Thailand celebrates first same-sex marriages
Virginia inches closer to repealing defunct same-sex marriage ban
Thailand: Yesterday was the first day of legal same-sex marriage! Congratulations, Thailand!
Spain: The Minister of Equality is considering making conversion therapy a criminal offense. It is currently considered a serious administrative offence punished with a large fine, but no jail time.
Meanwhile, in the States
More on Trump’s executive order rescinding certain federal workplace nondiscrimination rules and firing all workers in “DEI” in the federal government.
Idaho: A resolution asking SCOTUS to re-ban gay marriage has advanced out of committee on a party-line vote.
North Dakota: State Republicans debated two proposed bills that would order the state to require state employees to misgender trans people and that would legally authorize social workers to offer conversion therapy. The bills were proposed and went nowhere last session too, and the committee took no action on them this time.
Virginia: The state Senate passed three proposed constitutional amendments – repealing the same-sex marriage ban, protecting abortion rights, and restoring felon voting rights. The amendments have already passed the house, but will need to be passed again next year in order to be put to voters in 2026. Democrats will obviously have to win this fall’s state elections to make that happen.
Michigan: Gov. Whitmer signed into law the new LGBT-inclusive hate crime law that state Democrats passed last year.
Washington: State Democrats have proposed a new bill that would clarify and expand nondiscrimination law regarding students, adding protections for ethnicity, homelessness, immigration status and neurodivergence, and separating sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression as protected classes.