House Passes Defense Bill Including Attack on Military Families’ Transgender Youth
WASHINGTON — The U.S. House of Representatives today passed a version of the National Defense Authorization Act that would ban coverage for gender-affirming care for transgender youth whose parents are active-duty military personnel. The American Civil Liberties Union is opposing final passage of the defense bill over the inclusion of this health care ban and […]
Slovakia protests against minister who tests culture, LGBT limits
Thousands of people took to the streets of the Slovakia capital Thursday to protest against Culture Minister Martina Simkovicova who has dismissed several heads of major cultural institutions and halted projects steered by LGBT+ associations under the pretext of promoting “Slovak culture”. Simkovicova, a 53-year-old former television anchor, has been a controversial figure since taking […]
The U.K. Bans Puberty Blockers for Trans Minors
The United Kingdom on Wednesday became the latest European country to restrict some form of health care access for transgender youth after indefinitely banning the sale and supply of puberty blockers to minors. The move – which covers Great Britain and Northern Ireland following an agreement with the latter, according to The Associated Press – comes after the publicly funded […]
Pete Hegseth, Trump’s Defense pick, says allowing gay troops to serve openly reflects a Marxist agenda
Pete Hegseth, President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for secretary of defense, has repeatedly criticized policies allowing gay people to serve openly in the US military, calling them part of a “Marxist” agenda to prioritize social justice over combat readiness.
Kenya blocks LGBTQ+ refugees from resettling in Canada
In a low-income neighbourhood on the outskirts of Nairobi, seven people gather in an air-conditioned home around a dinner table for a Ugandan stew of matoke bananas with peanut sauce. Like many locals, most of them wear beaded bracelets with the flag of Kenya, or of their native Uganda.
Banned LGBT veterans to get up to £70,000 in compensation
LGBT veterans who were dismissed from the armed forces for being gay will be eligible to receive up to £70,000 in compensation, the government will announce on Thursday. The Ministry of Defence said the move followed extensive engagement with LGBT veterans and campaigners.
Donald Trump appoints anti-trans lawyer to lead Civil Rights Division at DOJ
Donald Trump added another strident supporter to his list of nominees for his incoming administration on Monday, announcing attorney Harmeet Dhillon, an avowed election denier and anti-woke and anti-trans activist, as his pick to lead the Civil Rights Division at the Department of Justice. The conservative MAGA acolyte was co-chairwoman of Lawyers for Trump, a […]
Claims against PinkNews bosses of sexual misconduct ‘very concerning’, says No 10
Downing Street has described as “very concerning” multiple allegations of sexual misconduct made against the couple who run PinkNews, the world’s largest LGBTQ+ website. The BBC reported that more than 30 current and former staff of PinkNews have accused its founder and CEO, Benjamin Cohen, and his husband, Anthony James, of inappropriate behaviour towards younger […]
India’s first queer film is a thirsty love triangle drama from 1971 & was once thought to be lost forever
Gay characters have long existed in Indian cinema, though Bollywood—not unlike its American counterpart— often made them the butt of the joke. The country didn’t overturn its colonial-era laws banning homosexuality until 2018, so it’s only in recent years that we’ve seen more sympathetic portrayals of LGBTQ+ life in Indian movies, where queer people could […]
Meet Joao Lucas Reis da Silva, the Brazilian pro tennis player who just came out
Joao Lucas Reis da Silva is making headlines this week after coming out on social media! The pro athlete is breaking ground as one of the first men in his sport to come out while competing. Keep reading to find out all you need to know about him! Da Silva is a 24-year-old Brazilian pro […]
Alberta Families And Advocacy Groups Challenge Anti-LGBTQ+ Laws
Legal battles are heating up over the recent legislation passed by the Alberta government, which imposes strict restrictions on gender-affirming medical care for transgender youth. This has caught the attention of advocacy groups and families who are concerned about the well-being of gender diverse children. On Monday, two advocacy organizations—Egale Canada and the Skipping Stone […]
Warsaw Non-Profit Opens First Museum of Queer History in Poland
On Friday, Poland inaugurated its first museum dedicated to LGBTQ history, a milestone in a country where legal recognition for gay rights remains limited. Located in Warsaw on Marszalkowska Street, the museum was founded by Lambda, a Polish nonprofit rights organization that has also worked extensively in recent years with queer refugees arriving into the […]
Supreme Court rejects Wisconsin parents’ challenge to school guidance for transgender students
The Supreme Court on Monday rejected an appeal from Wisconsin parents who wanted to challenge a school district’s guidance for supporting transgender students. The justices, acting in a case from Eau Claire, left in place an appellate ruling dismissing the parents’ lawsuit. Three justices, Samuel Alito, Brett Kavanaugh and Clarence Thomas, would have heard the […]
Traditional people worry Ghana anti-gay bill will target their Indigenous identities
Traditional healer Naa Busuafi used to feel empowered when leaving tribal ceremonies held on the outskirts of Accra, proud to be living out practices that colonists sought to eradicate. But that pride has been replaced by fear and dread as a government bill intended to stamp out homosexuality has contributed to a violent backlash against […]
Gay venue Perth Steam Works offering free mpox vaccinations as cases rise across Australia
As mpox cases continue to rise across Australia, a gay venue in Perth is offering free vaccinations. The vast majority of cases in the recent outbreak have been recorded in Victoria and New South Wales, Australia’s most populous states. But as of Friday, Western Australia had recorded 14 cases of the disease since August. WA […]
She Sued Over Transgender ‘Conversion Therapy,’ a First for China
