LGBTQ Breaking News Service

Two same-sex penguin couples have formed at a London aquarium just in time for it to reopen next week.

The Gentoo penguins at the Sea Life London Aquarium on the South Bank are currently pairing up ready for their annual mating season.

And when the aquarium opens its doors to visitors again on Monday, people should be able to witness the animals performing their mating rituals.

Among them are two all-female couples – Marmalade and Chickpea, and Marama and Rocky.

General manager Catherine Pritchard said: ‘Without a doubt, our Gentoo penguins are one of our most loved creatures and we’re so pleased that we’re able to reopen our doors in time for guests to be able to witness their amazing courtship rituals.

‘Gentoo penguins are the ultimate romantics, and their dating techniques are truly unique – so much so that as humans, we could certainly learn a thing or two from their passion and commitment to finding a mate.

‘As well as our male-female penguin couples, this breeding season we also have two female same-sex couples who are also going through their nesting rituals.’

Mating rituals among the penguins involve one of the pair, usually a male, gifting a pebble to a potential mate.

The pebbles are then used in building nests for any eggs that are laid.

The birds at the aquarium are closely monitored during mating season, with staff checking their nesting progress and regularly weighing the birds.

‘Our expert care team are monitoring the penguins’ progress and we’re hoping that we’re lucky enough to add a new chick to the colony when we welcome guests back,’ Catherine added.

Same-sex penguin couples are relatively common, and they sometimes adopt eggs which are abandoned by other couples.

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.

For more stories like this, check our news page.

Xavier Becerra, Health and Human Services Secretary announced the White House will ensure that protections against sexual discrimination in the Affordable Care Act—popularly known as Obamacare—will be fulfilled.

“You should not discriminate against people. That includes those based on sexual orientation or gender identity. And when it comes to healthcare, we want to make sure that’s the case,” Becerra told CNN on Monday.

The policy is in direct support of women, as well as lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender persons.

With Republican support in Congress and state legislatures, the Trump Administration dumped the protections in June 2020.

Republicans argued that service providers affiliated with faith-based organizations had a right to discriminate against persons who wanted services they did not want to fulfill—like a woman’s right to choose her own healthcare needs, and medical interventions that would fulfill gender identity needs.

Becerra cited a June 15, 2020 landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision that stated equal treatment under the law based on sex explicitly includes LGBT persons.

The majority decision was written by Trump-appointee Justice Neil Gorsuch, joined by Bush-appointed Chief Justice John Roberts, and the four liberal justices.

The American Medical Association applauded Becerra’s announcement in light of several states legislating anti-transgender laws related to participation in sports and making it harder for transgender persons to transition.

Just last week, the AMA demanded that Republican governors and state legislatures “stop interfering with in the healthcare of transgender children.”

“Decisions about medical care belong within the sanctity of the patient-physician relationship,” the AMA wrote to the National Governors’ Association.

“We believe it is inappropriate and harmful for any state to legislatively dictate that certain transition-related services are never appropriate and limit the range of options physicians and families may consider when making decisions for pediatric patients.”

“It’s a hammer blow. It’s the maximum term outlined in the law. The message is clear: homosexuals don’t have a place in Cameroon,” one of their lawyers, Alice Nkom, who heads the Association for the Defence of Rights of Homosexuals, told the AFP news agency.

TK Strand (Ronen Rubinstein) and his partner, Carlos Reyes (Rafael Silva). (Screen capture via Twitter/Fox)

The Cameroonian government has reportedly sentenced two transgender Cameroonians to five years in prison this past Tuesday. Shakiro (real name Njeukam Loic Midrel), a popular internet celebrity in Cameroon and her partner, Mouthe “Patricia” Roland, were charged with “attempting homosexuality and fined heavily with the possibility of added jail time should they fail to pay. The couple had already been imprisoned in the two months prior to their trial commencing at the Bonanjo Douala magistrate’s court.

READ: South Africans Confronted with Reality of Continued Homophobic Murders

The conviction of Shakiro and Roland is a major blow to the queer community of Cameroon. Additionally, the judgment comes shortly after an alarming report was released by Human Rights Watch last month and which highlighted the increasing persecution of the country’s LGBT community.

