Major victory for LGBT rights campaigners after judges rule laws are unconstitutional
High court judges in Botswana have ruled that laws criminalising same-sex relations are unconstitutional and should be struck down, in a major victory for gay rights campaigners in Africa.
Jubilant activists in the packed courtroom cheered the unanimous decision, which came a month after a setback in Kenya when a court rejected an attempt to repeal similar colonial-era laws.
Continue reading...Country’s first athlete to reveal she is in a same-sex relationship on freedom, happiness and the backlash to coming out
Dutee Chand, India’s fastest sprinter and the nation’s first athlete to reveal she is in a same-sex relationship, doesn’t describe herself as gay. When the word is used during an interview with the Guardian, she breaks in. “I didn’t tell reporters I was that ... I simply said I am in a relationship with a woman,” she says.
Chand comes from a village in India where homosexuality is never talked about. Unlike urban India where there is growing acceptance among the young of notions of personal freedom, rural India remains largely entrenched in tradition, and tradition says marriage is between a man and a woman.
Continue reading...Rallies and protests organized by Mark Sahady have often been small, with attendees vastly outnumbered by opposing groups
Far-right figures associated with a “straight pride” parade in Boston have celebrated the story going “viral” in news media, but with no fixed date and no city permit granted the likely size of the event and chances of it going ahead remain unclear.
Related: 'Straight pride' group removes Brad Pitt as mascot after backlash
Continue reading...Lesbian couple assaulted by group of young males blame rise of rightwing populism for growth in hate crime
The two women left needing hospital treatment after they were attacked on a bus in a homophobic assault have blamed a rise in rightwing populism for growing hate crime and called on people to stand up for each other.
Melania Geymonat, 28, and her girlfriend, Chris, 29, defiantly announced they would not be intimidated into hiding their sexuality, days after they said they were attacked by several young men when they refused to kiss upon demand.
Continue reading...After making my home in England for 10 years, I have received a notice to leave everything I love behind
On Monday, I opened the letter I never wanted to receive. After 10 years living in the UK I was told that I am no longer welcome and should make arrangements to leave the country “without delay” or risk being deported in the middle of the night. As a gay man, whose country of birth, Kenya, persecutes homosexuals, I felt my whole world collapse around me as I read the matter-of-fact words on the Home Office headed paper.
Related: Gay rugby player faces deportation to Kenya as asylum claim rejected
Continue reading...A men’s group in the US called Super Happy Fun America have asked the city of Boston if it can hold one – and adopted Brad Pitt as a mascot.
Name: Straight Pride.
Age: At present, still slouching toward Bethlehem to be born.
Continue reading...Country’s fastest sprinter praised for courage, but family and locals say they cannot accept a gay relationship
Supporters of India’s first openly gay athlete fear for her safety after her decision to come out prompted a backlash in her home village.
Local reaction was hostile in Chaka Gopalpur, a village of weavers in Odisha, after Dutee Chand, the country’s fastest sprinter, told reporters on 19 May that her gay partner was her soulmate.
Continue reading...Gianmarco Negri was elected in small town of Tromello, beating far-right League candidate
Italy’s first transgender mayor has said the “arrogant and oppressive” politics of the far right would sooner or later be overcome by a “kindness revolution”.
Gianmarco Negri, a 40-year-old lawyer, was elected mayor of Tromello, a small town south of Milan, last week. Capturing 37.5% of the vote, his leftwing platform scored him a clear victory over the candidate for the far-right League, who came second with 26%.
Continue reading...As the city prepares to host EuroPride, Lars van Roosendaal paints the places at the heart of its storied queer scene
Gay pick-up behaviour has changed a lot in recent decades. The increasing social recognition of LGBT people and the arrival of new internet dating platforms mean you do not have to go to hidden places, often known only to initiates, to find a potential partner. This has led to changes in how queer spaces manifest themselves, and nowhere more so than in Vienna, with its rich LGBT history.
Continue reading...Death sentences in 1800s were hardly ever carried out, despite claim in author’s book Outrages
It was only published this week, but already the writer Naomi Wolf has admitted an error at the heart of her latest book. Instead of being “actually executed for sodomy” in 1859, as the writer claims in Outrages, Thomas Silver was apparently “paroled two years after being convicted”.
Silver, who was 14 when he was convicted, is just one of several cases cited in the book but, according to the writer and broadcaster Matthew Sweet, the error stems from a simple misreading of a historical record and raises wider questions about the argument Wolf puts forward.
Continue reading...Judges in Nairobi say they had not seen enough evidence of discrimination to change law
LGBT campaigners have reacted with anger and dismay after judges at Kenya’s high court rejected a bid to repeal colonial-era laws criminalising gay sex.
