Out in the World: Europe’s San Marino elects first out gay head of state
San Marino, the world’s oldest republic, appointed the world’s first gay head of state when Paolo Rondelli was named one of two captains regent. Rondelli, 58, was inaugurated as one of the country’s two highest elected officials at a ceremony April 1. Oscar Mina, the other captains regent, was also inaugurated. Mina held the role […]
SYDNEY’S OUT GAY MP GREENWICH THREATENS TO PULL SUPPORT FOR NSW GOVERNMENT OVER TRANS COMMENTS
Independent Sydney MP Alex Greenwich has warned the NSW’s minority Dominic Perrottet government that he would withdraw his support if the Premier continued to make comments against the transgender community. The Perrottet government, which does not have a majority in the NSW Parliament, relies on the support of Independents, including out gay MP Greenwich. The […]
#JusticeForSheila: Kenyan anger after lesbian’s murder
Rights groups are calling on Kenyan authorities to investigate the murder of a non-binary lesbian, which has sparked the trending hashtag #JusticeForSheila. “No one deserves such cruel treatment. Sheila didn’t have to experience all this pain,” Amnesty Kenya tweeted. Sheila Lumumba’s body was found several days ago, according to LGBTQ groups. The killing has started […]
GOP turns to false insinuations of LGBTQ grooming against Democrats
When Michigan Democratic state Sen. Mallory McMorrow stood on the chamber floor to take on a Republican colleague who had accused her of wanting to sexually groom children, she was denouncing not just an isolated incident, but an onslaught of GOP attacks on the LGBTQ community. “I know that hate will only win if people like […]
Rare Syrian NGO formed to defend LGBT community
Homophobia remains prevalent in the Middle East and North Africa regions. Most countries in these regions do not recognize the rights of the LGBT community, and homosexual acts are criminalized. LGBT people in Syria, in particular, face daily discrimination and violations amid policies and legal provisions that incite hatred and violence against anyone who is different and […]
Nations with anti-LGBT laws: 49% Muslim, 44% Christian
Almost half of the world’s 71 countries that have anti-LGBT laws are nations where a majority of the citizens are Muslims. By comparison, Christian-majority countries account for slightly fewer, but still have almost as many anti-LGBT laws on their books as their Muslim-majority counterparts. Of the 71-nation total, 49 percent (35 countries, by this site’s tally) have […]
NYC’s oldest gay bar — home to major pre-Stonewall public action for LGBTQ rights — gets commemorative plaque
Julius’ Bar, New York City’s oldest continuously operating gay bar, and home to a pivotal pre-Stonewall public action for LGBTQ rights, is finally getting a commemorative plaque — 56 years after a group of gay men used their drink orders to fight back against bars that refused to serve members of the LGBTQ community. The […]
South Korea’s top court overturns convictions of gay soldiers
SEOUL, South Korea — South Korea’s Supreme Court on Thursday threw out a military court ruling that convicted two gay soldiers for having sex outside their military facilities, saying it stretched the reading of the country’s widely criticized military sodomy law. The court’s decision to send the case back to the High Court for Armed Forces […]
The film Putin doesn’t want the world to see: Firebird, a gay love story about fighter pilots
Oleg Zagorodnii is sitting in the cafe he owns in Kyiv, beneath a brightly coloured painting of Aladdin smiling down from the wall behind. “It is just me now, no baristas,” says the Ukrainian actor via video call. “People come. I make them coffee, give them dessert. They are happy to feel some kind of […]
India’s first openly gay prince endured years of torturous conversion therapy. Now, he’s fighting to make the practice illegal.
Prince Manvendra Singh Gohil, the 39th direct descendant of India’s Gohil Rajput dynasty, knew he was gay at age 12. But he could only live his truth three decades later. Gohil publicly came out in an interview to a local newspaper in 2006, becoming the first openly gay royal in the country. He was 41 […]
From backstage to spotlight: LGBTQ samba group takes on Rio carnival.
For the first time ever, a majority-LGBTQ samba outfit will take part in Rio carnival’s famous street parades, flaunting rather than hiding their sexual identity. In the lead-up to their big debut, members of the group Bangay rehearse at a community center in Rio’s Bangu neighborhood. The glitzy costumes, makeup, samba rhythms and sensual hip […]
LGBTQ Agenda: LGBTQ group disappointed court rules diversity law is unconstitutional.
Members of LGBTQ and other minority business associations have expressed disappointment at a recent court decision that has ruled a California law aimed at increasing diversity on corporate boards is unconstitutional. A Southern California judge made the ruling on a law that was intended to broaden access to the state’s powerful business community for those […]
Look Inside Lambda Warszawa, the Organization Helping LGBTQ Ukrainian Refugees.
A deeply Catholic country, Poland has long been a fraught place for LGBTQ people. But in 2015, when President Andrzej Duda was elected, anti-LGBTQ sentiments increased amid hate campaigns that made queer people a national boogeyman. In 2019, nearly 100 local councils in Poland declared themselves “LGBT-free zones,” places where authorities claimed there was not […]
Same-Sex Marriage Foes Get Band Back Together for ‘Don’t Say Gay’ Push.
As social conservatives across the country push a coordinated, nationwide effort to roll back the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender children, many veterans of the war over same-sex marriage are having the same gut reaction: we’ve been here before. “These are old networks and opponents, but I don’t think they are ‘reawakening.’ They […]
Gay civil partnership bill included in Thai government agenda.
More equal rights for same sex couples has moved up a notch after the Thai government included them in legislation planned before the end of the year. A general election must be held not later than March 2023. Deputy prime minister Wissanu Krea-ngam said that, in addition to budget proposals and matters relating to the […]
The Mohyeddin Family’s Radical Restaurant Mission.
