Activists defiant as Uganda proposes death penalty for gay sex
The Ugandan government’s plan to reintroduce a bill that could impose the death penalty for homosexuality is being met with defiance from the LGBTQ community in the East African nation, activists told CNN. Ugandan Ethics Minister Simon Lokodo, in an interview with local media Thursday, said present laws criminalizing gay sex – which in theory […]
‘The protagonist’s identity of marginalised gay Muslim Afghan refugee is definitely mine’
August 22, 2013 was an important day in Afghan history, and also in Nemat Sadat’s life. Sadat was the first person from Afghanistan to come out, through a post shared on Facebook. There has been no looking back for Sadat ever since – despite the numerous death threats he has received for being Muslim and […]
Elizabeth Warren’s deadpan quip in LGBT debate wins plaudits
It’s the type of tricky question designed to trip up a presidential candidate. But the US senator Elizabeth Warren’s deadpan response when quizzed about same-sex marriage during a TV debate drew applause and widespread admiration. During the CNN forum on LGBT issues on Thursday, Morgan Cox, the chair of the Human Rights Campaign board of […]
Ukraine’s first-ever LGBT shelter forced to close after running out of money
An LGBT+ shelter in Kyiv ran out of money and was forced to close its doors, severing off a pocket of protection in a war-tugged country where citizens and officials divide on queer rights. Opened by the LGBT+ non-government organisation Insight in 2014, it became the first shelter specifically to house queer folk. But organisers […]
International donors ‘stand with’ LGBT+ Ugandans over ‘Kill the Gays’ bill
Major donors of aid to Uganda including the United States and the European Union said on Friday they were closely examining a plan by the east African nation to introduce the death penalty for gay sex. Seven months after Brunei sparked international outcry over plans to impose the death penalty for gay sex, Uganda on […]
LGBTQ people share how they revealed their sexuality to others for International Coming Out Day
For many LGBTQ people, coming out of the closet is a monumental step in their lives. The first International Coming Out Day was organised in the United States in 1988, held on 11 October to mark the anniversary of gay rights activists marching on Washington D.C. in the year prior. Since then it has been […]
How This Brazilian Drag Queen Is Taking the Pop World By Storm—And Fighting for LGBTQ Rights Along the Way
If Pabllo Vittar is making headlines, they might be about her smash hit songs, her astonishing fashion week outfits, her disruptive political statements, or some combination of the three. Over the last four years, the 24-year-old Brazilian drag queen and pop star has established herself as someone to watch on many fronts, seamlessly integrating the […]
The Horrifying Campaign Against LGBTQ People in Poland—and How the U.S. Has Made It Worse
In a poll conducted last month in the lead-up to this Sunday’s parliamentary elections in Poland, Poles under 40 were asked to name what they considered the greatest threat to their country. “Among women the most popular answer was the climate crisis,” the Guardian reported. Among men, however, “it was ‘gender ideology and the LGBT […]
The migrant caravans: Finally feeling safe, she longs for her wife and son
Marveny Suchite lives with her American immigration sponsor in a bungalow here on a tree-lined street. A neighbor’s yard sign reads: “No matter where you are from, we’re glad you’re our neighbor.” The 25-year-old from Guatemala takes English classes and gets bilingual children’s books from the library to learn even more. A daily highlight is […]
Mum of teen who died by suicide after being outed demands urgent action
A mother whose son took his own life after bullies outed him online is calling for action on the “epidemic” of LGBT+ bullying. Tyler Clementi, 18, tragically died in 2010. He was driven to suicide when his college roommate covertly filmed him kissing another man and then livestreamed it online. His death brought national attention […]
Brazil must reinstate funding for LGBT films because they ‘deserve protection’, judge rules
A federal judge has ruled that Brazil must reinstate suspended funding for LGBT+ films because they “deserve protection”, in a victory for LGBT+ activists and filmmakers. Jair Bolsonaro’s decision to halt government film grants took away 70 million Brazilian real (US $17.42 million) from around 80 movies, including a small number with LGBT+ content and […]
Australian Christian Lobby backs sacking of employees with no ‘Christian sexual ethic’
The Australian Christian Lobby has backed calls for religious businesses such as aged care providers to gain more powers of hiring and firing employees who do not conform to religious teachings. In a debate at the National Press Club on Wednesday the ACL director Martyn Iles backed calls from the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference for […]
This negative guy schooling people about HIV on Scruff is a breath of fresh air
A negative guy educated a man he met on Scruff about HIV, clarifying some common misconceptions, and Twitter is taken aback by how well it went. Grant, a HIV educator from New York, US, shared on Twitter screenshots of a Scruff conversation where he informed the user about what it means to live with HIV […]
Anti-gay laws linked to low levels of HIV testing in Africa
Poor uptake of HIV diagnosis and treatment among gay men in Africa may be linked to government crackdowns on homosexuality, a paper has found. The research, published in the Lancet HIV journal, analysed data from 75 studies involving gay and bisexual men across 28 African countries. It found that only 19 per cent of gay […]
Gay Peruvian congressman resigns
Alberto de Belaunde, who was one of two openly gay congressmen in Peru, stepped down late Monday night after Peruvian President Martin Vizcarra dissolved the South American country’s Congress. De Belaunde is one of six nominees for this year’s LGBTQ Victory Institute Tammy Baldwin Breakthrough Award, the organization announced September 26. “Thank you so much […]
Poland’s drift to right divides young male and female voters
