One last news round up of 2023
Portugal bans conversion therapy; plaintiff to appeal Jamaica sodomy law ruling
I wasn’t planning on putting out a weekend edition, but so much stuff happened yesterday, and I wanted to get it out before the holiday break. This is the final regular update of the LGBT Global Newsletter of 2023. Next week, I’ll be dropping the year-end round up that I’ve been publishing regularly on my web site therobsalerno.com for the last decade or so.
Before we dive in, a little news! My book, Smashing Young Man, an anthology of the plays I wrote and produced over a decade in Canadian theatre, is now available on shopqueer.co, a wonderful gay-owned bookshop! If you want to support my work while also supporting a queer business, pick up a copy there. (Of course, you can also order from Amazon, if it’s more convenient for you in some way).
And now, the news
This week I reported for the Los Angeles Blade on a court decision in Ontario, Canada, which found that the “groomer” slur is not protected speech that can be insulated from defamation claims. The decision gives queer people a legal tool to fight back against some of the most disgusting hate that’s being spread online and in the real world.
Portugal: Parliament has approved a law to ban conversion therapy, with penalties ranging from 3-5 years for the most aggravated cases. This comes just after Parliament also approved a law allowing students to self-identify their gender in schools. Both laws await promulgation before they take effect. Portugal is the latest country to ban the discredited practice of attempting to change a persons sexual orientation or gender identity, following Norway this month, and Cyprus, Belgium, Iceland, and Spain earlier this year. Although on that last one…
Spain: The far-right regional government in charge of Madrid went ahead with its repeal of several LGBT rights laws, including a ban on conversion therapy for trans people, and the right to gender self-determination. For now, LGBT people are protected by national-level laws, but may face new difficulties accessing services, like ID at the regional level.
Aruba, Curacao: The Attorney-General at the Court of Cassation of the Kingdom of the Netherlands (*phew*) has issued his advisory opinion in the same-sex marriage case stemming from the two island countries, and it supports legalizing same-sex marriage to bring them in line with the law in Netherlands proper and the minor Dutch Caribbean islands. The islands now have the opportunity to consider the advice and legislate for same-sex marriage on their own, or the Court can issue a ruling (which, to be clear, could disagree with the AG advice) as expected on May 31.
Jamaica: The plaintiff in the case seeking to overturn the island’s sodomy laws has filed an appeal to the UK Privy Council, which is Jamaica’s highest court. In October, Jamaica’s Supreme Court tossed the sodomy case, finding that the sodomy laws are shielded from challenges by the constitution’s “savings clause,” which says pre-independence laws cannot be challenged under the Charter of Rights. The plaintiff contends that the sodomy law is no longer shielded because Parliament stiffened the penalties for sodomy convictions in the 2000s, which essentially means that it’s a new law.
It’s unclear how the Privy Council will treat this case. The Privy Council has upheld savings clauses recently, but also interpreted them narrowly, so it’s quite possible they agree with the plaintiff’s argument.
Lithuania: The junior coalition partner Freedom Party still holds out hope that Parliament will vote to pass the civil union law in the new year, and believes that the bill’s chances just got a little better with one opponent of the bill having left Parliament after being impeached.
Greece: A new poll shows strong support for same-sex marriage, but slightly more opposition to “recognizing the children of same-sex couples.” A marriage and adoption bill is expected to be tabled by the government in the new year.
Norway: The government has finally brought into force a law passed two years ago that allows automatic recognition of same-sex parents and transgender parents.
Jersey: In February, The UK Crown Dependency will debate an update to its family laws to finally recognize same-sex parents’ rights, and by extension, the rights of their children to be legally related to them. It would be the first of the Channel Islands to do so.
India: The Archbishop of Schillong, the capital of Meghalaya state, says Catholic priests may now bless same-sex couples, in line with this week’s bombshell announcement by the Vatican.