Jovial crowd cheers the signing of 'don't ask, don't tell' repeal - Gay soldiers allowed

Jimmy Carter believes U.S. is ready for a gay president 'in the near future'

Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter believes America is ready for a gay president 'in the near future'

Former President Jimmy Carter believes the U.S. is ready to elect a gay president 'in the near future.'

'I think the entire population has come tremendous strides forward in dealing with the issue of gays,' Carter said in an interview with the website Big Think.

'I don't know about the next election, but I think in the near future, because step by step we have realized that this issue of homosexuality has the same adverse and progressive elements as when we dealt with the race issue.'

Court considers anti-gay protests at funerals

The Supreme Court on Wednesday considered whether a church has the legal right to stage anti-gay protests at U.S. military funerals to promote its claim that God is angry at America for tolerance toward homosexuals.



In an important test of free-speech versus privacy rights, the court heard arguments on whether a protest message and picketing at the private funeral, although considered offensive by many, were protected by the U.S. Constitution's First Amendment.

Albert Snyder, the father of a Marine killed in Iraq in 2006, appealed to the Supreme Court after the family's funeral service at a Roman Catholic church in Westminster, Maryland, drew unwanted protests by members of the Westboro Baptist Church in Topeka, Kansas.

The protesters carried signs that stated, "God Hates You," and "You Are Going To Hell."

Jocob Phelps holds up a placard as he protests for his side of the Snyder V. Phelps case outside the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington October 6, 2010

Fred Phelps Jr. protests his side of the Snyder V. Phelps case outside the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington October 6, 2010.

Male escort who visited Saudi prince's hotel room stripped to give him a massage and was paid in £50 notes, court told

A male escort told the Saudi Prince Old Bailey murder trial today that he stripped to give the prince a massage but could not be sure there was a 'sexual element' to it.

Student Pablo Silva said he had visited the hotel room of Saud Abdulaziz bin Nasser al Saud two weeks before he allegedly murdered Bandar Abdulaziz, 32, during a ferocious attack with a 'sexual element' on February 15.

The 34-year-old denies murder and a second count of grievous bodily harm with intent in relation to an alleged assault on Mr Abdulaziz in a lift on January 22.

His lawyer, John Kelsey-Fry QC, today denied the suggestion that the two men were in a gay relationship.

Prosecutors claim two male escorts had visited the prince at the Landmark Hotel in Marylebone, central London.

Trial: Al Saud, left, on his way to City of Westminster magistrates court in a prison van for his original hearing following the death of Bandar Abdulaziz, right

Pope apologises for ‘shameful’ abuse

Pope Benedict apologised to victims of sexual abuse today, saying paedophile priests had committed unspeakable crimes and brought “shame and humiliation” on him and the entire Roman Catholic Church.

Hours after the apology, up to 10,000 chanting demonstrators snaked through the streets of London to protest against his handling of the abuse crisis and his views on homosexuals and the ordination of women.

Pope Benedict (centre) hope the “chastisement” contribute to the healing of the abuse victims.

Protesters accuse pope of hypocrisy over sex abuse

Pope Benedict reminded his Church today that its first priority was to provide a safe environment for children as the pontiff was met by the first substantial protest of his delicate visit to Britain.

Several hundred people whistled and shouted “Pope must resign” and “shame” as the papal motorcade entered a Catholic school complex in Twickenham, southwest London.

They held placards reading “Hypocrisy and lies” and “Catholic paedophile cover up”.

The shouting of the protesters duelled with the singing of hymns from inside the school, where the pope held what was dubbed “the big assembly” of several thousand Catholic schoolchildren from throughout Britain.

Pope Benedict waves to pilgrims as he arrives to attend a prayer service at St Mary’s University College Chapel at Twickenham in west London today, September 17, 2010.

US judge rules ban on gays in military unconstitutional

The US military rule banning openly gay people from serving in the armed forces violates constitutional rights to free speech and due process, a federal judge in southern California ruled yesterday.

US District Court Judge Virginia Phillips said she would issue an injunction barring the government from enforcing the policy, and that the Justice Department would have the opportunity to appeal.

A participant holds up a sign during a gay rights demonstration in Washington October 11, 2009.

SAS plans first mile-high gay wedding

Scandinavian airline SAS is planning the world’s first same-sex wedding in the air.

