EU leaders denounce Hungary's ban on Pride
Republicans going after HIV programs, human rights reporting, education, and poppers
Hungary: The EU and several European leaders denounced Hungary’s recently passed law banning Pride parades, which was quickly signed into law by the president. Hungary Pride organizers and the mayor of Budapest say the parade will happen this year despite the law.
Poland: Police have warned a presidential candidate after he vandalized an LGBT exhibit in a public square this week. LGBT issues have been prominent in the campaign, as the new president will likely determine the fate of a proposed civil union bill and other progressive legislation the government wants to pass.
Japan: A court dismissed an appeal from a trans person seeking to change their legal gender because the person is married, which is a bar on gender change under current law.
Philippines: The Supreme Court has launched LGBT-inclusive gender sensitivity training for its staff.
Turkiye: Protests have erupted after the mayor of Istanbul – a main rival of president Erdogan – was arrested on what look like trumped up charges. It’s another worrying sign of Turkiye’s slide into autocracy.
Cyprus: A new minor political party has emerged that combines anti-LGBT policies with, uh, hunting rights.
Trinidad and Tobago: The Caribbean state is having snap elections April 28, and recently appointed prime minister Stuart Young, who’s running for reelection says he wants to remove T&T from the UK Privy Council as its court of final appeal. The PC is currently hearing the state’s appeal of a 2018 local court decision that struck down its sodomy law.
Canada: Reports are emerging that Canada will also be holding a federal election on April 28, with the call expected to come formally on Sunday. The governing Liberals have seen a huge reversal in polling fortunes over the past two months, with them now leading the Conservatives, who have previously pledged a bunch of anti-trans policies if elected.
Meanwhile, in the States
The FDA is going after poppers – investigating producers of the party drug for potential criminal violations. The investigations have apparently been in the works for long before RFK Jr – who has written that he believes (wrongly) that poppers causes AIDS – became in charge of the agency. The move mirrors a similar recent crackdown on poppers in Canada.
Reports have emerged that the State Department will be drastically cutting back its annual global Human Rights Report, eliminating sections on women’s and LGBTQ rights.
Reports have also emerged that the Trump is considering eliminating the CDC’s HIV prevention programs, or merging them with HIV services programs at Health and Human Services.
Federal Democrats have introduced a bill that would require schools nationwide to adopt anti-bullying policies that protect LGBT students – it stands zero chance of advancing in this congress.
Montana: A bill to delete the defunct constitutional ban on same-sex marriage was debated in committee yesterday. It is highly unlikely to advance.
Colorado: A bill to codify same-sex marriage into state law has passed second reading in the state house, and now awaits a final vote before it can be signed into law. The bill would codify the constitutional amendment passed by voters last fall.
Connecticut: A bill to add LGBT nondiscrimination protections to the state constitution has advanced out of committee.
Maine: Another LGBT nondiscrimination amendment advanced out of committee with a divided report; this one is unlikely to actually pass because Democrats lack the required supermajority.
Ohio: Local activists are considering whether to pursue a ballot initiative to repeal the state’s defunct same-sex marriage ban from its constitution. A thought: if you’re going to the effort of a ballot initiative, go all the way and include a nondiscrimination initiative, too.
Meanwhile, a federal appeals court reheard a case challenging the Cincinnati school board’s bullying policy prohibiting students from using demeaning, gender-based language (ie, requiring students to call each other by their preferred pronouns). Lower courts sided with the board over students who claimed a first amendment right to misgender their classmates.
Oklahoma: The state board of education has adopted a new curriculum that requires students to learn that the 2020 election was stolen from President Trump (which is, of course, not true).
Texas: Senate Republicans passed a new bill to ban DEI and any clubs focused on LGBT students from public schools. It now goes to the state house.
New Jersey: Right-wing media has been having a feeding frenzy over reports that a NJ hospital asked parents to disclose the sexual orientation and gender identity of newborn babies. I can’t find reliable information on the root story, but at least one state Republican has introduced a bill that would ban hospitals from asking about the LGBT status of a minor.
Pennsylvania: The state house passed a resolution declaring March 17 “Bayard Rustin Day.”
Meanwhile, the Trump administration has frozen $175 million in funding to UPenn over its decision to allow a trans athlete to compete on its women’s swim team. And a school board in Dover has passed a slate of anti-trans policies restricting how a student can change their name or pronoun on school records, restricting bathroom use, and allowing staff to refuse to acknowledge a trans student’s preferred identity.