Europe
Protestors march on Turkish embassy for IDAHO
Montenegro sees rally for LGBT rights as French Caribbean island holds first LGBT march Activists in Montenegro marked the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia (IDAHO) by marching on the Turkish embassy in protest at the country’s treatment of LGBT people. Members from rights group, the LGBT Forum Progress, carried banners reading in English, Montenegrin… Read more »
World marks IDAHO with courage and pride
Activists defy anti-gay laws in Iran and Russia to celebrate the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia Activists in Iran, one of the most homophobic countries in the world, braved persecution today (17 May) by publicly unfurling a rainbow flag to mark the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia (IDAHO). Campaigners in the Muslim state’s… Read more »
Almost half of Italians want same-sex marriage
Istituto Nazionale di Statistica released its first national survey on homosexuality in the Mediterranean country The first official Italian national survey on homosexuality has been presented at Montecitorio Palace. More than half of Italians think that same-sex couples should have more rights, but only 43% believe that they should have the right to marry. The… Read more »
François Hollande’s Presidential win Brings French Marriage Equality Closer
The new President-elect of France, François Hollande, the country’s first Socialist president in nearly two decades, is expected to push equal marriage and adoption rights for gay couples in the European country. In an election dominated by economic concerns similar to the UK’s local elections last weekend, M Hollande achieved 51.6 percent of the run-off… Read more »
Russian Gay activist fined for propaganda
A Prominent Russian gay rights activist has been convicted of spreading “gay propaganda” among minors in the first such ruling in Russia’s modern history. Nikolai Alexeyev told the Associated Press that a city court in St Petersburg fined him 5000 rubles ($A166) for breaching the law, which was controversially introduced by MPs in Russia’s second-largest… Read more »
Hillary Clinton wins World Pride Award
London honors US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton with LGBT award as it hosts World Pride 2012 Pride London and global LGBT organization Kaleidoscope Trust will be honoring US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton with the World LGBT Award this July at a gala dinner to celebrate World Pride 2012. The British capital is hosting… Read more »
Britain pledges to keep fighting for LGBT rights abroad
Annual report on human rights and democracy outlines steps UK took to promote LGBT rights abroad Britain will continue fighting for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender rights around the globe despite a backlash for some countries. That’s the pledge the Foreign and Commonwealth Office gave Gay Star News as it released an annual report on… Read more »
Siberia passes anti-gay propaganda bill
Deputies intend to push legislation to a federal level Russia’s third-largest city Novosibirsk is the latest to join in the criminalization of ‘gay propaganda’. Deputies in Moscow have come forward saying they intend to push the initiative to a federal level. The law prohibits the promotion of gay, bisexual and transgender activity among minors. Regional… Read more »
Russians Facing Tidal Wave of Proposed Anti-Gay Laws
Just a few months ago Sasha Semanova and her fellow activists thought they had turned the corner in their fight for gay rights in Russia, but now they are facing an avalanche of proposed laws that they believe would give authorities legal backing to persecute them for their sexual orientation. “We had a feeling that… Read more »
Russian gay teen sprung from rehab after activist ‘siege’
Family tried to exorcize gay teenager in Moscow after he came out to them on his 16th birthday A gay teenager in Russia who was put into a drug rehab center after coming out to his father has been released following a ‘seige’ by activists. Ivan Kharchenko spent 12 days in Moscow’s Marshak facility for… Read more »
Greek couple fight law over big fat gay wedding
A student who used legal loophole to marry partner on the island of Tilos in 2008 says legal battle has put gay rights back on the Greek political agenda A Greek student who took part in the country’s first gay wedding may take lawmakers to the European Court of Human Rights after they declared the… Read more »
Teenager put in drug rehab for being gay
A 16-year-old boy from Moscow has been medicated against his will at a drug rehab clinic – for being gay. The measure was the idea of the boy’s father, who hoped that the clinic would change his son’s mind – or least force him into changing his mind. Ivan decided to break the news to… Read more »
List of Professions Not Allowed to Hire Persons with HIV
Approved here is the list of specialties (professions), which is not allowed to use the labor of persons with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). According to the Decree of the Council of Ministers on April 13, 2012 ? 343, which comes into force on June 24, 2012, adopted a list of specialties (professions), which is not… Read more »
Transgender woman in Turkey attacked
