Posts made by shirfmohsen

QUEENSLAND GAY PERIODIC SURVEY RESEARCHER CALLS FOR PREP AS ALTERNATIVE TO SEROSORTING

The latest findings from the Queensland Gay Community Periodic Survey show gay and bisexual men continue to report high levels of HIV testing, but 15 per cent still say they have never been tested for HIV.

Conducted by the Centre for Social Research in Health, UNSW, over 1,500 gay and bisexual men took part in the 2014 survey, recruited from gay venues and events in Brisbane and Cairns, as well as through online networks.

Men in Queensland continue to report quite high levels of casual sex without condoms – over 40 per cent of men who have casual sex say they have had sex without condoms at least once (or one in five of all men in the survey).

Men who have sex without condoms generally try to reduce the chance of transmission by discussing HIV status. HIV-negative men in particular are increasingly likely to report serosorting – limiting sex without condoms to men who they believe are HIV-negative.

Associate Professor Martin Holt, lead investigator of the surveys comments, “Unfortunately, some of these men may have HIV and not know it, increasing the chance of new infections. Before they consider relying on serosorting, HIV-negative men should start to test for HIV three or four times a year.

“I’d also like to see them have some other options available, like pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP).”

Scott Brown of the Community HIV Education and Prevention Program (CHEP), based at Queensland Positive People said the HIV Foundation Queensland is about to begin the QPrEP trial, recruiting men who have sex with men who do not consistently use condoms.

A community forum, ‘Let’s Talk About PrEP’, will be hosted in Brisbane by the HIV Foundation Queensland at 6pm on March16.

Michael Scott, executive director of the Queensland AIDS Council has also said that his organisation supports PrEP and is in the process of formulating an awareness campaign around the issue.

“With so much money spent on rapid HIV testing, it shows that this expenditure has not been targeted appropriately," he said.

“The recruitment for the periodic survey is at Pride or venues, and yet 15 per cent have never been tested for HIV. For me that shows the previous targeting of rapid testing has failed. That’s why we need to be fully refunded.

“We need a return to a peer-based approach to HIV prevention, that’s what’s been missing for the past three years in Queensland.”

CREATED ON // SUNDAY, 15 MARCH 2015

A fundraiser at Sydney’s pop up Bear Bar during Mardi Gras has raised $4000 for Australia’s oldest HIV charity, the Bobby Goldsmith Foundation.

Proceeds from a raffle and bids at the ‘Bear Slave Auction’, plus 10 per cent from the sale of artworks by local bear artists will go to support BGF’s work providing practical, emotional and financial support for people living with HIV.

The Bear Slave Auction event at Bear Bar on March 1 was hosted by auctioneer Romany Brooks and MC Barry Taylor and saw five bears paraded before a raucous audience, before being auctioned off to the highest bidder.

BGF CEO David Riddell thanked all those who made a contribution.

“Bobby Goldsmith Foundation wants to say thank you to all at Honey Productions, all the guys who sold and bought on the evening and of course to all the guys who came on the night,” Riddell said.

“You have all made a huge difference to the lives of so many people living with HIV.”

Bear Bar event producer Jonny Bastin said he was thrilled to have raised so much for BGF.

“I’d like to say a big thank you to everyone who came along to Bear Bar and made a bid, bought a raffle ticket or purchased some artwork.

“Romany and Barry did a fab job with the auction and all our slaves, Phil, J-Dolla, Kevin, John and Kam were such good sports.

“Thanks too to everyone who was kind enough to donate prizes including Cellarmasters, Fitness First, Queer Screen, Billyward Accounting, Steve at WoofClub, Maggies Potts Point, Alan Bright, Monopole Potts Point, Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras, Gleebooks, SX, DJ Josh Kirkby, Swag & Valor underwear and Bear World Magazine.

“All money raised will benefit BGF who are a great community organisation.”

Out and About is a volunteer based home visiting program for older people who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex or queer (LGBTIQ), who may be lonely or socially isolated and whose quality of life may be improved by receiving a like-minded visitor.

The program has been funded through the Department of Social Service’s Community Visitors Scheme, and will provide support to 65 people.

Switchboard’s volunteers will visit older LGBTIQ people on a regular basis to undertake activities such as talking and sharing their life stories, reading, watching TV or a movie or going out for a walk.

Those eligible to access the program should already receive a Home Care Package and identify as LGBTIQ.

