The suspect, 19, has been held on suspicion of two counts of grievous bodily harm after two men were stabbed in Clapham on 13 August
A 19-year-old man has been arrested in connection with a homophobic attack outside a nightclub in south London in which two men were stabbed, police have said.
Two men were taken to hospital after the incident in Clapham on 13 August. They have since been discharged.
Continue reading...Judges call for alternative framework to marriage in partial victory for city’s LGBTQ+ community
Hong Kong must provide an alternative to marriage in order to legally recognise the rights of same-sex couples, the city’s highest court has declared, opening the way for civil unions.
However, it rejected appeals against current laws that restrict marriage to heterosexual couples and refuse to recognise overseas same-sex marriages, despite majority support among the population.
Continue reading...Canadian advocacy groups alarmed by anti-LGBTQ+ laws in America and say legislation is having an impact across the border
Canadian LGBTQ+ rights and civil liberties organizations are speaking out about the rise in hostile laws and hate crimes in the United States.
The development comes after the Canadian government earlier this week warned LGBTQ+ Canadian citizens about the risks of visiting the US due to a growing wave of anti-LGBTQ+ local laws.
Continue reading...Canadian government issues warning after numerous discriminatory laws passed in Republican-controlled states
LGBTQ+ citizens are at risk when traveling to the US due to numerous discriminatory laws passed at state level, the Canadian government has warned.
“Some states have enacted laws and policies that may affect 2SLGBTQI+ persons. Check relevant state and local laws,” the government’s website reads.
Continue reading...Twenty-year-old could face death penalty after anti-LGBTQ+ legislation was introduced this year
Ugandan prosecutors have charged a man with “aggravated homosexuality” under anti-LGBTQ+ legislation introduced this year that makes the offence punishable by death.
The law – considered one of the harshest of its kind in the world – also includes penalties for consensual same-sex relations of up to life in prison.
Continue reading...Ruling comes on same day Missouri judge rules similar law can take effect, prohibiting doctors giving crucial care to trans youth
A Texas judge on Friday blocked the state’s upcoming ban on gender-affirming medical care for minors, the latest in a legal fight over efforts by conservatives to restrict such care around the country.
The decision came on the same day a Missouri judge ruled that a similar law can take effect.
Continue reading...Couple assaulted in Brixton with one needing stitches six days after stabbing of two gay men in Clapham
Two men were injured last weekend after the second homophobic attack in south London in six days, prompting politicians and campaigners to blame a rise in anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric.
Michael Smith, 37, a teacher, and his partner, Nat Asabere, 41, a dancer and talent scout, were waiting for a bus on Saturday night in Brixton after attending Black Pride when they were punched repeatedly by a stranger. Smith was left needing stitches to his lower lip and Asabere has suffered headaches since.
Continue reading...An man made comments about flag at Laura Ann Carlton’s store in Cedar Glen and killed her before being shot and killed by police
A business owner in California was shot and killed after a dispute over a LGBTQ+ Pride flag displayed outside her store, authorities said.
Officials from the San Bernardino county sheriff’s office said Laura Ann Carleton, 66, was pronounced dead at the scene of the shooting on Friday night.
Continue reading...Data shows 44% at risk of struggling to afford food and heating after leaving workplace
Close to half of individuals who identify as LGBTQ+ are heading for a retirement where they are at risk of struggling to afford such basics as food and heating, according to new UK data.
Looking across various measures including amounts saved and pension scheme membership, researchers concluded that members of the LGBTQ+ community were “far more likely than the general population” to struggle in retirement.
Continue reading...Vote on party lines punished Katie Rinderle for reading book to her fifth-grade class in violation of vaguely worded policy
A Georgia school board voted along party lines on Thursday to fire a teacher after officials said she improperly read a book on gender fluidity to her fifth-grade class.
The Cobb county school board in suburban Atlanta voted 4-3 to fire Katie Rinderle, overriding the recommendation of a panel of three retired educators. The panel found after a two-day hearing that Rinderle had violated district policies but said she should not be fired.
Continue reading...Jordanian security services are abducting, harassing and ‘outing’ LGBTQ+ people, activists say, despite repeal of anti-gay laws
Jordanian secret police have been accused of intimidating gay people by “outing” them to their families and of forcing the closure of two LGBTQ+ organisations.
Human rights groups say activists have been abducted, harassed and monitored, as well as having their sexuality revealed to religiously conservative families.