Describing the societal impact of the recent judgement to News24, Alice Nkom, head of the Association for the Defence of Rights of Homosexuals, said the following: “It’s a hammer blow. It’s the maximum term outlined in law. The message is clear: homosexuals don’t have a place in Cameroon.” Nkom has vowed to appeal the judgement saying, “We will continue the fight before the court of appeal. This decision risks increasing violence against LGBTQ people.”

While Angola may have officially enacted its new penal code against the discrimination of LGBT Angolans earlier this year in February, the reality of many queer people on the continent remains quite bleak. South Africa has been contending with several homophobic murders this year alone while LGBT+ Rights Ghana’s new centre was raided and subsequently shut down by Ghanaian security forces.

KEYSER — Most people growing up in Mineral County seem to feel it is an ideal location and a dream, but for some that dream experience can be somewhat of a nightmare – especially if you’re different and brought into the world in 1964.

For Mark Miller, who was born that year, it would prove to be a trial.

“I always knew I was different,” Mark said recently as he sat down to talk with the News Tribune. “As young as 6 or 7, I felt different from the other boys.

“As soon as you know you’re different, you take on the burden of being judged and feeling guilty for being different. You don’t accept yourself, and you fight it,” he says.

For Mark, he knew he was different because he would look at the boys instead of the girls, and “mainstream” society said then that was wrong and so it had to be kept secret.

“It is hard and it hurts,” he says. “It is a burden you have to learn to accept.

Being LBGTQ+ was a nightmare in middle school

“I was an outgoing child, and I was very quiet and reserved about being different,” he recalls. Although elementary school didn’t prove to be much of a problem for Mark, since relationships and sexual orientation were not a focus with children that young, middle school would be where Mark’s nightmare would become a reality.

“At the age of 13 through 15, I could not have cried enough,” he says.

Although Mark had never told a soul about being different, so even his family didn’t know he was gay, that would not protect him from the torture he was about to receive.

“I was outgoing and talented at an early age, and I was interested in dance, drama and gymnastics,” he says. Those interests, however, made Mark a target to other children. He was called a slur by the other children, even before they knew he was really gay.

It wasn’t everyone, but it was several kids that seemed to be filled with such hate and who were angry, and also showing signs of being racist as well. They had singled Mark out for dancing and doing gymnastics, and they weren’t comfortable with that, so they tormented him daily.

“I came home everyday crying and cried all the time,” he told the News Tribune. “I wasn’t spiteful or cruel, and I never did anything to anyone to ever deserve or get the hate I got from them.”

At that time, Mark was still keeping quiet about his sexuality, but that did not spare him their taunting and name calling.

“It hurt so bad,” he said. “It was the hardest experience to ever go through. I knew I was different, but I couldn’t help it.”

Mark said he never wanted to be different or to feel that way. It was a very negative, dark, and depressed feeling to be different and feel so alone.

“I would never chose to be that way and be treated like that if I could have helped it; nobody would chose that,” he said.

Focusing on his talents

At that time while Mark knew he was different, he also knew he had talent. He decided that since he was so outgoing, he would focus on that. He steered toward developing his talents. He focused on his dance and gymnastics and proved to be quite the athletic child. Sadly, that brought more teasing from several boys.

“I don’t know what they were raised like,” he says, “but they were so angry and I did nothing to be called ‘faggot,’ ‘fairy,’ and ‘fruitcake.’” 

Mark said that is why suicide rates are so high among young gay people. “It is so hurtful, and you always remember the trauma. Even though I was popular for my talent and dance moves, I was tormented,” he said.

It had gotten to a point in late middle school that Mark, who was still in secret about his sexuality, went to a teacher about his bullying. He says it was no secret that he was being bullied, and he was in need of help.

“My teacher, who I believe sensed that I was different, actually got on a microphone and announced that if anyone was caught calling me names or being mean would be put out of school.”

Mark says that was the first time anyone had ever stood up for him.

As Mark continued developing his talent, it made him strong physically, and he began to start to develop his first crush. That secret crush went on for a few years, stretching into high school. There, Mark’s crush grew and he decided to write the boy a letter. The boy had always been nice to Mark and even though he told Mark didn’t feel the same, after receiving the letter he was never mean to Mark.

Mark says he later learned that the boy had a gay brother, which “wasn’t something people would know at that time.”