If you’re interested in volunteering or would like to find out more about the new service, please call Sandy Ashton, Switchboard’s Out and About Coordinator on 0466 218 921

tell me more please  >:D

The Victorian Government has released the Ice Action Plan, aimed to tackle the State’s ice problem and reduce the supply, demand and harm the drug has on Victoria’s communities.

Developed on the advice of Victoria Police and health and legal experts, the $45.5 million Ice Action Plan includes funding for harm minimalisation services in the LGBTI community, one of the populations affected by the drug.

“Supporting families, treating users, making our communities safer – these are the things that cannot wait,” Premier Daniel Andrews said.

The launch of the Plan ensures VAC will be able to continue to deliver its Alcohol & Other Drug Services aimed at reducing the harm associated with ice use in Victorian LGBTI communities.

“With concerns over the impact ice use has on HIV risk reduction strategies as well as the ongoing health and wellbeing of our community, we welcome this announcement,” said VAC CEO Simon Ruth.

“We look forward to working with Minister Foley on further improving health outcomes for the LGBTI communities.”

CEO of Pennington Institute and member of the Premier’s Ice Action Taskforce, John Ryan, said other states should look to what Victoria has faced and take action, as they will be caught by the problem soon.

“Crystal meth purity across Australia has caught up with Victoria. What has happened here, with ice reeking havoc, is a crystal ball for other states and territories to look at,” Mr Ryan said.

“We’ve learned the hard way that ice doesn’t creep up slowly, on a community or on a person. It moves fast and that’s what has to happen with the entire drug policy space, including Federally,” Mr Ryan said.

For more information on VAC’s Alcohol and Other Drug Services, visit vac.org.au

A church in New York has been hit with a violation after it posted an anti-gay sign on its board without obtaining permission.

The ATLAH Worldwide Missionary Church in Harlem posted the following anti-gay message on its church board: "Jesus would stone homos - stoning is still the law".

It wasn't so much the sign's homophobic message which saw ATLAH slapped with the violation, moreso the church's inability to obtain a permit.

Damaris Olivo of the Landmarks Preservation Commission said:

“Please keep in mind that the Commission cannot legally regulate the content of a sign, however, permits must be obtained for the installation of signage on landmark properties.”

“The commission’s first priority is to work with property owners to adjust violations.

“Usually the property owner works with staff to resolve the violations. In this instance unfortunately we have to issue a Notice of Violation because the property owner has not been cooperative.”

“If the sign is not removed, the building’s owners could face increasing levels of fines.”

The church's extremist pastor James David Manning made headlines earlier this year after suggesting Starbucks put semen in their lattes .

He said:

“The thing that I was not aware of is that… what Starbucks was doing, is they were taking specimens of male semen, and they were putting it in the blends of their lattes.

“It’s the absolute truth. They’re using male semen, and putting it into the blends of coffees that they sell.

“My suspicion is that they’re getting their semen from sodomites. Semen flavours up the coffee, and makes you thinks you’re having a good time.”

Tonight's episode of The Feed on SBS2 takes a timely look into the rise in HIV infections and the decline in condom use in Australia as well as the rise of Truvada as a prevention drug.

Taking data from the Kirby Institute's Annual Surveillance Report 2014, the program reports fewer people are dying from AIDS in Australia, but HIV infection rates are rising.

The Kirby Institute's Professor Andrew Grulich said changing perceptions were part of the reason for the rise in HIV.

“In the old days a person who got HIV would die,” Prof Grulich said.

“New treatments are great. People stay alive for a normal life span."

“[There] are more people living with HIV and [there are] changing perceptions of what HIV means, leading to increases in unsafe sex,” he said.

Grulich said anal sex remained the most common way to contract HIV, and wearing condoms was important.

"Condom use remains the centre of HIV prevention," Prof Grulich said.

However when gay men have sex with a casual partner, they are more likely to use a condom with that partner than are heterosexual men.

Nonetheless, in 2013, men who have sex with other men accounted for 70 per cent of people diagnosed with HIV the same year.

Tonight on SBS2 at 7:30pm, The Feed looks at why the number of HIV infections reached their highest point in 2012 for more than 15 years. The program also takes a look at the HIV drug Truvada, which has been found to be effective at preventing HIV.

