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Local licensee launches ‘Freedom Flag Forever’ campaign

Starbucks Coffee in St James Street are first business to sign the pledge to fly a Rainbow Flag all year round.

Freedom Flag Forever

Local licensee and owner of the Marine Tavern in Broad Street has launched a Facebook campaign to encourage businesses in St James Street to fly the Rainbow Flag all year and not just during Pride.

Lee Cockshott is preparing to celebrate his first Pride in Brighton & Hove as a business owner and was surprised to see how many venues were flying the Rainbow Flag.

Lee Cockshott
Lee Cockshott

Lee said: “I think it is great that so many businesses are flying the flag this week, but why don’t they fly the flag all year round. The Rainbow Flag is not a sign for profit, it is a sign of support.”

Lee is going round all businesses in St James Street today asking them to sign a pledge to fly the flag all year round to show support for their LGBT customers who contribute a major amount to the turnovers of many businesses in St James Street.

WEB.300.4First business to sign the Freedom Flag Pledge in St James Street was Starbucks Coffee who have agreed to fly some of their seven rainbow flags all year round.

Hot on the heels of Starbucks O’Fishly Healthy and Age Concern Charity Shop signed on the dotted line.

Plans to fly the Rainbow Flag all year round in New Steine Gardens were scuppered late last year by some hoteliers in New Steine who opposed a permanent flag pole being located in the gardens to fly the Rainbow Flag at events important to the LGBT communities during the year including World Aids Day, Trans*Pride, IDAHOBIT and the annual Hate Crime Vigil.

To support the campaign, click here:   and ‘like’ the group.

 

 

Mayor to officially open Pride celebrations tonight

Cllr Lynda Hyde, The Mayor of Brighton & Hove will officially get the Pride 2015 celebrations underway this evening in New Steine Gardens.

Pride 2014: The Mayor of Brighton & Hove raises the Rainbow Flag.
Pride 2014: The Mayor of Brighton & Hove raises the Rainbow Flag.

The Mayor will raise the Rainbow Flag at 7pm by the side of the Brighton Aids Memorial and it will fly until Sunday evening when it will be taken down at the end of the Celebration of Life Vigil, which brings the curtains down on Pride 2015.

For more information about Brighton Pride, click here:

 

 

 

Diane Abbott MP launches LGBT manifesto for London Mayoral bid

Labour Party mayoral candidate Diane Abbott MP reveals policy proposals targeting London’s LGBT communities.

Diana Abbott MP
Diana Abbott MP

Ms. Abbott is critical of Boris Johnson, saying he has consistently let down the LGBT communities in London and has missed the opportunity to play a key role in positively shaping policy affecting LGBT Londoners.

She believes that London should remain proud to be a city associated with personal freedom where every individual can live their lives with dignity and respect, but warned against backward steps in recent years.

As Mayor she would take the immediate step of appointing an LGBT adviser to City Hall and commence work on tackling issues ranging from LGBT homelessness, the continued closure of LGBT community institutions, to issues associated with LGBT health on a pan-London level.

Ms Abbott, said: “Over half of the UK’s LGBT population lives in London and Brighton and this inclusivity is part of what makes our city great. But Boris Johnson has let down LGBT Londoners down by ignoring their issues and failing to establish a good relationship with the community. I believe that the Mayor has an opportunity play an essential role in standing up for LGBT Londoners against all forms of discrimination, against the closure of venues, and in tackling the scandal of LGBT homelessness. I plan to be the Mayor for each and every Londoner.”

Here is the policy proposal in full:

♦ Housing and homelessness: I will build more affordable homes, cap rents and take action against exploitative social landlords; I will also work to tackle the scandal of LGBT youth homelessness and support LGBT & LGBT – inclusive housing options e.g. supported and sheltered housing and co-operatives

♦ Travel and transport: I will freeze London tube, rail and bus fares for four years. I will also review safety at night for London tube and rail stations, with a focus on LGBT people, women, disabled and young people. Wherever possible, I will then work with partners to make changes to stations that fall short.

