The Ohio Senate and House have now both passed a bill that would forcibly out LGBTQ+ students to their parents and also allow parents to opt their child out of “sexuality content” at school.
House Bill 8 defines sexuality content as “any oral or written instruction, presentation, image, or description of sexual concepts or gender ideology provided in a classroom setting,” with exceptions granted for STI and abuse discussion, as well as “incidental references” to sexual concepts or “gender ideology.”
There is also a total ban on “sexuality content” in grades three and below, with all other grades facing a requirement for parental review of the content. It additionally requires notification of “any substantial change” in student services, defined as including changes to one’s gender identity in the school system.
The bill was introduced by State Reps. D.J. Swearingen (R) and Sara Carruthers (R).
“If people are out and they don’t have supportive parents — there is an epidemic of LGBTQ youth homelessness,” Dara Atkinson, an activist with TransOhio, told News 5 Cleveland. “[There are] parents who don’t affirm their children and then decide that they would like them to not be their children.”
“For students that have queer families, it is then not OK in early childhood curriculum to discuss queer families as part of the community,” they added.
Carruthers claims, however, that “there is no hidden agenda” and that this is about advocating for parental rights. She claims it is not “anti-LGBTQ” and that “nothing can be done these days without offending others.”
The bill is now on its way to the desk of Republican Governor Mike DeWine as advocacy groups call for him to veto it.
“We are deeply disappointed that the legislature decided once again to attack LGBTQIA+ youth by passing yet another bill that will make schools less safe and inclusive for queer and transgender people,” said a statement from Kaleidoscope Youth Center, an LGBTQ+ youth center.
Equality Ohio Executive Director Dwayne Steward added, “Overnight when most school-age children are asleep, the legislature rushed through another shameful attack on LGBTQ+ youth.”
Herbert Slater Middle School, 3500 Sonoma Ave, Santa Rosa, CA 95405, USA
https://www.instagram.com/queersinthepark/ Free event. This is a non-competitive game where no one even keeps score! All ages, abilities, and skill levels are welcome. Not a sporty gay but still want to hang out? Join the cheering section that lounges in the shade. Kickball is really just an excuse we use to meet new people and make friends. Please note this event runs on gay time and so is from 10am (ish) to 12pm (ish). Late arrivals welcome and can still join the game!!!
It had been an important 12 months for LGBTQ+ rights around the world – in bad ways as well as good.
While steps in the right direction have been made in some countries, including Estonia legalising same-sex marriage, there’s been a drop in LGBTQ+ equality in other nations, such as Georgia, Kazakhstan, and even the US.
Russia, meanwhile, has continued to be one the most dangerous places for LGBTQ+ people.
Here are some of the countries that regressed on LGBTQ+ rights in 2024.
Georgia
Georgian president Salome Zourabichvili vetoed an anti-LGBTQ+ bill but it still passed into law. (Getty)
Georgia is one of the nations causing particular concern.
The country implemented a bill – despite president Salome Zourabichvili’s attempt to block it – banning changes to gender on official documents, outlawing gender-affirming care, and placing major restrictions on LGBTQ+ freedom of expression.
The legislation prompted various not-for-profit organisations, including Rainbow Migration, to demand that the UK take Georgia off of its list of safe countries.
Minesh Parekh, policy and public affairs manager at the nonprofit Rainbow Migration, said of Georgia: “There’s widespread evidence of the danger that LGBTQI+ people face in Georgia and the situation has only worsened in recent months.
“It is imperative that the UK government stops using ‘safe states’ designations and ensures people are not returned to unsafe conditions. We are currently supporting LGBTQI+ Georgians who are terrified at the prospect of being sent back to the danger they’ve fled.”
Parekh noted the non-profit’s efforts in supporting Noah, a gay man from Georgia whose family subjected him to abuse over his sexuality, including forcing him to take medication because they believed he “had a demon inside him.”
