'Transphobic' attack at trans conference in Sweden

Two trans women were attacked at a transgender conference in Sweden last night.

The women, who were attending the third European Transgender Council in Malmo, received minor injuries in what police are treating as a transphobic assault.

Event organisers have not released their names but they are understood to be from Turkey.

The women said they were were attacked after visiting a restaurant in the Bergsgarten area of Malmo.

As they entered the restaurant, a couple of men started shouting transphobic abuse at them.

By the time they left, a group of six of seven men had gathered and the abuse turned from verbal to physical. The two women were pelted with eggs and received minor injuries which were later treated in the local hospital.

The matter was reported to local police, who registered it as a hate crime. The assault is also being treated as potentially racist.

A British delegate at the conference, Natacha Kennedy, expressed her shock at the incident.

She said: “Delegates are upset – but so too are the locals.

“Sweden has a very positive reputation when it comes to tolerance on transgender issues – so we were very surprised at this incident, and so too were people attending this conference from Sweden.

“The hope now is that this is atypical and that the rest of the weekend will now proceed without further incident.”

The Transgender Council is a meeting of Transgender Europe, which describes its mission as “fighting for transgender people all over Europe”. It works to improve legislation and raise awareness of trans people and issues.

Gay vicar forced to postpone civil partnership

A gay vicar who hopes to tie the knot with his Nigerian fiance has postponed the ceremony because the Home Office has not yet approved his residency in the UK.

Rev Coward, 65, a priest at St John the Baptist church in Devizes, Wiltshire, hopes to have a civil partnership with his boyfriend of three years, 25-year-old Bobby Egbele.

Mr Egbele, a fashion designer, has not yet won permission to stay in the country.

The couple announced their plans for a civil partnership in August and the ceremony was due to take place next week on October 9th.

Correspondence sent to Mr Egbele from the UK Border Agency indicates that his application has been successful but the pair say it will be too difficult to re-organise the ceremony in such a short time, even if the approval arrives today.

Rev Coward told the Wiltshire Gazette and Herald: “There is no way we could get it organised in under a fortnight. This has been a very difficult period for both of us.

“We will now need to consult with friends and decide what we are going to do. We will certainly go through with the civil partnership, but we don’t know when.”

Rev Coward and Mr Egbele sought help from their MP, Claire Perry. She contacted the UK Border Agency on their behalf and threatened to write to home secretary Theresa May.

The Home Office does not comment on individual cases.

The pair plan to have a "carefully-worded" blessing in church, which to keep in line with Church of England laws, must not actually mention them as a gay couple.

Instead, the couple will have a Communion Eucharist service which blesses "friendship".

Rev Coward also plans to reject requests for him to stay celibate. Church of England law accepts gay priests, including those in civil partnerships, so long as they do not have sex.

Four US teens bullied for being gay commit suicide in a month

At least four incidents of young men killing themselves after being bullied over their sexual orientation have been reported in the US in the last month.

The most recent death was of New Jersey student Tyler Clementi, who jumped from a bridge after his roommate allegedly taped him having sex with a man.

Dharun Ravi of Plainsboro, New Jersey, and Molly W Wei of Princeton have been charged with invasion of privacy after they allegedly streamed the footage on the internet.

On September 23rd, 13-year-old Asher Brown, from Houston, Texas, shot himself in the head. His grieving parents said he had been persistently harassed by other students who thought he was gay.

Fifteen-year-old Billy Lucas, of Indiana, hanged himself on September 9th. Classmates said he had been bullied for years over his sexual orientation.

Another 13-year-old, Seth Walsh from Minnesota, died in hospital on Wednesday, eight days after attempting to hang himself from a tree. He is said to have endured taunts and abuse for being gay from other students.

It is unclear whether suicides for young gay men are up, or if there has been better reporting of their deaths. LGBT students are known to be at a higher suicide risk than their heterosexual peers.

No one is expected to be charged over the harassment which led to the deaths of the three younger boys.

In Seth's case, police found that no crime had been committed.

In Billy's case, a Facebook memorial set up for him was hit by more homophobic abuse, as well as apologies from some of the students who had harassed him.

