Could the parents of LGBTQ kids decide the presidential election? Advocates say yes.
LGBTQ voters are becoming an increasingly key constituency for presidential candidates. On Super Tuesday, 10% of voters identified as queer, a marked jump from the 6% recorded in the 2018 midterms. But it isn’t just queer voters that LGBTQ rights groups want to activate in November. A participant waves a rainbow flag during the annual […]
Belize Gets Cold Feet, Withdraws Equal Opportunity Bill
It seems all the blowback gave the government cold feet. In a late evening press release the Government of Belize confirmed that the Equal Opportunity bill will not be tabled. Their statement says, “The decision was taken to not proceed with the bill at this time, and to withdraw it. While this is Cabinet’s position, […]
Barbados Government proposes civil unions and hints it will make gay sex legal
Barbados has hinted it will make homosexuality legal and proposed civil unions so no citizen faces discrimination because of who they love. The announcements came in a formal speech for the State Opening of Parliament in Barbados. The speech is the mechanism by which the government sets out its agenda. Meanwhile, the government of Prime […]
The Most Powerful Man in the World Thinks My Family Is ‘Less Than’
It was the worst of times; it was the worst of times. I’m an optimist at heart, but there were days this year when looking on the bright side seemed like the act of a lunatic. Every day I felt the heaviness in my heart. Then, one morning in August, I walked down our dirt […]
Andrew Gillum comes back to public life, starting with coming out as bisexual
Former Florida gubernatorial candidate Andrew Gillum isn’t the first bisexual politician in the United States. But he is certainly the most prominent Black man to come out as such, and the way he came out earlier this week — as a way of reemerging in public life following a scandal that many viewed as the […]
Barbados to recognise same sex unions
BRIDGETOWN, Barbados (CMC)— The Barbados government has signalled its intention to recognise same sex relationships. Governor General Dame Sandra Mason, addressing the opening of a new term of the Barbados Parliament, said that the island has always been in the vanguard of pioneering social justice, the protection of civil rights and the battle to ensure […]
Life getting better for Moroccan LGBTQ community
Fez, MOROCCO – Having a sexual orientation other than straight in Morocco is complicated at best, but seems to be slowly getting better. Members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer community here have difficulties speaking out and freely expressing themselves as individuals with different sexual orientations in Moroccan society. They can face social, […]
Russian teachers ordered to track, report LGBTQ students to gov’t – report
Russian teachers were ordered to identify and monitor LGBTQ+ students and report them to the federation’s Interior Ministry, the Russian LGBT Network reported last Thursday. The Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs (MVD) is responsible for law enforcement and policing. According to the network, form masters of 5-to-11-grade classes were ordered by the administration of St. […]
Polish MEP disgracefully denies the existence of ‘LGBT-free zones’. He claims they’re just a ‘joke told by left-wing activists’
A Polish member of the European Parliament said Monday (14 September) that “LGBT-free zones” do not exist in Poland and are just a “joke told by left-wing activists”. As countless lawmakers tore into Polish president Andrzej Duda during a debate on the country’s current state of LGBT+ rights and the rule of law, PiS MEP […]
Disney, Google, Microsoft back trans rights amid fierce British debate
Dozens of organisations including Disney, Google and Microsoft weighed into a fierce debate over transgender rights in Britain on Monday, writing to Prime Minister Boris Johnson to ask him to support making it easier for people to legally change gender. Trans rights have become a contentious issue since the government launched a consultation into reforming […]
Bulgaria once led the way on LGBT+ rights in emerging Europe. Not any more.
LGBT+ people have once again become the scapegoat of the Bulgarian government, but the community keeps fighting for a normal existence in the country. Extreme demonisation of the country’s LGBT+ community first began in 2018, and surrounded public discussions regarding the ratification of the Istanbul Convention. Now, amidst the current anti-governmental protests in Bulgaria, LGBT+ […]
UN condemns killing of LGBT activist in northern Mexico
The U.N. human rights agency called on Mexican authorities Thursday to thoroughly investigate the killing of an LGBT rights activist in the northern Mexico state of Chihuahua. The office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights said Mireya Rodríguez Lemus was found dead in her home in the Chihuahua town of Aquiles Serdan on […]
Woman Opens 1st Mississippi Clinic Dedicated to Trans Healthcare
When Gulf Coast native Stacie Pace decided to open her own clinic, the nurse practitioner carefully considered one question: Whose healthcare needs were not being met? The answer, she concluded, was transgender people in Mississippi, who are estimated to number around 15,000. Nationwide, nearly 20% of trans people say they’ve been denied access to healthcare […]
Delhi HC to hear Petition seeking Recognition of Same-Sex Marriage under Hindu Marriage Act
A PIL has been filed in the Delhi High Court seeking recognition of same-sex marriage and couples under the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955. The petition has been filed by Gopi Shankar Madurai, an intersex activist from Tamil Nadu, Abhijit Iyer Mitra, a gay man and and a commentator on national security issues, Giti Thandani, founder […]
New Nigerian song promotes sexual diversity and human rights for all
Nigerian singer and human rights activist Samuel Uchenna, popularly known as Samuch, has released an empowering new song that promotes respect for all persons regardless of their sexuality and gender identity. The new Afro-high life song ‘Justice’ was released on various online music streaming websites. The song calls on all Nigerians to embrace peace, tolerance, […]
