Two Caribbean Islands get same-sex marriage!

An African country moves to criminalize gay sex

Over at the Los Angeles Blade, I have two stories up about changes to the nightlife scene in West Hollywood. Roosterfish is opening and Stache is closing.

🇦🇼 🇨🇼 Aruba and Curacao: The Court of Cassation in the Netherlands ruled to legalize same-sex marriage on the islands with immediate effect, chastising the islands for failing to legalize it on their own.

Go get married Arubans and Curacaoans!

The ruling does not extend to Sint Maarten, which will remain the only part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands without legal same-sex marriage, although this certainly seems like that won’t stand for long. A bill to legalize it has been before the local parliament since Dec 2022, but it’s likely a court action will be quicker.

🇮🇳 India: The Supreme Court ended up not reconsidering the same-sex marriage case on Wednesday after all, because one of the justices recused himself on personal grounds. The Court will assemble a new panel of judges of rehear the case.

🇱🇮 Liechtenstein: It’s official! The Prince signed the same-sex marriage bill into law. Marriages can happen starting January 1.

🇵🇱 Poland: A report suggests that the draft civil partnership bill will allow a joint family name after all and will allow some form of “minor care” for the non-biological child in a civil union. The government says adoption is going to have to wait until there’s a change in president (possibly 2026), because the current one will veto it. LGBT groups are not happy about that and are not supporting the bill.

🇧🇫 Burkina Faso: The country’s military junta has announced plans to criminalize homosexuality as part of a reform of its marriage laws. No further details have been provided and the law hasn’t been published or passed yet.

As a former French colony, Burkina Faso never had laws criminalizing homosexuality, but it’s a deeply conservative and religious country where there isn’t actually much of a visible gay scene or community. In recent years, the military junta has pulled the country away from the West and toward Russia, along with other Sahel states run by juntas, Mali and Niger, which should probably be considered highly likely to copycat whatever this law is.

🇨🇲 Cameroon: The president’s daughter, who lives in the US and Switzerland, came out on social media last week, apparently challenging the country’s anti-gay laws. She acknowledged that wealth and privilege allows her to live more freely, and called for change. Her father has been president since 1982.

🇬🇭 Ghana: The Supreme Court is set to rule on the legality of the anti-LGBT law passed this year on July 17.

🇵🇭 Philippines: Mandaue is the latest city to enact a SOGI-inclusive non-discrimination ordinance.

🇺🇸 Meanwhile, in the States…

House Republicans have passed a resolution to overturn Biden administration protections for trans students under Title IX; there’s little to no chance that the resolution passes through the Senate, though.

Meanwhile, the Senate’s Defense Authorization bill somehow got a bunch of anti-trans riders attached in committee. Dems will likely have them removed on the floor.

Arkansas: The Secretary of State is keeping an abortion rights question off the ballot, claiming organizers failed to submit required paperwork about paid signature gatherers. Supporters say they’re going to sue to get the question on the ballot.

Abortion is going to be on the ballot in several states this year, including Colorado, Florida, Maryland, Nevada, South Dakota, and New York.

🗽In New York, the state’s top court just ruled that the “equal rights amendment” that bans anti-LGBT discrimination and protects abortion rights can stay on the November ballot.

Officials are still verifying signatures on petitions for ballot questions in Arizona, Missouri, Montana, and Nebraska.

By the way, it’s unlikely the question will ever go to South Carolina voters, as there’s no citizen initiative there, and referenda have to be passed by the GOP-controlled legislature.

Ohio: A state Democrat has filed a bill to repeal the statutory ban on same-sex marriage, but it stands no chance of getting a hearing in the GOP-controlled legislature. But Ohio activists have put submitted signatures for an independent redistricting question on the November ballot, which, if approved, would give Dems a chance of winning the deeply gerrymandered state legislature in 2026.

Florida: Arts organizations across the state are reeling after Republican Gov. DeSantis eliminated all funding for arts groups due to his distaste for the “sexual” programming at the Orlando and Tampa Fringe Theatre Festivals.

🔔Pennsylvania: House Democrats are urging senate Republicans to take up an LGBT-inclusive hate crimes bill they sent them in the wake of a horrible murder of a trans teenager in the state. The senate is also sitting on a nondiscrimination bill, and a marriage ban repeal, but none is likely to pass unless Dems take control of the Senate this November.