Australia to count LGBTs in census, ban conversion therapy and doxxing
Trans Delaware lawmaker is about to make history
Over at the Los Angeles Blade, I have a preview of Echo Theatre’s west coast premiere of Clarkston by Samuel D. Hunter, the playwright behind the Academy Award-winning film The Whale. (Promo photo above from Echo Theatre)
Australia: The government has now fully walked back its decision not to include questions about sexuality and gender on the 2026 census. For the first time, Aussies will be asked their sexual orientation and gender identity, enabling an accurate count of LGBT people.
The federal government has also announced plans to enact stiff criminal penalties for doxxing, meaning the practice of maliciously releasing a person’s private information, including releasing private information about a person’s LGBT status.
Meanwhile, the government of South Australia will introduce legislation to ban conversion therapy this week. Once the bill is passed, only Western Australia, Tasmania, and the Northern Territory will lack laws against conversion therapy, though the former two have long had plans to introduce them.
Georgia: The Council of Europe’s Human Rights Commissioner has called on the Georgian Parliament to abandon the intense anti-LGBTQ law proposed by the government. A final vote is expected Sept 17. The government has enough votes to pass it, but not enough to pass several constitutional amendments it’s proposed to make the law even harsher, as the opposition has boycotted votes on it so far. We’ll see what, if anything, passes next week.
India: Opposition leader Rahul Ghandi was in the US and said some nice things about LGBTQ rights at Georgetown University, but avoided giving a direct answer on same-sex marriage or relationship rights (video link).
Nepal: Queer activists say there’s a disconnect between the perception of the country being progressive on LGBT rights, and the lived experiences of LGBT Nepalis. That said, the article does acknowledge that queer people are able to marry in the country (contrary to what Wikipedia editors are saying) although the laws have not caught up with the Supreme Court ruling.
Meanwhile, in the States
VP Kamala Harris released her full policy platform ahead of last night’s Presidential Debates, and it includes a pledge to push for passage of the Equality Act. That’s about it as far as concrete proposals for LGBT rights.
Delaware: Transgender lawmaker Sarah McBride won the Democratic primary for the state’s congressional seat. As she’s likely to win the November election, she will likely become America’s first openly trans member of congress.
Colorado: Some religious leaders met to express support for the referendum to remove the state’s defunct ban on same-sex marriage from the constitution.
Hawaii and California will also be voting on marriage bans in November.