Gay Toronto Community Information - GayinTO.com




Welcome to GayinTO - we aim to become the premier Gay Toronto Community Information source. While we are preparing our site to best serve you, we are offering up-to-date news and information. Please bookmark and come back soon.



See our massive Gay, Lesbian and Transgendered Link Directory.





Toronto Gay Bar Map





Toronto Gay Bars


Bar/ClubAddressCityPhone
52 Inc.394 College StreetToronto(416) 960-0334
5ive Nightclub5 St. Joseph StreetToronto(416) 964-8685
Send message
Babylon553 Church StreetToronto(416) 923-2626
Send message
Bar 501501 Church StreetToronto(416) 944-3272
Byzantium499 Church StreetToronto(416) 922-3859
Crews/Tango508 Church StreetToronto(416) 972-1662
El Convento Rico Club750 College StreetToronto(416) 588-7800
Send message
Fire on the East Side6 Gloucester StreetToronto(416) 960-3473
Fly Nightclub8 Gloucester StreetToronto(416) 410-5426
Send message
Hair of the Dog425 Church StreetToronto(416) 964-2708
Laide138 Adelaide Street EastToronto(416) 850-2726
Living Well Cafe692 Yonge StreetToronto(416) 922-6770
Niche4683 Crysler AvenueNiagara Falls(905) 371-3431
O'Gradys Tap and Grill518 Church StreetToronto(416) 323-2822
Papi's Lounge459 Church StreetToronto(416) 968-7274
Pegasus Bar489B Church StreetToronto(416) 927-8832
Send message
Pimblett's Pub & Restaurant263 Gerrard StreetToronto(416) 929-9525
PJ Mellon's489 Church StreetToronto(416) 966-3241
Pope Joan547 Parliament StreetToronto(416) 925-6662
Remington's Men of Steel (Male Strip Club)379 Yonge StreetToronto(416) 977-2160
Send message
Slack Alice562 Church StreetToronto(416) 969-8742
Sneakers502A Yonge StreetToronto(416) 961-5808
Statlers471 Church StreetToronto(416) 925-0341
Send message
Tantra634 Church StreetToronto(416) 926-0313
The Black Eagle457 Church StreetToronto(416) 413-1219
The Cube/Trax 5529 Yonge StreetToronto(416) 963-5196
The Den Nightclub 156 Victoria StreetBarrie(705) 722-5423
The Eager Beaver 21 Nelson St. West Brampton(905) 874-1356
The House of Parliament Pub465 Parliament StreetToronto(416) 925-4074
The London Underground 272 B Dundas StreetLondon(519) 438-4961
The Mask556 Church StreetToronto(416) 963-9299
The Red Spot459 Church StreetToronto(416) 967-SPOT
The Spot on Dunlop 94 Dunlop Street WestBarrie(705) 727-9779
The Stables and the Barn418 Church StreetToronto(416) 977-4702
Send message
The Toolbox508 Eastern AvenueToronto(416) 466-8616
Send message
The Volcano Room650.5 Queen Street WestToronto(416) 203-3411
The Web22 Gloucester Lane Toronto(416) 922-3068
V3 Lounge6 St. Joseph StreetToronto(416) 924-4464
Woody's and Sailor465-467 Church StreetToronto(416) 972-0887
Zelda's Bar Restaurant 542 Church StreetToronto(416) 922-2526
Zipperz72 Carlton StreetToronto(416) 921-0066
Know about other Gay bars in Toronto? Tell us about them and we'll add them!
Contact us here or add them here!