The Sunshine Coast will host its first Over 50s Expo specifically addressing the needs of LGBTI seniors. The Expo provides the perfect opportunity for aged care organisations and community groups to come together to build a better understanding of the needs of LGBTI elders.

“For too long, many of our older people have not felt safe or comfortable using aged care and community services,” said Helen Daintree, Ageing in Diversity Health Promotion Officer. “This free event will address some of those concerns in a friendly atmosphere of celebration.”

The event is an initiative of the Queensland AIDS Council’s  (QuAC) Healthy Communities Programs through Ageing in Diversity Project.  The Expo will include a number of stalls staffed by by aged care service providers and community groups.

“Visibility as LGBTI seniors, and celebrating the age we are will be the central premise for the event, and paramount in every aspect of the day’s activities.”

Daintree told GNN the Expo takes a holistic approach to age and health care,  providing food for the spirit as well as the mind and body.

As well as workshops and salons, the expo will deliver a range of entertainment.

Diddley Squat, finalists in ABC TVs Exhumed series and self described ‘bunch of middle-aged friends who got together to have fun and make some noise’, will entertain, as well as the multi-talented Steven Oliver, most recently seen in ABC TV’s Black Comedy.

Workshops and demonstrations, competitions, games, talks, free health checks for hearing, blood pressure and balance, and even Delta therapy dogs to pat or cuddle will mean an engaging day.

QuAC’s Seniors’ Community Visiting Service will hold a ‘salon’, a popular spot for people to catch up with old friends. Previous ‘salons’ have reunited old friends who had not seen each other for 20 or more years.

The Amazing Ageing Race provides a fun way to explore LGBTI history and the chance to win a fabulous weekend for two at the Kingfisher Bay Resort on Fraser Island, donated by the Resort and Integrated Living Australia.

Several workshops will be on offer, including an in-depth workshop on Advanced Health Directives for LGBTI people.

“Given the history of criminalisation and discrimination, and the fears these have caused amongst our elders, it is vitally important for us to have a clear Advanced Health Directive. The Expo provides the perfect opportunity to begin the process with expert guidance and help,” said Gai Lemon, Director of Healthy Communities Programs.

The expo will also feature a special screening of the documentary Gen Silent, exploring ageing issues for gay men, lesbians and transgender people in the USA. This will be accompanied by its Australian counterpart, Then and Now followed by a forum and discussion with elders, young people, and service providers.

The Expo runs on Thursday March 19th, at the Lake Kawana Community Centre from 2pm -7pm, with plenty of food and drink available at the venue during the day.

Award-winning local jeweller Nadia Neuman from the Mondial Group has designed a special charm to allow the wearer to show their support for marriage equality.

According to Neuman the Australian Marriage Equality charm is an elegant, stylish and timeless unisex accessory created to raise money for, and awareness of, equal marriage rights in Australia.

Available in silver (rrp $50) and 9k gold (rrp $180), 100% of profits made from the sale of the Australian Marriage Equality charm will be donated to Australian Marriage Equality’s ongoing National Campaign. The charm can be worn on the leather bracelet it is delivered on or as a pendant.

Neuman described teh creation of teh charm as "an extension of what has been a very rewarding initiative for me both personally and professionally".

"Just like the Australian Marriage Equality ring, I hope the charm acts as a keepsake and special reminder of a time we all helped to change history," she said.

It’s not the first time the jeweller has created a design to support equal love. In April 2014, Australian Marriage Equality and Nadia Neuman joined forces for the launch of the Australian Marriage Equality ring.

Deputy Leader of the Opposition Party, Tanya Plibersek and Liberal Party Local Member Christine Forster, spoke at the launch of the Australian Marriage Equality ring sending clear message of political support for the initiative.

The Australian Marriage Equality charm is available for sale online now at www.eternalbymondial.com.au or in store at the exclusive Mondial by Nadia Neuman boutique located in the iconic Strand Arcade.

