Government slammed for asking people if ‘gay cure’ therapy should be made illegal
The government has come under fire for a now-deleted tweet asking people to debate conversion therapy and the effect it has on the LGBTQ community. The House of Commons asked ‘should it be made illegal’ and ‘what would that mean to you’ in a tweet branded ‘needlessly upsetting and cruel’. Conversion therapy, which aims to […]
Putin mocks U.S. embassy for flying rainbow flag
President Vladimir Putin on Friday mocked the U.S. embassy in Moscow for flying a rainbow flag to celebrate LGBT rights, suggesting it reflected the sexual orientation of its staff. His comments followed a nationwide vote on constitutional reforms that included an amendment enshrining the definition of marriage specifically as a union between a man and […]
‘Difficulties’ surrounding Indonesia sexual violence eradication bill
On Thursday, the House of Representatives’ Legislation Body (Baleg) officially dropped the long-sought after sexual violence eradication bill from this year’s National Legislation Program (Prolegnas) priority list, along with 15 other bills on the list. Marwan Dasopang, deputy chairman of House Commission VIII, said this was because of the “difficulties” in arranging the bill’s deliberation. […]
National Human Rights Commission recommends that Nepal legalise same-sex marriage
The National Human Rights Commission has said that it is unfortunate that same-sex marriage has not been legalised in the country even though it has been five years since an expert committee recommended legalisation. The constitutional human rights watchdog, in a report made public on Wednesday, recommended that the government start opening legal channels for […]
COVID-19 forces closing of Fredericton’s only LGBTQ nightclub
Losses attributed to COVID-19 have forced a popular LGBTQ nightclub in Fredericton to close its doors. Boom! Nightclub’s drag performances, shimmery curtains and colourful parties featuring glow sticks and karaoke nights have been a staple of Fredericton’s LGBTQ community for 15 years. “Although it was just four walls and a roof to most people, it […]
South Africa: Officials banned from ‘refusing to marry’ same-sex couples
There has been a major victory for same-sex couples looking to tie the knot in South Africa, after the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) passed a rule which forbids religious and administrative officials from refusing to perform a ceremony if they ‘conscientiously object’ to gay marriage. The effect of this Bill is to remove the […]
Vietnam’s ‘first trans dad’ shows LGBT+ openness and challenges
When Dao Minh Khang halted his hormone therapy last year, little did he know he would quickly get pregnant and become Vietnam’s first transgender father. Khang’s pregnancy and the birth of his baby girl in May with his partner, a transgender woman, has made headlines in Vietnam, where it is rare for gay or transgender […]
Montenegro legalises same-sex civil partnerships
Montenegro voted to legalise same-sex civil partnerships on Wednesday, becoming the first European country outside of Western Europe and the European Union to legally recognise gay and lesbian couples. The law received 42 votes in the 81-seat parliament, Blanka Radosevic Marovic, a director in the Ministry of Human and Minority Rights, told the Thomson Reuters […]
Costa Rica Continues to Strive Towards Equality: Same-Sex Couples May Adopt Children
Following the legalization of equal marriage, Costa Rica now offers same-sex couples the opportunity for joint adoption and guarantees the rights of children from homo-parental families. On May 26th, a historical milestone was marked in Costa Rica: the legal recognition of equal marriage, thus becoming the first country in Central America to officially accept same-sex […]
Pride celebrations stir tensions in Turkey
This year’s LGBT Pride celebrations have exposed fault lines in Turkey as authorities called for caution against what they call LGBT propaganda, while companies who adopted rainbow colours on social media have faced boycott calls. Hashtags demanding a ban on LGBT activities and a boycott by shoppers of companies expressing solidarity have been trending on […]
Trump administration wants to end another Obama-era protection for transgender people
The Department of Housing and Urban Development announced Wednesday that it plans to roll back an Obama-era rule that barred federally funded homeless shelters from discriminating against transgender people. The department said in a statement that it will soon publish a modification to the 2016 part of the Equal Access Rule, which was put in […]
Iraqi news media ‘promoting hate speech’ against LGBT people
Iraqi media outlets have become key promoters of “hate speech” against LGBT people, according to a new report by Iraqi LGBT rights organisation IraQueer published on Tuesday. The report, titled “BIASED: Iraqi Media and the Spread of Anti-LGBT+ Rhetoric”, analysed a range of TV, print and online media outlets and the prevalence of writers and […]
Just A Bunch Of Amazing Queer Black And Indigenous Artists To Support
Before it was renowned as a party, Pride was (and still is) a protest movement built out from the Stonewall riots. Stonewall couldn’t have happened without Black and brown LGBTIQ folk, such as black trans activists, Marsha P Johnson and Miss Major. Black lives, Black LGBTIQ lives, always have and always will matter. Our community […]
‘Work to do’ as coronavirus hits LGBT+ Jamaicans hard
Paris Lewinsky has been taking hormones for almost a year and is starting to grow breasts. But the transgender Jamaican’s long-held dream of physically transitioning is now under threat, because she cannot afford the drugs she needs. Before the coronavirus hit, Lewinsky, 27, made enough money through sex work, food preparation and working as a […]
Despite racial marginalization, Black transgender women “at the front” of the LGBT movement
The 51st annual Pride Month was commemorated amidst the coronavirus pandemic and a national and international uprising against anti-Black racism and police brutality sparked by the killing of George Floyd. The origins of Pride Month, a celebration of LGBTQIA+ rights, can be traced back to the June 1969 Stonewall Uprising in New York City. Kelsey […]
