Europe
Catholic Malta Legalizes Gay Marriage Over Church Objection
The predominantly Roman Catholic island nation of Malta is set to legalize gay marriage, joining much of Western Europe. Valletta, Malta — The predominantly Roman Catholic island nation of Malta is set to legalize gay marriage, joining much of Western Europe by replacing the traditional “you are now husband and wife” declaration in civil ceremonies… Read more »
Mayor of London Sadiq Khan calls for urgent action after half of London’s LGBT venues close
More than half of London’s LGBT venues have closed in a decade, new research has found. Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has called for urgent action over the closures – with a string of new measures to be enacted. The findings come as more than a million people are set to take part in the… Read more »
Malta moves step closer to legalizing gay marriage
Malta moved closer to passing a law legalizing same-sex marriage Wednesday after its parliament voted in favor of the measure, which marked a key step in the process. The legislation now moves into the committee stage before a final vote is held in parliament on July 12 where it’s expected to pass. “On 12 July… Read more »
Vatican cops bust drug-fueled gay orgy at home of cardinal’s aide
Vatican police raided a drug-fueled gay-sex party at an apartment belonging to an aide of one of Pope Francis’ key advisers, according to a new report. The Holy Father is “enraged,” since the home, inhabited by Francesco Cardinal Coccopalmerio’s secretary, belongs to the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith — the arm charged with… Read more »
All of Germany’s Muslim MPs voted for same-sex marriage equality
After Angela Merkel claimed marriage should be ‘between a man and a woman’ It was the best news of last week: Germany finally followed its European neighbors by voting in favor of same-sex marriage equality on Friday morning. The snap vote showed 393 MPs voted in favor, while seven abstained or were absent. Meanwhile, the country’s leader Angela Merkel was one of 226… Read more »
Germany gay marriage approved by MPs in snap vote
A clear majority of German MPs have voted to legalise same-sex marriage, days after Chancellor Angela Merkel dropped her opposition to a vote. The reform grants couples now limited to civil unions full marital rights, and allows them to adopt children. Mrs Merkel’s political opponents were strongly in favour. But the chancellor, who signalled her… Read more »
‘Mr Gay Syria’: film documents lives of LGBTI Syrian refugees
When “Mr Gay Syria” premiered at the Sheffield Film Festival in England this June, it took viewers by surprise. For starters, the documentary revolves around a little-spoken of community: gay Syrian refugees. Turkish director and journalist Ayse Toprak chronicles the lives of Hussein Sabat and Mahmoud Hassino, as an usual quest brings them together. Married… Read more »
Turkish police arrest dozens at Istanbul’s banned LGBT pride event
Istanbul — At least 44 people were detained during a march for LGBT rights that the governor of Istanbul had banned, Turkey’s state-run news agency reported Monday, while Europe’s top human rights organization criticized the country for barring the event for a third year running. Anadolu Agency said 20 people who “reacted against” the march… Read more »
Turkey LGBT: Police stifle Istanbul Gay Pride rally
Police in the Turkish city of Istanbul have thwarted attempts by organisers to hold a banned Gay Pride march. The organisers of the annual event had vowed to press ahead despite the ban by the authorities, who had cited threats from far-right groups. But police briefly fired rubber bullets to disperse the marchers and detained… Read more »
Turkey bans Istanbul Pride, organizers vow to march anyway
Istanbul – Turkish authorities announced Saturday they will not allow the Istanbul Pride march to take place on Sunday — the third year in a row the celebration has been banned. The move prompted criticism from rights groups and fears of possible violence, as Pride organizers said they would defy the ban. For more than… Read more »
Germany to quash convictions of 50,000 gay men under Nazi-era law
Parliament votes through measure overturning conviction and offering compensation to the estimated 5,000 men still alive Germany’s parliament has voted to quash the convictions of 50,000 gay men sentenced for homosexuality under a Nazi-era law that remained in force after the second world war. After decades of lobbying, victims and activists hailed a triumph in… Read more »
Serbia will have two pride parades this year after LGBT community is divided
There will be two pride parades this year in Serbia after division amongst the LGBT Community. Three Serbian LGBT organisations are organising a parade for June 24 separate from the traditional Pride held in Belgrade in September. The organisations claim that Belgrade Pride does not focus on the needs of the community. One Pride will… Read more »
Germany won’t vote on same-sex marriage, despite overwhelming support
Germany’s parliament will not vote on same-sex marriage, despite an overwhelming majority of citizens supporting full equality. The highest court in the country has rejected an attempt by the Green Party to force a vote before September’s national election. The Federal Constitutional Court reported that it had rebuffed the Greens’ application yesterday for an injunction… Read more »