After that, Mark became very tired of living with his secret and had begun to drink to escape that feeling. It became so unbearable for him that he decided to speak to his pastor about it. Being raised Catholic, his family attended church regularly and lived a religious lifestyle. Mark spoke to his pastor and told him that he realized that he was different and knew he was gay. He says the pastor simply told him to do his penance for his “sin.”

“It was obvious that they didn’t feel I was God’s child with feelings like that, so I never went back,” he said. “I didn’t want to be a part of something that felt I was wrong. I still practiced my faith and kept a relationship with my Lord Jesus Christ though.”

Being in a dark place as a gay man

After that experience, Mark says he slipped into a dark place. He began to have a complete breakdown at this point, and he just didn’t want to be there anymore.

“I continued to drink and I took pills that I could get,” he said. “I was skipping school and I was lost in this deep sadness.”

Mark said he was afraid to tell his family and everyone he cared about and felt it would be easier not to be here. It was at this time that he attempted suicide.

“I had taken a bunch of pills and was found unconscious,” he recalls. “An ambulance was called. I can remember hearing the commotion around me; my mom was crying and my brothers and sisters were scared.”

After having his stomach pumped, Mark was kept for a week to help him emotionally.

When he was released from the hospital, Mark could simply not take it anymore and he gathered his family and confessed to them that he was gay. Several family members said they already knew, yet nobody set down with him to talk about it. 

“My one brother had difficulties accepting it completely, and my father was not okay with it; he jus didn’t understand.”

Mark and his father became estranged and it would be many years before the two would have a relationship again.

“After I came out to my family, I had an awakening of sorts and I didn’t care who knew after that,” he said.

So Mark went into his senior year of high school and tried out for cheerleading and made the team due to his dance skills and gymnastics.

“It was 1983 and I was the first gay boy cheerleader,” he recalls.

Being a cheerleader definitely gave other boys a bigger reason to target him, and he says although he put himself out there by joining the team, the bullying still really hurt.

“It just made me an easier target for their hate,” he said.

“I had brothers growing up and I learned to fight with them, so I learned to defend myself,” he says.

Mark remembers one time someone tried to turn the bullying into something physical, but he was able to take care of it. “Nobody tried to get physical with their abuse after that, but the mental abuse was so cruel that it still left me with trauma,” he said.

“Honestly, I credit my mother as the reason I survived,” says Mark, explaining that his mother was loving and supportive.

“I think having her and being as outgoing as I was with such a dynamic personality kept me strong enough to get though it.”

Mark says his centerstage attitude and confidence have served him well in getting through the dark times. “My suicide attempt was a cry for help; I was hurting and it was a dark time. Yet through it all I have maintained courage, dignity and spirit that Mark Miller has,” he said. “Even through the pain and hurt. I mean, I was traveling with the cheerleading team and was getting the hate from the other schools as well. It was like that was the only thing some people could see in me was my sexuality. They only saw that one part. Like, why focus on that instead of my talent, dancing, gymnastics or my personality?” he asks.

 Marks still questions why so many focus on that one thing, which is just a tiny part of the amazing person that he is.

“They only saw that I was gay, and that is all they cared about,” he said.

Mark said he never felt accepted in this area, or even safe for that matter.

“Things were always said and I did not feel safe and lived my life here in fear,” he says. “With crimes against gays, including murder, at the time being so high around the country, it was a scary time.”

Slowly finding acceptance

So with that, Mark, after being voted Most Talented by his classmates, immediately left the area upon graduating.

He says he left here so young because not only did he feel unaccepted and fearful here, but he also knew he would never be successful here.

“It is the reason so many young gay people head to bigger cities,” he says.

Mark first headed to Florida, where he continued his dance training and even danced at Disney World and  won Mr. Dance of Florida. He then competed nationally. After more traIning, he headed to California.

“I was 21 years old and I knew I was talented and I wanted to try California,” he says.

When he made it from L.A. and then to Say Fransisco, he says he never felt more at home.

“They had gyms just for gay people to work out,” he explains. “I had finally found my people, my place, my home, where I felt comfortable and could be myself.”

He didn’t feel alone anymore, and actually blossomed there.

He did ballet training, campus theater and events, and was even called to audition for Madonna, Paula Abdul, and Janet and Michael Jackson.

