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Tag: LGBT

  • US Appoints Gay Diplomat Randy Berry As Special Envoy For Rights Of LGBT People In Foreign Countries

    US Appoints Gay Diplomat Randy Berry As Special Envoy For Rights Of LGBT People In Foreign Countries

    The U.S. Department of State has announced that career diplomat Randy Berry will serve as the first special envoy for the rights of LGBT people in foreign countries, calling him a “voice of clarity and conviction on human rights.”

    Berry, who is openly gay, has served as the consul general at the U.S. Embassy in the Netherlands since 2012 and before that was posted to Nepal, New Zealand, Bangladesh, Egypt and Uganda since joining the State Department in 1993.

    “Defending and promoting the human rights of LGBT persons is at the core of our commitment to advancing human rights globally — the heart and conscience of our diplomacy,” Secretary of State John Kerry said in a news release.

    In the new role, Berry will strive to protect gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people from violence and abuse and will try to work with foreign governments to overturn laws in more than 75 countries that criminalize same-sex relationships.

    “Too often, in too many countries, LGBT persons are threatened, jailed and prosecuted because of who they are or who they love. Too many governments have proposed or enacted laws that aim to curb freedom of expression, association, religion and peaceful protest,” Kerry said.

    Gay rights groups praised the announcement, citing the need to stop discrimination and abuse of LGBT people globally. “At a moment when many LGBT people around the world are facing persecution and daily violence, this unprecedented appointment shows a historic commitment to the principle that LGBT rights are human rights,”Chad Griffin, president of the Washington-based LGBT rights group Human Rights Campaign, said in a news release. “This new appointment sends a message that the United States will remain on the forefront of protecting the human rights of LGBT people around the world.”

    According to Human Rights Campaign, same-sex conduct is punishable by death in 10 countries, including Iran and Saudi Arabia, and is criminalized in 76 countries.

    In 2014 there were at least 200 documented murders of transgender people in 28 countries, according to the TVT Project, an international transgender rights and research group that has been tracking homicides in the transgender community.

    Berry’s appointment is part of an Obama administration push to promote LGBT rights internationally and make them a foreign policy priority. The State Department in 2011 launched the Global Equality Fund, which supports LGBT human rights through partnerships with foreign governments and the private sector.

    With Reuters

     

    Source: http://america.aljazeera.com

  • I’m Willing To Convert To Be With My Malay Muslim Gay Partner

    I’m Willing To Convert To Be With My Malay Muslim Gay Partner

    I’m a chinese and i met a guy whom i really like. He is a malay. We liked each other and we always enjoy each other’s company a lot. He is a nice guy, someone i can get along well and he knows how to make me happy. However, we had a complicated issue that makes us difficult to be together. It was religion. Because of that, he decided to let us go and he stopped himself from falling in love with me. He like me but yet to fall for me. He said it is hard for us to be together and he wouldnt let himself to love me.

    Gay SG Confessions - Religion 1

    At that point of time, i really do not want any religion commitment and he knows about that. However after losing him, i thought about it and realised i am willing to convert to islam for him. I don’t mind doing it for him. But i dont think this is good because religion is very important and i am supposed to convert for myself, not for anyone.

    The problem is.. i havent had the chance to tell him about the fact that i dont mind converting for him. I’m not sure if he still likes me. He may have moved on already since it has been a month since that day he told me we cannot be tgt. It is highly possible he may like someone else already? He is strong in his mind, if he had alr said he wouldnt love me he may have already let us go. I still think of him all the time, i cant get rid of him off my mind. We are still friends. We only met up once after that day we cleared things up.

    So we met recently and we still cross the boundaries of friends. Some of our actions are clearly more than just friends. The way we look into each other’s eyes and we hug each other really tight before we part. I told myself, enjoy those moments i have with him that day. Dont think about anything else. When we talk through text, he tend to use that chance to avoid me to stop himself from talking too much with me.

    What am i supposed to do.. Should i just tell him that i wouldnt mind converting to islam for him so that religion would no longer be an issue? Regardless whether he still likes me a not, should i just tell? Because 10 years later, i think i will regret for not saying it out. Or should i wait for the next meetup and see how it goes? If we’re still good and i could feel that he still likes me, then by then i go for it?

