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WORLD Australian law, soccer players, Grindr suit, South Korean situation
In Australia, Queensland has updated its Anti-Discrimination Act to explicitly protect non-binary and gender-diverse people for the first time, PinkNews reported. The changes came into effect on April 29, and they impose tougher penalties for hate ...
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Iraq's parliament passes harsh anti-LGBTQ+ law
Iraq's parliament has passed a law criminalizing same-sex relations with up to 15 years in prison, media outlets reported. The law aims to "protect Iraqi society from moral depravity and the calls for homosexuality that have ...
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Scotland, Wales stop issuing puberty blockers after Cass Review
Following the release of England's Cass Review, Scotland's NHS (National Health Service) has paused prescribing puberty blockers to children referred by its specialist gender clinic, the BBC reported. Also, Glasgow's ...
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WORLD Queer-friendly spots, religion items, Argentine protests, Iraqi bill
Following a travel warning issued for LGBTQ+ tourists in Greece, euronews published a list of the European spots that are most welcoming to queer people. Even though same-sex marriage was recently legalized in Greece, the British ...
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State Department human-rights report details worldwide LGBTQ+ abuses and advancements
On April 22, the U.S. State Department released its 2023 global human-rights report. According to the department's website, "The annual Country Reports on Human Rights Practices cover internationally recognized individual ...
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WORLD Nigeria arrest, Chilean murderer, trans ban, Olivier Awards, marriage items
Nigeria's Economic and Financial Crimes Commission's (EFCC's) decision to arrest well-known transgender woman Idris Okuneye (also known as Bobrisky) over the practice of flaunting money has sparked questions among several ...
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'United, Not Uniform': Lesbian Visibility Week starts April 22 nationwide
--From a press release
San Francisco — Lesbian Visibility Week (#LVW24) kicks off on Monday, April 22 with a private event at the London Stock Exchange USA headquarters in New York City. This exclusive gathering marks the beginning of a ...
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WORLD Ugandan law, Japan, Cass report, Tegan and Sara, Varadkar done
Ugandan LGBTQ+-rights activists asked the international community to mount more pressure on Uganda's government to repeal an anti-gay law that the country's Constitutional Court refused to nullify, PBS reported. Activist ...
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Lesbian prime minister steps down
Ana Brnabic—the first woman and the first lesbian to hold the office of prime minister of Serbia, or to be a leader of any Eastern European country—has stepped down after seven years in power, in a ...
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Vatican reiterates opposition to gender change, theory
On April 8, the Vatican reaffirmed its opposition to gender changes, gender theory and surrogate parenthood, as well as abortion and euthanasia, Reuters reported. This newest documentthe 20-page Dignitas infinita ...
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WORLD Lesbian sniper, HIV research, marriage items, Chinese singer, Korean festival
A lesbian Ukrainian sniper and her machine-gun-toting girlfriend are taking the fight to Russia President Vladimir Putin, according to a Daily Beast article. Olga—a veterinarian-turned-soldier—said her comrades don't care about ...
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Ugandan court mostly upholds harsh anti-LGBTQ+ law
On April 3, Uganda's constitutional court refused to annul or suspend an anti-LGBTQ+ law that includes the death penalty for certain same-sex acts, Reuters reported. However, the judicial body voided some provisions that it said were ...
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WORLD Israel court, conversion therapy, death sentences, Georgia bill, fashion items
Israel's Supreme Court unanimously ruled that the Population Authority must register female couples as mothers on the birth certificates of their children they have together, The Washington Blade reported. The decision was made following a petition ...
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Thailand parliament passes landmark marriage bill
On March 27, Thailand's parliament approved a marriage-equality bill by an overwhelmingly large margina landmark step that moves one of Asia's most liberal countries closer to legalizing same-sex unions, media ...
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WORLD Uganda items, HIV report, Mandela, Liechtenstein, foreign minister weds
It turned out that U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Senior LGBTQI+ Coordinator Jay Gilliam traveled to Uganda on Feb. 19-27, per The Washington Blade. He visited the capital of Kampala and the nearby city of ...
