David Joseph Henry
Encyclopedia
David Joseph Henry is a writer
, Human Rights
activist and parliamentary candidate from Manchester
, England
.
, demanding "16 for everyone". It was a protest at the then unequal age of consent for gay men. He has since been associated with grass routes direct action group OutRage!
In 1999 he co-founded the Queer Youth Network.
He writes a regular column in London's QX magazine
and has been a contributor to The Pink Paper, OutNorthWest and The Independent
. His first book "Queerest of Conspiracies" was published in 2005 which is described as a "fresh look at the state of the gay nation" where he categorised the gay community
into both 'Good Gay and Bad Gay'. David has been outspoken in the media and petitioned the government on the issue of civil partnerships and has argued that "they create a two-tier system of inequality".
In June 2009 he attempted to perform a Citizen's arrest
on Salford
MP Hazel Blears
at a constituency party meeting in Swinton
.
He was selected to contest the Salford and Eccles seat at the 2010 General Election, beating presumptive nominee
Merseyside
TUC leader Alec McFadden by a majority vote after responding to Martin Bell
's call for a "Community Champion" during a public meeting in Eccles
. He received 730 votes and Hazel Blears received 16,655. Despite the distribution of votes, David's campaign generated notable media interest. He was shadowed by a film crew
and was the focus of the 30-minute documentary film
"The Candidate" which premièred on Channel M
. Described as an "intimate and amusing portrait". It has since been shown at a number of film festivals and has received acclaim after being nominated for the Royal Television Society Awards, Exposures 2001 and the Salford International Film Festival.
Writer
A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....
, Human Rights
Human rights
Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...
activist and parliamentary candidate from Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
.
Biography
In 1997, he and other members of YouthSpeak projected a laser beam onto Big BenClock Tower, Palace of Westminster
Big Ben is the nickname for the great bell of the clock at the north end of the Palace of Westminster in London, and is generally extended to refer to the clock or the clock tower as well. It is the largest four-faced chiming clock and the third-tallest free-standing clock tower in the world...
, demanding "16 for everyone". It was a protest at the then unequal age of consent for gay men. He has since been associated with grass routes direct action group OutRage!
OutRage!
OutRage! is a British LGBT rights group that was formed to fight for equal rights of lesbian, gay, and bisexual people in comparison to heterosexual people. It is a group which has at times been criticised for outing individuals who wanted to keep their homosexuality secret and for being...
In 1999 he co-founded the Queer Youth Network.
He writes a regular column in London's QX magazine
QX (Swedish magazine)
QX started in 1995 with the aim to create communication platforms for the LGBT-community in Sweden and Scandinavia. It has a circulation about 32,000 copies a month and is the largest magazine of its kind in the region....
and has been a contributor to The Pink Paper, OutNorthWest and The Independent
The Independent
The Independent is a British national morning newspaper published in London by Independent Print Limited, owned by Alexander Lebedev since 2010. It is nicknamed the Indy, while the Sunday edition, The Independent on Sunday, is the Sindy. Launched in 1986, it is one of the youngest UK national daily...
. His first book "Queerest of Conspiracies" was published in 2005 which is described as a "fresh look at the state of the gay nation" where he categorised the gay community
Gay community
The gay community, or LGBT community, is a loosely defined grouping of LGBT and LGBT-supportive people, organizations and subcultures, united by a common culture and civil rights movements. These communities generally celebrate pride, diversity, individuality, and sexuality...
into both 'Good Gay and Bad Gay'. David has been outspoken in the media and petitioned the government on the issue of civil partnerships and has argued that "they create a two-tier system of inequality".
In June 2009 he attempted to perform a Citizen's arrest
Citizen's arrest
A citizen's arrest is an arrest made by a person who is not acting as a sworn law-enforcement official. In common law jurisdictions, the practice dates back to medieval Britain and the English common law, in which sheriffs encouraged ordinary citizens to help apprehend law breakers.Despite the...
on Salford
City of Salford
The City of Salford is a city and metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It is named after its largest settlement, Salford, but covers a far larger area which includes the towns of Eccles, Swinton-Pendlebury, Walkden and Irlam which apart from Irlam each have a population of over...
MP Hazel Blears
Hazel Blears
Hazel Anne Blears is a British Labour Party politician, who has been the Member of Parliament for Salford and Eccles since 2010 and was previously the MP for Salford since 1997...
at a constituency party meeting in Swinton
Swinton, Greater Manchester
Swinton is a town within the City of Salford, in Greater Manchester, England. Located on the A6 road it stands on gently sloping ground on the southwest side of the River Irwell, and within the bounds of the orbital M60 motorway. It is west-northwest of Salford, and west-northwest of Manchester...
.
He was selected to contest the Salford and Eccles seat at the 2010 General Election, beating presumptive nominee
Presumptive nominee
In politics, the presumptive nominee is a political candidate who is all but assured of his or her party's nomination, but has not yet been formally nominated...
Merseyside
Merseyside
Merseyside is a metropolitan county in North West England, with a population of 1,365,900. It encompasses the metropolitan area centred on both banks of the lower reaches of the Mersey Estuary, and comprises five metropolitan boroughs: Knowsley, St Helens, Sefton, Wirral, and the city of Liverpool...
TUC leader Alec McFadden by a majority vote after responding to Martin Bell
Martin Bell
Martin Bell, OBE, is a British UNICEF Ambassador, a former broadcast war reporter and former independent politician...
's call for a "Community Champion" during a public meeting in Eccles
Eccles, Greater Manchester
Eccles is a town in the City of Salford, a metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester in North West England, west of Salford and west of Manchester city centre...
. He received 730 votes and Hazel Blears received 16,655. Despite the distribution of votes, David's campaign generated notable media interest. He was shadowed by a film crew
Film crew
Television crew positions are derived from those of film crew positions.A film crew is a group of people hired by a production company for the purpose of producing a film or motion picture. Crew are distinguished from cast, the Actors who appear in front of the camera or provide voices for...
and was the focus of the 30-minute documentary film
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
"The Candidate" which premièred on Channel M
Channel m
Channel M is a regional television station, based in Manchester, England. It began broadcasting on 14 February 2000 as Manchester Student Television and is owned and operated by the Guardian Media Group.-Coverage:...
. Described as an "intimate and amusing portrait". It has since been shown at a number of film festivals and has received acclaim after being nominated for the Royal Television Society Awards, Exposures 2001 and the Salford International Film Festival.
See also
- List of articles related to youth rights