Emma Powys Maurice

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Lesbian Couple Rejected Retirement Home Win Justice

A married lesbian couple have won a lengthy legal battle against a retirement community that refused them housing due to the owners’ religious beliefs. Mary Walsh, 72, and Beverly Nance, 68, have been together for 40 years and married for 10. In 2016 they applied to move to the Friendship Village senior living facility in St. Louis, where they hoped to spend their last years surrounded by friends with help on hand if they needed. But once Friendship Village staff learned they were married they refused them, saying the home did not condone homosexuality. The letter they received said that […]

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Switzerland Looks Set to be the Next to Legalize Same-sex Marriage

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Switzerland has taken a major step on the path to equality after its parliament voted overwhelmingly in favour of a law to pass same-sex marriage. The council of states – the upper house of Switzerland’s legislature – voted by by 22 votes to 15 to approve landmark legislation to make same-sex marriage a reality. Just seven politicians abstained from the vote. It’s a huge moment for a country that has lagged behind most of Europe when it comes to LGBT+ rights, and is the culmination of a seven-year campaign. “We have been waiting for this for seven years,” Olga Baranova of the […]

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Laurie McBride, Lesbian Who Drafted Groundbreaking AIDS Legislation, has Died

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Laurie McBride, a beloved LGBT+ leader who became a figurehead for the community during the HIV/AIDS crisis, has sadly passed away at the age of 71. McBride died of a heart attack on Friday, 4 December, having suffered a stroke in October. She is survived by her wife of 35 years, Donna Yutzy. The activist will be known to many through her work in defending the rights of HIV-positive people as co-chair of the Californian lobby group Mobilisation Against AIDS. In 1986 and 1987 she led the successful grassroots campaigns “No on 69” and “No on 64”, bills which would […]

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Supreme Court Asked to Consider Case that Could strip Queer Parental Rights

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Indiana’s attorney general has asked the Supreme Court to overturn a ruling that allows same-sex couples to both be listed as parents on their child’s birth certificate. The ruling came after a four-year legal battle fought by two lesbian parents, Ashlee and Ruby Henderson, who sued county health officials when they refused to include them both on their son’s birth certificate. Their lawsuit argued that it was discriminatory to force one mother from a same-sex marriage to fork over $4,000 to $5,000 to legally adopt their child. Seven additional couples joined the suit as plaintiffs, and in January 2020 the courts finally […]

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Family Drags Lesbian from her Home; Flogs Her in Front of Her Village

A lesbian couple in India were allegedly forced apart by their families, who barged into their home and publicly beat one of them in front of their village. The two women, who are both adults, were living happily in the Baghpat area of Uttar Pradesh in Northern India. On Sunday (8 November) the relatives of one of the women burst into their house and forcibly separated the pair, Times Now reports. When one woman attempted to resist she was humiliated and beaten in the street, in full view of bystanders who filmed the scene and circulated the footage on social media. She […]

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EU Unveils Plan to Outlaw Discrimination and ‘Guarantee Safety’ for Queer Citizens

The EU has unveiled its first ever plan to tackle LGBT+ discrimination following increasing calls for action over the rise of homophobic rhetoric in Poland. The European Commission’s unprecedented five-year strategy details a number of targeted actions, including legal and funding measures, aimed at addressing the inequalities still faced by LGBT+ Europeans.× It includes plans to extend the list of EU crimes to cover homophobic hate speech, ensure that LGBT+ concerns are better reflected in policy-making, and propose new laws to guarantee same-sex parenthood will be recognised across the 27 member nations. “This is not about ideology. This is not about being men or […]

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Oxford English Dictionary Amends Definition of ‘Woman’ to LGBT-inclusive Version

The Oxford English Dictionary definition of the word “woman” has been updated to reflect LGBT+ relationships following complaints that it was sexist. The world-famous dictionary previously described women as “a man’s wife, girlfriend or lover”. This has now been amended to acknowledge the fact that a woman can be “a person’s wife, girlfriend, or female lover”, rather than only a man’s. Other terms have been identified as “derogatory”, “offensive” or “dated”, such as the words “b***h”, “bint” and “besom”, which are listed as synonyms for woman. The changes came after a petition was launched earlier this year by campaigner Maria Beatrice Giovanardi to get […]

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Joe Biden is First President-elect to Include Transgender People in His Victory Speech

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Joe Biden’s presidency comes with many firsts, and as he took to the stage on Saturday night he added a new one: the first president-elect to mention trans people in his victory speech. Addressing a jubilant crowd in his hometown of Wilmington, Delaware, the new president-elect declared it was now America’s “time to heal” and vowed to unify the nation once again. He began by thanking “the broadest and most diverse coalition in history” for backing his campaign, including a shoutout to the LGBT+ community. “I am proud of the campaign we built and ran. I am proud of the coalition […]

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12 LGBT Lawmakers Who Broke New Ground with Rainbow Wave

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The US election result remains unconfirmed but there’s still a lot to celebrate as a new rainbow wave of LGBT+ victories emerges across the country. There were nearly 600 out candidates on the ballot this year, a record number that reflects stronger support for queer people among ordinary Americans.× Dozens have already won their races, and while Trump has made more gains in the US election than anyone predicted, the historic wins keep on coming. Here are some of the big ones. Mauree Turner, Oklahoma’s 88th Congressional District. Mauree Turner has become the very first non-binary state lawmaker in US history. The […]

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Rugby Pro Dan Palmer Comes Out after Years of ‘Despising Himself’

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Dan Palmer has come out as gay, becoming the first Wallabies player and just the second men’s international to do so. In a moving column for the Sydney Morning Herald, the 32-year-old Australian former rugby union player described his mental health problems and drug abuse as he struggled to accept his sexuality, revealing that he regularly cried himself to sleep and even contemplated suicide. “I was incredibly frustrated, angry and desperately sad. I despised myself and the life I was living. I was trapped in a false narrative and could see no way out,” he wrote. “Most nights, I cried myself to sleep and […]

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