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WORLD Conversion therapy, Bermuda march, trans officer, Belgium ban
Germany plans to ban all conversion therapies under a new law to be introduced this year by German Health Minister Jens Spahn, PinkNews noted. It's estimated there are around 1,000 attempts in Germany each year to ...
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Ecuador approves same-sex marriage
By a vote of five to four, Ecuador's highest court approved same-sex marriage in a landmark ruling in the small and traditionally Catholic country on June 12, AlJazeera.com reported. Pro-LGBTQ activists celebrated the decision in the ...
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Thirty-six sports confirmed for Gay Games 11 in Hong Kong 2022
HONG KONG/SAN FRANCISCO, 31 May 2019 - The Federation of Gay Games ( FGG ) together with the Gay Games 11 Hong Kong 2022's management team announced today the 36 sports which will be offered at ...
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Botswana court decriminalizes homosexuality
In a groundbreaking ruling, Botswana's High Court, on June 11, tossed out a colonial-era law that criminalized same-sex relations, NPR.org reported. Previously, people who violated the statute could be thrown in prison for up to seven ...
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WORLD Hong Kong decision, Pride flags, out Indian athlete
In a victory for the LGBT community, Hong Kong's top court has ruled in favor of a gay civil servant applying for spousal and tax benefits for his husband, BBC.com reported. Angus Leung, a local immigration ...
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Vatican publishes anti-LGBT document
The Vatican has released the document "Male and Female He Created Them: Towards a path of dialogue on the question of gender in education" to address issues surrounding sexuality and gender identity, PBS reported. "Male and ...
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Semenya now able to compete
Mid-distance runner Caster Semenya will be allowed to compete without having to take testosterone-reducing medication after the Swiss Federal Tribunal ordered the International Association of Athletics Federations to suspend implementation of new regulations while Semenya's appeal ...
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WORLD Trans woman murdered, gay-sex laws, trans mayor
A transgender woman was murdered and decapitated during the weekend of International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia, and Biphobia ( IDAHOBIT ) in the Mexican state of Veracruz, according to Gay Star News. According to reports, Jesusa ...
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Semenya appeals testosterone decision
South African mid-distance runner Caster Semenya filed an appeal May 29 against the Court of Arbitration for Sport's decision to uphold testosterone regulations for some female athletes in track and field, ESPN.com reported. Her lawyers said ...
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WORLD Filipino survey, Eurovision remarks, North Macedonian march
The Philippines House of Representatives is conducting an online survey on same-sex unions, CNN Philippines noted. The poll, posted on the chamber's website, asked whether the respondents are in favor, against, or undecided about the proposal ...
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Trans, POC contestant, Jack Thompson, named International Mr. Leather 2019
Jack Thompson, Leatherman of Color from Baltimore, Maryland, was chosen out of a field of 68 contestants to be named International Mr. Leather ( IML ) 2019, May 26 at the Auditorium Theater. Thompson's win made ...
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WORLD Lyra McKee, controversial billboard, George Clooney, Chilean school
The detective leading the investigation into the murder of LGBT journalist Lyra McKee in Londonderry has called on the gunman to hand himself in to police, BBC.com reported. McKee, 29, was shot while observing rioting in ...
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Taiwan becomes first Asian country to OK same-sex marriage
On May 17, Taiwan's legislature became the first in Asia ( by a vote of 66 to 27 ) to fully legalize same-sex unions. The law—which allows for same-sex couples to apply for "marriage registration" as ...
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WORLD Cuba cancels marches, 'gay panic' defense, lesbian UK politician
The organizer of Cuba's annual International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia marches on Monday announced they have been cancelled, The Washington Blade reported. The marches were to have taken place in Havana on May 11 ...
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Brunei scales back from death penalty for gays
After worldwide condemnation of Brunei's penalty for gay sex, the country's ruler has said it will not impose the death penalty on those convicted of having same-sex relations, CNN.com reported. Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah said he would ...
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WORLD Trans woman threatened, Ecuador marriage bill, equality coin
Armenia's first registered transgender woman, Lilit Martirosyan, has received death threats after making a historic speech in her country's national assembly, The Guardian reported. After speaking out against discrimination at a session of its committee on ...