If Samira Mohyeddin had grown up in Iran, she would be a different person. She would not be able to sing or dance in public, or leave her hair uncovered. Certainly, she would have to hide the fact that she is gay. “If I was caught with another woman, under Sharia law, I would be […]
We did not run away’: Ukraine’s LGBTQ+ community fights homophobia on the frontlines.
Since Russia invaded Ukraine in February, members of the LGBTQ+ community and activists have been visibly joining and helping Ukraine’s army – with some hoping their participation will erode prejudice. With this goal in mind, one LGBTQ+ organization even donated to Azov, a far-right group with a history of extreme homophobia before the war. Anastasia […]
LGBT+ Afghan deaths ‘preventable’ if West had prioritised evacuations, campaigners say
The deaths of LGBT+ people in Afghanistan could have been prevented if Western governments had prioritised their evacuation after the country fell to the Taliban, campaigners have said. It comes after a new report from Human Rights Watch and OutRight Action International found that life for LGBT+ Afghans has “dramatically worsened” following the Taliban’s violent takeover last August. Nemat […]
How a small queer collective brought ‘Pride’ back to Assam
As the world continues to push for more tolerance along the lines of gender identity and sexual orientation, the LGBTQIA+ community in India is constantly finding its voice and expression in a country that has been traditionally conservative for centuries. This has culminated in a wave of coming out moments, rights-based associations and campaigns on tolerance […]
Gay Missouri lawmaker to GOP colleague: ‘I’m not afraid of you anymore’
Drama erupted in the Missouri State House over a proposed law that would prevent trans women from participating in women’s sports. In a passionate speech on Thursday, state Representative Ian Mackey, 35, blasted Representative Chuck Basye, 63, over his support of the Save Women’s Sports bill, which would allow school districts to ban those who are biologically […]
The dark past of an Australian prison where convicted homosexuals were sent to separate from ‘normal’ inmates – and authorities bizarrely tried to ‘CURE’ them
It is now the state’s preferred prison for celebrity inmates, but Cooma Correctional Centre has a dark past which in the 1950s saw it designated as the world’s only gay jail, where convicted homosexuals were sent to be ‘cured’. A former lunatic asylum, Cooma has more recently housed high profile criminals like Salim Mehajer, Jarryd Hayne […]
This organization is helping LGBTI people imprisoned in Senegal
The situation for LGBTI people in Senegal continues to deteriorate. Homophobic marches are organized and arrests are carried out against LGBTI people. In August 2020, the Free Collective was created to defend their rights. It set up a secret shelter for persecuted LGBTI people, offered legal aid and medical care, and visited people in prison. […]
Kansas governor vetoes ban on transgender athletes in women’s sports for second year in a row
Gov. Laura Kelly vetoed Friday a bill that would ban transgender athletes in girls’ and women’s sports, the second year in a row she has made such a move. Similar to her veto message for the 2021 bill, Kelly again raised concerns about the impact such a policy would have on transgender youth in Kansas. […]
Murders of two gay men in Ireland serve as brutal reminder that LGBT+ people still aren’t safe
In September 1982, a gay man called Declan Flynn was brutally murdered in Dublin’s Fairview Park by a group of teenage boys for the simple crime of being gay. At that time, being gay actually was a crime – homosexuality wasn’t decriminalised until 1993 in Ireland. The five teenage boys, who ranged in age from […]
Russia Adds Prominent Journalists, LGBT Activists To Registry Of ‘Foreign Agents’
The Russian Justice Ministry has added several journalists, including some who have collaborated with RFE/RL, and two LGBT rights activists to its registry of foreign agents. Two prominent journalists — Yury Dud, who has a popular YouTube channel, and Roman Dobrokhotov, editor in chief of the investigative website The Insider — are among those added, […]
The library sheltering queer refugees fleeing Ukraine
This is not the story I planned to write. Initially, it was about Biblioteka Azyl, the queer library Filip Kijowski founded at Lublin’s Galeria Labirynt in 2020 with curator Waldemar Tatarczuk. Kijowski was going to visit me in Rome. We were going to talk about why he is building this archive in Poland and what […]
This organization is helping LGBTI people imprisoned in Senegal
The situation for LGBTI people in Senegal continues to deteriorate. Homophobic marches are organized and arrests are carried out against LGBTI people. In August 2020, the Free Collective was created to defend their rights. It set up a secret shelter for persecuted LGBTI people, offered legal aid and medical care, and visited people in prison. […]
Kosovo’s underground LGBTQ community leads ‘double life’
The Kosovo couple have hidden their relationship for eight years. Whenever they meet in public, common friends are invited in order not to raise suspicion. They also hesitate to even post on social media at the same time. “It’s difficult to live a double life,” Flamur — an assumed name he chose fearing potential stigma […]
Transgender migrants in Juarez wait chance to apply for U.S. asylum
Alejandra Gomez, a transgender woman, left her native Honduras a few months ago, fleeing discrimination and threats of violence. “That is the reason I am here,” Gomez said Thursday at the doorstep of a Juarez shelter for vulnerable migrants. “Even here in Juarez, I have been discriminated while looking for work. I have been attacked […]
Brooklyn Man Cuffed on Arson Charges at LGBTQ+ friendly Rash Nightclub
A suspect has been arrested for starting a fire that injured two people at Bushwick’s Rash, a popular nightclub within the city’s LBGTQ+ community. John Lhota, 24, was captured on security video purchasing a red gas canister at a service station and filling it with gasoline, on the evening of Apr. 3, the US Department of […]