Russian-style anti-LGBT laws spreading across Eastern Europe
And your favorite Brazilians are back on Twitter
Slovakia, Bulgaria, Hungary, Georgia: Euractiv has a report on the spread of “Russia-style laws” limiting LGBTQ rights and free speech in the former Soviet bloc states. The Slovak anti-LGBT bill is still in debate in parliament, which has ground to a halt due to in-fighting in the populist coalition government. To this list, I’d also add Kyrgyzstan, which passed an anti-LGBT bill last year.
Also concerning is the spread of “foreign agent” laws to EU states – Slovakia and Bulgaria are considering them now.
Kosovo: Opposition to same-sex marriage is driving opposition to the prime minister’s proposed new civil code, even though it doesn’t actually include same-sex marriage. My understanding is that it includes a framework for parliament to eventually introduce some form of civil union.
North Macedonia: The Dutch Embassy is launching a campaign to combat anti-LGBT discrimination.
Taiwan: The first cross-strait same-sex marriage has been officially registered in Taiwan, following a change in policy that allowed it last month.
Japan: New Prime Minister Ishiba gave a wishy-washy statement about same-sex marriage in parliament, ahead of elections planned for Oct 27.
Meanwhile, the opposition CDP has pledged to introduce same-sex marriage and a law banning SOGI discrimination. Japan is mostly a one-party state, but it’ll be interesting to see how many seats the CDP can win against the deeply unpopular LDP.
Canada: A Calgary pastor known for protesting drag queen story hours has been convicted of breaching a court order for the third time, all stemming from separate events last winter. His fine was $500.
Brazil: The Supreme Court has allowed Twitter/X to resume service in the country after the company agreed to its demands on hate speech moderation and payment of fines. This is no doubt thrilling to fans of Brazilian OnlyFans users, but it’s also a welcome sign that Twitter can be cowed intro addressing the cesspool it’s become under Elon Musk.
Curacao: Pride week celebrated the victory for marriage equality won through the courts this summer.
Same-sex marriage has still not yet been legalized in Sint Maarten, the only part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands where it’s not legal. It’s also the only part of the island of Saint Martin where it’s not legal – the other half is part of France, and it’s been legal there since 2013.
United Nations: The UN’s Independent Expert on SOGI-related violence and discrimination has a report on barriers to LGBTQ people’s voting rights, concluding that it’s key for states to have effective anti-discrimination laws, hate crime laws, and gender-recognition laws for LGBTQ people to freely exercise their right to vote.
Meanwhile, in the States
The US Supreme Court will hear a discrimination case from an Ohio woman who claims she was passed up for promotion because she is straight. To be honest, this sounds like an open-and-shut case – if that’s the reason she was passed up for promotion, she was wronged. The law (rightly) prohibits sexual orientation discrimination, not discrimination against non-heterosexuals.
The Hill looks at some of the other big cases on SCOTUS’ docket for the next term, including a challenge to Tennessee’s gender-affirming care ban, and a challenge to Texas’ law requiring ID to access porn websites.
GLAAD has a list of the key LGBTQ-related referendums on the ballot across the US in November. Oddly, it doesn’t mention New York’s Equal Rights Amendment.
Georgia: The state Supreme Court restored a near-total ban on abortions which had been struck down last week, as the state’s appeal continues its way through lower courts.
Pennsylvania: There’s just two weeks left in the state legislative session for the Republican-controlled state senate to take up bills passed by the Democratic-controlled house, including a bill including LGBT people in the state’s hate crime laws. Also awaiting Senate approval is a bill banning anti-LGBT discrimination. Don’t expect either to get a vote – but these illustrate what’s at stake in the state’s down-ballot races. Democrats are trying to hold the house and win the senate.