| Millionaire to help firefighters
A MILLIONAIRE Christian businessman is to champion the cause of nine firefighters disciplined by their force for refusing to attend a gay pride parade. George Hargreaves, a pop impresario who discovered a string of 1980s acts including Yazz and Five Star as well as penning hits for the disco diva Sinitta, has threatened to take the Strathclyde Fire and Rescue (SFR) service to court. .
15 Injured in Estonia’s Pride March
A gang of homophobic protesters used stones and sticks to attack Estonias third annual Gay Pride March this past Saturday, injuring 15 people. Some 500 participants joined the Pride March in Tallinn, Estonias capitalthey carried rainbow flags and placards reading Love Doesnt Ask About Gender, We Have the Right to Be Who We Are, Children of Gays Need Protection Too, and We Heteros Support Gays. A Spaniard who was taking part in a gay seminar in Estonia together with other LGBT activists from Europe was hospitalized with a head injury after a stone was thrown at him during the march, said Juris Lavrikovs of the gay group Mozaika from neighboring Latvia, who was in Tallinn for the Pride march. A skinhead came at me shouting pederast in Estonian and spat in my face two times, he added in an e-mailed account of the days events.
Moscow court affirms gay pride parade ban
[JURIST] A Russian court has affirmed the right of the city of Moscow to reject an application by organizers of a gay pride parade, ruling that there was a legitimate safety concern in banning the parade, though lawyers for the parade organizers said the ban infringes on gay rights. A separate court upheld the ban [JURIST report] in May but organizers held the parade anyway. Two hundred people were arrested during the May 27 parade [Washington Post report], where participants were assaulted by onlookers. The organizers intend to appeal Tuesday's court decision. The parade marked the 13th anniversary of the decriminalization of homosexuality in Russia. In 1997, following the collapse of the Soviet Union, Russia implemented a new Criminal Code [text] that excluded Article 121, which criminalized consensual homosexuality [gay.ru backgrounder].
Breaking: Gay-friendly governor stumps at location where gay ...
The anti-gay folks at the Christian Civic League of Maine are today decrying Governor John Baldacci for including on his campaign website a picture of his appearance at a local Gay Pride Festival. They say: "Incredible as it may seem, the Governor's campaign website features a photo of the Governor at the appalling Gay Pride Festival which was the subject of so much controversy back in June." And they conclude from the image: "The fact that the photo is featured prominently on the Governor's campaign website reveals once again that the homosexual rights lobby is by far the most powerful special interest group in Maine, and that the Governor is ready to cater to their every whim." But here's the thing -- The photo Baldacci has on his site is connected to an announcement that the Human Rights Campaign has endorsed him for governor.
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