Tag Archives: LGBTQ rights

Reuters reports: U.S. Republicans in Congress are lining up behind legislation that critics say would roll back protections for transgender people, setting a playbook for action on a divisive social issue should they take control of Congress this fall. The bills have no chance of becoming law this year, as Democrats narrowly control both chambers of Congress. But they are …

Reuters reports: Russian lawmakers have proposed extending a ban on the promotion of “non-traditional” sexual relationships to minors to include adults as well, a senior legislator said on Monday. Russia’s existing “gay propaganda” law, passed in 2013, has been used to stop gay pride marches and detain gay rights activists. Under the proposed changes, any event or act regarded as …

Reuters reports: Elon Musk’s transgender daughter has filed a request to change her name in accordance with her new gender identity and because “I no longer live with or wish to be related to my biological father in any way, shape or form.” The petition for both a name change and a new birth certificate reflecting her new gender identity …

Reuters reports: A Japanese court ruled on Monday that a ban on same-sex marriage was not unconstitutional, dealing a setback to LGBTQ rights activists in the only Group of Seven nation that does not allow people of the same gender to marry. The ruling dashes activists’ hopes of raising pressure on the central government to address the issue after a …

Australia’s ABC News outlet reports: Thai politicians have passed four different bills on same-sex unions, in what appears to be a step towards Thailand becoming the second territory in Asia to legalise same-gender marriages. Thailand has one of Asia’s most open and visible LGBTQ+ communities, adding to its image of tolerance and attraction as a liberal holiday destination for foreign …

From the Department of Labor: June is LGBTQIA+ Pride Month. It was in June 1969 that the Stonewall Uprising occurred, considered by many to have sparked the modern LGBTQIA+ civil-rights movement. Here at the Department of Labor, we rang in Pride Month by doing something that has never been done before in the history of the department — raising the …

Agence France-Presse reports: Saudi officials are seizing rainbow-colored toys and articles of clothing from shops in the capital as part of a crackdown on homosexuality, state media reported. Targeted items include rainbow-colored bows, skirts, hats and pencil cases, most of them apparently manufactured for young children, according to a report broadcast Tuesday evening by the state-run Al-Ekhbariya news channel. “We …

From the Democratic National Convention: Today marks the start of Pride month. This month, we celebrate love, self-expression, and the freedom to be one’s authentic self. The LGBTQ+ movement is full of remarkable, everyday people who had the courage to assert their freedom. From the first brick at Stonewall to marriage equality, the DNC honors the tremendous progress made to …

Gallup reports: Seventy-one percent of Americans say they support legal same-sex marriage, which exceeds the previous high of 70% recorded in 2021 by one percentage point. These data are from Gallup’s annual Values and Beliefs poll, conducted May 2-22. When Gallup first polled about same-sex marriage in 1996, barely a quarter of the public (27%) supported legalizing such unions. It …

Military.com reports: The Army is circulating a draft policy tweak that would specify that soldiers can request to move if they feel state or local laws discriminate against them based on gender, sex, religion, race or pregnancy, according to two sources with direct knowledge of the plans. The guidance, which would update a vague service policy to add specific language …

The Associated Press reports: Japan’s capital has announced it will start recognizing same-sex partnerships to ease the burdens faced by residents in their daily lives, but the unions will not be considered legal marriages. Support for sexual diversity has grown slowly in Japan, but legal protections are still lacking. The Tokyo metropolitan government unveiled a draft plan on Tuesday to …

Religion News Service reports: Americans’ support for LGBTQ rights is higher than ever, according to a new report by Public Religion Research Institute, though two groups have “consistently lagged” in their support for key policies: Republicans and white evangelical Protestants. Those findings, released Thursday (March 17), are part of PRRI’s 2021 American Values Atlas project, a seven-year survey measuring Americans’ …

CBS News reports: Two same-sex couples became the first Thursday to legally tie the knot in Chile, which joined countries in majority Catholic Latin America to allow LGBTQ couples to marry. Under a law approved by Congress in December and signed by outgoing President Sebastian Pinera, they can also now adopt children. “We never imagined we would experience this moment …

The Associated Press reports: A bipartisan group of Arizona lawmakers that includes the Republican House speaker announced Monday they were introducing legislation that would for the first time protect gay and transgender people from discrimination by businesses, landlords and employers. The proposal is backed by many business and faith leaders, but opposed by a powerful social conservative group. Even with …

The Associated Press reports: An advertising-technology billionaire has formally resigned his membership in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and rebuked the faith over social issues and LGBTQ rights in an unusual public move. Jeff T. Green has pledged to donate 90% of his estimated $5 billion fortune, starting with a $600,000 donation to the LGBTQ-rights group Equality …

Changing America reports: At least 20 million adults in the U.S. identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender, according to a new analysis of government data, representing nearly 8 percent of the nation’s total adult population. Millions more may identify as something “more expansive” like pansexual or asexual, the Human Rights Campaign Foundation said in a recent report. Using data …

The Winston-Salem Journal reports: The Winston-Salem City Council on Monday approved public accommodation and employment protections for LGBTQ people and members of other protected classes, extending rules to the private sector that apply now only to city government. Most of the new protections go into effect on Jan. 1, although some enforcement provisions don’t take effect until next March. “It …

The Charlotte Observer reports: Five years after the state blocked Charlotte’s expansion to its nondiscrimination ordinance with House Bill 2, the City Council on Monday unanimously approved expansive protections for LGBTQ+ people and some of the city’s most vulnerable residents. While Charlotte has had the authority to enact new protections for gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation and natural hairstyles …

From the Democratic National Committee: DNC Chair Jaime Harrison and LGBTQ Caucus Chair Earl Fowlkes released the following statement in celebration of Pride Month. This Pride Month, we must not only recognize our roles as allies to the LGBTQ community but reassert our commitment to being advocates for equality. Just four months into his tenure, President Biden has strongly demonstrated …

The Associated Press reports: The U.S. will protect gay and transgender people against sex discrimination in health care, the Biden administration announced Monday, reversing a Trump-era policy that sought to narrow the scope of legal rights in sensitive situations involving medical care. The action by the Department of Health and Human Services affirms that federal laws forbidding sex discrimination in …