A transgender woman was beaten up by seven men outside her home in Istanbul last night A transgender woman was attacked in the street outside her home in Istanbul last night when she took her dog out for a walk. Michelle Demishevich told Gay Star News that in the early hours of Monday (today, 23… Read more »
Man cleared of gay propaganda charge in Russia
Judge cites lack of evidence in charges against straight attorney Sergey Kondrashov Sergey Kondrashov is a straight attorney who was arrested for holding up a gay rights banner in Saint Petersburg, Russia, two weeks ago. He was charged with the promotion and propaganda of homosexuality under a new law that officially prevents the ‘propaganda of… Read more »
Church and gays clash over Bologna Pride
The march will start from the museum of the Holy Mary, once home of the LGBT movement. But the Catholic hierarchy has attacked the organizers The city of Bologna, northern Italy, is in the center of a struggle between the Church and the rights of its lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender citizens. The next national… Read more »
Court overrules police to give go-ahead to Budapest Pride
A court of Budapest has reportedly overruled the police’s decision not to grant a licence for the city’s gay pride march. The move, which is similar to a decision taken last year to overrule the police, means Hungary’s capital should be able to host a Pride parade this year. The 2012 Pride March was scheduled… Read more »
MEPs address homophobia in Hungary
Hungarian government called out over ‘shameful’ discrimination Members of the European Parliament’s Intergroup on LGBT Rights have expressed their concern over rising homophobic sentiments in Hungary. Their statement follows reports that police have banned the 2012 Pride march in Budapest and that the Hungarian far-right political party Jobbik has submitted anti-gay laws to the country’s… Read more »
Russia rejects gay rights in G8 statement
Russia has formally distanced itself from endorsing LGBT rights, even going so far as refusing to recognise such rights, in a joint statement released by G8 foreign ministers. The statement, which affirmed the fundamental rights to which people were entitled everywhere, came after a meeting of the ministers in Washington on Thursday. The chair of… Read more »
Hungary: Fears over new ‘gay disorder’ bills
Following similar developments in Russia, extreme-right parliamentarians in Hungary have tabled proposals to outlaw public discussions of homosexuality. In parallel, the Budapest police has rejected a request to hold the annual LGBT pride march in July 2012. A member of far-right party Jobbik, which holds 47 out of 386 seats in the Hungarian Parliament, has… Read more »
Malta: Court hears details of assault on teenage lesbian couple
Further details of an attack against a lesbian couple in the Maltese town of Hamrun emerged at a court hearing yesterday, with a defendant reportedly head-butting one of the girls. Two girls aged 15 and 16 were injured during an incident in February of this year on the Mediterranean island, the Times of Malta reports.… Read more »
Budapest urged to reverse Pride route refusal
The Human Rights Watch group is calling on Hungarian authorities to reverse a decision which refused Pride organisers permission to hold a march on their chosen route in Budapest later this year. The Hungarian police are being called on to allow the 2012 Pride March to take the organisers’ chosen route on 7 July. Human… Read more »
Mr Gay World 2012 won by German man
The fourth Mr Gay World contest took place in Johannesburg, South Africa, yesterday. This was the first time that the contest included black African participants, whose involvement brought its own fraught set of problems. The title was taken by Andreas Derleth, a German man who lives in New Zealand and who beat 21 other contestants.… Read more »
Anti-discrimination bill in Moldova being challenged by Orthodox Church
The Alliance for European Integration (AIE) is attempting to pass an anti-discrimination bill in Moldova, where the Council in the country’s third city, Balti, have adopted an ordinance banning the “propagandising” of homosexuality. But they are up against the objections of a most unexpected alliance – that between the conservative Orthodox Church and the opposition… Read more »
Imam blesses gay Muslim couple’s marriage in France
Gay Muslim couple faces death threats and hate mail after ceremony A gay Muslim couple have married in France, where it is not yet legal, with the blessing of an imam. French-Algerian Ludovic Mohamed Zahed and his partner, Qiyam al-Din, a South African, were previously able to marry in Qiyam’s home country. However as their… Read more »
Activists in St Petersburg arrested for protesting against ‘gay propaganda’ ban
Police detained two men in St. Petersburg yesterday for protesting against the new law banning “gay propaganda”. As a result, the men are likely to become the first to be convicted under said law. The two unnamed men, who are reportedly aged 28 and 31, held up placards stating: “Being gay is normal” while stood… Read more »
Nest in Cagliari, Sardinia this spring
Urban flamingos and a gay scene make the historic seaside city of Cagliari, capital of the Italian island, pretty in pink Flamingos, flamingos everywhere. When you land in Cagliari you find these exotic tropical birds crowded onto one of the biggest Europe’s lagoons, the Laguna di Santa Gilla, next to the airport. Spring is the… Read more »
Bosnia and Herzegovina: Roma, Jews Face Political Discrimination