SAS, which is co-owned by the governments of Sweden, Denmark and Norway, said it hopes to host the wedding aboard an Airbus A340 between Stockholm and New York on December 6.

SAS is planning to take same-sex marriages into the heavens.

Judge allows California gay marriage to resume next week

People waves flags outside City Hall after a judge lifted the Proposition 8 stay on same sex marriages in San Francisco, California August 12, 2010

A federal judge ruled yesterday that gay marriages could resume next week in California while his landmark ruling last week that overturned a ban on same-sex matrimony is appealed.

The order to allow gay marriage will take effect at 5pm PDT on Wednesday.

That will give an appeals court time to consider “in an orderly manner” whether the voter-approved ban, known as Proposition 8, should be left intact while appellate judges weigh the merits of the overall case, US District Court Chief Judge Vaughn Walker ruled.

Rain, tension cloud Amsterdam gay pride parade

A boat filled with gay participants cruises the World Heritage canals during the annual gay pride parade in Amsterdam today, August 7, 2010.

Revellers attending Amsterdam’s annual Gay Pride parade nearly doubled the local population despite rain and an ongoing debate over how welcome the gay community remains among all sectors of Dutch society.

An estimated 500,000 party-goers turned out for the event, which was to feature around 80 boats sailing around the city’s Prinsengracht canal. The “Europe Pride”, a boat carrying members of the European Parliament, opened the rain-dampened parade.

Pink was everywhere in the city — pink hats, pink feather boas, pink shirts — as were groups clad in outlandish outfits including a boat full of Santas and scantily-clad men wearing angel wings.

Malawi gay conviction is alarming precedent: UN

Tiwonge Chimbalanga (centre) and Steven Monjeza were arrested on December 28 after holding an illegal same-sex wedding

The UN human rights chief on Friday slammed the "blatantly discriminatory" jailing of a gay couple in Malawi, saying that it sets an alarming precedent for the treatment of homosexuals in the region.

"I am shocked and dismayed by the sentence and reports of the treatment of Steven Monjeza and Tiwonge Chimbalanga while in detention," said Navi Pillay, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.

"The law which enabled the conviction dates back to the colonial era and has lain dormant for a number of years -- rightly so, because it is discriminatory and has the effect of criminalising and stigmatising people based on perceptions of their identity," she added.

'Gay dog' and his blind owner refused service in Australian restaurant

Gay or guide? A seeing-eye dog and its trainer (file photo). An Australian man was barred from a restaurant after staff thought his 'guide' dog was a 'gay' dog

An Australian restaurant has been fined after turning a blind customer away because they thought his guide dog was gay.

Ian Jolly, 57, was trying to enter the Thai Spice restaurant in Adelaide in May, 2009 when he was refused entry.

Staff had misheard the woman with Mr Jolly, and believed that his 'guide dog' Nudge was in fact a 'gay dog'.
The restaurant's owners said a waiter had understood the woman 'to be saying she wanted to bring a gay dog into the restaurant'.

'The staff genuinely believed that Nudge was an ordinary pet dog which had been desexed to become a gay dog,' the owners said in a statement to South Australia's Equal Opportunity Tribunal.

The restaurant, which displays a 'guide dogs welcome' sign and whose ambience is described in reviews as 'relaxed', has refused to comment on the ruling to the Australian press.

Mr Jolly is set to receive a written apology and US$1,400 compensation - but the situation left a lasting mark.

'I always have that fear now, when I go out,' he said.

'I just want to be like everyone else and be able to go out for dinner,' he told Australian press.

Top military officer backs repeal of 'don't ask, don't tell'

Repealing the policy against openly gay men and lesbians in the military "would be the right thing to do," the nation's top uniformed officer said Tuesday.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates, left, and Joint Chiefs Chairman Adm. Michael Mullen, arrive on Capitol Hill on Tuesday to testify before a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing related to the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy.


However, eliminating the current "don't ask, don't tell" policy will cause "some disruption in the force," Adm. Michael Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told the Senate Armed Services Committee.

"I cannot escape being troubled by the fact that we have in place a policy which forces young men and women to lie about who they are in order to defend their fellow citizens," Mullen said.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates told the panel that he "fully supports" President Obama's decision to work with Congress to end the policy.

