UK territory abolishes "illegitimacy" in victory for queer parents
US states continue push to defund gender care
For the Los Angeles Blade, I reported on how HIV charity Project Angel Food has lost a $340,000 federal grant – on top of another $175,000 grant that was cut earlier this year. They’re soliciting donations to close the gap.
UK: The assembly of the Crown Dependency Jersey voted unanimously to abolish the concept of child “legitimacy” from law. This will benefit the majority of children born in the territory who are not born to married parents, and to the children of same-sex parents who were considered illegitimate regardless of marriage status. This follows the Isle of Man passing a bill to recognize same-sex parents recently.
Hong Kong: The legislature begins debate on the civil partnership bill tomorrow.
India: A former supreme court judge is calling on the judiciary to be a “catalyst” for LGBTQIA+ rights, noting many positive (though small) refroms that have come since his court’s decision not to legalize same-sex marriage.
Senegal: The UN and Dutch embassy cancelled a planned film screening and discussion of LGBT issues at the behest of the government, which warned of “repercussions” for organizers.
Kenya: 76Crimes is reporting that Kenya is increasingly unsafe for LGBTQI refugees. It has long been seen as a relatively safe place for queer Ugandans.
Argentina: Today is the 15th anniversary of same-sex marriage in Argentina. It was the first Latin American country to legalize same-sex marriage, leading to a wave that now includes Mexico, Cuba, Costa Rica, Colombia, Brazil, Chile, Ecuador, and Uruguay, as well as all French, Dutch, and US territories, with civil unions recognized in Bolivia. That’s more than three-quarters of Latin America’s population.
St. Vincent and the Grenadines: An NGO is calling on the government to amend employment legislation to ban anti-LGBT discrimination. Last year, a court upheld SVG’s sodomy laws in a baffling and homophobic decision.
Meanwhile, in the States
A judge has refused to lift an injunction blocking Trump’s policy banning changing gender markers or using an X marker on passports. The justice department has announced it will appeal.
Harvard has apparently caved to pressure from the Trump administration to end DEI initiatives by removing the websites for its Women’s Center, Office for BGLTQ Student Life, and Foundation for Intercultural and Race Relations.
Puerto Rico: The territory’s legislature passed a bill that would ban gender care for anyone under 21. The bill is currently on the governor’s desk, and it’s unclear if she will sign it.
Louisiana: The state’s Medicaid agency has quietly stopped funding gender care through regulations rather than through legislation.
Michigan: The court of appeals has upheld the firing of a professor at a Christian university for officiating a same-sex wedding because the law doesn’t explicitly prohibit discrimination based on “association” with someone in a protected category (sexual orientation). Wow.