Toronto Bathhouses



* Spa Excess: 105 Carlton St.
* Steamworks: 540 Church St.
* Club Toronto: 231 Mutual St.
* Central Spa: 1610 Dundas St. West
* The Barracks: closed August 2005
* GI Joe (formerly St. Marc's): 543 Yonge St.
* The Cellar: 78 Wellesley Street East
* Oak Leaf Steam Baths: 216 Bathurst Street
* the Bijou Porno bar (not a bathhouse): 370 Church St.
* Pussy Palace: Toronto Women's Bathhouse

News and Resources for Gays

Gay Republicans Cheer Party's New Chairman

Gay Republicans Cheer Party's New Chairman (http://nationalgaynews.com/content/view/4378/173/) By Deb Price Shortly after voters dealt Republicans another devastating blow in November, Robert Kabel, openly gay chairman of the D.C. Republican Party, received a call from a longtime friend, Michael Steele. Steele, the former lieutenant governor of Maryland credited with coining the chant Drill, baby, drill at the Republican National Convention, told Kabel he intended to run for chairman of the Republican National Committee.

Meowth is Dead. Long Live Meowth!

Meowth is Dead. Long Live Meowth! (http://nationalgaynews.com/content/view/4377/175/) By Jacob Anderson-Minshall When Maddie Blaustein passed away suddenly this December few of her fans realized she’d gone. Like many voice actresses who disappear behind the scenes while their alter egos garner all the attention; Blaustein faced a certain level of obscurity, despite the fact that the characters she voiced are recognized on sight—especially a little beige cat named Meowth.

Support From Fort Lauderdale Mayor Jim Naugle Help or Hurt Candidates?

Support From Fort Lauderdale Mayor Jim Naugle Help or Hurt Candidates? (http://weblogs.sun-sentinel.com/news/politics/broward/blog/2009/02/does_support_from_fort_lauderd.html) Fort Lauderdale Mayor Jim Naugle - who leaves office next month because of term limits - remains a hero to some and villain to others, making him a factor in Tuesday’s primary for the next mayor and City Commission. Naugle is so controversial in the gay community that the Dolphin Democrats gay and lesbian political club is running advertisements targeted to gays and lesbians...

Florida Bar Will Support Gay Adoption

Florida Bar Will Support Gay Adoption (http://nationalgaynews.com/content/view/4375/173/) The Florida Bar is coming out in a big way — for gay adoption. The Bar’s board of governors voted unanimously to file an amicus brief before the 3rd District Court of Appeal supporting a Miami-Dade circuit judge’s ruling that declared unconstitutional the state’s ban on gay adoptions. “We thought it was appropriate to defend the judge’s decision,” said Nancy Gregoire, a family section member and a partner with Kirschbaum...

Sex for Pay Slows Down Judge's Day

Sex for Pay Slows Down Judge's Day (http://nationalgaynews.com/content/view/4374/174/) by Norm Kent You probably do not know Michael Hecht. He just won an election for a judicial seat in the Superior Court of Pierce County, Washington State, just on the southern outskirts of Seattle. Don’t congratulate him yet, though. It seems that Mr. Hecht is under criminal investigation by the Pierce County, D.A. for soliciting, meeting, and paying male prostitutes for sex. As a result, the small office...

The Gay Marriage Ban Aftershocks

The Gay Marriage Ban Aftershocks (http://ohmygov.com/blogs/general_news/archive/2009/02/02/the-gay-marriage-ban-aftershocks.aspx) ederal Judge Morrison England Jr. ruled this week that it was legal for organizations opposed to Proposition 8 to publicly disclose the identities of approximately 1,600 donors who gave between $100 and $999 to pro-Prop 8 causes since October 18th. Proposition 8, the statewide ballot initiative which called for a state constitutional amendment defining marriage as being exclusively between a man and a woman, passed by a 5 percent...

Gay Ambassador Pushed Out Of State Department

Read More... (http://www.ontopmag.com/article.aspx?id=3171 MediaType=1 Category=26)

Vandalism at Gay Center Probed as Hate Crime

Read More... (http://www.newsday.com/news/local/suffolk/ny-lihate0203,0,5198100.story)

Norm Kent Debuts ‘Broward Law Blog’

Norm Kent Debuts ‘Broward Law Blog’ (http://nationalgaynews.com/content/view/4373/173/) Renowned Fort Lauderdale criminal defense attorney Norm Kent released today the debut of ‘The Broward Law Blog,’ easily accessible on the Internet at www.browardlawblog.com (http://www.browardlawblog.com) A South Florida attorney for 30 years, Mr. Kent is well known for his long time experience as the highly rated morning drive talk show host for WFTL-850 AM. He later hosted a weekly radio show entitled ‘Weekend Legal’ on WWNN-1470 AM.