As for Kyle, he feels it's time to return to work.
'If you'd asked me that a month ago I'd have said: 'No, I'm not ready to go back, I'm going to miss him too much.' But he's crawling now and he's feeding properly so I don't think I'm going to miss too many milestones. It's time to go back.'
Kyle believes Miles will be an only child. 'I'd have liked more children, but I don't want to push my luck and I'm not greedy,' he says.
'A lot of people think he is disadvantaged because he has only one parent. And, although I grew up with siblings, I don't think he'll miss having brothers or sisters. We're always having playdates with friends.'
He says he would love a long-term relationship in the future but has to put his son's needs first. 'Lots of gay people don't want children and so I'd need to find someone that does,' he says. 'But to be honest, I've always been independent and I'm happy just being me and Miles for a few years.
'Maybe I'll meet someone when I'm 50 and on holiday. Or maybe I'll meet someone through work? Who knows? I'm not in any hurry. I'm happy as I am.'
As for his biological mother, legally Miles will be able to discover who she is when he turns 18. Both Kyle and Anne-Marie say they will encourage him if that's what he decides.
'I hope he does ask,' says Anne-Marie. 'I want to give her the biggest hug because if it wasn't for her, I wouldn't have him.'
And with that, she looks down at her sleeping grandson in her arms and squeezes him tightly.

The birth, an elective C-section on the NHS, took place last July, with Kyle right by his mother's side in the operating theatre.
'The consultant warned me about the dangers of a C-section and wanted me to have a natural birth, but I said no,' says Anne-Marie. 'I really didn't want to push this baby out because I felt it wasn't mine.'
Kyle adds: 'I think Mum found it easier to think of it as a 'medical procedure' rather than 'giving birth', and besides, I didn't want to hear my mum screaming in agony and there are some things I shouldn't see.'
As little Miles was born, he was passed straight to his father.
'He came out quickly. I got a good view of him but all Mum could see was his bottom,' says Kyle. 'I cut the cord and they handed me to him and I put him straight on my chest for skin-to-skin contact. It's a moment I find really hard to describe, but I was so relieved. He cried and I cried.
'It felt right and I thought: 'Finally, after all the stress and upset, he's here and he's mine and he can come and live with me.' '
'I knew Mum had the legal right to take him if she wanted — and the hospital wouldn't allow me to take him home on my own as it was against their policy.
'But I took care of him from the moment he was born. I stayed at the hospital and fed and changed Miles like any new parents would have done. Mum's job was done and she could simply lie back and recuperate.
'I took him home three days later and then it was just the two of us. He had reflux for a few weeks and I'll be honest, I didn't enjoy the little baby phase very much, but at six weeks he was sleeping through and I put that down to his good night-time routine.
'We have last feed at 6pm, then a bath and cuddles and then he's asleep by 8pm. He's a really good baby.'

Anne-Marie is adamant there was no motherly yearning to hold her newborn. 'It was lovely to see him being passed over to Kyle and I was very relieved,' she says.
'It felt like I'd done my bit. Kyle had a baby and stayed with me at the hospital with Miles as I recovered. Thankfully my milk didn't come in for a week and soon subsided as Kyle fed Miles with formula.'
When it came to signing the birth certificate, Anne-Marie was reluctant. 'It didn't feel right,' she says. 'Miles isn't my baby but by law we had to sign it and Kyle was worried we'd get into trouble if we didn't.'
Today, Miles lives in his father's tidy two-bedroom flat. The only evidence of a baby is the beautiful pure white cot in the nursery, over which hang a few coloured bunting flags. A huge smiling picture of Miles dominates the living room and TV show Mr Tumble is on the flat screen television.
Next month Kyle will return to work, dropping off baby Miles with his grandparents in the morning before picking him up at the end of the day when his mum will then go to her own job. Won't she be exhausted?
'You just get on with it, don't you?' she says matter-of-factly. 'My parents did that for me when Kyle and his brothers were little and I'll never forget that family support. It's lovely to do that for my own grandchildren.'

Kyle adds: 'We'd just driven over to see one of my brothers in Huddersfield and when Mum got out of the car, she suddenly felt a gush of blood and knew something was wrong.
'I was in an absolute panic, not only about the baby but about Mum. I didn't want her to haemorrhage, so I rang the clinic straight away and they said it sounded like she was losing the baby but there was nothing they could do. We were both in bits.
'I couldn't believe that we had used the only healthy embryo and it had worked and suddenly we were miscarrying. And I knew that if Mum lost the baby she would blame herself.
'I wouldn't have blamed her — it wasn't her fault — but she just cried because she knew how much I wanted this baby. But at the scan two days later to find out what had happened, they detected a heartbeat. We were thrilled.'
But fearing negative reactions, the family kept the pregnancy under wraps. 'If you don't know our full story your first reaction might be to go 'Urgh', and we wanted to avoid having to explain it all the time,' says Kyle. 'We got a few funny stares at the hospital appointments because I think some people thought I was her 'toy-boy'.'
Anne-Marie laughs. 'I made sure I wore baggy clothes throughout because I didn't want to have to explain to people. Even at eight months people didn't suspect. My cousin visited and knew Kyle was having a baby by a surrogate and asked how it was going. I said it was going fine. She had no idea.'