    Feel free to give me your opinions. Thank you everyone for reading.

     

    Source: Gay SG Confessions

  • Come Aboard The Gay Love Boat In Singapore

    Come Aboard The Gay Love Boat In Singapore

    Dear TRS,

    I don’t want to be homophobic or anything but I wish highlight a major hypocrisy in our system.

    I read that there is a Gay Cruise which will berth at Marina Bay Cruise Centre in April:

    Gay Cruise from Singapore to HK​, coming Singapore April 2015​

    http://atlantisevents.com/Singapore-to-Hong-Kong-Cruise/40#overview

    March 29 – April 9, 2015
    Singapore to Hong Kong Cruise
    Celebrity Millennium

    This is outrageous, Singapore welcomes World largest Gay Cruise to Marina Bay Centre Cruises.

    The Penal Code 377A is against man to man sex, anal etc, yet we allow such a gay cruiseship to be berth in Singapore, and welcome 2000+ gays to visit and transit in Singapore.

    The government has repeatedly explained that they are not ready to repeal s377A despite a lot of support and a growing Pink Dot community.

    However, when commercial benefits are involved, such as in this cruise, they openly welcome thousands of people into Singapore even though they are likely to be breaking the law that the government refuses to repeal.

    If the government is saying that there are cultural issues and Singapore is conservative, that’s why we need 377A, how can we welcome such a huge group of people to come here who may conflict with that culture?

    Is it just for monetary gains, the govt allows such cruise chip to come via Marina Bay Cruise Centre.

    This isn’t really a debate about s377A but the hypocrisy is outstanding.

    TH

    TRS Contributor

     

    Source: www.therealsingapore.com

  • Midnighter: First Gay Superhero To Take Lead In DC Series

    Midnighter: First Gay Superhero To Take Lead In DC Series

    People have raised questions over Batman’s sexuality, given his fondness for tight-fitting Lycra, secret identities, and young male companions.

    But there are no questions over DC’s new lead character, Midnighter – he’s gay and proud.

    The superhero is to take the lead in a DC comics series this summer, written by Steve Orlando – making him DC’s only gay lead, after Batwoman stepped back into the shadows.

    The bio-engineered superhuman was created in 1998, and married his husband Apollo in a union which had (intentional) echoes of Batman and Superman’s friendship.

    He also used his superhuman healing powers to recover from AIDS in just six weeks, as well as attempting to assassinate Hitler.

    Apart from his love life, Midnighter’s main interest is really extreme violence – he moves so quickly he’s almost impossible to defeat in combat, and has a fondness for ripping out people’s spines.

    Orlando says, ‘Midnighter was a huge character for me when I was young. Showed me there was no one way to be confident, LGBT and awesome.

     

    Source: http://metro.co.uk

  • Malaysian Engineer Convicted Of Sexual Offences Against 31 Boys In Singapore

    Malaysian Engineer Convicted Of Sexual Offences Against 31 Boys In Singapore

    A 31-year-old Malaysian engineer has pleaded guilty to preying on 31 boys, aged between 11 and 15, over a three-year period, the Singapore’s Straits Times reported on Friday.

    Yap Weng Wah was reported to have befriended the boys on Facebook and used a number of different accounts to strike up friendship with them.

    Yap pleaded guilty to 12 charges of sexual penetration of a minor, the daily said. He faces another 64 charges of sexual offences.

    He managed to persuade 30 boys to have sex with him in his rented apartment, toilet cubicles in shopping centres and swimming complexes, hotel rooms and a public park between November 2009 and June 2012.

    He also recorded the sexual encounters on his mobile phone and compiled details, such as each boy’s name, age and year of meeting, in his laptop.

    Police found about 2,000 video clips in the laptop, the paper said.

    Yap was arrested in 2012 after one of the boys lodged a police report stating he had been sexually penetrated.

    But many of the boys continued to meet Yap after their first sexual act because he had become a “friend” or they feared being blackmailed.

    The case was adjourned on Friday and his sentence to be decided on a later date. Prosecutors are seeking at least 30 years’ jail and 24 strokes of the rotan.

    Yap moved to Singapore in 2009 and he reportedly tearfully addressed the judge, expressing remorse for his deeds and apologising to his victims and their families.

     

    Source: https://sg.news.yahoo.com