Tag: LGBTQ rights

In 1979, there was a protest held in Rabin Square, Tel Aviv. The protest drew attention to longstanding discrimination of the LGBTQ community in Israel. Today, Israel has progressed drastically in terms of their laws protecting the queer community and their celebration of queer culture. The parades were politically motivated at first, but transitioned to focus on LGBTQ rights, equality and equal representation. An individual used to serve up to 10 years in prison if they engaged in same-sex activities. In the...

This year, Zurich, Switzerland celebrated its 25th pride parade. Thousands of people crowded the city streets to celebrate the queer rights movement and advocate for social and legal changes. Switzerland is relatively progressive in regards to LGBTQ rights and freedoms, but there are a few legal changes that still need to take place for the queer community to gain full equality. In 1789, same-sex activities were decriminalized under the Napoleonic Code. Same-sex relationships have been legally recognized since 2007, when the...

In August 2012, the Moscow City Court upheld a ruling which banned Pride parades until 2112. That’s 93 years from now. The court cited that Moscow Pride creates the possibility of public disorder, due to the lack of support for the queer community from the public. The first Pride parades in Moscow took place in 2006, 2007 and 2008. They were bombarded with homophobic attacks. In 2009, the Russian LGBT Human Rights Project organized a parade at the last minute, avoideding...

Buried in a a recent Hill-YouGov poll is this interesting nugget: 33 percent of respondents said they wouldn’t be surprised if something like the Stonewall riots happened in America today. Perhaps that’s an indication of how bad things have gotten under Trump? TheHill.com reports that only one-third to one-fifth of Americans from every generation reported knowing anything about the Stonewall uprising, the June 28, 1969 rebellion against police harassment that helped kick off the modern-day LGBTQ rights movement. But here’s the kicker:...

London has been hosting Pride parades since 1972. The event attracts approximately a million people, and is the only annual event to close Oxford Street, one of the busiest streets in the city. Despite the size and popularity of Pride, the United Kingdom has endured a long battle with queer rights. The Offences Against the Person Act 1861 removed the death penalty for homosexuality, yet same-sex acts remained illegal, and were punishable by imprisonment. The police were very strict about laws against...

In the past three months, five states have passed draconian legislation restricting women’s access to abortion, in some cases as early as six weeks into a pregnancy. Georgia, Ohio, Mississippi, Kentucky, and Alabama seem hellbent on denying women their constitutional right to do what they want with their own bodies. In some states, lawmakers want to force women to have babies against their wills, even in cases of rape and incest. In others, they want to impose 99-year prison sentences on...

The Belfast rally was led by the same-sex partner of slain journalist and LGBTQ advocate Lyra McKee. Thousands of people marched through Belfast on Saturday to demand the recognition of same-sex marriage in Northern Ireland, the only region of the United Kingdom where it does not have legal status. Attempts to legislate for same-sex marriage have been blocked by the Democratic Unionist Party, a key ally of British Prime Minister Theresa May, despite opinion polls in recent years showing most in...

'Glad it’s not my relative's grave you’re standing on to suck in your stomach and get likes' says critic of Chris Marchant, of string quartet Well-Strung A gay violinist has defended himself against backlash after sharing a topless photo from a Provincetown graveyard, before deleting the photo. Chris Marchant, a member of all-gay string quartet Well-Strung, posted the image of himself resting against an obelisk on Saturday. Well-Strung are a pop-classical band who perform covers of music by the likes of...

After collecting a silver medal in the 20km race walk at the Commonwealth Games earlier this year, Tom Bosworth is at the peak of his career. It means that when the World Championships take place in 2019 in Qatar, he could be in for securing the top prize. But the openly gay athlete – who publicly came out in 2015 – risks imprisonment if he speaks out in favour of LGBTQ rights when visiting the Middle Eastern country. Bosworth is rightfully angry...

Early on Saturday morning, 19-year-old William Gomez was thrown out of the historic Stonewall Inn on Christopher Street, NYC while hanging out with his co-workers. Gomez returned at 4:30 a.m. and smashed the window of the Stonewall and left damaged that cost almost $7,000 to repair according to the NY Daily News. The Stonewall Inn is the site of the riots that started the LGBTQ rights movement and pride month observances. Gomez, who is not gay and is expecting his...

While many danced to mock Vice President’s return to the state of Ohio, one gay man is preparing to run for a spot in Congress. Rick Neal is currently in the running for the 15th district congressional seat for the state of Ohio. He is the first openly gay man to run for a congressional seat from the state and could become the first openly gay Congressman from Ohio. Having realized that fact, Neal is especially appreciative during this month. While...

However the ban on same-sex couples adopting still stands… In a landmark move, Greece’s Hellenic Parliament has voted to allow same-sex couples in civil partnerships to foster children by 161-103 votes. However, despite the passing of the milestone legislation, a ban on same-sex couples adopting children in the country still stands. The passing of the legislation was praised by the country’s Prime Minister, Alexis Tsipras. According to The Greek Observer, he said that the legislation was a “humane obligation” towards those...

Fan Chunlin is a 30-year-old Shanghai citizen who just filed a lawsuit Wednesday demanding China’s State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television (SAPPRFT) to specify why gay content has been banned from tv and the internet. Thankfully, Beijing’s No. 1 Intermediate People’s Court has accepted this case, will hold hearings, and will come to a decision within the next six months. Fan’s lawsuit is a reaction to the policy placed last summer that banned gay content on the internet. Fan’s...

Conservatives who are anti-LGBT (they mostly are), will do anything they can to shine their pathetic and ignorant light on their misinformed thoughts of LGBT people the second they get even a nibble of information. Kevin Spacey is now their poster child for this, and some are starting to paint all gay men as perverts as a result of the alleged stories against the House of Cards actor. World Net Daily, which is a super conservative publication, had one of...