Anti-trans activist Posie Parker leaves New Zealand after chaotic protests

Gender-critical activist was booed and heckled in Auckland and cancelled event in Wellington

The anti-trans activist known as Posie Parker cancelled a planned event in Wellington and left New Zealand, after chaotic and at times violent protests curtailed an appearance in Auckland before she was able to speak in public.

Kellie-Jay Keen-Minshull had been due to speak in Auckland on Saturday morning. The British activist was met by crowds of pro-trans rights counter-protesters estimated to be in the thousands, substantially outnumbering the speaker’s supporters. She left the event after being booed, heckled and doused with tomato juice.

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Majority of trans adults are happier after transitioning, survey finds

Washington Post and KFF study found 78% of respondents said living as different gender from birth increased satisfaction in life

A large majority of transgender adults say that transitioning has made them more satisfied with their life, according to a new survey.

The survey conducted by the Washington Post and KFF is the largest nongovernmental survey of transgender adults that uses random samplings.

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NHL’s Blackhawks will not wear Pride jerseys due to Russian anti-LGBTQ laws

  • Team says wearing jerseys could endanger Russian player
  • Pride jerseys have sparked debate among NHL teams

An NHL team with a Russian player has decided against wearing special warmup jerseys to commemorate Pride night, citing an anti-gay Kremlin law that could imperil Russian athletes when they return home.

The Chicago Blackhawks, who have an additional two players with connections to Russia, will not wear Pride-themed warmup jerseys before Sunday’s game against Vancouver because of security concerns involving the law, which expands restrictions on supporting LGBTQ rights. Vladimir Putin signed the law in December.

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Australia politics live: Lidia Thorpe knocked to ground in struggle with police at anti-trans rights speaker’s Canberra event

Independent senator attempts to step up to podium after Pauline Hanson speaks in support of Kellie-Jay Keen-Minshull. Follow the day’s news

Mark Butler says part of the issue is that vaping was allowed to “explode” so it’s a case of putting the genie back in the bottle – but he says the government is determined to do it, so the tobacco industry doesn’t win.

A parent told us last week that they found in their very young child’s pencil case, not a 16/17-year-old but a very young child’s pencil case, a vape that was deliberately designed to look like a highlighter pen. I mean, these things are insidious.

They are causing very real damage not just to the health of very young children but to behavioural issues at schools as well.

This is now the biggest behavioural issue in primary schools. I mean, this is this is an industry shamelessly marketing, not just to teenagers but to young children. When you look at these things, with pink unicorns on them and bubblegum flavors, these aren’t marketed to adults.

This is an industry that is trying to create a new generation of nicotine addicts so they get around all of the hard work. Our country and other countries have done over recent decades to stamp out smoking.

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Two arrested as mob sets upon protesters outside Mark Latham event in Sydney

Rainbow rights group says peaceful protesters were set upon outside a Catholic church in Belfield

A gay and LGBTI rights group says a group attacked peaceful protesters outside a Catholic church in south-west Sydney, where One Nation’s Mark Latham was giving a speech.

Community Action for Rainbow Rights said on Twitter that as they were protesting outside St Michael’s church hall in Belfield, a mob set upon the protesters.

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Ugandan MPs pass bill imposing death penalty for homosexuality

Human rights campaigners condemn bill introducing capital and life imprisonment sentences

MPs in Uganda have passed a controversial anti-LGBTQ+ bill, which would make homosexual acts punishable by death, attracting strong condemnation from rights campaigners.

All but two of the 389 legislators voted late on Tuesday for the hardline anti-homosexuality bill, which introduces capital and life imprisonment sentences for gay sex and “recruitment, promotion and funding” of same-sex “activities”.

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Missouri emergency rule would limit gender-affirming care for minors

Directive sidesteps Republican-controlled state legislature, which wasn’t able to pass similar legislation before recess

Missouri’s Republican attorney general on Monday said he will limit access to gender-affirming care for minors, sidestepping the GOP-led state senate as it struggles to pass a law banning the practice for children completely.

As hundreds of activists rallied at the state capitol to pressure lawmakers to act on the bill, Andrew Bailey announced plans to file an emergency rule.

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Crowds in Milan protest against curbs on rights of same-sex parents

Italy’s new rightwing government put a strong emphasis on traditional family values during elections

Hundreds of people took to the streets in Milan in protest against moves by Italy’s new rightwing government to restrict the rights of same-sex parents.

“You explain to my son that I’m not his mother,” read one sign held up amid a sea of rainbow flags that filled one of the northern city’s central squares.

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Wellesley College students vote to admit trans men and non-binary people

Proposal also calls for gender neutral language at women’s college whose alumni include Hillary Clinton and Madeleine Albright

Students at the famed Wellesley College for women voted this week to extend admission to trans men and non-binary students, though campus administrators have said there is “no plan” to immediately change school policy.

In a non-binding election on Tuesday, students at the liberal arts college in Massachusetts voted to open admission to all non-binary and transgender students, including trans men, reported Wellesley News, the college’s student newspaper.

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LGBTQ+ groups face crackdowns in Uganda as environment turns hostile

Activists fear a systematic ‘witch-hunt’ against sexual minorities by parliament, police and religious conservatives

A dramatic surge in attacks on LGBTQ+ people in Uganda has been recorded by rights groups this year, as the environment for sexual minorities turns increasingly hostile.