Continue reading...Sellers of timepieces with rainbow colours face same punishment as country says they could ‘harm morals’
Owners or sellers of rainbow-coloured timepieces made by the Swiss watchmaker Swatch face three years in prison in Malaysia, the interior ministry has said, as the Muslim-majority country rails against LGBTQ+ symbols it says could “harm morals”.
Homosexuality is outlawed in Malaysia and LGBTQ+ people face discrimination.
Continue reading...Culture minister asks general security agency to act to prevent screening as anti-LGBT rhetoric ramps up
Lebanon’s culture minister moved to ban the film Barbie from the country’s cinemas on Wednesday, saying it “promoted homosexuality” and contradicted religious values.
Mohammad Mortada is backed by the powerful Shia Muslim armed group Hezbollah, whose head, Hassan Nasrallah, has ramped up his rhetoric against the LGBT community, saying it poses an “imminent danger” to Lebanon and should be “confronted”.
Continue reading...Forced closure described as ‘a huge blow’ to human rights as country fosters hostile environment for activists, journalists and LGBTQ+ people
Uganda’s president, Yoweri Museveni, has come under attack from campaigners and activists for forcing the closure of the UN human rights office in the country.
The head office in the capital, Kampala, closed at the weekend. Two field offices, in Gulu and Moroto, had already ceased operating over the summer, after the government’s decision not to renew a host agreement allowing the agency to operate.
Continue reading...Promoters of the event claim that Matty Healy’s onstage kiss with bandmate ‘tarnished’ the festival’s reputation and are calling on the musicians to acknowledge liability and provide compensation
The organisers of the Good Vibes festival in Kuala Lumpur are taking legal action against the 1975 after frontman Matty Healy criticised Malaysia’s punitive anti-LGBTQ+ legislation during their headline set.
On 21 July, Healy told the crowd: “I don’t see the fucking point of inviting the 1975 to a country and then telling us who we can have sex with. Unfortunately, you don’t get a set of loads of uplifting songs because I’m fucking furious.
Continue reading...Ron DeSantis’s government has banned instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity, effectively also banning the class
Florida has told school superintendents that the Advanced Placement psychology course offered to high school students violates the state’s new law prohibiting instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity, effectively banning the class, the non-profit that develops the courses said on Thursday.
The move is the latest by the administration of Ron DeSantis, the Republican governor, to limit instruction about LGBTQ+ issues and race in the state. DeSantis is challenging Donald Trump for the Republican nomination for president in 2024 and has made battles over cultural issues a centerpiece of his campaign.
Continue reading...American Academy of Pediatrics reaffirms support for transgender children in face of growing push for restrictions across US
The American Academy of Pediatrics has reaffirmed its support for gender-affirming medical care for transgender children, even as the treatments face a growing push for bans and restrictions from Republican lawmakers across the US.
The board of directors for the group, which represents 67,000 pediatricians, unanimously voted to reaffirm its 2018 position on the treatments. The board also voted to provide additional documents to support pediatricians, including clinical and technical reports, and to conduct an external review of research regarding the care.
Continue reading...Decision comes as lawmakers in conservative states are pushing for measures making it easier to ban or restrict access to books
Arkansas is temporarily blocked from enforcing a law that would have allowed criminal charges against librarians and booksellers for providing “harmful” materials to minors, a federal judge ruled on Saturday.
US district judge Timothy L Brooks issued a preliminary injunction against the law, which also would have created a new process to challenge library materials and request that they be relocated to areas not accessible by kids. The measure, signed by the state’s Republican governor, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, earlier this year, was set to take effect on 1 August.
Continue reading...City continues relationship with Ukrainian capital forged when it hosted Eurovision song contest
Thousands took to the streets of Liverpool on Saturday as the city hosted KyivPride on behalf of the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv and an organiser praised the “amazing friendship” between the cities.
The joint march continues a relationship built when Liverpool hosted the Eurovision song contest on behalf of the war-torn country earlier this year.
Continue reading...Authorities cancelled the Good Vibes festival after frontman Matty Healy criticised the country’s anti-LGBTQ+ laws, leading musicians and food vendors to seek damages
A group of Malaysian musicians and festival vendors are preparing a class action lawsuit against the 1975 after frontman Matty Healy’s onstage criticism of the government’s anti-LGBTQ+ at the Good Vibes festival saw the entire event cancelled.
On Friday, Healy paused the band’s set at the Kuala Lumpur event to admit that he hadn’t looked into the country’s punitive LGBTQ+ laws before agreeing to perform there. “I don’t see the fucking point, right, I do not see the point of inviting the 1975 to a country and then telling us who we can have sex with,” he said.
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