Indian MP says legalizing gay sex will help combat ISIS

An outspoken MP in India’s Lower House of Parliament has called for laws targeting homosexual men, marijuana users and people who use pornography to be considered as part of a government process of repealing obsolete and redundant laws.

Biju Janata Dal party chief whip Tathagata Satpathy made the comments on Thursday during a 10 minute speech on the Repealing and Amending (Fourth) Bill 2015 which seeks to repeal almost three hundred laws from the country’s civil code.

Satpathy said of India’s colonial era Section 377 ban on consensual gay sex, ‘laws which are becoming archaic also need a re-look and probably they need repealing also.’

‘I would give an example of something like Section 377, the law relating to [a] small section of society. But it has a relevance to a particular kind of people who are human beings, who have feelings like us, but their sexual needs are different from a lot of people we know.’

Satpathy said laws that fractured Indian society by discriminating against some people made the country less able to stand united in the face of extremism.

‘If you want to combat those evil organizations like the ISIS, then you have to become a more alert and a more modern society which encompasses with affection every citizen of the nation,’ Satpathy said in his speech.

‘The moment you start differentiating, the moment you start dividing society, then you fall prey to the evil organizations like the ISIS.’

On online pornography, Satpathy said while he found porn objectionable, it should not be up to the bureaucracy of the state to decide which websites Indians could visit.

‘Today, it could be a bad site, it could be a pornographic site which we all support should not be watched by people,’ Satpathy said.

‘But when you start doing something like that, then there is no end to [it].’

On marijuana, Satpathy said it was not fair that the ‘law comes down heavily on intoxicants of the poorer people’ when alcohol was sold openly at government owned stores at a time when alcoholism was a growing problem in rural communities.

India’s Section 377 ban on consensual gay sex was struck down in 2009 before being reinstated by the Supreme Court of India in 2013.

The post Indian MP says legalizing gay sex will help combat ISIS appeared first on Gay Star News.

Andrew Potts

www.gaystarnews.com/article/indian-mp-says-legalizing-gay-sex-will-help-combat-isis/

Meet the Woman Who Took On Judy, Liza, and Bowie

Handling Judy Garland’s emotional crises, finding David Bowie in a gay lip lock, and making Liza Minnelli a star were all in a day’s work for talent agent Stevie Phillips, who lays out her phenomenal career in a new memoir.

read more

Trudy Ring

www.advocate.com/arts-entertainment/2015/08/07/meet-woman-who-took-judy-liza-and-bowie

Reykjavik paints whole street in rainbow colors for Pride

An whole street in the heart of Reykjavik has been painted in rainbow colors for the capital’s annual Pride festival.

Hundreds of people on Tuesday (4 August) gathered in the city centre and even Mayor Dagur Eggertsson dipped a roller in yellow paint and helped out.

Eggertsson described the rainbow as ‘more powerful, stronger and more beautiful than I had dreamed.’

‘This is one way to make our city livelier, more human and simply a better place by great collaboration and beautiful thinking,’ he wrote on his Facebook page.

Iceland is one of the most progressive countries for LGBTI rights and voted in the world’s first openly gay head of state.

Reykjavik Pride week is one of the Nordic country’s biggest events. Last year’s edition attracted more than 100,000 visitors – about a third of the country’s population.

‘It was lovely. A large number of children lent us a hand and some even brought their own paint brushes,’ the parade’s director Eva Maria Thorarinsdottir Lange told the Visir news site.

The rainbow will be kept until the end of the summer.

The post Reykjavik paints whole street in rainbow colors for Pride appeared first on Gay Star News.

Darren Wee

www.gaystarnews.com/article/reykjavik-paints-whole-street-in-rainbow-colors-for-pride/

Little to Encourage LGBT Americans in GOP Debates

The night included slams at Rosie O’Donnell, transgender troops, and a ‘rogue’ Supreme Court.

read more

Trudy Ring

www.advocate.com/politics/election/2015/08/07/little-encourage-lgbt-americans-gop-debates

Texas attorney-general could be held in contempt for not recognizing gay marriage

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton could face contempt charges for refusing to recognize gay marriage after the Supreme Court’s June ruling.

Paxton has been ordered to explain before a federal court next Wednesday why the state would not provide a gay man with an amended death certificate for his husband. The order comes two days after he was booked on fraud charges.

John Stone-Hoskins, 37, from Houston legally married James Stone-Hoskins in New Mexico last year.

After James died of terminal illness in January, John applied to Texas Department of State Health Services to his death certificate to reflect they were married. The document listed James as single referred to his husband as a ‘significant other.’

