Lithuania court strikes down anti-LGBT "propaganda" law
And are we really talking about a fucking pizzeria again?
Japan: PM Ishiba expressed support for same-sex marriage in principal, even saying it would improve the nation’s overall happiness, but he doesn’t look likely to legislate on the matter anytime soon. Much of his party remains deeply opposed to LGBT rights, and that’s the main obstacle to progress.
Lithuania: The constitutional court has struck down the “LGBT propaganda” law that has been on the books since 2012 and restricted depictions of non-heterosexual relationships and families in media for minors. The court found the law unconstitutionally restricts free speech and narrows the concept of family. The European Court of Human Rights had already dinged Lithuania over the law, and the previous government had tried and failed to get a repeal bill through parliament.
Canada: The New Brunswick Liberals made good on their promise to reverse a parental notification and consent policy made by the previous conservative government for trans students who wish to use a different name or pronoun in school.
Meanwhile, speculation for an early election or a leadership race to replace Justin Trudeau as Prime Minister is heating up after Canada’s finance minister resigned from cabinet earlier this week. At this point, polls suggest an election would yield a massive Conservative win, which would likely be very bad for trans rights in Canada. If Trudeau goes, its anyone’s guess who would replace him.
Ghana: The supreme court has dismissed a challenge to the anti-LGBT law Parliament passed last year, finding that until the President signs the law, it can’t be challenged. So far, the president, whose term ends next month, has refused to sign the much-criticized bill, pending the court’s judgement. The president-elect supports the bill. If either man signs it, it’s likely to face a renewed constitutional challenge.
Greece: The constitutional court is apparently hearing a long-shot case seeking to declare the same-sex marriage law passed in February unconstitutional. The writer also notes that there hasn’t been a single case of a same-sex couple adopting a child in Greece yet.
Poland: The minister for equality says she appears on the verge of a compromise with the governing coalition’s most conservative group, the PSL, on the civil partnership bill. But then the next day, the PSL ministers in the government (Finance, Defense, Infrastructure) all put forward a series of official objections, noting that there’s no estimate what treating queer couples equally could cost the treasury; the fact that the civil partnerships are so easy to dissolve that they’re open to abuse for benefits; and the fact that civil partners don’t automatically enjoy parenting rights and obligations may expose women and children to abandonment. It’s worth noting that these latter objections are both the result of conservatives’ attempts to water-down the bill.
The PSL is also now objecting to the government’s hate speech and hate crimes bill, which was part of the governing coalition agreement, so it’s fair to say the wheels may be coming off the bus.
Georgia: The US and UK have imposed sanctions on Georgian leadership over crackdowns on protesters who demonstrating across the country for more than three weeks. The protesters and the Georgian opposition say the October election was stolen and reject the government’s turn away from the EU in favor of Russia. The government is also wildly anti-LGBT.
Guatemala: A look back on a year of stalled progress on LGBT rights, as lawmakers tried to push a anti-LGBT agenda.
Australia: The Bureau of Statistics released its first estimated count of the country’s LGBT population — and it finds that approximately 4.5% of the population 16 and older is LGBT.
Programming Note
I’m going to take next week off from this newsletter as I prepare my lengthy series of year-end posts, looking at how LGBT rights have advanced — and backslid — across the world in 2024, and what we can look forward to in 2025.
I hope you all have happy holidays in the meantime! And if you’re looking for last-minute gifts, can I interest you in some erotic gay art? Or maybe a book of award-winning queer-themed plays by yours truly?
Travel
PositiveDestinations is a new travel database that indexes laws and regulations that restrict travel and residency by people with HIV.
Capital Punishment
Morocco: The government broke with its tradition of abstention to vote in favor of a UN resolution calling for a moratorium on the death penalty. The government has been making moves to abolish capital punishment – it would be the first Arab country to do so.
Thailand: The cabinet rejected calls to abolish the death penalty.
Meanwhile in the States
Speaker Johnson seems to be throwing cold water on the idea of the Kids Online Safety Act passing through this congress before it expires on Jan 3. We shall see.
Meanwhile, a majority of senate Democrats joined all Republicans to pass a National Defence Authorization bill that strips funding for gender care for minors in military families.
Montana: A Montana judge blocked a rule that prevented trans people from updating their legal gender on state ID while the rule is challenged in the courts. This is why it’s important that Democrats maintained control of the state supreme court in November.
Florida: A state Republican has filed a bill to ban Pride flags and other “political” flags from being flown on public buildings. The bill didn’t get a hearing last session, but Florida Republicans may need to start scraping the bottom of the barrel for ideas on how to stick it to queers in 2025, so…
Nebraska: Republicans are going to try again with anti-trans bills they failed to pass last year, including a ban on trans people playing on sports that correspond to their gender identity.
Colorado: The Boulder County Courthouse where the first same-sex marriage license was issued in 1975 has been named a national historic monument. The license was later annulled after public outcry. Earlier this year, Colorado removed the defunct same-sex marriage ban from its constitution, and legislators will have to update state laws to remove similar bans from its statutes.
Tennessee: Are we really doing another story about a fake controversy were a pizzeria claims it refused to cater a gay wedding? REALLY? In 2024? We believe a gay couple asked a fucking pizzeria in Chattanooga to cater their wedding? That this isn’t a publicity stunt for the pizzeria? Jesus fucking Christ, media. Be a little less credulous.