Several committee Republicans, led by the ranking member, Sen. John McCain of Arizona, said they were disappointed with Obama's decision and supported retaining the "don't ask, don't tell" policy. Committee Chairman Carl Levin, D-Mich., praised Mullen's personal endorsement for lifting the ban as a "profile in leadership."

McCain said, "At this moment of immense hardship for our armed services, we should not be seeking to overturn the 'don't ask, don't tell' policy."

Gates told senators the military would need nearly a year to study how it would allow gay men and lesbians to serve openly.

Pentagon general counsel Jeh Johnson and Gen. Carter Ham, commander of Army forces in Europe, will lead the group studying troops' feelings about lifting the ban on gays serving openly in the military, Gates said.

Ham, an Iraq veteran, is rare among high-ranking military officers in talking about his experiences with combat stress. In November 2008, he told USA TODAY how he struggled to cope with a 2004 attack in Mosul that killed 22 people, including 14 U.S. troops.

"That there will be some disruption in the force I cannot deny," Mullen said of lifting the ban. "That there will be legal, social and perhaps even infrastructure changes to be made certainly seem plausible."

He also cautioned that military commanders worry about the current war stress on troops and their families. "We need to move forward (with changing policy on sexual orientation) in a manner that does not add to that stress."

Mullen is the first sitting chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff to advocate repeal of "don't ask, don't tell," according to a statement from his office.

The policy bans openly gay people from serving in the military but also says that military officers should not ask members of the military about their sexual orientation if they are not engaging in prohibited behavior. The policy was created in 1993 after President Clinton sought to allow openly gay people to serve. Overall, records show, more than 10,900 servicemembers have been dismissed under the policy.

Mullen said allowing lesbians and gay men to serve openly is "an issue of integrity — theirs as individuals and ours as an institution. ... I also believe the great young men and women of our military can and would accommodate such a change."




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The world's SECOND pregnant man is 'blissfully happy' as he prepares to give birth to baby boy next month

A transgender couple have revealed they are expecting their first baby in a month’s time.
Scott Moore - thought to be only the second ‘pregnant man’ to go public - is due to give birth to a boy in February, with husband Thomas by his side.
The couple were both born girls and have undergone surgery to transform their sex.


Scott, 30, who is legally married to Thomas because he still has a female birth certificate, says he is eagerly looking forward to giving birth.
They have decided to call the child ‘Miles’.
‘We know some people will criticise us but we are blissfully happy and not ashamed,’ Scott said.
The couple, from California, already have two children - Gregg, 12, and Logan, 10 - who Thomas had with a previous female partner.
The case is similar to that of Thomas Beatie, from Oregon, who made headlines around the world in 2008 when he gave birth to a girl.



Scott, who started out in life as a girl named Jessica, first realised he wanted to be a man when he hit puberty aged 11.
‘When I told my family they thought I was crazy but they gradually realised I was serious and allowed me to start taking male hormones when I was 16 years old,’ he said.
His parents paid £4,600 for Scott to have his 36DDD chest removed. However, he could not afford the gender surgery, so still has female organs.
Thomas, who used to be called Laura, had a hysterectomy and gender reassignment surgery last year.



They met in 2005 at a support group meeting for transgender men but lost touch – but saw each other again in 2007.
‘We knew we had to be together,’ Scott said. ‘Two months later I gave up my job to live with Thomas and the boys.
‘Now they call me “dad two”.’The couple, who live in a four-bedroom house, decided in December 2008 to try for a baby.
Scott was inseminated with the sperm of a male friend and fell pregnant in June 2009.
‘We were so happy we did what all gay men do when they get excited - we went shopping,’ Thomas said.


The couple have dismissed concerns that Miles might be teased at school, saying they are confident they can deal with it.
‘We've been through it already,’ Thomas said.

‘My son Logan was bullied but now he just says to teasers: “You may have a problem with my two dads but I don't so you're not hurting me”.’
Scott plans to have a natural birth at their local hospital. Their doctor and obstetrician have told the medics at the local hospital.


We didn't want everyone to be shocked when a man turns up to give birth,’ Scott said.‘We found it very difficult to get a doctor and midwife at first. It was hard when people didn't want to treat me.
‘No pregnant person should be denied healthcare just because they are a man.’
But he added: ‘I'm looking forward to giving birth now. With Thomas at my side everything will be just fine.’
Thomas said: ‘We want to show the world that trans-families can be healthy, loving and nurturing.’



