International

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Andorra’s prime minister just came out as gay

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Andorra Prime Minister Xavier Espot Zamora came out as gay in an interview with Ràdio Nacional d’Andorra yesterday. “I’m gay. I’ve never hid it,” he said. “Now, if I’m not asked, I don’t have to say it, in the sense that it doesn’t define the entirety of my person and even less of my personal politics. But at the same time, I think it shouldn’t be a problem to express it.” “Latvia is a sovereign, free, and democratic country. But it must be legal and fair for all,” he said in his inaugural address. “And if this helps many children, […]

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Bulgaria ordered to recognise same-sex partnerships in historic ruling

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Bulgaria has been ordered by the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) to establish a legal framework acknowledging same-sex relationships.  On Tuesday (5 September), the ECHR in Strasbourg ruled in favour of same-sex couple Darina Koilova and Lilia Babulkova, whose marriage in the UK was not recognised in Bulgaria, Balkan Insight reported.  Although the ruling does not mean Bulgaria must legalise same-sex marriage, the country is obligated to create a legal framework that recognises and protects same-sex couples.  “What is essential in this ruling is that, even though there is no specific deadline to implement the framework, the state is required to […]

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Queer Irish people and allies form human chain to protect library from anti-LGBTQ book protest

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A crowd of counter-protestors formed a human shield around a city centre library in Ireland, enabling it to remain open despite a right-wing rally taking place on the street outside.  Cork City Library has been the focus of right-wing anger ire for months, with people harassing library staff in an attempt to get LGBTQ+ books removed from its shelves.  On Saturday (2 September), about 300 people turned out in support of the library and its staff, and in opposition to the Ireland Says No rally, which was organised by conservative groups.  The city council was previously forced to shut the […]

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Hong Kong’s top court rules in favor of legal recognition for same-sex partnerships

An activist detained in Hong Kong partially won his final appeal Tuesday seeking recognition for same-sex marriage registered overseas, in a landmark court ruling that is likely to have a far-reaching impact on the city’s LGBTQ+ community. Jimmy Sham, a prominent pro-democracy activist during 2019 anti-government protests, married his husband in New York 10 years ago. Sham first asked for a judicial review in 2018 arguing that Hong Kong’s laws, which don’t recognize foreign same-sex marriage, violate the constitutional right to equality. The lower courts had dismissed his challenges. Sham has been in custody after being charged under a Beijing-imposed national security law following the […]

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More than 60 people arrested at a gay wedding in southern Nigeria

Police in Nigeria said Tuesday they detained at least 67 people celebrating a gay wedding, in one of the country’s largest arrests targeting outlawed homosexuality. The “gay suspects” were arrested in southern Delta state’s Ekpan town at about 2 a.m. on Monday at an event where two of them were wedded, state police spokesman Bright Edafe told reporters. He said that homosexuality “will never be tolerated” in the West African nation. Arrests of gay people are common in Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country, where the Same Sex Marriage Prohibition Act carries up to 10 years in jail for gay individuals. […]

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Brazil makes homophobic hate speech punishable by prison

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Brazil’s high court has ruled that homophobic hate speech is on par with racial hate speech and punishable with a prison sentence of two to five years. The Supreme Court’s 9-1 ruling stated it was a “constitutional imperative” for LGBTQ+ people in the country to have this protection.  France 24 explained that the court already ruled in 2019 that homophobia was a crime on par with racism, but that ruling applied to the overall LGBTQ+ community, rather than to speech directed at specific people. The most recent lawsuit was brought by ABGLT, a Brazilian LGBTQ+ rights group. The injunction comes after the […]

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First Ugandan is charged with ‘aggravated homosexuality’ punishable by death

A 20-year-old man has become the first Ugandan to be charged with “aggravated homosexuality,” an offense punishable by death under the country’s recently enacted anti-gay law, prosecutors and his lawyer said. Defying pressure from Western governments and rights organizations, Uganda in May enacted one of the world’s harshest laws targeting the LGBTQ community. It prescribes life in prison for same-sex intercourse. The death penalty can apply in cases deemed “aggravated,” which include repeat offenses, gay sex that transmits terminal illness, or same-sex intercourse with a minor, an elderly person or a person with disabilities. According to a charge sheet seen by Reuters, […]

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Far-right leaders are decimating LGBTQ+ rights to distract from their own incompetence

With a pronounced Roman accent and a confidently assertive demeanor, a petite figure stands before an enthusiastic crowd. The people cheer as the figure emphasizes the importance of Christian values, the role of women in traditional family settings, and the threat posed by immigrants and LGBTQ+ people, associating them with the decline of what was once home to the great Roman Empire. You may, for a moment, be reminded of figures like Mussolini, Hitler, or Franco. But the figure is actually in power today. She is Italy’s first female prime minister, Giorgia Meloni. Her rallying cry, “I am a mother, I […]

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Four arrested for “acts of homosexuality” in Uganda

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Four people have reportedly been arrested in Uganda in the Buikwe district, located in central Uganda along Lake Victoria. Police told the AFP that that four people – two of whom were women – were arrested after receiving a tip that “homosexuality” was happening at a massage parlor in the area.  “The police operation was carried out following a tip-off by a female informant to the area security that acts of homosexuality were being carried out at the massage parlor,” said police spokesperson Hellen Butoto. The arrests come just months after Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni signed the country’s new Anti-Homosexuality Act, which […]

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LGBTQ fears grow in Malaysia as Islamists shatter reform hopes

Artist Carmen Rose used to perform regularly in Malaysia, until a police raid last year put an end to the veteran drag queen’s act and fueled the fears of the LGBTQ community at a time when Islamists are rapidly gaining political clout. Since the raid, during which several party-goers were arrested, Rose has stopped doing shows, and rarely ventures out in public in costume. “It’s always a risk going out in drag. If there was a raid, who do we call? Do we bring our boy clothes just in case?” said Rose, who declined to disclose her non-drag identity due […]

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