Manchester Pride Parade: 25 Years in the Making

Thousands came out into the streets to celebrate the annual Manchester Pride parade this afternoon.

The revellers followed grand marshall Sir Ian McKellen as the parade snaked its way through Manchester City centre.

Keegan Hirst, Batley Bulldogs prop, who came out earlier this month, enjoyed the parade alongside soap stars including Jennie Mcalpine and Antony Cotton on the Coronation Street float.

The parade represents the biggest free section of the Pride weekend in Manchester, and will be followed by performances in the city’s gay village.

Performances will take place by DJ Riv, La Voix, Bipolar Sunshine and Texas.

Have a big weekend!

Mormons Keep Affiliation With Boy Scouts Despite Gay Leaders

The Mormon church announced it will maintain its longtime affiliation with the Boy Scouts of America despite the organization's decision to allow gay troop leaders.

 

The decision from senior leaders of the Mormon church came as somewhat of a surprise. The church said it was deeply troubled and considering other options when the Boy Scouts announced last July that it would lift its ban on gay adult leaders, while allowing church-sponsored Scout units to continue excluding gay adults.

 

But Church leaders decided to stay with the Boy Scouts after getting assurances they can appoint troop leaders according to their own religious and moral values.

 

The Mormon church sponsors nearly 38,000 Scout units with 427,000 boys, accounting for about 18 percent of all youth Scouts.

 

Officials with the Boy Scouts of America said it appreciates the decision, noting that the organization is successful because of affiliations with groups like the Mormon church.

Exclusion is not a value!

Two gay men who fled Syria after living under ISIS have spoken at the U.N.

Subhi Nahas and Adnan have spoken at a historic meeting of the U.N. Security Council, which was the first of its kind to address LGBT issues.

 

The U.N. Security Council is holding its first ever meeting on gay rights to discuss the terrorist group Islamic State’s persecution of sexual minorities.

 

Responsibility was claimed by ISIS for the deaths of at least thirty men accused of homosexuality, the council heard.

 

Nahas addressed the meeting to say that those accused of homosexuality in his Syrian hometown, were thrown from rooftops, and that crowds cheered, including children.

 

The terrorist group, which operates predominantly across Syria and Iraq, is notorious for filming videos in which captives, usually Westerners or opposing fighters, are brutally slaughtered.

Stop this shame!

Justice Ginsburg Officiates Renewal of Vows for U.S. Ambassador Osius

Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg officiated at the vow renewal ceremony of U.S. Ambassador Ted Osius and his husband Clayton Bond.

 

Ginsburg was part of a landmark 5-4 decision by the Supreme Court on 26 June that made same-sex marriage legal in all 50 states.

 

While on an official trip to Vietnam, she was invited to stay at the official residence in Hanoi of American Ambassador.

 

Osius said it was a colleague’s idea to ask Ginsburg to officiate a renewal of vows for the couple who were first married in 2006 in Canada.

 

Osius is one of six openly gay American Ambassadors and he serves in Vietnam. He and his Husband have two adopted children.

Ambassador Osius at swearing-in ceremony

The happy couple and their children

 

The six openly gay U.S. ambassadors in the world

New calendar by Warwick Rowing Team

The Warwick Rowers, which regularly strips off in order to raise funds for their Sports Allies scheme, has offers on their existing merchandise, and are preparing for next year’s calendar.

The team has returned, and are already looking ahead to their 2016 calendar.

The club donates a portion of its profits and their calendars enable them to do their own outreach programme to young people called Sport Allies, a programme to reach out to young people challenged by homophobia or low self-esteem.

Visit their webshop!

#PurpleMySchool

 

LGBTI students across Asia are being made to feel safe in the classroom thanks to a new campaign.

 

Backed by groups including the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the campaign #PurpleMySchool encourages young people to wear, draw or make something purple in support of LGBTI youth.

 

The Purple My School Facebook page explains: "Many young lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex people are bullied over their sexuality or gender identity, and walking into school every day can fill them with fear and dread. Show that they can feel safe with you, in your classroom or school".

 

Awesome initiative!

 

 

 

 

Taiwan presidential candidate releases awesome video featuring same-sex couples

Tsai Ing-wen, a Taiwanese presidential candidate, has released a beautiful campaign video featuring three gay couples.

 

She will face the Kuomintang’s Hung Hsiu-chu in the 2016 general elections, almost guaranteeing Taiwan its first female president.

Tsai posted a video on Facebook for Chinese Valentine’s Day, which is celebrated on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month.

The clip, titled Love Does Not Differentiate, celebrates the island’s diversity with couples of different ages, races, sexual orientations and nationalities, including two lesbian couples and a gay pair.

"I wish you all Happy Valentine’s Day", Tsai wrote under the video, which received nearly 30,000 likes and more than 200,000 views in its first 24 hours.

Awesome!

Tsai Ing-wen could be Taiwan's first female president

Watch the video below:

Britain’s First Openly Gay Rugby League Player

 

Keegan Hirst, captain of the English professional rugby league team Batley Bulldogs, has come out as gay, declaring: “I’m comfortable in my own skin, probably for the first time ever.”

 

“Now I feel like I’m letting out a long breath that I’ve held in for a long time,” said the 27-year-old married father-of-two. And he added: “The only time I felt free of the torment was when I stepped on the rugby pitch. Now I feel free.”

 

Keegan, who told the news to his wife a few weeks ago, said he first felt realized he might be gay back at age 15. He is the first British professional in the code to openly say he is gay.

 

“I was having conflicting feelings, but it was something I suppressed. It wasn’t the done thing to admit it,” he said. “By the time I was 18, I was in complete denial, hoping it would go away. It was inconceivable to tell anybody how I was feeling.”

 

A few months ago, Hirst mustered up the courage and admitted to himself what he’d known for years. He has since told his teammates and said their reaction to the news was all positive.

He has won the most important match of his life.

  

Fierté Montréal Pride 2015

The 2015 Montréal Pride Parade was last Sunday. This event honour an important tradition that began in Montréal in 1979.

The parade started on the corner of Guy Street and culminated on Sanguinet Street and the Village. Participating groups designed their floats incorporating this year’s theme of "Our Flag, Our Energy: YELLOW".

The march featured floats from hundreds of local sports teams, cultural and community groups as well as other gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender organizations. It also featured gay-friendly businesses and their LGBT employees and clients.

 

Montréal is an international leader in advancing the rights of LGBT people.

Venez célébrer le Défilé LGBT de Montréal!