The ruling has dealt a major setback to campaigners, who hoped that scrapping the laws would inspire other countries in Africa – where discrimination is widespread – to do the same.
Continue reading...Wild parties, stunning performances, silhouette erections and marrying Patrick Stewart twice. As the actor turns 80, friends including Derek Jacobi, Janet Suzman, Michael Sheen, Bill Condon and Stephen Fry pay tribute
Ian has been been very important in my life, even before we became good friends. When I was a young teen I remember watching Walter on the TV and being hugely affected by it. Then at Rada in the early 90s, I finally saw him live, in Richard III at the National. I was blown away. I remember him doing the opening speech while lighting a cigarette one-handed. It was brilliant, so understated. It exemplified his mastery – and his work ethic. To do something so difficult and complicated and make it look so easy. Ian has an innate sense of theatrical audacity, something I think he shares with Olivier. They both did things that would make the audience gasp self-consciously.
Continue reading...Thousands of LGBT rights supporters gather across Taiwan to celebrate the passage of legislation giving gay couples the right to marry. Taiwan is the first of any Asian state to legalise same-sex marriage, a move that will allow gay couples to enter into 'exclusive permanent unions' and apply for marriage registration with government agencies
• Taiwan becomes first in Asia to legalise same-sex marriage
Continue reading...Study shows ‘hidden epidemic’ with BME women and those with disabilities most affected
Nearly seven in 10 lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans (LGBT) people have been sexually harassed at work, according to research for the Trades Union Congress revealing a “hidden epidemic”.
The survey, published on the International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia on Friday, found that more than two in five LGBT people (42%) said they had experienced colleagues making unwelcome comments or asking unwelcome questions about their sex life. More than a quarter (27%) reported receiving unwelcome verbal sexual advances.
Continue reading...Director gets death threats as 93,000 sign petition to have ‘LGBT film’ Memories of My Body banned lest young ‘imitate behaviour’
The release of an award-winning Indonesian film about a male dancer exploring his sexuality has led to a backlash from religious groups in the south-east Asian country.
The release of Garin Nugroho’s Memories of My Body comes at a time of increased antagonism towards the country’s lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community.
Continue reading...Supporters uneasy ahead of parliamentary debate on marriage equality bills
Two years ago, Taiwan’s constitutional court made a historic ruling, declaring the country’s civil code, which posited that marriage can only be between a man and a woman, unconstitutional.
The court gave Taiwan’s legislature two years to pass a law that would give legal recognition to same-sex marriages, or else they would automatically become legal. On Friday, one week before the court-mandated deadline, lawmakers will vote on three draft bills, one put forward by the cabinet, two submitted by anti-LGBT groups.
Continue reading...Gay pride parade in Cuba’s capital goes ahead despite official march being banned
The annual gay pride parade in Cuba’s capital is usually an upbeat, vivacious conga. Since it was launched in 2007, it has provided a moment for gay and transgender people to celebrate their sexuality, identity and assert their right to exist in public space. But it was altogether different this year. About a hundred activists bedecked in rainbow colours marched just four blocks from the heart of Havana’s colonial district towards the Malecón seawall on Saturday before they were corralled and dispersed by police and plain-clothed state security officers.
Still, for Daniel Triana, 21, a gay drama student who had come to the march with family and friends, the march was “a beautiful moment”. “We managed to organise this march ourselves. That’s a massive advance because all the gay rights marches we’ve had up until in Cuba now have been organised by institutions.”
Continue reading...Stigma and ignorance drive young people to undertake high-risk treatment without telling families, Amnesty researchers say
Young transgender people in China are risking their lives and health by taking unsafe hormones and attempting surgery on themselves, according to researchers at Amnesty International.
An “alarming” lack of knowledge and expertise within the country’s public health system, as well as restrictive eligibility requirements, has made it almost impossible for trans people to access safe hormone therapy or other gender-affirming treatment, said the human rights group in a report published on Friday.
Continue reading...Sultan extends moratorium to death by stoning law in rare response to global criticism
Brunei’s Sultan, Hassanal Bolkiah, has extended a moratorium on the death penalty to incoming legislation on punishments for gay sex, after a global backlash led by celebrities such as George Clooney and Elton John.
The country provoked an outcry when it rolled out its interpretation of Islamic laws, or sharia, on 3 April, punishing sodomy, adultery and rape with death, including by stoning.
Continue reading...O’Rourke condemned protesters at Buttigieg’s Dallas event while the mayor has been shutting down hecklers on the campaign trail
Pete Buttigieg has faced homophobic heckling during one of his latest 2020 presidential campaign events.
“Marriage is between a man and a woman!” one protester yelled during the mayor’s speech at an event in Dallas, Texas, on Friday, according to a CNN reporter who filmed the event. Another protester yelled: “Repent!”
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