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2024 OLYMPICS U.S. women's soccer team's opponents set
The United States women's national soccer team will face Australia, Germany, and either Morocco or Zambia in Group B at the 2024 Paris Olympics, ESPN reported. The tournament will mark the Americans' first competitive games with ...
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Gay Irish prime minister to step down
In a surprise move, openly gay Irish Prime Minister (or Taoiseach) Leo Varadkar has announced his resignation, citing "personal and political, but mainly political reasons," according to CNN. Varadkar said he felt he was no longer ...
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WORLD Leaked messages, Panama action, author dies at 32, Japan court, out athletes
Hundreds of messages from an internal chat board for an international group of transgender health professionals were leaked in a report and framed as revealing serious health risks associated with gender-affirming care, including cancer, according to ...
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UK health service to stop routinely prescribing puberty blockers to minors
NHS (National Health Service) England confirmed that children will no longer routinely be prescribed puberty blockers at gender-identity clinics, the BBC reported. The decision came after a review found there was "not enough evidence" that they ...
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LGBTQ+ people attacked by mobs in Greece
Just weeks after a landmark law granted same-sex couples in Greece the right to marry, nearly 200 people dressed in black chased a transgender couple through the town square in Thessaloniki, the country's "second city" and ...
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WORLD Israeli reservist, man detained, Ghana bill, medic denied honor
Hanania Ben-Shimonthe gay Israel Defense Forces reservist who was wounded as he killed one of the terrorists in the attack at the A-Za'ayem checkpoint near Ma'ale Adumim recentlypublished a post in which he pleaded that his ...
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WORLD Canadian politics, Australian murders, Finnish study, 'Anatomy'
Canadian conservatives are divided over an anti-trans policy that Alberta Premier Danielle Smith handed down in her province, The Guardian reported. The policy includes a ban on hormonal treatment, puberty ...
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Ghana parliament passes harsh anti-LGBTQ+ bill
On Feb. 28, Ghana's parliament unanimously passed a controversial anti-LGBTQ+ bill that has been condemned globally. The so-called Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Act, which was introduced in the parliament in 2021, not only criminalizes ...
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WORLD Caribbean ruling, Pussy Riot, Russian raid, Canadian warning, anti-trans bar
The top court in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines dismissed a challenge to colonial-era anti-gay laws, Reuters reported. Javin Johnson and Sean Macleish—two gay men who had pushed to decriminalize ...
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WORLD South Africa murder, lesbian couple, Brianna Ghey, Eurovision
In South Africa, LGBTQ+-rights groups condemned the brutal murder of Diego Jacobs, a queer man in Cape Town, The Washington Blade reported. Reports indicate Jacobs, 21, was brutally murdered (reportedly by a former neighbor) on Feb. ...
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Greek legislature approves marriage equality
Greece has become the 36th country, and the first Christian Orthodox-majority one, to legalize same-sex marriage. The BBC reported that same-sex couples will now also be legally allowed to adopt children after the 176-76 vote that ...
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WORLD Taiwan MP, lesbian couple, India items, Ghana assault, Nepal
Huang Jie said her election to Taiwan's parliament as the island's first openly gay MP represents progress, according to the Hong Kong Free Press. "I hope (my election) will bring courage to many people as I've ...
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Yemeni court sentences 13 men to death for being LGBTQ+
In the Arabian Peninsula country of Yemen, a court has reportedly sentenced 13 people to death who had been charged with homosexuality, The Washington Blade noted. Agence France-Presse reported that the court in Ibb Governorate, which ...
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WORLD Marriage in Greece, UK politics, cruise death, HRC grants
The Holy Synod of the Church of Greece unanimously agreed at a recent meeting that it is "strongly opposed" to the Greek government's promised bill on same-sex marriage and adoption, Balkan Insight reported. The conservative New ...
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WORLD Arrest in Brazil, athlete dies, Ghana attack, World Economic Forum
A 30-year-old man was arrested in Brazil on Jan. 18 for his alleged role in the stabbing murder of prominent NYC art dealer Brent Sikkema, Gay City News reported. Authorities took Cuban resident Alejandro Triana Trevez ...
