Sainsbury’s Charity of the Year

by Articles of Interest

Last week we said goodbye and thank-you to the wonderful staff and customers of Sainsbury’s Friar Street as our time with them as their charity of the year for 2015 / 2016 had come to an end. Support U was the first LGBT charity that Sainsbury’s has supported through their charity of the year scheme, making it a landmark occasion for both organisations.

Throughout the year the staff had organised various fundraising events, which included charity pot collections, public murals, bike-a-thon and Christmas trolley tombola amongst others making it a busy 12 months for all those involved. Across the year the store raised £2,688.00 which also includes that which was raised through the new 5p carrier bag charge.

Whilst being Charity of the Year it has been a great opportunity to try and increase the awareness of the charity to member of the public. We also used the platform as a chance to promote and educate the staff and customers of Sainsbury’s about LGBT related issues in the hope of changing attitudes and perceptions.

“We can’t thank the customers and staff of Sainsbury’s enough for their support over the last 12 months and the chance to be in store as part of the charity of the year scheme.” Nick Musson, Engagement Manager

If you would like to nominate Support U for any other Charity of the Year schemes and need any support with these please don’t hesitate to get in touch with us.

Nationwide Vigils for Orlando Shooting

by Articles of Interest

Following the tragic events in Orlando, a number of location LGBT organisations and charities will be holding vigils of remembrance.

Below are some vigil’s that are being held across the country, where you can attend to show your support:

 

London –  13 Jun  Old Compton Street at 7pm.
More details can be found right here.

Manchester – 13 June Sackville Park at 9pm
The vigil will be held in the gardens by the Beacon of Hope.
At 9.30pm a candlelit vigil with Manchester Lesbian & Gay Chorus, Jonathan Mayor, Julie Hesmondhalgh, Antony Cotton, Annie Wallace and Gerry Potter will take place.
Event will end around 2215.

Candles provided by the wonderful George House Trust or bring your own.  The Town Hall will be lit in rainbow colours. Details can be found here.

Wales — 13 June A gathering will commence from 7pm outside the National Assembly Senedd building in Cardiff Bay.

Open to all who wish to attend and reflect. A number of support representatives and leaders will be present. Details here.

Liverpool — 13 June
The iconic St George’s Hall in the heart of Liverpool city centre will host a special Vigil on the Plateau from 7-8pm tonight with speakers from Liverpool Pride, Trans Liverpool and the Mayor of Liverpool Joe Anderson.  Organisers are encouraging all to come along show support.

St George’s Hall will also be lit up by Liverpool City Council in LGBT rainbow colours this evening to show the city’s love and support to the victims and all affected by the terrible events at the USA Gay nightclub. Details here.

Leeds – 13 June Lower Briggate 10.15pm

One prominent member of the Leeds LGB&T community and a key figure in getting this vigil together Harry Nettleton announced that “At 11pm on Lower Briggate, traffic will cease as every member and friend of the Leeds Gay Scene is invited to stand hand in hand on the streets of gay leeds to show support and solidarity with Orlando”.

More details can be found here.

Milton Keynes – 13 June Campbell Park 8pm
Organised by Q:Alliance, the organisation commented: “These events are deeply distressing to LGBT people everywhere, as they are to all people. For anyone who is affected personally, Q:alliance will offer whatever support we can and we encourage you to contact us.”

Details can be found here.

Nottingham – 13 June Speakers Corner 7pm
There will be a minutes silence and an opportunity for people to express their thoughts and feelings.

More details can be found here.

Birmingham — 13 June Kent street opposite Nightingales 10pm
A candlelit vigil will take place this evening at 10pm on Kent Street, directly outside the Nightingale Club in the heart of the gay village, in a show of support and solidarity for the 50 who lost their lives at Pulse Nightclub in Orlando.

We will be joining together for keynote speakers, performance and a two minute silence.

Everyone is welcome. More details can be found here.

Norwich — 13 June Please meet at 7pm at CityHall on St Peters Street.

Edinburgh — 15 June
Edinburgh stands with Orlando vigil.
Wednesday 15th June, St Andrew Square, 7pm until 8pm. One minute silence will be at 7.30pm.

Everyone is welcome. Details here.