“Noah was luckily granted refugee status, but many other Georgians could face being sent back to life threatening situations – and we therefore urge the Government to repeal the cruel Illegal Migration Act introduced by the previous government, and guarantee LGBTQI+ people’s safety.”
USA
President Joe Biden has been fighting a losing battle. (Getty)
Despite efforts by the present administration to promote LGBTQ+ rights, including hosting one of the biggest Pride events in the White House, and Joe Biden becoming the first sitting president to be interviewed by an LGBTQ+ news publication, the continued onslaught of anti-LGBTQ+ bills tells a different story.
According to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), at least 574 anti-LGBTQ+ bills have been proposed in US legislatures across various states since the beginning of the year – 64 more than the reported number for 2023.
The bills, several of which have passed into law, include curriculum censorship, redefining gender to exclude trans people, and the banning of gender-affirming care for those under the age of 18.
Forty-six of bills have passed into law, while 67 have yet to be debated, and 62 are advancing through congress.
To make matters worse, Donald Trump’s re-election for a second term as president doesn’t bode well for LGBTQ+ people, and one of his top advisors, Elon Musk, has vowed to eradicate what he calls the woke mind virus – and reportedly even wants the ACLU to be “defunded”.
Bulgaria
President Rumen Radev followed in Russia’s footsteps. (Getty)
Bulgaria’s track record of LGBTQ+ rights over the past few years has been poor, and the government is continuing its efforts to make things harder for the community.
President Rumen Radev followed in Russia’s footsteps by signing into law a bill prohibiting so-called LGBT propaganda in schools. The legislation was approved by 135 votes to 57 in parliament and took effect in August.
Same-sex marriage, gender-affirming care and the right to legally change gender are all illegal.
Ghana
President Nana Akufo-Addo is stepping down. (Getty)
In February, the Ghanaian government approved a sweeping law that outlawed identifying as LGBTQ+ and campaigning for queer rights.
Dubbed the Human Sexual Rights and Ghanaian Family Values Bill, the lawimposed a prison sentence of up to three years for those convicted, while anyone found guilty of LGBTQ+ advocacy campaigns aimed at under-18s could face 10 years in jail.
President Nana Akufo-Addo is due to step down following elections last week, having served his permitted two terms. He is set to be replaced by former president John Mahama, after rival, and vice-president,Mahamudu Bawumia conceded defeat.
The outlook for members of the LGBTQ+ community is unlikely to improve much, given that Mahama recently told clergymen that gay marriage and being transgender were against his religious beliefs.
“The faith I have will not allow me to accept a man marrying a man, and a woman marrying a woman,” he said, according to Reuters.
“I don’t believe anybody can get up and say I feel like a man although I was born a woman and so I will change and become a man,” he added.
However, he did not say whether he would sign the bill that would criminalise same-sex relations, being transgender and advocating for LGBTQ rights.
Kazakhstan
President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev signed a bill effectively preventing queer couple adopting. (Getty)
While same-sex sexual activity is legal in the central Asian country, LGBTQ+ people can donate blood, and there is an equal age of consent, gay marriages are not permitted and a large majority of the population don’t see homosexuality as justifiable.
And, in February, Kazakhstan president Kassym-Jomart Tokayev signed into lawa ban on adoption for anyone who does not adhere to a “non-traditional” sexual orientation, effectively making it impossible for queer couples to take in a child.
Iraq
President Abdul Latif Rashid oversaw a tightening of laws against LGBTQ+ people. (Getty)
Iraq has long been considered one of the worst countries for LGBTQ+ people. But things became worse this year when homosexuality was codified as illegal.
The law, ratified by president Abdul Latif Rashid in June, specifically criminalised any practice of homosexuality and transsexuality, with a maximum of 15 years in prison for those convicted. The government also made it illegal to change gender markers on documents and banned gender-affirming care.
Human Rights Watch researcher Sarah Sanbar described the law was a “horrific development [and an] attack on human rights”.
