Oct 06, 2006  | COMMENTS     

SOMERSET COUNTY, England — Wearing a tiara and flowing dress, 15-year-old David Bridge was cheered by thousands as the Blackberry Carnival queen in Axbridge, England, wire services reported. “Some people said they were going to throw eggs at me on the parade but thankfully it never happened,” said Bridge, who beat out three teenage girls for the title, according to the Mirror newspaper. “I was very nervous to begin with, but I really enjoyed the day.” The carnival committee was reportedly stunned by Bridge’s drag-themed audition, but was won over. “We had to decide which would offend people least, including David,” said carnival chair Robin Goodfellow, 66. “It was felt we couldn’t eliminate him just because he was male. This was the best solution on the day.” His caretaker, Belinda Swansbury, told the news service that Bridge is “an extrovert” and enjoyed the full support of his family. “He has already experienced discrimination because he is a young gay teenager,” Swasbury is quoted as saying. “We told him about the consequences of the attention because it’s a controversial matter. But he was mature enough to make a decision and he chose to go for it.”

French court drops charges against man in anti-gay attack
 
LILLE, France (AP) — A court in northern France has thrown out a case involving an attack on a gay man that drew nationwide attention and helped lead to a law penalizing homophobic statements, judicial officials said Sept. 26. Attackers allegedly doused Sebastien Nouchet with gasoline in his garden and set him ablaze in the January 2004 incident. He was hospitalized for several weeks with severe burns. He told investigators that the assailants used anti-gay epithets during the attack. After more than two and a half years of investigation and court proceedings, the judge in Bethune dropped the case Sept. 25. No reason for the decision was given, though the defense has long cited the lack of witnesses or solid evidence in the case. A suspect was detained in May 2004 and placed under investigation, but he was later released for lack of evidence.

South Africa to permit blood donations from gay men
 
CAPE TOWN — Beginning next month, South African government officials will allow gay men who have been celibate for at least six months to donate blood, the SABC radio reported. The change was one of several that were part of a more streamlined questionnaire for donors, according to the South African National Blood System. The previous policy, which banned all blood donations from gay men because they are a high-risk group for HIV, had been under review since January. The ban had been controversial but SANBS officials had insisted it was necessary to protect the supply of safe blood, the news service reported. SANBS spokesperson Ianthe Exall said Oct. 2 that although the “robust debate” over the policy was understandable, blood from gay men and heterosexual couples went through exactly the same testing process, and problem areas could be quickly identified.

Sweden resumes expulsion of gay Iranians seeking asylum
 
STOCKHOLM — Swedish officials are once again deporting gay Iranians who are seeking asylum from the violent mistreatment they face in Iran. The expulsions had been frozen for some months after the reported executions last year of two Iranian teens for engaging in gay sex. Swedish immigration authorities defended their decision as justified due to reports from the country’s embassy in Tehran that gays face no danger in the country so long as they remain closeted. Gay activists in Sweden were joined by Amnesty International in condemning the decision as cynical, Radio Sweden reported.

Gay activists wary of apology from South African leader
 
CAPE TOWN — African National Congress Deputy President Jacob Zuma apologized for anti-gay remarks he made last month at Heritage Day celebrations, but gay activists doubted his sincerity, IOL news service reported. During the celebrations, held in Natal, Zuma reportedly said when he was growing up, “an ungqingili [gay person] would not have stood in front of me. I would knock him out.” The deputy president apologized Sept. 28, “for the pain and anger that my remarks may have caused,” IOL reported. “I also respect, acknowledge and applaud the sterling contribution of many gay and lesbian compatriots in the struggle that brought about our freedom and the role they continue to play in the building of a successful non-racial, non-discriminatory South Africa,” Zuma said in the statement. Zuma is the latest in a series of South African politicians forced to apologize for anti-gay slurs. One unidentified activist, who heads up the Gay & Lesbian Centre in Durban, acknowledged Zuma’s statement but doubted its sincerity. “It doesn’t feel like an apology,” she was quoted by IOL as saying.