Pink News

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Same-sex Couples finally Able to Marry in Churches in Northern Ireland

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Same-sex couples can apply to have religious weddings in Northern Ireland from today (1 September), with ceremonies set to begin later this month. Gay weddings began in Northern Ireland in February, but so far couples have only been allowed to undergo civil weddings – with a further wait for regulations to be amended to allow religious weddings and for the conversion of existing civil partnerships into marriages. From 1 September, however, couples in Northern Ireland can also register for a religious wedding ceremony, bringing the region in line with Scotland, England and Wales. Religious bodies can also choose to opt in to provide […]

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Gay Black ‘Literary Genius’ Randall Kenan Has Died at 57

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Acclaimed author Randall Kenan, whose work reflected on being Black and gay in the South of the United States, has died aged 57. Keenan’s celebrated works, including A Visitation of Spirits, Let the Dead Bury Their Dead, and The Fire This Time, netted him a string of prestigious awards including the Guggenheim Fellowship, the North Carolina Award, the American Academy of Arts and Letters’ Rome Prize, and a Lambda Literary Award for Gay Fiction. He also penned an influential biography of gay novelist James Baldwin, and Walking on Water, an oral history of Black American life. Tributes paid to ‘literary giant’. Kenan was found […]

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JK Rowling Insists She’s not Transphobic while Returning Human Rights Award over Criticism

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JK Rowling refuted allegations that she is transphobic while returning a Ripple of Hope award to the Robert F Kennedy Human Rights organisation. Rowling announced she is giving back the honour after Kerry Kennedy, daughter of the late senator and president of the human rights nonprofit, shared her “profound disappointment” in the author’s remarks on trans rights. Kerry Kennedy released a statement on August 3, eight months after Rowling received the award for her work on behalf of children. She joined previous honourees including Barack Obama, Desmond Tutu and Hillary Clinton. “I have spoken with JK Rowling to express my profound disappointment that she […]

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Teacher ‘Put on Leave’ for Supporting LGBT+ Rights; Black Lives Matter

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A teacher in Texas has reportedly been placed on administrative leave after she allowed students to submit their pronouns and posted LGBT+ rights and Black Lives Matter images on her virtual classroom. An image of Roma High School English teacher Taylor Lifka’s remote learning site was posted online Friday (August 21) by Marian Knowlton, a Republican candidate for Texas’ 31st district who took offence at her efforts to include trans students, women, students of colour and queer kids. It shows an avatar of the teacher standing infront of posters advocating for Black Lives Matter and LGBT+ rights, among other human […]

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Hungary’s Viktor Orbán Launches New Attack on LGBT+ Folks

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Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orbán has used an event commemorating the end of WWI as an opportunity to launch yet another barb at LGBT+ people. The far-right leader made the comments at a national event to inaugurate a monument commemorating the Treaty of Trianon, which was signed after the end of the war. He called upon Hungary’s neighbouring countries to unite to preserve their Christian roots as western Europe “experiments” with same-sex families, immigration and atheism. “Western Europe had given up on … a Christian Europe, and instead experiments with a godless cosmos, rainbow families, migration and open societies,” Orbán said […]

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Conversion Therapy Survivors are Turning to TikTok to Share Their Trauma

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A growing number of conversion therapy survivors are sharing their trauma on TikTok amid growing efforts to outlaw the discredited practice. Nearly 700,000 Americans have undergone conversion therapy, half when under 18, according to the UCLA’s Williams Institute. The so-called therapycan range from counselling or “praying away the gay” to torturous electric shocks, but all forms have been rejected by every mainstream health organisation for decades. Now survivors are shedding light on the secretive practice, sharing support and advice for others who may be forced to undergo what they did. 30-year-old Mike Dorn began talking about his experience when the US went […]

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Trans Women Murdered by Man They Paid to Help Them Adopt a Child

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The bodies of two trans women and their partner were found in two wells in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu on Friday morning (August 21), their murders having taken place “a few weeks ago”. In the Palayankottai neighbourhood of Tirunelveli, the bodies of Anushka, 35, Bhavani, 34 and their partner Murugan, 38, were found packed into bags and stuffed into two wells near a bypass, police said. The three lived in Narasinganallur near Suthamalli, according to friends who knew the trio well. They were part of a thriving trans community in the area and hoped to adopt a […]

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Arizona Refused to Cover Trans Healthcare for 40 Years, but that Might Change

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Two transgender teenagers are suing Arizona over its blanket ban on paying for transition-related healthcare for Medicaid recipients. The claimants, 17-year-old D.H. and 15-year-old John Doe, are bringing a class-action lawsuit alleging that their civil rights are being violated by Arizona’s prohibition on transition-related surgeries. Arizona is one of 10 states that explicitly bans coverage for transition-related treatments to transgender Medicaid recipients, according to Metro Weekly. The National Center for Lesbian Rights filed the complaint against the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System on August 6. “D.H. and John bring this lawsuit on behalf of themselves and similarly situated individuals to challenge Arizona’s […]

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‘Anti-gay’ Couple who Pointed Guns at Black Lives Matter Protesters to Speak at RNCC

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The “anti-gay” white couple who stood outside their mansion and pointed guns at Black Lives Matter protesters will “definitely” speak at the Republican Party convention this month. Mark and Patricia McCloskey, who are both personal injury lawyers, made headlines around the world after they were filmed pointing guns at Black Lives Matter protesters from the steps of their palatial mansion in Portland Place, Missouri. On Monday, August 17, the McCloskey’s lawyer told the New York Times that the couple would “definitely be speaking” at the Republican National Convention (RNC). Albert Watkins said in an interview that Mark McCloskey, who threatened Black Lives Matter protesters with […]

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Ugandan Officials Charged with Torture after Flogging 20 Queer Men

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Two officials in Uganda are facing charges of torture and inhuman and degrading treatment in connection with the arrest of 20 men from an LGBT+ shelter. In March harrowing footage emerged of a “bogus” coronavirus raid on the the Children of the Sun Foundation LGBT+ shelter in Kampala. The men were seen being whipped, chained, interrogated and publicly humiliated by a municipal mayor. While some were released on health grounds, the majority spent almost 50 days in jail, during which time they were denied HIV medicine, legal counsel, and the ability to apply for bail. The case attracted the attention of international […]

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