GLENN GREENWALD ON BRAZIL’S CHARGES AGAINST HIM
On Tuesday, Brazilian prosecutors charged the journalist Glenn Greenwald with “cybercrimes” as part of what the government claims was his role in a “criminal organization.” They allege that Greenwald—who reported on wrongdoing in Brazil’s judicial establishment last year for the Intercept, the Web site he co-founded—participated in the hacking of cell phones, the content of […]
California governor asked to pardon late gay rights leader Bayard Rustin
The California Legislature’s LGBTQ and black caucuses on Tuesday asked Gov. Gavin Newsom to posthumously pardon a civil rights leader who was jailed for having gay sex nearly 70 years ago. Bayard Rustin was a confidant of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., along with being an organizer of the 1963 March on Washington. He also […]
Young Russian Tries to Sue Over Violent Lesbian ‘Exorcism’ in Chechnya
A young woman from Russia’s conservative republic of Chechnya is seeking criminal charges against her parents, one of their acquaintances and a psychiatric clinic for allegedly torturing her based on her sexual orientation, a Russian LGBT support group said Tuesday. The latest incident comes after widespread reports of anti-gay abuse, including torture and killings, in […]
Fighting for LGBT rights in Myanmar with a ‘pink pinky’
LGBT activists in Myanmar campaigning to decriminalise same-sex relations are urging thousands of people to paint their little finger pink as they try to highlight the issue ahead of elections later this year. Although space is opening up for the LGBT community in the conservative country, same-sex relations are still illegal, a legacy of former […]
South Korea transgender soldier to sue over dismissal
A transgender soldier in South Korea says she will sue the army after it dismissed her for violating regulations following her sex change. Byun Hui-soo, 22, joined the army as a man but had gender reassignment surgery last year after suffering from gender dysphoria and mental health issues. She accused the military of “deep-rooted intolerance” […]
Ecuador’s LGBT+ community seen suffering deadliest year in a decade
Last year was the deadliest in at least a decade for gay and transgender people in Ecuador, campaigners have said, citing a possible backlash against new laws enshrining LGBT+ rights. There were 16 murders or violent deaths involving LGBT+ people in the South American country in 2019, according to a report released by the Ecuadorian […]
Homosexual and trans migrants ask for help from the LGBT community in Mexico
Central American homosexuals and trans who travel in the migrant caravan this Monday ask for the attention and help of the Mexican LGBT community because of the risk they face and the discrimination they suffer from both their travel companions and the immigration authorities. The caravan is made up of thousands of people – there […]
Taiwan gay couples urge foreign marriage rights after Tsai win
Rights groups and gay couples called on Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen Tuesday to cement the island’s reputation as a bastion of LGBT rights by recognising international same-sex marriages following her landslide re-election victory. Taiwan is at the vanguard of the burgeoning gay rights movement in Asia and became the first place in the region to […]
Gender neutral toilets greet Margaret Court at Australian Open
The Australian Open has made available two new gender-neutral toilets for the first time at Rod Laver Arena, the same day as Margaret Court made her return to venue Melbourne Park. Well, this is awkward. The tennis champion turned pastor is in Melbourne to celebrate the 50th anniversary of her 1970 quadruple Grand Slam victory. […]
Lesbian couple left ‘overwhelmed with anger’ as South Africa venue declines their wedding
A South African wedding venue is facing criticism after the Christian owners declined to host a lesbian couple’s wedding. Megan Watling, 25, and Sasha-Lee Heekes, 24, said they contacted the owners of Beloftebos, a popular event place in Cape Town, inquiring about potential dates for their wedding. However, they received an email response that the […]
Same-sex marriage now legal in Northern Ireland
From Monday, same-sex couples will be able to register to marry, meaning the first ceremonies will take place in February. For couples who are already married, their marriage will now be legally recognised in Northern Ireland. However, those who are already in a civil partnership will not be able to convert it to a marriage […]
Being gay in Guatemala is ‘a political issue’
Guatemala’s Aldo Davila has been interested in politics since he was a teenager. He has always empathized with those struggling in Guatemala’s unequal and at times violent society. Davila, who was born in 1977, has dedicated years to helping HIV-positive people and members of the LGBTQI community. Now Davila, who himself is openly gay, has […]
Twitter apologises for letting ads target neo-Nazis and bigots
Twitter has apologised for allowing adverts to be micro-targeted at certain users such as neo-Nazis, homophobes and other hate groups. The BBC discovered the issue and that prompted the tech firm to act. Our investigation found it possible to target users who had shown an interest in keywords including “transphobic”, “white supremacists” and “anti-gay”. Twitter […]
The gayest Davos in history still isn’t gay enough
The World Economic Forum, which kicks off this week in Davos, prides itself on tackling some of the knottiest issues facing humanity. But on at least one front – the rights of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people – the assemblage is uncharacteristically shy. The WEF is addressing the issue in some important ways, to […]
Tokyo ward to let sexual minorities pick their school, work uniforms
Tokyo’s Minato Ward plans to adopt the first ordinance in Japan that gives sexual minorities the freedom to choose school uniforms and work attire based on their own gender identity. The ward office intends to propose an ordinance amendment to grant “freedom of gender expression” for people identified as LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) […]
Human Rights in the South Caucasus: 2019 victories and losses