Meanwhile, Asher's parents say they repeatedly complained to his school about the persecution but officials did not take the reports seriously.

One report claimed that Asher had come out to his stepfather on the morning of his death. The Houston Chronicle reported that the boy's stepfather accepted his declaration.

In another tragedy, 19-year-old Rhode Island student Raymond Chase hung himself on Wednesday. The student was openly gay but it is not clear whether he had been bullied.

The deaths have shocked America and lesbian chatshow host Ellen DeGeneres implored the country to take action and prevent further deaths.

Speaking on her daytime show yesterday, the presenter said: "Something must be done.

"This needs to be a wake up call to everyone that teenage bullying and teasing is an epidemic in this country, and the death rate is climbing.

"We have an obligation to change this."

On Clementi, whose body is thought to have been recovered from the Hudson River, she added: "He was outed as being gay on the Internet and he killed himself… One life lost in this senseless way is tragic."

New York-based gay rights group Empire State Pride Agenda said in a statement. “It is difficult to say if this is a trend, or if our society is becoming sensitive to this kind of story that we have heard far too often in the LGBT community.”

Judy Shepard, mother of the late Matthew Shepard who was killed a decade ago for being gay, called for schools to be made safer.

“Our young people deserve better than to go to schools where they are treated this way,” she said. “We have to make schools a safe place for our youth to prepare for their futures, not be confronted with threats, intimidation or routine disrespect.”

Forty-four US states have anti-bullying laws, but gay campaigners complain that many are not comprehensive enough and do not detail what bullying can involve.

Since Billy Lucas' death, Indiana legislators have promised to tighten laws to help prevent future tragedies.

50 Cent says men who don't sleep with women 'should just kill themselves'

Rap star 50 Cent has suggested that men who do not sleep with women should "just kill yourself".

It is not clear whether he was referring to gay men or straight men who don't like oral sex.

He wrote, "If you [are] a man and your [sic] over 25 and you don't eat pu**y just kill yourself damn it. The world will be a better place."

The star, real name Curtis Jackson, posted the message shortly after the death of 19-year-old Tyler Clementi.

The New Jersey student killed himself after his roommate allegedly put a secret tape of him having sex with a man on the internet.

Three other US teens have killed themselves in the last month as a result of homophobic bullying.

50 Cent's tweet was picked up by gay singer Will Young, who tweeted sarcastically: "50 Cent… He is [a] nice man isn't he."

The rapper was criticised last month by GLAAD for joking about "anti-gay violence".

Referring to gay celebrity blogger Perez Hilton, he tweeted: "Perez Hilton calld me douchebag [sic] so I had my homie shoot up a gay wedding. wasnt his but still made me feel better."

He attached a picture of two men in suits running from an angry crowd.

GLAAD were not amused and urged followers: “Tell 50 Cent to let his fans know that anti-gay violence isn't something to joke about."

In 2005 the rapper said: "Being gay isn’t cool – it’s not what the music is based on. There’s always been conflict at the centre of hip-hop, because it’s all about which guy has the competitive edge, and you can’t be that aggressive if you’re gay."

Manchester wins bid to host 2012 gay rugby world cup

Manchester will host the Bingham Cup tournament in June 2012.

The city beat Sydney to win the right to host the international gay rugby world championship and was named as the 2012 host city on Wednesday.

More than 1,000 players will descend on the city for the three-day event at Broughton Park.

Gay rugby teams from around the world voted on which city should host the event and Manchester beat Sydney by 34 votes to 28.

Manchester's bid was lead by the Village Spartans, from the city's gay village. They secured the support of a range of big names, including gay Welsh player Gareth Thomas and gay pin-up Ben Cohen.

Matt Whiteley, who plays for the Spartans, told the Manchester Evening News: “We are absolutely over the moon. It was really tight but we got the decision in the end. It should be fantastic.”

Cohen, who plays for Sale Sharks, added: "Well done to Manchester on winning the bid to host the Bingham Cup."

Paul Wheeler, part of the bid team, wrote on Facebook: "We have been successful in our bid to host the 2012 Bingham Cup.

