LGBT News

Deutsche Welle reports: A vote was not necessary in the upper house of Germany’s parliament, the Bundesrat, on Friday, because no state challenged the draft legislation. The original proposal for the law – and a large part of the initial pressure on Angela Merkel’s government to act – had come from the Bundesrat, where “marriage for all” (“Ehe für alle”) …

Via email from Washington Won’t Discriminate: Pop the champagne bottles, we just defeated I-1552! Backers of this dangerous initiative needed to submit 260,000 valid petition signatures to the Secretary of State by 3PM today to qualify for the ballot. They didn’t even show up to hand over their petitions. No signatures = automatic disqualification. I-1552 will NOT be on Washington’s …

Buzzfeed News reports: The detention of LGBT people has resumed in the Russian republic of Chechnya, where dozens of gay men were reportedly tortured or killed by authorities earlier this year, according to the activist group Russia LGBT Network. The independent Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta first reported that around 100 people had been kidnapped in the crackdown in April, but …

The Philadelphia Inquirer reports: A year ago, when a former student accused the Milton Hershey School of forcing him to watch a video meant to convert him from homosexuality, the school called the allegation “outrageous” and said it would never condone such behavior. Now in court documents, the school’s lawyers admit that such a video was used by Hershey house …

The New Zealand Herald reports: Green MP Marama Davidson used a harrowing example of the impact on her family of homophobia, remembering a young gay man who was killed by Davidson’s uncle in the 1980s. Her voice breaking, Marama spoke of the man during Parliament’s formal apology to the men convicted for consensual acts at a time homosexuality was illegal. …

Mark Joseph Stern writes at Slate: What happens if Kennedy is replaced by a Gorsuch-style conservative? At that point, Roberts would be free to rewrite Windsor and Obergefell however he wants. Roberts could remain faithful to the original text of both decisions. He could also reverse them. But the likeliest possibility is that Roberts first cuts them down to a …

From Russia’s TASS agency: US President Donald Trump’s possible question on the LGBT rights in Russia’s North Caucasus republic of Chechnya at the upcoming meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin won’t be left unanswered, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Thursday. “If there is such a question [on gay rights] then there will be an answer,” Peskov said, pledging: …

The Independent reports: Parliament this evening approved the second reading of the bill introducing gay marriage, with one Nationalist MP, Edwin Vassallo, voting against. The committee stage, as announced this evening by Prime Minister Joseph Muscat, will take place on Thursday and Friday with a final vote on the third reading to be taken on Wednesday 12 July. The Bill, …

Gay Star News reports: Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has joked he almost wore this ‘Masc’ He-Man t-shirt to his first Pride march last year. Khan is looking forward to Pride in London on Saturday – the second since he became mayor. He told guests at City Hall: “One of the great things when you become mayor, is you get …

The New York Daily News reports: A Brooklyn man claimed he was provoked when he spewed homophobic slurs and knocked a lesbian unconscious over a seat on the train, according to newly released court documents. Antoine Thomas entered a plea of not guilty in Brooklyn Supreme Court on Monday after he was arraigned on charges including assault as a hate …

The Guardian reports: A gay man in central China has successfully sued a psychiatric hospital over forced conversion therapy, in what activists are hailing as the first such victory in a country where the LGBT rights movement is gradually emerging from the fringes. A court in Zhumadian, in Henan province, has ordered a city psychiatric hospital to publish an apology …

Germany’s The Local reports: Bundestag Vice President Johannes Singhammer of Angela Merkel’s Bavarian sister party the CSU told Die Welt on Monday that his state’s government should bring the matter of same-sex marriage to the Constitutional Court. “In order to achieve legal clarity, I suggest that the Constitutional Court should be called upon,” Singhammer said. He added that individual citizens …

What’s On Weibo reports: Over the past few days, discussions about homosexuality are all over Chinese social media. On Friday, the China Netcasting Services Association issued new criteria to strengthen regulations over online audio-visual content on Chinese platforms. One of the new regulations regarded the removal of online content that “displays homosexuality”, grouping homosexuality together with incest and sexual perversity …

Critica Panama reports: The music, dances, flags, flashy costumes and slogans of equality of rights and against discrimination were the elements that accompanied thousands of people who participated in gay pride march this Saturday, July 1. The event began at 4:00 pm, led by First Lady Lorena Castillo de Varela, United States Ambassador to Panama John Feeley, Mayor of the …

While city officials say “hundreds of thousands” took part in the parade, organizers estimate that around two million attended yesterday’s WorldPride event in Madrid. Deutsche Welle reports: All of Spain’s major political parties, both left and right, led the parade with a large banner that read “For LGBTI Rights All Over the World.” “For all the people in countries who …

The Independent reports: Gay people in Russia have been asked to compete for a one-way plane ticket out of the country by an Orthodox Christian television channel. “If you are gay and wish to emigrate from Russia, channel Constantinople will buy you a one way ticket with great pleasure”, Tsargrad TV writes in the video’s description, complete with emojis of …

Fortune reports: China released a new regulation Friday banning any display of “abnormal sexual behaviors” — including homosexuality — in online video and audio content. The regulation, published by the China Netcasting Services Association (CNSA), lays out strict censorship rules for online content ranging from movies and documentaries to cartoons and educational videos. Under the new rules, content will be …

Reuters reports: Defense Secretary Jim Mattis on Friday approved a six-month delay in allowing transgender recruits to join the U.S. armed forces, a Pentagon spokeswoman said. Pentagon spokeswoman Dana White said in a statement that Mattis accepted a recommendation to defer transgender applicants until Jan. 1. The Pentagon ended its ban on openly transgender people serving in the U.S. military …

Tracy Baim reports at the Windy City Times: Chuck Renslow, 87, a longtime pillar of the LGBTQ community in Chicago and around the world, has died after multiple long-term health issues. Renslow reigned over a seven-decade empire, starting more than two dozen businesses—bars, discos, photo studios, health clubs, bathhouses, gay magazines and newspapers, hotels, restaurants and bookstores. He fostered organizations …

Via email from Austin Ruse’s anti-LGBT C-FAM: The Trump administration delighted and frustrated social conservatives last week when it staunchly opposed abortion while calling for international recognition of homosexual relations at the Human Rights Council in Geneva. “The United States fully supports the principle of voluntary choice regarding maternal and child health and family planning. We do not recognize abortion …