An elaborately executed, highly marketed, deception

Garçon Reports
a news compendium
with a gay bias
election special

||| "As a black, gay man I was horrified that the only remotely brown face of Conservative power - and one ostensibly in charge of our societies 'social action' couldn't even spit out words in support of equality. I can only conclude, that should Cameron and his remarkably un-evolved group take power that [GBLT] people will be a big part of his 'great ignored'." Openly gay basketball star John Amaechi slams Britain's Conservative party, and their leader David Cameron in particular.

||| "It's an elaborately executed, highly marketed, deception. A leopard does not change its spots and neither has the Conservative party." The former head of the Tory's gay campaign, Anastasia Beaumont-Bott (right), speaks out after defecting to Labour.

||| Tory MP David Heathcote also defects to Labour in response to the Conservative's record on gay rights issues.

||| David Cameron and George Osborne would merely "consider" the case for gay marriage - but they won't support it. Peter Tatchell says, "A commitment to merely consider the case for legalising gay marriage is meaningless."

||| 400 turned out for The Big Gay Flash Mob; Gay rights activists Tamsin Omond and Peter Tatchell met with Shadow Chancellor George Osborne - but left disappointed. Said Tatchell, "David Cameron’s commitment to gay rights is not embraced by the whole Tory party and is not deemed worthy of a mention in official party publicity."

||| Labour promises a future fair for all - and concrete promises on gay equality.

||| Attitude - the gay lifestyle magazine - printed half of its 150,000 copies with Conservative leader David Cameron's face on the cover. A male model featured on the remaining 75,000 - the model accounted for 70 per cent of all copies sold.

||| David Cameron's links to the nastiest extremists operating in European politics.

||| Tories knew members of the Polish Law and Justice party (with whom the Conservatives are closely allied) were on the far right, tending towards homophobia and antisemitism. They ignored a report advising caution and pushed ahead with an alliance.

||| "Giving the [GBLT] community the same rights as the heterosexual community is not 'a bedrock equality issue' in [David] Cameron's vision. His big society shrinks by the day."

||| The Conservatives are a risk to equality, openly gay Minister for Europe Chris Bryant (right) warns.

||| Johann Hari: The Conservative Party's claim to have abandoned its long history of homophobia seems to be imploding as the general election approaches.

||| Ready for another dose of real Tory anti-gay hate? How about, Secret tape reveals Tory backing for ban on gays. Conservative MP Chris Grayling defends the Christian couple who turned away a gay couple: "I think we need to allow people to have their own consciences. I personally always took the view that, if you look at the case of should a Christian hotel owner have the right to exclude a gay couple from a hotel, I took the view that if it's a question of somebody who's doing a B&B in their own home, that individual should have the right to decide who does and who doesn't come into their own home."

||| Conservatives try to backtrack, saying Grayling's comments were a recollection of old views. Uh huh.

||| Since April 2007, it's been illegal for commercial accommodation providers to exclude someone based on their sexual orientation.

||| Peter Tatchell wants to know: Do the Tories support anti-gay discrimination by B&Bs or not? Elsewhere, Tatchell points out that Graylings comments reflect the real Tories.

||| Johann Hari: How is this different from turning away black couples?

||| Soul singer Beverly Knight (right) tells the PinkPaper: "Do me a favour - next time you see [the Conservative in question] Chris Grayling, punch him in the face and tell him it's from me! His comments disgusted me."

||| And the founder of the Conservative Party's biggest group campaigning for gay rights has said she will now vote Labour at the general election after David Cameron failed to reprimand Grayling. Shame!

||| "Dave the Dodger" yet again fails to tackle gay discrimination in his ranks.

||| David Cameron deliberately omits gays from key speech.

||| The Tory leader has been invited to a 'David Cameron Coming Out Street Party' by human rights activist Peter Tatchell. Says Tatchell: "Right now, the Tories don't have any official lesbian and gay rights policies. The Conservative Party annual conference has never voted for gay equality and there are no gay rights policies in any Tory policy document. The Conservatives are offering the gay community no new measures to remedy the remaining vestiges of homophobia... David Cameron supports the ban on same-sex civil marriage and the lifetime ban on gay blood donors. This week, Cameron blocked government plans to ensure that all pupils receive sex education and education to counter homophobia from the age of 15."

||| Stonewall has a range of election materials on its site, aimed at encouraging all supporters of equality to use their vote on May 6. The interactive pages list the voting records on LGBT equality of all current MPs and is aimed at helping voters decide how to cast their vote in four weeks’ time.

||| LAST WEEK'S EDITION

||| GARÇON REPORTS, ONE YEAR AGO: 11.4.09

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This edition of Garçon Reports covers the period

2-15 April 2010.

ka-os|theory is not responsible for the content

of external websites.

POSTSCRIPT

"You know, we might just as well not have bothered to come.

The whole thing's been ridiculous."

© 2010