♦ World-class Pride celebrations: I will continue to support for diverse Pride celebrations across the capital, including ongoing funding for the main Pride event in the capital.

♦ LGBT community institutions: I will do everything within my power to keep historic LGBT venues like the RVT, Joiners Arms and The Black Cap open and to support LGBT businesses across London.

♦ Zero tolerance of anti-LGBT hate crime: Unlike Boris, I will work closely with the Met to deliver joined-up, pan-London work that implements best practice in responding to, monitoring, reporting and publishing data on anti-LGBT hate crime and domestic violence. I will also work to tackle low-level harassment and abuse, which can lead to more violent attacks.

♦ Zero tolerance of bullying in schools: I will work with partners to tackle homophobic, biphobic and transphobic bullying in London’s primary and secondary schools; campaign for sex and relationships education to include LGBT people and support counsellors with LGBT expertise working in schools.

Leadership on LGBT Health:
♦ HIV and sexual health:
 I will defend the pan-London HIV Prevention programme and HIV support services; commit London to becoming a HIV stigma-free city; sign London up to the UNAIDS Fast-Track Cities programme; lobby local authorities to commission HIV testing outside sexual health clinics in areas of high prevalence and campaign for quick introduction of PrEP to those who need and want it in the capital.

♦ LGBT mental health: I will campaign for greater counseling and therapy provision across London for LGBT people.

♦ Supporting older LGBT people: I will develop a training package for older peoples’ services including sheltered housing and residential care, about the needs of older LGBT people.

♦ LGBT arts and culture: I will support and promote LGBT-specific events and festivals such as Flare: London’s LGBT Film Festival, LGBT History Month and GFEST. I will also encourage cultural institutions and museums to increase integration of LGBT work and content.

♦ LGBT tourism: I will explore partnerships with other European cities such as Amsterdam, Berlin and Barcelona, which celebrate their LGBT communities, to share good practice and encourage tourism and investment.

♦ City Hall and the GLA as a model for LGBT equality: I will appoint an LGBT adviser; appoint an LGBT Advisory Group; re-establish an LGBT Pride Reception; establish an annual event to celebrate London’s trans community; make all GLA services more accessible for trans people and put the GLA back into the Stonewall Employer’s Index. I will not allow any advertising on Transport for London sites that discriminates against LGBT people.

♦ A Mayor Office/GLA-wide apprenticeship scheme: that specifically targets London’s diverse communities in terms of race, class, gender, sexual orientation and gender identity to give young people a helping hand and encourage businesses to do the same. It may be specifically about reviewing numbers and equalities figures for the existing schemes across the GLA family.
Training on LGBT and especially trans issues – including non-binary identified people and trans children – for frontline GLA staff: and work with local authorities to develop a good practice model for use with public sector staff across the capital (police, social workers, teachers, medical staff etc.) working with key partners.

New Patron for the Pink Triangle Trust

Sophie in ’t Veldt MEP has been appointed a Patron of the Pink Triangle Trust (PTT).

Sophie in ’t Veldt MEP
Sophie in ’t Veldt MEP

Sophie has been a Member of the European Parliament for D66, the Dutch social-liberal party, since 2004.

Currently, she is the Vice-Chair of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE) and a member of the Civil Liberties, Justice & Home Affairs Committee, of which she is the ALDE spokesperson.

She is also a substitute member of the Economic and Monetary Affairs and Women’s Rights and Gender Equality Committee.

She founded and currently co-chairs the European Parliament Platform for Secularism in Politics, she is co-Chair of the European Parliament Working Group on Reproductive Health, HIV/AIDS and Development and Vice-President of the LGBTI Intergroup.

In 2011 she was awarded the Irwin Prize for Secularist of the Year at a ceremony hosted by the UK National Secular Society.

