Gabriel Attal is France’s youngest-ever and first openly gay prime minister
PARIS (AP) — France saw its youngest-ever prime minister and first openly gay one named Tuesday as President Emmanuel Macron seeks a fresh start for the rest of his term amid growing political pressure from the far right. Gabriel Attal, 34, rose to prominence as the government spokesperson then education minister and had polled as […]
Forty-One Community Organisations Write To WA Premier Over LGBT Law Refroms
Around forty-one community organisations, including LGBTQI, health and women’s groups and unions, have addressed an open letter to Western Australia Premier Roger Cook to deliver on the Labor government’s promise to enact LGBTQI law reforms. Among the unfulfilled promises are the abolishment of the Gender Reassignment Board, banning anti-gay conversion practices, updating the Equal Opportunity […]
‘I faced choice to flee or die’: LGBT asylum seekers question safe state policy
An asylum seeker forced into an exorcism for being gay has begged the Government to reconsider plans to designate India and Georgia as “safe states” as part of measures to tackle the small boat crisis. The man, from Georgia, said he experienced horrific homophobic abuse before being sent to a mental health hospital after he came out […]
Mexican president apologizes for labeling transgender lawmaker ‘man dressed as a woman’
Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador apologized Tuesday following accusations of misgendering a transgender legislator. “I want to … offer an apology to a colleague who identifies as a woman,” López Obrador said. The president previously referred to Salma Luevano, one of Mexico’s first transgender lawmakers, as a “man dressed as a woman.” Luevano labeled […]
Meet the transgender Space Force rocket scientist who’s unimpressed by Libs of TikTok’s attacks
Space Force Col. Bree Fram, a distinguished transgender service member, advocate, and rocket scientist, recently faced a barrage of online attacks following a derogatory post by Chaya Raichik’s Libs of TikTok account. Out of the blue, Fram became the subject of hateful, personal, and dehumanizing rhetoric after Raichik targeted her. The post, which included a […]
France gets its first gay prime minister with Gabriel Attal
Education Minister Gabriel Attal has just been appointed prime minister of France, the first out gay man and LGBTQ+ person to be named to the position. At age 34, he will also be the country’s youngest prime minister in its Fifth Republic. “I know I can count on your energy and your commitment to get […]
Scottish government publish plans to ban conversion therapy
While UK-based activists sit tight in wait of an update on Rishi Sunak’s conservative party to follow through on their promise to ban the abhorrent practice, Scotland is pushing ahead with proposed legislation that would “prevent and respond to harmful acts” that attempt to alter or suppress someone’s sexual or gender identity. The proposal, published […]
Putin’s War Against My Marriage
On November 30, Russia’s Supreme Court decided that the “international LGBT movement” was an extremist organization—at the initiative of the Russian Ministry of Justice. This ruling could mean that any Russian citizen who has come out will face up to five years in prison—”for supporting extremism.” The Kremlin is not fighting against gay people only; […]
LGBTQ+ advocates’ lawsuit says Louisiana transgender care ban violates the state constitution
A lawsuit to block enforcement of Louisiana’s new ban on transgender health care procedures for anyone under 18 was announced Monday by LGBTQ+ advocates. The lawsuit was prepared by Lamda Legal and others on behalf of five Louisiana minors and their parents, identified in the filings by pseudonyms. Lamda Legal said in a news release […]
Israeli LGBTQ soldiers hope the war in Gaza will bolster their fight for equal rights at home
Before the war broke out, LGBTQ rights were at the heart of fierce debate over the government’s campaign to weaken Israel’s courts. One month after his fiancee was killed in the Israeli military’s Oct. 7 battle against Hamas terrorists in Kibbutz Be’eri, Omer Ohana received a small bit of solace: His government passed a bill […]
Walkout in Prestatyn sparked ‘vile’ and ‘horrific’ abuse, says transgender pool player
A transgender pool champion says she received “vile” and “horrific” abuse online after her opponent refused to play her in a final. Lynne Pinches conceded the Women’s Champion of Champions tournament to Harriet Haynes in Prestatyn. Pinches said she did it out of “fairness”, claiming transgender women have a competitive advantage.