United Kingdom
Keir Starmer hasn’t made life any easier for trans people in the UK. (Getty)
Despite the removal of the transphobic Conservative government in July, LGBTQ+ rights in the UK have not improved.
This was nowhere better represented than in ILGA-Europe’s annual Rainbow Map, which showed that Britain had plummeted the best place in Europe for LGBTQ+ rights in 2015, to sixteenth place today.
That fall wasn’t helped by the new government’s continued animosity towards transgender people. This year, health secretary Wes Streeting, who has said he does not believe trans women are women, extended a ban on puberty blockers for transgender under-18s, despite there being no definitive evidence that they are harmful.
And prime minister Keir Starmer’s record on LGBTQ+ rights is somewhat chequered. Soon after entering Downing Street, he told The Times that women who have not undergone gender confirmation surgery should not be allowed in female-only spaces, including toilets.
“They don’t have that right. They shouldn’t. That’s why I’ve always said biological women’s spaces need to be protected,” he said.
And, according to The Independent, he has said: “I’m not in favour of ideology being taught in our schools on gender.”
This fall, security forces in Belarus — the former Soviet republic and staging ground for Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine — raided the home of a gay couple in the Belarusian capital of Minsk and brutally beat them, according to reporting by the Associated Press.
The university students said the officers were transparent that the assault was inspired by similar treatment of the LGBTQ+ community in Russia.
“They slammed our heads against the door frame, threatened to report us to the university, and said that this was just the beginning,” said Andrei, 20, who asked to be identified only by his first name.
Security forces demanded that Andrei and his partner Sasha unlock their smartphones and reveal the names of “gays in Minsk and Moscow.”
“They wanted to expose an ‘underground network’ of gay people in Belarus, following the example of Russia,” Andrei said of the raid. “They openly told us that if it is banned in Russia, then it should be banned in Belarus, too.”
The state-sanctioned attack comes as the country’s authoritarian president, Alexander Lukashenko, pushes copycat legislation outlawing “LGBTQ+ propaganda” based on similar laws passed in Russia at Putin’s urging.
Like the Russian version of the law, the bill in Belarus will likely bar any endorsement of LGBTQ+ activities and “nontraditional” sexual relations.
Andrei and Sasha said if the bill becomes law, they’ll leave Minsk rather than “wait for a prison term.”
While Belarus decriminalized homosexuality in 1994 following the collapse of the Soviet Union, the deeply conservative country is in the throes of a violent backlash against the LGBTQ+ community at Putin’s urging, rights activists say.
Lukashenko “uses repressions against the LGBTQ+ community in order to gain some kind of praise from Russian authorities and shore up support among conservative residents of Belarus,” said Alisa Sarmant, coordinator for LGBTQ+ rights group TG House Belarus.
“To a large extent, it’s a carbon copy of what is happening in Russia, but in Belarus, all these discriminatory practices take on uglier and harsher forms,” Sarmant said.
At least 32 people have been detained and beaten in seven Belarusian cities in the last three months, according to rights organizations, including 10 transgender or nonbinary individuals and activists. Several remain in custody facing charges of “disseminating pornography,” punishable by up to four years in prison. Others were forced to emigrate.
The Belarusian dictator and his allies have made their enmity for the LGBTQ+ community clear in both words and deeds.
“We will also need to take similar measures,” said Natalya Kochanova, Lukashenko’s closest adviser and speaker of the upper chamber of parliament, speaking of Russia’s repressive laws.
“We have family values, traditions we pass from generation to generation — traditions of family, Orthodox Christianity,” she said, parroting Putin’s line of attack on the LGBTQ+ community.
Lukashenko, after Germany’s openly gay foreign minister called him “the last dictator in Europe” in 2012, replied, “Better to be a dictator than gay.”
“Intimidation, arrests, and blackmail have been used in Belarus for years to create a so-called ‘LGBTQ+ database’ and declare an entire social group dangerous,” according to Pavel Sapelka of the Viasna Center, a prominent rights group in the country.
