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GAY BELFAST NEWS FOR APRIL 2004
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Police Board meet over gay taunts (22 April 2004)
The Northern Ireland Policing Board is set to hold a committee meeting deciding the fate of Newtownabbey Councillor, Arthur Templeton today. Councillor Templeton was suspended from the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), after a Belfast court found him guilty of harassing a gay colleague during local elections. The Policing Board is to discuss the issue, since both men are part of the District Policing Partnership. The partnership will be keen to be seen as standing against homophobia, after the Police Service of Northern Ireland Police Service (PSNI)pledged its commitment to a multi million pound programme to stamp out homophobic crimes in the province. The Police Board's vice chairman is reported to have said Templeton's comments were an "extremely serious issue and one which the board should carefully consider".
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Victim of DUP councillor's gay taunts speaks of "fear" (19 April 2004)
John Blair, the victim of a DUP councillor's homophobic abuse has spoken for the first time of his struggle to cope at the hands of his tormentor. Mr Blair launched a court case against Councillor Arthur Templeton, after the councillor repeatedly shouted verbal abuse at him during the election campaign. Councillor Templeton was accused of repeatedly calling Blair "queer", of embarrassing him in front of the general public and on one occasion bending over and patting his backside while saying "here you are, John". Mr Blair now says that the legal option was the only option to the stop the increasing amount of abuse he was receiving from Councillor Templeton, who worked with him on the District Policing Partnership.
"As far as I was concerned the harassment was worsening. I had made approaches to the DUP in the hope that it could be thwarted but there was no sign of him stopping," he said last week. It placed me in a position where I had no choice but to take the legal route. It was the first time I ever came across anything like this in more than 20 years of election campaigns." Mr Blair also defended himself against Councillor Templeton's accusations that he was blowing the whole sequence of events out of proportion. Despite being found guilty by a Belfast court, Templeton says he did not harass Mr Blair and had only bent over to tie his shoelace during the key event of the case. But Mr Blair says that was just the last in a long line of abuses that had left him feeling threatened.
"Elections can be volatile and as well as being horribly embarrassing for me there was also fear; I think intimidation like this always brings a degree of fear. I felt threatened. There was also the fear that he was going to disrupt my whole campaign and hinder me from doing what I had set out to do. The vast majority of people understand that in politics you keep public and personal matters separate."
The DUP has signalled it may suspend Templeton over the issue, which has received widespread media coverage in the province. He was also fined £250 by the court for his actions.
Blair says he now wishes to move forward and get on with his life. "I am more than happy to provide an example for people that they do not have to endure public harassment or intimidation, but I am hopeful that all interested parties will understand I now have to get on with my life and public duties," he says.
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Gay man's home attacked (16 April 2004)
A gay man has been subjected to abuse in Londonderry with unknown criminals smearing his door and windows with excrement. The attack took place earlier this week, although the victim is said to have suffered verbal abuse in the past. David McCartney of the Rainbow Project told the BBC that the attack has led the man involved to suffer from anxiety about his home and safety. "The young man concerned believes that it is homophobic in its nature and he has been getting some verbal abuse in the area," he said. He is quite disgusted at what has happened. There is a fear factor when you encounter this type of harassment on an estate." He adds that the seemingly increasing number of attacks is actually a knock on effect of rising confidence in the lesbian and gay community of Northern Ireland since it shows that people are more willing to work with the police and ensure homophobia does not go unchecked. We have found an improvement in how these incidents are dealt with (by the police) and we have recently found a number of successful prosecutions".
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DUP Councillor Suspended over Taunts (12 April 2004)
The Northern Ireland councillor found guilty of harassing a gay colleague has been suspended from the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP).
Arthur Templeton, the DUP Councillor for Newtownabbey, was the centre of controversy last week, after a court fined him for harassing John Blair. He had worked with Blair in the region's District Policing Partnership and had also seen him during canvassing. It is claimed that on these occasions, Templeton taunted Blair over his sexuality, telling him his canvassing rosette should be pink and calling him "queer". The jibes also included Templeton bending over and patting his bum at Blair, telling him "here you are, John". A DUP spokesman said last week that the party "condemns the harassment of anyone in any way whatsoever". It has also planned to hold a hearing for Templeton over the Easter weekend, with a view to releasing a statement on his future once this and court proceedings against him were complete. As of last week, Templeton was unrepentant about his actions and claimed the row was "political correctness gone mad". He said the claims were fictitious although he did later admit to being "against homosexuality" for religious reasons.
