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May 2, 2013
How Spain is designing a sporting future free of gay hate

LGBT sports organizations around the world continue to play a key role in eliminating homophobia from sport

Continuing our mission to profile the LGBT sports organizations of the world, we meet graphic designer Ricardo Mendi Serrano, communications officer for Elaios LGBT sports club which is based in Spain’s fifth largest city – Zaragoza.

When was the organization established?

Elaios was created after some of us participated at the 2003 edition of Eurogames in Copenhagen.

We wanted to organize something similar in Zaragoza.

May 22, 2013
Finance minister condemns Australian Christian Lobby's 'bigotry'

More backlash to Australian Christian Lobby's 'stolen generation' comments, aboriginal affairs minister calls them 'appalling misjudgment'

Australia's finance minister Penny Wong has slammed the Australian Christian Lobby (ACL) for comparing the children of gay couples to the 'stolen generations' of aboriginal children who were taken from their families.

'Redefining marriage ignore[s] the consequence of robbing children of their biological identity through same-sex surrogacy and other assisted reproductive technologies,' said ACL's managing director Lyle Shelton yesterday.

Wong, who has a one-year-old daughter with her partner Sophie Allouache and is a practicing Christian, said:

May 22, 2013
Gay Japanese pornstar Masaki Koh dead age 29

The popular pornstar and gay rights supporter passed away on Saturday from complications around peritonitis

Popular gay Japanese pornstar Masaki Koh died on Saturday (18 May) aged 29 from complications arising from surgery for peritonitis.

News of Koh's death was announced on his website.

'The tragic news has been announced by his partner, Tien Tien, who revealed that Koh was receiving treatments from a ruptured cecal (which is considered the beginning of the large intestine) due to peritonitis and has had surgery several times since last month,' said the statement.

May 22, 2013
HIV rates among transgender people in Asia 'disturbingly high'

New report finds 49% transgender people in Delhi, India, 37% in Phnom Penh, Cambodia and 34% in Jakarta, Indonesia have HIV

A new report highlights the 'serious threat' that HIV remains to transgender people in Asia and the Pacific.

Asia Pacific Transgender Network (APTN) and the Asia Pacific Coalition on Male Sexual Health (APCOM) released the report on Friday for IDAHO (International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia).

May 22, 2013
South Asia gay community mourns death of Shivananda Khan

The death of veteran Indian gay rights activist Shivananda Kahn prompts outpouring of appreciation for his achievements

Gay rights advocates in India and around the world are mourning the death of 'committed, passionate, inspiring, nurturing, visionary' activist Shivananda Khan, who passed away on Monday (20 May).

'[Khan] forged a pioneering path across the decades in helping achieve rights and equality for LGBT individuals and communities in diverse geographies and sociocultural environments from Europe to Asia and the Pacific,' said a statement from the organization he helped found, Asia Pacific Coalition on Male Sexual Health (APCOM).

May 22, 2013
Two more anti-gay hate crimes in NYC bring total up to seven in last 30 days

Latest attacks occur in the hours after rally decrying murder of gay man in Greenwich Village

Two more anti-gay attacks were reported in New York City in the hours after about 1,500 people attended a rally Monday night (20 May) in the streets of Greenwich Village where a gay man was gunned down over the weekend.

This brings the number of anti-gay attacks in New York City during the past 30 days to seven including the murder of 32-year-old Mark Carson who was shot in the head Saturday.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg at a news conference Tuesday (21 May) called the murder of Carson 'despicable.'

May 21, 2013
'Vietnam is not ready for gay marriage,' says Valentine Vu

Gay Vietnamese-Canadian fashion design lecturer who lives in Ho Chi Minh City argues Vietnam is not ready for gay marriage

In response to Vietnam marching ahead of other Asian nations towards legalizing same-sex marriage, a gay Vietnamese-Canadian fashion design lecturer who lives in Ho Chi Minh City said that the country is not ready for marriage equality.

Legalizing gay marriage would not make Vietnam '"cool" when it has failed to acknowledge other gay rights issues', Valentine Vu writes in an editorial for Tuoitre News.

May 21, 2013
GLAAD determined to carry on with workload after resignation of its president

Spokesman Wilson Cruz tells GSN: 'GLAAD has been here for 28 years and we're not going anywhere'

There was surprise and some raised eyebrows when Herndon Graddick resigned last week as president of the media monitoring organization GLAAD after just over a year.