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WORLD Taiwan marriages, Indian prince, gay Mexican candidate
A total of 157 same-sex couples in Taiwan plan to register to get married at household registration offices on May 24—the day that the Constitutional Court set for same-sex marriages to be legalized, Central News Agency ...
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WORLD Mexican marriage bill, Luxembourg PM, China watching Buttigieg
In a secret ballot, the plenary of the Yucatan state congress in Mexico voted against a marriage-equality bill that was forwarded by a committee, YucatanExpatLife.com reported. Fifteen lawmakers voted against the measure, with nine in favor ...
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Williams Institute: LGB inclusive nations enjoy higher GDP per capita than previously thought
AMHERST, Mass. — A new study published by researchers at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, Leiden University, Netherlands and Rutgers University has found that nations offering more rights to lesbian, gay and bisexual people enjoy significantly ...
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Cayman Islands court blocks marriage equality
Days after Cayman Islands Chief Justice Anthony Smellie allowed a same-sex wedding to take place, the Court of Appeal blocked Chantelle Day and Vickie Bodden-Bush from getting married, on April 10, Cayman 27 reported. The appeal ...
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WORLD Vatican meeting, anti-gay countries, trans attack, Brunei items
A group of international lawyers researching the criminalization of homosexuality has met with the Vatican secretary of state and urged the Holy See to publicly oppose such laws and conversion therapies for gays, The San Francisco ...
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WORLD Elton John, Caymans OK marriage, Grindr
Elton John supported George Clooney's call for people to boycott a string of the world's most luxurious hotels following Brunei's new laws over gay sex, Business Insider noted. From April 3, Brunei is bringing in new ...
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WORLD Thailand feat, U.S. ambassador, MP assaulted, 'Game of Thrones'
Thailand, on March 24, elected filmmaker Tanwarin Sukkhapisit as its first transgender member of the House of Representatives, Gay Star News noted. It was the first general election since a military coup in 2014. Sukkhapisit decided ...
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WORLD Irish PM, landmark Canadian ruling, Brazilian murder suspects
The openly gay prime minister of Ireland had breakfast with Mike Pence—and he made some pointed comments about accepting others, LGBTQ Nation reported. Prime Minister Leo Varadkar and partner Matthew Barrett had a breakfast in honor ...
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Cardinal sentenced in child sex-abuse case
Cardinal George Pell, 77—the most senior Catholic cleric ever to be convicted of child sex abuse—was sentenced to six years in prison in Australia on March 13, NBC News reported. Pell could have gotten as many ...
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WORLD Brazilian video, HIV incidents down, Malaysia's problems
Brazil's far-right president, Jair Bolsonaro, has sparked outrage, disgust and ridicule after tweeting a pornographic video in an apparent attempt to hit back at criticism of his administration during this year's carnival, The Guardian noted. Revellers ...
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WORLD Egypt summit, HIV remission, trans lingerie brand
At a summit with the leaders of Saudi Arabia, Iraq and the United Arab Emirates, out gay Ireland leader Leo Varadkar has called for "universal" respect for LGBT+ rights, PinkNews noted. Varadkar stressed the pace of ...
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Marriage Equality around the world
The world is changing for the better! Since Marriage Equality officially became the law of the land in 2015, other nations have followed suit, granting marriage rights to their LGBTQ citizens. Here are a few of ...
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WORLD Deportation, Kenya delay, lesbian prime minister
A gay man is facing deportation from the United Kingdom back to Malaysia, where consensual same-sex activity is punishable by up to 14 years in prison, NewNowNext.com noted. The government does not believe Yew Fook Sam, ...
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Senior cleric convicted of child sex abuse
In Australia, Cardinal George Pell—the most senior Catholic cleric ever charged with child sex abuse—has been convicted of molesting two 13-year-old choirboys, USA Today reported. Pell, Pope Francis' top financial adviser and the Vatican's economy minister, ...
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WORLD Trans Thai PM candidate, anti-LGBT attacks, intersex ruling
Pauline Ngarmpring—who has been a CEO and sports promoter—is pursuing a bid to become Thailand's first transgender prime minister, Bendigo Advertiser reported. She says she wants her nomination to bring hope to the marginalized and to ...
