Pro-LGBT parties win Poland elections

India same-sex marriage ruling expected tonight/tomorrow

My latest story at the Los Angeles Blade is up, covering the star-studded 30^th anniversary gala of Extraordinary Families, featuring Carson Kressley, Katey Sagal, and Victoria Rowell (who is best known for Young and the Restless, but who I recognised from Dumb & Dumber). There was another very high-profile actor there I’m embargoed from naming because he didn’t want to risk getting in trouble with SAG, which is honestly kind of ridiculous.

Looking Ahead

India’s Supreme Court is expected to rule on same-sex marriage tomorrow, which will be late tonight in North America.

Elections Round-up

This was a big weekend for elections around the world.

Poland: Opposition parties appeared to win parliamentary elections yesterday, likely booting the incumbent conservative Law and Justice party from power. The leading opposition party Civic Platform had pledged to restore good relations with Europe by restoring democratic checks and balances, and to enhance women’s rights and LGBTQ rights. In particular, it pledged to introduce same-sex civil unions, the minimum required under the European Convention on Human Rights, and what likely PM Donald Tusk claimed was the maximum it would likely get passed with his more conservative coalition partners. I would also expect the new government to push for broader anti-discrimination laws (covering goods/services), simplified name/gender change process, and some kind of hate crime law.

However, Law and Justice still holds the presidency, and President Duda has previously threatened to veto pro-LGBT legislation. The next presidential election will be in Spring 2025.

New Zealand: Saturday’s Parliamentary elections were won by conversative parties, although coalition negotiations are ongoing. The leading National Party won’t have a working majority of Parliament without the more explicitly racist and homophobic NZ First Party – especially if remaining ballots being counted tilt Labour, as they often do. NZ First campaigned on a suite of anti-trans policies, including bathroom bans. We’ll see how this shakes out.

In next door Australia, voters rejected a proposed to amend the constitution to recognize Indigenous people by instituting a “aboriginal voice” in the lawmaking process.

Meanwhile in the States

Louisiana elected MAGA Republican attorney-general Jeff Landry as its next governor, after Landry took 52% of the jungle primary vote this weekend. Republicans also held the lieutenant-governor’s office, and expanded their supermajority in the state senate, and likely also in the state house, and many of the Republicans who won replaced more moderate Republicans who had been in office before. Term-limited Democratic governor John Bel Edwards was the only bulwark holding back a raft of anti-LGBT and particularly anti-trans legislation, and Landry has been an outspoken opponent of LGBT rights, so things are not likely to be good queer Louisianans in the future.

Wisconsin Republicans are planning more legislation targeting trans and queer students in schools under the guise of “parental rights.” The bills will likely be vetoed by the Democratic governor.

Duly Noted:

Maine state representative Charles Skold no longer identifies as bisexual; he identifies as gay/queer.

Czechia: LGBT activists continue rounding up supporters of same-sex marriage to pressure the Prime Minister to advance a bill that has stalled in Parliament. This weekend, they released a letter from 31 cinemas. This follows previous letters from theatres and large corporations.