Gay Native Man Contends Arson That Destroyed His Home On First Nations Community A Hate Crime, Pakistan Prosecutes Two Men After Arresting Them At Marriage Ceremony, KLM Denies Request By Gay Employees To Not Have To Fly To Iran, Outing Mark Kirk, England’s Gay Youngest Mayor

Raymond Michell, an openly gay man who lives on Manitoba’s largest First Nations community – the Peguis First Nation, north of Winnipeg – says that he is the victim of a hate crime after the home he and his late partner built two years ago was burned to the ground. The RCMP confirms they are investigating the incident as arson, but have yet to determine whether a hate crime stipulation will be added. The fire occurred three weeks ago, and at the time, according to RCMP Sgt Bill Richards, Michell made no mention of homophobia as a motive in his police statement. “We do know that it is a criminal arson,” said Richard, “So it is an arson investigation, it is an active investigation. We are pursuing several avenues at this time.” Michell, however, now says he believes his home was targeted because he is gay, and he intends to leave Peguis out of fear for his own safety. “In the day and age with the way things are with rights and same-sex marriages in Canada, I just really don’t feel safe here,” Michell said. “I would say it’s the same thing as when I was a child. It’s homophobia. It’s alive and living here just as I left it.

In Pakistan, authorities arrested and charged 42 year old Malik Muhammad Iqbal and 18 year old Rani after prosecutors allege the two tried to marry. Rani, who lives as women, and Iqbal face 10 years in prison if convicted. They deny the charges and contend that they are not lovers, but friends, and that the celebration police mistook for a marriage ceremony was in fact a birthday party for Rani. The Peshawar police disagree and say he has photographs and a wedding dress as evidence. “Our investigation shows this man likes these people more than women,” said Chief Shoukat Ali. “He admitted it. This is a psychological disease when men are attracted to men and not attracted to women.”

Gay stewards employed by Dutch airline KLM requested that they be excused from flying to Iran, one of the world’s most anti-gay nations, because the stewards, who are required to spend time overnight in the country, fear for their safety. The stewards had requested alternative destinations, but that request has been denied.

The outing of Illinois Republican congressman Mark Kirk continues, Kirk running for the state Senate seat vacated by Barack Obama in a nasty campaign against Democrat Alexi Giannoulias. Kirk, who voted against a repeal of the American military ban on openly gay men and women serving openly, and who recently caught lying about his own military service – he claimed to have been awarded the United States Navy’s Intelligence Officer of the Year for his work during the NATO conflict with Serbia in the nineties – is the subject of some fierce scrutiny by blogger Mike Rodgers.

Already out, 23 year old Ian Campbell, the recently elected mayor of Retford, in Nottinghamshire, England, the youngest mayor ever elected. Campbell, who became a noted gay rights activist after he came out and was subsequently thrown out of parent’s home, was named Nottinghamshire’s young person of the year for his work countering homophobia and bullying in schools and colleges throughout England. According to Campbell, his sexual orientation was not an issue during the campaign, which impressed the young Labour leader. “It is an ex-mining town and people’s views are anti-gay but things are changing.”