Anne-Marie thought otherwise. 'The implantation wasn't painful and I was pretty sure I was pregnant straight away,' she says. 'I sat in the back seat of the car on the way home with my legs up just to make sure. When I began to get cramps that night in bed, which I took to be implantation cramps — and a good sign — I just knew it had worked.
'I found it easy to detach myself, I really did. I really felt like it was babysitting. I kept thinking: 'This is not my baby but it is my grandchild, so I have to take extra special care.'
However, the first stages of the pregnancy did not go smoothly when Anne-Marie suffered two major bleeds at weeks six and seven. Suddenly it wasn't quite so easy to be 'detached'.
'We were convinced it was over,' she says.

His mother, however, had other ideas. 'When that fell through, I thought about it and discussed it with my husband. He was worried about my health and was scared of something going wrong because you read of older women dying in pregnancy.
'We mulled it over for a few days and agreed that if it gave Kyle the chance to have his own child, it was worth trying.'
At first, Kyle says he was unsure. 'I thought Mum was too old,' he says bluntly. 'I was worried that if something happened to her, I'd always blame myself. But the advantage of having a surrogate who you know and trust means there are fewer risks when it comes to adoption. If you have a baby with a surrogate stranger you don't know if she will end up keeping the baby because legally, she's the mother and she has that right.'
Once the decision had been made, Kyle had to tell the clinic what he was looking for from an egg donor.
'You can choose everything from skin tone to IQ levels to whether they're fat or thin, but I didn't want to be that specific because it felt too much like I was choosing a designer child,' he says. 'I just said I wanted someone with brown hair and green eyes like me so the child would resemble me.'
The cost of the procedure — around £14,000 — was made up entirely through savings, with a little help from Anne-Marie and Alan. 'I went for 12 months without a holiday to save up enough holiday time and money,' says Kyle. 'I didn't use any benefits and have worked and saved since I was 16. Mum and Dad helped me out a little, but otherwise it was all my savings.'
Mother and son attended the implantation appointment and Kyle watched on screen as the one healthy embryo was implanted.
'I'm not usually an emotional person but I cried all the way through this,' he admits. 'I thought because of Mum's age it wasn't going to work and I was gutted.'

I don't care what people think. My baby's loved, I'm happy and nothing else matters: Single gay man and his mum who gave birth to his surrogate son insist they've done nothing wrong

Like any besotted grandmother, Anne-Marie Casson can barely conceal her glee as she bounces her eight-month-old grandson Miles on her knee.
As her 27-year-old son Kyle — the baby's father — fetches drinks from the kitchen of his two- bedroom flat in Doncaster, Anne-Marie is practically clucking over the cute blond-haired toddler.
After a few moments, little Miles grizzles but the 46-year-old healthcare worker barely flinches. Placing him horizontally in her arms, she snuggles him into the warmth of her chest and rocks him to sleep.
Daddy doesn't get a look-in. But then, if anyone has the right to be a hands-on granny it's Anne-Marie.
For in a case that has divided opinion across Britain and led to questions about the robustness of our fertility laws, the married mother-of-three is not only Miles's grandmother, but also the woman who gave birth to him.
On face value, it's a story to make anyone recoil. But Anne-Marie simply carried the child. Using a donor egg fertilised by Kyle's sperm, she became the first woman in the UK to be a surrogate for her own son.
The arrangement emerged only last week when a High Court judge ruled that Kyle could now adopt Miles. The paperwork arrived on Saturday, meaning that although Kyle was classed as both the baby's father and brother when he was born, that is no longer the case. Today he is simply the baby's father.
Kyle says: 'I've never thought of him as my brother. None of us have. But when he was born, legally he was my brother. Just as legally, he was my mother's son.
'That's no longer the case. My mum and dad's names are no longer on the birth certificate. I am the only name on the birth certificate, meaning that I am now his legal father as well as his biological father.' The mother is listed as unknown.