Fort Lauderdale mayor's gay comments haunt campaign to replace him

Read More... (http://www.sun-sentinel.com/community/news/fort_lauderdale/sfl-flbgaymayor0201sbfeb01,0,2860839.story)

Equality Advocates Pennsylvania Welcomes New Executive Director

Equality Advocates Pennsylvania Welcomes New Executive Director Equality Advocates Pennsylvania announced today the appointment of Lynn Zeitlin, Esq. as Executive Director. Ms. Zeitlin was chosen by the Board of Directors after an extensive national search. She comes to Equality Advocates after a distinguished career as a corporate and real estate lawyer and passionate activist. She brings her experience of 30 years as a successful lawyer coupled with an equally impressive array of...

Action Predicted on 'Don't Ask'

Action Predicted on 'Don't Ask' (http://nationalgaynews.com/content/view/4366/176/) By Deb Price Responding to an offer by Barack Obama's transition team to answer ordinary Americans' questions, Thaddeus from Lansing, Mich., asked whether the incoming president planned to lift the ban on openly gay people serving in the military. Thaddeus, you don't hear a politician give a one-word answer much. But it's 'yes,' Obama spokesman Robert Gibbs said in a video posted on the change.gov Website shortly...

Disgraced Pastor Faces More Gay Sex Accusations

Read More... (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090124/ap_on_re/rel_haggard_new_allegations)

THE AGENDA · CIVIL RIGHTS

THE AGENDA · CIVIL RIGHTS (http://nationalgaynews.com/content/view/4364/173/) The teenagers and college students who left their homes to march in the streets of Birmingham and Montgomery; the mothers who walked instead of taking the bus after a long day of doing somebody else's laundry and cleaning somebody else's kitchen -- they didn't brave fire hoses and Billy clubs so that their grandchildren and their great-grandchildren would still wonder at the beginning of the 21st century whether...

California Dems Push Gay Rights in Wake of Prop. 8 Vote

Read More... (http://www.miamiherald.com/news/politics/AP/story/860688.html)

Florida legislature to Consider Gay Rights Bill

Florida legislature to Consider Gay Rights Bill Representative Kelly Skidmore (D-Boca Raton) filed legislation to update Florida's laws covering employment, housing and public accommodations to prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity or expression. All Floridians should have the opportunity to earn a living and provide for their families without fear of being unfairly fired or denied housing for reasons that have nothing to do with their job performance or their ability to maintain...

Sigourney Weaver brings star power to "Prayers for Bobby"

Read More... (http://lgbtyouthnews.blogspot.com/2009/01/sigourney-weaver-brings-star-power-to.html)

Dr. Phil's Poison Pill

Dr. Phil's Poison Pill (http://nationalgaynews.com/content/view/4359/173/) By Wayne Besen In 38 years, I've only once dressed in drag. It was my senior year of high school and my friend Alex's father was out of town. While gone, he placed Alex in charge of his clothing shop, which was in a small hotel mini-mall. I swung by one evening to keep him company. Business was slow and we were looking for creative ways to pass the time. Finally,...

Defense in Oxnard School Shooting Case Seeks Refiling in Juvenile Court

Read More... (http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/la-me-oxnard-teen-shooting19-2009jan19,0,5673038.story)

Florida's Transgender Bathroom Rule Angers Conservatives

Read More... (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/01/10/floridas-transgender-bath_n_156889.html)

Gay Resources

The Gay Scene

Gay.com Headlines

RachelWatch: Rachel dunks Tom Tancredo

Today: Rachel looks at voter literacy tests and Tea Party challengers to Ron Paul.

Brazil gay man wins U.S. asylum

Brazil has one of the highest rates of hate crimes against GLBT people in the world.

