The Terror Gap: U.S. Laws Let White Supremacists Operate Like ISIS
The recent arrests of Jarrett William Smith, a former U.S. Army soldier who discussed plans to “bomb a major U.S. news network,” and Conor Climo, a Las Vegas man who plotted attacks on a synagogue and LGBT bar, give an inkling of the growing threat posed by far-right terrorists in the United States. But U.S. […]
Christian group claims Ethiopia is soft on homosexuality
A group affiliated with Ethiopia’s Orthodox Church is condemning what it calls the government’s silence on homosexuality in the country. Speaking at a conference [Sept. 8] in Addis Ababa, the capital, Dereje Negash of the Orthodox Church group dedicated to an Ethiopian saint, said the government’s indifference on the issue is helping the LGBT movement […]
Northern Ireland prepares for momentous gay marriage, abortion changes
Campaigners who fought for decades to end Northern Ireland’s same-sex-marriage ban and restrictions on abortion prepared on Monday for a momentous change to the laws on both at the stroke of midnight. Northern Ireland is the only part of the United Kingdom that does not allow same-sex marriage. Also, unlike England, Scotland and Wales, laws […]
Ghana: Former Pres Kufuor Urges Fight Against Same Sex Marriages
Former president John Agyekum Kufuor has urged the world to fight against same sex marriages. He stated that no amount of argument could change the fact that without man and woman there would be no human race. Former President Kufuor made the call in Accra on Friday when members of the National Coalition for Proper […]
Praying to wake up in a girl’s body: LGBT group hosts transgender women explaining why, how they transitioned
Three individuals who transitioned from male to female shared their journeys recently when the Oak Park Area Lesbian & Gay Association hosted a Transgender Education Panel at the Oak Park Library. Panelists Ann Lewis, Odette Bishop and Jill Rose Quinn each shared how they struggled with their identities for decades before coming out as transgender […]
‘They paid a guy to kill me’: health workers fight homophobia in Uganda
Maria Nantale is enjoying a beer at a rickety wooden bar after a long day’s work. “Forty people tested today,” she reflects. “Found three positives. One of them is in denial. She has run away.” Twice a week, from dawn until dusk, Nantale holds an “outreach” in the town of Mbale, population 76,000. The aim […]
Details of gay man’s electroshock treatment endured at Belfast university
In a story for The Belfast Telegraph, the man, given the pseudonym “John,” says that while a student at QUB he was referred to the school’s Department of Mental Health, where he underwent electrical aversion therapy. “When I was about 15, I realized I am one of these people who are homosexuals and who are […]
History has overlooked the Gay Liberation Front’s role in Stonewall … until now
Something very strange happened during last June’s celebration marking the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall riots. The LGBT community, especially those of us from Gay Liberation Front New York, realized how the history we created from 1969 to 1971 was being distorted by those who had recorded it. Even LGBT organizations, whose mission is to […]
Zambia must shun the anti-gay politics of disgust
Zambia’s president has made homosexuality a campaign issue to distract attention from the fact that his people are starving, millions are living in poverty, and the nation is buried in international debt, says Zambian-American human rights researcher the Rev. Kapya Kaoma. Zambian President Edgar Lungu of the Patriotic Front (PF) party has been campaigning for […]
‘Please leave’: why the Sydney archbishop’s same-sex marriage message has Anglicans rattled
For a man renowned for his civility, the language was blunt. During his annual speech to the Anglican Church’s Sydney synod, Archbishop Glenn Davies told supporters of same-sex marriage to “please leave us”. “My own view is that if people wish to change the doctrine of our church, they should start a new church or […]
The challenge of adolescent SRH services in Bangladesh
The adolescent population (between the ages of 10 and 19) covers more than one-fifth of the total population of Bangladesh, which consists of approximately 36 million in total. Currently 52% of the girls get married by the age of 18, and 18% by the age of 15 and the adolescent birth rate is 113 births […]
Coming Out in Uganda Was a Death Sentence. The U.S. Border Was a Trap.