Gabon votes to reverse ban on homosexuality
Gabon’s Senate voted on Monday to decriminalise homosexuality, a landmark result that makes the country one of the few in Africa to reverse a ban on same-sex relationships. Under a law passed in 2019, Gabon became one of 73 countries or jurisdictions around the world, including more than two dozen in Africa, where sex between […]
Turkey defends anti-gay tweet by head of Turkish Red Crescent
Turkey defended an anti-gay tweet by the head of the Turkish Red Crescent, describing him as a victim of “LGBT propaganda” after his comments were condemned by an international body. Kerem Kinik, chairman of the Red Crescent Society of Turkey made the comments on his official Twitter account on Sunday, celebrated by LGBT people around […]
China’s LGBT couples ‘wed’ online as gay marriage push stalls
Engaged for over three years, Guo and Zhu are fed up waiting for Chinese lawmakers to approve same-sex marriage — instead, they have turned online to gain recognition for their relationship. Despite a shake-up of China’s marriage law last month — and a groundswell of support for same-sex unions in the socially conservative country — […]
Philippines Police Crack Down on LGBT Protest
On June 26, police in Manila arrested at least 20 people at an LGBT Pride event protesting an anti-terrorism bill that threatens rule of law in the Philippines. The police did not explain why they were arresting the protesters, only telling them that their actions were prohibited by law. There were no allegations of violence. […]
Gay, trans Brazilians pummeled by coronavirus economic crisis
One in four unemployed gay and trans Brazilians has lost their job recently during the coronavirus outbreak, a survey released on Sunday found, showing the joblessness among LGBT+ Brazilians almost double the nation’s overall rate. Four in 10 LGBT+ people, and more than half of transgender people, said they would not be able to survive […]
Berlin holds substitute Pride parade
Despite the pandemic, over 3,500 protesters took to the streets of the German capital to support freedom for LGBT+ people. Activists said they wanted to bring attention to serious human rights threats in many countries. Gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender (LGBT+) rights activists marched through Berlin in a smaller version of one of the largest […]
Poland election: Duda forced into second round against liberal challenger
The incumbent Andrzej Duda won the most votes in Sunday’s Polish presidential election, but fell short of the 50% he needed to win without a second round of voting. Duda, allied with Poland’s ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party, had received 43.7% of the vote with 99.78% of ballots counted and the liberal mayor of […]
Fighting for the right to recognize same-sex marriage in Japan
Ikuo Sato knows he will be in trouble if he becomes infected with COVID-19. “I’m over 60, I’ve got diabetes, I’m HIV-positive and I’m on artificial dialysis,” says the 61-year-old, who works for a nonprofit organization that supports HIV-positive people in Japan. “I began feeling very uncomfortable when the number of cases in Tokyo started […]
Vietnam lotto shows just the ticket for marginalised LGBT community
Each night that Nha Vy steps proudly on stage in her traditional Vietnamese ao dai, or sometimes mini dress and heels, memories grow fainter of the taunts she endured as a transgender woman in her rural village. Nha Vy is one of hundreds of LGBT performers in Vietnam who have found confidence, and a way […]
Police detains over 30 protesting LGBT activists in Moscow – monitoring group
Russian police on Saturday detained more than 30 people, most of them women, who were staging separate one-person protests in central Moscow against charges of spreading pornography levelled against a prominent LGBT activist, a monitoring group said. One activist was also detained in St. Petersburg, OVD-Info, the monitoring group said. Earlier this month, police in […]
LGBT+ Marches From London to New York Call for End to Racism
As thousands of people marched in support of Pride and racial justice globally this weekend, many demonstrators called for an end to often-overlooked racism within the LGBT+ community. Pride events to celebrate LGBT+ rights are held globally throughout June — although most were canceled or moved online this year because of the coronavirus pandemic — […]
Survey on acceptance in Indonesia gives hopes to LGBT community
A recent survey about homosexuality acceptance in Indonesia has given gay and human rights activists some hope for a future where the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community could live without fear of persecution. United States-based Pew Research Institute polled 38,426 respondents across 34 countries from May to October last year and found that […]
Dahlgren Division LGBT Pride Month Profile – Yeoman 2nd Class Joshua Kelley
Yeoman 2nd Class (AW) Joshua Kelley joined the Navy in 2016 and is currently stationed at Naval Air Station Oceana Dam Neck Annex. His accomplishments at Naval Surface Warfare Center Dahlgren Division (NSWCDD) Dam Neck Activity (DNA) include his leadership and positive impact upon the command’s administrative services. Before joining the Navy, Kelley was a […]
New York’s Stonewall Inn seeks help to fight closure after lockdown
The owners of New York City’s Stonewall Inn are appealing for help to save the historic LGBT+ bar from closure after more than three months of not trading due to the coronavirus pandemic. The Greenwich Village bar that gave its name to the 1969 uprising, when its patrons fought back during a police raid, needs […]
Poland casts its vote as a nation divided. But can the election deliver true change?
It’s been Poland’s strangest presidential election campaign in living memory. Granted, it’s the first that’s taken place during a pandemic, but in the last three months the country hasn’t just experienced one of the strictest lockdown regimes around, it has seen a brutal political battle. The ruling Law and Justice party (PiS) has fought for […]