Rep. John Murtha, occasional gay ally, dies at 77

John Murtha, a Pennsylvania Democrat and generally a social conservative, nonetheless voted for the Employment Non-Discrimination Act and for the hate crimes bill. He voted against banning gay adoption in Washington DC and against a proposal to add a constitutional amendment limiting marriage to a man and a woman. He didn’t co-sponsor a bill repealing Don’t [...]

Maple Leafs, Olympic team stunned by death of GM Burke?s son

Burke made news last year after ESPN.com ran a story about his decision to tell his father he was gay.

Prop 8 trial judge is gay ? will it stay a non-issue?

An open secret is now not-so-secret. We know it won't prejudice the case - but what will the Right think?

Malaysia: Opposition leader wants sodomy trial judge removed

Sodomy, even if consensual, is punishable by up to 20 years in prison in Muslim-majority Malaysia.

Neff: Fear in Uganda

Uganda goes after the "offense of homosexuality."

RachelWatch: The Rachel Maddeaux Sheaux

Today: Rachel, live from New Orleans, looks at the rebuilding effort and has a terrific Cocktail Meauxment.

Monday Watercooler: Palin gets a hand of her own

From the DADT poll McCain won't be citing to joy in New Orleans - what the gaystream is talking about today.

North: If gays can serve openly, pedophiles are next

Retired Col. Oliver North spoke on Fox News on Thursday insisting the repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell opens to door for pedophiles.

Saint Petersburg Gay and Lesbian Film Festival Cancelled

(Russia) Gay and Lesbian Film Festival “Bok o Bok” which was supposed to take place in Saint Petersburg from today and last until Sunday finally did not open after Fire Department Inspectors closed the place due to problems with fire security. In a phone interview to Project GayRussia.Ru, Organiser of the festival Irina Sergeeva said that the clubs “The Place” and “Sochi” where the screenings of the films were supposed to take place, were closed due to fire security reasons.

Arsham Parsi discusses sexuality, politics and refugees in SF

(USA) - As part of Bibi's outreach to our communities, Bibi|SF will be hosting talks on various issues affecting queer South West Asian, North Africans (aka Middle-Easterners). Its first engagement is with Arsham Parsi of the IRanian Queer Organization on Thursday, June 26 at the SF LGBT Center.

IDAHO Action in San Francisco To Support Russian Gays

(USA) - Gay human rights activists in San Francisco staged a speak out at the Russian consulate on May 16, in conjunction with IDAHO events around the planet. Before showing up at the consulate, the group sent emails to the staff explaining their reason for coming -- to press the government to grant parade permits to Moscow's Gay pride event.

Reform the Homophobic Asylum System

(London) - Speaking at the London IDAHO event on 16 May, hosted by Amnesty International and the Gay & Lesbian Humanist Association, Peter Tatchell of the LGBT human rights group OutRage! challenged the UK asylum policy.

European Parliament Will Discuss a New EU Anti-Discrimination Directive

(EU) - Tomorrow the members of the European Parliament will debate and vote on a resolution “Progress made in equal opportunities and non-discrimination in the EU”. The resolution is based on a report produced by Elisabeth Lynne, MEP, and adopted by the European Parliament’s Committee on Employment and Social Affairs on 17 April 2008. The draft resolution clearly urges the European Commission to stay committed to the Commission’s work plan for 2008 and to come out with a proposal for one ‘horizontal’ anti-discrimination directive covering all grounds of discrimination, including sexual orientation.

Police in Moldova Watches As Homophobic Mob Assaults Gay Demonstrators

(Moldova) - On Sunday, participants in the 7th Moldovan Pride were precluded from marching peacefully in support of anti-discrimination legislation and tolerance in the centre of Chisinau. Police did not guarantee the right to freedom of assembly. Large aggressive coordinated groups, including extremist religious groups, members of the neo-fascist movement “New Right”, and legionnaires blocked the bus with participants, forced the door, violently hit the windows, and attempted to remove the engine, while shouting “lets get them out and beat them up”.

