Lithuania lawmakers noncommittal on civil union bill, despite court ruling

Canadian province goes after queer-themed books in schools

I wrote up the Los Angeles Blade’s 8^th Annual Best of LGBTQ+ LA Awards. Congratulations to all the winners!

Lithuania: Lawmakers are still trying to figure out how to respond to the constitutional court’s decision allowing same-sex couples to register their relationships. The Prime Minister says it will bring forward legislation to codify this, perhaps in the autumn session, in order to give all parties time to come to consensus on the issue. That seems unlikely, since at least one party’s idea is to do away with the partnership law altogether, and the two existing proposals on same-sex partnerships vary wildly on how many rights the partners would actually enjoy.

Meanwhile, prominent queer Lithuanians are already asserting their rights by going to court to register their partnerships, and the constitutional court is emphasizing that the constitution still bans same-sex marriage. That seems like a problem, as the EU Court of Justice has already ruled that countries much recognize each other’s same-sex marriages, and the PM has made supportive comments about the rights of queer couples who’ve married in EU countries.

Hungary: 20 EU countries have condemned a recently passed law banning Pride parades and events in Hungary.

UK, Mauritius: After months of political and legal drama, the two countries have come to an agreement to cede the British Indian Ocean Territory, including Diego Garcia, back to Mauritius. The cession will take effect once both countries’ parliaments ratify the treaty. It’s not entirely clear what this means for the body of law that governs the BIOT – including the 2014 ordinance that legalized same-sex marriage there. But the most likely scenario is that Mauritian law will apply, and thus same-sex marriage will no longer be legal in the territory.

Canada: Canada’s worst provincial government is going to create new rules to ensure books in Alberta schools are “age-appropriate” – and wouldn’t you know it? The four books they cite as examples of inappropriate materials are all LGBTQ themed.

At this point, I should probably mention that Alberta’s premier is also stoking bullshit separatist resentment and aiding a citizen-initiated referendum to leave Canada next year. The reasons are too arcane and stupid to get into, especially given that the referendum has approximately zero chance of passing, but if it did, Alberta would become a new equal-marriage nation…

Jamaica: A lawmaker is under fire for playing a song that celebrates murdering gay people at a rally. Unsurprisingly, there are no openly gay candidates in the upcoming elections (expected in July, due by September at the latest).

Trinidad & Tobago: Lawyers are pushing for a constitutional change to remove the “savings clause” in the wake of the recent court of appeals ruling, which upheld the country’s sodomy law on the ground that it was “saved’ by virtue of being a pre-independence law.

Mexico: A lawmaker in Aguascalientes state says that despite last week’s supreme court ruling on the rights of same-sex parents in the state, he does not see his colleagues codifying same-sex marriage into state law soon. It’s one of just three states that has not codified same-sex marriage, although it is legal there, causing some headaches for queer couples.

A lawmaker in Tlaxcala has introduced a hate crimes bill. Activists are calling for a similar bill in Durango.

Guanajuato lawmakers are set to vote on decriminalizing abortion today, but it doesn’t look like conservatives will let the bill pass.

Costa Rica: The First Lady released a statement celebrating five years of legal same-sex marriage and calling for an end to division on the subject.

Peru: Anti-LGBT billboards have sprung up in the city of Huancayo, but were removed after protest.

Bolivia: Activists are calling for a hate crime law in the wake of increased violence against LGBT people. They also want full marriage and adoption rights, and full implementation of a gender identity law that was passed a few years ago.

Japan: A new same-sex marriage lawsuit is making its way through family court in Sendai; in this case, the couple is seeking an expedited decision because one partner is seriously ill. This case is separate from the six cases going through the civil court system and likely to end at the supreme court.

Philippines: Baguio City is considering an ordinance to enhance its sexual harassment laws, which also protect against anti-LGBT harassment.

New Zealand: A report finds a rise in anti-LGBTQ attacks and discrimination in the capital, Wellington.

Meanwhile, in the States

The Supreme Court deadlocked over religious charter schools last week, leaving in place a federal court ruling that prohibited Oklahoma from funding them. Yesterday, the court declined to hear an appeal from a student who was removed from class in Massachusetts over a shirt that said “There are only two genders.”

The Daily Kos has a look at upcoming Supreme Court decisions on porn access, insurance coverage for sexual health and PrEP care, access to gender care, and LGBT content in schools.

A federal court has ordered the US government to return a wrongly deported gay Guatemalan man to the United States.

South Carolina: Columbia city council again deferred a vote to overturn its ban on conversion therapy, under threat from state lawmakers to cut its funding.

Virginia: The Democratic and Republican candidates for governor in this November’s election diverge on their support for constitutional amendments to protect abortion and same-sex marriage rights in the state, unsurprisingly.

Texas: The state legislature is rushing through a slew of bad bills before the session ends this week. They just passed a bill that bans DEI in schools and requires parental permission before kids join clubs. The Houston Chronicle has a look at some other pending anti-LGBT bills, including one to define trans people out of law and make gender care more difficult to insure. They’re also close to passing a bill to require posting the ten commandments in classrooms, in clear violation of the separation of church and state.

The senate has not yet taken up the bill to repeal the sodomy ban, which passed the house last week.

Ohio: Republicans are pushing a bill to recognize a “natural family month.” Eye roll.