Mexican state bans anti-LGBT discrimination
A gay world leader bids auf Wiedersehen
Mexico: The Sinaloa state ban on conversion therapy was published into law and took effect last week, while Sinaloa also passed a law banning anti-LGBT discrimination in the state.
This made me curious about which Mexican states have passed anti-discrimination laws, so I looked up the laws in all 32 states, and what I found was interesting: 21 states explicitly ban discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity; 10 states explicitly ban discrimination based on sexual orientation and “gender,” but not on gender identity; and only one, the State of Mexico, does not explicitly ban discrimination based on either sexual orientation or gender identity. You can read more about this on Wikipedia, where I posted my research.
If any of my readers think I’ve gotten this wrong, please let me know.
Nepal: Lower level courts are continuing to refuse to implement the Supreme Court order from May that legalized same-sex marriage in the Himalayan country, so the subject couple are going to have to go back to the Supreme Court to try to compel the lower courts and government to marry them.
Greece: A state minister has said that he will vote against same-sex marriage if it is brought to Parliament. Recently, the newly elected conservative PM said he would introduce legislation at some point in the next four years. The eventual bill can likely afford to lose a lot of votes from the governing party since the main opposition supports it, but the government likely doesn’t want to hear about a caucus revolt on the issue this early (especially from within cabinet).
Meanwhile, the openly gay opposition leader has lobbed a political bombshell into the field by announcing his desire to father children with his partner via surrogacy, currently illegal in Greece.
Namibia: Later this month, the High Court is expected to hear a constitutional challenge to the country’s sodomy laws, which were inherited from the time the territory was governed as a mandate by South Africa, which in turn inherited the law from Dutch and British colonial times. If Namibia does strike down its sodomy laws, it will be part of a rising trend in Southern Africa.
Latvia: Parliament rejected a bid to withdraw the country’s signature from the Istanbul Convention on domestic violence. The government would like to actually ratify the Convention, but it’s still unclear if it has enough support to do so.
Australia: Queensland has become the first state to call on the federal government to end restrictions on blood donations from men who have sex with men.
UK: The opposition Labour Party says it will introduce a “no loopholes” conversion therapy ban and stiffen penalties on hate crimes if it is elected – as it is widely predicted to be – in the next scheduled election in… 2025.
Luxembourg: Openly gay PM Xavier Bettel appears to have lost his bid for a third term, as his coalition came up two seats short of a majority in elections Sunday. Negotiations to form the new government are ongoing – it will likely be led by the conservative Christian Democrats, but it wouldn’t be unthinkable for Bettel to cobble together enough support from one of the minor parties to hold on to power.
Meanwhile, in the States:
Massachusetts: It does appear that Mass is finally getting closer to repealing its defunct sodomy laws. The bill to repeal “archaic” laws, which also includes repealing a “walking while trans” law, has been reported out of the Joint Committee on the Judiciary although it seems with an amendment. Oddly, the Massachusetts General Court website doesn’t seem to include minutes from any Committee meetings, so it’s unclear exactly what the status is of the amendment, and when it was reported out. I guess we’ll find out when it arrives for final votes in the State House and Senate.
Michigan: The city of Lansing is looking at banning all conversion therapy within the city limits. The state recently passed a conversion therapy ban, but that applies only to professional therapists and on minors.
Interesting that the backlash against the Greek opposition leader also came from the left since he initially stated he wanted “two sons” rather than two children through surrogacy because “we would like each of our own personalities to be transferred to the children.” He was accused by the left of misogyny and narcissism. Due to the backlash from the left, he then denied he preferred “a particular gender” but then said there were “unanswered questions” as to whether he could rise to the challenge of raising a girl. This information is from The Guardian on 7 Oct 2023.