European Study on Transgender's Healthcare Is Published

(EU) - ILGA-Europe and TransGender Europe published the first comprehensive report on the experiences of health care by Transgender people in European Union. This report is a result of the largest and most comprehensive data collection on transgender people's lived experienced to date.

New Website Highlights Gay African Heroes

(UK) - A new website highlighting African heroes and achievers has included three prominent Gay Africans. "Gay Africans make up a part of the landscape of the continent and any member of the Gay community who has achieved something of merit deserves a place on our site. We welcome the submission of their biographies," said the website's creator, Kadija Traoré Bush, who is of is Malian and Beninoise heritage.

Barroso Urged to Keep His Word On Equal Rights

(EU) - Within the next couple of months, the fate of an EU directive protecting against discrimination on the grounds of age, disability, sexual orientation and religion/belief in all areas of life will be decided by the European Commission and the European Council. At the moment, there are signs that this directive will not include sexual orientation, age and religion/belief. ILGA-Europe is calling on everyone to join its campaign to ensure that a comprehensive new EU anti-discrimination directive which protects against discrimination on all grounds and in all areas of life is proposed and adopted.

Olympic Torch Ambushed in London

(UK) - The bus bearing the Olympic torch was today ambushed outside Selfridges department store in Oxford Street, London, by Gay human rights campaigner Peter Tatchell of OutRage! Mr Tatchell ran in front of the bus carrying the Olympic flame. He held up a placard which read: "Free Tibet, Free Hu Jia." He shouted the same words as he ran along in front of the bus. The police wrestled Mr Tatchell to the ground, which delayed the bus briefly while he was removed to pavement. After questioning, he was later released without charge.

European Court of Justice Rules in Favour of Gay Pensioneers

(EU) - European Court of Justice (ECJ) in Luxembourg delivered its judgement in a landmark case on pension rights for registered same-sex partners (case of Tadao Maruko v. Versorgungswerk der deutschen Bühnen). The facts of the case are as follows: Mr. Maruko lived with his partner in a registered partnership. After his partner died the VddB, the pension scheme for German theatres, refused to pay him a survivor’s pension as such pensions were provided only for married partners. Mr. Maruko sued the VddB, and the Bavarian Administrative CourtMunich referred the case to the ECJ for interpretation of the 2000/78/EC Directive which established a general framework for equal treatment in employment and occupation.

Media Frenzy at Warsaw Airport for Arrival of Gay American Couple

(Poland) - Gay Americans Brendan Fay and Tom Moulton found a media frenzy when they arrived at Warsaw airport yesterday for a three-day visit. The couple, who were married in Canada, hit the international headlines when their wedding image was used in Polish President Lech Kaczynski’s televised prime-time address to scare the Polish people against supporting the Lisbon Treaty, arrived to Warsaw for a three-day visit. The trip is sponsored by TVN Television. Their first day in Poland was an opportunity to meet with Polish Gay rights leaders Tomasz Szypula and Greg Czarnecki from the Campaign Against Homophobia (Kampania Przeciw Homofobii – KPH) as well as other members of the LGBT community.

Scott Long's Troubling Style of Advocacy

(USA) - As the head of the LGBT desk at the Human Rights Watch (HRW), Scott Long bears critical responsibilities for investigating human rights abuses and advocating greater freedoms for our community worldwide. That is estimable work, by any measure. One occupational hazard, however, of taking on a highly specialized charge on matters of such delicacy involving repressive and dangerous regimes is undoubtedly a compounding sense of proprietorship, a fatigued feeling that others "shouldn't mess with my turf, they should stay out of my bailiwick." On matters related to anti-Gay repression in Iran, dating back almost three years, Long seems to have fallen into that trap, indeed to have fallen quite far.

