Ugandan activists criticise EU inaction over LGBTQ law
Gay rights activists on Friday criticised a European Union announcement this week that it would not cut funding to Uganda over a harsh anti-LGBTQ law enacted in May. In a written statement to the European parliament issued on Wednesday, European Commissioner for International Partnerships Jutta Urpilainen said suspending financial aid to Uganda over the law, […]
VA started the school year with new anti-trans policies. The state’s largest district won’t comply
Referring to the Virginia Department of Education’s (VDOE) 2023 model policies for the treatment of transgender students, attorney Wyatt Rolla of the ACLU of Virginia said Governor Glenn Youngkin’s (R) administration is “throwing school districts under the bus to advance its own dangerous anti-trans political agenda.” The new model policies, which replace the ones published […]
Miami school board rejects LGBTQ+ history month proposal in 14-hour meeting
MIAMI, Fla. (CITC) — The Miami-Dade County School Board rejected a proposal to recognize October as LGBTQ+ history month at a meeting that lasted until early Thursday morning. The meeting, which lasted more than 14 hours, featured passionate speeches from over 100 parents, students, educators, advocates and non-profit representatives who argued over the proposal. Those in favor said […]
South Korea: Lesbian couple welcomes child in historic first
Couple Kim Kyu-jin and Kim Sae-yeon became proud parents to their daughter Rani on 30 August, with Kyu-jin making history as the first openly gay Korean woman to give birth, the Korea Herald reported. While South Korea has not yet legalised same-sex marriage, and sperm banks in the country are only accessible to heterosexual married couples, the […]
Iraq debates law on death penalty for same-sex relationships
The Iraqi politician who introduced the bill into parliament is absolutely certain: Any behavior that deviates from heterosexuality is a danger to his country. This is why, in mid-August, Raad al-Maliki introduced a bill that would amend Iraq’s “Law on Combatting Prostitution” from 1988 to make same-sex relations a crime, alongside any kind of expression […]
Judge describes suspected hate attack on lesbian couple in Dublin as ‘shocking’
A judge has described as “shocking” victim impact statements shown to him after a teenager’s “rage-filled” and suspected hate attack on a lesbian couple. The boy, now 17, attacked after seeing them cuddling at a bus shelter in Dublin. The youth, who cannot be identified because he is a minor, appeared again at the Dublin Children’s Court […]
A Court In Hong Kong Has Ruled That The Government Must Legally Recognize Same-Sex Partnerships
Hong Kong’s Court of Appeals has ruled that the government must provide a legal framework to recognize same-sex partnerships. In Hong Kong, the constitution only recognizes “marriage” as being between between a man and a woman. The move comes after Jimmy Sham, a pro-democracy activist, sued the government for not recognizing same-sex marriage. Sham married […]
Guadeloupe: The challenge of bringing together the LGBT+ community
In the French Caribbean island Guadeloupe, the months of July and August have been a time for reflection about activism within the local LGBT+ community. Leïla, of the association Secret’s Out, agreed to talk to us about her organization. Erasing 76 Crimes: Why set up a new organization to help the LGBT+ residents of Guadeloupe? Leïla: I used […]
Gay rights activists hope to sway popular opinion, political action against colonial era buggery laws
The Society Against Sexual Orientation Discrimination (SASOD) on Wednesday launched a “Guyana Together” campaign to increase public tolerance of gays as well as convince government and opposition politicians to change laws that violate the human rights of members of that community. “I think the next phase- we are assuming that we’ll achieve our goal in two […]
HK top court urges government to create legal framework for same-sex couples
Hong Kong’s Court of Final Appeal (HKCFA) on Tuesday ruled that the government had breached its rights under the Hong Kong Bill of Rights Ordinance by failing to set up a framework to legally recognize the rights. But the court dismissed part of an appeal to recognize same-sex marriages, including overseas unions. This is the […]
CA Assembly Declares Nation’s First Transgender History Month
Assemblymember Matt Haney (D–San Francisco) hosts a press conference to announce that every August hereafter will be known in California as Transgender History Month. California has long been at the forefront of the transgender liberation movement. But transgender and gender-nonconforming Americans are being politicized and dehumanized in recent culture wars and their contributions to the […]
Jordan Henderson defends move to Saudi Arabia after LGBTQ rights criticism
England midfielder Jordan Henderson has responded to criticism by defending his decision to join a Saudi Arabian club and apologising for the hurt caused to the LGBTQ community in an interview published by The Athletic. The 33-year-old moved to Saudi Pro League side Al Ettifaq from Liverpool on a three-year deal in July. The switch […]
LGBTQ+ volleyball champion hits a nerve in Turkey’s culture war
Turkey’s women volleyballers may have won the European championship on Sunday but the presence of a prominent LGBTQ+ star in the team has reopened the country’s bitterly divisive culture war. The storm over 1.96m-tall Ebrar Karakurt is one of the most high-profile tests of the country’s social direction since President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan won re-election […]
Nigerian court remands dozens in prison over alleged gay wedding
More than 60 people arrested last week in Nigeria in connection with an alleged gay wedding, which is illegal in the country, have been remanded in prison, the police and their lawyer said on Monday. The court granted a remand request from the police following a hearing on Monday in the southern city of Warri […]
Transgender Football Team Brings Hope To Children In Manipur
September 3rd marked four months since the state of Manipur has been grappling with ethnic violence. Till August, the death toll had reached close to 190 and approximately 60,000 people had been displaced from their homes. Roughly 40% of the displaced population are minors who have been cooped up in relief camps. Concerns have been […]
