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June 17, 2013

A Nigerian argues Obama would be doing Africa a favor by pointing out gay rights will help the continent develop

From 26 June 26 to 3 July, US President Barack Obama will be visiting Africa. The visit takes him to Senegal, South Africa and Tanzania.

According a statement released by the White House, Obama will use his visit ‘to reinforce the importance that the United States places on our deep and growing ties with countries in sub-Saharan Africa, including through expanding economic growth, investment, and trade; strengthening democratic institutions; and investing in the next generation of African leaders’.

June 16, 2013

National Public Radio chronicles the ups, and downs, of transgender life in the US

While the gay equality movement in the US has made recent strides, from the abolition of Don't Ask, Don't Tell to the increasing number of states where gay marriage is legal, too many transgender men and women still live in the shadows.

National Public Radio aired a piece (15 June) on the lives of transgender Americans, specifically teenagers and young adults.

June 16, 2013

Provoking a nation already torn over gay marriage, the head of the Roman Catholic Church urges French politicians not to follow ‘fashions of the moment’

Pope Francis encouraged French politicians to take matters into their own hands in a speech apprently directed at gay marriage.

Speaking to a delegation of French politicians and representatives at the Vatican yesterday, Pope Francis called France a ‘nation to which the eyes of the world often turn,’ pointing to the controversial Marriage for All Bill that split the country into in an unprecedented show of public discord between gay marriage opponents and supporters.

June 15, 2013

The gay marriage opponent and right-wing Tory MP Edward Leigh received royal honors from Queen Elizabeth II for his public and political service

A leading opponent of gay marriage in England and Wales has been knighted by Her Royal Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.

MP for Gainsborough Sir Edward Leigh was knighted during the Queen’s Birthday Honours, where new royal honours are announced during a celebration of the reigning queen’s birthday.

June 15, 2013

But just 56% have told their mother about their sexual orientation or gender identity, and 39% have told their father

A survey of just under 1,200 American adults who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender shows that 92% feel like they have become more accepted in the past decade.

But that doesn't mean it's been easy according to a Pew Research Center analysis of the experiences and attitudes of the LGBT population released this week.

June 15, 2013

Russian immigrants plan to use New York Gay Pride parade float as a symbol of freedom

The line in the advertisement says it all: 'celebrating our life in the free world.'

Gay immigrants from the former Soviet Union are putting the final touches on a Russian float that will be part of the 30 June New York City Gay Pride Festival.

June 14, 2013

One of the least tolerant societies in the world for accepting homosexuality has the highest amount of searches for gay sex terms

Google searches relating to gay sex are most common in Pakistan out of all the countries in the world, new research from Mother Jones discovered yesterday.

June 13, 2013

Saudi Arabia’s religious police raided a gay marriage party in Mecca, arresting five men

Members of the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice (religious police) raided a gay marriage party with over 80 participants in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, arresting five men.

The religious police backed by policemen and detectives, stormed a house in Mecca that was said to have held a gay marriage ceremony, yesterday (12 June), reported Al-Saudeh daily.

Five men were detained while the rest managed to flee to nearby mountains.

June 12, 2013

US Televangelist continues long history of anti-gay remarks

US televangelist Pat Robertson said this week that it breaks his heart to see the Boy Scouts of America 'torn up in order to accommodate a few kids who want to do sex with each other.'

Robertson, host of The 700 Club, has a long history of anti-gay remarks but his three-minute segment against gays in scouting is one of his longer tirades delivered in a gentle style.

Last month, the Boy Scouts of America voted to end its ban on gay members although it still bans gay and lesbian adult leaders and volunteers.

June 11, 2013

Filipino gay rights activist say that a study showing the Philippines as the most gay-friendly country in Asia, and the tenth in the world, doesn't reflect the reality for LGBT people living there

Filipino gay rights activist Oscar Atadero has told Gay Star News that a study that found the Philippines is the tenth most gay-friendly country in the world, and the most gay-friendly country in Asia, is a 'dubious honor'.

'The results of the survey should be taken with a bit of caution,' said Atadero, who is a researcher for Rainbow Rights, adding that with a global survey cultural and linguistic nuances can be lost in translation.

June 11, 2013

State Duma passes 'homosexual propaganda' law unanimously that will see people fined and foreigners deported if they are gay

Russia has passed a law that will see gay people arrested for ‘promoting homosexuality’.

The State Duma has voted unanimously for the ‘propaganda’ law in the second reading today (11 June).

Elena Mizulina represented the bill for 10 minutes where she spoke about the changes that had been made.

Aleksey Mitrofanov, a deputy from the A Just Russia party, was the only one who questioned the bill.

He questioned a proposed amendment where foreigners would be arrested and deported if they were deemed ‘promoting homosexuality’.

June 10, 2013

Prime Minister Jean Marc Ayrault has told violent skinhead homophobic groups they should not exist after the death of an 18-year-old student

A French extremist gay hate group is being ordered to dissolve after the death of a gay rights activist and student in Paris.

Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault has asked the Interior Minister to take steps to ‘immediately’ ban the Revolutionary Nationalist Youth (JNR), the AFP reports.

The JNR is the militant wing of far-right group Third Way, populated by skinheads, homophobes and racists.

It follows the death of Clement Méric, an 18-year-old who fought for marriage equality and against fascism, who was left braindead after an attack by skinheads.

June 10, 2013

Christopher Pearson, a gay conservative intellectual, died at home in Adelaide yesterday

Christopher Pearson, columnist for The Australian and speech writer for Australia's conservative former Prime Minister John Howard, has died aged 61.