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WORLD Alan Turing, Mexico murder, 'Boy Erased'
The late Brit Alan Turing—known as the father of the modern computer—was recently named the greatest person of the 20th century during BBC's Two Icons broadcast, according to an Instinct Magazine item that cited Gay Star ...
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Canadian serial killer gets life sentence
Canadian serial killer Bruce McArthur, 67, received a life sentence for murdering eight men—some of them close friends, BBC.com reported. Most of his victims had connections with Toronto's Gay Village neighborhood, as did McArthur himself. McArthur ...
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WORLD Polish party, Brazil crime, Mumbai Pride
Poland's first openly gay politician—Robert Biedron—has launched a new progressive, pro-European Union political party called Spring, PinkNews reported. Biedron, the former mayor of the town of Slupsk, hopes to challenge the ruling right-wing Law and Justice ...
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New survey published on sexual and gender minorities in Western Kenya
Some of the first published findings on the demographics and experiences of lesbian, bisexual, queer and transgender people assigned female at birth in sub-Saharan Africa A new survey from Western Kenya finds economic empowerment, LGBT acceptance ...
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WORLD Angola's pro-gay move, sterilization ruling, 'Queer Eye'
Angola has finally decriminalized the "vices against nature" provision in its law—widely interpreted to be a ban on same-sex conduct, Human Rights Watch reported. Taking things one step further, the government has also prohibited discrimination against ...
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WORLD Iraqi death site, gay bar apologizes, Ghana attacks
Authorities in Mosul began demolishing a onetime icon of modern Iraqi architecture used by the Islamic State group to throw men accused of being gay to their deaths, France24.com reported. Workers and bulldozers could be seen ...
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Times Square site of WorldPride Closing Ceremony, Melissa Etheridge to perform
NEW YORK, NY, JANUARY 15, 2019 — NYC Pride, the official host of WorldPride 2019 and Stonewall 50, is thrilled to announce further details about NYC Pride's WorldPride Closing Ceremony. All are welcome to this final ...
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WORLD Israel medical group, India's ban, Chechnya detention
Members who perform conversion therapy could now be expelled from the Israel Medical Association ( IMA )—which represents 90 percent of the country's doctors—if a complaint is filed to its ethics committee, Haaretz reported. "The treatments ...
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WORLD Historic marriage, anti-trans attacks, Jamaica fire, Latin America news
Two women tied the knot just minutes after midnight in Austria—making them the first same-sex couple to get married on the day it became legal, Gay Star News noted. Nicole Kopaunik and Daniela Paier, both 37, ...
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WORLD Conversion therapy, Lebanese group, Japanese marriage suit
Two separate petitions launched earlier this year in Canada asking the government to ban conversion therapy have amassed a combined 70,000 signatures, PinkNews reported. The first petition calls on Canada's government to ban conversion therapy for ...
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WORLD Tanzania turmoil, Greek activist, golf player comes out
Tanzania's government says it's facing a difficult financial time after donors pulled funding over its treatment of the gay community—but it says it won't back down, NBC News reported. Finance Minister Philip Mpango told officials that ...
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WORLD Depression study, HIV conference, Kenya attack
In England, research has found that young lesbian, gay and bisexual people start becoming depressed and self-harming from the age of 10 because they feel different from their heterosexual peers, The Guardian reported. LGB 16-to 21-year-olds ...
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WORLD Marriage news, HIV prosecution, Cuba travel
The president of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, on Dec. 5, reiterated her support of marriage rights for same-sex couples, The Washington Blade noted. "There's only one race in the world and that's the human ...
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WORLD Chile's pro-trans bill, gay wrestler, Russian courts
Chilean President Sebastian Pinera signed into law a bill that allows transgender people over 14 to legally change their name and gender without surgery, The Washington Blade reported. The bill received final approval in Chile's congress ...
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DignityUSA responds to Pope Francis' new book, excluding gay people
Boston, MA, December 3, 2018. DignityUSA, the world's oldest and largest organization of Catholics committed to justice, equality, and full inclusion of LGBTQI people in the church and society, expressed its deep concern about reported passages ...
