Manchester Pride To Go On Despite Riots

The organizers of Manchester Pride say this month's events will take place as planned despite the continuing crisis roiling Britain.

Jackie Crozier, festival director of Manchester Pride, said: “What happened last night in Manchester is an absolute disgrace. We live amongst some fantastic people in an amazing city that has grown on its own organically. “We must now stand up for Manchester; business will be going ahead as usual in our gay village and Manchester Pride will be going ahead. We hope to see you all there in a few weeks to celebrate the positive elements of the city of Manchester: its diversity, community and strength.”

GHANA: 'Human Rights' Commissioner Vows To Keep Homosexuality Illegal

The laughably titled Human Rights Commissioner of Ghana says she was misquoted and would never endorse the decriminalization of homosexuality.

"I did not advocate that homosexuality should be decriminalized. My view is that, it currently isn’t clear whether it is even criminal and that if the view of the society is that it should be then, there should be a debate about that. In my view I don’t think as a society we are ready to give homosexuals, lesbians the whole category of people any of those kind of rights."

Sex between men is illegal in Ghana. The law makes no mention of lesbians.



RELATED: Yesterday Ghana's Presbyterian church announced plans to open "ex-gay" centers for the de-gaying of the nation's homosexuals.

CHILE: President Pushes Civil Unions

Yesterday Chilean President Sebastian Pinera proposed a bill to legalize same-sex civil unions.

"All forms of marriage deserve respect, dignity and the support of the state," said President Sebastian Pinera, who signed the proposal and sent it to Congress. "This puts opposite-sex and same-sex couples on the same footing, because in both cases it is possible to develop love, affection and respect." Pinera, who brought conservatives to power after 20 years of center-left rule in the country, grated on his own election campaign when he announced his intention to legalize civil unions for gay couples. He said two million people in Chile live together without marrying. But the president has repeatedly stressed his opposition to gay marriage. "I deeply believe that marriage is by nature between a man and a woman, but that conviction does not prevent me from recognizing that other forms of affective relationships exist," he said.

ZIMBABWE: Police Arrest Five Men On Charges Of "Sexual Immorality"

More bad news out of Africa.

Five men have been arrested in Domboshava near Harare on allegations of being gay and committing acts of sexual immorality, state controlled ZBC News reported on Tuesday. The five men include a 55-year-old white and 4 black men whose ages have not yet been released, they are currently detained at Domboshava Police Station awaiting trial. The incident happened when a bottle store owner suspected that something was wrong after seeing the young black men spending money in an unusual manner leading him to alert the police.

Note how the story obeys Scott Lively's mythology about wealthy white men corrupting local blacks.

GHANA: "Ex-Gay" Centers Proposed

As renewed anti-gay sentiment festers in Ghana, the local Presbyterian church has proposed establishing "ex-gay" centers for the de-gaying of the nation's homosexuals.

The Presbyterian Church of Ghana (PCG), is to establish therapy centres for homosexual victims for counselling and rehabilitation in the various communities. The church has therefore called on the government to come out with a clear position on homosexuality in the country, to enable the church to offer the necessary support in helping to reduce the spread of the practice in the society. The Moderator of the General Assembly of the PCG, Right Reverend Professor Emmanuel Martey said this at the commissioning of 36 Ministerial Probationers of the church at the Ranseyer Congregation, at Abetifi. He said homosexuality was spreading fast in the society and urged the country’s leaders and Ministers to put up effective measures to check it and transform the destiny of the country.

(Tipped by JMG reader Mitch)

Some States Still Criminalize Sodomy

Equality Matters notes:

In Lawrence v. Texas (2003), the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 6-3 that Texas’ sodomy statute was unconstitutional, marking a major legal victory on the path towards LGBT equality. With the remainder of state sodomy laws technically invalidated by Lawrence, the LGBT community began to shift its focus. [snip] Eight years later, however, eighteen states still refuse to rewrite their laws and take these anti-gay relics off their books, with countless LGBT Americans continuing to feel their devastating effects as a result. Several state legislatures and courts have exploited loopholes in the Lawrence decision, while others have simply refused to acknowledge the decision altogether.

In some states, gay men are still being arrested for "crimes against nature." Hit the link for much more.

Billboard Of The Day

(Source)

Remember The Party 2011

The patrons and performers of San Francisco's legendary Trocadero Transfer will once again gather for Remember The Party on Sunday, October 9th. This year's event is a tribute to Sylvester!