EU, US Support for Constitutional Change Needed to Break Legacy of War (Sarajevo) – Roma, Jews, and other national minorities in Bosnia and Herzegovina remain excluded from participation in national politics 20 years after war began, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. Bosnia needs to remove ethnic discrimination against national minorities from… Read more »
Protesters call for release of gay Ugandan refugee
Campaigners picketed Dutch embassy in London and handed over petition demanding asylum for gay man fleeing persecution in Uganda Campaigners demonstrated outside the Dutch embassy in London yesterday (2 April) demanding freedom and asylum for a gay Ugandan. Members of the Movement for Justice group called for the Netherlands to release Kalanzi Marvin Richard, who… Read more »
London buses carry pro-gay marriage posters
You wait ages for a pro-gay marriage poster, then 1,000 come along at once, courtesy of Stonewall Some buses have gay adverts on them, get over it – that’s the message from gay group Stonewall. Leading British gay campaign organization Stonewall have put posters on the side of 1,000 London buses to campaign for same-sex… Read more »
First EU-wide survey on life for gay, bi and trans citizens opens
Gay, bi and transgender adults from around the EU and Croatia are being asked to take part in the first European LGBT survey of its kind. The European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights launched the survey on the LGBT experience of life in member states today. It is hoped the results will support the development… Read more »
Austria: Partnered gay man allowed to serve in a Catholic parish council
A gay man in registered domestic partnership has been allowed by an Austrian Cardinal to serve on a local parish council, in a decision that overrules an earlier ban on doing so. Florian Stangl, a disabled 26-year old man, who is Catholic, openly gay, and living with his partner, was recently elected to the council,… Read more »
St Petersburg ‘gay propaganda’ law could become nationwide Russian policy
Earlier this month, the governor of St Petersburg signed into law a bill making it an offence to “promote” gay or transgender personal identities in the city. Now, lawmakers in the Siberian city of Novosibirsk have proposed that Russia introduces the legislation nationwide. The bill recommends imposing a fine of up to 5,000 roubles (approximately… Read more »
St Petersburg scene ‘vibrant’ despite anti-gay law
St Petersburg’s gay clubs still vibrant in spite of new homophobic ‘propaganda’ law but there are fears for the future St Petersburg’s gay nightlife is still vibrant despite laws banning the ‘promotion’ of LGBT lifestyles to minors. That’s according to a story by the St Petersburg Times today (28 March), a leading English-language newspaper, which… Read more »
Maltese government set to propose civil partnerships
The Maltese government is set to propose civil partnerships for gay couples. The country’s justice minister is to pilot a cohabitation law, which will propose the regulation of same-sex relationships. Chris Siad, the justice minister in question, told Malta Today: “The bill on co-habitation will be discussed in Cabinet and within the Parliamentary Group shortly.… Read more »
Uruguayan man given landmark residence permit to live with husband in Italy
Authorities in northern Italy on Monday issued a residence permit to a Uruguayan man whose application was initially rejected because his marriage to an Italian man – which took place in Spain – is not recognised by the country’s laws. A court in Reggio Emilia ruled last month that authorities had violated European Union rules… Read more »
Albania: Proposed gay pride march provokes homophobic comments
With gay rights activists in Albania set to organise the country’s first ever gay pride parade in Tirana on May 17, religious groups and the Royalist Party have been quick to denounce the proposed plans. Reacting to the plans, announced on Friday, Albania’s deputy defence minister and leader of the Royalist Party, Ekrem Spahiu, had… Read more »
Conscripts to Turkish army must ‘prove’ their homosexuality for exemption from military service
Young gay Turkish men are being forced to “prove” their sexual orientation to avoid compulsory military service. There are no specific laws against homosexuality in Turkey, but out gay men are unwelcome in Turkey’s armed forces, giving them little incentive to fulfil the role their country requires of them. Armagan Kuloglu, a retired Turkish army… Read more »
Slovenia Repeals Gay Adoption Law
Slovenian voters on Sunday repealed a law that would have allowed a gay person to adopt the biological children of a partner, the AP reported. The country’s previous center-left government last year approved a family law which included the right. The law also gave gay couples in a registered partnership, available since 2006, many of… Read more »
Slovenians reject gay adoption law in referendum
Ljubljana, Slovenia (AP) — Slovenians rejected in a national referendum on Sunday a new family law that included a highly contested clause that would allow same-sex couples to adopt children in some cases. The law drafted by Slovenia’s former center-left government — and opposed by conservatives close to the Catholic Church — would have allowed… Read more »
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