Two dads': Scott and Thomas with Gregg and Logan at their home in California. Thomas had the boys with a previous female partner who died





'Not ashamed': Scott and Thomas posted photos of themselves online. They have been together since 2007 after meeting at a support group for transgender men



Expecting: Scott Moore, pictured with husband Thomas, is due to give birth next month to a boy. The couple - who were both born as girls - live in California




It's a boy! The scan reveals Scott is expecting a boy - which will be named Miles



First 'pregnant man': Thomas Beatie, born a woman but who lives as a man, from Oregon, gave birth to daughter Susan Juliette Beatie on July 14, 2008

BBC weatherman Tomasz Schafernaker shocks bosses after posing in gay magazine in skimpy shorts

 
 Cover star: BBC weatherman Tomasz Schafernaker on the cover of Attitude Active magazine

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In the day job: Suited and booted at the BBC

It's all a far cry from the fusty respectability of Michael Fish and Bill Giles.

But this is current BBC weather presenter Tomasz Schafernaker as you have never seen him before.

He shocked corporation bosses after he turned up in a gay magazine in a pair of skimpy shorts.

It is understood that while someone at the Met Office had been informed of the article, BBC bosses were completely unaware.
he first thing they knew was when they were told by readers of Attitude magazine about the pictures of the toned-up meteorologist.

Mr Schafernaker's makeover stunned staff who were unaware of his impressive physique, which is usually kept well-hidden under his suit.

A weather centre insider said it was a question of 'minor hot water' for not informing the corporation of the magazine article.

The source said: 'Eyebrows were raised big time. You have to look to see that it is him. The boy was transformed into a swan.

'Let's just say that everyone is seeing Tomasz in a different light now. But we are worried that when people are watching the weather when Tomasz presents they will not be able to concentrate on watching the symbols.'

Attitude features both straight and gay men in the magazine.

Mr Schafernaker appeared as the cover star of Attitude Active, the health special which came with this month's magazine.

The article said that underneath his suits and shirts sported on TV, lay the secret - 'Tomasz Schafernaker is ripped'.

It also said 'undressed he is the specimen you see before you, all pecs and ripped abs.'

The Polish-born presenter, 31, usually fronts the weather reports on The One O'Clock News and has appeared across the BBC networks.

He famously had to apologise in 2007 when on BBC1 he referred to the Outer Hebrides and Western Isles as 'nowheresville'

Last summer on Radio 4 Schafernaker jumbled his words and accidentally said 'muddy shite' for Glastonbury instead of 'muddy site'.

He then giggled on and off throughout the rest of the forecast.

In his interview with the magazine he told Attitude Active: 'I get myself into trouble every now and then but the producers are very forgiving and I thank them for it. I love working with the team.'

Schafernaker was born in Gdansk but came to the UK as a child.

On the BBC's weather website is is said that he developed a 'keen interest' in weather and the natural sciences at a young age 'despite his strongest abilities in the arts and crafts'.

He obtained a degree in meteorology from Reading University. During his studies he spent a short time at Miami's Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences analysing tropical weather data.

The presenter joined the BBC in 2000 as a broadcast assistant and months later got his first go at presenting at the age of 22. This made him the youngest man to present on BBC Weather.

He gained more experience by working as a civil forecaster for a year at Met Office London as well as ITV before returning to the BBC.

According to the BBC website he lives in west London with his two housemates and enjoys jogging and his local gym.




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Thousands of same-sex couples await the outcome of the case

Americans could be forced to accept the legality of “gay marriage” in all 50 states of the union, depending on the outcome of an historic federal court battle that began in California yesterday.

The hearing in San Francisco — which was supposed to have been shown on YouTube before a decision by the Supreme Court to block the video feed — comes after 52 per cent of Californians voted to ban same-sex unions in 2008 with a ballot named Proposition 8.

The measure — which annulled a previous decision by the Californian Supreme Court and resulted in a change to the state’s constitution to read that “only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognised” — provoked street protests in Los Angeles and accusations that the initiative had been largely funded by the Mormon Church.

Proposition 8 also invalidated the unions of thousands of same-sex couples who had already wed in the Golden State.