But GLAAD's national spokesman, Wilson Cruz, tells Gay Star News that there is no scandal connected to Graddick's departure.

May 21, 2013
LGBT students say Italy's high schools are worst place to be gay

A study by LGBT association Gay Center shows 40% of straight students refuse to have gay friends

Italian schools are the the most anti-gay environment for the young LGBT community of the Mediterranean country, a survey has revealed.

The study, commissioned and conducted by LGBT association Gay Center among 3,900 students from 16 schools, showed that, according to the 49% of the interviewees, Italian high schools are the worst context for growing LGBT people.

Gay Center’s president Fabrizio Marrazzo told Gay Star News: ‘When considering different minorities, the LGBT one is the most troubled, because LGBT students don’t get their parents’ support.

May 21, 2013
Map shows how Europe forces trans people to be sterilized

Trans people suffer high levels of repeat victimization and violence and employment discrimination

A new map reveals how transgender Europeans are denied the right to have their gender legally recognized or forced to be sterilized before they can.

The Transgender Europe (TGEU) map reflects European countries’ laws and administrative practices which protect or violate the human rights of trans people.

And its new index provides detailed country information saying 24 countries in Europe require sterilization before trans people can legally change their gender.

May 21, 2013
Michael Douglas as gay Liberace named his 'greatest performance'

Following its screening at the Cannes Film Festival, Behind the Candelabra, the gay Liberace biopic has received nothing but praise

Michael Douglas performance as Liberace is being named is greatest ever perforamance.

Douglas, who stars in Behind The Candelabra with fellow Hollywood actor Matt Damon, is being applauded by the critics.

The Telegraph's Robbie Collin regards Michael Douglas’ extraordinary portrayal of Liberace as 'one of the greatest performance the actor has ever given.'

May 21, 2013
New Yorkers march to remember gay man murdered last week

Protestors promise to remember the name of killed gay man Mark Carson

Mark Carson was remembered tonight (20 May) at the corner where he was murdered.

May 21, 2013
Oklahoma tornado, killing up to 91, blamed on gay Jason Collins

Westboro Baptist Church is believed to be getting ready to protest the funerals of those killed by the 200mph winds

An Oklahoma tornado that has claimed the lives of up to 91 people is being blamed on Jason Collins.

Fred Phelps Jr, the son of the leader behind the infamous Westboro Baptist Church, has linked homosexuality to the destructive natural disaster.

He said Oklahoma sportsman Kevin Durant offended God by saying ‘no one has the right to judge’ the first openly gay basketball player.

Phelps tweeted: ‘OK Thunder’s Durant flips God by praising fag Collins. God smashed OK. You do the math. #GodH8sFags #FagsDoomNations #FearGod #GodH8sU’

May 21, 2013
Tom Joyner’s anti-gay message to black community

The leading African American DJ and how he dismissed gay, black NBA star Jason Collins which reporting a totally separate black issue – a rape by three athletes

On 1 May Jason Collins, the 7’0” center for the Washington Wizards, and a former Boston Celtics, came out. His statement ‘I’m a 34-year-old NBA center. I’m black. And I’m gay’ made the cover story for Sports Illustrated.

On 2 May, three Morehouse College basketball athletes were accused of raping an 18-year-old Spelman College student. The story didn’t hit the airwaves in the same way as the Collins story.

Many in the African American community were silent on both incidents because they view both as poxes on the community.

May 21, 2013
‘Gay marriage bill will lead to lesbian queens, fathers marrying sons’, Lord Tebbit says

'I quite fancy my brother!', top Conservative peer says England and Wales same-sex marriage bill could allow him to marry his son

Gays marrying will lead to a lesbian queen giving birth to a future monarch by artificial insemination, a former Tory chairman has warned.

Lord Tebbit, 82, also told the Big Issue magazine the legislation in England and Wales could also allow him to marry his son to escape inheritance tax.

May 20, 2013
Church of Scotland votes to allow gay ministers

The Church of Scotland's ruling General Assembly has voted to allow openly gay and lesbians to become ministers

The Church of Scotland’s General Assembly has voted to allow openly gay people to become ministers.

The church voted today (20 May) 340 for and 282 against to allow the ordination of gay and lesbian ministers but only next year.

The decision will have to be endorsed by the church's regional presbyteries and officially approved next year.