“I met Madonna!!” he says of one of the highlights of his experiences.

Mark made his living through entertainment and dancing. He also sang and worked at a gym, which he continued for 20 years.He even appeared on “Entertainment Tonight.”

“I was well known in the gay community and I had become successful,” he says.

All of this at times was not easy for Mark, however, who was still carrying a low self self-esteem from his youth and unresolved trauma from being tormented for years.

“It all caused me to make some poor life choices at times,” he admits.

Mark dealt with the trauma in multiple ways, including a period of drug addiction. It was when he started working the 12-Step Program to combat that addiction, however, that his life really changed and he became the most successful.

“It changed my life. I learned a lot of lessons and got wiser,” he says.

It was at that time that he was able to reconnect with his father and really got close with his higher power.

“I lived an amazing life after that,” he said.

A return to Keyser

Mark lived that life for 33 years and never looked back on his life in his small hometown. One thing that he knew was that he would never go back to live there again … that is until COVID hit and he and his brother made the decision to return to Keyser for a year.

“It was hard to return to a place that I couldn’t wait to get away from 33 years earlier,” he said. It was scary and he didn’t quite to know what to expect.

“Returning to Keyser was an eye-opening life experience,” he said. “The city offered me friends, a community like me, acceptance.”

Mark said that now Keyser has offered him a slower, more peaceful life of quiet and solace with new friends. He also found Keyser to be more accepting than it was when he left.

“I mean, I left this town with such hate and ignorance, and found family and friends that I always wanted,” he says. “Now, I’ve come back to make a lot of new friends here.”

Mark says even some people he has come across that didn’t understand his way of life before are now open and have talked to him, and they all accepted him after that. “They meet and talk to me and they see me as this person who is so much more than my sexual orientation, and we have became friends,” he says.

“Did I get some prejudice? Sure,” he says. “There is still some ignorance and hate, but not like when I left.

“I went out and sang in clubs with my brothers, and was able to be myself. Did I get the whispers and the occasional limp wrist behind my back? Sure,” he says, “but they can only take my power if I give it to them.

“I am comfortable in my own skin and those few won’t get to me.”

Mark said Keyser had definitely experienced growth and come a long way since he grew up here.

“Kids today can take the same-sex date to prom; that is something I never could have done,” he says. “Keyser is not what it once was, and I am grateful.”

Mark said since returning home he has been able to talk to old classmates who told him they admired what he had accomplished in life.

 “It was so nice and so many followed me and saw my awards and recognition I got for my dancing and stuff. It was like my small town had truly evolved into this nice place,” he says.

Mark says returning made him realize that people are people and everyone and everything changes. “People are way more accepting and were okay with me being me,” said Mark. “I am what I am and people like me for me. I was told they didn’t care that I was gay and that they liked me as a person.”

Mark said coming home to Keyser was an awesome experience and yet he always knew he would be returning.

The time is almost here now for him to leave.

“I returned kind of afraid of what I would find; what I wasn’t expecting was that I would be torn about leaving this time because it is hard,” he said.

“I can tell you that if I do in fact leave, I will be taking a newfound love for Keyser with me!”

KEYSER – Most people growing up in Mineral County seem to feel it is an ideal location and a dream, but for some that dream experience can be somewhat of a nightmare – especially if you’re different and brought into the world in 1964.

For Mark Miller, who was born that year, it would prove to be a trial.

“I always knew I was different,” Mark said recently as he sat down to talk with the News Tribune. “As young as 6 or 7, I felt different from the other boys.

“As soon as you know you’re different, you take on the burden of being judged and feeling guilty for being different. You don’t accept yourself, and you fight it,” he says.

For Mark, he knew he was different because he would look at the boys instead of the girls, and society says that is wrong and so it has to be kept secret.

“It is hard and it hurts,” he says. “It is a burden you have to learn to accept.

Middle School Nightmare

“I was an outgoing child, and I was very quiet and reserved about being different,” he recalls. Although elementary school didn’t prove to be much of a problem for Mark, since relationships and sexual orientation were not a focus with children that young, middle school would be where Mark’s nightmare would become a reality.

“At the age of 13 through 15, I could not have cried enough,” he says.

Although Mark had never told a soul about being different, so even his family didn’t know he was gay, that would not protect him from the torture he was about to receive.