George Broadhead
George Broadhead “

PTT Secretary George Broadhead said:We are delighted to have the support of such a staunch secularist and defender of LGBTI rights. Another of our esteemed patrons, Lord Michael Cashman, CBE, stood down as an MEP last year. He was President of European Parliament’s Intergroup on LGBTI issues and it is great that we now have the Vice-President of this group in his stead.”

 

For more information, click here: 

The ‘Gay’ Word!

In Britain, 99% of lesbian, gay and bisexual young people hear the word ‘gay’ used negatively while at school.

The Gay Word

84% feel distressed when they hear it used as a synonym for rubbish or uncool, yet almost half of all 18 to 29 year olds think the term is fine to use.

Why are people so divided over the ‘gay’ word?

The Gay Word is a documentary about the emerging trend of saying the word ‘gay’ negatively to mean rubbish, uncool, or embarrassing.

Film maker Amy Ashenden travels around the South East of England to find out why some people have started to say ‘eurgh that’s gay’.

Is it homophobic or has language evolved?

Amy asks gay and straight people, young and old, why it makes certain people deeply offended and others less fazed.

At Stonewall’s HQ in the city centre of London, Amy speaks to the largest gay rights organisation in Europe, which is campaigning against the word ‘gay’ being used negatively, and travels to meet the university academic who claims it’s harmless.

She also speaks to teachers, parents, a LGBT+ activist, a transgender male, and young people still in school to find out where the trend of saying “that’s so gay” negatively comes from, and if it should be stopped.

For a list of screenings of the film, click here: and you can follow the documentary on Twitter and Facebook.

September screenings in London will be confirmed shortly.

Amy is a BA French and Spanish graduate from the University of Southampton. She free lances for the Guardian, is the former editor of the Guardian Student Website of the Year 2013, The Student Journals, and has previously produced Working for Nothing – a documentary about unpaid internships in the UK, which featured an interview with the leader of the Green Party, Natalie Bennett.

The Gay Word has been produced with the support of equipment from SUSUtv, at the University of Southampton.

To view the trailer, click here:

Gay MP for Hove & Portslade to march at Pride

Peter Kyle, the new Labour MP for Hove & Portslade will be marching with the Labour Group on the Pride Community Parade, Carnival of Diversity on Saturday, August 1.

Peter Kyle MP
Peter Kyle MP

Mr Kyle, said: “As Hove’s first openly gay MP I’m proud to be able to represent the LGBT communities and show how far we have come and what we can achieve. I’m over-the-moon to be in a position to be able to be a loud and effective voice for all sections of the community and I will endeavor to continue to push forward boundaries and show the next generation that nothing is impossible. Enjoy Pride weekend – I hope it’s the best one yet.”

Nationally Labour is committed to strengthening the law on homophobic, biphobic and transphobic hate crime, tackling bullying in schools and working towards the decriminalisation of homosexuality worldwide.

Cllr Warren Morgan
Cllr Warren Morgan

Councillor Warren Morgan, Leader of Brighton and Hove City Council, added: “Under my leadership the city council will celebrate the LGBT contribution to the city year round, and work on ensuring all are safe, respected and included. Have a great Pride weekend and thanks to all those who make the weekend such a success.”

Brighton, Hove and District Labour Party say Brighton Pride is a special event in their annual calendar and an opportunity each year to remind people of Labour’s record on fighting for equality and discrimination.

Nancy Platts
Nancy Platts

Nancy Platts, Chair of Brighton, Hove and District Labour Party, said: “I’m proud to join the Pride parade and my thoughts are with the LGBT communities in other parts of the world, where they are unable to enjoy the freedom to openly express their love and still have to win the fight for equal rights.”

The Brighton Pride Community Parade will set off at 11am on Saturday, August 1, from the Peace Statue on Hove Lawns and travel east along Kings Road, north up West Street, east along North Street and north along London Road to Preston Park.

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