Prepare to be cookin' on your feet in the Disco Heat as DJ JERRY BONHAM serves you a heaping helping of Disco deliciousness from all over the world, featuring a GRANDE SALUTE to the sweetest and hottest music that San Francisco ever served up! There's more in the mix to this Disco Dish. Think, a pinch of Patrick Cowley, a Dash of Sarah, a whiff of BearEssense, a chunk of Paul Parker, a little Boystown Gang on the side, a hint of Johnny Mathis, Loverde, Pointer Sisters, Patti Austin and more. It's all in the Technique and the whole thing's gonna be Two Tons O' Fun!

I plan on being there. And maybe this year on Monday I'll actually remember the party.

RELATED: TVOne's excellent biography on Sylvester has been posted to YouTube in its entirety. Watch it while you can.

Equality Map

The Movement Advancement Project has a nifty interactive map which pops up pertinent LGBT rights info when you scroll over a state.

Ghana TV On Anti-Gay Campaign

Islamic and Christianist groups are finding common ground in Ghana's recent campaign against LGBT people. Last month high-ranking government officials began calling for "rounding up" and arresting all homosexuals in the country.

GHANA: Educators Claim Same-Sex Schools Are Breeding Homosexuals

The witch hunt in Ghana ramps up. From an anti-gay news site:

The Ghana Education Service has conceded that same sex schools in Ghana are becoming breeding grounds for gays and lesbians. GES, however says that neutralizing these schools, will not address the issue of homosexuality creeping into the Ghanaian society. Teachers in some single sex schools have been reported recently of forcefully having sex with some of their students. Students in these schools are also reported to be involved in intimate relationships with their colleagues. Critics of homosexuality say these incidents show that single sex schools are promoting the practice. The Deputy Director General of the GES, Stephen Adu told Citi News, a holistic approach is required to deal with the situation. He does not agree with calls for such schools to be converted into mixed schools. “I will agree that homosexuality and lesbianism started with single-sex schools. It has become prevalent and so more people have become aware of it. This is just one of the many problems we have in our educational system".

Last month a high-ranking Ghana minister publicly called for the arrest of all homosexuals.

Christian TV On Gay Adoption

Guess what they don't like?

Matt Baume: Marriage News Watch

Dead Jerry Falwell's Liberty Counsel: Gays Are The REAL Bullies

New York Marriage Poll

The above is a new poll by ABC News/WaPo.

Democrats and Republicans react in opposite ways to the new law, each facing stark internal divisions that may present challenges to building a winning coalition in 2012. Among Democrats, the divide is between the liberal base and those with conservative or moderate stripes. Liberal Democrats view the law positively by an overwhelming 74 to 25 percent margin. A smaller 54 percent majority of moderate and conservative Democrats say the same. Among African Americans, another loyal segment of the Democratic party coalition, more than six in 10 say the law is a negative development, while roughly one in three see it positively. Republicans broadly reject the law by a 2 to 1 margin, but alignment with the tea party movement complicates political calculations concerning the issue. More than seven in 10 Republicans who support the Tea Party movement view the New York law as a negative development.

(Via - Towleroad)

Skeletor: I'm Sick Of Gay People

But I bet she'll still let GOProud cut her another fat check to make "faggot" jokes to their faces.

Italy Rejects LGBT Rights

The lower chamber of Italy's parliament yesterday voted against a bill that would have extended discrimination protections to LGBT people.

The Chamber of Deputies voted yesterday 293 votes to 250 not to approve the legislation. Gay rights campaigners have called on the European Union to step in. Italy already bans discrimination on the grounds of race, religion, ethnicity and nationality but campaigners say rising numbers of homophobic and transphobic attacks means LGBT people need more protection. Paolo Patane, head of gay rights association Arcigay, told AFP: “This parliament has betrayed justice and civility and has decided to support the violent.” He added that the EU should “help us face this extremely dangerous rise in homophobia, xenophobia and racism that the Italian parliament has decided to legitimise.”

The Statute Of Liberty

CO Marriage Ban Repeal Work Begins

Activists in Colorado have received approval to begin gathering the signatures to place a repeal of the state's ban on same-sex marriage on the 2012 ballot.

A state board charged with approving proposed ballot measures voted 3-0 to allow a measure to repeal the ban, which voters placed in the state constitution in 2006. The measure would strike the ban and say marriage is allowed regardless of the participants' gender. Gay-marriage activists would need to collect about 86,000 valid signatures to make the 2012 ballot. Proponents of the measure have conceded it will be a challenge to gather enough signatures. A similar attempt for the 2010 ballot failed, and prominent gay-rights activists in Denver have said they plan to try to pass a civil-unions measure in the state Legislature before seeking a change to the state constitution.

Matt Baume: Marriage News Watch

Lots of good news this week.