Russian government defends ‘gay propaganda’ law after human rights ruling
The Russian government has vowed to appeal against a European Court of Human Rights ruling over its gay ‘propaganda’ law. In a ruling this week, the European court condemned Russia’s 2013 law which bans “propaganda of non-traditional sexual relationships” towards minors. The law also bans people sharing “distorted ideas about the equal social value of traditional and non-traditional sexual… Read more »
Russian ‘gay propaganda law’ discriminatory, European court rules
(CNN) – A European court has ruled that Russia’s so-called “gay propaganda law” is discriminatory, promotes homophobia and violates the European Convention on Human Rights. The law bans “propaganda of non-traditional sexual relations around minors” and was justified by Russia’s Duma as a necessary measure to protect children from homosexual influence. On Tuesday the European… Read more »
Russia’s ‘Gay Propaganda’ Laws Are Illegal, European Court Rules
London — Russia’s prohibition of what it considers the promotion of homosexuality is discriminatory and violates freedom of expression, Europe’s top human rights court ruled on Tuesday, in a strong rejection of laws that rights groups say have been routinely used as cover for abuse and violence. Homosexuality was decriminalized in Russia shortly after the… Read more »
Thousands attend Pride in Ukraine despite death threats
Thousands of people marched in Kyiv Pride yesterday despite death threats to the organisers and far-right protesters. The march through the capital of Ukraine drew a crowd of 2,500 markers according to police spokesperson Oksana Blishchik. Judith Gough, the British ambassador to Ukraine, also joined the march which she said was held in a “fine… Read more »
Denmark approves same-sex marriage in the Faroe Islands
The road to approving same-sex marriage in the Faroe Islands has finally been completed. The islands have become the final Nordic country to legalise marriage equality. The archipelago known as the Faroe Islands, which is self-governing, voted to make it legal for same-sex couples to marry last year. However the legislation required a change in… Read more »
Serbian President Nominates Gay Woman As PM In Balkan First
Serbia’s president has nominated Ana Brnabic as the country’s next prime minister, making her the first openly gay premier in the Balkan region and the first Serbian woman in the top job. “I decided to propose Ana Brnabic as prime minister-designate to the parliament of Serbia,” President Aleksandar Vucic told reporters. Brnabic’s government needs formal… Read more »
Ireland’s first gay prime minister Leo Varadkar formally elected
The former GP, who came out as gay in 2015, is confirmed as taoiseach in Dáil ceremony in Dublin The son of an Indian immigrant has made Irish history by becoming the country’s youngest and first openly gay prime minister. Leo Varadkar, 38, was formally elected taoiseach at a confirmation ceremony in the Dáil in… Read more »
Baltic Pride: ‘Love & Peace Always Wins’
Baltic Pride will be held in Lithuania’s capital, Vilnius, this weekend. While prejudice and discrimination remain, LGBT lives are changing for the better, say organizers. Paulina Bradunaite was twelve-years-old the first time Baltic Pride graced the streets of Vilnius, Lithuania, in 2010. It was the first successful display of any LGBT rights march through in… Read more »
The Scottish Episcopal Church has voted in favour of same-sex weddings
The Scottish Episcopal Church has become the first mainstream branch of Christianity in the UK to allow same-sex weddings. In a vote this afternoon at its General Synod, all three houses of the meeting – the bishops, clergy and laity – came out in favour. The decision was overwhelming, with at least two-thirds of all… Read more »
Germany welcomes gay man who fled Chechnya’s homophobic purge
Germany has welcomed a gay man who fled the purge of LGBT people in Chechnya. In April, Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta reported on the campaign of homophobic persecution that had been launched in the region, which has autonomy from Russia. The journalists who uncovered the story had been forced into hiding after ‘Jihad’ was declared… Read more »
Malta’s Prime Minister pledges to pass equal marriage
Malta’s re-elected Prime Minister has pledged his first law will bring in equal marriage. Muscat’s Prime Minister Joseph Muscat has pioneered many of the country’s pioneering LGBT rights reforms, which have seen the traditionally-conservative island nation become one of the most progressive in Europe for LGBT people. The Labour politician was sworn back in today,… Read more »
Posthumous wedding for French policeman killed in ISIS attack
The partner of a French gay policeman who was killed in a terrorist attack has remembered him in a posthumous wedding ceremony this week. Policeman Xavier Jugelé was killed in the attack on the Champs-Élysées by a gunman in April. Mr Jugelé was shot in the head and killed in the attack, while two other officers… Read more »
Free open air concerts, 7 different performing stages, parties, art, culture, sport… and all of them in the gay neighbourhood Chueca at the very centre of the city.
