Marriage advances in Liechtenstein, Nepal, and Muscogee Nation
Republicans continue to push anti-LGBT bills in red states
For the Los Angeles Blade, I have a preview of an upcoming play in Long Beach, California: Marilyn, Mom, and Me looks at the playwright’s relationship with his Oscar-winning mother, through the lens of her relationship with the doomed starlet (pictured above).
Liechtenstein: The government adopted the report to legalize same-sex marriage at its meeting last week, paving the way for Parliament to pass the bill at its next meetings in early March.
As a reminder, Greece is expected to pass its own same-sex marriage law tomorrow.
And 27 university student unions are calling for equal marriage in Czechia, though Parliament still looks to be running headlong to “all-but-the-word-marriage” civil unions instead.
UK: As the bill to ban conversion therapy passed second reading in the House of Lords, a similar bill before the devolved parliament in Scotland is facing a new hurdle, as a lawyer is claiming it’s beyond Scotland’s power to legislate – but the opinion was paid for by an anti-LGBT Evangelical group, so take it with a grain of salt.
Australia: Organizers of Sydney Mardi Gras – the country’s biggest pride festival – have said New South Wales MPs are unwelcome to the Feb 16-March 3 event unless they take action to pass a non-discrimination bill The Equality Act, which the state legislature recently deferred for another month. The state government has also promised to ban conversion therapy.
Spain: The Basque legislature is scheduled to vote on a proposed trans rights bill on Thursday. And a constitutional challenge may soon be filed against the Madrid region’s recent move to repeal various laws recognizing trans people, banning discrimination and banning conversion therapy. Meanwhile, the national government is preparing to require companies with more than 50 employees to file action plans against anti-LGBT discrimination.
Colombia: Activists and legislators are attempting to pass a comprehensive trans rights bill.
Nepal: The first lesbian marriage has officially taken place. Same-sex marriage was legalized by the courts last year.
Malaysia: The Supreme Court struck down sharia laws in Kelantan state, including the state’s sodomy law, on separation of powers grounds. Malaysia already has a national sodomy law, so on paper, nothing really changed. However, federal authorities are less interested in enforcing it than local authorities have been, so gays should have a little more breathing room in the state.
Indonesia: Politicians in tomorrow’s national elections have been trading on homophobia to win votes.
Yemen: 22 people have been sentenced to death on homosexuality-related charges in the Houthi-run north of the country.
Meanwhile in the States…
Democrats pulled off a win the special election to replace disgraced Republican congressman George Santos of New York, shrinking the Republican majority to just six seats, with three vacancies. They also managed to win a Pennsylvania state house special election preserving their narrow majority there.
Muscogee Nation: A bill to legalize same-sex marriage in the Muscogee Nation, one of geographically largest Native American tribal jurisdictions, will get a committee hearing on Thursday. If it passes, it would be the third nation in Oklahoma to legalize it in the last three years, with only two more remaining where it’s illegal: Seminole, and Citizen Potawatomi.
West Virginia: A Democrat has put forward a bill that would include LGBT people in state hate crime law, but it stands now chance of passing. Some Democrats in the state voted with Republicans to ban the use of the term “non-binary” on state ID – something which is already not possible in the state.
WV Republicans have also filed a bill that would ban any corporation receiving public funding from discussing trans issues, allowing trans people to use a bathroom, or offering gender care to adults.
Tennessee: The Republican-controlled state legislature has passed a bill to allow country clerks to refuse to register same-sex marriages. It awaits the governor’s signature.
Wyoming: A bill proposed by state Republicans would allow the state to take trans children away from parents who give them gender-affirming care, presumably to send to the conversion therapy.
Idaho: State Republicans have a new bill to make it legal for public employees to misgender trans people, and to actually require teachers to misgender trans students.
Utah: State Republicans want to ban Pride flags and other ‘political viewpoints’ from classrooms. Meanwhile, the state senate unanimously passes a “Religious Freedom Restoration Act” that provides that religious protections do not supersede the state’s anti-discrimination laws that protect LGBT people.
Georgia: State Republicans are itching to pass a bill to forcibly out trans students and ban discussion of trans issues in classrooms. They just passed it through the senate committee stage without allowing anyone to speak against the bill.
Oklahoma: And state Republicans are advancing a bill to ban the government from putting up Pride flags or celebrating Pride, and another bill to ban changes to gender markers on birth certificates.