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Peter Tatchell: David Cameron should speak out about homophobia before Commonwealth Games

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A protest will be held outside Downing Street next week Get the latest LGBT headlines in your inbox with our free daily newsletter! Join Topics GayHomophobiaPeter TatchellHomosexualityprotestRightsgroupGlasgowcriminalisedCommonwealth GamesEdward SesangeDiamond Share on WhatsApp 0 reader comments

Peter Tatchell has called on David Cameron to speak out about homophobia in the Commonwealth, ahead of the Commonwealth Games next week.

A rally will be held outside Downing Street on Wednesday, organised by African LGBTI Out & Proud Diamond Group, and supported by the Peter Tatchell Foundation, to protest continuing anti-gay laws.

42 of the 53 Commonwealth member countries currently criminalise homosexuality, with penalties up to life imprisonment in at least seven member states.

Tatchell said: “We are appealing to Prime Minister David Cameron to speak out against homophobia and transphobia in the Commonwealth in the run-up to the Commonwealth Games.

“We also want him to express his public support for Article 7 of the Commonwealth Games Federation constitution, which prohibits any form of discrimination – including discrimination in athlete selection for the national teams.

“Given the extreme homophobia and transphobia in most Commonwealth countries, it is very unlikely that most national selection committees would allow a lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or inter-sex (LGBTI) athlete to compete at Glasgow.

“David Cameron can help by making clear that such discrimination is incompatible with Commonwealth Games values and rules.

“We want the Prime Minister to give a lead and set a positive tone by publicly declaring that anti-LGBT persecution is a violation of the Commonwealth Charter and that LGBTI athletes will be welcome in Glasgow.

“He should make clear that the UK government is willing to give asylum to LGBTI athletes who are at risk of victimisation in their county of origin.”

Edwin Sesange of the Diamond Group said: “Far from moving towards equality, we have seen many Commonwealth countries witch-hunt their LGBTI citizens and even tougher anti-gay laws have been recently legislated in countries like Uganda, Brunei and Nigeria.

“Britain imposed most of the existing anti-gay laws in Commonwealth nations when it was the colonial power in the nineteenth century. Homosexuality was not illegal in these countries prior to British colonisation.

“Britain has been part of the problem. Therefore it should be part of the solution by challenging homophobia and transphobia in the Commonwealth. David Cameron should show leadership by taking a stand against the victimisation of LGBTI people and promoting the universal human rights values of the Commonwealth Charter.”

The Commonwealth Games begin next Wednesday, July 23.

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David Furnish praises MPs for undertaking HIV tests

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David Furnish has praised MPs (Photo: Wiki, Dominic Alves) Get the latest LGBT headlines in your inbox with our free daily newsletter! Join Topics HIVDavid Furnishhiv testingElton John Aids Foundationhiv testsSimon KirbyPublic Health MinisterPublic Health Minister Jane Ellison Share on WhatsApp 2 reader comments

Filmmaker and campaigner David Furnish has praised politicians for taking part in an HIV testing session at Westminster.

Today, a number of MPs from all parties agreed to take HIV tests in a bid to raise awareness of December’s World AIDS Day and to set a Guinness World Record for the highest number of parliamentarians to take an 

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Putin allies met David Cameron at Tory summer party while anti-gay law was being passed

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Putin’s allies were on the high-profile guestlist Get the latest LGBT headlines in your inbox with our free daily newsletter! Join Share on WhatsApp 4 reader comments

Putin allies and pro-Russian lobbyists attended a Tory summer party while Russia was in the process of passing its notorious anti-gay law, it has been revealed.

According to the Guardian, a number of Russian politicians attended the party on June 24 last year, two weeks after the Russian parliament unanimously voted in favour of the law and one week before Putin signed it into law.

David Cameron, Theresa May and Boris Johnson were among the leading Conservative politicians in attendance.

Russian MP Vasily Shestakov, who voted for the anti-gay law, was in attendance at the event, according to a leaked seating plan.

Shestakov – who has been tasked with improving Russia’s reputation in the UK – shook hands with David Cameron at the event.

A member of the party told the newspaper that the handshake was to “make the wheels go round”.

Also at the 

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David Cameron: Same-sex marriage is just one reason to celebrate this Pride in London

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David Cameron celebrates Pride in London Get the latest LGBT headlines in your inbox with our free daily newsletter! Join Topics equal marriagegay marriagemarriage equalitysame sex marriagemarriagegay weddingSame-sex weddingweddinglesbian weddinglesbian marriageCivil partnershipsDavid CameronPridePrime Ministerpride in londdon 14 reader comments

Prime Minister David Cameron reflects on changes made for LGBT people such as same-sex marriage, and celebrates Pride in London.

I want to send my best wishes to everyone taking part in Pride in London events, especially all those volunteers who make it possible.

Since last year’s event there has been one huge, historic change in Britain: the institution of marriage is now open to all. Whether you’re a man and a man, a woman and a woman or a woman and a man, your love for one another is equal in the eyes of the law. Since the Same-Sex Couples Act came into law in March, couples across the country and across the capital

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Peter Tatchell: ‘David Cameron has betrayed equality by denying straight couples civil partnerships’

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Peter Tatchell heavily criticised the government for not extending civil partnerships to straight couples Get the latest LGBT headlines in your inbox with our free daily newsletter! Join 0 reader comments

Human rights campaigner Peter Tatchell has heavily criticised the government for not extending civil partnerships to include straight couples.

Following a consultation into the future of civil partnerships, the Government has announced that the legislation will remain in place, unaltered.

The results showed that 76% of respondents were against extending civil partnerships to straight couples, but that a majority were also against abolishing the legislation altogether.

Peter Tatchell told PinkNews:

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RIOT, Radical Queer Pride Fantasy, Presented By The Culture Whore And David Sokolowski

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Are you over the annual NYC Pride Parade? Are you sick of the blatant corportization of NYC Pride in general? Are you wondering when Pride became less about queerness and more about blatant homonormativity?

Then we have the Pride party for you.

From art collective and “living magazine” The Culture Whore and promoter David Sokolowski comes RIOT, a radical queer pride fantasy on June 27 in Brooklyn that serves as a response to the nature of mainstream NYC Pride in 2014. Namely, the celebration of conformity, marriage and monogamy — some the institutionalized systems of power and privilege that historically oppressed queers in the first place.

The Culture Whore and Sokolowski arranged a massive line-up of performers and hosts for this event, including politically-charged pop-culture deconstructionist Chris Tyler, Brooklyn-based rapper Charlie Denverr and 2014 Mr(s) Williamsburg winner Aja. Also slated for the evening are a number of individuals featured in HuffPost Gay Voices Associate Editor James Nichols’ series Queer New World, including Chris of Hur, Horrorchata, Macy Rodman, Severely Mame, Merrie Cherry, Untitled Queen, Lady Simon, Trey LaTrash, and Manifestany Squirtz.

If this line up wasn’t enough to bring you out to Brooklyn this Friday, let the prospect of drag queen Merrie Cherry wrestling inside of a “moist kiddie pool” of something sticky be the deciding factor.

The Huffington Post chatted with The Culture Whore and Sokolowski this week about RIOT in order to better understand what they are trying to accomplish with this party, how they want it to function in response to mainstream notions of NYC Pride and what exactly attendees can expect.

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