Mandatory gay brainwashing, and 6 other stories you might have missed this week
PinkNews brings you a roundup of news from the past seven days.
Here are some of the most widely read, and notable news stories from the past week which you may have missed.
1. Andrea Williams claimed Christian Concern is ‘roughly the same size’ as the Conservative party
The leader of the Christian lobbying group, who frequently opposes gay rights, said: “At Christian Concern we reach 80000 supporters (and many more thousands who believe what we believe).
“The Conservative Party has fewer than 100,000 members – two movements that differ very little in size.”
Despite the claim that they are the same size, 10,703,654 people voted for the Conservative party in 2010, while zero people voted for Christian Concern.
2. An iconic gay bar was listed as a ‘community asset’
The Royal Vauxhall Tavern, which famously hosted Paul O’Grady’s drag act Lily Savage in the 1980s, was granted the status by Lambeth Council.
The move means that if the venue – which has run into trouble in recent years – is put up for sale again, the local community will be given six months to prepare a bid to buy it.
3. Benedict Cumberbatch said he’d defend gay rights to the death
The Sherlock star said: “People are being beheaded in countries right now because of their beliefs or sexual orientations.
“I’d take up arms against someone who was telling me I had to believe in what they believed or they would kill me. I would fight them. I would fight them to the death. ”
4. The American Family Association claimed Christians are facing ‘mandatory gay brain washing’
The anti-gay group’s president Tim Wildmon claimed in an email to supporters that business owners with Christian values “face fines [and] mandatory gay brain-washing” from the US government.
The AFA previously claimed that gay rights activists ‘pro-actively’ stop Christians working as broadcasters, counsellors, photographers, bakers, florists, teachers, or innkeepers.
5. The date was set for equal marriage in Scotland
Same-sex couples in Scotland won’t have to wait much longer to marry, as equality is coming on Hogmanay, December 31.
Couples already in Civil Partnerships in Scotland will be able to convert to marriage from 16 December.
6. Shia LaBeouf blamed his theatre arrest on Alan Cumming being too sexy
The troubled Transformers star recounted his ‘disorderly conduct’ arrest during a performance of Cabaret earlier this year, during which he allegedly called a police officer a “fag”.
He said: “Alan Cumming walks past me and all I’m thinking about are his leather pants and him winking at me, and he walks past me and I give him a slap on the ass cause I think he deserves it, and he’s seducing me, I mean he’s the sexiest man I’ve ever seen.”
7. The government announced the details of Civil Partnership conversions
New regulations were unveiled to govern the revised process of converting civil partnerships to marriages in England and Wales, beginning December 10.
The revised plans allow couples already in civil partnerships to opt for a simple conversion at a register office, or a two-stage process, which includes a ceremony at a venue of their choice.
