Canadian mayor's bank account garnished over homophobia
Florida's new sex ed curriculum removes all references to sex
Canada: The mayor of Emo, Ontario had his bank account garnished after he announced he would refuse to pay court-ordered damages of $5000 to Borderland Pride. So that was easier than we’d thought. Borderland Pride says they’ve since been receiving hateful and threatening emails, thanks in part to a media campaign by far-right trash outlets like LifeSiteNews and the Toronto Sun. But their Facebook group is also full of receipts of the mayor’s decades of public homophobic statements.
Meanwhile, Xtra notes that last year anti-LGBT hate crimes in Canada increased by 69% (don’t say it), and that increasingly, civil suits rather than criminal proceedings are being used to combat hate.
Japan: The Fukuokoa High Court is expected to deliver its ruling in the appeal of a same-sex marriage case on Friday. This will be the third High Court ruling on the subject, following ruling in Tokyo and Sapporo that found the ban on same-sex marriage unconstitutional. In the lower District Courts, 5/6 rulings went the same way.
Poland: The country’s first LGBTQ+ Museum, QueerMuzeum, has opened in Warsaw. WorldCrunch has a sort of chronology of the ongoing 20+ year fight for same-sex marriage rights.
UK: People who were discharged from the military or otherwise affected by the ban on LGBT people serving will be eligible for up to £50,000 compensation, the government announced this week.
Mexico: It looks like momentum is building for the bill to codify same-sex marriage in Chihuahua. No word yet on the vote date.
A legislator in Queretaro has brought forward a bill to recognize the state’s LGBTQ community and include them in more aspects of government. He says a gender identity recognition bill is still forthcoming.
Chile: It’s been three years since same-sex marriage became legal, and more than 6000 same-sex couples have been married in that time.
Australia: Sydney police are reporting a wave of teen gangs luring and attacking gay men. The teens video the assaults and post them on social media. Similar attacks have been reported around Australia all year.
Namibia: Legal experts are speaking out against the “Definition of Spouse” bill as being unconstitutional. The bill was passed by parliament last year in the wake of a Supreme Court ruling that ordered the government to recognize foreign same-sex marriages, and still awaits signature from the newly-elected president (the previous president and acting president both delayed signing it).
Meanwhile, in the States…
The Independent reports that Republicans are quietly pushing to defund all transgender health care in federal appropriations bills, and not just for minors. The current draft of the NDAA defunds trans health care for children of military families.
National LGBTQ+ groups are calling on Democratic leaders in Congress to block the Kids Online Safety Act, which they say could stifle necessary information and free speech on the internet.
Michigan: State Democrats advanced a bill to extend the ban on sex discrimination to cover pregnancy and lactating status – it awaits a final vote in the house. The decriminalization of HIV bill was advanced out of committee – it needs to be voted on in the senate and then go through the house. A bill to simplify the petition process for referendums was advanced out of committee and awaits a final senate vote. We’re now down to four days left of this session, and then Republicans take over the house. Still no sign of movement on the sodomy decriminalization, adultery decriminalization, and hate crime bills.
Florida: School boards are trying to get approval for sex ed curricula as required by the state – and removing all references to sex in order to get it.
Meanwhile, the state department of corrections has now instituted a policy that sounds basically like mandatory conversion therapy for all trans prisoners.
Ohio: Republicans are rushing to pass HB8, a bill that would require schools to out trans students to their parents, and now also includes requirements for allowing religious instruction.