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May 20, 2013

Higher rates of bullying, suicide and self-harm, drug and alcohol use, smoking, and social isolation in old age revealed in study

A new report launched today reveals that in Britain LGBT people have worse health than straights.

British LGBT people have higher rates of physical and emotional bullying; suicide and self-harm; drug use; alcohol use; smoking in adulthood; and social isolation and vulnerability in old age.

The Public Health Outcomes Framework (PHOF) published by the Department of Health does not contain health data relating to LGBT communities because of the lack of monitoring. This means that the specific health needs of LGBT people are often ignored.

May 18, 2013

What the Jamaican TV court challenge from 27 to 31 May is really about by the man behind it

Several months ago, I sent the three major Jamaican television stations (TVJ, CVM and the Public Broadcasting Corporation of Jamaica – PBCJ) a copy of a tolerance advert in which I appear.

The 30-second video called on Jamaicans to respect my human rights as a gay man and was recorded in light of a series of savage attacks against gay Jamaicans.

There was no expectation of being given free airtime, and neither did I want this. For commercial reasons, free ads are never aired during primetime.

May 17, 2013

Assistant Chief Constable Steph Morgan says the British police have changed and now want to encourage LGBT teens to trust them

The culture of the Police Service in Britain is developing into one where you can be as comfortable at work as you are at home – that is the strategic aim. It is worth noting that there are eight local police forces listed in the Stonewall Top 100 Index of gay-friendly employers and LGBT officers are included in the majority of UK police forces. It hasn’t always been this way.

May 17, 2013

Ban Ki-moon speech delivered at The Hague as part of International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia (IDAHO)

Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has said ending homophobia is ‘critical’ to the UN’s work and called for an end to anti-gay laws and better education.

His comments were delivered today (17 May) at an event in The Hague, The Netherlands, to mark International Day against Homophobia and Transphobia (IDAHO).

The speech was delivered on his behalf by UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay, in the presence of the new Queen of the Netherlands, Máxima.

May 16, 2013

LGBT citizens from Canada, UK, USA, Netherlands and Japan say homophobia is still rampant and they are uncomfortable to 'fully' come out

Over 100,000 people from nations including Canada, France, UK, USA, Netherlands, Germany and Japan, say they still suffer from discrimination and harassment at home and in work.

The LGBT 2020 Homophobia Report from Out Now Global says homophobia is still endemic – even where gay marriage has been accepted.

May 15, 2013

New US research asked 'Can a gay man play it straight?' and looked at perceptions of an actor's performance and masculinity

People think gay actors are less masculine – but they are still just as good at acting, scientists have proved.

The US research asked 'Can a gay man play it straight?' and looked at perceptions of an actor’s masculinity and performance.

College students were given biographical information on a male actor, including sexual orientation, and shown a video of the actor’s performance.

They were then asked to rate the actor’s performance and the likelihood of casting the actor in their own productions.

May 14, 2013

Linda Harvey, from anti-gay Mission America, says websites like Gay Star News lead children into questioning their sexuality

A controversial radio host is claiming Gay Star News and other LGBT news sites can turn kids gay.

Linda Harvey, host of Mission America’s radio show, says gay news sites and blogs that are ‘sympathetic to the social and political goals of the homosexual movement’ will lead children into questioning their sexuality.

May 14, 2013

Gay Star News speaks to the editor of I Will Survive, a new book of stories of triumph over bullying, domestic abuse and depression by LGBT people in Singapore

Singapore often makes Gay Star News headlines - about a judge ruling against repealing a colonial-era law that criminalizes gay sex or a pastor preaching against homosexuality at an evangelical 'mega church' conference - but how does that feel for the LGBT people who live there?

May 13, 2013

Gay Marriage USA campaigner Murray Lipp explains why we shouldn’t be taking the ‘gay’ out of the fight for marriage equality

When I started the Facebook page Gay Marriage USA in 2011 there was a very conscious decision made on my part to include the words ‘gay marriage’ in the title. This was done in an effort to take advantage of the high recognition value that the term carries. Clearly identifying and labeling a cause helps greatly in getting people to support it.

May 10, 2013

NBA star Jason Collins announcing he is gay is significant but the media frenzy has detracted from the achievements of other LGBT black heroes

The news that NBA star Jason Collins has come out as gay generated a frenzy of headlines, reports and comments that is still continuing.

I want to understand the excitement. But there are still questions I have as an openly black gay man living in Europe. These questions were put into perspective when I had a conversation with a white gay friend of mine.

May 10, 2013

Some church groups throughout the UK that published homophobic materials intended for children, recieved up to £10,000 in grants from the Big Lottery Fund

Gay rights activists are demanding audits into British faith groups who’ve published homophobic materials.

According to British newspaper The Guardian, an investigation has revealed numerous church groups throughout the UK that receive grants from the Big Lottery Fund have published anti-gay lesson plans and sexist articles online.

Every year, the Big Lottery Fund awards millions of pounds to organizations for ‘good causes’.

May 9, 2013

Women’s football can set an example that being gay should not be an issue in sports, says Casey Stoney

Casey Stoney said that recent coming out by leading sportsmen is encouraging but more work against homophobia needs to be done and lessons can be learnt from women’s football.

The England and Lincoln Ladies captain told the BBC that ‘things are moving in the right direction regarding homophobia in sport’ following the coming out of NBA basketball star Jason Collins and Leeds footballer, Robbie Rogers.