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Calls for Templeton to Resign (8 April 2004)
Arthur Templeton, a DUP councillor in Newtownabbey who was fined for harassing a gay colleague is facing increasing calls for his resignation. SDLP councillor Tommy McTeague said he wants Councillor Templeton to resign from Newtonabbey Borough Council. If he does not, he says he will push for the council to force him to quit. The local Alliance Party's councillor, Lynn Frazer called Councillor Templeton's behaviour "juvenile, wrong and never acceptable." She went on to say "To cause another person such embarrassment in public is to display a very immature attitude, although thankfully it is one that is becoming less common. In normal circumstances, if someone was convicted of harassing a gay colleague, one would expect disciplinary action to take place." The leader of Northern Irelands Gay Rights Association (NIGRA) PA Mag Lochlainn has also spoken out against the councillor and the punishment imposed on him. "We are appalled at the leniency of the sentence handed out to Templeton," he told the Belfast Telegraph. "This was a crime with potentially dangerous consequences which warranted a more severe punishment." Meanwhile, the Policing Board of the area met last night to discuss the councillor. Gay groups throughout Northern Ireland protected outside.
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DUP Councillor fined for Homophobic Abuse (5 April 2004)
A Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) Councillor has been fined for homophobic taunts against a council candidate, after a Belfast court found him guilty of harassment. Councillor Arthur Templeton had been accused of shouting verbal abuse at John Blair during canvassing for the election campaigns in 2001 and 2002. Mr Blair was a candidate for the Newtownabbey Ratepayers' Association. Councillor Templeton is said to have called him "queer" whilst canvassing and said he should wear a pink rosette to identify himself and his sexuality to voters. Additionally, he is said to have bent over and touched his bum in front of Blair's car and said "Here you are, John".
Both the men, who also work together on the District Policing Partnership initiative, had attended the hearing, with Blair telling Belfast magistrate's Court that he felt "threatened and intimidated" by the comments. Councillor Templeton had rejected the charges and dismissed claims that he had said anything homophobic to the victim. He claims the incident in front of Mr Blair's car occurred when he bent over to tie his shoelace. However, the court said it was obvious the comments had been made to "distress" Mr Blair and fined Councillor Templeton £250. There are now increasing calls for Councillor Templeton, who works for South Antrim Assembly member Paul Girvan MLA, to step down from his position. This is not the first time that the DUP has been at the forefront of homophobia abuse. See DUP Councillor Bert Johnston comments below.
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Gay couples to get joint rights under a new Civil Partnership Bill (31 March 2004)
Gay and lesbian couples are to be given the chance to get similar legal rights to married couples under a new Civil Partnership Bill. The measures, unveiled on Wednesday, allows legal recognition for gay couples for the first time. The Bill gives the legal rights to same-sex couples who register their partnership at a civil ceremony. Gay couples would not have to live together for a certain length of time to be eligible for the rights and if the partnership breaks up, there would be a formal court process for dissolving it. It means same-sex couples will be entitled to a range of property rights, the same exemption as married couples on inheritance tax, social security and pension benefits, and also the ability to get parental responsibility for a partner's children.
The term "gay marriage" is not used in the Bill, but the Civil Partnership Registration Scheme seems to have been designed to be as close to a marriage contract as possible. That has angered some Christian groups, who argue marriage is being undermined, but some gay rights groups say they do not go far enough. There are also complaints that same-sex couples are now getting rights not available to unmarried heterosexual couples. Trevor Bentham, partner of the late Sir Nigel Hawthorne, said the new Bill would dignify relationships in the eyes of the law. "The public pat you on the back for having lived together for so long," he said. "But that isn't the point. The point is, in law, you have no status at all and that's quite cruel to actually have to face finally," When Sir Nigel died, Mr Bentham feared he would lose the home they shared for 22 years because of the inheritance tax bill he faced.
The proposals went out for consultation last year and have provoked opposition in some quarters. Mike Judge, a spokesman for the Christian Institute, said the new civil partnerships amounted to marriage in all but name. "We are opposed to the Bill in principle because it devalues marriage by giving all the legal privileges of married couples to same sex couples," he said. If the government was being consistent it would extend rights to anybody living together in a loving relationship - two sisters, for example, who still faced inheritance hurdles, he said.
The government says the concerns of other home-sharers are a separate issues and argues that heterosexual couples are already able to get legal recognition through marriage. Launching the Bill, Equality Minister Jacqui Smith said the changes underlined the value of committed same-sex relationships. "It opens the way to respect, recognition and justice for those who have been denied it for too long," she said.
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