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Brighton Pride will campaign again this year to highlight global LGBT communities

As it celebrates the 25th anniversary of Pride In The City, Brighton Pride will continue to put the global LGBTQ community at the centre of everything it does in 2015.

Pride 2014

WHEN highlighting the lives of LGBTQI communities across the globe, Brighton Pride asks us to look beyond our own back yard and engage with those LGBTQI people living in countries which criminalise or persecute them purely because of their gender or sexuality.

The Egyptian government’s recent crackdown on the freedoms enjoyed by gay men, with increasing arrests and prosecutions, the horrific pictures allegedly showing two gay men being thrown to their deaths from the top of a tower –released by the self-proclaimed Islamic State (ISIS) earlier this month– and the continuing legislative process in the United States against the Supreme Court’s ruling in favour of same-sex marriage reminds us of how far we have yet to go as a global community in the fight for LGBTQI equality.

The Brighton Pride 2015 Freedom To Live campaign, started in 2013, will show in 2015 that as a LGBTQI community here in the UK we can stand beside those in other countries and campaign for the Freedom to Live.

The 2015 Brighton Pride Community Parade will highlight the 78 countries where it remains illegal to be homosexual or engage in homosexual conduct by once again including 78 placards representing those countries on the parade. Amid the Pride celebrations we will remember, we will campaign and we will connect to the many LGBTQI communities across the globe fighting for the Freedom to Live.

Brighton Pride is proud to be a voice for others and proud to be a Pride with fundraising purpose.

You can make your voice heard in the fight for global LGBTQI equality and volunteer to hold one of the 78 countries’ Freedom To Live placards on the Brighton Pride Community Parade.

To register your interest to carry a placard, click here:

As one of the UK’s biggest Pride festivals, Brighton Pride leads the way in campaigning for the rights of our global LGBTQI community.

 

Brighton Kemptown MP meets rail management for improvement talks

Earlier today, Simon Kirby, MP for Brighton Kemptown and Peacehaven, met with management from Network Rail, Southern and Thameslink and Claire Perry MP, the Parliamentary Under-secretary of State for Transport, to discuss much needed improvements to the rail service.

Simon Kirby MP
Simon Kirby MP

FOLLOWING Simon’s ongoing interest in the local rail services, the Rail Minister invited Simon to take part in a round-table meeting with the senior management teams of rail companies over improvements to the service that his constituents receive.

With extensive delays to Thameslink services all last week, there was an even greater need for the rail providers to share their plans for improving their service.

During the meeting it was proposed that there would be three stages of improvements:

• Short Term (to mid-2015)

• Medium Term (to December 2015) and

• Long Term (to December 2018)

The short-term proposals focused on resolving issues relating to London Bridge, including investing in the London Bridge diversion route, changing timetables at the station, and bringing in more staff to help passengers and dispatch trains.

Work will be done in the short term to renew points at Haywards Heath, something that should have a positive impact on all those using the Brighton Main Line.

In the medium term the rail companies will be rolling out more new trains, helping with reliability and reducing maintenance times.

By December 2015 Thameslink and Southern also aim to have 51 newly-qualified drivers, so that driver shortages can cease to cause disruptions to services, as well as introducing new maintenance regimes and innovative mobile maintenance trains.

Finally, in the long term, there are plans for more new rolling stock, the completion of the redevelopment of London Bridge, and improved drainage on the lines, among other plans.

After the meeting, Mr Kirby said: “I was pleased to be able to meet with senior management from Southern, Thameslink and Network Rail and make the case about improving the service residents receive. The service in recent months and weeks has been completely unacceptable, and I made sure I made the rail companies very aware of my constituents’ feelings during the meeting.

“The rail companies’ plans show that they are determined to make improvements, and I hope that the action they are taking will begin to have a direct impact on reliability as soon as possible.

“I am particularly pleased to see that there will be additional night-time infrastructure maintenance, which should go a long way towards seeing faster repairs and improvements. It is also fantastic news for rail users that the networks have listened to my campaigning and will be introducing improved delay compensation services.

“I am sure that the many commuters living in Brighton Kemptown and Peacehaven will be pleased to see that improvement works are being introduced immediately, and I will make sure to keep the pressure on the rail companies to bring about a tangible improvement as soon as possible.”

‘Football v Homophobia’ month of action

The FA’s Football v Homophobia month of action kicked off in Manchester yesterday, February 1, during LGBT History Month.

