Japan Supreme Court to hear same-sex benefits case
Virginia Democrats put off votes on constitutional equality referenda
Japan: On March 4, the Supreme Court will hear a case seeking to affirm that surviving same-sex partners are entitled to benefits paid to the spouses of victims of crime. The court has previously held that those in common-law heterosexual relationships are entitled to the benefit, but lower courts have upheld barring them to same-sex partners.
Taiwan: Recent elections have produced the country’s first openly LGBTQ legislator, Huang Jie. The new legislature is already beginning discussions on potentially opening up access to surrogacy to single women and LGBT couples – it is currently limited to heterosexual married couples.
Czechia: Speaking of, it turns out that a Christian anti-LGBT group Alliance for the Family has been trying to use fears of surrogacy to mobilize legislators against passing the long-delayed same-sex marriage bill. Surrogacy is currently unregulated in Czechia, although there has been several attempts to ban it in Parliament. Some right-wing legislators are saying they won’t allow the same-sex marriage bill – or rather, the compromise same-sex everything-except-the-word-marriage bill – to go forward unless surrogacy is also banned, so that gays won’t have access to it. It’s not clear how strong the movement is at this moment, but a second-reading debate on the same-sex “partnership” bill is expected soon.
Also, yesterday a court in Czechia dismissed a libel case filed by the Alliance for the Family against an MP who labelled the group “Putin’s voice in Europe.” American anti-LGBT Christian groups are involved in fighting equal marriage in Czechia too.
Australia: OutInPerth has a breakdown on why the Tasmania conversion therapy ban bill is so bad, with a view of informing the Western Australia government to do better.
More congratulations
GLAAD’s Media Awards nominees were announced yesterday.
Meanwhile, in the States…
Virginia: Senate Democrats moved to postpone consideration of a constitutional amendment to repeal the defunct ban on same-sex marriage until next year. The move doesn’t change the timeline of the potential amendment, which must pass two consecutive legislatures before being put on the ballot, but does mean it won’t be discussed until 2025. Still, given that Democrats only have one-seat majorities in both houses of the legislature, it sure seems to be tempting fate to put off anything.
Meanwhile, Richmond City Council is moving to extend benefits to domestic partners of city employees.
Minnesota: By contrast, state Democrats here are prepping an equal rights state constitutional amendment for the fall that will bar discrimination based on a wide variety of characteristics, including sexual orientation, gender identity, as well as protecting access to abortion care and gender care.
New Jersey: Governor Murphy has signed into law a new bill expanding access to infertility treatment, including barring discrimination based on relationship status or sexual orientation.
Colorado: The gunman behind the 2022 Club Q shooting has agreed to plead guilty to federal hate crime and gun charges.
Florida: The Department of Education has banned Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion programs at its colleges, and has banned a course on “Principles of Sociology,” which it said promoted “radical woke ideology.” So, you can see how the grift about protecting children has now spread to censoring content for adults. State Republicans are also trying to ban the display of Pride flags in schools and on state and local government property.
Kansas: State Republicans have released a draft platform that includes opposition to same-sex marriage.
Utah: A very strict don’t say gay bill has been proposed. The bill would forbid educators from doing anything to encourage students to reconsider a previously held political or social belief.
Anti-LGBT Bills: The ACLU counts 275 anti-LGBT bills filed ahead of the 2024 state legislative session, most focused on trans issues, including health care and education.
Capital Punishment: This legislative session is already seeing a number of bills to abolish or expand the death penalty. Missouri and Kentucky have abolition bills proposed, but probably the only state where abolition has a chance of advancing is Ohio where a bipartisan coalition has been working on it for years. Conversely, bills have been filed to introduce the death penalty in West Virginia, and expand its use in Tennessee, Missouri, and Nebraska.
Alabama is scheduled to execute a prisoner using nitrogen gas suffocation for the first time, which has prompted calls from the UN human rights office. to halt the untried process.