublin. By
Genevieve Carbery. The city centre of
Dublin was filled with colour, noise, music
whistles and chants this afternoon as thousands
marched in this year's gay pride march.
Sofia Echo - Bulgaria:
Rainbow Friendship 2009 Without Incidents.
By Rene Beekman. Tension was high with organisers, police and
private security when the 300 or-so participants
in the 2009 Rainbow Friendship parade gathered
on Lovers' Bridge behind Sofia's National Palace
of Culture (NDK).
Sofia Echo - Bulgaria:
Rainbow Friendship Supported by 2 Local
Political Organisations - Organisers.
By Rene Beekman. The Bulgarian Greens and
the Socialist Youth organisation were the only
political organisations that supported the
Rainbow Friendship 2009 parade, organisers said
at a media conference on the morning of the
parade The parade had received the support
of 11 foreign embassies, including the US, UK,
The Netherlands and France.
France24 - France:
Liza Minnelli Enchants Paris Gay Pride March. Hundreds
of thousands on Saturday marched through Paris
and Berlin in flamboyant Gay Pride parades with
US showbiz diva and gay icon Liza Minnelli
mesmerising crowds in the French capital.
The Guardian - UK:
Amid Jewish Revival, Poland Gets Openly Gay
Rabbi. By Vanessa Gera in Warsaw.
When Rabbi Aaron Katz walks the streets of
Warsaw's former Jewish quarter, scenes of that
lost world fill his imagination: Families headed
to synagogue, women in their kitchens cooking
Sabbath meals, his father as a boy with the
sidecurls of an Orthodox Jew. But Katz's
life could hardly be more different from that
prewar eastern European culture, at least in one
key respect: He is Poland's first openly gay
rabbi.
The Times - UK:
Church 'Out of Touch' as Public Supports Equal Rights for Homosexuals.
By Rosemary Bennett. A revolution in attitudes towards gay men and
lesbians is indicated in a poll which shows that
a majority of the public want homosexuals to
share identical rights to everyone else.
Just 40 years after homosexual acts were
legalised, and only nine years since the age of
consent was equalised, 61 per cent of the public
want gay couples to be able to marry just like
the rest of the population, not just have civil
partnerships. See also the
blog of Ruth Gledhill, the religion
correspondent at The Times.
Irish Times - Ireland:
Campaign Groups Give Cautious Reaction to Bill.
By Tim O'Brien. The Gay and Lesbian
Equality Network described the Civil Partnership
Bill as “an historic civil rights reform” that
would resolve “many immediate and pressing
issues faced by lesbian and gay couples”.
STONEWALL ANNIVERSARY - June 28, 1969
Women Born Transsexual - USA:
Stonewall 1949-1969: The Back Story.
By Suzan. Stonewall is one of those great
events. [...] The riot that happened 40 years
ago this weekend had some 20 years of people
organizing, agitating, building movements and
shifting consciousness. When Stonewall happened
it marked the end of one era and the birth of
another instead of simply vanishing into an
incident forgotten by all except perhaps the
participants the way so many acts of resistance
from that era are forgotten.
Washington Post - USA:
Stonewall Baby, All Grown Up. By Michael Hamill Remaley.
I was born on the day of the Stonewall riots,
June 27, 1969, so my life is an individual
history of the 40-year-old modern gay rights
movement. What makes my story particularly
representative is just how conventional my life
has become. I grew up on a farm in
Pennsylvania. My parents were liberal college
professors, but I was aware in high school -- in
the 1980s, when AIDS had no treatment and hatred
for gays reached a fever pitch -- that they
wanted both of their boys to be heterosexual.
Logically, it seemed to be the only path to a
happy, successful life. I knew I was gay but
said nothing.
MSNBC - USA:
Arrested at Stonewall, Gay Man Sees Progress.
Sunday, June 28, marks the
40th
anniversary of the Stonewall Riots, considered
by many the beginning of the modern gay rights
movement in the U.S. NBC News Editor Sandra
Lilley spoke to two men, one who was at the
Stonewall Inn on the night of the riots and the
other a historian who wrote a book about the
events. They discuss how the movement for gay
rights has, and hasn’t, changed over the last 40
years.