In April, the Culture Ministry expanded its definition of pornography to include “nontraditional relations”; anyone possessing it faces criminal prosecution and a four-year prison term.
The balloting will be “a sham,” said exiled opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya of the upcoming election.
LGBTQ+ activist Sarmant says the effect of Belarus’ crackdown has been felt acutely by transgender people, who face “catastrophic shortages” of hormonal treatments, humiliating medical procedures, and prosecutions on political grounds.
In the last year, the government rejected over 80% of applications for trans people seeking official authorization for prescriptive and surgical healthcare or a change to their gender marker in official documents. Remarkably, both are still legal in Belarus. In 2022, 10% to 15% of applications were rejected.
Belarus is one of the most repressive regimes in the world, with about 1,300 political dissidents in prison. Lukashenko redoubled his efforts to quash dissent following his reelection in 2020, in what rights groups called a stolen victory. Over 65,000 Belarusians have been arrested based on their political activity over the last four years.
Stephen Fry has received a knighthood in the 2025 New Year Honours list.
The actor and author, who recently described Stonewall’s current LGBTQ+ campaigning as “nonsensical”, has received the New Year honour alongside the likes of the mayor of London Sadiq Khan and former England manager Gareth Southgate.
The 67-year-old was recognised for “devoting much time and effort in generating awareness of bipolar disorder, using his public platform to speak candidly about his own journey, undermining the taboo that has prevented many from seeking support”.
However, the news comes after Fry recently appeared to revoke his support of LGBTQ+ charity Stonewall, which was established as a charity for lesbian, gay and bisexual people but expanded its remit to include trans people almost a decade ago.
British actor, broadcaster, writer and comedian Stephen Fry. (Getty)
He was challenged over his support of the charity by host Konstantin Kisin, who read out a letter from ex-Stonewall employee turned critic Levi Pay and asked him how he could support the LGBTQ+ charity “in all conscience.”
“Do I? I am not sure I do support them,” Fry responded. He said previously supported the charity’s efforts to equalise the age of consent and legalise same-sex marriage but has “no interest in supporting this current wave of nonsensical [policies].”
Fry went on to further disavow Stonewall, describing the organisation as “shameful and sad” and “stuck in a terrible, terrible quagmire.”
Members of the trans community have since expressed their disappointment and anger over Fry’s comments. However, his comments have not come as a surprise to some, given his prior refusal to criticise JK Rowling’s contentious views on trans people.
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Fry was also described in the honours list as “one of Britain’s most highly regarded public figures”. He was noted as being the president of the charity Mind, and his involvement with the Terrence Higgins Trust for “raising awareness and funds for people living with HIV and AIDS”.
The newly elected chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus said a combination of factors led to electoral losses for the party in November’s election, not least of which was being “seen as preachy” and “disconnected.”
Rep. Greg Casar of Texas, 35, is replacing outgoing chair Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA), who is term-limited in the post. The Texas native and son of immigrants from Mexico was a labor organizer and Austin City Council member before winning a second term in the House last month.
Casar called Democrats’ losses in the election “avoidable.”
“The progressive movement needs to change,” he told NBC News in an interview on Wednesday before his election to chair the influential caucus. “We need to re-emphasize core economic issues every time some of these cultural war issues are brought up.”
“So when we hear Republicans attacking queer Americans again, I think the progressive response needs to be that a trans person didn’t deny your health insurance claim, a big corporation did — with Republican help,” Casar said. “We need to connect the dots for people that the Republican Party obsession with these culture war issues is driven by Republicans’ desire to distract voters and have them look away while Republicans pick their pocket.”
And he asserted Democrats can do it “without throwing vulnerable people under the bus.”
That response may have been in answer to his colleagues Rep. Seth Moulton (D-MA) and Rep. Tom Suozzi (D-NY) laying blame for Democrats’ losses in part on Vice President Kamala Harris’ stance on trans rights.
