Gay Man Jailed in Qatar Provisionally Freed Pending Investigation
A gay British-Mexican, who was entrapped by police in Qatar on Grindr, has been provisionally released from prison after a global campaign for his freedom. Manuel Guerrero Aviña was arrested and jailed in the capital Doha by local police after being lured to a meeting on 4 February. A former British Airways manager, the 44-year-old was allegedly […]
Trailblazing gay Irish leader Leo Varadkar steps down in shock move
Varadkar, who is the youngest and first out gay leader of the country, announced the decision at a press conference in Dublin on Wednesday (20 March) in which he said leading the country was “the most fulfilling time of my life”. He cited “personal and political” reasons for stepping back from his role and said in […]
Republicans’ anti-LGBTQ vitriol is working – don’t take our rights for granted
There’s a reason the American Right pursues a politics of moral panic. While the irrational and conspiratorial beliefs that accompany this fear-mongering are false, that’s a feature rather than a bug of an authoritarian movement with a primary goal of dominance, power, and control. As it turns out, moral panic – making vulnerable groups the target […]
“I’ve gotten used to being hated,” says defender of LGBT Catholics James Martin
Inside one of the many skyscrapers in the center of Manhattan, James Martin heads to his office at America, the Jesuit magazine where he is an editor. Martin’s workspace is filled with objects that evoke his personal journey as a Jesuit priest who has worked with gang members in Boston as well as refugees in Kenya. Next […]
Pastor says Pasadena seminary fired her in dispute over gay marriage, LGBTQ+ issues
Ruth Schmidt said it’s been a couple of months since she was fired from her position as a senior director at Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena. The institution’s community standards she would have had to sign are in contrast with her open and affirming position on LGBTQIA+ rights. “That’s when the rubber met the road […]
UK Government urges to cricket, football to ban trans players from women’s competitions
The UK government has reignited the debate on transgender participation in women’s sports, urging the Football Association (FA) and the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) to consider banning transgender athletes from competing in women’s competitions. Culture Secretary Lucy Frazer is advocating for a stricter approach, similar to the policies already implemented in athletics, cycling, […]
Australia’s first out lesbian senator marries partner of 20 years
Penny Wong, Australia’s first out lesbian senator, has married her long-term partner Sophie Allouache after a nearly 20-year relationship. Their daughters — 11-year-old Alexandra 8-year-old Hannah — served as flower girls at the wedding. The two married last Saturday at the Bird in Hand winery in the South Australian city of Adelaide. Wong represents South […]
Ghana president won’t act on anti-LGBTQ bill before legal challenge resolved
Ghana’s anti-LGBTQ bill passed by parliament in February should not be transmitted to President Akufo-Addo for assent until two legal challenges against it are settled, a senior presidency official said in a letter seen by Reuters. Lawmakers unanimously passed legislation that would intensify a crackdown on the rights of LGBTQ people and those accused of […]
Court rejects Italian government’s attempt to remove lesbian moms from birth certificates
In the face of far-right prime minister Georgia Meloni’s ongoing assault on LGBTQ+ rights in Italy, lesbian moms in the country have won a small victory as a court in the Veneto region rejected the government’s attempt to erase the names of non-biological mothers from their children’s birth certificates. Last June, a state prosecutor in […]
Russia Opens First Criminal Case Into ‘LGBT Extremism,’ Says Mizulina
Russian authorities have launched the country’s first-ever criminal case into “LGBT extremism,” the head of the Kremlin-aligned Safe Internet League Yekaterina Mizulina said Monday, just months after a top court banned the so-called “international LGBT movement.” Pro-war activists said earlier this month that they helped law enforcement agencies target a gay club in the city […]
‘What crime have we committed?’ Ghana’s LGBTQ community braces as anti-LGBTQ bill may turn into law
As a queer, non-binary person living on the outskirts of Accra, Ghana, Edem Brew said they have endured years of discrimination, physical assaults and verbal attacks. “LGBTQ people have to look over their shoulders all the time,” Brew said. “And personally, in my life right now, I am still navigating it. Almost everyone in this […]
Rotorua Officials Disagree on Library’s LGBTQ Story Event
The Rotorua councillors clash over library Rainbow Storytime event has sparked a significant debate within the community. The event, designed to be a family-friendly session promoting values such as acceptance and kindness, has been met with both support and opposition. Drag queen entertainers Sunita Torrance and Daniel Lockett are set to host the event, which […]
Instagram Faces Backlash For Censoring Gay Family Photo As ‘Graphic Content’
Instagram has faced backlash for censoring a photograph of two gay dads holding their newborn baby, labelling the image as ‘graphic’ and sensitive’ content. Men Having Babies, an international non-profit organisation aiding gay men in their journey to parenthood, shared a photo featuring Liverpool-based couple Sam and David (known as @scousedads on Instagram) alongside their newborn Jude […]
Award-winning transgender health care trailblazer shares journey
MADISON, Wis. — During Women’s History Month, Violet LaClair, a nursing assistant at UW Health, reflected on her journey towards acceptance and fulfillment in her career. LaClair’s role involved providing exceptional care to patients, especially those undergoing gender transition surgeries. “As the first person they see when they enter the room, I made sure they were comfortable,” […]
In rural China, elderly transgender Sister Liu longs for family life
GUANZHONG, China (Reuters) – Morning market shoppers look a little too long in Liu Peilin’s direction as she passes by in a red jacket and gray wig covered in red and pink clips, her cheeks rouged in bright pink and eyeshadow in a matching shade. The 63-year-old has become well-known not only in the little southern […]