“I was outgoing and talented at an early age, and I was interested in dance, drama and gymnastics,” he says. Those interests, however, made Mark a target to other children. He was called “faggot” by the other children, even before they knew he was really gay.

It wasn’t everyone, but it was several kids that seemed to be filled with such hate and who were angry, and also showing signs of being racist as well. They had singled Mark out for dancing and doing gymnastics, and they weren’t comfortable with that, so they tormented him daily.

“I came home everyday crying and cried all the time,” he told the News Tribune. “I wasn’t spiteful or cruel, and I never did anything to anyone to ever deserve or get the hate I got from them,” he said.

At that time, Mark was still keeping quiet about his sexuality, but that did not spare him their taunting and name calling.

“It hurt so bad,” he said. “It was the hardest experience to ever go through. I knew I was different, but I couldn’t help it.”

Mark said he never wanted to be different or to feel that way. It was a very negative, dark, and depressed feeling to be different and feel so alone.

“I would never chose to be that way and be treated like that if I could have helped it; nobody would chose that,” he said.

Focusing on His Talents

At that time while Mark knew he was different, he also knew he had talent. He decided that since he was so outgoing, he would focus on that. He steered toward developing his talents. He focused on his dance and gymnastics and proved to be quite the athletic child. Sadly, that brought more teasing from several boys.

“I don’t know what they were raised like,” he says, “but they were so angry and I did nothing to be called ‘faggot,’ ‘fairy,’ and ‘fruitcake.’” 

Mark said that is why suicide rates are so high among young gays. “It is so hurtful, and you always remember the trauma. Even though I was popular for my talent and dance moves, I was tormented,” he said.

It had gotten to a point in late middle school that Mark, who was still in secret about his sexuality, went to a teacher about his bullying. He says it was no secret that he was being bullied, and he was in need of help.

“My teacher, who I believe sensed that I was different, actually got on a microphone and announced that if anyone was caught calling me names or being mean would be put out of school.”

Mark says that was the first time anyone had ever stood up for him.

As Mark continued developing his talent, it made him strong physically, and he began to start to develop his first crush. That secret crush went on for a few years, stretching into high school. There, Mark’s crush grew and he decided to write the boy a letter. The boy had always been nice to Mark and even though he told Mark didn’t feel the same, after receiving the letter he was never mean to Mark.

Mark says he later learned that the boy had a gay brother, which “wasn’t something people would know at that time.”

After that, Mark became very tired of living with his secret and had begun to drink to escape that feeling. It became so unbearable for him that he decided to speak to his pastor about it. Being raised Catholic, his family attended church regularly and lived a religious lifestyle. Mark spoke to his pastor and told him that he realized that he was different and knew he was gay. He says the pastor simply told him to do his penance for his sin.

“It was obvious that they didn’t feel I was God’s child with feelings like that, so I never went back,” he said. “I didn’t want to be a part of something that felt I was wrong. I still practiced my faith and kept a relationship with my Lord Jesus Christ though.”

A Dark Place

After that experience, Mark says he slipped into a dark place. He began to have a complete breakdown at this point, and he just didn’t want to be there anymore.

“I continued to drink and I took pills that I could get,” he said. “I was skipping school and I was lost in this deep sadness.”

Mark said he was afraid to tell his family and everyone he cared about and felt it would be easier not to be here. It was at this time that he attempted suicide.

“I had taken a bunch of pills and was found unconscious,” he recalls. “An ambulance was called. I can remember hearing the commotion around me; my mom was crying and my brothers and sisters were scared.”

After having his stomach pumped, Mark was kept for a week to help him emotionally.

When he was released from the hospital, Mark could simply not take it anymore and he gathered his family and confessed to them that he was gay. Several family members said they already knew, yet nobody set down with him to talk about it. 

“My one brother had difficulties accepting it completely, and my father was not okay with it; he jus didn’t understand.”

Mark and his father became estranged and it would be many years before the two would have a relationship again.

“After I came out to my family, I had an awakening of sorts and I didn’t care who knew after that,” he said.

So Mark went into his senior year of high school and tried out for cheerleading and made the team due to his dance skills and gymnastics.

“It was 1983 and I was the first gay boy cheerleader,” he recalls.

