Gay news round-up
January 5th, 2009
The world didn’t stop turning just because Lesbilicious took a break over the Christmas period, so here’s a quick round-up of some of the biggest news from the past few weeks.
The Pope: ‘gay people doom the planet’
Pope Benedict XVI has told followers that mankind needs to be saved from the ’self-destruction’ of ‘blurred gender roles’, and implied that homosexual and transsexual people were as dangerous to the the fate of humanity as the destruction of the rainforests.
LGBT groups and liberal Christians were not impressed. “I thought the Christmas angels said ‘Fear not’,” said the Rev Dr Giles Fraser, Vicar of Putney and president of Inclusive Church, the pro-gay Anglican movement.
“Instead, the Pope is spreading fear that gay people somehow threaten the planet and that’s just absurd. As always, this sort of religious homophobia will be an alibi for all those who would do gay people harm. Can’t he think of something better to say at Christmas?”
LGBT discrimination now illegal for adoption agencies
From 1 January 2009, adoption agencies in the UK are no longer able to discriminate against gay, lesbian or bisexual people when it comes to placing children.
It has been illegal for businesses to discriminate against gay people since April 2007, but religious adoption agencies were granted an extra 21 weeks to manage the change.
Initially, 11 Catholic adoption agencies said they would be forced to close if they did not get exemption from the regulations. Of those 11, only one now says it will be forced to close.
Tory domestic violence funding would exclude LGBT people
Conservative leader David Cameron has promised an extra £2.6 million to help women experiencing rape, domestic violence forced marriages and trafficking. However, Cameron made no mention of how the cash could help LGBT victims.
“Domestic violence is not just a women’s issue – it is an issue suffered by all, regardless of race, religion, gender and sexuality,” said Jo Barringer, chair of the trustees of LGBT domestic violence support service Broken Rainbow.
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