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear also recently backed away from his support of health care for trans inmates — mandated by the Eighth Amendment to the Constitution barring cruel and unusual treatment of prisoners.
During the election, Republicans spent over $215 million on attack adshighlighting the Democrats’ and their standard bearer’s support of trans rights.
“It’s less of a left-right fight and more of a getting back to a Democratic Party that’s for everyday people, no longer being seen as preachy or disconnected,” Casar said.
“I think we should lead the country, but we should never be more than an arm’s length ahead,” Casar said. “If we get more than a couple arms lengths ahead of the country, then you’re vulnerable to attacks from the Republicans.”
Casar maintained part of his party’s strategy to reconnect with the working class would mean an effort to “shed off some of its more corporate elements” that have blurred the distinction between Democrats and Republicans.
“The core of the Republican Party is about helping Wall Street and billionaires. And I think we have to call out the game,” Casar said. “The Democratic Party, at its best, can hold people or can have inside of its tent people across geography, across race, and across ideology. Because we’re all in the same boat when it comes to making sure that you can retire with dignity, that your kids can go to school, that you can buy a house.”
Casar said Republican calls to extend President Trump’s massive tax cuts, set to expire in 2025, will be one of the first of many opportunities to distinguish between the two major parties.
In recognizing the lack of spaces for Sonoma County’s LGBTQIA+ communities of color to feel safe, seen, and a sense of belonging, Positive Images’ QTBIPOC Hangout program is a monthly joy-centered social space for QTBIPOC adults in Sonoma County to connect with one another. Through different activities and workshops at the PI community center or other trusted local spaces, this program strives to also offer experiences of personal, cultural, and community empowerment & exploration. Since the program’s start in February 2023, hangouts have included: art & movie nights, potlucks, a rock climbing night at Vertex Climbing Gym, a free professional photo shoot/portrait day with QTwithacamera Photography, a clothing drive, and a holiday gift exchange.
Hangouts are every first Monday of the month from 6-8pm at the PI Community Center, unless shared otherwise. The space welcomes all those who identify as QTBIPOC*.
*QTBIPOC = Queer and Transgender, Black, Indigenous, People of Color
The director of a Russian travel agency arrested last month on charges of international LGBT extremism died yesterday while in custody in Moscow, OVD-Info reports.
Andrei Kotov, 48, was found dead around 4 a.m. on Sunday at the Vodnik pretrial detention center, where he was awaiting trial on charges of supporting an international LGBT extremist terrorist movement. Leisan Mannapova, Kotov’s lawyer, confirmed her client died by suicide. His body was discovered in his cell covered in blood, and “cuts were found” on his body, an internal source told RIA Novosti.
Kotov ran Men Travel, a travel agency reportedly catering to gay men. He had recently concluded a cruise along the Volga River and was planning a trip to Egypt to ring in the New Year at the time of his arrest.
Security forces arrested Kotov on Nov. 28 but it was not made public until two days later. Video of the arrest posted to multiple Telegram channels shows the muscled Kotov shirtless with his hands cuffed behind his back. Kotov testified at a court hearing earlier this month that he was beaten and threatened with a stun gun if he did not confess his alleged crimes during the arrest.
“About 15 people came to me at night, they beat me, hit me in the face, on the legs, left bruises,” Kotov said at a detention hearing on Dec. 2, Zona Mediareported at the time. “I did not offer any resistance. I was extremely surprised by this procedure.”
He told the court he was beaten by two masked men who demanded he confess to LGBT extremism. Kostov said one man punched him in the face while the second man threatened him with a stun gun. When he insisted the tours were not LGBT-centric, Kostov said he was escorted to the kitchen where he was told to say hello to the man’s “brothers in the regiment.”
Kotov also claimed a television reporter and camera person were on hand to ask questions on video without his permission.
At court, Kotov continued to deny the tours were aimed at gay men. He instead claimed the Volga River cruise was mainly about fishing and sightseeing.
