Workers' Liberty

Mehdi Kazemi, the Iranian gay teenager threatened with deportation back to Iran (where his boyfriend was executed) has been granted unconditional asylum in the United Kingdom.

Over 150 people turned out on Saturday 22nd for a protest against the deportation of Iranian gay 19-year-old Mehdi Kazemi.

For the first time in its history, the annual conference of the National Union of Teachers debated a motion submitted by LGBT teachers from their own conference.

For the first time in its history, the annual conference of the National Union of Teachers debated a motion submitted by LGBT teachers from their own conference.

Over 150 people turned out on Saturday 22nd for a protest against the deportation of Iranian gay 19-year-old Mehdi Kazemi.

Mehdi Kazemi is a 19 year old gay man being threatened with deportation to Iran.

Respect Renewal MP George Galloway has been far from sympathetic to the case of Mehdi Kazemi, instead choosing to spew homophobic bile and defend the Iranian regime. Showing his complete contempt for human rights and democracy, he has levelled the ridiculous accusation that people campaigning against the deportation of Mehdi Kazemi are “the pink contingent of imperialism” — even though the protests are against our own government.

Iraqi LGBT have recently obtained new video evidence highlighting the brutality of the Badr Corps and police treatment of LGBT people in Iraq. It shows LGBT people being arrested, held in custody and having their heads shaved and taunted with songs of hate and revenge.

The first video shows two gay men celebrating a wedding ceremony when they are stopped at a checking point between Al-Kut and Baghdad and violently pulled out of their car.

Janine on Stroppyblog.

Jerusalem, January, 2008 - Al-Qaws, the Palestinian Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual Trans and Queer (LGBTQ) community project of the Jerusalem Open House for Pride and Tolerance (JOH), has achieved a milestone development in which it decided to become an independent entity, constituting the first-ever official Palestinian LGBTQ organization.

This summer the Iranian regime carried out a fresh wave of torture and executions, keeping up its record of systematic human rights abuses, including killings of children, political dissidents, gay pe

Feminists Against Borders will hold their first meeting, “Moving gender”, as part of the Gatwick No Borders Camp, Friday 21 September, 10am-1pm, Ruskin House, 23 Coombe Road, Croydon.

By Tom Unterrainer

The concept and practice of international solidarity, one of the cornerstones of socialism, is under attack from within the ranks of the labour movement. This disease is particularly visible in the context of Middle East politics.

It seems that LUL has vetoed an advert for GT magazine on the grounds that one of the models is too scantily-clad. The bloke concerned is helping the magazine to celebrate 40 years since the partial decriminalisation of homosexuality.

By Tom Unterrainer

“Frankly it's an extremely unpleasant Bill and I myself don't like it. It may well be twenty years ahead of public opinion; certainly working-class people in the north jeer at their Members at the weekend and ask them why they're looking after the buggers at Westminster instead of looking after the unemployed at home. It has gone down very badly that the Labour Party should be associated with such a Bill.”

Here (in italics) you will see Respect's entry in a guide to political parties for people with learning disabilities produced by the Disability Rights Coalition. The text was submitted by Respect themselves.

BY Maria Exall

London Pride, taking place over the weekend of 30 June-1 July, is an event which points towards liberation. The right to celebrate our sexuality in public is an important part of our freedom.

By Tom Unterrainer

The past few weeks have seen courageous actions by gay communities in Russia, Latvia and Poland.

The march of organised religion into the centre of political life continues, as does the growth of religious sectarianism as a force in British politics. The latest sign is the outrageous speech of Cardinal Keith O’Brien against abortion in Edinburgh on 31 May.

File this under 'Deaths That Will Cause Me No Tears'. Jerry Falwell, religious fruitcake and rampant reactionary, has departed this mortal coil, aged 73.

Here are some of his lowlights:

Homophobia within the police hampers investigations into 'queerbashing' and murder, according to an independent review. The report was conducted by the Metropolitan Police's Lesbian Gay Bisexual and Transgender Advisory Group (LGBT AG) and sanctioned by the Met itself.

I was disappointed that Solidarity chose to publish Maria Exall’s article “Faith, Homophobia and Human Rights” (Solidarity 3/107). The article reports in a positive light a conference that seems to have been the initiative of the Lesbian and Gay Christian Movement and was a lash up between the Gay Police Association, various religious organisations and some TUC bureaucrats.

Masculinity, Queers and the Military
By Peter Tatchell
Published by Cassell, £4.99

The campaign for queers in the military mistakenly assumes that all the rights straights have are desirable and that queers should have them too. Instead of being critical of the institutions of hetero society, this assimilationist mentality slavishly worships all things straight.

By Peter Tatchell

The “outing” of 10 Bishops by OutRage! during the Church of England General Synod last November was arguably the biggest and most successful “outing” accomplished anywhere in the world.

By Peter Tatchell

Over the last 10 years, only two MPs (out of 650) have come out — Chris Smith in 1984 and Michael Brown in 1994. At this rate we will have to wait 300 years for all 60 or so closeted MPs to pluck up the guts to be open about their homosexuality.

Equal rights for all!

Dear Mr Murphy O’Connor,

Courage in “Defence of the Faith” is, I suppose, a requirement of your office. Even so, I find it hard not to admire your courage — or bare-faced cheek — in attempting to “lay down the law” to the British government and the people it governs on what legal rights gay people in the UK should have and what legal rights granted to others should be denied them.

Around 250 people attended a “Faith, Homophobia and Human Rights” conference in London on Saturday 17 February 2007. Ali Hili from Iraqi LGBT and OutRage! spoke at the conference. Here is part of his speech.

There's a new worrying twist every day at the moment, with Tony Blair, and the few people who are going to go the distance with him, seeming to snowball in arrogance, like a Kamikaze mission. While there is some opposition to to the Blairite agenda, with Brown (who's never voted either way on any gay rights legislation) hovering to take on the mantle and go further, it is, taken as a whole, a worryingly small fractured and shrill opposition, not really confident of the politcal ideas and forces that might stand up to attack.

Today, Tony Blair is having trouble making his mind up. According to his press briefing this morning, Tone is struggling to make a decision about whether to exempt faith-based adoption agencies from anti-discrimination legislation. You see, Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor has written a stern letter to the Prime Minister and Cabinet demanding the "right" of Catholic adoption agencies - and those of other faiths - to refuse to consider same-sex couples as potential adoptive parents.

Blair whines that "this was an issue with sensitivities on all sides" and is "not clear-cut or straightforward". Au contraire, Mr P.M., it's very straightforward. You either allow homophobic bigotry or you don't.

There aren't too many Employment Tribunals where I'd support the boss against the worker. But here's one.

Andrew McClintock claims he was forced to resign as a family division magistrate because he was not prepared to agree to remove children from their families because they might be placed with a lesbian or gay couple.