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May 19, 2012

Anti-gay group objects to billboard in Los Angeles featuring male couple sharing a single T-shirt

First it was JC Penney, then Urban Outfitters then JC Penney again.

Now the anti-gay group OneMillionMoms, a subgroup of American Family Association, as another retailer in its sights: The Gap.

May 16, 2012

Former Danish minister uses the example of Iberian 'killer snails' to argue against gay marriage

A Danish politician has compared gay marriage to 'killer snails' during a hearing on same-sex unions on Monday (14 May).

'Apart from the killer snail and a few other species, the world consists of males and females, and that is why the world still exists,' said Birthe Rønn Hornbech.

Danish minister of culture, Uffe Elbæk, posted the quote on his Facebook page and, in disbelief, urged people to read the bizarre remark 'one more time'.

Elbæk's Facebook followers were equally dumbfounded by Hornbech's views.

May 16, 2012

Shocked daughter tells TV show how vicar refused to bury her 74-year-old mother because she was a lesbian

A Danish priest who refused to bury a 74-year-old lesbian is the subject of a TV show on the country's DR1 channel.

The deceased’s daughter, Kirsten Østergaard, told the programme that the priest’s announcement came as a shock, reported Danish gay website Homotropolis.

'I thought, can it really be true that we should be ashamed of it?' she said.

'I looked at my mother’s life partner and she was completely silent and then I became really upset on her behalf. It’s a terrible situation to put her in.'

May 12, 2012

Iran court sentence four men from the town of Choram, in the Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad Province, to death by hanging for sodomy.

Four men named 'Saadat Arefi', 'Vahid Akbari', 'Javid Akbari' and 'Houshmand Akbari' are due to be executed shortly after their verdict was approved recently by high court judges, according to a report from the Human Rights Activist News Agency (HRANA) in Iran.

The four men are said to be from the town of Choram, in the Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad Province of Iran.

May 12, 2012

Mitt Romney confirms his anti-gay marriage position at commencement speech

 

Gov. Mitt Romney made certain the brand new crop of  graduates in front of him today (12 May) understood his position on gay marriage.

'Marriage is a relationship between one man and one woman,' the presumptive Republican nominee said at today's Liberty University commencement. 

This stands in stark contrast to President Barack Obama's announcement in support of gay marriage.

May 11, 2012

Sapphire waters fed by hot springs and a sapphic prime minister are why LGBT people go to Iceland

Imagine me standing in the middle of the Arctic Circle in mid-winter in just my swimming trunks and with my face covered in white mud.

Suicidal? No! Smiling? Yes!

I’m not on some crazy endurance test, but soaking in the incredible atmosphere and weird luna-landscape of the world’s most famous luxury spa – the Blue Lagoon.

It’s just one of the wonderfully weird must-sees on any tour of Iceland (just three hours flight-time from London and only five from New York).

May 11, 2012

GSN takes an in-depth look at the fight for same-sex marriage in Scotland – a battle with important lesson for equality campaigners worldwide

Moves towards gay marriage in England and Wales have been making big headlines but many south of the border don’t realize that Scotland has been having it’s own battle on the issue and is actually leading the way.

May 11, 2012

Twitter followers slam Dancing With The Stars contestant for attacking US President Barack Obama's historic support of gay marriage

Former Dancing With The Stars contestant Bristol Palin faced a backlash on Twitter after slamming US President Barack Obama's support for gay marriage.

May 10, 2012

Britain's Got Talent judge David Walliams continues bromance with Simon Cowell after showering praise on gay semi-finalists The Sugar Dandies

Britain's Got Talent judge David Walliams is not afraid of rumors about his sexuality after flirting with music mogul Simon Cowell and joking he is a 'gay man in a gay man's body'.

The comedian made the gag during the TV talent show's semi-finals yesterday (9 May) after praising a performance by camp ballroom dance act The Sugar Dandies.

He told the gay couple, Bradley and Soren, that they reminded him of 'me and my Simon when we first met.'

May 10, 2012

'I chose to focus on the corporate character it took for Target to apologize for the effects of their decision'

Openly-gay daytime lifestyle show host Nate Berkus is defending a partnership he has entered in with the Target retail chain

Target ran afoul with the LGBT community for donating to the political group MN Forward, a Political Action Committee that supported anti-gay gubernatorial candidate Tom Emmer during the 2010 election season.

May 9, 2012

Openly gay British pop star George Michael walks into a storm about whether he was invited to take part in Leveson

Openly gay pop star George Michael has said he was invited to take part in the Leveson inquiry into British media standards and has branded the official who said he wasn’t invited as a ‘liar’.

The Leveson inquiry has dominated the headlines in Britain for months – it’s looking at the culture, practice and ethics of the press with Rupert Murdoch’s media empire particularly in the firing line after his national Sunday paper News International was caught hacking people’s phones.

May 8, 2012

Islamic organisations issue warnings that Gaga concert is 'intended to destroy the nation's morality'

Following protests from Christians in South Korea against last month's Lady Gaga concert in Seoul, Muslims in Indonesia are warning her against performing in Jakarta.

May 8, 2012

British comic, TV presenter, actor and author Stephen Fry is the latest celeb to record a Proud2Be gay video

Out gay actor and author Stephen Fry is the latest high profile figure to record a Proud2Be video.

Several gay politicians, celebrities and organisations have uploaded Proud2Be videos to combat gay-shame and encourage all LGBT people to be proud of who they are.

