Halifax Police Arrest Third Person In Robberies That Targeted Gay Men Via Plenty Of Fish Site, Nashville Mayor Says He Will Sign Bill Protecting Sexual Orientation And Gender Identity From Discrimination, One Third Of Those Gays And Lesbians Successfully Seeking Asylum In United States In 2010 Were From Jamaica, Rhode Island House Minority Leader Makes Joke That Manages To Offend Almost Everyone, Roman Catholic Confessional App Condemned For Being Anti-Gay

Halifax Regional Police arrested Colin David Brown Rankin Thursday and charged the 21 year old with robbery and breach of conditions, the third person arrested in connection to robberies that targeted gay men in the area via the Internet and prompted police to issue a public warning, reports the Chronicle Herald. Rankin’s charges are related to a January 6th robbery in which the victim, a 29 year old man, picked up another man, the two then driving to the south-end of Halifax. There, a man wielding a knife stole the victim’s wallet. That robbery was similar to one that occurred January 2nd in which a 35 year old man was the victim. In January, police arrested a 17 year old Halifax male and 20 year old Steven Robert Clarke. Clarke remains in custody and is expected to appear in Halifax provincial court Tuesday. The 17 year is to appear in youth court Thursday.

Nashville, Tennessee Mayor Karl Dean said Friday that legislation to extend Metro’s protection of gay, lesbian, and transgender citizens “makes sense” and that he will sign it into law if the Metro Council approves a bill that would require city contractors to pledge not to discriminate based on sexual orientation or gender identity, according to a report by the Tennessean. "Nashville is known as a welcoming and friendly city and as a city that doesn't tolerate discrimination," Dean said late Friday, after a month of silence on the proposal. "The idea of requiring companies that do business with the city to adopt a non-discrimination policy similar to our own makes sense." The bill was proposed following the controversy regarding the departure of Belmont University women’s soccer coach Lisa Howe, the school having contracts with Metro. The second of three required votes is scheduled for Tuesday, the third set for March 15th. Mike Jameson, one of three Council members who introduced the bill, said the month gap will be used to answer questions from the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce, who sent a letter Friday to council members saying that more time is needed to study business issues raised by the proposal.

The Washington Post reports that while the federal government does not track how many individuals are granted asylum based on claims of homophobia or what countries the applicants are from, of the 92 gays and lesbians who won asylum in the United States in 2010 with the help of Immigration Equality, an immigrant gay rights group, 28 were from Jamaica: therefore a third were from a single country ranked 138th in world population. Jamaica still criminalizes sodomy, and has historically been regarded by human rights activists as violently anti-gay. Victoria Neilson, the legal director of Immigration Equality, which estimates it handles half of all successful asylum cases brought on behalf of gay and lesbian applicants, says “The Caribbean is the part of the world where we see the highest number of cases,” adding that part of the reason is that those seeking asylum must be in the United States when they apply, a challenge for gays and lesbians from Uganda, for example. While many Americans are aware of the deadly climate of homophobia that exists in Africa, most remind unaware of that same issue in the Caribbean, Neilson saying “There is a great deal of violence, and in many Caribbean countries there are laws on the books that criminalize consensual sodomy, which makes it difficult for people to report violence to the police,” adding that Jamaica specifically “is on the most violently homophobic countries that exist in the western hemisphere.”

Rhode Island’s Guatemalan community is condemning remarks made by state House Minority Leader, reports the Associated Press. Republican Representative Robert Watson referred to Guatemalans when attempting to make a joke about the legislature’s priorities during the Chamber of Commerce’s annual lunch for lawmakers Wednesday. Watson said that its priorities were correct “if you are a Guatemalan gay man who likes to gamble and smokes marijuana.” Watson said the remarks were not insulting and made the point that the state should be focussing on fiscal issues, like gay marriage, immigration, and medical marijuana.

The Guardian reports on an iPhone/iPad app that acts as a confessional for Catholics has been condemned for being homophobic, gay rights groups accusing the application of “promoting anti-gay spiritual abuse,” according to the Guardian. Confession: A Roman Catholic App allows “a step-by-step guide to the sacrament,” and “invites Catholics to prayerfully prepare for and participate in the Rite of Penance.” Among the questions users are asked is “Have I been guilty of any homosexual activity?” Wayne Besen, the executive director of Truth Wins Out, a gay rights advocacy group, accused the app of "helping to create neurotic individuals who are ashamed of who they are. This is cyber spiritual abuse that promotes backward ideas in a modern package," said Besen. "Gay Catholics don't need to confess, they need to come out of the closet and challenge anti-gay dogma. The false idea that being gay is something to be ashamed of has destroyed too many lives. This iPhone app is facilitating and furthering the harm."