Czechia same-sex marriage vote tomorrow?
Plus, Canada's dueling porn bills, and South Carolina may get a hate crime law
I have a story up at the Los Angeles Blade analyzing competing bills before Canada’s Parliament that aim to regulate online harms – the government’s bill to regulate hate speech and child porn and an opposition bill that will require age verification to access internet pornography, both of which have serious civil liberties implications.
Czechia: It looks like the equal marriage bill – and proposed amendments that will water it down to an enhanced partnership law – will come to a vote on Wednesday in the lower house. The margin looks tight, and supporters are hoping to get 20 additional votes from the opposition ANO group to supplement the governing parties STAN, Pirates, and TOP 09. ANO has formerly supported expanding LGBT rights, but has waffled in recent years. The Christian Democrats and the Civic Democrats, both part of the governing coalition, are in opposition.
The latest Eurobarometer poll is out detailing support for same-sex marriage across the EU. Among countries without same-sex marriage, the poll shows majority support in Italy, Czechia, Poland, and Cyprus. The map below is from Landgeist.
Hong Kong: The Court of Appeal approved the government’s bid to ask the Court of Final Appeal to overturn last year’s ruling ordering it to treat same-sex couples equal to married heterosexual couples when it comes to housing rights. Given the CFA ordered the government last year to come up with a civil partnership scheme for same-sex couples, it seems unlikely to me that the CFA is going to overturn the decision.
Taiwan: The government is consulting with LGBTQ groups on proposed surrogacy legislation.
Argentina: The new radical right-wing government eliminated the National Institute Against Discrimination (INADI), the body that is charged with investigating discrimination based on racism, homophobia and xenophobia, as part of sweeping reforms meant to shrink government spending.
Hungary: Parliament finally approved Sweden’s accession to NATO, removing one of the tools the government had previously been using to blackmail the EU over protection of LGBTQ rights.
On a related note, Armenia has frozen its participation in the Collective Security Treaty Organization, Russia’s “Mirror, Mirror” version of NATO. Armenia has been gradually withdrawing from Russia’s orbit since Russia failed to come to its defense in last year’s war with Azerbaijan.
Turkiye: Local authorities in Ankara banned the LGBT festival Kuirfest, which was supposed to happen this past weekend.
Meanwhile, in the States…
South Carolina: A state senate committee has advanced a hate crimes bill to the floor, where it joins a hate crime bill already passed by the house. SC is one of only three states that lacks a hate crime law – the others are Wyoming and Arkansas (which has a watered-down statute that advocates don’t consider a real hate crime law). The bill includes protections for “gender” and “sexual orientation.” However, the Republican governor has disparaged the bill, so its fate is uncertain even if the legislature acts.
This comes right after the first federal trial of a hate-based murder of a trans woman returned a guilty verdict last week. The murder happened in South Carolina.
Massachusetts: The state senate will vote on Friday to on a bill to modernize sex education.
Idaho: The state senate has passed a bill banning “diversity statements” or consideration of diversity in hiring or admissions at state universities. It now goes to the house.
Missouri: The city of Columbia has declared itself an LGBTQ+ sanctuary city, meaning it will only enforce anti-LGBT laws when forced to by the state, and that it will treat such laws with the lowest priority.
Flag Bans: Utah Republicans helped kill a bill that would have banned Pride flags in classrooms among a host of other anti-education measures. Meanwhile, Tennessee Republicans have advanced a flag ban bill out of the state house, setting up a final vote in the Senate possibly this week.
Florida: A bill to repeal the state constitution’s defunct ban on same-sex marriage is dead, after infighting among the state’s queer lawmakers caused it to miss a crucial deadline. But it’s not like it would’ve passed through the Republican supermajorities in the legislature anyway.
Arizona: A proposed anti-trans constitutional amendment was defeated in the state legislature.