International

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Frontrunner For Thai PM Promises Marriage Equality

Reuters reports: The frontrunner to be Thailand’s next prime minister joined a Pride parade in Bangkok on Sunday, promising to pass a law that would allow same-sex marriage and gender identity rights if he becomes premier. Thousands of LGBTQ+ people, their allies and political leaders marched through central Bangkok, marking Pride month and promoting gender equality in the second official Pride parade to be held in the country. Pita Limjaroenrat, leader of the progressive Move Forward party, is pushing to lead a coalition after winning the most seats in a May 14 general election. The coalition has made a joint pledge […]

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Japanese court rules against same-sex marriage ban in major win for LGBTQ+ equality

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A court in Japan has ruled that not allowing same-sex marriage is unconstitutional. On Tuesday (30 May), Nagoya District Court became the second to rule against Japan’s banning of same-sex marriage, despite the country’s prime minister Fumio Kishida claiming the ban wasn’t discriminatory to the LGBTQ+ community. Japan is the only G7 nation that does not recognise same-sex marriage. The ruling – welcomed by activists and supporters outside the court – follows Japan’s main opposition, the Constitutional Democratic Party (CDP), submitting a bill calling for same-sex marriage to be legalised.  Lead lawyer on the case, Yoko Mizushima, spoke to journalists and supporters […]

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Latvian Parliament elects first openly gay president of a Baltic nation

Latvian lawmakers on Wednesday picked the country’s long-serving and popular foreign minister, a strong backer of Ukraine, as its new head of state in a tight vote. The 100-seat Saeima legislature elected Edgars Rinkevics, the country’s top diplomat since 2011, as president to serve for a four-year term. He received 52 votes, one vote more than required to win. Incumbent Egils Levits, Latvia’s head of state since 2019, didn’t seek reelection. Rinkevics, who announced in 2014 that he is “proudly” homosexual, will be the first openly gay president in the Baltic nations — all former Soviet republics where attitudes to […]

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Russia, Homophobia and the Battle for ‘Traditional Values’

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In December 2022, ten months into the full-scale military invasion of Ukraine, the Duma extended the scope of Russia’s ‘gay propaganda’ law forbidding the public portrayal of ‘non-traditional sexual relations’. Previously focused on minors, the prohibited exposure would now apply to any age group. Why would Russia’s parliament do this in the middle of a war? The amendment might appear to have been a trivial effort to distract the public from Russian military losses in Ukraine. But the restrictions, which render life precarious for LGBT+ individuals in Russia, have a much more ambitious purpose—to consolidate conservative support at home and position Russia as the defender […]

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Uganda’s President Signs Repressive Anti-LGBT Law

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Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni has signed a bill criminalizing same sex conduct, including potentially the death penalty for those convicted of “aggravated homosexuality,” into law. The Anti-Homosexuality Act of 2023 violates multiple fundamental rights guaranteed under Uganda’s constitution and breaks commitments made by the government as a signatory to a number of international human rights agreements. Uganda’s penal code already punishes same-sex conduct with life imprisonment – a criminal offense that is rarely prosecuted – but the new law creates new crimes such as the vaguely worded “promotion of homosexuality” and introduces the death penalty for several acts considered as […]

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First they came for the LGBTQ+ books: How the Nazis started burning books 90 years ago this month

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Months after the war to end all wars came to a close in 1918, a German researcher named Magnus Hirschfeld opened his Institut für Sexualwissenschaft (Institute of Sexology) in Berlin, the world’s first academic institution devoted to the study of sexuality. He bought the building from the defeated government of the Free State of Prussia in the leafy Tiergarten district. It would house a research library and a large archive with tens of thousands of volumes; a marriage and sex counseling office; a museum of sexual artifacts; medical exam rooms; and a lecture hall. Hirschfeld, who was openly gay and Jewish, would […]

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Malaysia seizes rainbow Pride-themed Swatch watches

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Pride-themed Swatch watches have been seized by authorities in Malaysia in raids of 11 of its stores, reportedly due to ‘LGBT symbols’ on the timepieces.  The raids happened between 13 to 15 May and around $14,000 (£11,347) worth of stock was seized, according to various media reports.  The watches were part of the brand’s 2023 Pride collection, launched on 4 May, which features six different watch faces in Pride colours. Each watch strap is made up of two bands containing colours that make up the full Pride flag.  As reported by local newspaper MalayMail, Malaysian prime minister Anwar Ibrahim was questioned […]

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Mexico unveils new non-binary passport: ‘Diversity enriches and flourishes’

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In a win for diversity, Mexico has finally begun allowing its citizens to legally identify as their true selves after issuing the country’s first non-binary passport. Foreign minister Marcelo Ebrared confirmed on Wednesday (17 May) that the Mexican government had issued the first passport with a non-binary gender marker, calling it a “great leap” for freedom of expression. On International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia, and Transphobia (IDAHOBIT) no less, Mexican activist Ociel Baena received their passport during a ceremony held by government officials, including transgender federal lawmaker Salma Luévano. “We endorse our support for sexual diversity,” the foreign minister wrote […]

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Activists say life for LGBTQ+ Afghans has become unbearable under Taliban rule

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On May 4th, 2022, Sultan Popal*, a 32-year-old gay Afghan man became a victim of a string of violent attacks against the country’s LGBTQ+ community. He was taken to a guest house by the Taliban where he was beaten and raped until the early hours of the morning. When he managed to escape, he called his friend, another gay man, who urged him to come to his house in the city of Mazar-i-Sharif. For the next two months, Popal stayed hidden at his friend’s home, where he had to take strict measures so that he couldn’t be traced by the […]

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Overwhelming number of trans people in UK pelted with verbal abuse, study finds

Nearly three quarters of trans people in the UK have faced verbal abuse in the last year, shocking new figures from a leading LGBTQ+ charity have revealed.  Just Like Us, the LGBT+ young people’s charity, has shared new data which highlights the raft of vile abuse both LGBTQ+, and non-LGBTQ+, young people face in the wake of rising homophobic and transphobic rhetoric.  The figures are part of a new report by the charity called Positive Futures, set to be published on 1 June, which examines the experiences of LGBTQ+ young adults in the UK.  The report will cover a range of […]

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