Supreme Court sides with transgender woman from Guatemala in asylum dispute
WashingtonCNN — The Supreme Court cleared the way for a transgender woman from Guatemala to appeal her deportation from the United States in federal court. The woman argues that she should not have been deported back to her home country because she will face sexual discrimination and assault. She lost her appeal before an immigration court. The majority opinion by […]
LGBT Watchdog Chides Balkan, Central Europe Countries for Rights Setbacks
Europe’s leading LGBT rights organisation, ILGA-Europe has criticised Serbia and Turkey for their handling of LGBT community rights in its latest Rainbow Map and Index. The report says the pushbacks LGBT communities are facing in these countries “can also be seen in the challenge to freedom of assembly amid the rise of anti-democratic forces”. “Serbia, which hosted […]
Trans rights gain ground despite rising European rhetoric
LONDON, May 11 (Openly) – Europeans are moving ever closer to embracing equal rights for all despite a rise in anti-transgender rhetoric by many of their politicians, two studies found on Thursday. According to the annual ILGA-Europe Rainbow Map and Index, the countries to record the greatest gains on trans rights are those that had introduced self-identification […]
Don’t forget the conservative core that churns in Japan
The odds are long on the prospect that legislation will be passed that advances LGBTQ rights in Japan. That is a tragedy for Japanese members of that community who continue to be denied the legal rights and protections that other citizens enjoy. It is something of an embarrassment for the host of this year’s Group of […]
Out Gay Brazilian Politician David Miranda Dies Aged 37
Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva led tributes to out gay former Congress member David Miranda, who died in Rio de Janeiro, aged 37. The news of Miranda’s passing was announced by his husband American journalist and lawyer Glenn Greenwald. “It is with the most profound sadness that I announce the passing away of my husband, […]
Sri Lanka Supreme Court clears path for decriminalisation of homosexuality
COLOMBO – Sri Lanka’s Supreme Court has given the green light to a bill seeking to decriminalise homosexuality, the speaker of parliament said on Tuesday (May 9), in a move hailed as a “historic development” by campaigners. LGBTQ+ rights activists in Sri Lanka have been campaigning for years to change the law in a country where […]
Transgender minors protected from estranged parents under Washington law
Minors seeking gender-affirming care in Washington will be protected from the intervention of estranged parents under a measure Gov. Jay Inslee signed into law Tuesday. The new law is part of a wave of legislation this year in Democratic-led states intended to give refuge amid a conservative movement in which lawmakers in other states have […]
Top Spanish court considers far-right challenge to LGBT law
Spain’s Constitutional Court said Tuesday it would consider a legal challenge lodged by the far-right Vox party against a new law extending rights for transgender teenagers and encouraging tolerance for sexual diversity in schools. The wide-ranging LGBT rights law passed in February allows any Spanish citizen over 16 years to change their legally registered gender […]
Sri Lanka Supreme Court clears path to decriminalize homosexuality
Sri Lanka’s Supreme Court has given the green light to a bill seeking to decriminalize homosexuality, the speaker of parliament said on Tuesday, in a move hailed as a “historic development” by campaigners. LGBTQ+ rights activists in Sri Lanka have been campaigning for years to change the law in a country where homosexuality is still […]
Germany proposes ‘self-determination law’ to ease legal changes of gender
The German government on Tuesday presented a proposal for a law that will make it easier for people to legally change their name and gender, ending decades-old rules that require them to get expert assessments and a court’s authorization. Under the planned “self-determination law,” adults would be able to change their first name and legal […]
The lawyers & plaintiffs fighting for marriage equality in India have no plans to back down
Amburi Roy, 37, and Aparna Saha, 36, two lesbian women from the Indian state of West Bengal, fell in love in 2007 while they were enrolled in an engineering college in their home state. With time, their love for one another grew stronger. The two started living together, but only as friends. They couldn’t talk […]
Uganda’s anti-homosexuality bill threatens HIV progress
Uganda’s anti-homosexuality bill, if signed into law, could lead to the withdrawal of foreign aid and threaten goals to end HIV/AIDS by 2030, advocates warn. Uganda’s parliament passed the revised Anti-Homosexuality Act (AHA), which criminalizes homosexual conduct, with minimal amendments last week (2 May). The legislation was first passed at the end of March but […]
70-year-old Ontario biker makes it her mission to protect people at drag queen storytimes
If public libraries have become the battleground for LGBTQ rights, Patricia Ginn of Strathroy, Ont., is on the front line. At 70, Ginn, who regularly sports a black leather vest, says she doesn’t scare easily. She rides a 2023 Indian Dark Horse motorcycle and makes it her mission to support drag queen storytime events across […]
King Charles unlikely to ‘support LGBTQ+ community’, activist warns: ‘He’s never been our ally’
Veteran activist Peter Tatchell has warned that Britain’s newly-crowned King Charles III is not a friend of the LGBTQ+ community, saying Charles “acquiesces with our tormentors” through “silence”. King Charles was crowned in a lavish ceremony at Westminster Abbey on Saturday (6 May), at the cost of at least £100 million to the UK taxpayer. […]
Russia adds LGBTQ+ human rights group to controversial list
Russian authorities added LGBTQ+ human rights defenders NC SOS Crisis Group to the country’s controversial ‘foreign agents’ registry. The group was put on the list on Friday (5 May) along with the chair of the Anti-Corruption Foundation, Maria Pevchikh, and her associate Georgy Alburov. NC SOS Crisis Group was designated ‘foreign agents’ by the Russian Ministry of […]