The Human Rights Watch report states that Azerbaijani authorities continue to exact tight control over the political system and persecute critics. There was at least one known police operation where they detained 14 people of non-traditional sexual and gender orientations. Five were subsequently released, the fate of the remaining nine has not been reported. The […]
Reaching out to gay congregants
AUSTRALIA’S Orthodox rabbis will soon have a set of guidelines on engaging with gay congregants under an initiative being developed by the Rabbinical Council of Australia and New Zealand (RCANZ). RCANZ president Rabbi Yaakov Glasman, senior rabbi of St Kilda Shule, reflected that making Orthodox shules optimally accessible to non-heterosexual people “is especially confronting for […]
Hong Kong’s lesbian bars are vanishing, but for LGBT people it’s actually a good sign in the traditionally conservative city
Tse Tong, the owner of Hong Kong’s first lesbian bar, does not mind that the lesbian bar scene in the city is declining as it reflects the traditionally conservative society’s increasing tolerance for LGBT people. Where once lesbians felt excluded and marginalised in most places in the city, and went to lesbian-only bars to find […]
UK Reports Massive Decline In HIV Rates
The British government has reported a massive decline in the number of people diagnosed with HIV since 2012. According to figures released by Public Health England, new infections among gay and bisexual men have fallen by 71 percent. The decline has been attributed to a rise in the use of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), more commonly […]
LGBT activists say new bills target transgender youth
At the urging of conservative advocacy groups, Republican legislators in more than a dozen states are promoting bills that focus on transgender young people. One batch of bills would bar doctors from providing them certain gender-related medical treatment; another batch would bar trans students from participating on school sports teams of the gender they identify […]
Scotland: Catholic Church opposes ‘troubling’ reforms to gender recognition lawsin
The Catholic Church has called on its congregation to oppose proposed reforms to gender recognition laws in Scotland, which it called “troubling”. It also said that trans people must accept the gender they were assigned at birth for the sake of marriage and family life. Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon published draft plans to reform […]
Sponsor of controversial Tennessee adoption bill has 2nd bill aimed at LGBT community
A Tennessee lawmaker who earlier this week passed a controversial measure that lets faith-based agencies reject LGBT couples wishing to adopt or provide foster care to children has yet a second bill roiling advocacy groups. They charge Republican Sen. Paul Rose’s “Business Protection Act” would create a government-created “license to discriminate” against the LGBT community. […]
Rent rises force revered LGBT bookshop out of Paris’s gay district
Les Mots à La Bouche, a 40-year-old Paris institution, is the top LGBT bookshop in France and considered one of the best in the world – a focal point of Paris’s historic gay neighbourhood in the Marais district. But as property speculation in central Paris reaches dizzying heights – it is estimated that at certain […]
Malaysia, where gay sex is illegal, used to be home to a community of gender non-conforming shamans
Homosexuality is doubly illegal in Malaysia as it is banned by the country’s secular, colonial-era legal code, as well as its special Islamic courts. LGBT+ people have no legal protections against discrimination in the predominantly Islamic country, and the government currently runs a gay ‘rehabilitation programme’ and last year claimed it had ‘cured’ 1,450 people […]
‘Anti-sexual deviance propaganda’ bill mysteriously on priority list
The massive 2019-2024 National Legislation Program (Prolegnas) set by the House of Representatives lists 248 bills, including four proposed omnibus laws, an ambitious undertaking considering that the previous House only managed to pass 91 out of the 189 bills in the 2014-2019 Prolegnas. One of the more curious entries on the list, which was approved […]
Swedish crown princess makes history with first-ever visit to an LGBT organisation
Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden and her husband Prince Daniel have made a historic royal visit to an LGBT+ organisation, sending a clear message of support in the face of growing nationalist politics. The royals were given a tour of RFSL and RFSL Ungdom’s national office in Stockholm to gain an insight into the challenges […]
Iranian militia declares Iraq not for ‘filthy homosexuals, collaborators’
An official for the Iranian-sponsored Popular Mobilization Units declared in a video that Iraq is not a country for homosexuals or collaborators, and that his organization will obliterate government protestors. The Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) posted a video on Thursday that revealed PMU Official Ali Al-Husseini’s anti-gay diatribe. “Iraq is not a country […]
The Empty Consumerism of China’s ‘Queer Eye’ Clone
The core concept of Mango TV’s “You Are So Beautiful,” which premiered on the popular streaming network late last year, is simple. Each week, five fabulous experts band together to give glam makeovers to a revolving door of sartorially challenged sad sacks. They update their clients’ wardrobes and hairstyles, offer them hip lifestyle tips, and […]
South Korea to decide on first transgender soldier amid debate
South Korea’s military said on Thursday it will hold a meeting to discuss whether it will discharge the first soldier to have undergone gender reassignment surgery, which has sparked national debate about the treatment of LGBT troops. The soldier, who holds the rank of staff sergeant and is stationed in Gyeonggi Province, north of Seoul, […]
Israeli minister’s homophobic comments spark huge protest
More than 3,000 students gathered in Tel Aviv on Wednesday, waving signs reading: “I don’t want to be normal”, in response to last week’s homophobic comments by the Israeli education minister. Last Friday, Rafi Peretz was asked in an interview: “What would you do if one of your children had a different sexual orientation?” Dismissing […]