More than 110 people reported incidents including arrests, sexual violence, evictions and public undressing, to advocacy group Sexual Minorities Uganda (Smug) in February alone. Transgender people were disproportionately affected, said the group.

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White House rebukes Mike Pence over homophobic jokes about Pete Buttigieg

Former vice-president took aim at transportation secretary for taking maternity leave and joked about postpartum depression

The White House rebuked the Republican former vice-president Mike Pence on Monday, for making jokes about US transportation secretary Pete Buttigieg, maternity leave and postpartum depression that it said were homophobic and offensive to women.

“He should apologise to women and LGBTQ+ people,” said Joe Biden’s press secretary, Karine Jean-Pierre.

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UK among most liberal countries on divorce and abortion, survey reveals

Global study shows significant shift in UK attitudes on matters such as casual sex and assisted dying

The UK has overtaken Canada, Germany and Australia to become one of the world’s most socially liberal nations towards divorce and abortion, the latest wave of a global study has revealed.

Significant increases in the last five years in people saying the practices are justifiable is mirrored by sharply increasing acceptance of homosexuality, casual sex and prostitution over the same period, the World Values Survey found.

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Anthony Albanese among 50,000 marching across Sydney Harbour Bridge for WorldPride

March helps draw to a close 17-day festival, which will wrap up on Sunday evening with a concert in the Domain

More than 50,000 brightly-dressed people marched across the Sydney Harbour Bridge on Sunday morning in support of pride and recognition of the long fight for equality for the LGBTQI community.

The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, helped lead the march alongside a number of “78ers”, the term given to those people who took part in Sydney’s first Mardi Gras as an act of protest close to 50 years ago.

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Kenya’s LGBTQ community wins bittersweet victory in battle for rights

Supreme court rules for freedom of association but landmark decision sparks backlash from government and churches

The supreme court of Kenya has criticised the government for failure to register an association for LGBTQ+ people, saying the decision discriminates against the rights of the community.

Although same-sex unions remain illegal in Kenya, the court ruled that everyone has a right of association. It is the culmination of a decade-long legal battle, and a victory for the LGBTQ+ community.

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Uganda MPs revive hardline anti-LGBTQ bill, calling homosexuality a ‘cancer’

In a country where gay sex is already punishable by life in prison, campaigners have condemned proposed new law as ‘demonisation’

MPs in Uganda have reintroduced a controversial anti-LGBTQ bill, with one describing homosexuality as a “cancer”, attracting strong condemnation from rights campaigners.

Asuman Basalirwa, an opposition MP, made the remark as he tabled the draft law [pdf] which seeks to punish gay sex and “the promotion or recognition of such relations”.

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Sydney Anglican church accuses law reform commission of double standard over religious school hiring

Submission says agency’s push to enable LGBTQ+ role models ‘preferences one worldview over another’

The Sydney Anglican church has accused the Australian Law Reform Commission of a “double standard” for seeking to give LGBTQ+ students role models while limiting the ability of religious schools to hire by faith.

The church’s submission to a review of exemptions for religious schools from discrimination law is part of a broader conservative backlash that has prompted the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, to recommit the government to allowing schools to select staff based on faith.

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West Virginia mixed martial arts coach offers security for local drag show

Johnny Haught and his trainees volunteered when a restaurant canceled a brunch event after performers received threats

A group of West Virginia mixed martial arts (MMA) fighters are offering security to help a local drag show that canceled an event after receiving threats.

MMA coach Johnny Haught and his trainees volunteered to provide security to the Primanti Bros restaurant in Wheeling, West Virginia, for the show it was set to host.

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NSW police says Lidia Thorpe will not be charged for blocking its Mardi Gras float

Social media video shows senator laying in front of police float, temporarily blocking Oxford Street parade

New South Wales police has confirmed it will not charge Senator Lidia Thorpe for temporarily blocking the Sydney Mardi Gras parade on Saturday night.

Thorpe lay down in front of the NSW police float on Oxford Street, momentarily stopping the parade, to boos from the crowd.

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Anthony Albanese becomes first Australian PM to march in Sydney Mardi Gras

Dressed in open-necked shirt and jeans, premier joins 12,500 paraders on original route of Oxford Street

Amid the rainbow tulle, sequins and sparkles of Sydney’s 45th Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras parade emerged the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, in a simple open-necked shirt and jeans.

Albanese is the first sitting prime minister to join the parade, which celebrates and continues to push for equality for the LGBTQIA+ community.

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Sydney hits peak LGBTQ+ as Mardi Gras parade returns to Oxford Street

Hundreds of thousands of people expected to line the parade’s famous route, which last ran along the street in 2020 due to Covid

The first time Michael Gardiner realised he shouldn’t be ashamed of his sexuality was marching in the Mardi Gras parade in 2004 – he and his then wife dressed in matching fluffy bunny costumes. He had come out as gay just days earlier to his wife, Theresa Leggett.

“I was petrified about what it meant to be gay … It got to a point where I thought it would be better to end my life, but Theresa wasn’t going to have a bar of that,” he says.

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