The year’s delay is seen as a narrow victory for the traditionalist wing of the Church that threatened to split off.

May 20, 2013
A gay Muslim answers the imams trying to stop equal marriage

Muslim leaders in Britain have claimed introducing gay marriage would undermine traditional families and take away parents’ and teachers’ rights

Gay Star News yesterday (19 May) reported Muslim leaders representing tens of thousands worshippers in the UK have banded together against gay marriage.

In what British right-wing newspaper The Telegraph calls ‘an unprecedented intervention from the British Muslim community,’ over 500 imams have signed a letter to express ‘serious misgivings’ about Conservative Prime Minister David Cameron’s gay marriage bill.

May 20, 2013
Gay marriage bill still on track despite fight in UK parliament

British MPs have rejected amendments that would have watered down or delayed gay marriage proposals

Members of Parliament (MPs) have knocked back amendments to the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Bill for England and Wales that would have watered down or possibly delayed or ‘wrecked the bill’.

An amendment by Conservative party gay marriage critic David Burrowes MP to allow marriage registrars to refuse to conduct same-sex weddings was defeated by 340 votes to 150.

May 20, 2013
LGBT people in Britain have worse health than straights

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 20, 2013
London Gay Men’s Chorus pays musical homage to your heroes

Those who make a difference to the LGBT community will be immortalized in a comic strip themed concert by the acclaimed London Gay Men’s Chorus

David Bowie’s celebrated refrain 'We can be heroes, just for one day' is the key message behind the London Gay Men’s Chorus (LGMC) new concert.

Honouring the people who have contributed to bettering the everyday lives of the LGBT community, the aptly titled Heroes will be performed at Cadogan Hall in the UK capital from the 24 to 25 May.

May 20, 2013
Obama to male grads: 'Be the best husband to your wife, or your boyfriend, or your partner'

Morehouse College speech calls on grads to have empathy for all minority groups

During a commencement speech at the all-male Morehouse College on Sunday (19 May), President Barack Obama encouraged students - straight or gay - to be good spouses and parents.

'... That’s what I’m asking all of you to do: Keep setting an example for what it means to be a man. Be the best husband to your wife, or your boyfriend, or your partner. Be the best father you can be to your children. Because nothing is more important.'

May 19, 2013
AIDS Walk New York succeeds even in rainy weather

For 28 years, there is a day in May when New Yorkers come together for for AIDS awareness and education

The weather was less than perfect. It constantly rained and the temperature should have been higher for a May Sunday. However, even less than ideal conditions did not keep approximately 30,000 people from raising money for AIDS/HIV support services.

For 28 years the AIDS Walk New York has attracted support from all neighborhoods in the city. This year, as reported by organization's Twitter feed, $5.5 million (€4,287,429) was raised today (19 May).

May 19, 2013
Gay marriage will ‘rob’ parents of their rights, say UK Muslim leaders

Hundreds of Muslim leaders throughout the UK have signed a letter in a unified protest against the government’s same-sex marriage bill

Muslim leaders representing tens of thousands worshippers in the UK have banded together against gay marriage.

In what British newspaper The Telegraph calls ‘an unprecedented intervention from the British Muslim community,’ over 500 imams have signed a letter to express ‘serious misgivings’ about Cameron’s gay marriage bill.

May 19, 2013
GSN interview with the author of Does Jesus Really Love Me

In an interview with Gay Star News, writer Jeff Chu takes on Dan Savage and gays who hate gay Christians

Jeff Chu's Does Jesus Really Love Me?: A Gay Christian’s Pilgrimage in Search of God in America has earned the type of press writers dreams of. Positive reviews for a work that searches for grace and humility when there is usually fire and brimstone. However, liberals and conservatives have found fault with the work for that exact reason. What can be expected when tackling the third rail of US politics and culture: gay sexuality and Christianity.

May 19, 2013
NYC: rally to honor murdered gay man, fourth gay bashing in one month

A rally will be held at New York’s LGBT community center at 5:30 pm on 20 May in honor of Mark Carson

New York’s LGBT Community Center will host a rally in honor of Mark Carson, who was shot dead late Friday night in an anti-gay attack.

32 year-old Carson was shot at point-blank range on the street in Greenwhich Village. His attackers reportedly shouted homophobic slurs at Carson before shooting him in the face and fleeing the scene.