BRITAIN: "Ex-Gay" Group Sues Again Over "Some People Are Gay" Ad Campaign

A British "ex-gay" group has filed a lawsuit which demands that London's transit agency remove the recently relaunched advertising campaign by the LGBT rights group Stonewall. Earlier this year the "ex-gay" group lost a different lawsuit after London Mayor Boris Johnson refused to allow them to post a response campaign which proclaimed, "Not Gay! Ex-Gay, Post-Gay and Proud. Get Over It!" But the judge's ruling in that case noted that Johnson's action was "inconsistent and partial."

It [the suit] claims that transport chiefs are deliberately ignoring a ruling by a High Court judge that the posters, from the gay rights group Stonewall, are “highly offensive to fundamentalist Christians” who believe that gay sex is a “sin”. Dr Michael Davidson, founder and Core Issues Trust, is lodging an urgent judicial review application seeking an injunction forcing TfL to take the new advertisements down. “I feel that Stonewall and the Defendant are deliberately flouting the rulings of the court by renewing their advertisement campaign on buses which was clearly prohibited by the earlier judgment of Mrs Justice Lang,” his application says. “Until such time when we have the judgment of the Court of Appeal, the Defendant should not have allowed Stonewall’s advertisement to reappear on their buses.”

The CEO of Stonewall responded to the latest suit: "It does seem a tragedy that these people who make so much noise about being Christian don’t spend a little more of their money on tackling polio or Third World poverty but a lot of money on slightly frivolous legal actions."

Quote Of The Day - Boris Johnson

"The key thing about faith – at least in this country – is that you can choose whether to believe or not, and you can pretty much choose how to observe your faith. But you can’t (really) choose where you are born, or the laws under which you grow up whether you are gay or straight. And marriage is an ancient human institution that is far older than any of the religions that are practised today. It may well be beloved by God, but no religion has ever had a monopoly on marriage. [snip] Marriage is an institution that can bring great happiness. It is a formal acknowledgment, by society, of the love and bond that can exist between human beings. It provides stability and comfort. Far from dying out, marriage is on the increase – especially in London. Why on earth would we deny it to anyone?" - London Mayor Boris Johnson, writing for the Independent.

London's Mayor For Marriage

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Quote Of The Day - Boris Johnson

"One moment he might be holding forth to a great perspiring tent at Hay-on-Wye. The next moment, click, some embarrassed member of the Welsh constabulary could walk on stage, place some handcuffs on the former leader of the Free World, and take him away to be charged. Of course, we are told this scenario is unlikely. Dubya is the former leader of a friendly power, with whom this country is determined to have good relations. But that is what torture-authorising Augusto Pinochet thought. And unlike Pinochet, Mr Bush is making no bones about what he has done." - London Mayor Boris Johnson, saying Dubya runs the risk of arrest as a war criminal if he visits the UK.

(Via - Alan Colmes)

LONDON: Mayor Boris Johnson Endorses Same-Sex Marriage

London's Mayor Boris Johnson has become the highest ranking Tory to support marriage equality. Johnson made the comments during the city's gay pride parade yesterday.

Kicking off the parade with members of the Gay Liberation Front, Mr Johnson said: “If the Conservatives and Liberals can get together in a national coalition and settle their differences, I don't see why you can't have gay marriage”. Mr Johnson is the highest-ranking Tory figure yet to support full marriage equality. His stance indicates his feelings on the subject may have progressed somewhat, as he once wrote that gay marriage "can only ever be a ludicrous parody of the real thing". He added: “Pride shows that London is the most generous, open, diverse city, whatever your background”. He said that London’s Worldpride celebration in 2012 would be “the biggest ever”. When asked whether he wanted to run again as mayor to run the city for the event, he said: “I hope so. I'd be pretty mad not to.” Mr Johnson made his pro-gay marriage declaration in response to a placard being carried by gay rights campaigner Peter Tatchell.

Civil partnerships became legal in the UK in 2005.

Gay Candidate Loses, London's Gays Worry About New Mayor

Openly gay Liberal Democrat candidate Brian Paddick (left) failed in his longshot bid to become London's mayor on Friday, losing to Conservative (Tory) candidate Boris Johnson. Paddick ended a 30-year career with the Metropolitan Police last year, a job he left as one of the top-ranked openly gay police officials in the world. Had Paddick been elected, London would have joined Paris and Berlin as major world cities with openly gay mayors.

The election of Boris Johnson (right) has alarmed London's gay community (and not just because of his Donald Trump hairstyle.) Johnson has been outspoken in his views against same-sex unions and has criticized attempts by his Tory party to reach out to gay Brits.

Pundits say that Johnson's win was not necessarily a disapproval of incumbent Mayor Ken Livingstone, but more a dissatisfaction with Prime Minister Gordon Brown's Labor Party in general. Johnson is considered by many to be a wacky celebrity-obsessed "character", and before the election was quoted as saying, "Voting Tory will cause your wife to have bigger breasts and increase your chances of owning a BMW M3."

As London has traditionally been a Labor stronghold, Johnson's election is thought to be a harbinger of the return of the Conservative Party to nationwide power in the next general election, which must be held by 2010. The Labor Party has been in control for 11 years.