Latvia may pass civil unions next week
Czechia defers pseudo-marriage bill for a month
Latvia: The government has submitted a new civil partnership law to Parliament, in order to comply with a Constitutional Court ruling (and ECHR judgements from other countries). Latvians have been able to register a same-sex civil partnership since a Constitutional Court deadline passed last year, but this bill would codify what rights come with it. Since Parliament has rejected civil unions multiple times, this version is pretty watered-down – for example, it has no restrictions on close family members forming a civil partnership, so that it wouldn’t be confused with marriage. That’s right, the anti-LGBT crew in Latvia wants legal civil partnerships between siblings to promote family values. The fact that the bill is coming forward at all is a result of the change of government in the summer, which put the progressives narrowly in power.
The bill passed through the committee stage yesterday and will get its first hearing in Parliament tomorrow. The government is trying to accelerate it through the legislative process, and is hoping to get it passed final reading next week.
Yesterday, the government also announced plans to ratify the Istanbul Convention on domestic violence, albeit with a reservation that the convention only applies insofar as it is compatible with the constitution. Parliament will still have to vote on it. Latvia is one of just a few EU holdouts on the Convention, the others being Lithuania, Czechia, Slovakia, Bulgaria, and Hungary. Non-EU, Council of Europe states Armenia and Azerbaijan have also not ratified, and Turkey has withdrawn.
Czechia: Two committees of the lower house of Parliament examined the draft equal marriage bill today. Unfortunately, the constitutional and legal committee ended without taking a vote on any of the proposals before it. It looks like MPs are going to settle for the “marriage in all but name” compromise, where same-sex couples will be relegated to “partnerships” but enjoy all the other rights that come with marriage, including joint adoption. We won’t know for sure until the next meeting of the committee, which isn’t for four weeks.
Thailand: Cabinet voted to approve same-sex marriage in principal yesterday. The PM ordered the Justice Minister to draft a bill and conduct public consultations before Cabinet reviews it and sends it on to Parliament for votes in December.
Separately, Cabinet also decided to bid for Bangkok to host World Pride in 2028.
Japan: Today, partnership registries became active in Fukui and Yamanashi prefectures.
I’ve also found a report from August that Wakayama and Hyogo prefectures intend to introduce a same-sex partnership registry before the end of this fiscal year (March 2024). Another, Shiga, plans to introduce them in “fiscal 2024.” They would be the 22nd-24th to do so. And another prefecture’s legislature, Tokushima, unanimously accepted a petition to create a partnership registry back in March, but I have no idea when it comes into effect. I also found a report from March that says Iwate prefecture, while not registering couples itself, will recognize the partnerships formed in any of its municipalities for prefecture-level services. If and when these all come into effect, more than half of Japan’s 47 prefectures, home to more than 63% of the population will have same-sex registries. This is not counting dozens of municipalities outside these prefectures that also issue certificates.
India: A plea has been filed seeking review of the Supreme Court’s decision two weeks ago that upheld the ban on same-sex marriage. The plaintiffs want the court to review the decision in light of what it calls its self-contradictory conclusion.
Namibia: The Namibian has a rundown of what happened yesterday at the High Court trial seeking to strike down the country’s sodomy and “unnatural offences” laws. Judgement is expected to be handed down on May 17, 2024 – which, being the International Day Against Homophobia, feels like the court has already tipped its hand.
Costa Rica: The opposition managed to block consideration of a draft conversion therapy bill in the Legislative Assembly. It apparently now can’t come up again for three months.
Jamaica: The disappointing ruling upholding the sodomy ban is now available.
Taiwan: Advocacy for trans rights has blossomed since same-sex marriage was introduced.
Senegal: A horrific hate crime committed against the body of a dead man who was alleged to be homosexual has shocked the country’s religious groups and led to arrests of the alleged perpetrators. It is unlikely to move public opinion about homosexuality, which is very strongly negative. Read more here (warning: graphic descriptions).
Meanwhile, in the States
Pennsylvania: The State House passed a trio of hate crime bills, which will among other things codify protections for LGBT people into state law. Although the bills passed with bipartisan support, they stand exactly zero chance of even coming up for a vote in the Republican-controlled Senate.
To put it in perspective, last week, the State Senate passed a bill to censor books with “sexually explicit” materials in schools, which critics said was a transparent way to limit books on LGBT topics by exposing schools to liability if they don’t censor. The bill stands little chance of advancing in the Democrat-led House, and even if it did, it would likely be vetoed by the Governor.
Florida: State Democrats have filed bills to ban the “gay/trans panic” defense. Again, the bills stand exactly zero chance of even being debated in the heavily Republican state legislature.