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WORLD Chinese writer, Nigeria suit, anti-trans attack, archbishop's statement
A Chinese author has been sentenced to 10 years in jail for writing and selling homoerotic novels, prompting backlash and comparisons to lighter sentences for more serious crimes committed in the country, like sexual assault, NewNowNext.com ...
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Marriage equality remains in Bermuda
ame-sex marriage advocates won a legal battle in Bermuda Nov. 23 after the country's government attempted to have the Court of Appeal define marriage as between a man and a woman only, The Royal Gazette reported. ...
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WORLD Taiwan marriage, Tanzania's loss, queer rap group, rugby player
In the lead-up to Nov. 24 referendums in Taiwan in which marriage equality and inclusion of LGBTQ issues in school curricula are on the ballot, 27 Taiwanese and multinational companies operating in Taiwan released a statement ...
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WORLD Abuse investigation, Australian principal, trade agreement
A coalition of international partners, including the United States, announced plans to investigate alleged anti-gay abuses in Chechnya that have sparked worldwide condemnation, The Washington Blade reported. A 16-member group of countries in the Organization for ...
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WORLD Taiwan march, Brazilian politics, monument desecrated
More than 100,000 people marched through Taiwan's capital of Taipei on Oct. 27 to press the government to deliver on its promise of marriage equality amid an increasingly heated debate over whether civil laws should recognize ...
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WORLD Activist attacked, LGBT+ flight, Richard Grenell, sterilization
French LGBT-rights activist Guillaume Melanie has suffered injuries, including a broken nose, after he was violently beaten up in a what he called a homophobic hate crime, PinkNews reported. Melanie is the president of Urgence Homophobie, ...
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Report: Trump may remove transgender rights from federal civil rights law
The Trump administration is considering defining gender on the basis of genitalia at birth—which would surely rescind protections of transgender people under federal civil-rights law and threaten trans-related rights in agencies, The New York Times reported. ...
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WORLD Another bakery case, Austrian marriage, Mapplethorpe situation
Britain's highest court ruled that a Northern Irish bakery's refusal to make a cake bearing a pro-gay slogan was not discriminatory in a ruling condemned by the customer, a gay-rights activist, but hailed by the province's ...
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WORLD Tokyo tackles bias, ex-Vietnam ambassador, confab shut down
The Tokyo Metropolitan Government passed a bill to tackle discrimination against the LGBTI community ahead of the Olympics in 2020, Gay Star News noted. "This act upholds the goal of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government to make ...
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WORLD Hong Kong, Theresa May, concentration camp
The Hong Kong government conceded that seven local laws targeting sexual activities involving gay men were inconsistent with the city's mini-constitution that provides that all residents are equal before the law, The South China Morning Post ...
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WORLD Rabbis clash, fatal attack, pro-transgender motion
In the United Kingdom, a leading Orthodox rabbi has reportedly said that Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis' unprecedented and progressive LGBT+ guide for religious schools will "draw sinners into our camp," PinkNews noted. Earlier this month, Mrivis ...
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WORLD Cuban president, trans athlete, Trinidad and Tobago, Dua Lipa
Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel has backed same-sex marriage, BBC.com reported. The Cuban leader, who took over from Raul Castro in April, said he was in favor of recognizing "marriage between people without any restrictions." In an ...
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WORLD Chelsea Manning, gay couple, Malaysia caning
Rights groups in Australia criticized the government for failing to grant transgender activist Chelsea Manning a visa, Gay Star News noted. Think Inc invited Manning to Australia to discuss the potential human-rights violations she exposed as ...
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Chicagoan honored by wrestlers group
Wrestlers WithOut Borders has selected the 2018 winners of its two highest honors: the Dermody Citizenship Award and the Lifetime Achievement Award. The winners and five new inductees to the WWB Hall of Merit were celebrated ...
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India court rules gay sex not a crime
On Sept. 6, India's supreme court unanimously struck down a colonial-era law that made same-sex acts punishable by up to 10 years in prison—a landmark victory for gay rights in this country. The five justices ruled ...