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WORLD World leaders, Namibia attack, Taiwan electoral win, Irish LGBTQ+ groups
In the wake of Gabriel Attal being named France's newest prime minister, PinkNews published a list of every out LGBTQ+ world leader to date. They include ex-San Marino head of state Paolo Rondelli, former Iceland Prime ...
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WORLD Conversion therapy, trans Haitian advocate, intersex report, activist attacked
Norway is the latest country to outlaw conversion therapy after its parliament passed a bill that criminalizes the practice, Mamba noted. The bill, under development since 2019, received approval in the Storting (the Norwegian parliament) last ...
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France's new prime minister identifies as gay
Gabriel Attal, France's next prime minister, identifies as gayand is the first LGBTQ+ person to hold this office. At 34, Attalwho succeeds Elisabeth Borne, who resigned after 20 months in officeis also the youngest prime minister ...
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WORLD Activist honored, marriages in Estonia, Madrid law, trans sports item
Video below
The National AIDS Commission (NAC) recently honored Caleb Orozco—a leading figure in the fight for LGBTQ+ rights in Belize—for his instrumental contributions to the national HIV response, BNN reported. According ...
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VIEWS Is the Pope Catholic? Francis faces opposition in steps toward LGBTQ+ inclusivity
The recent change in Vatican policy allowing priests to bless same-gender couples has provoked an unprecedented backlash against Pope Francis and his openness to LGBTQ+ people—a backlash that some fear might devolve into a schism in ...
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Women's pro-hockey league starts play in Toronto
It's a new year—and a new league. On New Year's Day, the first Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL) started play, media outlets noted. New York scored a 4-0 win over host Toronto in front of a ...
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Israeli court rules that same-sex couples can adopt children
In a decision hailed as groundbreaking, Israel's High Court unanimously ruled on Dec. 28 that same-sex couples may adopt children under the terms of a 1981 adoption law, The Times of Israel reported. Employing a different ...
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WORLD Brianna Ghey, archbishops, HIV, George Michael, Albanian women
A boy and a girl, each 16, were found guilty of murdering a transgender teenager in northwest England earlier this year in a knife attack, per a Yahoo! News item that cited the AP. Brianna Ghey, ...
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Catholic Church allows priests to bless same-sex couples but reaffirms disapproval of gay marriage
LGBTQ+ couples can now receive blessings from priests, but the Catholic Church maintained its strict ban on gay marriage, according to a Vatican document approved by Pope Francis Dec. 18. This historic change in doctrine marks ...
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Greek government vows to back marriage equality
Despite opposition from the Church of Greece and within the ruling New Democracy, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis' government said it will eventually move to legalize same-sex marriage, The National Herald reported. However, no timetable was ...
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WORLD Toronto businesses, French law, Thai bills, fight in Jamaica, Jonathan Bailey
Some Toronto LGBTQ+ business owners say they are worried that they're being shut out of a provincial grant program because their businesses sometimes include sexual products or services, which are banned in the program's eligibility rules, ...
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WORLD Morocco, court rulings, asylum items, Troye Sivan
Moroccan advocacy groups have criticized continued attacks and unequal treatment against the country's LGBTQ+ community, The Washington Blade reported. On Nov. 15, a minor was sentenced to six months in prison for being gay and fined ...
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WORLD Laws and HIV/AIDS, Russia's crackdown, LGB Alliance, Olympians
A senior UN official said that anti-LGBTQ+ laws stop people from accessing life-saving health services and seriously impede progress on eliminating HIV/AIDS, The Guardian reported. Sixty-seven countries have laws that ...
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WORLD Queer teen dies, trans activist honored, HIV drugs, mpox, British lesbian
In India, queer makeup artist Pranshu reportedly died by suicide—at age 16—after being subjected to relentless attacks online, PinkNews noted. On social media, LGBTQIA+-rights advocacy collective Yes, We Exist claimed ...
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Russia court classifies LGBTQ+ activists as 'extremists'
On Nov. 30, Russia's Supreme Court ruled that LGBTQ+-rights activists should be classified as extremistsa move that representatives of queer people fear will lead to arrests and prosecutions, Reuters reported. The court approved a request from ...