There are a hundred parts of Poland where it’s not OK to be gay – this is why it matters in Manchester
Poland is in the middle of a crisis right now. Years of hostility towards LGBT+ people mean tempers are reaching breaking point and the country is now facing what many are referring to the ‘Polish Stonewall’, as activists fight for equality. The Stonewall riots were a turning point in LGBT+ history. The series of demonstrations, […]
Meet the South Dakota swimmer who pushed back against homophobia to become Homecoming King
Meet Josh Sorbe, the 23-year-old swimming champion for the University of South Dakota. Sorbe captained the school’s Division 1 swim team his senior year, leading the men’s team to a second-place finish in the Summit League Conference. In a new essay for OutSports, Sorbe reveals that he once thought such a success would not be […]
Transgender anarchist wins GOP nomination for sheriff in Cheshire County
Keene’s Aria DiMezzo is the first transgender person to win the GOP’s nomination for Cheshire County sheriff after running unopposed in Tuesday’s primary. DiMezzo, associated with the Free Keene movement of libertarian activists, said Friday she is looking forward to debating incumbent Sheriff Eli Rivera, the popular Democrat who is running for his fifth term. […]
TikTok under fire after admitting it restricts some international LGBT hashtags
Social media and entertainment giant TikTok have acknowledged that it restricts LGBT-related hashtags following a report published by a research team in Australia. A report by the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI) said that many LGBT hashtags were ‘shadow-banned’ (limits the discovery of content without indicating that a particular hashtag is on a ban list) […]
Christian group threatens to hang gay people ‘in a loving way’ in leaked WhatsApp messages
The LGBT+ community in the Cayman Islands is on high alert after leaked messages revealed a Christian group threatening to “hang one or two” gay people. The “disturbing and dangerous” messages, first reported by the Cayman Compass, were anonymously leaked by a member of a Christian WhatsApp group. The messages, which show an incomplete snippet […]
Covid-19 and LGBTQ women in southern Africa – a test for universal human rights
Since March 2020, governments in southern Africa have imposed lockdown measures to control the spread of Covid-19 in the sub-region. The measures include the deployment of police and soldiers, with an apparent mandate to ensure that citizens stay at home, and, in some cases, obey curfew. Many instances of law enforcement have been heavy handed […]
Uniformed Russian Cossacks Patrol Yekaterinburg Streets During Pride Week
Groups of uniformed men have been patrolling the streets of Yekaterinburg during Ural Pride Week, a weeklong festival organized by the city’s LGBT Resource Center. Witnesses claimed that the men, some of whom are dressed in protective suit and hats, were patrolling the park near the Drama Theater, near the Yeltsin Center, and along the […]
I’m a Muslim Iranian-American With a 9/11 Birthday. Here’s How I’ve Come to Terms With My Identity
My ninth birthday fell on a school day, a bright and clear-skied Tuesday in September. I expected my mom to bring cupcakes to school during lunch, a tradition I loved because for one day each year, I knew I wouldn’t have to feel like the weird bookworm, the Iranian American, the outsider who couldn’t kick […]
ANTISEMITISM CREEPS BACK AS HUNGARY AND POLAND FAIL TO DRAW RED LINES
Few interviews have received such media attention in Hungary recently as that given by Germany’s Europe Minister Michael Roth. In the interview with t-online, published on August 21, Roth warned that Poland and Hungary do not care about the protection of ethnic and sexual minorities, highlighting Hungary’s “rampant anti-Semitism” as one of the reasons why […]
Ugandan activists’ coalition boosts condoms as AIDS-fighting tool
Condom use has declined in Uganda, especially among rural populations, according to a new assessment of condom supplies and funding gaps in Uganda. The study was commissioned by the AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF). The condom coalition, consisting mostly of health rights and key populations activists, will work closely with the Uganda Coalition on Access to […]
St. Petersburg Schoolchildren Screened for LGBT ‘Propaganda’
Teachers in Russia’s second-largest city of St. Petersburg have been instructed to monitor their students’ social media profiles for the presence of “LGBT symbols,” the LGBT Network rights group said. Any such symbols would be considered violations of Russia’s 2013 law that bans the display of “gay propaganda” toward minors. This spring, teachers of grades […]
Trump rally speaker calls for LGBT Democrats to be murdered. People cheered.
A Labor Day rally for Trump supporters in Salem, Ore., took a dark turn when a speaker called for the murder of pro-LGBTQ Democratic lawmakers, prompting cheers from those in attendance. In a video shared on social media, an unnamed speaker wielding a megaphone starts shouting about the LGBTQ “agenda,” Queerty reports. During his rant, […]
The conversation surrounding the word ‘queer’ is evolving
Reclamation is an immensely powerful tool as communities and individuals have been reclaiming hate speech to take the power of these words back. Recently, a large part of the LGBTQ+ community has reclaimed the word “queer,” freeing it from centuries of negative association. “Queer” is still defined as strange or odd, even perverse. It is […]
Controversial ‘King & King’ storybook draws protests on both sides
Several civic groups gathered outside the Ministry of Education (MOE) on Wednesday in competing protests on the issue of a gay-themed children’s book that the government has provided to schools as part of an extracurricular reading program. The book, “King & King” by Dutch authors Stern Nijland and Linda De Haan, tells the story of […]
Council of churches says pardon on Pemberton an injustice to all Filipinos
The National Council of Churches in the Philippines (NCCP) said the granting of absolute pardon to US Marine Joseph Scott Pemberton is an “injustice” not only to Jennifer Laude and her family but to all Filipinos. Bishop Reuel Norman O. Marigza, General Secretary of the NCCP, said the absolute pardon also showed how little President […]