Effective Aug. 31, Kevin Beaulieu is resigning as executive director of Pride Toronto, according to an Interpride press release. During his time at Pride Toronto, Beaulieu oversaw the most successful Pride festival in Canada's history. WorldPride 2014 Toronto was a 10-day festival that drew record attendance, hosted almost 250 affiliate events across the city and featured 575 days of programming from 17 new major cultural partners.
Kenya's dreaded "stone the gays" bill has reportedly been found unconstitutional, according to Gay Star News. Parliament's legal affairs committee allegedly rejected the Anti-Homosexuality Bill, finding that it conflicted with international interests. The Uganda-style bill was introduced by the Republican Liberty Party who sought to "protect the family" by banning any form of same-sex relations or promotion of homosexuality. Under the country's penal code, Kenya punishes same-sex acts with sentences of between five and 14 years in prison.
In England, the High Court has dismissed a charity's claim that London Mayor Boris Johnson was responsible for a ban on a bus advertisement that suggested people could "get over" homosexuality, according to BBC News. The Core Issues Trust ( CIT ) had accused Johnson of "currying favor" with gay lobby groups. Mrs. Justice Lang said Transport for London made the decision not the to run the advertisements, not the mayor.
British-born Christian rock singer and religious commentator Vicky Beeching, who has a large audience in the United States, has come out as a lesbian, SheWired.com reported. Beeching, 35, came out in an interview published Wednesday in the U.K.'s Independent. Reporter Patrick Strudwick stated, "She has only just told one her closest friends, Katherine, and Katherine's father, Justin Welby, the Archbishop of Canterbury," speculating that Beeching may help liberalize Anglicanism, as the archbishop is head of the Church of England and the Anglican Communion.
Italian journalist Federico Bitti's encounter with a homophobic man has resulted in thousands of shares on Facebook and made national headlines in Spain, where the experience occurred, according to IBTimes.com . The would-be bully threatened Bitti with an umbrella pole while Bitti was on the beach with his boyfriend; the experience ended with the aggressive guy leaving the beach, as other beachgoers applauded in support of the gay couple.
In England, Tory MP ( member of Parliament ) Michael Fabricant has said that a crisis in the supply of donated blood will occur again unless "outdated, illogical and unequal" rules that ban sexually active gay men from donating blood are reformed, according to the UK Guardian. The former government whip is calling on the government to change a law dating back to the initial outbreak of HIV/AIDS in the 1980s, which bans gay men who have not been celibate for at least 12 months from donating blood.
To celebrate the Islamic holy month Ramadan and the Eid Fitr, Indonesian television station RCTI recently ran the TV drama Insyafnya seorang waria, which loosely translates as "Realization of a transgender woman," according to TheConversation.com . The film has drawn criticism from LGBT-rights organizations in Indonesia for its misrepresentation of transgender people. The film—which shows a trans woman repenting—has a religious theme that is currently popular on various television channels in Indonesia.
New Frontiers Media Holdings LLC announced an international co-production deal with Australian company Cobbstar Productions, the makers of the most-watched gay online series in the world, The Horizon, according to a press release. The move marks the beginning of a push by the publisher of the leading LGBT magazine Frontiers into online television, and a shift in focus for the Australian-based dramedy to its U.S. audience. The Sydney, Australia-based series is the top gay web series online, having amassed more than 23 million viewers; The Horizon launched its fourth season in June.
An Australian documentary series is preparing to launch, and will reportedly "test Australian values, with same-sex marriage the first in line to be examined," The Huffington Post noted. Called Living with the Enemy, the episode dealing with LGBT issues will have a Melbourne couple, Michael Barnett and Gregory Storer, living with an anti-gay pastor. The show will premiere Wed., Sept. 3, on SBS ONE.
In Canada, a Longueuil, Quebec, same-sex couple is scared after receiving an anonymous letter threatening them for hanging a gay-pride flag from their balcony, CBC News reported. The pair, who have been granted anonymity to protect their children, said they found the letter after returning home one night from a friend's place. The flag, which had been hanging from the balcony since March, was removed.
Also in Canada, Western Pride NL has filed a complaint with the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary, alleging The Newfoundland Herald has propagated hate against the LGBTQ community by publishing an article that speaks of the "evil homosexuals," according to The Western Star. The organization claims the publication of the blog article "The Coming Christian Revolt," from the fundamentalist Christian blog site Barbwire, is a hate crime under the Criminal Code of Canada. The article addresses a debate plaguing U.S. popular politics concerning Christian rights vs. LGBTQ rights.
Luis Gerardo Mendez, one of Mexico's brightest young actors, has apparently come out as gay in a recent interview, after keeping his personal life private for much of his career, according to NewNowNext.com . The 32-year-old Mendez, the star of Nosotros Los Nobles ( We Are the Nobles ) told Moi magazine that infidelity has caused him problems in the past, saying, "I was not faithful to many [men]." Mendez played a gay chararcter in the 2010 film No se si cortarme las venas o dejarmelas largas ( I Don't Know Whether to Slit My Veins or Leave Them Long ), sharing a kiss with Luis Ernesto Franco.
In Singapore, an LGBTI fun run slated for Aug. 16 was not held after the police refused to issue a permit for the event, effectively banning it, Gay Star News noted. The Pink Run was going to be held as part of the 10th IndigNation LGBTI pride festival being held throughout August in Singapore. This year marked seven years since organizers first attempted to hold a fun run, which a group of plainclothed police officers disrupted.
In an interview with the Independent, Josh Brandon—who claims to be the United Kingdom's best-paid sex worker—said that what he called society's negative attitude toward his profession needs to change. Brandon, to earns up to £4,000 ( about $6,700 U.S. ) a night and up to £30,000 ( about $50,000 U.S. ) a month—said, "It's the most practiced since the dawn of man so I don't understand why people have to make such a big deal of it like it's some sacred cow." The gay sex worker credits his success to his "twink boy, young-looking, slightly androgynous look," and doesn't call himself a prostitute because he doesn't have sex with all his clients.