First Hate Crime Punishment in Croatia

(Croatia) - Josip Situm, 25, was detained by police for carrying the homemade bombs. He was charged soon after with planning to hurl the cocktails at the crowd. Although he denied the charges, insisting he decided after he arrived at the parade not to throw the bombs, Situm admitted that he disapproves of homosexuality because he is Roman Catholic. On 28 February, Situm became the first person in Croatia found guilty of a hate crime. He was convicted of endangering lives and property at the Pride parade and sentenced to 14 months in prison and psychiatric treatment. Situm’s conviction was a major victory for Croatia’s LGBT community, for whom street violence is nothing new.

Call to Reform Asylum System to Protect Lesbian, Gay Refugees

(UK) - The British Government is currently failing Gay refugees, Peter Tatchell told a rally in Whitehall, outside the Prime Minister’s official residence 10 Downing Street. Over 120 protesters braved hail and rain on Saturday to demand that Gay Iranian asylum seeker, Mehdi Kazemi, be granted refuge in the UK. They also urged asylum for the Iranian Lesbian refugee, Pegah Emambakhsh, and an estimated 12 other Gay Iranians who are at risk of deportation back to Tehran. There were calls for a “fundamental reform” of the way the Home Office treats LGBTI asylum applicants. “The British government had ordered Mr Kazemi to be deported back to Iran,” said protest speaker Peter Tatchell, spokesperson for the LGBTI human rights group OutRage!.

Two EU Cities Refuse to Sign Gay Rights Appeal

(EU) - The Mayors of Riga in Latvia and Tallinn in Estonia have declined to take part in a campaign affirming freedom of assembly and expression for LGBT people in Europe. The Europe branch of the International Gay and Lesbian Association wanted the leaders of those cities to join 19 others in Europe and declare their support for their initiative. The Mayors of Paris, Nicosia, Amsterdam, Winterthur, London, Stockholm, Cologne, Barcelona, Venice, Vienna, Bologna, Manchester, Copenhagen, Budapest, Ljubljana, Zürich, Berlin, Dublin and Luxembourg have all pledged their support.

Deportation of Gays to Iran Raised in UK Parliament

(UK) - The British Government is coming under pressure from members of both houses of Parliament, mainly Liberal Democrats, to “come clean” about policies on who are deported to Iran – especially Gay men and women. At lunchtime at Prime Minister’s Question in the House of Commons, Greg Mulholland, the Liberal Democrat MP for Leeds North West, raised the matter, complaining about refugees being deported to Iran.

Polish President Uses Gay Wedding Video to Scare Poles of EU

(Poland) - A Gay man from the United States on Tuesday voiced outrage against Poland's President Lech Kaczynski for publicly using a video of his marriage to bash the EU's proposed charter of rights. Kaczynski used a prime-time televised address Monday to argue the EU's proposed Charter of Fundamental Rights, linked to the bloc's crucial reforming Lisbon Treaty, could allow homosexual marriage in Poland, a devoutly Catholic country. A video of the couple's marriage in Toronto, Canada was broadcast nationwide to illustrate Kaczynski's presidential address.

Gay and Grey in Berlin's New Old People's Home

(Germany) - A fluffy yellow bedspread is severely tucked around the hospital-style bed, there's a wheelchair-accessible shower and a token pot plant. At first glance, the Asta Nielsen Haus in Berlin looks like the average old people's home. But this is a pioneering facility - the first in Europe to cater exclusively for Gays and Lesbians. The idea of a Gay-only project for elderly people was first mooted at a "Gay and Grey" congress in Cologne in 1995. It reflects fears among Germany's first openly Gay generation about what will happen when they are too frail to care for themselves. "At the moment, most Gay and Lesbian residents keep themselves hidden. Imagine one Gay person in a home of 100 people. It can be lonely and isolating," says Christian Hamm, who is on the board of the organisation behind the care-home plan. Hamm and his associates are now drawing up plans for an assisted-care retirement centre for Gay people in another Berlin district.

