Queer as Folk writer launches new gay series
Russell T Davies, writer of the original British version of Queer as Folk and a frequent writer for Doctor Who, is launching a new series on gay life in January. The production will be divided into three parallel shows — Cucumber, Banana and Tofu — following interwoven storylines in a gay community in Manchester.
Ireland to vote on same-sex marriage in May
Ireland’s deputy prime minister has announced the country will hold a referendum on legalizing same-sex marriage in May 2015. Gay couples in Ireland now may enter into civil partnerships, with fewer rights than full marriage. Recent polls show that 71 percent of voters support same-sex marriage.
Anti-gay organization’s “straight twin” not straight or twin
When gay reparative therapy group Parents and Friends of Ex-Gays and Gays designed a billboard in Richmond, Virginia, claiming that twin studies show nobody is born gay, they used a stock photo of two identical men. It turns out, however, that the model in the photo is a South African man who is both openly and proudly gay — and not actually a twin. Kyle Roux says he was shocked to see his face used in anti-gay advertising, because he has been happily gay his whole life.
Boston St Patrick’s Day parade to allow gay group
After years of blocking LGBT groups from marching in the city’s St Patrick’s Day parade, organizers will allow OutVets, a gay veterans group, to join in the 2015 parade. The decision was applauded by Boston Mayor Martin Walsh, a child of Irish immigrants, who boycotted last year’s parade over the exclusion of openly gay marchers.
Read more from the Associated Press.
Russian LGBT group branded as “foreign agent”
According to European gay alliance ILGA-Europe, one of its member organizations in Russia, Rakurs, has been branded a “foreign agent” by the Russian Ministry of Justice. A law passed in 2012 allows the ministry to unilaterally declare an organization a foreign agent, forcing it to abide by strict rules and barring it from some kinds of advocacy and speech. ILGA-Europe says it is concerned Russia will use the law to restrict and stigmatize LGBT groups.
Cake wars the new front in gay marriage
Do bakers have to make cakes for gay weddings, even if they object to same-sex marriage? According to The New York Times, this question is the next major battleground in gay rights in the United States, with some Christian bakers, photographers and venue owners refusing to serve gay couples.
Read more at The New York Times
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