Opponents of Proposition 8 now claim that the measure violates the higher authority of the US Constitution because it discriminates against gays. Vaughn Walker, a federal court judge, has agreed to hear the case, based on his opinion that “gay marriage” is a constitutional issue.

By taking the issue to a federal level there is much to lose for both sides. If the case gets passed up to the US Supreme Court in Washington — as expected — the ultimate ruling will be final.

It could result in legalised same-sex unions across the US in spite of the majority being against them, an outcome that would heighten America’s deep cultural divisions. Alternatively, the issue could be taken off the agenda permanently, with gays denied the opportunity to “marry” for the foreseeable future.

Supporters of Proposition 8 say that the case should never have been heard by a federal court. “This lawsuit is an attempt by Judge Walker to put the voters of California on trial and it’s wrong,” said Brian Brown, director of the National Organisation for Marriage, which opposes same-sex unions.

“Our founding fathers would be rolling over in their graves if they heard that the Constitution guarantees the right to redefine marriage. This is absurd.”

Supporters of same-sex unions say that the case will be an opportunity to enlighten the public. “Discrimination hurts us and doesn’t help anyone,” said Jennifer Pizer, Director of Lambda Legal’s national marriage project. “The trial will offer a chance for the public to listen to the expert witnesses on both sides .” Ms Pizer added that “people have so many misconceptions and misunderstandings about gay people and what sexual orientation is all about”.

The court case comes after several high-profile setbacks for gay unions in America. On Thursday, New Jersey rejected a Bill authorising civil unions, as did New York state a few weeks earlier.

Only five US states today permit civil unions: Iowa, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Vermont and New Hampshire.

California's ban on gay marriage goes to trial on Monday in a federal case that plaintiffs hope to take all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court and overturn bans throughout the nation.

Victory for gay rights groups in the Supreme Court, which might not choose to take the case if it is appealed that far, would make marriage a fundamental constitutional right without exception and overturn laws and state amendments limiting marriage to a man and a woman in 40 states.

A loss in the top court, two ranks above the action that starts on Monday, would derail efforts to win in state courts that have been a hallmark of the gay rights movement thus far.

The case begins in a San Francisco court presided over by District Court Chief Judge Vaughn Walker, who clearly enjoyed preliminary sessions, joking with lawyers between barrages of pointed questions.

The United States is divided on gay marriage. It is legal in only five states, although most of those, and the District of Columbia, approved it last year.

The approval of California's Prop 8 in November 2008 was a sweet victory for social conservatives in a state with a liberal, trend-setting reputation and showed off the resounding success conservatives have had at the ballot box on the issue.

California's top court had legalized gay marriage in the summer of 2008, months before Prop 8 passed.

Gay rights lawyers in the case describe their battle as a continuation of the fight against racist laws that had stopped whites and blacks from marrying. Marriage is a fundamental constitutional right and, in addition, gays and lesbians deserve special protection from discrimination, they say.

The lawyers defending the ban say long traditions limit marriage to heterosexual couples and that a state, without malice, can be cautious about changing the institution. Heterosexual couples can have children, which society needs to continue, they add.

While a court battle to the Supreme Court would stretch over years, the trial beginning on Monday may take only two weeks.

GAY PARENTS

"Issues about parents and children and the role of child rearing will be central to this case," said Joan Hollinger, a lecturer in family law at the University of California, Berkeley.

The lack of societal acceptance of same-sex marriages was a problem for children of those relationships -- an argument for allowing gay marriage, she said.

Ted Olson and David Boies, two high-powered lawyers who faced off over the legality of George W. Bush's election win as U.S. president against Al Gore in 2000, have joined forces in an odd-couple team fighting for gay marriage.

Andrew Koppelman, a professor of constitutional law at Northwestern University, said an appeal is certain no matter who wins in court in San Francisco.

If the appeals court were to side with the ban, the Supreme Court would probably leave it, but a victory by the gay rights advocates in the appeals court would force the Supreme Court to act, since it could not ignore such a momentous change.

"There is no way to keep this out of the Supreme Court if they win," said Koppelman, who has written books arguing in favor of same-sex marriage but sees this push as ill-timed due to the composition of the nine-member top court.

"Who are going to be your five votes on the Supreme Court? I have trouble getting to one."

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Read more about Gay Marriage



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