The department cashed his check but said it was reviewing the Supreme Court ruling to determine if changes must be made to death certificate documents.

John, who cannot inherit his  , has since been embroiled in a legal battle with the state while also battling a terminal illness.

‘I have a terminal liver disease, melanoma, basal cell carcinoma, breast disease, a heart defect, in addition to a defective aorta, which was not discovered until recently,’ he said today in court on Thursday.

‘My doctors expect me to live another 45 to 60 days.

‘I also wish to have the dignity of being listed on my deceased husband’s death certificate.’

The post Texas attorney-general could be held in contempt for not recognizing gay marriage appeared first on Gay Star News.

Darren Wee

www.gaystarnews.com/article/texas-attorney-general-could-be-held-in-contempt-for-not-recognizing-gay-marriage/

The Reaction John Kasich Got For Embracing Gay Marriage Shows How Far The GOP Has Come

WASHINGTON — Ohio Gov. John Kasich drew applause during Thursday’s Republican presidential debate for saying that he accepted gay marriage even though it was counter to his “traditional” views.

“Our court has ruled and I said we’ll accept it,” Kasich said in response to a question from moderator Megyn Kelly about what he would do if his child were homosexual. “And guess what? I just went to a wedding of a friend of mine who is gay.”

“Just because they don’t think the same way doesn’t mean we shouldn’t love them,” he added. “That’s what we’re taught when we have strong faith.” 

The crowd cheered Kasich’s response. The reaction contrasted starkly with a 2011 Republican presidential debate in which audience members booed Army Capt. Stephen Hill, a gay combat veteran, for speaking favorably about the repeal of the military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy. 

“In 2010 when I was deployed to Iraq, I had to lie about who I was because I was a gay soldier, and I didn’t want to lose my job,” Hill said via videoconference during the debate. “My question is, under one of your presidencies, do you intend to circumvent the progress that’s been made for gay and lesbian soldiers in the military?”

Former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum responded to Hill by vowing to reinstate the ban on being openly gay in the military. “What we’re doing is playing social experimentation with our military right now, and that’s tragic,” he said, prompting cheers from the crowd.

“The military’s job is to do one thing, and that is to defend our country,” Santorum continued. “I believe this undermines that ability.” 

Also on HuffPost:

— This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.

feeds.huffingtonpost.com/c/35496/f/677065/s/48c79d4a/sc/7/l/0L0Shuffingtonpost0N0C20A150C0A80C0A60Cjohn0Ekasich0Egay0Emarriage0In0I79535140Bhtml0Dutm0Ihp0Iref0Fgay0Evoices0Gir0FGay0KVoices/story01.htm

Man kidnapped, gang raped at gun point in Washington DC

A man was kidnapped at gunpoint, hauled into a van and gang raped by half a dozen men in Washington DC last week, the second such crime in nine months.

The unidentified victim was approached on 14th Street in Northeast by one of the a suspects at around 8pm on 31 July and forced into a white van at gun point.

‘Suspect 1 through Suspect 5 anally sexually assaulted him against his will and without his consent,’ read a police report obtained by the Washington Blade.

One of the men was described Hispanic male, 6’1″ to 6’2″ in height, 22 to 27 years of age, slim build, with short black curly hair, and armed with a gun. Another was described as heavy set, 17 to 19 years of age and of light complexion.

Police are looking for at least five other suspects.

In December 2014, a DC man in his 50s was kidnapped in broad daylight by four men with guns. He was similarly forced into a van, then driven to a different location where he was raped.

‘It represents a change in what’s going on out here on the streets that we have a group of people who are specifically looking to target, kidnap and sexually assault men. That is a very, very profound event and it’s a change in what we’re used to investigating,’ Delroy Burton, president of the DC Police Union, told MyFox DC.

‘It changes the game as to who needs to be cautious – outside of the correctional facility setting – about sexual assault.

‘I think before men didn’t even think of the possibility – walking up and down the street – and had to be guarded like we teach women to be guarded, but now that is a possibility.’

He said investigators are likely looking at all possible motives, including gang initiations and earlier jail activity.

The post Man kidnapped, gang raped at gun point in Washington DC appeared first on Gay Star News.

Darren Wee

www.gaystarnews.com/article/man-kidnapped-gang-raped-at-gun-point-in-washington-dc/

Troubling Night for Equality: From Discrimination on “Day 1” to Defending Trans Military Service Ban

Today, HRC responded to a slew of anti-LGBT comments and positions by candidates competing in the first Republican presidential primary debate in Cleveland, Ohio.
HRC.org

www.hrc.org/blog/entry/troubling-night-for-equality-from-discrimination-on-day-1-to-defending-tran?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss-feed