Politics

On January 4th the ban on foreign nationals with HIV entering the USA will be lifted. The ban has been in place since 1987. President Obama has described the 22-year-old policy as a "decision rooted in fear rather than fact.”

Lisa Power, Head of Policy at Terrence Higgins Trust said "It's ridiculous that for over 20 years people living with HIV have been banned from entering the US simply because of a medical condition.  Removing the ban is long overdue and we congratulate the US Government on seeing economic and medical sense. Terrence Higgins Trust and many others have campaigned against the ban since it was introduced. Blanket entry bans have no justification on public health grounds and only increase stigma. We hope other countries with similar bans in place will now remove them too."

Read more: US entry ban on people with HIV ends

Iris Robinson, the wife of Northern Ireland's first minister, has announced she was quitting politics because of her ongoing battle with depression.

She came to the attention of the nation during an interview in 2009. She provoked outrage by describing gay sex as "disgusting, vile and nauseating". Her remarks came a few days after a gay man was killed in a homophobic attack.

She will step down as a member of Britain's parliament at the next election for the Democratic Unionist Party and member of the Northern Ireland Assembly.

Her position as an MP earned her £63,291 plus £24,296 as an Assembly member and as chairwoman of its health and social services committee and a further £9,550 as a councillor for the Castlereagh borough in Northern Ireland.

In a statement she has said, "The stress and strain of public life comes at a cost and my health has suffered. Only those who have faced similar challenges in life will know the ordeal faced by those who are profoundly depressed and the distress caused to those around them as they grapple with (the) personality changing illness."

Read more: Anti-Gay MP Stands Down due to Mental Illness

The UK gay Humanist charity, the Pink Triangle Trust (PTT), is appalled to learn that yet another African country, Rwanda, is planning viciously homophobic legislation in line with that being debated in Uganda.

A debate is being held on a draft revision of the penal code that will, for the first time, make homosexuality a crime. A vote on this draft code will occur before the end of the week. It seems that the proposed Article 217 of the draft Penal Code Act will criminalize 'any person who practices, encourages or sensitizes people of the same sex, to sexual relations or any sexual practice'. It will impose prison sentences of between five and ten years for those convicted of homosexual acts. If the Chamber of Deputies approves, the draft code will go before the Rwandan Senate most likely in early 2010. 

Read more: New Rwanda Homphobic Legislation

A unique coalition of UK faith-based and non-religious social justice organisations, civic groups, trades unions and professional associations is calling on the House of Lords to reject wide exemptions for religious organizations at its second reading of the Equality Bill on 15 December 2010.

Founder-member Maria Exall from the Cutting Edge Consortium (CEC) commented: "It is vital that progressive faith and secular voices are heard loud and clear supporting the Equality Bill and equal rights for LGBT people."

She added: "Parliament must understand that many members in good standing in a variety of faith communities do not share the views expressed in public by some religious leaders. We urge the House of Lords to stand firm for justice and equality at this time."

The Consortium has provided a briefing for members of the House of Lords, across various parties. CEC's Steering Group will also be meeting senior Government representatives to voice their concerns about any widening of Schedule 9, Clauses 2 & 3, and Schedule 22 of the Bill.

Read more: Coalition Opposes Religious Cxemptions from Equality Bill

Matthew Sephton, chair of LGBTory, was yesterday selected by the Conservatives to challenge Hazel Blears at the next General Election.  

At a meeting of Salford and Eccles Conservative Party members, Matthew was selected on the first ballot to be the Conservative candidate to run head to head with Blears for Parliament.  Blears was in the news recently over the expenses scandal and there are many Labour members who feel betrayed that she is being allowed to run again for their Party in this recently-redrawn Greater Manchester seat. Matthew, who lives in Manchester, commented, “Local residents in Salford have been badly let down and taken for granted by Labour and by Hazel Blears MP”. 

Blears resigned from the cabinet on 3 June 2009, the day before the 2009 European and local elections. On the day her resignation was announced, she wore a brooch bearing the message "rocking the boat" and she failed to praise for Gordon Brown's leadership.

Read more: Gay Tory to Challenge Hazel Blears Seat