Thirty years ago, gay civil rights campaign set the stage for all that followed
When Massachusetts enacted a gay and lesbian civil rights bill 30 years ago, opponents warned about the slippery slope of acceptance. Senator David H. Locke, a Wellesley Republican, called the bill “the opening salvo in the gays’ march to social acceptance and approval of their chosen lifestyle” and predicted it would lead to legislation “permitting […]
Ukrainian City Bans ‘Deviant’ LGBT Marches
The Rivne City Council in western Ukraine has banned the holding of equality marches. The local lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community had plans to hold an event on January 1 in the regional capital located 327 kilometers west of Kyiv. The ban, initiated by the head of the council’s budget committee, city councilman […]
Brazilian comedy group hit by Molotov cocktails after film on ‘gay Jesus’
Molotov cocktails were thrown at the headquarters of Brazilian comedy group Porta dos Fundos in Rio de Janeiro on Christmas Eve, weeks after the group launched a film on Netflix depicting Jesus as gay. The group’s Christmas special, “The First Temptation of Christ,” a 46-minute comedy that portrays Jesus bringing home his presumed boyfriend Orlando […]
China: Supporters, Opponents of Same-Sex Marriage Clash in Online Polls
As China’s top legislative body begins reviewing potential changes to the country’s civil code this week, supporters and opponents of legalized same-sex marriage have taken to online polls to make their views known. The social media accounts of several Chinese courts and government offices, including Beijing’s Haidian District People’s Court and the press office of […]
Africa’s homophobia problem
Human rights activists in southern Africa have criticised Zambia’s tough approach to homosexuality after the country’s High Court sentenced two men last month to 15 years in jail for “crimes against the order of nature”. Arrests for gay sex conduct have been on the rise but no prosecutions have been recorded for same-sex activities in […]
VATICAN RULES IN FAVOR OF GAY DUTCH PRIEST
The Vatican has reinstated a homosexual Dutch cleric dismissed by his bishop for violating his priestly vow of celibacy. Father Pierre Valkering told Dutch radio earlier this month that the Congregation for the Clergy has granted his appeal, six months after Bp. Jozef Marianus Punt of Haarlem-Amsterdam removed him as pastor of Vredeskerk Peace Church. […]
After gay marriage law passes, Taiwan emerges as new market for LGBT+ surrogacy
On Geoffrey Li’s 40th birthday last year, he put aside his dream of an early retirement on an idyllic island and instead decided to raise a child in Taiwan using a surrogate in Southeast Asia. Li and his husband — whose twin boys are now three months old — are among an increasing number of […]
U.S. Recalls Its Ambassador to Zambia After Gay Rights Row: Sources
The United States has withdrawn its ambassador to Zambia following a row with authorities in the southern African nation after he criticized the jailing of a gay couple, embassy sources said on Monday. A spokesperson for the U.S. State Department said Washington is “dismayed” by the Zambian government’s statement that Ambassador Daniel Foote’s position “is […]
A Test for Foreign Teachers in Indonesia: Are You Gay?
Agree or disagree, the exam asked: “I would feel uncomfortable knowing my daughter’s or son’s teacher was homosexual.” Or this, true or false: “The gender composition of an orgy would be irrelevant to my decision to participate.” In recent weeks, foreign teachers at some private schools in Indonesia have been required to answer these questions […]
Croatia Court Rules Same-sex Couple Can Foster Children
In what campaigners call a “historic decision” for LGBT rights in Croatia, the Zagreb Administrative Court on Thursday ruled that a same-sex couple, Ivo Segota and Mladen Kozic, have the right to become foster parents. Rainbow Family Association, which gathers LGBT couples and individuals who have or want to have children, hailed the ruling on […]
US urges 69 nations, including Iran, to decriminalize homosexuality
US Ambassador to Germany Richard Grenell and American Ambassador to the United Nations Kelly Craft used the UN bully pulpit on Wednesday to call on 69 nations, including Iran, Saudi Arabia, Yemen and Algeria, to stop their criminalization of homosexuality. Grenell, the most senior openly gay member of the Trump administration, launched the unprecedented international […]
Brazil: Bolsonaro in homophobic outburst as corruption scandal swirls
Brazil’s far-right president, Jair Bolsonaro, has launched a homophobic attack on a journalist from one of the country’s top newspapers in an apparent bid to divert attention from a spiraling corruption scandal involving his son. “You look terribly like a homosexual,” Bolsonaro – who has previously boasted of being “proudly” homophobic – told the reporter, […]
J.K. Rowling backs sacked worker in transgender speech case
J.K. Rowling on Thursday backed a British woman who lost her job for tweeting that people cannot alter their biological sex after she lost a legal case against her employer. Maya Forstater was sacked from the Centre for Global Development, an international think-tank, after tweeting her opposition to a British government proposal that would make […]
Lambda Legal: Trump Administration’s Assault On the Courts and LGBTQ Protections Intensifies
Lambda Legal released the third edition of its annual report of judicial nominees revealing the alarming extent to which the Trump-Pence administration, with the help of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, has filled the federal judiciary with an unprecedented number of unqualified, extremist judges whose records reveal deep hostility for the rights of LGBT people, […]
Human rights are rarely debated openly in China. Xiao Ma’s case is a fascinating exception
It is rare to see human rights debated openly in China but the case of Xiao Ma has proven to be a fascinating exception. Not only was Ma the first transgender person in China to sue an employer for gender discrimination but the lack of precedent in her case meant her lawyer used a transgender […]