Opposition leader Tony Abbott paid tribute to Pearson saying he was one of Australia's 'finest conservative intellects' and a 'steadfast' friend.

'I valued Christopher's counsel and his wisdom,' Abbott said, Sydney Morning Herald reports.

June 9, 2013

Long Island Democrat Steve Israel has announced he will put forward legislation repealing the dishonorable discharges of gay and lesbian military personnel under the policy of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell and before homosexuality was legalized

Long Island Democratic member of the US House of Representatives Steve Israel has announced that he will move legislation that would see the repeal of dishonorable discharges of gays and lesbians who were drummed out of the military when their sexuality was revealed.

Military veterans are afforded a range of benefits in the US, however those are not available to personnel who have been dishonorably discharged and over 30,000 gay and lesbian veterans are believed to be excluded from receiving those benefits because their sexuality was discovered.

June 7, 2013

Frigide Bardot says gay marriage, not far-right extremists, are to blame for the death of an 18-year-old equal marriage advocate

An anti-gay leader has said an 18-year-old gay rights activist would still be alive if France had not legalized same-sex marriage.

Frigide Barjot, leader of the French religious right, argues Clément Méric would still be alive if it was not for the government who ‘refused to listen to the French people’.

June 7, 2013

Reverend Irene Monroe asks why murders and suicides of gay and trans people of color don’t get the attention they should

Last month sadly marked the 10th anniversary of the murder of Sakia Gunn of Newark, New Jersey. And her murder is mired, at best, by myths and, at worst, malicious intent.

Depending, however, on the LGBTQ circles you run in and where you get your news, you may or may not know who she was. For many, Gunn was and still is a small blip on the gay and national news radar screen.

June 7, 2013

But 45% in Pew Research Poll still think engaging in homosexual behavior is a sin

Many of them may not support it themselves, but 72% of Americans see gay marriage as inevitable in the US, according to an extensive poll released this week by the Pew Research Center.

Large majorities across most demographic groups in the US feel this way including Protestants, Catholics, college grads, high school drop-outs, old, young, middle-aged, black, white, Hispanic and from all parts of the country.

June 6, 2013

A survey by Pew Research has found growing acceptance of homosexuality in richer more secular countries while in some others acceptance has fallen

A global survey of attitudes to homosexuality in 39 countries has shown growing acceptance across the developed world but little progress in the developing world when it comes to acceptance of LGBT rights.

The biggest jump in acceptance was in South Korea where the number of people who thought ‘homosexuality should be accepted’ jumped from 18 percent in 2007 to 39 percent in 2013.

The US saw the next biggest gain, from 49 percent to 60 percent.

Next was Canada which jumped from 70 percent to 80 percent.

June 5, 2013

New poll shows acceptance has gone up by 25% in last 12 years

Older Americans are becoming increasingly accepting of same-sex relationships, according to a new poll released this week.

A Gallup study revealed that - for the first time - a majority of those age 55 and older (51%) are now accepting - an increase of 25% since 2001.

It also means a majority of American adults across all age groups approve of gay relationships with 18-34 year olds at 74% and 35-54 year olds at 54%.

June 5, 2013

AFA spokesman Bryan Fischer says the boy scouts who marched in uniform in the Utah Pride Parade remind him of Nazi Germany

American Family Association spokesman Bryan Fischer has said that the boy scouts who marched in uniform during the weekend’s Utah Pride Parade reminded him of Nazi Germany and has promised to have Christian holocaust revisionist Scott Lively on his radio program to discuss the issue.

June 5, 2013

Researchers suggest the reason more communication, openness and resilience to outside pressure is why gay families appear more happy

Children brought up by same-sex couples are happier, healthier, and more sociable according to the initial findings from the world’s largest study on the subject.

The research, which studied the wellbeing of 500 children in Australia, found the self-esteem of children and the amount of time they spent with their parents was no different from the rest of the population.

But infants looked after by gay couples scored higher for overall health and family cohesion.

June 5, 2013

Britain’s House of Lords have heard the need for 78 countries to decriminalize homosexuality worldwide, just after voting for gay marriage

The criminalization of homosexuality is ‘abhorrent’ and needs to be scrapped on human rights and HIV-prevention grounds, the House of Lords has heard.

The comment was made by senior Conservative Lord Norman Fowler as Britain’s upper chamber of parliament was debating the UK’s contribution Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis (TB) and Malaria.

June 4, 2013

Alli tells UK’s House of Lords ‘it is about love, it is about who we love and how we express that love between one another’ in debate ahead of crunch vote

Openly gay Asian peer, Lord Waheed Alli, has told the House of Lords that ‘different is different and equal is equal’.

He was commenting in the debate on the government’s Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Bill for England and Wales which has already passed the elected House of Commons but now has to be approved, amended or rejected by the Lords.

Alli was one of the speakers opening the second day of the debate which yesterday saw some speakers claim the bill would lead to polygamy and lesbian queens reigning over Britain and the Commonwealth.

June 4, 2013

Lorraine Donnelly, co-founder and director at gay greeting card company, Pride To Be sends her own greeting to members of the House of Lords debating gay marriage

Britain’s House of Commons has passed the Marriage (Same-Sex Couples) Bill for England and Wales with a vote of 366 to 162. Now, as you know, the bill has moved to the House of Lords, whose approval is also needed before enshrining the heavily fought-for legislation into law.

If approved, the law is expected to come into force in 2014, affording same-sex couples the choice of marriage or civil partnership.

It will also allow gay and lesbian couples who have previously entered into a civil partnership, to convert their relationship into a marriage.