In England, out gay basketball star John Amaechi has claimed that a Manchester gay bar discriminated against him (on the basis of race), Pink News reported. Amaechi, who once played in the NBA, said that the doormen at Crunch told him he was “too big, too black and trouble” to go in with his friends. The bar had claimed that Amaechi’s group of friends had been tagged by a joint radio system as being “argumentative.” However, the group had only visited two other bars that night—and at least one of them is not on said system.
In Nepal, authorities arrested 70 LGBT individuals, including prominent gay-rights activist Sunil Babu Panta, during a sit-in protest, according to AllHeadlineNews.com. The group was arrested when members entered the restricted area around Nepal’s main administrative building, Singha Durbar. Panta said that the group was seeking citizenship rights, adding that more than 200,000 LGBT Nepalese have been prevented from seeking citizenship.
The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) will hear the case of a French lesbian couple that were denied the chance to adopt a child, according to Expatica.com. Four years ago, Valerie Gas attempted at adopt the daughter of longtime partner Nathalie Dubois, but French courts turned down the request, claiming that the adoption was not in the child’s best interests. Two years ago, the ECHR allowed another lesbian couple to adopt a child.
In England, the Party Drugs Clinic at the South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust apparently has young gay men as the majority of its clients, according to Pink News. The clinic was set up last year and is the first in the United Kingdom to offer a treatment program for people addicted to GBL (gammabutyrolactone) ; it also treats addictions to speed and mephedrone (also known as “drone” or “MCAT”). Dr. James Bell, who heads the clinic, said, “It is always dangerous to make assumptions or stereotypes about minority groups; however, the evidence does indicate that drug use is higher among gay men.
In Germany, Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle and Michael Mronz have entered into a civil partnership, according to Advocate.com. The couple held a ceremony Sept. 17 in Bonn; Mayor Jürgen Nimptsch conducted the ceremony. Civil partnerships in Germany provide most of the rights of traditional marriage, with the exceptions of tax benefits and same-sex adoption.
In his autobiography, broadcaster/actor Stephen Fry said that he is “90 per cent gay” because he has been attracted to two women, Pink News reported. Fry—who has been in movies such as Wilde and V for Vendetta—wrote that he had been attracted to makeup artist Sunetra Sastry and novelist Caroline Oulton.