LGBT – Page 2 – Slugger O'Toole

“Two lesbians living together are not a family. They are sexual perverts playing let’s pretend”

The Firemen on August 11, 2014, 9:34 pm

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UPDATED Much was said of Belfast ‘Pastor’ James McConnell’s recent anti-Islamic comments: The story was picked up around the world and McConnell was subsequently questioned by the PSNI. First Minister of Northern Ireland Peter Robinson was drawn into the row when he gave his backing to the Pastor’s remarks and said he would not trust Muslims involved in violence or those devoted to Sharia law but would “trust them to go to the shops” for him. Both Mr. Robinson and …

PSNI out, then in but LGBT still in the cold.

David McCann on March 15, 2014, 2:47 pm

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This years St Patricks Day parade in New York City has been making headline for all of the wrong reasons this year. There was the controversy earlier about the refusal to include LGBT groups which led to a boycott of the parade by the Mayor of New York and condemnation from parties back here about the absurdity of in 2014 groups being discriminated against solely on the basis of their sexual preferences. But, yesterday the guys over at LAD, found …

Sinn Fein’s last minute pull out from cross party ‘St Pats For All’ video

Mick Fealty on March 3, 2014, 7:30 am

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Controversy in the Republic last night over an old problem for Sinn Fein, the St Patricks Day celebrations in the US, where they do things a little lot differently than they do at home. It concerns this cross parliamentary video supporting the St Pat’s For All parade in NYC… In the US, New York and Boston have continued to ban the participation of LGBT groups. In the case of Boston there’s been substantial progress towards change, but in NYC the …

High Court decides to #GivePootstheBoot

John Ó Néill on October 11, 2013, 4:45 pm

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The High Court in Belfast has again ruled against the lifetime blood ban imposed on gay and bisexual men by the Department of Health, not least on the grounds that it was irrational. The High Court found that: The minister has decided that MSM (males who have sex with other males) behaviour creates such a high risk of infection to the donor that such donors must be permanently deferred with the result that such blood cannot enter the Northern Ireland …

#givepootstheboot: Minister spends £100k opposing #LGBT blood donation and adoption

John Ó Néill on September 17, 2013, 4:17 pm

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A few days ago it was revealed that Health Minister Edwin Poots is to fritter away more department money in his attempts to prevent the extension of adoption rights to gay and same-sex (and un-married) couples by taking the case to the Supreme Court. The Green Party leader, Steven Agnew, had Edwin Poots clarify legal costs for defending his (Poots’) stance on the lifetime ban on gay men donating blood. Poots gave that as £37,112 (net of VAT). When asked to provide …

Not a good week for ‘gay cure’ quacks

Patrick Corrigan on October 4, 2012, 9:58 pm

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This week California passed a law banning therapy aimed at making gay teenagers straight. Now Britain’s biggest professional body for psychotherapists, the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) has instructed members that it is unethical for them to attempt to “convert” gay people to being heterosexual. The other main professional body for British psychotherapists, the UK Council for Psychotherapy, had issued similar guidance to members back in 2010. The professional guidance comes on top of the BACP withdrawing professional membership from ‘conversion …

Equal marriage – how long will Northern Ireland’s gay couples have to wait?

Patrick Corrigan on September 27, 2012, 12:23 pm

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When David Hockney published his etching In the dull village in 1967, the UK government was busy passing the Sexual Offences Act to (partially) decriminalise homosexuality in England and Wales. It was another fifteen years before Northern Ireland caught up – with the passage of the Homosexual Offences (Northern Ireland) Order 1982, and that was only after Jeff Dudgeon took a case to the European Court of Human Rights. In 2012 the campaign for LGBT equality has moved on. …

If politicians in the south are feeling strong enough to ‘come out’, why not the north?

Mick Fealty on May 9, 2012, 10:18 am

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Whatever you think of Dominic Hannigan’s politics, the Labour TD took several goes at trying to represent the good people of Meath East… John Lyons came through at the first time of asking in the more working class constituency of Dublin North–West. They did so with the voters in full knowledge that they were gay. Cork South Central Fine Gael TD Jerry Buttimer has decided to follow suite and himself come out. I very much doubt they are the only …

Is O’Flaherty prepared to rattle all the cages?

oneill on October 16, 2011, 4:37 pm

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Editor’s note: *See the bottom of the article for an important footnote from Professor O’Flaherty… In last Monday’s Irish Times, we were helpfully informed that “Michael O’Flaherty has carried out much work promoting human rights” which was a relief to read, especially bearing in mind his new position as Monica McWilliams’ replacement at the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission (NIHRC). But it is the nature of at least some of that “work” and the fact that he is a “Southerner” which led both the …

… a very uninviting place for Bible believers

Alan Meban (Alan in Belfast) on July 26, 2011, 9:53 pm

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You may be surprised that the Rev David McIlveen (Sandown Free Presbyterian church) wasn’t referring to Belfast Pride when he spoke the words in this post’s title, but was instead referring to an institution of the state whose membership includes a Presbyterian minister (who is also free – though in the retired sense). While this morning’s Irish News carried the story of Jim Well’s ‘repugnant’ text, the News Letter confirmed what I half expected when I posted last Wednesday: This …

Belfast Pride: repugnant or still needed after all these years?

Patrick Corrigan on July 26, 2011, 12:45 pm

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The fact that Jim Wells MLA apparently finds me and other participants in the Belfast Pride parade “repugnant” would cause me scarcely a thought if he were not the Deputy Chairperson of the Health Committee at the Asssembly and scheduled by Peter Robinson to take over as Minister for Health in 2013. As reported by the Irish News today (subscription required), in a text message to Pride organiser Simon Rea, Mr Wells – in rejecting an invitation to take part …