The whole scenario may make many people uncomfortable. Indeed, critics have called it 'dubious' and questioned the ethics and morality of the situation. The family no longer speak to one friend who asserted that 'granny' would be too interfering if they went ahead.
'I know that some people won't understand it and are against what we've done but as far as I see, as long as someone can provide for a child then they have every right to a child,' says Kyle. 'Apart from that one friend — whom I no longer speak to — everyone else has been really supportive.

'No one has the right to deny someone that opportunity. We are supposed to live in a world with equal opportunities, but single people are discriminated against. The law says that having a child is too much of an undertaking for a single person to take on. But I've proved that wrong.
'I don't care what people think — they can keep their opinions. He is cared for. He is loved. I paid for it all myself with a little help from my parents at the end, and that's all that matters.'
His mum agrees wholeheartedly. 'Why should my son be denied the chance to be a father if he can provide a loving home?' she asks. Despite the controversy, Anne-Marie couldn't be more delighted.
'I've loved being a mother,' she says. 'Every day is precious and it goes so quickly. I was once a single mum to three boys under five and if I watch videos of my own three boys when they were so little, I think: 'I wish I could turn the clock back.'
'Some grandparents are like: 'I've had my own children and I've brought them up and that's it, I've got my own life now.' But I always said that whenever my children had their own kids I'd help out as much as possible. I suppose this is like my second chance.'
Doting: Anne-Marie is happy to be grandmother
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Doting: Anne-Marie is happy to be grandmother
Meanwhile, Kyle is content to allow granny a leading role in his son's upbringing. After all, when he returns to work at a supermarket next month it will be Anne-Marie and her husband Alan who will take care of little Miles every day.
'Of course I'll be interfering,' says Anne-Marie, who split with Kyle's father when he was five and later married Alan, who adopted Kyle and his younger twin brothers. 'I only live six miles away and can be here he needs me. The other week, when Miles was sick, Kyle called me and I came here and there was sick everywhere. Kyle had left it for me to clean up.
'I give him advice about sleeping and feeding, but that's all it is, advice. Miles is the first grandchild in the family and we're all besotted. I'm thrilled my son can finally experience what it's like to be a father.'
Kyle, who came out as gay to his parents when he was 19, says he always wanted children. His decision to undertake this unconventional route at such a relatively young age was, he says, based on ensuring his child would enjoy a close relationship with its grandparents.'If I left it until I was 40 I'd not only be an old dad but it would also mean my mum would be in her 60s, and I didn't want my child to grow up without his grandparents,' he says.
He started investigating the possibility of having a child when he was 24. Turned down by several surrogacy clinics on the grounds that he was single, he also looked into adoption but rejected it after deciding that he wanted his own biological offspring.
'Adoption is an amazing thing to do but why should I 'settle' for adoption when I could have my own child,' he says. 'I wanted a child that was part of 'me' and besides, anyone else can have their own child so why not me? I think everyone has a right to a child. If you can afford a child and bring it up in a loving home then why not?'
Anne-Marie and Kyle admit that their family is 'closer than most'. Even before her involvement as a surrogate, she attended most appointments at the Care fertility clinic in Sheffield to support her son.
'We went to the first appointment together in February 2013 and if my mum didn't come with me, my dad did, just to support me,' says Kyle.
It was during one of these appointments that Anne-Marie says the idea of her becoming a surrogate was first planted. 'The doctor, Mr Shaker, told us that he'd done this for a couple of families where the mother had had a baby for her own daughter,' says Anne-Marie. 'Although he'd never done it for a single person he said he preferred surrogacy arrangements where the surrogate was related to the parents because there was less chance of something going wrong at the adoption stage.
'When he said that, I got the strongest feeling he was looking at me as if to say: 'You could do it.'
Kyle adds: 'I'd already asked another female relative who had had children and who had said yes.
'But when she was checked out by her GP,it turned out she had gynaecological problems and he advised her not to go through with another pregnancy. I thought that was that.'

Heartthrob Brandon Routh has always had a gay fan base since playing the title role of Superman Returns in 2006, and he cemented it even more by playing a gay nurse in the CBS comedy, ‘Partners’.

On ‘Partners’, which unfortunately did not get past its first season, Routh played Wyatt, the lovely and sexy live-in boyfriend of Michael Urie.