I’ve had my time. Now it’s yours’: How Canada’s pioneering queer theatre artists are passing the torch to a new generation
There’s a moment in Matthew López’s epic, two-part, nearly seven-hour play “The Inheritance” in which the novelist E.M. Forster tells a group of young gay New Yorkers living in the 2010s, “I’ve had my time. Now it’s yours.” The fact that it’s writer, director and actor Daniel MacIvor speaking this line in Canadian Stage’s new production […]
The Supreme Court’s puzzling decision to allow the government to ban drag shows, explained
The Supreme Court will allow a public Texas university’s unconstitutional ban on drag shows to remain in effect, in a decision announced Friday. The Court’s decision in Spectrum WT v. Wendler is just one line long and offers no explanation. The decision is also only temporary, but it effectively means that LGBTQ college students in […]
In landmark ruling, Japan High Court terms ban on same-sex marriage ‘unconstitutional’
In a landmark ruling, the Japanese High Court said that the country’s lack of legal recognition of same-sex marriage is “unconstitutional,” the Japan Times reported. The move is likely to further mount pressure on the Japanese government to do more to protect sexual minorities. The Sapporo High Court upheld the lower court’s landmark verdict in […]
She should have left Ghana over anti-LGBT+ Bill threats
Former Ghanaian Ambassador to Serbia and Montenegro, Dr Nyaho Nyaho-Tamakloe, has accused the Ambassador of the United States of America to Ghana, Virginia Palmer, of interfering in the country’s internal affairs. According to Nyaho-Tamakloe, the recent comment, including threats, issued by the Ambassador in relation to the approval of a bill against same-sex activities in […]
Italy’s Meloni Becoming Force to Be Reckoned With in European Politics
Giorgia Meloni, the right-wing prime minister of Italy, could be set to shake up European politics in a big way. When Meloni and her Brothers of Italy party took power in October 2022, Europe’s political establishment went on high alert at the prospect of a major country being led by a party that openly opposes […]
Ban on same-sex marriage is unconstitutional, Japan court rules
A Japanese high court made a landmark ruling on Thursday, saying the country’s lack of legal support for same-sex marriage violates the constitution. Key points: Responding to a case brought forth by three same-sex couples, the Sapporo High Court in Tokyo deemed denying same-sex marriage as a violation of the fundamental rights of LGBTQ+ couples, […]
Current and former college athletes sue NCAA, alleging Title IX violations over transgender policy
More than a dozen current and former collegiate female athletes filed a lawsuit with a US District Court in Georgia on Thursday, alleging that the NCAA “serially violated Title IX in 2022 by purposefully adopting and amending policies” to allow transgender swimmer Lia Thomas to compete with the UPenn women’s swim team during NCAA competitions. […]
New LGBTQ+ legislation is welcome, but not enough, says Dr Amanda Cohn
On Wednesday, the Attorney General tabled long-awaited legislation to ban harmful LGBTQIA+ conversion practices. The changes are “overdue” and “welcome”, says Dr Amanda Cohn, NSW Greens spokesperson for LGBTQIA+, but much more needs to be done. “This is the result of the hard work of victim survivors of conversion practices over many years … and […]
Bahrain: Continued Denial of Legal Gender Recognition and Gender-affirming Healthcare for Transgender People in the Name of Islamic Sharia
In a recent judgment from May 2023, a Bahraini lower court rejected a transman’s application to obtain legal gender recognition and access gender-affirming healthcare, citing Islamic Sharia. The plaintiff sought judicial approval to undergo gender-affirming healthcare and to obtain legal gender recognition afterwards. They requested to be examined by a medical committee from the Ministry […]
Analysis: In deciding on anti-gay law, Ghana’s president is caught between a rock and a hard place
(CNN) — Sam George, the driving force behind Ghana’s harsh anti-LGBTQ legislation, portrays himself as a guardian of gay Ghanaians. “I have put in legislation that protects the rights of gay people from being verbally and physically assaulted,” he said in an interview with CNN from Accra. But despite his claims, the bill, signed into law […]
Kyrgyzstan: Parliament adopts contentious foreign agents law without debate
Lawmakers in Kyrgyzstan have, in a widely anticipated move, given their definitive backing to a bill that stands to cripple the work of nongovernmental organizations advocating for human rights and independent media. Fully 66 MPs registered as being present in the Jogorku Kenesh on March 14 voted in favor of the legislation in its third and […]
Taiwan gay marriage: Hundreds of couples tie the knot on historic day
Hundreds of gay couples in Taiwan have rushed to get married on Friday – the first day a landmark decision that legalised same-sex marriage took effect. Taiwan became the first country in Asia to allow same-sex marriage last week in a legislative vote on a cause that the island’s LGBT rights’ activists have championed for […]
French minister apologises to LGBTQ+ community for historic ‘repression’
Following the introduction of a bill that seeks to compensate the victims of past anti-gay laws, justice minister Eric Dupond-Moretti issued an apology “on behalf of the French Republic”. “Sorry to the people – the homosexual people of France – who, for 40 years, suffered this totally unfair repression,” he said. Homosexuality was decriminalised in France in […]
Florida’s parental rights movement’s power dwindles
Florida’s “parental rights” movement was dealt a blow this week when state education officials conceded that a law banning instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity does not bar classroom discussion of LGBTQ+ people, families or issues. Why it matters: The parental rights movement began in the early days of the pandemic — arguing against mask […]
Haiti: Port-au-Prince and its LGBT+ community face the risk of genocide
The situation in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, is worsening by the hour, a crisis that has been met with a staggering indifference on the part of many nations. The past week was characterised by threats of massive violence, as “Barbecue”, the leader of the capital’s main criminal gang, threatens the entire population of the coastal city with […]