Right-Wing Pastor Compares Gay People to Coronavirus
COVID-19 is literally sweeping the globe and not in a good way, with almost 90,000 confirmed cases around the world. While people should be focused on preventing the spread of this disease, right-wing pastor E.W. Jackson decided to compare LGBT people to COVID-19 in that he believes, like the disease, homosexuality is destroying families, according […]
South Carolina lawmaker wants referendum to make county similar to Poland’s ‘LGBT-free’ zones
Earlier this week councilman Joe Dill voted to block the repeal of an anti-gay resolution from 1996, which stated that “lifestyles advocated by the gay community should not be endorsed by government policymakers, because they are incompatible with the standards to which this community subscribes.” Not content with simply keeping a homophobic resolution on the […]
Repression in Egypt: 92 LGBTIQ+ arrests last year
Egyptian police continued to harass LGBTIQ+ people last year, entrapping some of them through dating apps and arresting dozens of others at random on the street. That persecution keeps happening even though, in the vast majority of cases, defendants are cleared in court. The Legal Aid Project’s annual report for the Bedayaa LGBTIQ+ rights organization […]
Disney’s ‘Onward’ Banned In Middle East Over Lesbian Character
Multiple Middle Eastern markets have banned the Disney/Pixar animated movie “Onward” for featuring an explicitly lesbian character. “Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and Saudi Arabia have all banned the film due to the reference,” reports Deadline. “The film, released regionally this week, is nowhere to be seen on cinema schedules in those territories. Other Middle East markets […]
Mayor condemns posters spreading ‘fear and hate’ that targeted Saskatoon LGBT, newcomer groups
Saskatoon’s mayor says a poster campaign spreading “fear and hate” that targeted OUTSaskatoon and the Saskatoon Open Door Society has no place in the city. The posters, which featured messaging about the “replacement” of European Canadians, were glued to the front of the offices of the newcomer settlement organization and the LGBTQ advocacy group earlier […]
Transgender queen crowned in Thailand as coronavirus limits crowd
After temperature checks for contestants and with a smaller crowd than last year because of coronavirus fears, Mexico’s Valentina Fluchaire was crowned in Thailand as winner of what is billed as the world’s biggest transgender pageant on Saturday. Although Miss International Queen 2020 went ahead, unlike many events canceled around the world since the coronavirus […]
Coming out as gay doesn’t absolve you of your anti-LGBTQ+ history
Aaron Schock, a four-term Illinois congressman, was once a GOP wunderkind. He was the first member of the US Congress born in the 1980s but had the values of someone born in the 1890s, consistently voting against LGBTQ+ rights. On Thursday, however, the 38-year-old came out as gay in a 2,000 word post. Schock’s sexuality, […]
China tech firm to sell gay dating app Grindr for $608 million
One of China’s biggest mobile gaming companies is selling popular gay dating app Grindr for $608 million after pressure from US authorities concerned over the potential misuse of user data. National security officials in Washington fear the platform — which bills itself as the world’s largest social networking space for LGBT people — could be […]
Brazilians call for boycotts of major companies that support Bolsonaro
Brazilians appalled by Jair Bolsonaro’s bigotry and authoritarianism are calling for boycotts of major companies whose founders or owners support the far-right president. Bolsonaro has often attacked LBGT people, indigenous people, and journalists, and expressed admiration for military dictatorship, but the immediate trigger for the boycotts was a planned demonstration against the country’s Democratic institutions, […]
Barbados: Regional approach to decriminalising homosexuality
Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) advocates in Barbados are working closely with their counterparts in Trinidad and Tobago to prove that changes to the country’s “discriminatory” laws could result in real and tangible benefits for members of the community. Jason Jones, whose landmark 2018 court victory successfully decriminalised homosexuality in the twin-island republic has […]
‘I was waiting to die’: In Russia, HIV+ migrants fear death and deportation
Dilovar moved to Russia from Tajikistan a decade ago hoping for a better life but he contracted HIV and now lives with the threat of deportation and unable to access proper medical care. Russia is among 19 states that deport HIV positive non-nationals, along with Egypt, Malaysia and Singapore, according to UNAIDS, the United Nations’ […]
Chile changing: transgender student leader lends voice to renewed protests
As the long southern hemisphere summer holiday draws to an end this month, students in Chile are returning to college – but not always to classes. Many are getting ready to head out into the streets and breathe new life into the protests that rocked the country last year. Organizers of marches to mark International […]
LGBTQ voters flock to Bernie Sanders
Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Americans — long a reliable voting bloc for Democrats — made up a disproportionately high 9 percent of the electorate in the Super Tuesday contests, and nearly 4 in 10 of them voted for Sen. Bernie Sanders, according to the NBC News Exit Poll. The poll, which was conducted in […]
Queer Mormons say they’ve been put in danger by ‘cruel’ university as it U-turns on homosexuality policy
The Mormon Brigham Young University (BYU) has backtracked on removing a ban “homosexual behaviour”, announcing that “same-sex romantic behaviour” is still outlawed. BYU in Utah is run by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (LDS), commonly known as the Mormon church. Students can be expelled for not adhering to the university’s Honor Code, […]
This ‘gay, atheist, leftist’ is taking on Poland’s right-wing government — by running for president
When Robert Biedron showed up in this historic city’s main square to lead a rally in his bid to be president, he was bracing for a fight in a region that is a stronghold for a right-wing government that abhors everything he stands for. “An openly gay, atheist, leftist, anti-coal candidate?” said Biedron, a former […]