BLAGSS

THE annual drive is aimed at raising awareness of homophobia, and some of the work being done to tackle it, in both professional and grassroots football.

On Sunday February 15, Brighton Lesbian and Gay Sports Society (BLAGSS) football team will be playing a match against the Sussex County FA.

The game will take place on the AITC 3G pitch at the American Express Elite Football Performance Centre, BN15 9 Lansing, West Sussex, starting at 11.30 a.m.

Everyone is welcome to go along and cheer the teams on.

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Stonewall celebrates ‘defining moments’ and voices during LGBT History Month

Stonewall asks ‘what’s your defining moment in LGBT history?’

Stonewall

STONEWALL marks LGBT History Month this year by working with schools, local authorities, celebrities and workplaces and inviting people to share their defining moments in LGBT history.

The equality charity will share stories from LGBT Voices, its guide celebrating older LGBT people, and look back on its journey on the Stonewall25 website.

Stonewall will also share the recollections of its visionary founders, with the original founding members of the organisation coming together to discuss how far Stonewall has come since being formed in 1989.

The charity has sent LGBT History Month packs, which contain information on historic LGBT events and achievements, to more than 1,000 schools and local authorities. 700 Stonewall Diversity Champions – who together employ more than six million people – have also been sent materials.

Ruth Hunt: CEO Stonewall
Ruth Hunt: CEO Stonewall

 

Ruth Hunt, the CEO of Stonewall, said: “LGBT History month provides a wonderful opportunity to stop and reflect on how far we’ve come. The gay pubs that provide us with a space to be ourselves, the small groups of people who come together for a common cause, the groups that serve our local communities and the thousands upon thousands of individuals who’ve worked together to achieve change: our movement is built on strong foundations which will serve us well in the battles to come.”

Stonewall will also be marking LGBT History Month with a Twitter Q&A using #infolinelive, dedicated to LGBT history and what it means to people, on February 17 at 6:30 p.m.

To submit your story and explore Stonewall’s history on Stonewall25, click here: 

To view LGBT Voices, click here:

To watch the Stonewall Founders’ Dinner video, click here:

‘Family Diversity Area’ returns to Pride

Following the warm welcome it received in 2014 the Pride Family Area returns in 2015, bigger and better, providing a dedicated social space for LGBTQI families and their friends.

Family Diversity Area

THE new Pride Family Diversity Area will include a children’s playground and a wonderful family tent with children’s entertainers and activities to enhance your day at Pride with the children.

A welcoming, inclusive, safe, chilled and alcohol-free space, the Pride Family Diversity Area will be the ideal place in Preston Park to meet other LGBTQI families, engage with our diverse community and enjoy a proud day together with family and loved ones.

Pride Super Early Bird and Early Bird ticket prices have been frozen for the third year running and tickets are available now. Entry is free for up to 3 children under 12 with an accompanying adult.

Event: Brighton and Hove Pride on Preston Park

Where: Preston Park, Brighton

When: Saturday August 1 and Sunday August 2, 2015

To book tickets online, click here:

Dustin Lance Black to speak at Student Pride 2015

Acclaimed screenwriter Dustin Lance Black has been added to the line-up of speakers for the Attitude Question Time panel at Student Pride later this month.

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DUSTIN will also share his Oscar-winning insight with Newsnight and Dragons’ Den presenter Evan Davis, for a discussion of LGBT representation in film and TV.

Dustin lives in London with his partner, British olympic diver Tom Daley, who he has been dating since Tom came out to his YouTube followers in December 2013.

Dustin wrote the acclaimed Oscar-winning movie Milk and was named top of the Advocates’ Forty under 40 list of openly gay influential people issue in 2009.

When he was young, he struggled to come to terms with his sexuality. He believes the Mormon and military surroundings of his town played a large part in this.

His brother Marcus, who was also gay, died of cancer in 2012 and since then, Dustin has continued his LGBT activism with unparalleled reverence.

In a passionate speech after winning his Oscar, he said: “When I was 13 years old, my beautiful mother and my father moved me from a conservative Mormon home in San Antonio, Texas, to California, and I heard the story of Harvey Milk. And it gave me hope”

Matthew Follows, chair of Student Pride, says he is looking forward to Dustin inspiring the same hope in hundreds of students in the UK during Student Pride.

Student Pride, which will take place from Saturday, February 27 to Sunday, March 1 at the University of Westminster’s Marylebone campus opposite Madame Tussauds, is centred round a free daytime festival and jobs fair and an evening entertainment event hosted by G-A-Y.

