Court tells Caribbean territory to recognize same-sex couples
Mexican court says trans women are women
Turks and Caicos: This UK Territory just south of The Bahamas has been under the radar for a while, but the Miami Herald reported on Friday that it has had a same-sex marriage case dragging on for 16 months. The case involved a binational couple who were married in Florida and were seeking to have the marriage recognized for immigration purposes.
Based on my own communication with the couple and their lawyer, later Friday, the court delivered a sort of mixed ruling. The judge ruled that the government’s refusal to issue a residency permit violated the territorial constitution’s ban on sexual orientation discrimination. But it did not find that the refusal to recognize same-sex marriage in itself was unlawful. So: recognition of same-sex couples for immigration purposes only. More details will become clear when the written ruling is released. It sounds like there are grounds for appeal, or for separate cases seeking additional rights for same-sex couples (taxation, etc), though I don’t know what the couple’s plans are right now.
Turks and Caicos’ constitution explicitly bans sexual orientation discrimination. It’s section on marriage protects the right to heterosexual marriage, but does not explicitly ban same-sex marriage. As a UK territory, T&C is bound by the European Convention on Human Rights, which courts have ruled requires members to recognize same-sex couples (though not marriage, as of yet). It’s possible that the UK-appointed Governor could use this ruling as a excuse to introduce civil union legislation, like the Cayman Islands governor did a few years ago.
Greece: The country’s first same-sex marriage took place this weekend. Opa!
Cyprus: Campaigning for marriage equality is beginning in neighboring Cyprus. The government says it will start thinking about it after it deals with gender identity legislation expected this year. LGBT activists have a meeting with the justice minister March 13, which they hope will yield some progress (including, at a minimum, amending regulations so that foreign marriages are recognized as civil unions on the island, at least). The main governing party is opposed to marriage equality, but they only have a minority in the 56-seat Parliament. Parties in favor have 18 seats, and parties that are divided on the issue have 24, so it seems like the math should favor a bill if it’s introduced, and the current president campaigned on it last year.
UK: MPs killed a private member’s bill to ban conversion therapy on Friday. While the bill could possibly be brought back for debate, it’s unlikely any law will be passed before elections are expected to be called this year. The opposition Labor Party, riding high in the polls, has pledged to ban it.
Costa Rica: A bill to ban conversion therapy continues debate in congress, with some activists worried the government may water it down to get the necessary votes.
Speaking of Conversion Therapy: Bans on conversion therapy came into effect in Portugal and the state of Morelos, Mexico this week. (Mexico’s federal bill to ban it ought to come up for a final vote sometime this month in Congress, though no date has been set yet).
Mexico: The Supreme Court ruled that trans women are considered women when it comes to laws that deal with violence against women and femicide.
El Salvador: LGBT organizations are speaking out against the government’s coordinated campaign against them.
Ghana: Continuing fallout from Parliament passing the anti-LGBT law. A popular news host has struck out against the bill, pointing out that it will be illegal for him to interview LGBTQ+ people under the law. And the IMF said it is closely monitoring events in the West African country after the bill, which may impact how and if it works in the country going forward.
Georgia: The Caucasus country’s government has announced it will introduce a bill to ban LGBT “propaganda” in the next two weeks. Georgia’s democratic and human rights backsliding ought to be concerning, and it should have negative consequences for its bid to join the European Union. (Current member states Hungary and Lithuania have similar laws on the books and have both come under criticism from the EU over them). Still, one expert thinks this is just posturing and pandering ahead of October elections.
Belarus: Another former Soviet republic is considering its own bill to ban LGBT propaganda. Belarus is a basic dictatorship that is closely aligned with Russia. Dictator Lukashenko’s loyalists unsurprisingly won last week’s parliamentary elections, in which the opposition was not allowed to field candidates, and Lukashenko has announced he plans to run for a seventh five-year term next year.
India: The News Broadcasting and Digital Standards Authority issued new guidelines relating to coverage of the LGBTQIA+ community, urging broadcasters not to promote homophobia and to refrain from outing people unless there is a true public interest.
Canada: The political right is continuing its meltdown over trans issues. The Federal Conservatives are running scared in the wake of leader Pierre Poilievre’s comments about banning trans women from bathrooms and change rooms, and the New Brunswick Progressive Conservatives have seen two candidates drop out of this year’s elections over concerns the party has become too anti-trans.
Meanwhile, in the States…
Tomorrow is Super Tuesday, the date when 16 states will hold their presidential primary elections, as well as certain referendums.
The Education Department will conduct an investigation into the death of nonbinary teenager Nex Benedict following an altercation with students at their Oklahoma school.
Meanwhile, an Oklahoma state senate committee has advanced a bill that would bar the Dept of Human Services from excluding prospective parents due to their refusal to affirm a child’s sexual orientation or gender identity.
Wyoming: The legislature passed a bill banning schools from keeping medical information from students’ parents and requiring parental permission before “sexual orientation and gender identity” are discussed in classes.
The week ahead…
Coming up this week, Liechtenstein’s Parliament meets Wednesday-Friday, and is expected to debate/vote on a same-sex marriage bill. If it passes, it will be the 38th country to legalize it.
On Friday, Ireland will hold two referendums to remove sexist language from the constitution, and make its definition of family more inclusive of diverse family types.
Czechia’s enhanced civil union bill should appear in the senate soon, having just passed the lower house.