Nations urge Tonga to give women land rights and improve LGBTQ record
Tonga has received mixed reactions during its human rights evaluation at the 43rd Session of Universal Periodic Review in Geneva. The Kingdom’s Foreign Minister Fekitamoelo ‘Utoikamanu heard mixed reviews by over 50 UN member states, with all of them commending Tonga’s Government for continuing efforts to ratify international treaties. “New Zealand… commends advancement in human rights,” New Zealand’s […]
Israel Police Adopt New Regulation for Searching Trans People
The Israel Police last week issued a new regulation regarding body searches of transgender people who have not fully transitioned, which several LGBTQ groups decry as harmful, humiliating and traumatic. The police’s operations branch issued the regulation requiring officers to ask for the gender of those they are searching. If a trans person has not fully […]
Pride organizers keep eye on drag laws ahead of festivals
Tennessee organizers booked more than 50 drag entertainers for next month’s Mid-South Pride festival in Memphis now that the state’s new law placing strict limits on cabaret shows is temporarily on hold. But they are being cautious, making adjustments to performances should the limits of the first-in-the-nation law essentially banning drag from public property or […]
Uganda’s anti-homosexuality bill threatens HIV progress
Uganda’s anti-homosexuality bill, if signed into law, could lead to the withdrawal of foreign aid and threaten goals to end HIV/AIDS by 2030, advocates warn. Uganda’s parliament passed the revised Anti-Homosexuality Act (AHA), which criminalises homosexual conduct, with minimal amendments this week (2 May). The legislation was first passed at the end of March but […]
Nepal Supreme Court Orders Government To Legally Recognise Same-Sex Marriages
The Supreme Court of Nepal Tuesday instructed the government to legally recognize same-sex marriage. The Supreme Court of Nepal has also ruled that the government must recognize the same-sex foreign spouse of a Nepali citizen. Building on judgments from 2007 and 2017 that recognized rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people, the top […]
Texas investigates hospital over care for transgender minors
A Texas hospital’s care for transgender minors is being investigated by state Attorney General Ken Paxton, who said Friday he’s seeking evidence of alleged “potentially illegal activity” but did not elaborate. Texas law does not currently ban gender-affirming care for minors, but Paxton has sought to designate it as child abuse. The hospital investigation in […]
Czech Republic considers removing ‘barbaric’ trans sterilisation law, but prejudices persist
Czech lawmakers have launched a proposal to remove the sterilisation requirement for legal gender transition, but progress to lift society-wide prejudices is slow. The Czech Republic is one of the few European Union countries to continue to require a sterilisation procedure before a trans person can legally change their gender. This, despite the European Court […]
Couple fights for equality and safety for gay people on tribal land
Felipa Deleon Mousseau and Monique “Muffie” Mousseau, who grew up on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota, talk about falling in love, and gay people not always being accepted.
Artists take aim at Italy’s attack on same-sex parents’ rights
Street art in Italy championing LGBTQ+ rights has sparked controversy as the country’s hard-right government has appeared to clamp down on same-sex parents in recent months. Right-wing commentators and politicians have described the works as “shameful” and “perverse”. One fiercely contested mural in the seaside town of Rimini was whitewashed in an apparent act of […]
More than 700 same-sex marriages celebrated in Cuba
More than 700 same-sex marriages have been celebrated in Cuba since the new Family Code was approved in a referendum last year. The figure was confirmed this Wednesday by the National Center for Sex Education (CENESEX), at the opening of the Cuban Days against Homophobia and Transphobia, which will take place on the island until […]
Orbán again preaches against migrant and gay rights as CPAC returns to Hungary
BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — Hungary’s populist prime minister likened liberalism to a “virus” in an opening speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference in the Hungarian capital on Thursday, painting a picture of a global right-wing movement mobilizing to defeat “progressive elites.” Viktor Orbán’s speech at CPAC Hungary centered around battling what he frequently described as […]
The Caribbean is shaking off the monarchy – but ‘imported’ Christianity still fuelling homophobia
As King Charles’ coronation approaches, many Caribbean countries are considering a future without the monarchy. Charles will be anointed king during his coronation on Saturday (8 May), not just of the UK, but of 14 other Commonwealth realms. Eight of these realms are Caribbean nations once colonised by the British. Six – Belize, the Bahamas, Jamaica, Grenada, […]
Rainbow over Nepal
Seeing how our politics has failed us time and again, it is easy to understand why people get carried away and look for saviours in anyone with an attractive enough message, and the recent by-elections have proved the point again. What I fail to get though is why there remains a fair number of those […]
‘Impacting the Culture With Biblical Truth’: Christian Nationalist Anti-LGBT Group Launches New Church Network
The Family Research Council has launched a new “Association of Churches and Ministries” dedicated to “impacting the culture with biblical truth.” According to FRC, “The Association of Churches and Ministries equip churches, pastors, ministries, and ministry leaders to be Ambassadors for the truth in a world that either hates the truth or denies it exists.” In […]
Chicago Is About To Have The Gayest City Council In The Country
The new City Council will soon have Chicago’s highest-ever representation of lesbian, gay and bisexual alderpeople, offering key opportunities to strengthen the city’s reputation as a beacon for LGBTQ rights while protecting the most vulnerable members of the community, they said. The number of openly LGB-identifying alderpeople in Chicago will grow from seven to nine, […]