Alberta bans "sexually explicit" queer books from school libraries
Equal parenting bill passes in Isle of Man
Over at the Los Angeles Blade, I have an interview with Jake Brasch, playwright of The Reservoir, now playing at the Geffen Playhouse through July 20.
Czechia: The government has officially abolished the surgical requirement for trans people to update their legal gender, following a 2023 constitutional court ruling. People seeking a gender change will still require a diagnosis from doctor, which can take 6-12 months.
Switzerland: The European Court of Human Rights delivered a partial victory for South African Olympic runner Caster Semenya, who was thrust into global controversy when it was asserted that she was not truly biologically female. The court ruled she was denied a fair process when the Swiss Federal Supreme Court didn’t give substantive review to a decision by the Court of Arbitration for Sport to allow World Athletics to impose rules barring her from competing due to her elevated testosterone levels. However, the court dismissed the direct discrimination claim, finding it was outside their jurisdiction.
UK: It’s been a year since the Labour government was elected, and they still have not introduced the promised conversion therapy ban. Indeed, there’s a fair argument that LGBT rights, especially trans rights, have gotten worse.
Meanwhile, the crown dependency, The Isle of Man, has finally passed a bill that will give same-sex parents legal equality. It awaits royal assent (a formality).
Canada: Canada’s worst province, Alberta, has banned “sexually explicit” books from school libraries, and will now restrict books that mention topics like menstruation, puberty, and sex to students in grades 10 and up. This is all in response to the government learning that there were four LGBTQ-themed books (Gender Queer, Fun Home, Blankets…) in school libraries in Calgary and Edmonton.
Mexico: A Guanajuato state congress committee advanced a slew of LGBT rights bills that would: codify same-sex marriage into law, enhance penalties for murders of trans women, and criminalize conversion therapy. The bills are now out for 15 days of consultation before the plenary will vote in September.
In Michoacan, a legislator has brought forward a bill to ban conversion therapy.
Dominican Republic: Protestors are trying to convince lawmakers to go back to the drawing board on a revision of the 230-year-old penal code, as the proposed draft maintains the total abortion ban, doesn’t outlaw discrimination or hate crimes, and goes easy on sexual assault and child abuse. The code appears to be being fast-tracked through congress.
Haiti: Next door, LGBTQ people have suffered a huge setback, as the country’s long-proposed new penal code was formally adopted but only after cutting all provisions banning anti-LGBT discrimination and relating to anti-LGBT hate crimes. I can’t find any sources to corroborate the details of the new penal code, but I trust 76Crimes’ reporting.
Japan: Activists have launched an app to let voters know where candidates stand on marriage equality ahead of the upper house elections July 20.
Hong Kong: The city government is planning to bring forward its flawed same-sex partnership bill on July 16.
Afghanistan: The International Criminal Court has introduced warrants for two Taliban leaders for alleged crimes against humanity relating to the Taliban’s persecution of girls, women, and “other persons non-conforming with the Taliban’s policy on gender, gender identity or expression.” Oddly, this ICC press release doesn’t actually use words like LGBT, sexual orientation, or trans, but that seems to be what it’s about.
Pakistan: The government has introduced a bill to eliminate the death penalty for two crimes, in line with a commitment to limit capital punishment as part of an enhanced trade agreement with the European Union.
Kyrgyzstan: AFEW has a report on human rights violations against LGBT people and people living with HIV in the Central Asian country.
Namibia: Activists are anticipating a decision from the supreme court on the government’s appeal of a lower court decision last year to decriminalize sodomy. No date has been set yet.
United Nations: The Human Rights Council voted 29-15 to renew the mandate of the Independent Expert on SOGI, who investigates LGBT human rights situations around the world. There had been some drama about the vote, given that the USA no longer participates in the council under the Trump administration, but it seems to have passed easily. Ghana, Benin, and Kyrgyzstan were the three abstentions on the vote; the 15 no votes were cast by China and a coalition of African and Muslim countries.
Meanwhile, in the States
Trump’s latest move is rescinding a Biden-era policy banning anti-LGBT discrimination in schools receiving federal food assistance.
Wisconsin: The state supreme court cleared the way for the governor to enact a conversion therapy ban by regulation in a Tuesday ruling. The Democratic governor had attempted to enact such a ban in 2020, but the rule had been blocked by Republicans in the legislature. The court ruled that the legislature doesn’t have the power to veto such a regulation. Gov. Evers will likely announce a new conversion therapy ban shortly.
North Carolina: Democratic Governor Josh Stein vetoed a series of anti-LGBT bills passed by the Republican-controlled legislature, including bans on DEI and divisive topics in school and government, defining trans people out of law, banning gender care for prisoners, and making insurance coverage of gender care unsustainable. He’s also vetoed some anti-immigration bills. The legislature will reconvene this month to attempt to override the vetoes, but Republicans will need at least one Democrat to join them to make that happen, which doesn’t currently seem likely.
Ohio: The state ballot board has ruled that a proposed equal rights and equal marriage amendment must be split in two before it can be brought to voters. To be honest, I kind of see their point, even if one implies kind of implies the other. Canvassers will now have to collect two sets of over 400,000 signatures by next August in order to get on the ballot next November. They’re portraying this as doubling the amount of work, but surely anyone signing one petition would sign both, no? Obviously there’s extra verification work and paper handling though.
Meanwhile, Cuyahoga County (Cleveland area) is considering a ban on conversion therapy, and a judge has blocked a ban on medication abortion in the wake of voters approving a right to abortion in 2023.
Missouri: A state court has blocked several laws restricting abortion, in a see-saw with the state supreme court that keeps reimposing them despite voters approving a constitutional right to abortion last year. Republican lawmakers have just approved putting a question on the 2026 ballot to re-ban abortion and ban gender care for minors — the ACLU is already suing over it.
California: Trump’s Education Secretary has threatened legal action over California’s policy of allowing trans girls to compete in girls sports.