[img2=left]http://www.gayspeak.com/forum/images/news/jlown.jpg[/img2]The mayor of San Angelo, Texas, has resigned just ten days after a landslide re-election victory to pursue his relationship with his gay partner, an illegal immigrant.

J W Lown was elected in 2003 as the city's youngest ever mayor at the age of 32. He has been re-elected three times, gaining 89 per cent of the latest vote, held ten days ago.

He told the San Angelo Standard-Times he fell in love with his partner in March, after he announced he would be standing for re-election.

It is thought the unnamed Mexican man had a student visa which has now expired.

Lown said he had chosen not to take the oath of office while “aiding and assisting” a person who was illegally in the country.

“I made the final decision when I knew it was the right decision to make for me and my partner and our future - and for the community,” he said.

He added he planned to stay in Mexico to try to obtain a visa so that his partner can return with him if “the people of San Angelo will welcome me back.”

Lown officially tendered his resignation via a letter delivered to city manager Harold Dominguez this week.

“While I know that the timing of this announcement is less than ideal, I have my own compelling reasons for making this decision,” he wrote. “I have made thousands of decisions on behalf of our community, and I weighed this decision in the same manner that I approached other decisions.”

Even if Lown married his partner by proxy in a state that allows gay marriage, the federal government does not recognise same-sex marriages for immigration purposes.

[img2=left]http://www.gayspeak.com/forum/images/news/testube.jpg[/img2]A new HIV test which takes only 20 minutes to deliver a result is now available on the NHS.

Previously, those wishing to take an HIV test had to wait a week for their results.

The new test, which uses a special absorbent toothbrush to collect saliva samples from the mouth, was found to be as effective as a blood test.

It has been introduced at Barts and the London NHS Trust in London, where doctors expect to carry out around 250 tests a month.

Merie Symonds, head of sexual health at the trust, said: "Approximately a third of people in the UK who are HIV positive are currently unaware of their condition.

"There are still very real problems due to people who are not testing until they have become unwell as a result of undiagnosed HIV infection. This means that treatment that is now widely available may not work as effectively.

"Making testing for HIV quicker and easier is a real step towards getting people to test sooner. As this test doesn't require us to take blood or send samples to a laboratory, we can begin to look towards testing outside traditional clinical areas.

"We are already offering this test to service users in some of our outreach services run in non-healthcare settings."

The test is currently being offered to all people from areas of high HIV prevalence and to men who have sex with men, in addition to those who are sexually active with either group.

Earlier this month, charity Unicef warned that Britain now has the highest number of new HIV infections in western Europe, with gay and bisexual men and black Africans most at risk.

In 2007, there were more than 7,700 new HIV diagnoses in the UK and the organisation has also said infection rates in young people are rising, with ten per cent of new infections occurring in those aged between 16 and 24.

The second highest figure for new infections was in France, with 4,075. Germany, which has ten million more people than Britain, had 2,752 new cases.

Four in ten of those diagnosed with the disease were men who have sex with men.

Hi all :redface:


soo... you all (or at least the users I chated with :biggrin: ) seems very nice and grown up and so on, so here is my question: What the hell is wrong with gays?


I'm chatting a bit on gayromeo (or planetromeo, if you want to call it that way). Is this site even known outside germany? Well... it's a site where you can chat with other gays around the world with private messages and so on...


well... first something to me: just moved to berlin a month ago, know nearly nobody here and want to meet some people to make friends. I'm not really looking for a relationship. Have just broke up with my ex. And I'm not looking for sexdates. I'm not in the mood and had enough of that stuff when i was younger (yes, i made a lot of mistakes in my life...).

Okay. I start chatting with a guy. It starts out really nice. Talking about all stuff. movies, the weather, tv, music, how we are, what we're doing. It works out really nice and I start thinking "okay, we understand each other, the chemistry seems to fit, maybe I'll meet him for a coffee or something." and than it happens: he asks me "What do you like?" I get skeptical, but okay, I answer it by telling him my hobbies, my favourite music artist and so on. But the reply just is: "No. I mean in the bed."


