Support our petition calling on the Government to Keep the Public Sector Equality Duty.  This is a vital issue – if the Government gets away with watering down this duty we will all lose one of the only ways in which we can ensure  that people across the whole range of equality areas, receive appropriate services.

You can sign the petition at http://www.change.org/en-GB/petitions/the-british-government-keep-the-public-sector-equality-duty-2

People who have already signed the petition have commented on why they think it is so important. Here are some of their comments:

“The Duty helps local Councillors to make better decisions about local services. It pushes them to consider minority groups before deciding priorities. Good sense when cash is now so short.” - Kevin Curley CBE

“This country has a proud tradition of accepting people for who they are and who they want to be – let’s not lose that!” – Carl Blackburn

“This is important because it is one of the last avenues of redress and justice that is open to members of the society to combat discrimination on the institutional level.” - Ted Dalhouse

“Because we fought for equalities and should remember they are there to protect us all.” - Mary Gardiner

Do have a look at the ROTA website http://www.rota.org.uk/ for more information on the Equality Duty and also ask you friends to sign by letting them know by email, twitter or facebook that you have signed.

Across the globe, there will be several ‘kiss-ins’ promoting the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia.

In the UK, Manchester’s Lesbian & Gay Foundation will ‘Kiss Hate Goodbye’ with a flash mob on 18 May.

Grahame Robertson, a spokesman from the charity, told GSN: ‘The Kiss Hate Goodbye flash mob and campaign in general is a chance for everyone to make a big statement against LGBT hate crime.

‘We are encouraging people to come along and show public display of affection to promote the cause. And it’s open to everyone, there are no restrictions on who kisses who.’

Maniz in Germany will also hold a ‘Kiss The Pride’ event on 18 May, where supporters will ‘kiss the camera’ to publicize the cause.

There will be similar kiss-ins in France, Wales, China and in many other countries.

To join in visit the IDAHO website and find out where your nearest kiss event is taking place.

However some MPs fear the amendment tabled at the last minute to the same sex marriage bill is actually designed to kick the issue into the long grass.

On Monday the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Bill, which has proved highly controversial with Tory MPs, will return to the House of Commons for two further days of debate.

Miller announced on Thursday evening that following lobbying by MPs over the status of civil partnerships, the government is proposing to “formally review” their future – despite her opposition to their expansion.

“The Equal Marriage Bill is about extending marriage to same-sex couples. Questions have been raised about whether we should also extend civil partnerships to opposite-sex couples,” she said.

“There are strong views on both sides of this debate, and we have listened to those views. We are therefore offering the House the opportunity to have a review of this area, rather than legislating now without the required evidence.”

Peter Tatchell of the Equal Love Campaign cited research showing that 61% of respondents are in favour of civil partnerships for heterosexual couples.

Taking account of equalities legislation, familial rights, hate crime legislation, legal gender recognition, freedom of assembly and the granting of asylum, the UK beats the rest in spite of plans to kick the public sector equality duty into the long grass. The passing of the first phase of the same sex marriage bill will undoubtedly have helped.

Belgium and Norway are the second and third best places to be LGBT, according to ILGA, scoring 67% and 66% respectively. Last year Germany and Spain came joint third.

Spain and Portugal remain high at 65%, with France shooting up the scale to 64% due to its equal marriage legislation. France’s figure would be higher were it not for the violence that resulted from the recognition of same sex marriage. Germany by contrast has dropped from second to twelfth, with only 54%. This is thought to be a result of its failure to adopt hate crime legislation, joint same-sex parent adoption and Angela Merkel’s shunning of equal marriage laws.

In the former western Europe, Italy remains a basket case at 19%, with no registered or civil partnerships, no hate crime legislation, no laws to protect LGBT employees and a ban on same sex adoption. Only San Marino and Monaco fare worse.

Of the former eastern countries, Hungary leads at 55% in spite of a rise in nationalism and homophobic crime, with Croatia and the Czech Republic close behind. Albania has shot up the scale thanks to its anti-discrimination legislation, adopted in the past year, to 38%.

Russia is at the bottom of the table with 7%, falling one place behind Azerbaijan and Armenia, with whom it drew last year, as a result of its anti homosexual propoganda bills and the rise in hate crime. ILGA describes it as a place where there are “gross violations of human rights”.

To see the map go here

“We must change consciousness,” said Mariela Castro, the daughter of President Raul Castro, who convened the parade as the head of a national center for sex education.

Participants danced through La Rampa, in the crowded heart of central Havana, for more than half an hour, evoking a range of reactions from onlookers, from approval to indifference to mockery.

“I came to dance and to protest against homophobia,” said Farah Mariah, who claims to be the first person in Cuba to undergo a sex change and now calls herself the “Diva of the Transvestites.”

“Socialism, yes; homophobia, no,” protesters chanted.

Signs in the crowd read “I didn’t lose a daughter, I gained two,” and “Hatred and fear are vanquished only with love.”

Cuba’s communist regime outlawed homosexuality during the 1960s, going so far as to intern gays in work camps, and homosexuals endured social ostracism in the decades that followed.

Castro’s National Center of Sexual Education has campaigned to turn around Cuban attitudes about gays over the past seven years.

Aswat magazine’s “Love for All” intiative was launched on Facebook to dovetail with International Day Against Homophobia on May 17.

Among the messages that have been posted was this one that reads: “If I weren’t gay, I wouldn’t have learned four languages. I needed these languages after being rejected by my society. I had to learn three languages to communicate with people outside of my society. My homosexuality is responsible for 90 percent of my knowledge and culture.”

Another says: “Homophobia does not have a religion. I am Muslim and I am against homophobia.”

The Scottish Trades Union Congress (STUC) is holding an LGBT workers’ conference for a second year.

Homophobia in the workplace is still a significant problem and many employees are not confident about being “out” at work, according to the body.

Mary Fee MSP, convenor of the Scottish Parliament’s Equal Opportunities Committee, will address delegates on Saturday.

On Sunday there will be speeches by Drew Smith MSP, representing the Better Together campaign, and Toni Giugliano on behalf of Yes Scotland. Question-and-answer sessions will follow.

The TUC in England and Wales holds its annual LGBT Conference at Congress House on the 27th and 28th of June

Fans of the show can still watch it until the end of its current run on E4 at 9pm on Thursdays.

Focusing on the campaigning of ’60s gay activist Bayard Rustin in particular, Bisi says he welcomes Collins’ decision, but reminds us that black men and women have fought for LGBT equality throughout history.

Bisi adds: “From the past, I will like to bring you quickly to the present, and one of the biggest black female basketball players in America.

“Before Jason, there was Brittney Griner. She has been very open about being a lesbian and, despite this, her achievements are still considered among the most inspiring in the WNBA.

“In Britain, LGBT activist Linda Bellos is one of the most prominent black lesbians and part of the group who started Black History Month in the UK. I have had the humbling pleasure of meeting her and also sharing platform with her.”

Bisi also pays tribute to LGBT History Month patron and retired basketball pro John Amaechi. To read the full article go here