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LGBTQ+ couple the first in South Asia to have marriage recognized
Transgender woman Maya Gurung and Surendra Pandey became the first LGBTQ+ couple to have their marriage legally recognized in South Asia after they received a legal certificate in Nepal's Lamjung district on Nov. 29, The Guardian ...
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Ghana cardinal: It's time to understand homosexuality
Ghana Cardinal Peter Kodwo Appiah Turkson told the BBC that being gay should not be considered illegal and that people should be helped to understand the issue of homosexuality better. Turkson's comments come as his country's ...
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Trans women banned from playing cricket
Transgender women have been barred from playing in international women's matches under a new policy from the International Cricket Council (ICC), the BBC reported. Any player who has gone through male puberty will not be eligible ...
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WORLD Thai marriage law, French bill, Miss Universe, IKEA, activist dies
Thailand Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin said that the cabinet approved a draft law on marriage equality and that it would be brought to parliament during a session starting in December, Reuters reported. If the draft law ...
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Scotland announces five-year plan to help nonbinary people
Scotland's government has announced a five-year action plan to improve the lives of non-binary people, Yahoo! News reported. Among other things, the first-of-its-kind plan in the UK (and, quite possibly, in the world) includes actions to ...
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PASSAGES: Mexico's first out nonbinary magistrate Jesus Ociel Baena Saucedo
On Nov. 13, Mexico's first out nonbinary magistrate and LGBTQ+ activist Jesus Ociel Baena Saucedo was found dead in their state of Aguascalientes home alongside their partner Dorian Herrera. They were 38. According to state prosecutor ...
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WORLD Latvia, nonbinary magistrate, Gay Games end, Israel soldiers
Latvia's parliament voted to allow same-sex couples to establish civil unions, Reuters reported. Said couples now have legal recognitionbut fewer rights than married couples. The new legislation, slated to take effect in the middle of next ...
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UN committee criticizes United States' LGBTQ+ record
Reviewing the United States' record on civil and political rights, the United Nations Human Rights Committee (HRC) condemned the country's record on LGBTQ+ rights, according to Human Rights Watch. In 1992, the United States ratified the ...
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WORLD Macron, Senegal incident, drag queen, King's Speech, lesbian artist
French President Emmanuel Macron voiced his support for a bill banning gender-inclusive language on official state documents, according to PinkNews. During the inauguration of the space known as the Cite ...
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Pope: Trans people can be baptized and act as godparents
Pope Francis has stated that trans people may be baptized and act as godparents or witnesses to marriage under the same conditions as any other adult—as long as a scandal does not result, according to PinkNews. ...
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Gay Games dealing with backlash, low turnout
Gay Games 11 Hong Kong 2023 (which is also taking place in Guadalajara, Mexico) is taking place, but is contending with some obstacles, including political backlash and low registration numbers, media outlets have reported. According to ...
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Queer athlete named women's rugby player of the year
World Rugby announced that British captain Marlie Packer has been named this year's World Rugby Women's 15s Player of the Year in partnership with Mastercard, according to a media release. Packer received the award in front ...
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WORLD Austria proposal, conferences, Pride marches, tennis player, Gay Games
In Austria, a historic proposal by the country's Ministry of Justice sees 33 million euros (approximately $35 million U.S.) set aside to compensate those who were persecuted or convicted of consensual same-sex actsalthough critics say th ...
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Jamaica court upholds sodomy law; activist ends fight in that country
On Oct. 27, the Jamaica Supreme Court upheld the country's anti-sodomy law, claiming that only Parliament could repeal the statuteand the ruling has resulted in a longtime advocate/attorney ending his fight for LGBTQ+ rights in the ...
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South Korean court upholds military 'sodomy law'
For the fourth time, South Korea's constitutional court has upheld two anti-LGBTQ+ lawsincluding the country's notorious military "sodomy law," The Guardian reported. By a vote of five to four, the court confirmed the constitutionality of ar ...