...


...

Why does nearly every conversation I start leads to sex? :confused: I don't want this to happen! I'm not sending out any signals no hidden double-meaning or something like that. Even those who say in their profile that they have a partner are starting to talk me into having sex with them... I just hate it and makes me sick and sad. (Yeah. my ex cheated on me too....)

So... is something wrong with me or with them? And happens this only in germany? Are gays around the world are all the same?

Please help me :frown:

The impending Equality law will make it illegal for religious groups to discriminate against gay employees. It's a bold move which changes past practice and as far as I can see is a welcome addition to the move towards equality of the past few years. (more)

A 47 year old man has narrowly missed being sent to prison for setting up a vigilante group to catch gay men cruising in Lincolnshire. Colin Haw and his more-scary-than-merry men dressed in combats and balaclavas and videoed the action which he then posted on a website, often to the accompaniment of music like YMCA or The Teddy Bears' Picnic. His hobby came unstuck when he filmed a motorcyclist taking a leak and published this to his website.

(more details)

Haw misguidedly considered himself to be acting in the public interest, but he failed to take into account that by taking videos of people engaged in "private acts" he was actually breaking the law himself. That he went after men having sex with other men and did not pursue heterosexual couples at dogging sites substantiated accusations of homophobic bullying. Under the circumstances I am reluctant to suggest that Mr Haw should get out more, but wouldn't he be better advised to pursue a more fulfilling hobby?

We watch Ashes to Ashes or Life On Mars and congratulate ourselves on how much more civilised we are these days. Bully for us :mad:

Good Morning, England!

With these words did the French speaking population of Switzerland, (and no doubt France) discover the fabulously well-made (and interesting) film called THE BOAT THAT ROCKED....
I just don't understand why French poster translators think it's a good idea to substitute a perfectly good English title for another corny one in the same language.... I often wonder if they think people are that thick....
Another example Ken Loach's AE FOND KISS was renamed JUST A KISS and Baz Luhrman's STRICTLY BALLROOM was rename BALLROOM DANCING, which was just as stupid.
Anyway, wanted to tell you guys (and gals) that Marshlander and I were really pleased to see this film about pirate radios in Britain in the 60s and that we really enjoyed it with its music and plot (brilliant actors). Well recommended. mile: mile: mile:

PS, incidentally the name they gave the French poster is obviously named after Good Morning, Vietnam but there is no relation between these two films except maybe the fact that it's about radio stations... a little thin, don't you think?

does man flu exsist ? i heard on the radio yesterday that when men get flu
it takes them ages to get rid of it and they feel like they are dying lol .
apparently when women get the flu they cope better with it than men , with women the estrogen helps fight the immune system quicker then testosterone in men what are your thoughts on this subject love to hear.
maria

The Home Secretary, Jacqui Smith, has published a list of 16 individuals that she has banned from entering Britain "in order to make clear what behaviour would not be tolerated in the UK."

The list includes two members of the horrible Phelps family (Fred Waldron Phelps Sr and Shirley Phelps-Roper of Westboro Baptist Church infamy), Abdullah Qadri al-Ahdal, Yunis al-Astal, Samir al-Quntar, Stephen Donald Black, Wadgy Abd el-Hamied Mohamed Ghoneim, Erich Gliebe, Mike Guzovsky, Safwat Hijazi, Nasr Javed, Abdul Ali Musa (previously Clarence Reams), Artur Ryno, Amir Siddique, Pavel Skachevsky and Michael Alan Weiner (aka Michael Savage).

Of course, not all these people have made statements about homosexuality.

So Carol Ann Duffy is to be the Poet Laureate for the next ten year appointment.

Many congratulations to her. She breaks with tradition on a number of counts being the first lesbian, the first woman (that would account for the first one then ) and the first Scot to hold the post.



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