'Part of life to learn what to be ashamed of and what to be proud of,' said British gay comedian Stephen Fry. 'I won't ever apologize for being born the way I was and feeling the way I do.'

May 6, 2012

British PM reportedly says it is 'not the time' to legalise gay marriage after poor election results

Prime Minister David Cameron is reportedly ready to back down from legalising gay marriage in an effort to appease Conservative backbenchers.

After many party councillors lost their seats in the local election vote held last Thursday (3 May), removing the gay marriage policy is a concession to appeal right-wingers.

The Conservative party lost 405 seats and 12 councils in last week’s election.

Sources from the British Prime Minister’s political office say he cannot push ahead with controversial proposals in a heated political climate.

May 5, 2012

After urging church-goers to sign anti-gay marriage petition, Father Peter Gowlland says 'It is disappointing that some people are so narrow-minded’

An Anglican priest was suspended for preaching against gay marriage yesterday (4 April), when he asked his congregation to sign a petition opposing UK government plans.

The 78-year-old Peter Gowlland invited the worshippers at All Saints Church in Sanderstead, Surrey, to be ‘bold like the apostles’ and sign the anti-civil gay marriage petition.

May 4, 2012

GSN counts down the top 15 anti-LGBT insults, and the apologies that followed  

With the birth of Twitter and the death of discretion, an increasing number of public figures are candid about their anti-gay sentiments, and are paying for it.

Social media and consumer-driven content means that anything said online gets heard around the world in a matter of mouse clicks.

When homophobic and transphobic remarks are made, and apologies ensue, is it a genuine about-face or a lame attempt at lip service?

May 3, 2012

Anti-gay group that protested Ellen DeGeneres as spokeswoman now calling for boycott over lesbian-themed ad

The anti-gay group OneMillionMoms, which failed in its efforts to get JC Penney to ditch Ellen DeGeneres as its spokeswoman, is once again targeting the retailer because it features a lesbian couple in its latest catalogue.

April 29, 2012

Catholic Education Service faces investigation from Secretary of State for Education Michael Gove

The British Humanist Association (BHA) has threatened to take legal action against the Catholic Education Service (CES) for promoting the anti-gay civil marriage petition in Catholic schools.

Secretary of State for Education Michael Gove has ordered an investigation into the CES to question whether or not they have broken impartiality rules. The Welsh government has said it will investigate similar complaints about the CES.

April 28, 2012

Pope representative Archbishop Antonio Mennini has attacked government plans to legalise civil marriage for same-sex couples

The Archbishop Antonio Mennini, the Pope’s representative in Britain, is urging all Christians, Jews, and Muslims to unite against gay marriage.

In a statement made to Catholic bishops from England and Wales, the Apolistic Noncio called for closer co-operation with other faiths in fighting government plans to legalise gay marriage.

At a meeting in Leeds held yesterday (27 April), he said: ‘I wonder if we shouldn’t ask for and look for more support among other Christian denominations and indeed, persons of other faiths.’

April 26, 2012

Students in UK Catholic schools have been encouraged to sign anti-gay marriage petition

The British Humanist Association has told the Catholic Education Service (CES) that its 'absolutely outrageous' request that UK Catholic school pupils sign an anti-gay marriage petition may breach the law.

The secondary schools also directed students as young as 11 to a letter written last month that urged Catholic congregations to protect the sanctity of marriage in Britain.

April 24, 2012

80s popstar driven from Twitter and calls in lawyers

Boy George announced he is giving Twitter a break until his 'homophobic spam issue' is resolved.

Over the last few days the 80s popstar has been subjected to a string of tweets that sound like homophobic playground bullying. '@BoyGeorge wants ya penis' said one from Tory Fox (@Cornelia_573) from Georgia in the US. '@BoyGeorge lookup ya butt,' said another from Arnetta Siren (@Charise_769) in Nebraska, US.

April 23, 2012

Britain's first out lesbian MP and Anglican bishop speak out on same-sex marriage at national conference

Britain’s first out lesbian MP and an Anglican bishop have spoken out against faith-based homophobia at a major national conference.

Angela Eagle MP and the Bishop of Salisbury Nicholas Holtam spoke at the third National Conference on Faith, Homophobia, Transphobia and Human Rights organised by the Cutting Edge Consortium in London on 21 April.

Eagle, a humanist and Shadow Leader of the House of Commons, urged humanists and non-religious people to challenge the backlash against gay marriage from religious conservatives.

April 23, 2012

American nuns respond to Catholic church's accusation that they have not focused on gay rights

An American Catholic nuns group have responded to Vatican criticism that they have not devoted enough time to speaking out against gay marriage.

The nuns were reprimanded for not making the ‘Biblical view of family life and human sexuality’ more prominent in their agenda, reports Reuters.

The Vatican accused the Leadership Conference of Women Religious of spending too much time focusing on poverty and social justice concerns.

A scathing ‘doctrinal assessment’ on Wednesday also slammed the group for being silent on abortion.

April 21, 2012

Anglican Church leaders write a letter to show support for gay marriage

Senior religious leaders from the Anglican Church say ‘there is nothing to fear’ from gay marriage, and should ‘be a cause for rejoicing’.

In a letter to British newspaper The Times, prominent figures shared their support for marriage between same-sex couples.

It says: ‘We believe the Church of England has nothing to fear from the introduction of civil marriage for same-sex couples.’