"The Cup will be coming to Manchester in June 2012. We would like to thank you for all your support and advocacy over the last few months.

"We would like especially like to thank the Sydney team for the spirit in which the bid process has been conducted. We are now working closely with IGRAB to ensure a successful delivery of the tournament."
The Bingham Cup is held every two years at cities around the world.

It began in 2002 and was named after Mark Bingham, a gay former University of California-Berkeley rugby star. He died in the September 11th 2001 attacks on board United Airlines Flight 93.

Two charged after gay Edinburgh man beaten is unconscious

Two men have been charged over an attack in which a gay man was beaten unconscious in Edinburgh.

The retail worker, who has asked not to be named, says that he was attacked because of his sexual orientation.

He said he had been on a night out on September 19th when he was chased down Lady Lawson street by a man who punched him in the jaw.

The victim, 27, fell to the floor, hitting his head and shoulder and passing out for five minutes. He was rushed to Edinburgh Royal Infirmary and treated for concussion.

He added that he did not remember much of the attack but his female friend said that four men had been shouting homophobic abuse and threatening to stab them.

The friends were at a clubnight at Edinburgh College of Art and said that the men had made abusive comments before the club closed. The attack happened at 3.15am.

Speaking to the Scotsman, he said: "I've lived in Edinburgh for eight years and nothing has ever happened like this before. I do know of two other guys, a couple that were attacked, but it's not something you expect these days.

"I think it's definitely a homophobic attack. They stood out from the rest of the people there, and they were obviously looking for trouble."

The victim's friend said: "It was obviously, definitely, because my friend is gay. You don't expect people to do something like that. It's so backwards."

The two men charged with the attack are to appear at Edinburgh Sheriff Court later. They are aged 27 and 21.

Equality Act comes into force

A range of new equality laws came into force today as the Equality Act was implemented.

The change consolidates nine separate pieces of legislation into a single act, giving new anti-discrimination protections to a variety of people with "protected characteristics".

Some of the new provisions apply specifically to trans people. These include widening the definition of trans, meaning that undergoing gender reassignment surgery will not be a requirement for protection under the law.

Another provision for trans people is that private clubs will not longer be able to discriminate against them on the grounds of their trans status.

Current laws already ban sexual orientation discrimination in providing goods, facilities or services or premises.

Some gay rights campaigners, including Peter Tatchell, complained during the consultation process that sexual orientation was not included in protection from harassment in schools and goods and services.

Faith and belief were also left out of this provision but the Labour government said that there was no need to include these characteristics in protections outside the workplace because there was no evidence of harassment taking place which would not fall within the protection from direct discrimination.

Last year, Labour peer Lord Waheed Alli tried to add an amendment to the bill to allow churches the option of carrying out civil partnerships for gay couples. The change was approved by the House of Lords and is being considered by ministers.

In July, Lord Alli said his amendment was a "huge step" but said that all couples must now be given the choice between civil and religious marriage, with faiths given the option to hold gay weddings.

The government is also still considering allowing people to make dual discrimination claims. This would mean that a lesbian could make a claim for discrimination on the basis of gender and sexual orientation.

One of the most controversial aspects of the new act is equal pay. Businesses have argued that the legislation will put heavy burdens on them at a time of financial difficulty.

The Labour government planned to ensure that businesses must reveal how much they pay men compared with women but this has been withdrawn under the coalition, prompting complaints from women's groups.

However, men and women will be able to compare their pay as secrecy clauses over wage packets will be outlawed.

Mothers will be guaranteed the right to breastfeed in public, while employers will be banned from asking about applicants' health before a job offer is made.

A new category of "discrimination by association”, will allow carers of disabled children or elderly parents to claim they suffered at work as a result of their responsibilities at home.

The Equality and Human Rights Commission said: "Everyone is protected by the new law.

"It covers age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion and belief, sex (meaning gender) and sexual orientation.

"Under the act people are not allowed to discriminate, harass or victimise another person because they belong to a group that the Act protects, they are thought to belong to one of those groups or are associated with someone who does."