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Memories, medals bring joy to Chicagoans at Gay Games in Paris
As the traditional flag moved from Paris 2018 to Hong Kong 2022, thus ending the 10th version of the Gay Games on Sunday, Aug. 12, there were plenty of tears—of pride and joy, not just sadness ...
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WORLD Police entrapment, Belgian secretary, Japanese hotel
Police in Kyrgyzstan are using false nicknames on LGBT dating apps to entrap gay and bisexual men, PinkNews reported. Nazik, an advocate for LGBT+ rights in Kyrgzstan, said she's has been "beaten with a bottle" because ...
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WORLD Nigerian arrests, trans prostitute killed, Benjamin Netanyahu
Police in the Nigeria's capital, Lagos, arrested 57 men for alleged homosexual activity, Gay Star News reported. The mass arrest happened at a hotel in Lagos; state police commissioner Imohimi Edgal confirmed the raid. Same-sex activity ...
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Danish activists snub U.S. embassy's event
Activists in Denmark boycotted the U.S. Embassy's annual Pride Month celebration over President Trump's LGBTI-rights record. U.S. Ambassador to Denmark Carla Sands hosted the reception at her official residence in Copenhagen on Aug. 15. Outlets such ...
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HRC Promotes Workplace Inclusion in Argentina at LGBT Business, Tourism Summit
BUENOS AIRES — Today, the Human Rights Campaign ( HRC ) Foundation, the educational arm of America's largest lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer ( LGBTQ ) civil rights organization, participated in GNETWORK 360, Latin America's ...
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WORLD Asylum case, Kofi Annan, LGBT crimes
A gay Iranian man seeking asylum in Austria was initially denied because he couldn't identify the meaning of all the Pride flag's colored stripes, NewNowNext.com noted. Navid escaped persecution in Iran, where he feared for his ...
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WORLD Report on LGBTQ groups, Costa Rica marriage, Kenyan HIV lab
A report has found that nearly half of the world's countries do not allow LGBTQ groups to organize without threat of arrest or state violence, NewNowNext.com noted. Only 56 percent of countries—109 out of 194—freely allow ...
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Cuba set to approve same-sex marriage
Cuba looks to become the latest country in Latin America to approve same-sex marriage, after the National Assembly, on Aug. 5, unanimously approved a new constitution that defines marriage as "the consensual union of two people, ...
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WORLD Controversial kiss, Irish PM, LGBT singer dies
The image of the two Brazilian men kissing romantically in front of an iconic shot of Rio de Janeiro, with Christ the Redeemer g in the background, is generating controversy, The Intercept reported. The photo was ...
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Pope must now also oppose death penalty for being LGBTQI says U.S. Catholic group
Aug. 6, 2018. Last week, Pope Francis changed the Catechism of the Catholic Church to make the death penalty entirely unacceptable, saying it is "an attack" on human dignity. DignityUSA, the organization of LGBTQI Catholics and ...
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Trans woman from Ecuador speaks about asylum, life in Chicago
Gabrielle ( she prefers not to use her last name ) was at her breaking point when she left Ecuador more than 10 years ago. "I left for many reasons," said Gabrielle. "My family did not ...
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Gay Games 10 right around the corner with 10,000 competing
The final tally for Gay Games 10, which runs Aug. 4-12 in Paris, is impressive: 10,317 participants from 91 countries, with 36 sports, 14 cultural events, and an academic conference. About 170 from Chicago are participating. ...
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WORLD British lesbian honored, Gay Games run, Hong Kong case
Special to the online edition of Windy City Times
In the United Kingdom, the city of York honored "first modern lesbian" Anne Lister with a special plaque, Gay Star News noted. Unveiled in Goodramgate at the Holy Trinity Church on July 24, the plaque is ...
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Kenyan director of consumer protection seems to agree with anti-gay laws
From a Allied Progress press release
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Last week, Kenyan news outlet Mwakilishi.com reported that Consumer Financial Protection Bureau ( CFPB ) "Acting Director" Mick Mulvaney appeared to agree with bans on LGBTQ+ intimacy and relationships in Kenya and throughout ...
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