Osage singer-songwriter’s new album seeks to inspire two-spirit resilience
The Osage singer-songwriter Marx Cassity released their new album, “2Sacred,” on Nov. 5 as a response to a 3-year-old statistic of 33% of Native queer youth attempting suicide. Cassity goes by the name of Marca as a therapist specializing in trauma but added the “X” in their stage name, Marx, to represent the gender diversity […]
Vietnam soccer star and girlfriend celebrate wedding in LGBTQ sports first
Last year saw Vietnam feature at the FIFA Women’s World Cup for the first time in the national team’s history. The first weekend of 2024 has given the players further cause for celebration, with many in attendance at the same-sex wedding of one of their teammates — defender Tran Thi Thu — in Ho Chi Minh City. Thu’s […]
Govt is committed to provide all fundamental rights to trans community: Mushaal
ISLAMABAD – Special Assistant to Prime Minister for Human Rights and Women Empowerment, Mushaal Hussain Mullick here on Sunday said that the government was committed to provide all fundamental rights to the transgender community across the country at gross root level. She was addressing at the concluding ceremony at a workshop on wellness and communication development […]
US expresses concern after Burundi president says gay people should be stoned
The United States said on Friday it was troubled by comments from Burundian President Evariste Ndayishimiye, who last week called on citizens of the small African country to stone gay people. The comments escalated a crackdown on sexual minorities in a nation where LGBT people already face social ostracism and jail terms of up to […]
Two single friends, one radical plan: why I’m having a child with my gay best mate
I held my breath as the sonographer pressed the probe into my belly. I could see something promising on the screen but needed to hear the expert say it before I could believe it. “There’s the heartbeat,” she said, and relief flooded through me. Next to me Tom, the baby’s father, squeezed my hand as […]
Aunties and ‘othermothers’ play huge part in supporting LGBTQ+ youth, new study finds
Aunts and ‘othermothers’, who care for children who are not biologically their own, provide significant support to LGBTQ+ youth, new research has found. The new finding is according to the paper “Aunties, Aunts, and Tías: The Forgotten Othermother Supporting and Housing LGBTQ Youth”, published in Socius, an open-access journal of the American Sociological Association. The […]
St Just Sisters’ drag shows raise awareness, funds for regional and rural SA communities
When veteran drag queen KymmBerlei takes to the stage in her floor-length sequin gown, glamorous wig, and sky-high heels, she in many ways embodies the enormous transformation rural communities have undergone. In the space of six decades, KymmBerlei has gone from being a boy who was tortured with conversion therapy for wearing dresses in rural […]
Ecumenical Patriarchy Denies Ban of Archbishop Who Baptised Gay Couple’s Children
Monasteries on Mount Athos, an important Orthodox Christian spiritual centre for centuries, have denied that the Archbishop Elpidophoros of America’s visit to the monestaries was canceled because in July 2022 he baptised two children of a gay couple. The archbishop will be visiting Mount Athos on the occasion of the Feast of Epiphany accompanied by […]
Ohio’s governor just made life a lot harder for transgender people
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine (R) has signed an executive order banning hospitals in the state from performing gender-affirming surgeries on minors. The ban went into effect immediately, even though such surgeries aren’t typically conducted on minors. DeWine recently vetoed a bill to ban all gender-affirming medical treatments for minors (including medication) and to ban transgender […]
Rosie Duffield cleared of transphobia and antisemitism by Labour
Labour MP Rosie Duffield has been cleared of allegations of transphobia and antisemitism by her party, saying she has been “completely exonerated”. The Canterbury politician, whose views on trans people have caused a rift in Labour, said the party’s National Executive Committee (NEC) had dismissed the claims against her and “there was no case to […]
Trans activist endures gang hell in Port-au-Prince, Haiti
Trans activist Dominique Rebel Saint-Vil of OTRAH (Organisation Trans d’Haïti) is surviving — barely — in her beleaguered, impoverished gang-controlled nation. In the following interview, she describes her exile in her own country, prey to armed gang violence that reigns supreme over a nation that hasn’t had a president for over two and a half […]
Scottish Government funds mental health project for LGBTQ youth Scottish Government funds mental health project for LGBTQ youth
The Scottish Government has announced funding for a project to support the mental health of LGBTQ youth. £50,000 will be given to LGBT Youth Scotland to establish a new Mental Health LGBT Youth Commission. The commission will explore the challenges faced by LGBTQ youth when it comes to mental health services. Involving young people from the […]
Celebration for gay community if Estonia brings same-sex marriage to Eastern Europe
The Estonian parliament decided on a “gender-neutral” marriage legislation in June. The law no longer mentions “a man and a woman” but “two natural persons” who can marry. Gays with a registered partnership (introduced in 2016) can now change this to marriage through a simplified procedure. Baltic News Network has reported about this. The move is the […]
Out in the World: Democracy, LGBTQ rights were threatened around the world in 2023
The year 2023 was marked by a severe global assault on LGBTQ rights and unexpected challenges and progress. Despite the hard shove backward, LGBTQ communities stood up and fought back against hate for themselves and communities across the globe. Some anti-LGBTQ political leaders and conservative forces in Russia, Uganda, and Italy led the way to queer […]
What will the world do on LGBTQ+ rights in 2024?
LONDON, Dec 21 (Openly) – There were huge milestones and setbacks for LGBTQ+ rights around the world during 2023. Same-sex marriage was legalised in nations including Slovenia and Andorra, gay sex was decriminalised in Mauritius and the Cook Islands and self-identification laws for transgender people were passed in Spain, Finland and New Zealand. However, trans rights lost ground in Russia and parts of […]
Record number of anti-LGBTQ bills were introduced in 2023
At least 510 anti-LGBTQ bills were introduced in state legislatures across the United States last year — a new record, according to American Civil Liberties Union data as of December 21. That’s nearly three-times the number of such bills introduced in 2022. Education and health care-related bills, in particular, flooded in at unprecedented levels. Along with a […]
2023 World Same-Sex Marriage and LGBT Rights Progress – Part 4: Africa and Oceania
It was an unusually busy year for LGBT news in Africa in 2023, with one country decriminalizing sodomy, one slowly opening the door to equal marriage, several non-discrimination rulings, and a bunch of countries continuing or extending harsh anti-LGBT crackdowns. It was quite a bit quieter in Oceania, but we did also see one more country […]
Israeli Supreme Court rules LGBTQ+ couples can adopt children
Six years since the state pledged to change adoption law so that discrimination against same-sex couples would be eliminated, the Israeli Supreme Court on Dec. 29 unanimously ruled that existing law allows LGBTQ couples to adopt. The judges issued their decision as part of a discussion of the petition that two LGBTQ couples submitted in […]
Uganda kicked out of Agoa following controversial anti-gay law
United States President Joe Biden has officially removed Uganda and three other African countries from the beneficiaries of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa), effectively ending Kampala’s ability to export certain commodities to the US duty-free. In a decree dated December 29, President Biden said he has “determined” that the four countries “do not […]