Being a cheerleader definitely gave other boys a bigger reason to target him, and he says although he put himself out there by joining the team, the bullying still really hurt.

“It just made me an easier target for their hate,” he said.

“I had brothers growing up and I learned to fight with them, so I learned to defend myself,” he says.

Mark remembers one time someone tried to turn the bullying into something physical, but he was able to take care of it. “Nobody tried to get physical with their abuse after that, but the mental abuse was so cruel that it still left me with trauma,” he said.

“Honestly, I credit my mother as the reason I survived,” says Mark, explaining that his mother was loving and supportive.

“I think having her and being as outgoing as I was with such a dynamic personality kept me strong enough to get though it.”

Mark says his centerstage attitude and confidence have served him well in getting through the dark times. “My suicide attempt was a cry for help; I was hurting and it was a dark time. Yet through it all I have maintained courage, dignity and spirit that Mark Miller has,” he said. “Even through the pain and hurt. I mean, I was traveling with the cheerleading team and was getting the hate from the other schools as well. It was like that was the only thing some people could see in me was my sexuality. They only saw that one part. Like, why focus on that instead of my talent, dancing, gymnastics or my personality?” he asks.

 Marks still questions why so many focus on that one thing, which is just a tiny part of the amazing person that he is.

“They only saw that I was gay, and that is all they cared about,” he said.

Mark said he never felt accepted in this area, or even safe for that matter.

“Things were always said and I did not feel safe and lived my life here in fear,” he says. “With crimes against gays, including murder, at the time being so high around the country, it was a scary time.”

Finding Acceptance

So with that, Mark, after being voted Most Talented by his classmates, immediately left the area upon graduating.

He says he left here so young because not only did he feel unaccepted and fearful here, but he also knew he would never be successful here.

“It is the reason so many young gay people head to bigger cities,” he says.

Mark first headed to Florida, where he continued his dance training and even danced at Disney World and  won Mr Dance of Florida. He then competed nationally. After more traIning, he headed to California.

“I was 21 years old and I knew I was talented and I wanted to try California,” he says.

When he made it from L.A. and then to Say Fransisco, he says he never felt more at home.

“They had gyms just for gay people to work out,” he explains. “I had finally found my people, my place, my home, where I felt comfortable and could be myself.”

He didn’t feel alone anymore, and actually blossomed there.

He did ballet training, campus theater and events, and was even called to audition for Madonna, Paula Abdul, and Janet and Michael Jackson.

“I met Madonna!!” he says of one of the highlights of his experiences.

Mark made his living through entertainment and dancing. He also sang and worked at a gym, which he continued for 20 years.He even appeared on “Entertainment Tonight.”

“ I was well known in the gay community and I had become successful,” he says.

All of this at times was not easy for Mark, however, who was still carrying a low self self-esteem from his youth and unresolved trauma from being tormented for years.

“It all caused me to make some poor life choices at times,” he admits.

Mark dealt with the trauma in multiple ways, including a period of drug addiction. It was when he started working the 12-Step Program to combat that addiction, however, that his life really changed and he became the most successful.

“It changed my life. I learned a lot of lessons and got wiser,” he says.

It was at that time that he was able to reconnect with his father and really got close with his higher power.

“I lived an amazing life after that,” he said.

A Return to Keyser

Mark lived that life for 33 years and never looked back on his life in his small hometown. One thing that he knew was that he would never go back to live there again … that is until COVID hit and he and his brother made the decision to return to Keyser for a year.

“It was hard to return to a place that I couldn’t wait to get away from 33 years earlier,” he said. It was scary and he didn’t quiet to know what to expect.

“Returning to Keyser was an eye opening life experience,” he said. “The city offered me friends, a community like me, acceptance.”

 Mark said that now Keyser has offered him a slower, more peaceful life of quiet and solace with new friends. He also found Keyser to be more accepting than it was when he left.

“I mean, I left this town with such hate and ignorance, and found family and friends that I always wanted,” he says. “Now, I’ve come back to make a lot of new friends here.”

Mark says even some people he has come across that didn’t understand his way of life before are now open and have talked to him, and they all accepted him after that. “They meet and talk to me and they see me as this person who is so much more than my sexual orientation, and we have became friends,” he says.

“Did I get some prejudice? Sure,” he says. “There is still some ignorance and hate, but not like when I left.

