company:pinknews.co.uk

Three Hampshire police officers sacked over homophobic bullying · PinkNews.co.uk
▻http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2014/05/02/three-hampshire-police-officers-sacked-over-homophobic-bullying

Three Hampshire police officers sacked over homophobic bullying

France’s highest court rules mayors cannot refuse to perform same-sex marriages | MasterAdrian’s Weblog
▻http://masteradrian.wordpress.com/2013/10/18/frances-highest-court-rules-mayors-cannot-refuse-to-perform-

France’s highest court rules mayors cannot refuse to perform same-sex marriages
18th October 2013, 12:15 PM

Scott Roberts, PinkNews.co.UK

France’s Constitutional Council ruled that the law does not provide a ’conscience clause’
France’s Constitutional Council ruled that the law does not provide a ‘conscience clause’
Get the latest LGBT headlines in your inbox with our free daily newsletter!

7 reader comments

France’s highest court has ruled that mayors cannot refuse to hold same-sex weddings in the country.

A law recognising equal marriage took effect in May, but several mayors rejected it as a matter of “conscience”.

Earlier this summer Jean-Michel Colo, the mayor of Arcangues, in south-west France, refused to marry a gay couple and said ”I will go to the gallows” in order to defy the law.

However, the Constitutional Council ruled on Friday that the law does not provide a “conscience clause” for its opponents.

“The council judged that, in view of the functions of a state official in the officiating of a marriage, the legislation does not violate their freedom of conscience,” it said in a statement.

“The Constitutional Council has been manipulated by politics. It is a political decision,” Jean-Michel Colo told AFP.

Mr Colo said opponents would now take their case to the European Court of Human Rights.

Meanwhile, Manif Pour Tous said it supports “all the mayors who courageously dare to assert their right to freedom of conscience”.

Manif Pour Tous has been at the forefront of violent protests against the legalisation of equal marriage.

In France, marriages can only be made official by state authorities.

Earlier this month, during a debate of Scotland’s proposed equal marriage bill, Scotland’s Health Secretary Alex Neil told Members of the Scottish Parliament that registrars who object to same-sex marriages will not be forced to carry them out.

Mr Neil said the responsibility to provide equal access to marriage in Scotland would lie with local authorities, not with individual registrars.

But he stressed that it was a requirement of all authorities to ensure same-sex couples had absolutely no barriers to marriage ceremonies.

In response, Scotland’s Equality Network warned against allowing registrars to opt out of the proposed legislation as a point of principle.

The charity said Scottish law should mirror that of England and Wales’ Marriage (Same Sex Couples Act) – which requires all public sector registrars to be able to perform same-sex marriages regardless of religious belief as part of the Equality Act.

Source: Jamaican supermarket attacked by gang of gay men in drag - PinkNews.co.uk
▻http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2013/02/21/source-jamaican-supermarket-attacked-by-gang-of-gay-men-in-drag

An attack on a supermarket in New Kingston, Jamaica, in which stones were hurled and staff were threatened with machetes was reportedly carried out by a gang of gay men in drag, according to one of the island’s newspapers.

Catholic Church denies teenager confirmation until he publicly denounces gay equality
By Staff Writer, PinkNews.co.UK
16 November 2012,Lennon Cihak has been denied a confirmation ceremony because he supports gay rights (Photo: Twitter profile)

Lennon Cihak has been denied a confirmation ceremony because he supports gay rights (Photo: Twitter profile)

A teenage Catholic boy in Minnesota has been banned from confirmation after he posted a photograph on Facebook urging people to vote for equal marriage rights. He will only be allowed to take part in the rite if he denounces his support for equality.

Lennon Cihak defaced an anti-equality sign, crossing out the words ‘Vote Yes’ and replacing them with ‘Vote No’ to an attempt to pass a constitutional amendment to ban gay couples marrying. He posted a photograph of the sign on Facebook and it was spotted by his local priest, Rev Gary LaMoine.

The boy’s mother, Shana told, local newspaper, the Forum that she was shocked to hear of the decision after the priest called her into a private conversation. She told the newspaper, “He said ‘I cannot, cannot confirm him. Father would not confirm him, and they won’t confirm him unless he changes his views.” She also claimed that the family have been denied Holy Communion in the parish.

Rev LaMoine says: “They’re my parishioners, and so when the press comes after me from different points of view and asks me all types of questions about their situation, I hesitate very much because I owe them, I owe that family confidentiality,” he said.

Cameroon men arrested for ‘looking feminine’ - PinkNews.co.uk
►http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2011/08/19/cameron-men-arrested-for-looking-feminine

The lawyer for two men facing trial in Cameroon for homosexuality offences says they were arrested for looking feminine.

Alice Nkom, speaking to BBC News, said that her clients, aged 19 and 20, were accused of homosexuality because their hair was “dressed like women”.

#lgtb #homophobie
de pire en pire.....

Video: Google+ allows users to hide gender - PinkNews.co.uk
►http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2011/07/14/video-google-allows-users-to-hide-gender
Google’s new social network Google+ is offering an option to hide gender for people who don’t want to be identified as male or female.

The site, which is currently invite-only, included the option after feedback from early users. Previously, all users had to choose a gender.

Explaining the changes in a YouTube video, product manager Frances Haugen said: “Gender can be a sensitive topic, especially on the internet. Starting this week, you will be able to set the privacy setting on your gender on your Google+ profile, just as you control other information about yourself.”
#google

New York Starbucks staff accused of mistreating gay employee - PinkNews.co.uk
►http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2011/06/16/new-york-starbucks-staff-accused-of-mistreating-gay-employee