I unfortunately was unable to attend the Belfast Pride this year; but I was there in spirit as I was one of the
organisers who organised the first Prides in Belfast, and well remember our small but die-hard numberSeand the every present religious organisations who presented themselves at the City Hall against our community.
The photos (link here) which have been provided by one of the Pride walkers indicates that Pride has got bigger and better, and that some (but not all) political partieSeand unions have realised that ‘human rights’ is something for everyone.
I am also prividing links to the Belfast Telegraph (One and Two), which this year has carried two video commentaries on the Pride festival – well done to them.
42 days and who is counting!
”A strong commitment to civil liberties, once considered a defining British characteristic, has weakened dramatically over the past 20 years, the survey found ”
(Telegraph.co.uk 1:44AM GMT 24/01/2007)
As someone who was born into a service family, and who then went onto to serve in the Forces, with time spent in Northern Ireland, Germany and Belize I feel that the current debate and result iSean insult to the British population.
The Government and its agents managed, albeit over a twenty year period, to contain and finally achieve a workable result for all of the people of Northern Ireland without resulting in a 42-day detainment. Indeed, all parties did agree that detainment without due process is counterproductive to the well being of the British people.
Why then have we now resorted to a further dilution of our civil liberties’ with the amendment to Habeas Corpus?
”The Habeas Corpus Act passed by Parliament in 1679 guaranteed that a person detained by the authorities would have to be brought before a court of law so that the legality of the detention may be examined. In times of social unrest, Parliament had the power to suspend Habeas Corpus. William Pitt did this in May 1793 during the war with France. Parliamentary reformers such as Thomas Hardy and John Thelwall were imprisoned as a result of this action ”
(http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/PRgagging.htm)
Loss of Liberty and Rights since 1997 a full list of these losses are contained on the Open Democracy Network and further information is also on the Liberty website.
This change in the law cannot be seen in isolation. Various governments have been eroding our rights and because it has been slow, and in a lot of cases, the changes have been slid through on the back of other innocuous legislation most people have not noticed what has been happening.
A lot of people will say that if you are doing nothing wrong then it won’t matter’, however a clear identification of the misuse of legislation was highlighted in May this year when it came to light that local councils through middle managers are able to authorise surveillance of people suspected of petty offences using powers designed to prevent crime and terrorism.
This to my mind is a clear misuse of the legislation involved, and signals that the government (both central and local) have no moral compass and will use any means to achieve their ends.
I regret the fact we as a people have lost sight of our rights and allowed ourselves to be blinded by very poor rhetoric and people prey on fears, which may be slightly justified but not to the extent that we are being told, as indicated by the Head of MI5, Jonathan Evans.
Pride responds to DUP criticisms
Belfast Pride have responded to DUP criticisms of a placard which appeared in this years Pride parade.
A spokesman said Whilst we recognise that the DUP may have legitimately found the Jesus is a fag’ placard offensive we are concerned that Cllr Campbell and others have used the incident for their own political gain.
No member of the DUP, or general public, drew parade officials attention to the placard on the day, instead waiting until after the event to complain to the media. This smacks of political grandstanding in order to achieve their ultimate goal of having the pride parade banned.
Belfast Pride would like to state that this particular placard was not sanctioned by the parade organiserSeand take the matter seriously”
However, given the provocative comments of Ian Paisley Jr about gay and lesbian people being repulsive and harming society we hardly find it surprising that people within the LGBT community would wish to react in such a way.
’ 2007 Copyright Belfast Pride Limited 
UK Pride Events 2008
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17-18 May 2008 |
23-25 May 2008 www.birminghampride.com |
7 June 2008 www.plymouthprideevent.co.uk |
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South Yorkshire Pride, 7 June 2008 www.southyorkshirepride.co.uk |
Rainbow Fest, 5 July 2008 |
Northern Pride, July 2008 (date to be confirmed) www.myspace.com/northernprideorguk |
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5 July 2008 |
Bourne Free, 11-13 July 2008 |
12 July 2008 |
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19-20 July 2008 |
26 July 2008 |
26 July-2 Aug 2008 |
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Brighton & Hove 26 July 3 Aug 2008 |
3 Aug 2008 |
Gloucestershire 9 Aug 2008 |
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9 Aug 2008 |
15-25 Aug 2008 |
16 Aug 2008 |
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17 Aug 2008 |
23 Aug 2008 |
26 Aug 2008 |
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30 Aug 2008 |
6 Sep 2008 |
Middlesborough 11-14 Sep 2008 |
Triangle launches rainbow mark
Triangle Wales has been granted Welsh Assembly Government (WAG) funding to address the housing needs of lesbian, gay and bisexual people in Wales.
The first phase of the project was to undertake an extensive research project (commissioned by Trothwy Cyf and Stonewall Cymru). This research found that there was inadequate recognition or understanding of the housing needs of LGB people amongst housing and homelessness service providers in Wales.