Buttigieg under attack during Democratic debate
Openly gay Democratic presidential hopeful Pete Buttigieg was under fierce attack Thursday night in the sixth Democratic debate and, by the end of the evening, there was some data suggesting he had suffered some injury to his effort to convince voters he is a candidate who listens to the little guy and is electable. And […]
Anti-gay laws in 2019: You win some, you lose some
2019 has been a mixed year for opponents of the anti-gay laws that still oppress LGBTQ people in dozens of countries worldwide. During 2019, millions fewer people than in 2018 suffered under repressive laws that make same-sex intimacy a crime. The most dramatic recent change was in India, where the Supreme Court overturned the nation’s […]
Thailand: Activists broaden push for same-sex marriage
LGBT activists are broadening their push for an amendment to the Civil and Commercial Code in a bid to allow people to legally wed, regardless of gender. LGBT coordinator Ekkawat Pimsawan on Wednesday submitted a proposal to amend the Code to Mukda Pongsombat, a Pheu Thai MP for Khon Kaen and chairwoman of the House […]
Weeks after suspicious death, Haiti gay rights activist still not buried
More than three weeks after the death of a prominent gay rights activist in Haiti under suspicious circumstances, he still has not been buried and no autopsy has been performed to find the cause. Charlot Jeudy’s lifeless body was found on Nov. 25 inside his home in the Caradeux neighborhood of Haiti’s capital. Jeudy, 35, […]
Will first trans hero mark a new era for LGBT+ roles in video games?
When Tyler Ronan and his twin sister Alyson ask video gamers to unravel their family’s mysterious past in small-town Alaska next year, the siblings will take followers on an untrodden journey. For he is the first playable trans hero of a major video game, “Tell Me Why”, which will be released next summer by Dontnod […]
SAME-SEX FAMILY DOLL SET CRITICISED FOR LACK OF RACIAL DIVERSITY
Kmart Australia has added two same-sex couples to one of its family doll ranges, but shoppers have criticised the company for creating exclusively white dolls. The family play sets now come in three variations, including either a family of two fathers, two mothers, or a mother and father. Each set also comes with a picnic […]
US Agency Could Pave Way for Anti-LGBT Discrimination
The United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) funds thousands of organizations that work on important health and social welfare issues including adoption and foster care, youth homelessness, and sexuality education. Currently, recipients of HHS funding cannot discriminate based on sexual orientation or gender identity. But a new Trump Administration proposal could change […]
Chinese censors, audiences unfazed by ‘Rise of Skywalker’ gay kiss
The first gay kiss of the “Star Wars” film franchise has surprisingly survived China’s censors and made it to the big screens across the country. Audiences were unfazed as well – or, in some cases, puzzled. “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker” enjoyed a night of previews in China on Dec. 18, ahead of its […]
Yokohama recognizes partnerships for LGBT couples
The city of Yokohama near Tokyo began issuing certificates recognizing the partnerships of sexual minority and common-law couples on Monday. Yokohama is the third city in Japan to implement a system of recognition for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender, as well as common-law couples, according to the city. It will also provide translated certificates for […]
Germany moves to ban gay ‘conversion therapies’
Germany moved a step closer to banning so-called gay “conversion therapies” on Wednesday, as the cabinet backed a law that would punish bogus practitioners with up to a year in prison. Activists hailed the move, saying Germany would become the first major European power to outlaw attempts to change a person’s sexual orientation with techniques […]
European Assembly Blasts Polish ‘Anti-LGBT’ Zones
The European Parliament on Wednesday blasted Poland for creating zones “free from any LGBTI ideology” and suggested closer attention should be paid as a result to EU grants destined for Warsaw. Brussels has already criticized Poland’s conservative government over plans to revamp its judicial system with court reforms which EU authorities fear will leave judges […]
Anti-LGBT discrimination has a huge human toll. Research proves it.
In a trio of cases heard in October, the Supreme Court weighed whether discrimination against LGBT people should be legal. Over the course of those and related cases, a handful of scholars who oppose legal protections for LGBT Americans claimed in a legal brief that “research about discrimination and its effects” on LGBT people is […]
Duterte hosts LGBT party in Malacañang
President Rodrigo Duterte hosted a thanksgiving party for members of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (LGBT) community in Malacañang on Tuesday. Duterte welcomed members of the LGBT Pilipinas, Inc., and administered the oath of office of its national officers. The group was led by Gretchen Diez, the transgender woman who earlier figured in a controversy after […]
A guide to local favorites in Chapinero
A hip, student-driven area known as Bogota’s gay neighborhood, Chapinero is in constant motion — by the end of 2019, anti-government protesters were holding regular concerts and other events in its plaza, known as “Parque de los Hippies.” The people are diverse and the nightlife lively; the neighborhood’s flagship club, Theatron, hosts a great LGBT […]
Argentine soap opera a hit for trans rights
A popular soap opera in Argentina with a groundbreaking love scene between a transgender woman and man has helped break down stereotypes and negative views about gender diversity, supporters say. Running every weekday evening, “Pequena Victoria,” translated as “Little Victory,” has portrayed fictional trans women and touched on issues such as non-traditional families and surrogate […]