Routh recently revealed he wishes he could have played Wyatt longer. As he explains to ‘xfinity’:

“I had such fun with that character and working with the fabulously talented Michael Urie and David [Krumholtz] and Sophia [Bush] and Max [Mutchnick, co-creator] and David [Kohan, co-creator] and everybody. That was one of those that still, we were on the right recipe and such a good family.”

He continues, “I get people all the time at conventions a lot say, ‘Oh, Partners was so great.’ A lot in Canada because they got to see, I think they might have gotten a few more episodes than we (in the US) got to see. I hear from people on Twitter in South Africa where they got to see all 13 episodes, they released all of them there.”

Routh also is also grateful for his gay fans, saying “I appreciate the support from everyone. Thankfully, the world, society, is coming to a more rational thought process about sexuality.”

You can now see Routh on The CW series ‘Arrow’ playing Ray Palmer, aka Atom

Third party political campaigners, Out For, have announced they will be holding a fundraiser to assist them in raising campaign monies for three local LGBTI candidates competing for seats in the upcoming NSW election.

Out For was created out of a need for the LGBTI community to have a stronger political voice in Australian politics.

Founders Andrew Wolfson and Paul Friend say they wanted to champion LGBTI issues and who better to do that than out LGBTI candidates.

“As members of the LGBTI community looking for equality and social justice in Australia, we need to elect spokespeople to Parliament who are ready and committed to championing our combined causes,” says Wolfson.

“We know the only way to change the equality conversation is through electing candidates who will advance LGBTI issues and policies. The mission for Out For is to do exactly that, raise money for candidates that promote equality and elect more LGBTI people into public office. “

In keeping with this credo, Out For has thrown their support behind out politicians, Alex Greenwich MP (Independent), Penny Sharpe MLC (Labor), and Bruce Notley-Smith MP (Liberal) for their record of championing the rights of LGBTI citizens in NSW.

Whilst all three have an enviable record of pushing for changes to legislation to provide greater protections for the nation’s LGBTI people, Out For believes there is still much to be done in terms of LGBTI rights, so have decided to assist in fundraising initiatives in the hopes that Greenwich, Sharpe and Notley-Smith will all be re-elected.

To assist in this effort, Out For are throwing a fundraising cocktail party at the Beresford Hotel on Sunday March 15. Greenwich, Sharpe and Notley-Smith will be in attendance and ready to answer your questions on the issues that matter to the LGBTI community.

Republican Presidential hopeful Ben Carson believes homosexuality is a choice because men in prison “choose” to become gay.

“Because a lot of people who go into prison go into prison straight — and when they come out, they’re gay,” he told CNN host Chris Cuomo.

When Cuomo compared same-sex marriage to constitutional changes following the abolition of slavery, Carson said the two issues are unrelated.

“People have no control over their race," he said.

Earlier this week, Carson launched an exploratory committee to run for president, becoming the first high-profile Republican candidate to potentially enter the 2016 race.

Carson believes civil issues like marriage should be controlled at the state, not federal, level.

He has said same-sex couples can have legal equality without being allowed to enter into a state sanctioned marriage.

In a 2013 speech, Carson compared homosexuality to bestiality:

“My thoughts are that marriage is between a man and a woman. It's a well-established, fundamental pillar of society and no group, be they gays, be they NAMBLA [North American Man/Boy Love Association], be they people who believe in bestiality. It doesn't matter what they are […] They don't get to change the definition.”

Since I was born,, It's a real

WASHINGTON —The Supreme Court is going to hear from a lot of people on same-sex marriage.

In an effort to win the hearts and minds of five or more justices, opponents of gay marriage bans being challenged at the high court this spring are inviting average citizens to sign a "friend of the court" brief that will be filed in early March.

The first name on the brief will be that of Edie Windsor, who won her lawsuit in 2013 when the high court struck down a key section of the Defense of Marriage Act that had denied federal benefits to legally married gays and lesbians. Her lawyer, Roberta Kaplan, wrote the brief in conjunction with the Human Rights Campaign, the nation's largest gay rights organization.

Americans interested in signing the so-called "amicus" brief can go to HRC.org and add their names. The brief must be filed with the court by March 6.

"The word 'amicus' comes from the Latin for 'friend,'" Kaplan said. "I hope that this brief will serve that function in helping to explain to the justices the remarkable sea change that our nation has experienced in terms of our understandings about gay people."

Dozens of briefs are certain to be filed before the case is heard in late April. A decision is expected by late June.