The story of a transgender person in an occupied city in Ukraine
Maksym Chernov, 22, describes himself on Instagram as a queer punk and vegan abolitionist who advocates for the abolition of slavery, both formal and informal. For nine months, he lived in the then-Russian-occupied Kherson and survived because he barely went outside. Some other members of the LGBTQ+ community there were less lucky: during their occupation, […]
Police raid, arrests at gay spa provoke fears of new persecution
It was an ordinary Sunday afternoon at the Avalon Man Spa and Bar. The gay club in Valencia, two hours west of the Venezuelan capital, was filled with clients, receptionist Jesús Araujo said: “Sunday is our busiest day.” Then the police arrived. With neither advance warning nor a search warrant, the officers from Venezuela’s National […]
Gay Couple Fled From Russia to Moldova Due to War and Homophobia
For many months now, Valery and Valentin have been living in Valentin’s homeland, Chişinău, the capital of Moldova. After fleeing Russia due to the war and mounting homophobia, the couple is adjusting to being together without worrying that they could be arrested for being gay. In an interview with Moldovan media outlet NewsMaker, they talked about […]
Himachal Pradesh: Tibetan Transgender Model Tenzin Mariko Gets Into Scuffle, Snatches Baton & Attacks Police In Dharamshala; Visuals Surface
In an incident showing brazen attitude on the part of celebrated Tibetan transgender model Tenzin Mariko, the model and friends got into a scuffle with police in Dharamshala in Himachal Pradesh’s McLeodganj Market. In the video it can be seen that following a heated debate with policewomen, Tenzin Mariko snatched the police baton from a […]
Meet Fabian Nelson, Mississippi’s First Openly L.G.B.T.Q. Legislator
Only two states in the nation, Louisiana and Mississippi, have never elected an openly L.G.B.T.Q. lawmaker. Now, there will be only one. On Tuesday, Fabian Nelson won a Democratic primary runoff in Mississippi’s 66th state House district, southwest of Jackson, where Republicans have no candidate on the ballot. Mr. Nelson, 38, was raised in the Mississippi Delta by […]
LGBTQ+ safety under threat in Sydney after hateful attack on Pride event
Sydney, Australia’s LGBTQ+ community is recovering from an upsetting attack on a Pride event in the city’s Bankstown area. The event, called Wear It Purple, was abruptly shut down after a group of men were seen tearing down LGBTQ+ flags, shouting abuse, and generally causing trouble. Wear It Purple is an international day of awareness that encourages people […]
‘Hate crime’: Safety concerns after Sydney’s latest anti-LGBTQ attack
It was meant to be a stall providing information for young queer people in western Sydney, with an appearance by comedian and drag performer Carla from Bankstown. But the Wear It Purple event at Bankstown Central shopping centre in late August was shut down after a group of men began ripping down rainbow flags, spitting […]
LGBTQ community: Is there a backlash in Europe?
A friend of mine was pelted with eggs while marching at an event during Pride Month in Berlin last July. When I expressed my concern, he was quick to dismiss the incident. “It wasn’t a big deal, and the police wouldn’t have done anything anyway,” he told me. Official figures show that verbal and physical […]
Virginia library at risk after rightwing push to defund it over LGBTQ+ books
A public county library in Virginia is at risk of shutting down after a group of far-right community members launched a campaign to defund it on accusations it held “pornographic books” though in fact the works usually just explore LGBTQ+ themes. Samuels Library in Front Royal’s Warren county is set to close on 1 October […]
New Zealand mayor calls out groomer sign at Pride event as ‘bigotry masquerading as concern’
The mayor of a town in New Zealand has slammed “groomer” graffiti outside a Pride event, claiming the slur represents “bullying” and “bigotry”. It was reported that Queenstown Lakes District Library, which was hosting a reading session as part of the town’s Winter Pride celebrations, was vandalised with spray paint reading “child grooming”. The incident […]
Lebanese politicians ramp up fight against LGBTQ community
Rainbows, school books, movies and drag shows have all been targeted in Lebanon in recent weeks as politicians, religious leaders and vigilante groups step up a campaign against the LGBTQ+ community in a country that has long shown relative tolerance. At a time when Lebanon is in the grips of one of the world’s worst […]
Budapest Pride challenges Hungarian ‘LGBT propaganda’ law in court
A cheerful animated video featuring two vibrantly coloured people skating and rollerblading to a festival was banned from being aired during daytime hours in Hungary earlier this year and moved to the nighttime graveyard slot. The country’s media council reclassified what was supposed to be an advertisement for Budapest Pride’s Community Festival and Parade from […]
One of Louisiana’s only pediatric cardiologists has left the state over anti-LGBTQ legislation
When Jake Kleinmahon and his husband, Tom, decided to move back to New Orleans in 2018, they had plans to live there forever. Kleinmahon, a pediatric cardiologist, earned his medical degree from Tulane University, and despite leaving the state to complete his fellowships, he said he felt drawn to Louisiana. “At the time there was […]
Ghana: Advocates stand up to parliament’s push for anti-LGBTQ+ bill
The bill toughens punishments for same-sex relationships and gay rights advocacy, with sentences of up to 10 years. The speaker of Ghana’s parliament, Alban Bagbin, has vowed to have the controversial anti-LGBTQ+ bill passed before the end of 2023, causing gay rights defenders to push harder in the opposite direction.
Here’s Why These Countries—Not Just Canada—Warn Citizens Visiting The U.S.
Canada has updated its travel advisory to warn LGBTQ residents visiting the United States about local laws and policies that may “infringe on your human rights” amid a rise in legislation targeting gay and transgender people, adding Canada to a list of countries that warn visitors to America about gun laws, mass shooting events and […]