Newark Star-Ledger - USA:
Stonewall Riots Anniversary and the Modern Gay
Rights Movement. Editorial. Eric
Mongerson of Atlanta received a special Father's
Day gift this year: the right to spend time with
three of his young children in the company of
his same-sex partner. Two years ago a
judge, siding with Mongerson's ex-wife, ruled
that Mongerson could not introduce his gay
partner and friends to his children on the
grounds it would cause them harm.
Seattle Times - USA:
Gay Rights Mean Different Things to Different
Generations of Community. By Lornet
Turnball. Forty years after New York's
Stonewall Riots launched the gay-rights
movement, older gays and younger ones share much
the same agenda of equality. But their needs
within the movement are also divergent.
The Advocate - USA:
Fed. Prop. 8 Suit: Gay Groups Weigh In.
The American Civil Liberties Union and two
prominent gay and lesbian legal organizations
have filed a brief in support of a lawsuit
against California’s Proposition 8, though one
attorney said the move is not an endorsement of
federal suits that challenge existing state
marriage bans.
Virginian Pilot - USA:
Scott Signs Letter to Suspend Policy on Gays.
By Bill Bartel. U.S. Rep. Bobby Scott, D-
3rd District, has signed a letter asking
President Barack Obama to suspend the military's
"don't ask, don't tell" policy and allow gay
people to serve in the military without penalty.
The Advocate - USA:
View From the Hill. Commentary by
Kerry Eleveld. President Barack Obama will
have the chance to commit America to the work of
providing equality to its LGBT citizens when he
addresses activists at a White House reception
Monday. Let's hope it doesn't become a missed
opportunity
National Post - Canada:
How Toronto Police and the Gay Community Kissed and Made Up. By
Kathryn Blaze Carlson. Armed with Crime Stoppers condoms sporting
the slogan “Your Tip is Safe With us,” Toronto
police will march alongside the gay community at
this weekend’s Pride Parade, symbolizing the
epic shift in a relationship once plagued by
violence and mistrust. Not long ago, much
of the gay community viewed the city’s police
officers as skinheads in uniform, a force to be
feared.
The Advocate - USA:
HIV Travel Ban to Be Lifted. By Kerry
Eleveld. The first step to ending the HIV
travel ban in the United States has been taken
by the Obama administration. The Office of
Management and Budget posted a notice on its
site Friday afternoon indicating that the
department of Health and Human Services could
move forward with steps to change a regulation
that has restricted HIV-positive people from
gaining entrance into the United States.
Washington Post - USA:
Out of the Closet and Into Congress?
With California Democrat Ellen Tauscher heading
to the State Department, former Army captain and
West Point grad Anthony Woods has set his sights
on her congressional seat. After two tours in
Iraq, Woods came out of the closet and had to
leave the military. Outlook's Rachel Dry spoke
with him about the Obama administration's
position on gay rights, the 40th anniversary of
the Stonewall riots and why "don't ask, don't
tell" is the least of the president's problems.
Washington Blade - USA:
Gay Invitees ‘Eager’ for White House Reception.
By Chris Johnson. President Obama has
invited a several key players in the LGBT
community for a White House reception Monday to
celebrate Pride month.
AFRICA
Beyond the Mask - South Africa:
Reasearch Puts Rural Gays Under Spotlight.
By Lesego Tlhwale. The University of South
Africa (UNISA) together with Gay Umbrella, a
lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex
(LGBTI) organisation in the North West Province,
have joined forces in a two year systematic
research project that will provide important
insights into the rural perspective of gays and
lesbians.
AUSTRALASIA
Gay NZ - New Zealand:
Ambach to Police: 'Maybe I Pushed him'.
The Ambach trial - Day 5:
Interviewed by
police just hours after the deadly assault on
elderly gay man Ronald Brown, Ferdinand Ambach
suggested that he may have pushed Brown, that
the elderly man feel over, perhaps down the
stairs.
