Mexico: Congress saw a colorful protest yesterday, when trans legislator María Clemente García stormed the dais to interrupt the proceedings in protest over delays on the bill to ban conversion therapy. Debate on the bill had apparently been scheduled for debate yesterday, but instead has been postponed to Friday. That should be the final vote on the bill, which has already passed the Senate.
Colombia: The lower house overwhelmingly approved a bill to ban conversion therapy, in a vote of 97-18. The bill now heads to the senate.
Ireland: Openly gay prime minister Leo Varadkar has stepped down, after serving as PM from 2017-2020, and since 2022. During his time as PM, he oversaw a constitutional referendum legalizing abortion, and he was also part of the government that legalized same-sex marriage, but earlier this month oversaw two failed referenda to remove sexist language from the constitution.
Australia: The federal government has received a report with options on its proposed revamp of discrimination laws, which would remove exemptions allowing sex and LGBT-based discrimination by religious schools. The government has said it doesn’t plan to move forward with its own proposal unless it secures support from the right-wing opposition – and that outlook is unclear at the moment.
Russia: Two managers of a Moscow gay bar have been arrested under the country’s new “LGBT extremism” law.
India: The Court in Kerala has ordered a hospital to release a woman who was forced to undergo conversion therapy there, while the court is still considering a petition from her parents to split her up from her girlfriend. The court will consider the woman’s full complaint, seeking a declaration that conversion therapy is illegal and unconstitutional, April 9.
Lithuania: The Constitutional Court has ruled that the Istanbul Convention on domestic violence does not violate the constitution, which may take the wind out its opponents’ sails. Lithuania is one of just five EU members that has not ratified the convention, all largely because of trumped-up fears that it would somehow promote LGBT rights.
Meanwhile, in the States…
Alabama: The State legislature has passed a sweeping bill that bans DEI offices and instruction on “divisive concepts” at universities and public institutions, and bars trans people from using gender-appropriate bathrooms. The governor signed the bill yesterday.
Also yesterday, a state house committee advanced a bill that would expand the state’s “Don’t Say Gay” law to cover all K-12 classrooms and, uh, Space Camp.
New Hampshire: The state house voted on several education bills this week. It passed a bill barring colleges from restricting on-campus protests (which was favored by Republicans who fear that conservative groups are targeted); a bill that would require parents be notified when sexual orientation or gender identity get discussed in classrooms; and a Democratic-backed bill that would restrict book bans in schools. But it rejected two other Democratic proposals that would have repealed or amended the 2021 “Banned Concepts” law that restricts discussion on race and gender in schools.
Vermont: State legislators are considering a proposal to add an equal protection clause to the state constitution. The proposal would have to pass through two legislatures, so the earliest it could be on the ballot is 2026.
Washington: The legislature passed a bill that requires schools to teach LGBTQ history.