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WORLD Spirit Day, pope's meeting, conversion therapy, 'Elite' actor, tourism
Spirit Dayan annual observance celebrated every third Thursday of October that is dedicated to taking a stand against bullying and showing support for the LGBTQ+ youthwas marked globally, GLAAD noted. ...
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Several dozen people arrested over 'gay wedding' in Nigeria
Nigerian security personnel arrested more than 70 young people after accusing them of organizing a same-sex wedding, The South China Morning Post reported. Same-sex marriage is illegal in Nigeria under a 2014 law. Gombe, where the ...
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Japanese court rules against surgery requirement to change gender
On Oct. 24, Japan's Supreme Court ruled that a law requiring transgender people to have their reproductive organs removed in order to officially change their gender is unconstitutional, according to a TIME article. The decision by ...
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WORLD Trans Pakistanis, new UN expert, Rod Stewart, 'gay tax,' IGLTA
Pakistani authorities have resumed the registration of trans people and issuing identity cards to them after the Supreme Court's Sharia Appellate Bench ruled on the issue last month, The Washington Blade reported. In June, an Islamic ...
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India's supreme court declines to recognize marriage equality
India's top court, led by Chief Justice Dhananjaya Y. Chandrachud, declined to grant legal recognition to same-sex marriages, saying it is beyond its scope and should be decided by parliament, The Guardian reported. However, the court ...
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WORLD Mauritius ruling, Justin Trudeau, couple attacked, Dame Shirley Bassey
In a historic ruling, the Supreme Court of Mauritius decriminalized same-sex sexual relations when it declared the African country's British colonial-era anti-sodomy laws relations to be unconstitutional, The Advocate reported. ...
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WORLD Canadian news, mpox in China, Greek politician, Scottish study
In Canada, LGBTQ+ groups in northwestern Ontario are calling for an urgent meeting with Conservative MP Eric Melillo over what they're calling transphobic policy resolutions passed by the Conservative Party of Canada (CPC), CBC reported. Rainb ...
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COMMENTARY Pope Francis permits blessings of same-gender couples on a case-by-case basis
Pope Francis affirms the spiritual value of blessings of same gender couples in Church sanctioned ceremonies on a case-by-case basis when judged pastorally appropriate. In a letter, released by the Vatican on Oct. 2, Francis states ...
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WORLD African efforts, HIV in Amsterdam, Donatella Versace, 'The Queen in Me'
A new attempt to prevent the recognition of and equal rights for LGBTQ+ people in Kenya through a constitutional amendment has been introduced in Parliament, The Washington Blade reported. The move was in response to this ...
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New report: Attacks on LGBTI rights strongly associated with democratic backsliding globally
--From a press release
A new report from the Williams Institute at UCLA School of Law finds that countries that are highly accepting of LGBTI people tend to have high levels of liberal democracy, such as free and fair elections ...
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Arrests, fights punctuate battles across Canada over gender diversity in schools
Arrests were reported in the Canadian cities of Ottawa, Halifax, Vancouver and Victoria, among others, on Sept. 20 as opposing groups clashed on how schools address issues of gender identity and how teachers refer to transgender ...
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WORLD French fund, mausoleum, Abrazo Grupal, Biden, Billie Jean King
French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna announced a fund to help promote the rights of LGBTQ+ people, French24 reported. She made the announcement at the 15th anniversary of an LGBTQ+ group at the United Nations at the ...
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WORLD Quebec lesbians, violence study, Rugby World Cup, Ugandan bill
The hidden history of Quebec lesbians is being explored, the CBC reported. Between 1985 and 1996, a group of lesbians leased the Plateau-Mont-Royal school and ran it as a community center. The school was also home ...
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Prime minister of Andorra comes out as gay
Xavier Espot Zamora, the head of the government of the tiny European country of Andorra, has come out as gay—although he added that he never hid his sexual orientation, according to a translated article from The ...
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'Merchant of Death' talks about exchange with Brittney Griner
Russian Viktor Boutthe so-called "merchant of death" involved in a prisoner exchange for out WNBA star Brittney Griner late last yeartold ESPN that, among other things, he followed Griner's case closely from federal prison in Illinois. ...
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