UK Gay News - UK:
Anti-Gay Law Is Vetoed by Lithuanian President. The President of
Lithuania, Valdas Adamkus, has vetoed the proposed new law which was
approved last week by the Seimas (Parliament).The law, described by an MEP this week as “a spit into the face of
European values”, would ban “propaganda for homosexuality and bisexuality”
as one of the “detrimental effectors” on children.The ban will not only include schools, but will also apply to “other
places accessible to youngsters”.Deutsche Welle - Germany:
German Activists Push for Constitutional Amendment for Gay Rights.
By Kateri Jochum. Forty years after the landmark "Stonewall
uprising," German politicians and gay rights activists are demanding
changes to the constitution to include equal rights for gay people.
UK Gay News - UK:
The Disgrace of So-Called Christian After Anti-Gay Rant. Commentary by Sean
Morrin. The remarks made by Pastor Mark Bradfield in a letter to
the Derry Journal last week are nothing more than disgraceful and very
dangerous.
BBC Wales - UK:
Councillor's Ban Over Gay Remark. A councillor has been
disqualified for a year after referring to homosexuality as a "notorious
disability". Bill Pritchard, who was a town councillor in
Barmouth, Gwynedd, wrote to an assembly government minister, referring
to two men in a local development.
STONEWALL ANNIVERSARY
New York Times - USA:
The Real Mob at Stonewall. Op-Ed by Lucian K. Truscott IV.
I was perhaps the unlikeliest person in the world to cover the Stonewall
riots for The Village Voice. It was June 27, 1969. I had graduated from
West Point only three weeks earlier and was spending my summer leave in
New York before reporting for duty at Fort Benning, in Georgia. After a
late dinner in Chinatown, I was about to enter the Lion’s Head, a
writers’ hangout on Christopher Street near the Voice’s offices, when I
blundered straight into the first moments of the police raid on the
Stonewall Inn, a gay bar a couple of doors down the street. Even a newly
minted second lieutenant of infantry could see that it was a story.
The Guardian - UK:
Our Lost Gay Radicalism. Commentary by Peter Tatchell.
The Stonewall riots of 40 years ago led to demands for liberation. Now
we meekly hope for equality.
USA and the AMERICAS
Washington Blade - USA:
Gays Boycott DNC Fundraiser. By Chris
Johnson. Tension continued to build this
week over a LGBT fundraiser for the Democratic
National Committee with several gay invitees
boycotting the event, while others who planned
to attend said they would voice their
frustrations to party leaders. Chuck
Wolfe, president of the Gay & Lesbian Victory
Fund, withdrew from the event on Tuesday.
Q Notes - USA:
Controversial Sex Ed Bill Approved. By Matt Comer.
On Thursday, the North Carolina House of Representatives voted 60-55 to
concur with a Senate version of a sexual health education bill designed
to revamp the state’s curre. After its passage, the bill was sent to the
governor.
KBDI TV Denver - USA:
Studio 12 GLBT Frustrations with Obama Administration.
Video of the topical discussion programme that this week focuses on the
current frustrations of many gay people with President Obama and his
perceived lack of urgency on promised LGBT issues. Transmitted
June 24 - 58 minutes.
USA Today - USA:
Survey: 60% of Gays Say Faith Is Important to Them. By
Adelle M. Banks. A significant majority of
gays and lesbians — six in 10 — say faith is
important in their lives, but heterosexuals
generally state such commitments more often,
according to a new survey by a Christian research
firm.
Washington Blade - USA:
An Ill-Advised Protest. Opinion by Peter Rosenstein.
Having participated in a number of marches on Washington, I think the
few people who are focusing their energy on this ought to find something
more productive to do. Before we ask our community to spend the
time and money — and make no mistake a march on Washington is an
expensive proposition — we should look at who we will influence with the
march. Are we going to attack the Congress and the president we just
helped to elect?
Reuters - UK:
U.S. Pastor Defends Video of Exorcism of Gay Man. By Michelle
Nichols. A U.S. pastor defended a video posted on YouTube of an
exorcism of a gay man, saying the Manifested Glory Ministries church
does not hate gay people, it just does not believe in their lifestyle.
