South Africa advances hate crimes law
US Rep George Santos used campaign funds for WHAT?
South Africa: The upper house of Parliament passed an LGBT-inclusive hate crime and hate speech law, which has been sent back to the lower house for final approval of amendments. Other weak laws and conventions have penalized hate crimes and speech in South Africa before, but this law codifies it all in one clear place.
Australia: Tasmania has delayed the introduction of a bill to ban conversion therapy, originally promised by the end of this year. Because the state legislature has adjourned, it can’t be introduced until March of next year, at the earliest.
Canada: Xtra Magazine got hold of a leaked report that a Waterloo, Ontario Catholic school board intends to restrict LGBTQ-themed books from students. (In Ontario and many other Canadian provinces, Catholic schools are publicly funded).
Over in Saskatchewan, a lawyer says the fight isn’t over regarding the province’s policy of requiring parental permission for kids to be trans in school, despite the province passing a law shielding the policy from judicial review. That’s because the Constitution doesn’t allow governments to use the “notwithstanding clause” (s.33) to shield laws from the requirement that governments treat “male and female persons” equally (s.28).
While I’m hopeful the lawyers are right – because the notwithstanding clause is an abomination that shouldn’t be part of the Constitution – I suspect a judge would have plenty of leeway to shoot this argument down. S.28 only refers to the rights mentioned in the Charter, which are specifically the rights that s.33 has been invoked to shield from judicial review. It’s also true that s.28 operates “notwithstanding anything in this Charter,” which would include s.33, so it’s also possible that a judge would rule that it supersedes the notwithstanding clause. (Historically, the original draft of s.33 allowed it to supersede s.28, but that was dropped, so a judge may be swayed by an argument that the drafters of the Charter did intend to shield gender equality from s. 33.
But then a judge would have to contend with whether the law actually runs afoul of s.28’s protection, which specifically refers to “male and female persons,” so it’s not 100% crystal how this would apply to all trans people (especially non-binary people).
Argentina: Voters go to the polls this weekend in the presidential runoff between an insane homophobe and a more traditional Peronist. Polls suggest the race is too close to call.
Liechtenstein: Same-sex marriage is not on the agenda for the December meeting of Parliament, meaning a bill is likely not going to be introduced until March of next year.
Duly Noted
Drag performers in San Francisco have organized GAYPEC, a show on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit happening in the city. Four APEC member states criminalize same-sex intercourse – Papua New Guinea, Indonesia, Brunei, and Malaysia – while Russia has also led a campaign of terror against LGBTQ people. By contrast, seven members have legalized same-sex marriage: Canada, USA, Mexico, Chile, Australia, New Zealand, and Taiwan.
Meanwhile, elsewhere in the States…
The US Congress House Ethics Committee has issued a damning report condemning gay Republican Rep. George Santos, finding that he committed multiple acts of fraud. Among the Committee’s findings were that Santos used campaign contributions to pay for OnlyFans. Santos has said he will not stand for reelection, but may face an expulsion vote after Thanksgiving.
Michigan: The early end of the legislative session means that laws passed this year come into effect a little earlier than usual, as they’re generally effective 90 days after the end of the session. That includes the state’s LGBT-inclusive nondiscrimination act and ban on conversion therapy.
Just before the session ended, the Senate committee on the judiciary advanced out a substitute hate crime bill. Because it’s a new bill, I believe it will have to go through the House again if the Senate passes it. The Senate also left a gay/trans panic defense ban bill on the table, and neither house touched the flawed partial sodomy law repeal bill.
New Hampshire: Republicans are trying to ban gender-affirming care for minors. The GOP only has a two-seat majority in the state house, with three independents and three vacancies, so it’s not clear if they have the votes to pass it.