News

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LGBT Activists Attacked with ‘Acid Substance’ in Russia

Conference founders Anna and Yulia had been raising money for this year’s event via crowdfunding. (Supplied) LGBT+ activists in Russia involved in organising a conference about same-sex families were attacked for the second year in a row. The fifth annual LGBTQIAPP+ Family Conference was due to take place on November 9-11, despite funding issues that forced organisers to raise money via crowdfunding to guarantee safety at the venue. Conference organisers managed to secure a location for the event for free, but on the afternoon of November 9 the venue managers informed the organisers the conference had to be cancelled because […]

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Far-right Militants Attack Trans Rights Rally in Ukraine

Doctors provide medical care to participants of a transgender rights march after an attack by far-right groups activists in Kiev on November 18, 2018. (Sergei Supinski /AFP/Getty) Far-right militants attacked a rally in support of trans rights held in Ukraine on Sunday (November 18). Led by the non-governmental organisation Insight, trans rights campaigners gathered in Ukraine capital’s Kiyv to demand an end to transphobia ahead of Transgender Day of Remembrance, observed on November 20. According to American journalist Christopher Miller, who reported about the rally on Twitter, a group of religious and far-right militants confronted the LGBT+ activists early in […]

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Students Allowed to Enroll as Non-binary in DC Public Schools

With a new policy rolling out, public schools in Washington, DC, are slated to become some of the first in the United States to allow students to enroll as non-binary. According to a report from the Washington Post, starting next school year, families can select non-binary for students on forms, rather than simply male or female. The DC public school system confirmed the news with a tweet. Interim chancellor Amanda Alexander of the school system said in a statement: ‘We value the whole child at [D.C. Public Schools], and have worked diligently to ensure our schools are safe and inclusive […]

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San Marino Passes Civil Union Law for Same-sex Couples

The Republic of San Marino just passed civil union laws for same-sex couples. Nestled within Italy, San Marino is the world’s smallest republic and has a population of just over 33,000 people. The Grand and General Council governs the people of San Marino and yesterday (15 November) it began to discuss the proposed Regulation of Civil Unions. It was the second reading, after the Commission for Constitutional and Institutional Affairs approved the draft on 27 September. Milan pride 2011. | Photo: Federico Moroni / Flickr There are 14 articles in the law, but most notably one that states: ‘A civil union is […]

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Court Strikes Down Guyana Law Banning Trans People Dressing According to Their Gender

The Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) ruled against a law in Guyana banning men and women from going into public places ‘dressed in clothing of the opposite sex for an “improper purpose”‘. In their ruling, the CCJ deemed the law unconstitutional. The law, part of the Section 153(1)(xlvii) of the Summary Jurisdiction (Offences) Act, was enacted in 1893. Guyana, a country located in the north of South America, developed the law as part of their post-emancipation vagrancy laws. In February 2009, authorities arrested four transgender individuals: Quincy McEwan, Seon Clarke, Joseph Fraser, and Seyon Persaud. Per the report from the CCJ, […]

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‘NO GAYS ALLOWED’ Billboard Goes Up in Times Square

Cars drive through Times Square. The logo of the ‘No Gays Allowed’ ad campaign(Mario Tama/Getty) A billboard bearing the message “NO GAYS ALLOWED” has been installed in New York City’s iconic Times Square. NBC reports that the billboard, which reads “NO GAYS ALLOWED” on a blank white background, was installed on Tuesday and is set to remain in place until February. Despite the outwardly homophobic message, the Times Square billboard is not what it initially seems. The Times Square ad unit was actually placed as a protest against legal firm Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), a shadowy ultra-conservative body that has brought several […]

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Influential President of Human Rights Campaign Stepping Down

Chad Griffin, the influential LGBTQ activist who helped turn the Human Rights Campaign into a powerful political force, announced Thursday that he is stepping down as the organization’s president. Griffin’s announcement follows a midterm election in which the group invested heavily in Democratic campaigns. The capstone for the organization came this week, when Rep. Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz., won a close Senate race, becoming the first openly bisexual person elected to the Senate. Griffin has spent seven years at the helm of HRC, steering the organization through the landmark Supreme Court ruling in favor of gay marriage nationwide and the repeal […]

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LGBTI Migrants Forced to Leave Caravan Because of Discrimination

Central American migrants, many of whom identified as LGBTI, reach Tijuana (Photo: YouTube) A group of LGBTI migrants has left the caravan of Central Americans heading to the US border hoping for asylum. They allege discrimination from the main group, according to US media. At least 70 members of the caravan had arrived at the Mexican border town of Tijuana on Tuesday (12 November), Newsweek reported. They are the first of a group of thousands of migrants making its way from South and Central America to seek asylum in the US. Importantly, many of this initial group identified as LGBTI. […]

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Pro-Equality Candidates Score Key Victories Across California in 2018 Election, While Many Races Remain Too Close to Call

 In an historic night for openly LGBTQ and pro-equality candidates across the country, Californians elected longtime LGBTQ ally Gavin Newsom to be the Golden State’s next governor and Equality California-endorsed candidate Eleni Kounalakis as the state’s next lieutenant governor, while re-electing U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein. Additionally, openly gay California Senator Ricardo Lara currently leads Republican-turned-independent Steve Poizner in the race for Insurance Commissioner by more than 105,000 votes, as of Wednesday morning. If elected, Lara will make history as the state’s first openly LGBTQ statewide official. “With millions of ballots left to be counted across the state, it is already […]

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Kyrsten Sinema is the First Bisexual US Senator

Kyrsten Sinema has won a landmark victory to represent Arizona in the US Senate, becoming the first ever openly bisexual senator. The Democratic congresswoman, who has already served three terms in the US House of Representatives as the only openly bisexual member of Congress, narrowly defeated Republican candidate Martha McSally to replace Jeff Flake, a Republican senator who retired ahead of the midterm elections. With her nail-biting victory, the margin of which currently stands at just 38,000 votes, she became the country’s second out LGBT+ senator alongside Wisconsin’s Tammy Baldwin, who was re-elected last week in a double-digit landslide. Sinema […]

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