The video, which has sparked outrage among gay rights advocates, shows a
young man writhing around on the floor at the Stamford, Connecticut
church.
ABC News - USA:
Church Reported to State for Gay Exorcism Video. By Sarah Netter.
The exorcism caught on video showed the Connecticut teen writhing on the
floor as adults hovered above him ordering the demons to be cast out.
The boy's supposed sin? Being gay.
Seattle Post-Intelligencer - USA:
Judge: Gay City Workers Names Don't Have to be Released, For Now.
By Levi Pulkkinen. A King County judge has temporarily barred the
release of the names of Seattle city employees involved in a
city-sponsored group for gay and lesbian workers to an anti-gay rights
activist.
Thursday June 25, 2009
23:40 UK Time. BREAKING NEWS: US
TV Network NBC is
reporting that Michael Jackson has died in Los Angeles aged 50
UK and EUROPE
Lesbilicious - UK:
Transphobia: The Prejudice It's Still OK to Laugh At? By Cate
Simpson. There’s only so much homophobia the media can get away with
these days without having to issue a hasty apology. But when it comes to reporting on trans issues, stories about
’sex swaps’ and ‘pregnant men’ are still depressingly
mainstream. What effect does this kind of attention have on a
minority that is already contending with higher than average
rates of violence, unemployment and street harassment?
Reuters AlertNet - UK:
Lithuania: Reject Censorship Law. Op-Ed by Human Rights
Watch. President Valdas Adamkus should veto a proposed law
passed by Lithuania's parliament that would ban references to gay,
lesbian, and bisexual relations in public places.
Irish Examiner - Ireland: Gay Rights Protesters Chain Themselves to Dáil. Gay rights activists chained themselves to the gates of Dáil
Eireann today in protest at the Government's proposed Civil
Partnership Bill.
The Independent - UK:
Gay Referee Gets Red Card in Turkey. By Nicholas Birch in
Istanbul. Turkey's football authorities were at the centre of
a growing scandal this week after a referee they had sacked for
homosexuality and outed to the press began fighting back in the
courts and the press.
The Guardian - UK:
Gilbert and George: The Odd Couple. Stuart Jeffries meets
Gilbert and George, the gay artistic couple who have "their
strangest show yet" at London's White Cube fron next month.
Guardian video report is
HERE.
The Guardian - UK:
Thank You, and Goodbye Pink Paper. Commentary by Peter Tatchell.
The print edition of the Pink Paper, Britain's only national gay
newspaper, ceased publication this week – killed off by the
recession and the resultant sharp fall in advertising revenue.
Pink Paper - UK:
Secret Snappers Target Innocent Single Men. By Haydn
Price. Rangers in Cardiff have been taking secret pictures of
single men they suspect of cruising in a city centre park, it has
been claimed.
East Anglia Daily News - UK:
Tories Wrong to Join a `Bizarre Cabal'. Commentary by
Graham Dines. It was a good day for the Conservatives to
announce bad news - the formation of the new centre-right grouping
in the European Parliament headed by the Tories was almost lost as
John Bercow became the new Speaker.
The Guardian - UK: DIY
Gay Porn – Bromance's Logical Fourth Base. By Demetrios
Matheou at the Edinburgh Film Festival. Lynn Shelton's
Humpday is drawing Judd Apatow comparisons at
Edinburgh with its hardcore buddy study - the director has already
won Shane Meadows's 'special prize'.
Limerick Post - Ireland:
Confession: New Club Night.
By Calire Kelly. Madonna Lucia is delighted to announce the
launch of her new club night for the Gay community called
Confession. The club is hosted every fortnight downstairs at Scotts
in Alandale just off of the Dock Road. The official launch party is
on Saturday July 4 at 11.30pm with former Alternative Miss Ireland
Sheila Fits-Patrick cutting the ribbon.