The research found that there were many types of housing issues that LGB people could encounter, including
Harassment in or around the home
Negative reactions, actionSeand attitudes of other people
Insensitive allocation of housing
Lack of tenancy security if a partner leaves or dies
Lack of monitoring and evaluation of LGB people, meaning that needs can be misdiagnosed or ignored
Consequently, the WAG provided the funding to develop a best-practice toolkit and training package to Local Authority housing and homelessness departmentSeand Registered Social Landlords across Wales.
This free training will be offered to all staff within these organisations to ensure they can ably meet the needs of LGB people experiencing housing problems. Two Training and Policy Co-ordinators have recently been appointed and they will travel across Wales to deliver bespoke and relevant training direct to housing providers. Triangle Wales will award a Rainbow Mark’ to all participating organisations a kite mark signifying an organisation’s commitment and knowledge of the specific housing issueSeand barriers facing LGB people.
As part of the ‘Rainbow Mark’, there will be criteria to meet and Triangle Wales will follow-up with post-training assessmentSeand monitoring (and perhaps even a mystery shopper here and there!). They will also be providing certificates, posterSeand leaflets to participantSeand helping (where necessary) to re-word policies, procedureSeand documents.
Stephen Brattan, Service Manager of Triangle Wales says It is really important that the particular needs of the lesbian, gay and bisexual community accessing housing are addressed. Trothwy Cyf hopes that this project assists housing providers in Wales to take that leap forward in addressing a range of equality and diversity issueSeand providing a fair and equal service to those identifying as lesbian, gay or bisexual.
To book some training or to learn more about the Rainbow Mark please telephone Sarah Jones or Claire Purvis on 029 20453030 or email: claire.purvis@gwalia.com or sarah.l.jones@gwalia.com
Fyne News
Day Of Silence To Honor Slain Gay Student
by 365Gay.com Newscenter StaffPosted: April 3, 2008 – 1:00 pm ET
(New York City) This year’s national annual Day of Silence, when students observe a vow of silence to bring attention to bullying and harassment of LGBT students, will be dedicated to the memory of 15 year old Lawrence King.
The openly gay eighth-grader was shot by a fellow student in front of classmates in February in Oxnard, California. He died after being declared brain dead and life support was removed.
Brandon David McInerney, 14, has been charged with murder as a hate crime.
King would wear feminine attire, making him an unpopular figure with other boys at his campus.
The National Day of Silence will be held on April 25 this year.
“While this event is held every year to bring hope to millions of students, the murder of Lawrence King represents a literal and absolute definition of the silence many of them feel,” said the Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network, which sponsors the Day of Silence.
The Day of Silence was created by University of Virginia students in 1996 and became a national event in 1997. GLSEN became the national sponsor in 2001.
This year hundreds of thousands of students at schoolSeand colleges across the country are expected to participate.
A 2005 study commissioned by GLSEN found that gay-bashing remains a major problem in the nation’s schools.
Three-quarters of students surveyed across America said that over the past year they heard derogatory remarks such as “faggot” or “dyke” frequently or often at school, and nearly nine out of ten reported hearing “that’s so gay” or “you’re so gay” – meaning stupid or worthless – frequently or often.
Over a third of students said they experienced physical harassment at school on the basis of sexual orientation and more than a quarter on the basis of their gender expression.
Nearly one-in-five students reported they had been physically assaulted because of their sexual orientation and over a tenth because of their gender expression.
The study also showed that bullying has had a negative impact on learning.
LGBT students were five times more likely to report having skipped school in the last month because of safety concerns than the general population of students.
e365Gay.com 2008
Gay Youth Deportation
Deportation order on gay Iranian to be reviewed
- The Guardian,
- Friday March 14 2008
- Article history
About this article
This article appeared in the Guardian on Friday March 14 2008 on p17 of the UK news section. It was last updated at 00:15 on March 14 2008.
The home secretary, Jacqui Smith, is to review the deportation of a gay Iranian, Mehdi Kazemi, 19, whose family say he faces execution if he is sent home to Iran, where his former boyfriend was hanged.
The decision follows a campaign by gay rights activists across Europe, culminating in a letter to Smith signed by 80 peers, including Lord Woolf, the former lord chief justice, Lady Boothroyd, the former Commons speaker, and Lord Ashdown.
The peers said that as Kazemi’s former partner had been executed, there was no doubt he would be persecuted and possibly face execution if forced to return. Kazemi’s first application for refugee status was rejected, but Smith has granted him a temporary reprieve from deportation while she reviews his case.
“Following representations, and in the light of new circumstances since the original decision was made, I have decided that Mr Kazemi’s case should be reconsidered on his return to the UK from the Netherlands,” Smith said last night.