“Our only appeal was that there are interesting museums, interesting hotels,” Kotov testified. “All this information was only of a tourist nature.”
Judge Kristina Kostryukova denied release for Kotov over his lawyer’s objections, who noted he was a vegetarian with a high caloric intake.
The arrest and death of Kotov comes as part of a larger crackdown on the LGBTQ+ community by the Russian government under President Vladimir Putin.
Last month, Putin signed two new laws outlawing the promotion of non-traditional families and the adoption of Russian children by foreign nationals from countries that recognize a person’s right to gender-affirming care.
The adoption law effectively prohibits citizens of Australia, Austria, Argentina, Belgium, Britain, Canada, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Iceland, Italy, Norway, Spain, Switzerland, and other countries from adopting children from Russia or taking guardianship over them. Citizens of the U.S. were banned from adopting Russian children in 2012.
The second law bans what it terms “childfree propaganda” that promotes non-traditional families as a positive environment for children. Media companies and social media sites will be required to monitor content to ensure compliance with the law. An exemption would be made for positive portrayals of a monastic life that included celibacy.
In December of 2022, Putin signed a law strengthening a ban on LGBTQ “propaganda” in Russia and making it illegal to promote same-sex sexual relations or suggest non-heterosexual attractions are “normal.” Individuals can be fined up to 400,000 rubles ($6,370) for “LGBT propaganda” and up to 200,000 rubles ($3,185) for “demonstrations of LGBT and information that encourages a change of gender among teenagers.” The fines increase to 5 million rubles ($80,000) and 4 million rubles ($64,000) respectively for legal entities.
“The help of such specialists is necessary if a person wants to recover from frigidity, impotence, or such violations of sexual behavior as fetishism, masochism, and sadism,” the Duma reported in its official newspaper at the time.
An employee of the Central Station gay bar said police raided Club Secret, Mono Bar, and Hunters Party in Moscow, the local group SOTA reported on its Telegram channel. A fourth establishment, an unidentified gay sauna, was also raided, according to Novaya Gazeta. Video posted to social media shows a strong police presence outside one of the venues.
If you or someone you know needs mental health resources and support, please call, text, or chat with the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline or visit988lifeline.org for 24/7 access to free and confidential services. Trans Lifeline, designed for transgender or gender-nonconforming people, can be reached at (877) 565-8860. The lifeline also provides resources to help with other crises, such as domestic violence situations. The Trevor Project Lifeline, for LGBTQ+ youth (ages 24 and younger), can be reached at (866) 488-7386. Users can also access chat services at TheTrevorProject.org/Help or text START to 678678.
Ohio’s Secretary of State Frank LaRose has changed the state’s candidate declaration forms to help prevent a repeat of earlier this year when a trans candidate was disqualified after failing to list her deadname.
While Joy was upset about the forced outing of her deadname, she was more upset that she was not informed of the requirement at the time she submitted her petitions.
“Something that is that important should have been on the instructions,” Joy told the local ABC affiliate WEWS in January. “It should have been on the petition.”
“The new form does that, and it’s now available on our website for potential candidates to use if they decide to file a candidacy in 2025,” Dan Lusheck, a LaRose spokesperson, told Cleveland.com.
LaRose’s office has enlarged the space provided for a candidate’s name along with the instruction to “include all prior names used in the past 5 years” except those resulting from marriage.
Republicans were also impacted by the prior name requirement and sought to pass legislation before the holiday recess. Candidates would still be required to list any name changes within the last five years under the proposed legislation. However, the bill mandates “a space provided for the purpose” on the official declaration of candidacy form, much as LaRose has already accomplished.
The bill ultimately failed to pass before the holiday break.
Joy said in an interview that while she was encouraged others would not be unfairly disqualified by the prior name requirement, she was moving out of state with no plans of running for office.
“I’m not going to have to worry about it anymore,” Joy said.
