Sen. Edward Markey, left and Congressman Alan Lowenthal Sen. Edward J. Markey, D-Mass., and Congressman Alan Lowenthal, D-Calif., announced Wednesday Feb.
3, that they will re-introduce the International Human Rights Defense Act, a “bicameral effort to reaffirm the United States’ role as a world leader in the promotion of LGBTQI equality.” In a press release announcing their effort, the two lawmakers noted that nearly 70 nations around the world have enacted laws that criminalize homosexuality, adding that “abuses in Russia, Tanzania, Uganda, Indonesia, Central America and elsewhere demonstrate a continued threat to the fundamental rights of LGBTQI communities in every region of the world.” The statement continued, “The coronavirus pandemic