After Kazemi’s application was rejected by Britain last year, he fled to the Netherlands, but also lost a legal battle there to have a claim for asylum heard. His family have told the Home Office that the Iranian police have issued an arrest warrant for him and his life will be in danger if he is returned. His uncle Saeed said his nephew was “living a nightmare which no young man should have to experience”.
Kazemi came to Britain in 2005 to study, but after a year was told by his family in Tehran that his former boyfriend had named him under interrogation as his partner before his execution in April 2006 for sodomy. Simon Hughes, the Liberal Democrat MP for Bermondsey, who has campaigned on Kazemi’s behalf, said he hoped the youth would now come back to Britain, and meet his family, lawyerSeand the MP to prepare a new application to the Home Office.
'Gay bash' teenager sent to Circuit Court
‘Gay bash’ teenager sent to Circuit Court
05/02/2008 – 15:13:00
A teenager arrested for attacking a man and woman whom he mistook for two gay men, was today served with a book of evidence.
Judge Ann Ryan then made an order sending the case forward to the present term of the Dublin Circuit Criminal Court.
Thinking the couple were men because of the woman’s hair style, he attacked them on one of Dublin’s busiest streets calling them f**king gay bastards, the Children’s Court had heard previously.
The west Dublin 16-year-old boy has been charged with assaulting the man and assault causing harm to the woman, on Middle Abbey Street, on the evening of January 26 last year.
In November, Judge Ryan held that the case was too serious to be dealt with in the Children’s Court and should be sent to the Dublin Circuit Criminal Court, which can impose lengthier sentences.
The teen, who was accompanied to court by his parents, was today granted legal aid and remanded on bail.
Outlining the allegations, Garda Jamie Jordan of Store Street station had said the teen approached the man and woman.
He asked are you two gay guys’ and hit the man on his face and knocked him to the ground. He attacked the woman and threw her to the ground and kicked her in the back and stomach. He then jumped on the man’s back.
When the woman, who had been repeatedly kicked, got to her feet, her face was punched. She suffered bruising but both she and her boyfriend made a full recovery.
Earlier the court had also heard that the comments made about them being gay men arose from the woman’s hair style and during the attack the boy still thought she was a man.
Throughout the attack he made similar derogatory comments something like f**king gay bastards’, the court had been told.
Defence solicitor Michelle Finan had told Judge Ryan that the boy had never been in trouble before. She said he was admitting attacking the couple after he got heavily intoxicated.
He had been brought out with an adult family friend to go on a day trip but instead the woman took him drinking which led to him getting heavily inebriated.
Judge Ryan had said these factors could be submitted to the Circuit Court judge in mitigating pleas at the teen’s sentence hearing.
When the judge had earlier asked if more than one person had been involved in the attack, the boy had replied No, just me.
[My comment on Circuit Court referral: This a a huge sea-change from some of the early cases of gay bashing that came before the Irish courts, including a notorious gay bashing in Dublin 1983 where on convictions for crimes that resulted in the death of the victim, Declan Flynn, the guilty men were released without serving any jail time. See: http://www.tribune.
ie/2007/11/ 25/107626. html
Children’s Court = District Court for trying minors]
Cathal Kelly
Advice to the LGBT community re Curtis Street, Belfast
As a result of growing public concern I am emailing to inform you that there has unfortunately been a noted increase in the level of male sexual activity in the Cathedral Quarter and particularly in Curtis Street
A number of complaints have been received from local business who intend to increase lighting and CCTV in the area to tackle this problem. In light of this night-time police patrols in the area will increase. The aim of the patrolling is both to deter these activitieSeand prevent any victimisation of people in the area.
It is also important to highlight that people may put their personal safety at risk by using dark and unlit streets for meetings especially when under the influence of alcohol.
As a valued community link can I ask that you make this information available to your members.
Thank you for your help on this matter,
Gabriel Moran
Neighbourhood Inspector
Musgrave Street Neighbourhood Policing Team
Musgrave Street Police Station
6 Musgrave Street
Belfast
BT1 3HX
Phone – 02890 700 523
Mobile – 07825 634 388
e-mail – gabriel.moran@
Queerupnorth is saved!
Queerupnorth will continue to be funded by Arts Council England for the next year, and that funding beyond this period will be confirmed following a review of our work, including the 2008 festival. We welcome the fact that the Arts Council has revised its recommendation and look forward to working constructively together over the next few months. This good news wouldn’t have come about without the support of everyone who signed the petition, wrote a letter, or spoke up in support of queerupnorth. We thank each and every one of you. The 2008 festival will open on Friday May 9th and we’ll announce the full programme really soon. Once again, our thanks to everyone who helped us turn this around. We can’t wait to celebrate with all of you at the 2008 festival! Lots of love from everyone at queerupnorth. |
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