Brighton — 5-7th August
To honour the memory and show solidarity following the tragic events at Pulse, an LGBT nightclub in Orlando, and victims of all hate crimes, an act of remembrance will take place on the main stage at Brighton Pride on Saturday 6th August.

Pride celebrates diversity and tolerance within all our communities and this tragedy should not divide us, but bring us together to stand side by side in unity against all hate crime. Details here.

Credit to Gay Times for portions of this article, and providing links to the associated events. Original article: https://www.gaytimes.co.uk/news/39421/details-of-nationwide-uk-vigils-for-orlando-shooting/

What is happening in North Carolina, and how it could be a good thing

by Articles of Interest

Written by Peter/Ethel Thurston

Sitting in the UK whilst watching any part of American politics is a little like watching a train wreck, except considering the phenomenon of ‘America lead, Britain follows’ we kind of have to question our own safety. But alas there has been one story unfurling over the past couple of months that has seemingly taken the US by storm and that is the North Carolina controversy. If you do not know what the issue involves it is concerning House Bill 2 aka HB2 which effectively denies any LGBT+ individual protection under the 14th amendment. These are the same protections surrounding institutions designed to stop discrimination on the basis of ethnicity, sex, nationality, age, pregnancy, citizenship, veteran status, family status and disability.

Now there are two questions to take from this. Firstly, why did this happen and secondly, how? To answer the first we must understand what can be seen as the four main levels at play with these bills. First we have place of employment/education (institution) e.g. the companies who offer jobs and have a corporate policy. Then we have city wide ordinances that can dictate rulings to said institutions. But they are in turn bound by state legislators who are the third level before finally reaching the fourth and final level which is federal legislation which is nationwide. So to recap; Institution < City < State < Federal.

When these four layers are in a discord it can create tension and ignite problems that affect everyone which is possible due to differences in election patterns and that is exactly what happened in North Carolina. When the city of Charlotte outlawed LGBT discrimination in February the kickback was inevitable. This action by the more liberal city led the republican state senator to create and pass the HB2 bill in effect disabling Charlotte’s anti-discrimination law.

This in turn led to the backlash we have seen in the news with countless businesses withdrawing plans to expand into North Carolina, concerts being cancelled and even our government announcing a warning for people travelling to North Carolina and states with similar laws. What this also led to was the U.S. Justice Department working on the federal level demanding that North Carolina acknowledges that HB2 breaches the 1964 Civil Rights Act and order it to stop enforcing the ban on anti-discrimination ordinances or risk losing federal funding. This was announced last Friday and they expected an answer before Monday.

North Carolina’s response?

File a lawsuit against the U.S. Justice Department of course! Which resulted in the U.S. Justice Department creating a counter lawsuit which brings us to the how this happened as well as how this will likely result in a resounding victory for LGBT+ equality across the United States.

Whilst the 14th amendment does offer protection on the basis of sex, nowhere does it offer it based upon sexuality and the bigots have run on the poorly defined ‘sex’ to justify trans discrimination. In all previous occasions where discrimination laws were taken to the court they have been revoked on principles other than 14th amendment meaning that unlike with ethnicity these protections were never clearly extended to the LGBT+ community, allowing for states to challenge the U.S. Justice Department as North Carolina is now doing.

But in doing so we could finally see a civil rights act which defends LGBT+ individuals coming into place, abolishing not just HB2 but all other discrimination ordinances that have passed at the state, city and institutional level. Sitting across the pond form our LGBT+ friends in the US we can only hope that this lawsuit is the move that finally forced the federal hand to enact such a civil rights bill, to finally spark a new era of American LGBT+ history.

I think it’s time, let’s see if they agree.

Charity Bike Ride

by Articles of Interest

Last Friday the team at Support U took on their latest physical challenge a charity bike ride in partnership with Sainsbury’s Friar Street. Nick and Peter/Ethel from Support U along with Charlotte and Christina from Sainsbury’s cycled over 150km to raise awareness and fundraise on behalf of Support U.

Speaking after his stint on the bike; Support U’s Engagement Manager Nick said “Fundraising events like this are great for getting out into the community and engaging with the public. They help to raise awareness of the charity by letting people know there is a service where they can go, alongside promoting LGBT equality and diversity within Reading.”

Big thanks as well to The Advance Gym on Friar Street for lending us the bikes and supporting us through the day. Also a huge thank you to the team who raised £52.13!