News

Twenty five young people aged 16 – 21 attended Stonewall’s latest youth residential over Bank Holiday weekend.

The campaign training weekend – the third of its kind – took place from Friday 27 – Sunday 29 August at Woodrow High House in Amersham. Ten Stonewall staff and volunteers supported the young people in planning their own campaigns against homophobia, which they will now take back to their local communities. Young people came from across the country – including Manchester, Liverpool, Somerset and Bristol – to attend the event.  

Campaigns included an idea by 19 year-old Jennifer Sernat from London, who is inviting students to sign a pledge committing to stop using the phrase ‘That’s so gay’ as a derogatory term.

Read more: Stonewall Trains Equality Campaigners aged 16 - 21

If the high cost of a hotel rooms has kept you from booking a holiday or business trip, then gayhomestays.com  might be your answer. It's a recession-born web-based business that matches travellers in need of affordable accommodation with homeowners who have spare rooms to rent.   In addition their site also lists gay guesthouses, B&B's and tourists apartments.

"Gay Homestays offers people a way to save money when they travel, and also gives people a chance to earn money at a time when many are worried about how to pay their mortgage and how to pay for holidays," says it’s owner, Dave Chambers. “We have properties in over 20 european cities and by next summer plan to expand into America, Australia and Canada.”

As a ‘Host’ you quote a price, which you determine and wait for someone to book your room. To become a host you must register your details with Gay Homestays to be set up with a profile page where you will be able to manage your bookings and room availability.

Read more: New Option for Gay Holiday Makers

As pupils prepare to collect their AS and A-level results, Stonewall is asking all lesbian, gay and bisexual A-level pupils going through the clearing process, and all AS level pupils beginning to fill out UCAS forms to use Gay By Degree – Stonewall’s online guide to how gay-friendly every UK university is.  

Luke Tryl, Stonewall’s Education Officer, said, "We launched this online guide last month and we’ve already had very positive feedback. Because it’s the first of its kind, many lesbian, gay and bisexual people have contacted us saying they wish it was around when they were applying to uni. Now we want to make sure it’s used by those pupils who are deciding where to take their talent and tuition fees."

Read more: UK University Rated on Gay Friendliness

Academies likely to create less tolerant society, says Ryan Cleminson from the South West Green Party LGBT.

In the Houses of Parliament, Education Secretary Michael Gove recently laid out the plans for the Academies Bill, saying that anyone can bid to run academies and free schools. The South west Green Party spokesperson on LGBT rights Ryan Cleminson said this of the proposals, "The worrying thing about these proposals of free schools and academies is that they are likely to create a less tolerant society and not a fairer society, we all know that many of these academies and free schools are likely to be run by religious organisations which signals that religious dogma about homosexuality being a sin will be taught."

Read more: Academy Schools Less Tolerant?

Iain Stewart, Conservative MP for Milton Keynes South, has called on Foreign Secretary William Hague MP to ask the Iranian authorities to halt the execution of Ebrahim Hamidi.

Last weekend’s Observer reported that the 18 year old was sentenced to death for lavat, or sodomy, on the basis of "judge's knowledge", a legal loophole that allows for subjective judicial rulings where there is no conclusive evidence. Hamidi allegedly confessed to the crime under torture. Last month, the purported victim of the crime admitted he had been coerced into making false accusations by his parents.

Read more: Conservative MP Calls on William Hague in Gay Iranian Death Sentence

Birmingham LGBT working with West Midlands Faiths Forum and Reverend Chris Dowd of Journey MCC recently hosted an innovative event looking at the issues affecting LGBT people of faith. 

The event, funded by the National Equality Partnership, was the first of its kind to be held in the UK and presented the real life stories of LGBT people of faith to an audience of faith leaders and representatives from across the midlands.

David Viney, Birmingham LGBT comments “The day was an innovative way of approaching this sensitive subject, and we hope this is a significant development in the process of mutual understanding and respect between Faith and LGBT communities.”

Read more: LGBT and Faith Event Success

According to Irish Senator David Norris, Ireland, north and south, is “nearly there” in terms of achieving equality for gay people.

Senator Norris, a prominent human rights campaigner in the Republic of Ireland, who was the first openly gay person to be elected to public office in Ireland, was speaking ahead of the Amnesty International Belfast Pride lecture on Monday evening. Norris has recently indicated his intention to stand for the Irish Presidency.

Senator Norris said: “The recent passage of the Civil Partnership Bill by the Oireachtas in Dublin represents a very significant advance.

“It was a victory, not for gay people, but rather a victory for decency and for this country as a whole.

“It is clear that we are very nearly there in terms of the accomplishment of full human and civil rights of gay people in Ireland, both north and south. But we are not there yet.

Read more: Ireland "Nearly There" on Gay Equality

Big Up at GMFA presents ‘Black & Gay in the UK: Rising against the challenges of homophobia, racism and HIV/AIDS’; a free event that will feature a screening of the documentary film ‘Beyond Labels’.

Directed by Jaime Sylla, the film explores the Black gay male experience in London across the generations – from Gay Lib pioneer Ted Walker to the ‘Oh WoW Boys’, two young Black gay men and modern day YouTube stars. The event will take place from 6:30pm on Tuesday, 3 August at The Rich Mix, Bethnal Green Road, E1 6LA.

To book your free tickets, please email bigup@gmfa.org.uk with your name and the number of tickets you would like. A maximum of four tickets can be issued per person. If you don’t have access to the internet, you can reserve your tickets by calling 020 7738 3712.

Read more: ‘Black & Gay in the UK’ Free Event