“I went out and sang in clubs with my brothers, and was able to be myself. Did I get the whispers and the occasional limp wrist behind my back? Sure,” he says, “but they can only take my power if I give it to them.

 “I am comfortable in my own skin and those few won’t get to me.”

And so Mark says he is different from others, but yet not so different.

“I am human and I have emotions and I feel.”

Mark said Keyser had definitely experienced growth and come a long way since he grew up here.

“Kids today can take the same sex date to prom; that is something I never could have done,” he says. “Keyser is not what it once was, and I am grateful.”

Mark said since returning home he has been able to talk to old classmates who told him they admired what he had accomplished in life.

 “It was so nice and so many followed me and saw my awards and recognition I got for my dancing and stuff. It was like my small town had truly evolved into this nice place,” he says.

Mark says returning made him realize that people are people and everyone and everything changes. “People are way more accepting and were okay with me being me,” said Mark. “I am what I am and people like me for me. I was told they didn’t care that I was gay and that they liked me as a person.”

Mark said coming home to Keyser was an awesome experience and yet he always knew he would be returning.

The time is almost here now for him to leave, however.

“I returned kind of afraid of what I would find; what I wasn’t expecting was that I would be torn about leaving this time because it is hard,” he said.

“I can tell you that if I do in fact leave, I will be taking a newfound love for Keyser with me!”

A new MSP who worried he wouldn’t be accepted when he came out as gay has become the first openly homosexual man to be elected into Holyrood for Scottish Labour.

Paul O’Kane was one of seven West Scotland list candidates to secure a seat in the Scottish Parliament at the weekend after voters hit the polls last Thursday.

He will now represent Renfrewshire and Inverclyde as part of his remit, a duty he regarded as “the honour of his life” in the wake of his victory.

But the 33-year-old councillor said he was equally delighted to have “broken a glass ceiling” within his party.

In the 22-year history of Holyrood, Scottish Labour has never had an openly gay man within its parliamentary team.

And Mr O’Kane – who first came out when he was a teenager – said he was humbled to have been chosen as the first.

“When I was younger I worried I wouldn’t be accepted for who I was,” said Mr O’Kane, who represents Neilston and Newton Mearns North on East Renfrewshire Council.

“When you’re going through coming out and realising who you are, you do question whether people will accept it and whether it will have an adverse impact on the career you want to do and I just want this to be proof to people they can achieve the things they want to.

“In this election process, when we were discussing the list in Scottish Labour, it was an argument I made really strongly that we had never had an openly gay man elected to Holyrood within the party.

“I am so honoured I am now in this position today and I really just want to give a strong voice to the LGBT [lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender] community in the West of Scotland as someone who has lived and experienced coming out as a gay man.

“We need to show young people going through that they have someone speaking up for them because the suicide rates of LGBT people are too high.

“There is a huge amount of work to be done in this parliament and I am so ready for that.”

The SNP, Greens, Conservatives and Liberal Democrats have all already had gay men sat in the chamber at some point since the establishment of the parliament, and Labour has now finally followed suit.

Mr O’Kane will become the party’s second LGBT MSP after former leader Kezia Dugdale in a parliament which is being billed as possibly the most diverse yet.

Glasgow Kelvin MSP Kaukab Stewart and West Scotland MSP Pam Gosal were the first women of colour to be elected into Holyrood, while the latter also became the first Sikh to take up office.

Women now also make up 45 per cent of the chamber, a new record high.

Mr O’Kane added: “Within Scottish Labour we have always had a focus on how we become more diverse but I think right across the parties there’s an energy around trying to achieve that too.

“We need to have a parliament that looks and feels like Scotland and I hope people will see that more now.

“I want people to be able to look at the chamber and see there’s someone in there who looks and is like them.

“I’ve spoken to a lot of other MSPs who have said it’s a really positive step forward that I’ve been elected and that is really humbling.

“I think it’s going to be a really important parliament for defending the rights of trans people and supporting them and I think it’s important to me that we look to tackle prejudice and bullying more.”

A gay Iranian man has been reportedly beheaded by his brother and two cousins after they discovered he had been exempted from military service due to his sexuality.

Alireza Fazeli Monfared, 20, was allegedly taken by the three male members of his family to the village of Borumi, western Iran, and murdered. 

