The subject of today's Out Spotlight was suggested by LondonTB. I had never heard of Peter Tatchell until she mentioned him. And quite an interesting guy too! He's one of the founding members of OutRage!, a British queer rights, non-violent, direct action group. The group advocates the outing of public figures who hide their homosexuality and has protested the Church of England's policies on homosexuality. Tatchell was arrested for protesting at the wedding of Prince Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles for carrying a sign that read, "Charles can marry twice! Gays can't marry once!"
Tatchell has done a lot of work in Africa for gay rights. Tatchell claims he was personally responsible for the ANC's decision to give gays and lesbians protection from discrimination in the South African constitution. His in-your-face tactics have earned him some critics, however. Earlier this year, a group of African queer activists wrote him an open letter encouraging him to stay out of African LGBT issues. His group OutRage! has come under fire for their insistence on, and tactics around, outing. Tatchell is also a member of the Green Party and works on environmental and green issues. He opposed the Iraq war and believes beauty pageants oppress women. I would really love to hear from some of our UK folks on how Peter Tatchell is perceived there. He sounds quite controversial!
Website- http://www.petertatchell.net/