Complicity in Iran's Anti-Gay Jihad

(UK) - The British government announced Thursday that it was ending efforts to deport Mehdi Kazemi, a 19-year-old Iranian who has been studying in Britain – a move that should be applauded by human rights activists everywhere. Had he been forced to return to Iran, Kazemi would almost certainly have been executed there. Roger Roberts, one of eight members of the House of Lords who petitioned British Home Secretary Jacqui Smith to allow Kazemi to stay in Britain, declared: “There is no doubt that he will be persecuted and possibly face state-sanctioned murder if he is forced to return.”

Nazi Persecution of Gays is Explored in Exhibit

(USA) - A traveling exhibit from the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum uses photographs, documents, and artwork to chronicle the Nazis' arrests and persecution of tens of thousands of Gay men from 1933 to 1945. The exhibit, on display through the end of the month at the University of Rhode Island, gives voice to what its curator describes as "one of the lesser-known stories of the Nazi era." The exhibit begins just before the Nazis rose to power, when an estimated 1.2 million Gay men lived in Germany and a Gay culture flourished in nightclubs and cafes. But after Adolf Hitler took power, the Nazis began closing Gay clubs, and in 1934 the Gestapo asked local police departments to compile lists of men believed to be Gay. A law known as Paragraph 175 that had previously prohibited "unnatural indecency" between men was reworked to dramatically expand the range of illegal behaviors. By 1938, even a perceived wayward glance or touch could be interpreted as criminal by the courts.

Gay Refugees Have Difficulty Proving They're Gay

(Canada) - The Canadian Refugee Board needs to establish clearer guidelines on sexual orientation to help adjudicators avoid stereotyping Gay and Lesbian refugees who have little proof they are Gay, say legal experts. Last week MP Thomas Mulcair exploded at hecklers in the Commons and later shed tears at a news conference after Immigration Minister Diane Finley refused to allow Canada's latest Gay refugee claimant Kulenthiran Amirthalingam stay in the country on compassionate grounds. He later told the Montreal Gazette that he had seen a disturbing video depicting the kind of brutal punishment Gay men receive in Malaysia, including strapping a naked man until raw flesh was exposed. Amirthalingam, who is now back in Malaysia where he spent time in jail for being Gay, was declared not credible by the one-adjudicator panel. He joined a growing list of refugee claimants who have been rejected because they can't prove they are Gay.

Anti-Gay Propaganda on British TV

(UK) - George Galloway MP is accused of mouthing "the propaganda of the Iranian dictatorship" after he claimed on the Channel 5 TV talk show The Wright Stuff this morning that the boyfriend of Gay asylum seeker Mehdi Kazemi was executed for sex crimes (see full transcript below). The criticism comes from the Gay human rights group, OutRage!.

Gay Teenager Is Facing Gallows as His Asylum Bid Is Rejected

(Netherlands) - A Gay Iranian teenager faces deportation from Britain and execution in his home country after a Dutch court refused to hear his asylum claim. Mehdi Kazemi, 19, will be forced to return to Britain, where his asylum application was rejected last year. He is then expected to be removed to Iran where his boyfriend was hanged two years ago for 'sodomy.' The ruling will put the Home Office under renewed pressure to reassess his case - or face the possibility of sending a young man to his death. The department’s own guidance concedes that Iran executes homosexuals but rejects the claim that there is a systematic repression of Gay men and Lesbians.

Homophobic Abuse Endemic in Schools

(UK) - Homophobic abuse is endemic in schools, with "Gay" now the most common put-down by pupils in the classroom, teachers say. A "conspiracy of silence" in schools and colleges means homophobia is now seen as so normal that some teachers believe they risk disrupting classes - and making themselves a target of abuse - if they challenge students' behaviour. More than 70% of teachers have heard put-downs in their school or college that refer to sexuality, according to a survey of 268 teachers by the Association of Teachers and Lecturers. In particular, teachers report that pupils routinely use the term "Gay" in a pejorative manner. Nearly two-thirds of teachers and lecturers have heard homophobic language on a regular basis. A quarter encountered it several times a week and about 16% of them daily. Boys are significantly more likely to talk about sexuality in a bullying way, but half of teachers have seen girls do the same and nearly 12% said they had seen similar behaviour in the staffroom.