Afterwards, the three killers allegedly called Alireza’s mother to tell them they had ‘finished him off’.  

Alireza had applied for an exception from the compulsory Iranian military service for being gay so that he could leave the country and move to Turkey to live with his partner Aghil Abyat, according to 6Rang, the Iranian Lesbian and Transgender Network. 

But when the exception card arrived at his home in the city of Ahvaz, Alireza was not home and instead his half-brother is said to have discovered his sexual orientation after finding the card.

Alireza Fazeli Monfared, 20, (left, right) was allegedly taken by the three male members of his family to the village of Borumi, western Iran, and murdered

Victim: Alireza Fazeli Monfared

At 7pm on Tuesday Alireza spoke to his mother on the phone for the last time, Abyat told IranWire. 

Shortly afterwards, his half-brother arrived at Alireza’s home and said their father needed to see him and drove him to Borumi during the night.

It was here that his sibling and two male cousins allegedly murdered and beheaded Alireza, before dumping his body by a palm tree.

‘There was no news of him until Wednesday, when Alireza’s stepbrother called his mother and told her: ‘We’ve finished him off’,’ Abyat said. 

‘In other works, he confessed to murdering Alireza,’ Abyat claimed. ‘They found his body under some palm trees. It’s now with the medical examiner and his mother has been hospitalised because of the shock.’ 

Three men – believed to be Alireza’s half-brother and two cousins by Iranian media – were arrested and they are facing trial for the murder.  

Alireza had a difficult relationship with his half-brother who would often complain to their father about how Alireza looked and how he dressed, saying he ‘dishonoured’ and ‘shamed’ their family.

Abyat said that before his death, Alireza had plans to sell his mobile phone and travel to Turkey to join him. 

BBC Persian reported on Friday that they had acquired leaked audio recordings in which Alireza said he his life is ‘threatened by the family’.   

In Iran, gay men are excepted from military service under Paragraph 7 Sectopm 5 of the military’s bylaws. Therefore, any mention of this paragraph in an exception card – which will have been the case for Alireza – would indicate that the recipient is gay. 

Alireza had applied for an exception from the compulsory Iranian military service for being gay so that he could leave the country and move to Turkey to live with his partner Aghil Abyat

‘Alireza’s killing as a result of his sexual orientation being stated on his military service [exemption] card has once again provided proof for our warning several years ago about the risks caused by the military service exemption process for gay Iranian men and underlines the need for legislation to prevent these safety risks,’ the NGO 6 Rang said in a statement. 

The group had previously warned in 2016 that the exemption process allows police, educational institutions, employers and relatives to ‘identify gay men with only one glance at the military service exemption card’. 

Scores of activists and friends of Alireza have paid tribute to him since learning of his death. 

‘Nothing is more difficult than to expect to see somebody you love in a few days, and suddenly you hear he is dead,’ said Abyat. ‘Nothing is more difficult than to never be able to see him, or hear his voice, forever. This is an excruciating pain that will remain in my heart to the end of time.’ 

Human rights activist Gissou Nia tweeted: ‘RIP Alireza Fazeli Monfared. Brutally killed and disposed of by his family because of his sexuality. 

‘Cultural attitudes in society towards homosexuality are a literal life or death problem. What compounds the problem is when the laws of a state do not provide any protection.’

‘LGBTQI persons face abuse at home but legal protection against abusive family members is slim,’ Nia added. ‘The law gives parents extensive discretion in disciplining their children. Filing a complaint against abusive family can further endanger LGBTQI persons, so abuse is often unreported.’ 

The Centre for Human Rights in Iran has condemned the killing, describing it as a ‘despicable murder’. 

‘The despicable murder of Alireza Fazeli Mondared, 20, in Iran – reportedly for his sexual orientation – is the result of the Iranian government continuing to perpetuate falsities about homosexuality,’ the NGO said in a statement. 

‘No human should be discriminated against or harmed for their sexual orientation.’ 

In Iran, homosexuality is punishable by execution. It is thought that thousands of gays have been executed in the country since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. 

As a result, homosexuals are often targeted in ‘honour killings’ as their families believe they have brought shame to them. 

A 2020 6Rang report found that six in 10 gay people in Iran have been assaulted by members of their family, while almost 50 per cent have been publicly sexually assaulted.