Margaret didn’t know what was going to happen when she approached the bridge between Juárez and El Paso, but she knew she couldn’t wait anymore. Six months since fleeing her home after being raped and repeatedly beaten for the crime of being a lesbian, the 20-year-old Ugandan was barely holding onto the last shreds of […]
Council asks judge to ban LGBT lessons protesters from near school
A high court judge has been asked to extend an exclusion zone permanently banning activists against LGBT equality lessons from demonstrating outside a Birmingham primary school. Protesters went head to head with a local authority during the five-day trial to stop protests outside Anderton Park primary school. The school, in the Sparkhill area of the […]
Reading Chick-fil-A outlet to close in LGBT rights row
A US fast-food chain will cease trading at its first UK outlet amid a row over donations to anti-LGBT groups. Gay rights campaigners called for a boycott of Chick-fil-A, which opened its first branch at The Oracle shopping centre in Reading on 10 October. A spokeswoman for the centre said “the right thing to do” […]
HIV POSITIVE BABY ADOPTED BY GAY COUPLE AFTER BEING REJECTED 10 OTHER TIMES
An Argentinian gay couple have adopted an HIV positive baby girl who had previously been rejected by 10 other families. The child, named Olivia, was born with the virus. Earlier attempts to adopt out the girl had not been successful, with prospective parents apparently being wary of the child’s HIV status. That all changed after […]
Scotland: The LGBT+ elderly dance club tackling isolation
A project aimed at bringing older members of the LGBTI+ community together through dance clubs has launched in Scotland. Arts company All the Queen’s Men came up with the idea in Australia after research showed that older LGBTI+ people were feeling alone and isolated, especially in rural areas. The National Theatre of Scotland, creative organisation […]
Hong Kong court turns down first judicial challenge for same-sex marriage but urges government to review policies
A Hong Kong court on Friday turned down the city’s first judicial challenge for same-sex marriage and civil union partnerships, but urged the government to “undertake a comprehensive review” to save time and money from court actions arising from discrimination. Court of First Instance judge Mr Justice Anderson Chow ruled against a lesbian woman known […]
Paraguay: Amnesty International brings unconstitutionality proceedings against resolutions that discriminate against LGBTI people
Today, Amnesty International, together with Diversxs Alto Paraná, and with the support of the Red Paraguaya de la Diversidad Sexual (REPADIS) and It Gets Better Paraguay, presented an Action of Unconstitutionality before the Supreme Court of Justice regarding two resolutions by the Board and Municipal Administration of the City of Hernandarias that violate the human […]
Buttigieg emerges as new threat to Biden after debate
Joe Biden faces a new threat from South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg, who is fresh off an eye-opening debate performance and positioning himself to be a top contender for the support of centrist Democrats if the former vice president falters. Buttigieg has emerged as a fundraising powerhouse and will enter the final stretch before […]
UN Body Urges South Korea to Improve Sexuality Education
The United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child is urging South Korea to revamp its sexuality education curriculum to cover age-appropriate topics like pregnancy, HIV/AIDS, sexual orientation, and gender identity. These steps are crucial if South Korea is to address the needs of all youth, curb harmful gender stereotypes, and halt rising HIV […]
Bans, censors, jail: perfect storm for gay arts in Singapore?
Homosexuality is banned in Singapore and arts are strictly censored – yet performers say the tough line helps foment a thriving, LGBT+ cultural scene in this conservative city state. Drag artists stage sellout shows at upmarket bars, gay performance poets are in demand and singers use rap to come out. Gay sex remains illegal – […]
Amid ‘Kill the Gays’ bill uproar, Ugandan LGBTQ activist is killed
Ugandan LGBTQ activist Brian Wasswa died on Oct. 5, one day after the 28-year-old was attacked at home amid rising tensions in the east African nation over its beleaguered lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer community. Sexual Minorities Uganda, a local advocacy group, said Wasswa’s death was the fourth LGBTQ-related murder there in three months. […]
School transgender support guidelines published
The first detailed guidelines for schools in Northern Ireland on how to support transgender pupils have been published. The guidance is from the Education Authority (EA). It covers things like uniforms, naming, use of toilets and changing rooms, access to sports and admissions to single-sex schools. The guidance is non-statutory but the EA says it […]
Federal judge overturns ObamaCare transgender protections
A federal judge on Tuesday overturned ObamaCare protections for transgender patients, ruling that a 2016 policy violates the religious freedom of Christian providers. Judge Reed O’Connor in the Northern District of Texas vacated an Obama-era regulation that prohibited insurers and providers who receive federal money from denying treatment or coverage to anyone based on sex, […]
Ugandan MPs press for death penalty for homosexual acts
MPs in Uganda are to push for new laws to make homosexual acts punishable by death. James Nsaba Buturo, an MP, said parliamentarians wanted to retable a bill ruled unconstitutional by a court in 2014 that would introduce capital sentences for gay sex. “We are putting our act [bill] together. Just give us a bit […]
LGBT Issues Get a Push From India Firms a Year After Key Ruling
In the year since India’s Supreme Court issued a landmark ruling that decriminalized homosexuality, Deutsche Bank vice-president Ketty Avashia has noticed a small yet important shift toward greater equality in the workplace: Co-workers are more sensitive to issues affecting LGBT people like herself. Colleagues at the bank want to learn about what it’s like to […]
Celebrating Native American (and more) LGBT sports history on Indigenous People’s Day
Sharice Davids, a Native American and out lesbian who was a mixed martial arts fighter, was elected to Congress from Kansas last year. Sharice Davids, a Native American and openly lesbian who was a mixed martial arts fighter, won a U.S. House seat in Kansas on Tuesday, defeating incumbent Kevin Yoder. Davids beat Yoder, a […]
Scotland pardons gay men convicted under homophobic laws
Gay and bisexual men in Scotland prosecuted for consensual same-sex activity will receive an automatic pardon under a law which came into effect on Tuesday aiming to correct a “historic wrong”. The law will cover anyone convicted for same-sex activity which is no longer illegal, ranging from gay sex to kissing or flirting, and those […]
Election results give hope to opposition in Poland and Hungary
A narrower-than-expected win for Poland’s ruling Law and Justice party (PiS) and a serious setback for Hungary’s governing Fidesz show eastern Europe’s illiberal nationalist parties are not entirely invincible, analysts and commentators have said. “It looks like this may be a small step in the right direction – but it’s clear the opposition still has […]
Uganda: Brutal Killing of Gay Activist
Ugandan authorities should thoroughly investigate the fatal attack on October 4, 2019 on an activist for the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people, Human Rights Watch said today. The death of the activist, Brian Wasswa, comes as the Ugandan government calls for reintroducing an anti-homosexuality bill that would provide the death penalty […]