Out on the campaign trail before Poland’s parliamentary elections, Jolanta Banach, a leftwing candidate, has noticed a recurring pattern. “There’s a young couple out for a walk with a pushchair, and I approach them to offer our campaign leaflets. The guy says: ‘No, we don’t want it.’ And then the woman says: ‘Actually, I’d like […]
U.S. Supreme Court divided on LGBT employment protection; Gorsuch could be key
The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday appeared closely divided over whether a landmark federal law forbidding sex discrimination in the workplace protects gay and transgender employees, with conservative Justice Neil Gorsuch emerging as a potential decisive vote. The nine justices heard two hours of high-profile arguments in three cases that could broaden LGBT rights involving […]
Gay Jamaican asylum seekers find new life in US with LGBT task force
Maurice Newman was thriving in Jamaica, fulfilling his dreams. He was teaching the fifth grade and also traveling for the government, training fellow teachers. He was building his life, living in the upper-middle class with an apartment and nice car. Then his life flipped around in an instant when police discovered his sexuality. “All that […]
Gay men seen dying from AIDS due to Africa’s homophobic laws
Thousands of gay men in Africa are likely dying from HIV-related illnesses every year due to homophobic laws that stifle their chances of being tested and treated, said researchers behind a study published on Monday in The Lancet HIV journal. A study of the data of 45,000 gay men in 28 African countries including Kenya, […]
Questions about sexual orientation and gender identity dumped from census
The Australian Bureau of Statistics has ditched preparations to ask about sexual orientation and gender identity in the 2021 census, although a question on whether people are male, female or non-binary is still under consideration. On 15 October, the ABS will test the census on 40,000 households in Wagga Wagga and south of Brisbane, including […]
Uganda: Why government is reintroducing anti-gay law
At the end of August, the Ethics and Integrity minster, Fr Simon Lokodo, said his predecessor, Mr James Nsaba Buturo, would take leave of Parliament to reintroduce a private member’s Bill against homosexuality. This came more than five years since President Museveni, on February 24, 2014, signed the Anti-Homosexuality Bill into law before both local […]
HIV diagnosis for 15 men waiting for drug on NHS
At least 15 people in England have tested HIV positive while waiting to get a place on a trial for a pill which prevents the disease. Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is a daily tablet which can stop a person from getting HIV. England is the only place in the UK where places on a trial to […]
Islamist extremists exploited LGBT school teaching tensions to fuel hate – report claims
Islamist extremists exploited tensions over equality teaching in Birmingham schools to amplify hate against LGBT+ people, a hard hitting report claims. Hizb ut-Tahir and other pro-Islamist organisations allegedly tried to use the dispute, centred on two small primary schools in Sparkhill and Alum Rock, to “promote their belief that Western liberalism was a threat to […]
Gay, transgender rights in spotlight as U.S. Supreme Court returns
The U.S. Supreme Court kicks off its new term this week, with a major dispute on tap over whether a landmark decades-old federal anti-discrimination law that bars sex discrimination in the workplace protects gay and transgender employees. The nine-month term opens on Monday with three cases to be argued before the nine justices. On Tuesday, […]
UK Transgender law reforms ‘will happen’ insists government
After reports that a public consultation on the matter had been abandoned, equalities minister Liz Truss is reportedly committed to completing the process in a way that has a ‘positive impact on the trans community in the UK’. Former minister for women and equalities Penny Mordaunt had launched a public consultation into how transgender people […]
Poland’s election features a confident right-wing ruling party despite abortion, LGBT debates
Poles will cast their ballots in the national parliamentary election next Sunday, and the world is watching to see if they will deliver another decisive victory for the populist, right-wing Law and Justice Party. Law and Justice formed Poland’s first outright majority government in 2015 since the fall of communism. In the ensuing years, Poland […]
French conservatives are protesting a bill that would fund IVF for most lesbian and single women
Several thousand conservative activists of all ages marched through Paris on Sunday to protest a French bill that would give lesbian couples and single women access to in vitro fertilization and related procedures.”Where is my dad?” read some signs as traditional Catholic groups, far-right activists and other marchers weaved from the Luxembourg Garden to the […]
Japanese MP makes waves by linking same-sex marriage to revising constitution
A conservative ally of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has called for discussion on revising Japan’s constitution to allow same-sex marriage, annoying colleagues in the ruling party who are against it and also opposition parliamentarians who say enacting a simple law would clear the way. Japan has no anti-LGBT laws although many LGBT people still conceal […]
‘Born to Be’ Review: Intimate Portrait of Transgender Surgery Pioneer Gets It Right
“Not every patient wants to have a surgical transition. Transition can take many forms,” says Dr. Jess Ting in an early interview in “Born to Be,” a poignant and finely tuned documentary about his work as head surgeon at Mt. Sinai’s Center for Transgender Medicine and Surgery. Ting’s thoughtful, measured, and sensitive approach to the […]
Russian man sues Apple after cryptocurrency “turned him gay”
A Russian man has filed a lawsuit against Apple alleging that a cryptocurrency app caused him to turn gay, according to a copy of the complaint seen by news agency AFP and reproduced in the Telegraph. The man tried to buy some Bitcoin, but he received some “GayCoin” instead—which came with a note: “Don’t judge […]