May 8, 2013

Deputy mayor of sharia law province of Aceh is backing a new bylaw where gay men and women will be caned 100 times

Gay men and women living in a strict Islamic province of Indonesia are going to be publicly lashed 100 times under a proposed bylaw backed by politicians.

Illiza Sa’aduddin Djamal, the Banda Aceh Deputy Mayor, is calling for harsher bylaws against gay people as it is against the district’s adherence to sharia law.

Djamal, who has called homosexuality ‘a social disease that should be eradicated, has complained police are unable to punish gay people under current rules.

May 7, 2013

Heterosexual Awareness Month page says gay men’s mouths smell of ‘poo poo’ and implies NBA player Jason Collins will give people who tackle him a sex infection

Facebook is investigating a hate page where organizers oppose gay marriage and one supporter says the Nazis were right to put gays in concentration camps.

The Heterosexual Awareness Month (HAM) group was ‘established in June 2012 by heteros, for heteros’ and aims to hold a month-long ‘observance of straight people and our growing struggle’ each July.

May 6, 2013

Some lesbian women who have lived together for over ten years in some provinces in Cambodia could be the first legally recognized gay couples in Asia

A Cambodian LGBT rights activist said that some local authorities in the southeast Asian nation already recognize gay couples as married.

'Some local authorities give marriage certificates to lesbian couples,' said Srorn Srun facilitator for Rainbow Community Kampuchea (RoCK) in a interview with Gay Star News.

Cambodian law defines marriage as between a man and a woman only but in some provinces in the country local government officials have decided to recognize gay couples.

May 6, 2013

Claims anyone who ministers knows 'very well that the power of God can change people's orientation'

Televangelist Pat Robertson continued his pattern of anti-gay comments on his 700 Club show Monday when he claimed that gay people can change their orientation just as murderers, rapists and thieves can change.

Robertson was telling his viewers about a case in Ecuador where a politician made anti-gay remarks and was found to have violated his country’s electoral code’s prohibition on discrimination.

Robertson said speaking out against homosexuality is not 'hate speech.'

May 5, 2013

Data from the US National Surveys of Family Growth has shown that gay Americans have become less promiscuous over the decade that same-sex marriage became available to them

Data from the US National Surveys of Family Growth appears to show that American gay men have become less promiscuous over the decade that same-sex marriages first began to become available to them.

Researchers compared data from gay men aged between 15 and 44 who took part in the National Surveys of Family Growth in 2002 to those who took part between 2006 and 2010 and found a statistically meaningful drop in the numbers of sexual partners they reported having in the last year.

May 4, 2013

Zach Wahls and Jennifer Tyrrell not satisfied with current proposal to end gay ban

Later this month, the Boy Scouts of America will be voting on a proposal to end its controversial ban on gay members.

This is good news to Jennifer Tyrrell and Zach Wahls, two unlikely activists who have found themselves at the forefront of the battle for LGBT equality in scouting.

But both tell Gay Star News in separate interviews that the battle will not truly be won until the ban ends for gay and lesbians 18 and over who want to serve.

May 3, 2013

Canberra-based priest says he believes the church's attitude to gay relationships is changing

A Catholic priest in Australia said committed gay relationships should be met with 'not just recognition but joy... that's the least we can offer people'.

Canberra-based priest Michael Fallon said in an interview with Canberra Times he feared ordinary people were being repulsed from the Catholic church by its hardline views on gay relationships.

May 2, 2013

Now NBA giant Jason Collins has come out as gay, Reverend Irene Monroe looks at what it will mean for sports fans and gay African Americans

The professional sports world has been waiting for a Jason Collins moment – a gay athlete currently playing in a major league to come out publicly. What you may not know is that the subtext is that it was hoped the moment would star an African American male.

The African American community, let alone the sports world, desperately needed an openly gay, current, male, professional player.

May 2, 2013

N*Sync member, who came out in 2006, says a member of the current boyband sensation is probably in the closet

Gay 90s pop star Lance Bass reckons a member of British boyband sensation One Direction is probably gay.

The N*Sync star was chatting to The Rubin Report about his experiences of coming out after Jason Collins, the basketball star came out earlier this week.

‘Statistically speaking, one probably is [gay],’ Bass said. ‘The market is 100% young women and they fantasize about these [One Direction] guys.

May 2, 2013

Matt Moore, a blogger for the Christian Post who claimed he was 'cured' of 'sinful homosexuality', has admitted he still has feelings for men

May 1, 2013

New film God Loves Uganda shows how well funded Christian evangelicals are trying to turn a continent towards gay hate

It has been over six months since I contributed an article for Gay Star News.

So much has happened but often we can only wait by the sideline and do little or nothing. Often when we intervene we make it worse. That’s the case in global LGBT rights, where we can do harm by saying the wrong thing or even playing the politics of power and money.

May 1, 2013

Evangelical groups are spreading anti-gay hate in Ethiopia causing a climate of moral panic and forcing the LGBT community to flee the country

A death penalty against homosexuality may be introduced soon in Ethiopia, according to anti-gay organizations that ran a recent workshop on the topic.

The workshop, dealt with the social ‘evils’ and ‘disastrous’ effects of homosexuality in Ethiopia, and was led by United for Life Ethiopia, a Western Evangelical organization with local representation.

Government officials, religious leaders, leading heath professionals, charities and members of the public attended the event at the Bethel Teaching Hospital in Addis Ababa, last week.