A while back now Tony
set up M2M2. It was an
area where the lesbian gay and bisexual members of the
h2g2 community could congregate to share ideas and
views. Sadly, due to pressures of real life, it fell
into a state of being neglected. But now myself and Cupid Stunt are trying to breathe a
little life into the old area and bring it back to a
state of being up to date with the LesBiGay issues of
the day.

Part of that is going to be a regular column here
in The Post. So if you have any ideas that you think
should be included in the column please post them at
M2M2 News Centre. So, onward
with episode 1.

Right to Adopt

The British Parliament this week passed legislation
in the House of Commons allowing couples in stable
relationships to adopt children. This legislation
covers same sex and heterosexual relationships and was
supported by all the main parties except for the
Conservatives. However the debate was not confined to
the Houses of Parliament. It was taken up quite
civilly in a forum on homophobia in Ask the h2g2
Community - an interesting thread which has discussed a
number of LesBiGay issues in it's short life.

Some of the salient points raised include:

• Are they trying to imply that only
  heterosexuals are fit to bring up children? Do they
  think the children will be tainted in some
  way?

• The point the conservatives have raised
  is that a same sex family will be unable to provide a
  'stable' environment for a child to be raised in,
  because homosexual = promiscuous or, even worse,
  homosexual = paedophile.

• Would a child be better off in a home
  where the father slaps it around a bit and the mother
  ignores its cries (or shuttled from care home to
  foster home and back again) than in a loving home with
  two dads or two mums.

• The gay couple's adopting thing is
  debatable. Think of what children are like and how
  they'd treat a child with gay parents. Realistically,
  until British society grows up, there is a case for
  not allowing gay couples to adopt in the name of child
  protection.

• One ResponseBut if they are not
  adopted surely they would be put into a home and this
  is going to be more of a problem than if they were in
  a caring environment whether a heterosexual or
  homosexual relationship as there would be more one to
  one contact. Especially as in a home there is bullying
  going to happen by other children in the home as well
  as from other children picking on the childrens homes
  kids.

• AnotherIf a move is unpopular
  with the great British public, let them get used to
  it, otherwise we'll just bumble on promoting the same
  old prejudices. The more children that grow up knowing
  homosexuality is acceptible the
  better.

These are just some of the comments on a thread
which seems to bring people from different sides of
the debate together to discuss issues of homophobia.
It is another great example of how h2g2 really does
operate as an online community. It is a thread outside
of M2M2 but which the community seems to be taking a
great interest in.

Hold the Front Page

On 21 May an article on The
Birmingham Gay Scene hit the front page of
h2g2. It is a thoroughly researched piece and here is
just a taster.

To those from Little Sheepwash On The Wolde
where the very presence of gay pubs is a local
scandal, Birmingham is close to being the eighth
wonder of the world. However, to sophisticated
cosmopolitan types from London or Manchester,
Birmingham's gay scene is often considered a dark
dingy provincial backwater.

While it can be so claustrophobic that it is
impossible to get drunk and snog an ugly old bloke
without the world and her girlfriend knowing about it,
it's also large enough to be considered England's
third gay city, and has the largest free Pride event
in the UK. The gay 'Village' is centred on the Hurst
Street area.

Then the article take you on a virtual tour of
eleven venues in the village before giving you a
run-down of the best locations night by night. Well
worth a visit before you intend to take in the third
largest gay city.

Legacy of a Gay Politician

Lijst Pim Fortuyn the party of the assassinated gay
Dutch leader instead of shrinking following his death
took 26 seats in the recent elections, making them the
second largest party. Under the Dutch electoral system,
where co-operation is the key to coalition, they are
currently being courted by the largest party, the
Christian Democrats, with a view of having some role in
the new government. What this potentially means to
Dutch immigration policy has yet to be seen.

Sadly, however, the murder of Pim Fortuyn appears to
be going to deny one of the most liberal of European
countries with regard to LesBiGay rights its first
prominent openly gay politician. For despite gay
marriage being allowing in the Netherlands Fortuyn was
thus far the only leading political light to show his
true sexuality.

23.05.02 Front Page

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