WorldPride Madrid 2017 is the global LGBTIQ Pride festival to be held in the neighbourhood of Chueca and the main streets of Madrid. A great festival to celebrate, discuss and show diversity, culminating in the World Pride Parade, which will be the world’s largest Pride parade ever! Read More Here! Source – World Pride Madrid
Albania gay rights organizations hold annual pride ride
Tirana, Albania – Gay rights organizations in Albania have held their annual pride event without any disturbances, while the country’s political opposition prepared for an unrelated national protest in the capital, Tirana. Scores of bikers with multi-colored balloons and flags on Saturday started their mile-long (1.6 kms) ride passing past a tent pitched by the… Read more »
Queer City: Gay London from the Romans to the Present Day by Peter Ackroyd – review
Ackroyd’s history of gay culture in the capital is entertaining but sexes up the facts The idea of a book that excavates London’s queer history all the way from BC to yesterday in order to speculate on the secret patterns that lie buried in the city’s past is a deeply appealing one – and who… Read more »
Moldova LGBT march halted as President says: ‘I am not president of the gays’
Police stopped a peaceful march organised by Moldova’s LGBT community in fear of a violent clash with counter-protesters. After just a few hundred metres the LGBT march, which was taking place in the capital city Chisinau, was stopped to avoid confrontation with orthodox groups. At the same time, Moldova’s President Igor Dodon was quoted as… Read more »
After Fleeing Bias at Home, Gay Russians Say It Persists in Brooklyn
For many years, Denis Kruglenko treated life as if it were a delicately calibrated performance. A gay man living in Belgorod, Russia, he knew that even appearing to be homosexual could be perilous. He did what he could to conceal his sexual orientation but it never seemed to be enough. Once, he was beaten up… Read more »
1,000 in Romanian gay pride march amid moves to limit rights
AP – Some 1,000 people joined a gay pride march in the Romanian capital of Bucharest Saturday, demanding greater rights amid government moves they say will curtail their rights. Some 30 ambassadors expressed support for the march and for protecting the rights of the LGBT community, and U.S. Ambassador Hans G. Klemm was among those… Read more »
Iceland drops in annual ranking of LGBT rights
Rainbow Europe, the annual map of ILGA Europe shows that Iceland only complies to 47% of the requirements of the ILGA compared to 59% in 2016. The map is an Annual Review of the Human Rights Situation of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex People in Europe. In order to improve the legal and policy… Read more »
Lithuania Opens Door to Gay Chechens Fleeing Persecution, While U.S. Slams It Shut
Survivors of prison camps in Russia are looking for some place to go. Gay Russian men are attempting to flee their country amid a wave of detention, torture, and killing in the country’s southern region of Chechnya. Now Lithuania has become one of the first countries to grant two of those persecuted refuge, while the… Read more »
Russian Activists Say They’ve Been Told US Visas Are Out Of Reach For Gay Chechens
Around 40 survivors of the crackdown in Chechnya are in hiding in other parts of Russia, but can’t find a safe country to take them in. A Russian LGBT advocacy group says conversations with the US embassy have led it to believe that visas to the United States are out of reach for gay Chechens… Read more »
The hidden origins of the modern gay rights movement in World War I
Laurie Marhoefer, Assistant Professor of History at the University of Washington, writes about an unlikely spark for the gay rights movement. One of the World War I’s most enduring legacies is largely forgotten: It sparked the modern gay rights movement. Gay soldiers who survived the bloodletting returned home convinced their governments owed them something –… Read more »
Courageous Albanian LGBT activists and supporters will stage a Pride bicycle parade
Courageous Albanian LGBT activists and supporters will stage a Pride bicycle parade in Tirana, on May 13 LGBT despite opposition protest. LGBT and Pro LGBT Alliance Announce through this press release that the bicycle parade is planned for May 13; it will be held under the law despite the same day the opposition has announced… Read more »
Hundreds of gay couples are kissing at the Kremlin to protest the gay purge in Chechnya
A kissing campaign for LGBT rights in Chechnya has attracted support from all over the world. Hundreds of gay couples have uploaded photos of themselves kissing and geo-tag themselves as being at the Kremlin in Moscow. Brazilian social justice project [SSEX BBOX] – an abbreviation of ‘Sexuality Outside The Box’ – started the movement on… Read more »
Russian LGBT Network Steps Up Efforts To Get Gay Men Out Of Chechnya
Heard on Morning Edition Police in Chechnya have been reportedly cracking down on gay men. Some have been imprisoned and tortured. David Greene talks to a representative of the Russian LGBT Network, which is helping the men. David Greene, Host: More than a hundred gay men have been rounded up by the police in the… Read more »
Albania gay groups’ pride not to be hindered by opposition
Tirana, Albania – Gay rights organizations in Albania say they have been assured their annual pride event will not be hindered on the day when the opposition also has planned a national protest. The organizations on Monday said opposition Democratic party leader Lulzim Basha assured them there would be “no incidents or threat” during their… Read more »
Gay teen in Chechnya pushed from 9th floor balcony and killed by his family
The 17-year-old boy was murdered by his uncle after learning of his homosexuality. Russian magazine Snob has reported that a 17-year-old Chechen boy has been pushed from a 9th floor balcony and killed by his uncle, after families are being encouraged to “wash the shame” away from gay relatives. Snob was approached by a gay… Read more »
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