International

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Gay German politician resigns after welcoming child via surrogacy despite opposing it

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German conservative politician Jens Spahn has resigned as parliamentary leader of the country’s governing coalition after facing intense criticism over becoming a father through surrogacy in the United States, despite years of publicly supporting Germany‘s ban on the practice. Spahn, a senior member of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and former health minister, announced his resignation on Saturday (18 July), writing that he had realised that “my personal happiness – founding a family together with my husband and becoming a father – is not compatible with my political office”. He added that the growing tension between his personal decision and the expectations placed on him […]

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Andy Burnham’s record on LGBTQ+ issues as he becomes UK’s Prime Minister

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The LGBTQ+ stories you don’t want to miss, delivered to your inbox daily. On 22 June, Starmer announced he would be resigning as leader of the Labour party but would remain as prime minister until a replacement is found this summer. It soon became clear that it was a one-horse-race, with Burnham, who re-entered Parliament weeks before Starmer’s resignation when he won the Makerfield by-election, set to take over. Burnham, who was the Mayor of Greater Manchester from 2017 until earlier this year, previously held a number of other positions in government, including as Secretary of State for Health under […]

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Brothers sentenced for 1984 murder during campaign targeting gay men

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More than four decades after the murder of Anthony Littler, two brothers have been jailed for killing the 45-year-old civil servant during what a judge described as a sustained campaign of violence targeting men they believed were gay. Michael Stewart, 57, and Anthony Stewart, 60, were convicted of Littler’s murder following a trial at the Old Bailey in London this June. On Friday (10 July), Anthony Stewart, whom the judge said likely delivered the fatal blow, was sentenced to 15 years in prison, while Michael Stewart, who acted as a lookout during the attack, received a 10-year sentence. The brothers had […]

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English schools told to ban trans pupils from single-sex toilets

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Schools in England will be required to stop transgender pupils from using toilets and changing rooms that do not match their “biological sex” from September, under new statutory safeguarding guidance. The updated Keeping Children Safe In Education (KCSIE) guidance, published by the Department for Education, comes into force on 1 September. It states that schools must not allow pupils to use toilets designated for the opposite biological sex from the age of eight, or changing rooms from the age of 11, “with no exceptions”, even where a pupil has made a request to socially transition. Overnight accommodation on school trips must also remain […]

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Senegal amends constitution to ban same-sex marriage after landslide vote

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The National Assembly of Senegal has amended the country’s constitution to define marriage exclusively as “the union between a man and a woman”, thus banning same-sex marriage. The amendment was made on 29 June following a vote that saw all 129 members of the assembly vote in favour and zero against. Before the change, the constitution’s definition of marriage noted: “Marriage and the family constitute the natural and moral foundation of human society, and are placed under the protection of the State.” Same-sex marriage has never been legal in Senegal, but the constitution’s wording around the matter has previously been vague. Same-sex sexual activity […]

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Is Steam blocking LGBTQ+ content in China?

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Reports have suggested that Steam’s digital storefront is blocking LGBTQ+ content in accordance with Chinda’s “local laws and regulations.” Given the country’s policies around LGBTQ+ people and content, that might not be surprising, especially as Steam has agreed to censorship before.  But what’s actually happening might be a lesser compromise. The first reports of the issue came from user Neha on Resetera, who posted a screenshot of Steam with an error message in Chinese, which translates to “An error occurred while processing your request: The content on this page has been identified as inappropriate because it violates local laws and regulations, […]

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76% of UK adults support same-sex marriage, poll shows

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YouGov UK’s bimonthly tracker surveying UK adults’ support for same-sex marriage has released data for 29 June showing that 76% of those surveyed support same-sex couples’ right to marry. The responses, collected from between 1,627 and 3,416 adults living in the UK, reveal that 51% of responders “strongly support” same-sex marriage, while 25% marked “tend to support”. In comparison, just 8% answered “tend to oppose” and 7% marked “strongly oppose”, while an additional 8% answered “don’t know”. Support for same-sex marriage has grown since the survey’s initial release in August 2019, with only 45% of those surveyed selecting that option at the time. The […]

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Missing gay couple from Chicago found dead in mass grave outside of Mexico City

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A gay couple from Chicago who were living in Mexico City have been found dead in a grave that included two other bodies, per Chicago ABC affiliate WLS. Zafar Padamsee Mawani and Guillermo Jaffet Hidalgo Ortiz had been missing since May, per WLS. The couple had only recently moved to Mexico in October and were living in a neighborhood in the southern part of Mexico City. The bodies were found on June 17 in a wooded area on the outskirts of Mexico City, per People. The couple went missing on May 20 while trying to get equipment from a contractor for Mawani’s […]

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Gay students from countries that criminalize homosexuality extorted with ‘outing’ threats

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A hate crime inquiry has heard that international students from countries which criminalise homosexuality have been targeted on gay dating apps before being assaulted and threatened with being outed. Police in Victoria, Australia have identified 95 attacks on gay or bisexual men since June 2024. Chad Hughes, Thorne Harbour Health’s chief executive said 42 arrests have been made in relation to the attacks. However, Hughes said he believes the “true number” is much higher, with victims reluctant to come forward over mistrust of the police. Jenna Tuke, from Switchboard Victoria, said some victims were scared they could be outed to family members in their home countries, […]

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200,000 Turn Out For First Post-Orban Budapest Pride

The Associated Press reports: Tens of thousands of people gathered in soaring temperatures in Hungary’s capital on Saturday to celebrate the 31st annual Budapest Pride, the first such LGBTQ+ march since former Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, who had sought to ban the event, was ousted in an April election. The march began Saturday afternoon as temperatures reached at least 100 degrees amid a record-breaking heat wave that has gripped most of Europe. Organizers distributed water bottles to marchers, and the city’s public water utility opened fountains along the route. Participants set off from Budapest’s iconic Opera house and wound through the […]

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