USA and the AMERICAS
Daily Mail - UK:
Disturbing Video of Church Casting Out 'Homosexual Demon' from Boy,
16, Posted on YouTube. Shocking footage of church elders
carrying out a exorcism to cast a 'homosexual demon' from a teenage
boy have been posted online. The video shows the 16-year-old
lying on the floor, his body convulsing, while members of a small
Connecticut church stand over him. See also
Raw Story (USA)
San Francisco Chronicle - USA:
West Point Grad Among Pride Parade Marshals. By Meredith
May. When Army National Guard Lt. Dan Choi fell in love, he
couldn't stop talking about it. Choi lived in a "don't ask,
don't tell" world, an Arabic-speaking West Point graduate and combat
veteran of the Iraq war, whose future career, health and housing
benefits depended on a smooth relationship with the military.
The Villager - USA:
I Wasn’t Quite at Stonewall, But it Changed My Life. By Tim Gay. I
remember when Judy Garland died but I don’t recall Stonewall. After
all, I was not quite 14 back in June 1969. But a year and a
couple of months later, in the fall of 1970, I was voraciously
reading about homosexuality, the Stonewall Inn Riots, the Gay
Liberation Organization, the Mattachine Society and Judy Garland —
all thanks to a high school librarian who quietly stocked the
shelves with “liberal” books and magazines.
Vancouver Metro - Canada:
Pride Starts Adding Up. Commentary by Steve Collins.
In the middle of Pride Week, en route to Canada Day, it’s possible
to conflate Pride and patriotism. To the south, the Obama
administration has extended benefits to same-sex couples working for
the federal government — except, presumably, in the military, where
the old “don’t ask don’t tell” policy is still in place.
Miami Herald - USA:
Gays Should Stick with President, and He with Them. Op-Ed
by Susan Estrich. Rep. Barney Frank, the first member of
Congress to be re-elected after coming out, is right in telling gays
not to abandon the president. As Frank put it, ``The notion that if
someone doesn't agree with you 100 percent, then you shouldn't be
supportive of him -- versus someone who disagrees with you 100
percent -- is very bad politics.
ASIA
The Guardian - UK:
A Tale of Two Parties. By Brian Whittaker. Hot on
the heels of the gay night out in Saudi Arabia that ended
disastrously in the arrest of 69 Filipinos comes word of some more
"offensive" partying by foreigners – this time stalwarts of Riyadh's
expatriate English community, including the British ambassador
himself.
Ha'aretz - Israel:
Thousands Turn Out for Jerasualem 's Gay Pride Parade.
Thousands turned out Thursday for the start of the
annual Gay pride parade in Jerusalem, an event which has previously
seen violent demonstrations by anti-gay protesters. But police
sources say that this year the parade is not expected to stir
violent protests.
New Statesman - UK:
Pride and Prejudice. By Anisha Ahmed. Last year,
beating drums and impromptu song and dance sequences gave India’s
first Pride parades a distinctive desi flavour. This year, the stage
is set for two new Indian cities – Chennai and Bhubaneshwar – to
join Delhi, Kolkata, Bangalore and Mumbai in the ranks of the global
queer community. However, the masked faces that dot India’s
Pride marches signify a grave underlying problem.
The Nation - Thailand:
The Story of Lady Boys. James Eckhardt
reviews the book Ladyboys. A recent newspaper story
reported that a high school in Loei has set up a separate bathroom for kathoey students,
200 out of an enrolment of 1,200. Two hundred? In Loei? As in
American movies about high school, there are similar factions in
Thai schools: the jocks, the brains, the nerds, the cheerleaders. In
Thailand you also have the kathoeys.
Y Net News - Israel:
Jerusalem Expects Unprecedented Calm at Pride Parade. By Ronen Medzini.
Thousands are expected to march in the
Jerusalem Pride Parade Thursday, and in contrast to previous years
no violent threats have been heard from the ultra-Orthodox
community, which has a history of aggressively objecting to the
parade.
AUSTRALASIA
GayNZ - New Zealand:
Ambach Describes Self as Regular, "Normal". Day 4 of the
trial of Ferdinand Ambach, a 32-year
old Hungarian tourist, is on trial for the murder of elderly gay
Onehunga man Ronald Brown in December 2007. He has pleaded not
guilty