POLISH ACTIVISTS FACE LEGAL ACTION OVER ‘ATLAS OF HATE’
Several Polish municipalities have announced that they plan to sue a group of activists who created an “Atlas of Hate” map, depicting municipalities covering one-third of the territory of Poland that had passed resolutions that activists argue discriminate against LGBT people. The conservative legal group Ordo Iuris, which will offer legal assistance to the municipalities, […]
How a Dating App Helped a Generation of Chinese Come Out of the Closet
Like many gay Chinese growing up at the turn of the millennium, Duan Shuai began his long, deliberate process of coming out online. After school, he would visit the newly opened internet cafe in his hometown, Xinzhou, a small city in Shanxi Province bounded by a veil of mountains. He would pick a desktop facing […]
LGBT+ candidates win big in U.S. Super Tuesday contests
Most of the openly LGBT+ candidates competing in this week’s Super Tuesday elections won their races, campaigners said, showing acceptance and momentum building among the nation’s largest-ever field of gay and trans people running for office. At least 28 LGBT+ candidates won primary races to become their political party’s nominee in the November election, according […]
Hong Kong court rules in favor of gay couple seeking public housing
A Hong Kong court on Wednesday ruled that married same-sex couples have the right to apply for public housing, in a move that could make it easier for LGBT+ people to live in one of the world’s most expensive cities. Hong Kong does not recognize same-sex marriage but the case was brought by permanent resident […]
Funds running out, Kenya LGBT refugee program seeks help
LGBT refugees in Nairobi, Kenya might soon find themselves homeless and without any source of income as funding for housing and other programs is rapidly drying up. Grants from the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society and the United Nations High Commission for Refugees supporting a safe house run by Team No Sleep Foundation have run out, […]
Putin Proposes Constitutional Ban on Gay Marriage
President Vladimir V. Putin has proposed a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage in what political analysts suggest is an effort to raise turnout for a constitutional referendum that could keep him in power but has so far stirred little enthusiasm among Russians. Polls have suggested low turnout and little enthusiasm among Russians for the referendum […]
Why do we need LGBT leadership in science, technology, engineering and mathematics?
This February, PinkNews, Amazon and glamazon partnered up for the LGBT Leaders: STEM 2020 conference. The event addressed the under-representation of LGBT+ people in science, technology, engineering and mathematical roles, where guests took part in panel discussions and networking opportunities with LGBT leaders in their field from organisations like Amazon, Accenture, the Financial Times and […]
LGBTQ people fought for decades to be recognized in the census. This time they will be — sort of.
Kayla Bates knows the 2020 census is important, but filling it out will mean yet another form that won’t allow the 30-year-old to correctly self-identify. “If you identify as a woman, imagine that you had to pick that you are a man on forms,” said the Elgin resident, who is nonbinary transmasculine. “It’s just not […]
Pakistan court gives green light to women’s march – with conditions
A Pakistani court on Tuesday gave the go-ahead to the country’s largest women’s rights event but told organizers to ensure participants adhere to “decency and moral values”. The country-wide event, known as Aurat March, using the Urdu word for women, has been attended by tens of thousands over the last two years to mark International […]
Indonesia doubles down on move to ban homosexuality and send ‘offenders’ to ‘rehab’ clinics
Indonesia is proposing legislation that would force LGBT+ people into treatment to “cure” their sexuality or gender identity. The “Family Resilience Bill” would force LGBT+ people into government-sanctioned “rehabilitation centres”, which would give religiously-based “treatment” for being lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender. A draft of the bill was introduced last month by three lawmakers in […]
100 LGBT filmmakers to boycott Tel Aviv festival to support queer Palestinians
Over 130 filmmakers from around the world, including at least 100 from the LGBT community, have pledged to boycott an upcoming government-sponsored gay film festival in Tel Aviv, the Hollywood Reporter said Monday. The boycott targets Tel Aviv’s International LGBT Film Festival, known as TLVFest, and aims to show solidarity with the Palestinian members of […]
Malaysian band’s new song encourages LGBTs to die and YouTube lets it keep on playing
LGBT+ Malaysians have criticized popular punk-rock band Bunkface for an ‘extremist anthem’ that calls for the death of LGBT+ people. The multi-award winning band has been popular in the southeast Asian country since 2006. They were among the first Malaysian bands to embrace the punk-rock style which Western artists had long dominated. But their new […]
‘Whiplash’ Of LGBTQ Protections And Rights, From Obama To Trump
At the heart of a story now playing out in schools, workplaces and courts across the U.S. is a disagreement over the legal meaning of the word “sex” — and whether discrimination against gay and transgender people for being gay or transgender is sex discrimination. The White House has a particular kind of power over […]
Slovak election hands democrats vital test
Populist businessman Igor Matovic is set to become Slovakia’s next prime minister after his Ordinary People and Independent Personalities (Olano) movement enjoyed a surge of support in elections. Founded as an anti-corruption protest party 10 years ago, Olano surged in the weeks leading up to Saturday’s election to take 25 percent of votes amid a […]
Polish LGBT activists protest at Warsaw church against Catholic archbishop
Several dozen activists protested in front of a Warsaw church guarded by police on Sunday as a Catholic archbishop, criticized for his anti-LGBT language, celebrated mass. Last year, in a sermon, Archbishop Marek Jedraszewski said Poland was under siege from a “rainbow plague” of gay rights campaigners who he compared to Poland’s former Communist rulers. […]