For more information and to purchase wristbands, click here:

 

Drowning in baths a risk for young children

Public Health England (PHE) is alerting parents, carers and health professionals to the dangers of children drowning in baths, following a small number of deaths and ‘near misses’ reported by Child Death Overview Panels in London.

Public Health England

ACCIDENTAL child drowning in baths is a tragic but preventable cause of child injury and death which remains an issue across the country.

In particular, PHE is raising awareness of accidental drowning involving the use of bath seats, which have been implicated in these cases. The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) reports that one in three accidental drowning deaths in young children (2 years or under) involve bath seats.

Dr Yvonne Doyle
Dr Yvonne Doyle

Dr Yvonne Doyle, regional director of PHE London, said: “If unsupervised, young children can tip over in a bath seat and become trapped, or climb out of it, with potentially fatal consequences. These seats are used by parents when bathing babies and young children, but they can often be mistaken as safety measures instead of bathing aids requiring constant adult supervision.

“Babies and young children should never be left unattended in a bath, not even for a minute. Even if a child is quickly rescued from drowning, it may already have stopped breathing. A significant proportion of children who have near misses may suffer brain damage that can require lifelong financial and health-care support.”

As part of the child safety update produced by PHE, work is underway to educate parents and carers as well as health professionals across London to be alert to the dangers of bath-time equipment and aware that an adult must always be with children who are near or in water.

David Walker
David Walker

David Walker, leisure safety manager for the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA), said: “Bath seats are a really useful tool, as parents with babies and toddlers sometimes need all the help they can get, and that’s the intention of these products. However, they can lead to a false sense of security.

“Distractions from the phone, other children or someone at the door are really quick events that have led to tragedies. What feels like a couple of seconds can be a minute or two, which is easily enough time for significant injuries or even death to occur.

“This simple reminder to parents can help to avoid what are life-changing events: never leave a baby or young child unattended in the bath, even just for a moment.”

Katrina Phillips
Katrina Phillips

Katrina Phillips, chief executive of the Child Accident Prevention Trust (CAPT) added: “While a baby may look secure in a bath seat, they can easily wriggle or slip out, or the seat itself can tip over and immerse the baby in water.

“Babies can drown in just a few centimetres of water, very quickly and with no noise or struggle. They can’t recognise danger and don’t have the strength to try to reach the surface. This means you need to stay with your baby all the time near water.

“Bath seats are useful pieces of kit for busy parents but they are not safety devices.”

Around thirteen children under 5 die from drowning each year in the UK, and one in four of these deaths occur in a bath. For each drowning fatality there are eight non-fatal drowning events that are serious enough to require hospitalisation.

 

News from across the pond

We’ve received word that gay activist Konrad Juengling has got engaged.

Juengling and Peterson at the Portland Art Museum
Juengling and Peterson at the Portland Art Museum

 

KONRAD is a writer for PQ Monthly, GeeksOUT, and Q Center, with op-eds in a number of different publications including The Washington Blade and Q Salt Lake.

He helped to bring attention to the New York-based GeeksOUT organization when he wrote an op-ed urging filmgoers to avoid Ender’s Game.

After seeing congratulations for the couple on Latrice Royale’s Facebook, we’ve learned that Konrad will be marrying Robert “Robbie” Peterson.

Latrice Royale is a drag queen and former RuPaul’s Drag Race contender on the fifth season. She was most recently in London for a performance at The Meth Lab on Camden High St.

Robert Peterson is from Albuquerque, New Mexico, where he was a competitive jazz tap dancer and worked in finance before moving to Portland, Oregon. He and Konrad were both members of the Pivotal Reads Book Club at Pivot in Portland, which Konrad ran.

The two became engaged at the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta. Peterson bending down on one knee to propose was captured on camera in late 2014 by Angela Ollison, Digital Manager of KRQE, a New Mexico news station.

The couple has set a wedding date of August 20, 2016, at Silver Creek Falls in Silverton, Oregon. The South Falls Lodge, where the reception is being held, is on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places.

Konrad and America's Next Top Model alum Tocarra Jones.
Konrad and America’s Next Top Model alum Tocarra Jones.

Other online congratulations for the couple have come from Honey Mahogany, another RuPaul’s Drag Race alum, followed by activist Eric Rosswood, author of My Uncle’s Wedding.

 

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