Czechia, Kosovo civil unions advance

Dominica decriminalizes homosexuality, plus more updates

Hello, hello!

I’m back at the LGBT Global Newsletter desk after my whirlwind trip to London, Paris, and New York, and boy has there been news since I left!

Today I’m going to update you and anything you might’ve missed while I was on vacation and my next newsletter will get us back into regular news coverage.

Czechia passed its partnership law, which is an “all but the word marriage and joint adoption” partnership – it’s awaiting the President’s signature.

Kosovo’s PM also announced he would attempt again to pass a civil union bill through Parliament this month.

Dominica decriminalized gay sex. Interestingly, the court explicitly rejected the argument that the constitution prohibited sexual orientation discrimination, but still agreed that the sodomy law was unconstitutional on other grounds. And as much as the government has rejected decriminalization in the past, the government conceded the law was unconstitutional on those grounds! So don’t expect an appeal.

On the flip side, Iraq explicitly criminalized gay sex – although the country was already routinely cracking down on gay sex through other criminal laws anyway. The new law also criminalizes LGBTQ advocacy organizations, transgender status, and “wife swapping” organizations.

Slovakia renounced the citizenship of a gay man who acquired UK citizenship upon marrying his husband.

Mexico banned conversion therapy nationwide. Also, the state of Tabasco updated its family laws to explicitly allow adoption by same-sex couples.

France’s right-wing senators have proposed a bill that trans activists have called anti-trans, drawing thousands of protestors yesterday. I’m not exactly sure what’s in the bill – the reports have bene very vague – but it’s scheduled for debate on May 28.

The United Methodist Church renounced anti-LGBT teachings and voted to allow gay priests and same-sex marriage.

Meanwhile, in the States…

The Biden administration published its new Title IX rules extending anti-discrimination provisions in education to LGBT students, and new EEOC regulations on non-discrimination in the workplace. Several red states have already indicated they will not comply with the regulations.

The Fourth Circuit ruled that bans on trans health care are unconstitutional. The ruling applies to North Carolina, South Carolina, Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia.

The Colorado legislature approved a referendum to remove the state’s constitutional ban on same-sex marriage – it’ll be on the ballot in November. The state also passed a foster children’s bill of rights that includes an inclusive non-discrimination right.

Minnesota legislative Dems are still squabbling over a potential equal rights amendment bill, with House Dems preferring to delay a referendum until 2026. 

Michigan’s state house advanced yet another version of a proposed hate crime bill, although the house and senate Dems still seem far apart on the issue. Meanwhile, a senate committee advanced a heavily revised gay panic defense ban bill — if it passes, it will have to go back to the House for concurrence.