Mexican state bans all anti-LGBTI discrimination

Philippines civil servants allowed to dress to their gender identity

My “Out in the World” column is up at the Los Angeles Blade, with stories from Canada, Poland, Japan, and the UK.

Philippines: Government workers now have the right to dress according to their gender identity, under new official civil service dress code. Globe Telecom, one of the country’s largest mobile providers, has announced it will provide spousal benefits to same-sex partners of its employees.

Colombia: Speculation is rife that the openly lesbian mayor of Bogota Claudia Lopez will run for president in 2026, but she’s not committing publicly.

Mexico: The state of Michoacan amended its constitution to ban all discrimination based on sexual orientation, gender identity, and sex characteristics last week.

Federal deputies are working on gender equality legislation aimed at closing the wage gap and preventing domestic violence; it includes additional new prohibitions on anti-LGBT discrimination.

Morelos state congress failed to meet the court-imposed deadline to decriminalize abortion on Sunday. Congress instead asked the federal court for clarity on its ruling.

Ghana: Reminder that the Supreme Court is scheduled to rule on the anti-LGBT law on Wednesday.

Scotland: Former first minister Nicola Sturgeon legalization of same-sex marriage might not have been possible in today’s environment, due to increased toxic polarization on social issues. She gave the remarks in an interview she gave marking ten years since same-sex marriage became legal in Scotland. Apparently there have been more than 10,000 same-sex marriages in Scotland.

Bulgaria: EqualTimes has a report on the struggles of the LGBT community in country where they’re increasingly under attack by political leaders.

Romania and Bulgaria were approved to fully join the Schengen free-movement zone this weekend, deepening their integration into European systems. They’ll become full members Jan 1, though some border checks with Hungary will persist for at least six months.

Meanwhile, in the States

Michigan: State Democrats rushed through a suite of bills that would make it easier for trans people to update their legal name and gender, including allowing non-binary identities. Can the bills pass through the Senate before the session ends tomorrow? Also in the wind: sodomy, adultery, and HIV decriminalization, and hate crime law.

Washington: State Democrats have prefiled a bill to strengthen the state’s hate crime laws.

South Carolina: A hate crime bill has once again been prefiled for next year’s legislative session. Spoiler: Republicans will block it again, as they always have.