For years after coming out as transgender, Ling’er, an aspiring influencer in eastern China, struggled from heartbreak to heartbreak. Her family refused to accept her. When she tried to find an interim job to support herself, employers would not hire her. And when her parents sent her to a hospital to try to change her gender […]
Hate crime charges dropped for most of the Salisbury University students who allegedly beat a man they lured to an apartment
Hate crime charges have been dropped for all but three of the 15 students at Salisbury University in Maryland who police said targeted a man and lured him to an off-campus apartment where they beat him, court records show. All of the students were initially charged with first-degree assault, false imprisonment, reckless endangerment and associated hate crimes in connection […]
Winner of Ghana’s presidential election will scrutinize anti-LGBTQ bill, might sign it
John Mahama, former president of Ghana and the apparent victor in today’s presidential election, has said he will scrutinize the harsh anti-LGBTQ+ bill that Parliament passed in February before deciding whether to sign it. As GhanaWeb reported on Mahama’s interview with the BBC shortly before the election: The Presidential Candidate of the National Democratic Congress, John Dramani […]
LGBTQ+ refugees languish as Kenyan government blocks Canadians from resettling them
In a low-income neighbourhood on the outskirts of Nairobi, seven people gather in an air-conditioned home around a dinner table for a Ugandan stew of matoke bananas with peanut sauce. Like many locals, most of them wear beaded bracelets with the flag of Kenya, or of their native Uganda. But Anne, who requested their real […]
A look at same-sex parenting rights around the world
Becoming parents is an uphill battle for same-sex couples, with less than one country out of five giving them the right to adopt and many restricting their use of in vitro fertilization (IVF) and surrogates. Here is a round-up of same-sex parenting rights worldwide. Adoption: Nearly 40 countries, or less than a fifth of the […]
Vatican’s Holy Year calendar includes event for LGBT Catholics
The Vatican has included an event organised by LGBT Catholics on its official online calendar for the upcoming 2025 Roman Catholic Holy Year, in an unusual sign of openness by the global Church toward the gay community. A pilgrimage by the Italian group “La Tenda di Gionata” (Jonathan’s Tent), set for next September, is listed […]
Belarus seeks to copy neighboring Russia’s repressive LGBTQ+ policies, activists say
As police raided the home of a gay couple in the Belarusian capital of Minsk and brutally beat them, the officers didn’t hide that the crackdown was aligned to similar moves in neighboring Russia. The students, Andrei and Sasha, said security forces demanded that they unlock their smartphones and surrender the names of “gays in […]
Congo: Activist attacked and hospitalized as he opposes homophobic Minister of Justice
Congolese LGBTQI+ rights activist Alphonse Mihigo was hospitalized after a mid-November attack that interrupted his campaign against the nation’s homophobic Minister of Justice, who has urged that LGBTQI+ people should be arrested even though the nation has no anti-gay law. Constant Mutamba, Minister of Justice for the Democratic Republic of Congo, has ordered public prosecutors […]
Russian LGBTQ+ activists describe a climate of fear amid new laws, court rulings
In the year since Russia’s Supreme Court effectively outlawed any promotion of LGBTQ+ rights, activists say they are experiencing a climate of fear and intimidation in the country. LGBTQ+ rights have been under legal and public pressure for over a decade under President Vladimir Putin, but especially since the Kremlin launched its invasion of Ukraine […]
Vatican’s Holy Year calendar includes event for LGBT Catholics
The Vatican has included an event organised by LGBT Catholics on its official online calendar for the upcoming 2025 Roman Catholic Holy Year, in an unusual sign of openness by the global Church toward the gay community. A pilgrimage by the Italian group “La Tenda di Gionata” (Jonathan’s Tent), set for next September, is listed […]
CNN takes ‘giant leap forward’ by featuring transgender contributors on popular news shows, GLAAD says
It is not every day that transgender voices shape the national media narrative on transgender issues. Yet this week, CNN broke new ground with its coverage of a landmark U.S. Supreme Court case challenging Tennessee’s ban on gender-affirming care for transgender minors. Instead of allowing outsiders to define the conversation, the network welcomed transgender leaders […]
Target must face shareholder lawsuit over Pride backlash, US judge rules
Target has failed to persuade a judge in Florida to dismiss a lawsuit that accused the retailer of deceiving shareholders after its sales of LGBTQ-themed merchandise for Pride Month sparked a backlash and a customer boycott. U.S. District Judge John Badalamenti in Fort Myers ruled that the plaintiffs had presented enough information for now to pursue […]
Guilty ruling in murder of Kenya LGBTQ activist
Kenyan Justice Reuben Nyakundi ruled that the prosecution presented sufficient evidence to prove Jacktone Odhiambo’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt in the murder of LGBTQ+ activist Edwin Chiloba. Sentencing is scheduled for December 16. The judge noted that forensic and DNA tests revealed an intimate relationship between Jacktone Odhiambo and Edwin Chiloba; he added that the […]
Georgia’s opposition comes under attack as leader is dragged from HQ
A Georgian opposition leader has been dragged from his party office by police and others have been physically attacked, after the prime minister vowed that organisers of a week of pro-EU protests, which he called “violent actions”, would face justice. Nika Gvaramia, 48, a leader from one of four opposition groups, was carried by his arms […]
Cape Town misses out on hosting Gay Games 2030
Following a hotly contested bidding process and presentation in Washington DC where the team received a standing ovation, Cape Town’s hopes were dashed when the city did not garner enough votes to progress to the final three. Federation of Gay Games (FGG) members cast their virtual votes to decide the top three bid cities over the weekend. Denver, […]