West Yorksire police officer wins “‘Mr Gay UK’ contest
West Yorkshire police officer Mark Carter, 23, is the new “Mr Gay UK.”
Carter triumphed over 24 regional finalists as 50 of his police colleagues cheered him on Sept. 30 at Blackpool’s Flamingo Club.
In an official West Yorkshire Police statement, Superintendent Nigel Hibbert said, “It’s a great achievement and we are all proud of Mark. He’s done very well and we are pleased that he has won.”
Carter described himself as “absolutely over the moon” about the victory.
“I am happy that people will be able to see that there are police officers who are gay and we are not necessarily the usual people that they see on TV programs like “‘Big Brother,'” he said. “It will be good for other young gay men to see someone like me who has been successful in a professional job like policing.
“I thought telling people I was gay would mean no one would want to know me, but at the Mr. Gay UK final I had more people together, supporting me, in one place than I’ve ever had in my life.”
Carter received approximately $9,500 in prize money.
Buenos Aires mayor says he isn’t gay, just “‘Frenchified’
The mayor of Buenos Aires, Argentina, Jorge Telerman, has said he isn’t gay, he’s just “Frenchified.”
“The other day, a daily [newspaper] insinuated that I was gay,” Telerman told Noticias magazine. “But afterward they stopped screwing around, maybe because they saw that it didn’t bother me. I wouldn’t have any problems in saying that I’m gay, but I’m not. I’ve been called “‘afrancesado’ [Frenchified], and the truth is that I am Frenchified. I love everything French.”
The magazine then asked Telerman if he’s a metrosexual.
“This word doesn’t appeal to me,” he said. “I am coquettish. Since I was a little boy, I’ve liked to be well-dressed.”
Danish lesbians granted access to fertility treatment
Starting Jan. 1, Danish lesbians and single women will have the same access to publicly funded fertility treatment that married women have.
Activists fought a nine-year battle to change the assisted-conception laws.
Same-sex couples who unite under Denmark’s groundbreaking 1989 registered-partnership law have all other rights of marriage with the exception of access to adoption. More than 3,000 couples have tied the knot under the law.
ILGA and ILGA-Europe now sharing office space in Brussels
ILGA and ILGA-Europe have moved in together.
The 28-year old International Lesbian and Gay Association and the 10-year-old European Region of the International Lesbian and Gay Association now operate out of the same offices in Brussels.
“Closer collaboration between ILGA and its most structured region means we’ll be able to use the experience and the success we’ve had in Europe to allow faster development for other regions of the world,” said ILGA Co-Secretary General Philipp Braun.
Founded in 1978, ILGA is the only international federation of GLBT organizations. It has 550 members.
Created in 1996, ILGA-Europe pushes LGBT equality at the European Union, the Council of Europe, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, and other European-level institutions. It also is a main network for gay organizations throughout the continent.
For more information, see www.ilga.org and www.ilga-europe.org.
Editorial assistance by Bill Kelley.
This article appeared in the Dallas Voice print edition, October 13, 2006.