USA – conservative grgoups are accusing LGBT organisations of “sexual assault on our children” through public schools’ recognition of LGBT History Month (this month). They accuse schools of teaching “sex and murder”, following the inclusion of the ‘trans panic’ story of teenager Gwen Araujo on the curriculum.
October is LGBT History Month in the USA. As part of their celebrations, they are featuring a Hero-A-Day. Check out who is today’s LGBT USA Hero….
NEW YORK, 26 September. United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay today took part in a groundbreaking ministerial meeting on violence and discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) persons. The meeting marked the first time the topic had been the topic a Ministerial level at the United Nations.
The leading Russian gay activist behind Moscow Pride, Alexey Davydov 36, has died in hospital after a short life dedicated to LGBT rights. Davydov passed away at 5.40am local time today (27 September) in the intensive care unit of a Moscow hospital after a prolonged illness.
Organised by African LGBTI Out & Proud Diamond Group, many of whose members are refugees seeking asylum in the UK and some of whom are being held in detention.
“We strongly condemn the sexual abuse of vulnerable refugees. The Home Office has ultimate responsibility for these abuses. They happened in asylum detention centres under Home Office control. We are calling on the Prime Minister to condemn the abuses, reform the detention centre system, initiate a public inquiry and press police and prosecutors to bring charges against abusers,” said Edwin Sesange, coordinator of the African LGBTI Out & Proud Diamond Group.
The incidents of sexual abuse and harassment have been revealed by The Observer
John McCain, defeated Republican candidate in the 2008 US Presidential election, has submitted an ‘op-ed’ piece to Russian neswspaper Pravda. While the piece was not published in Russia, it has been released on the English language website Pravda.ru. In it, McCain says “President Putin and his associates… don’t respect your dignity or accept your authority over them. They punish dissent and imprison opponents… they write laws to codify bigotry against people whose sexual orientation they condemn”. Putin’s laws were then debated in the studio, where Stuart Milk was a guest.
Stephen Fry’s call for a boycott of everything Russian was widely reported, Cher won’t sing at the Winter Olympics in Sochi in 2014. The prime minister raised the issue when meeting president Putin at the G20 two weeks ago. But it’s important that such solidarity is properly informed and doesn’t lead to unintended consequences – like the campaign started in the USA for boycotting vodka actually made in Latvia, not Russia.
Gay, lesbian and transgender people face shocking levels of violence, discrimination and abuse across Europe, with gaps in EU and national legislation robbing them of justice and creating a climate of fear, a new report by Amnesty International says.
Homophobia’s still going strong in 21st-century comedy – large swaths of standup comedy remain vigorously anti-gay. The most recent evidence of this was the 26 “you’re gay!” jabs directed at James Franco during his Comedy Central Roast last week.
Kiss-in rallies across the globe to protest Russian anti-gay law. Over the weekend, kiss-in protests took place around the globe in dozens of cities to rally against a Russian anti-gay law introduced in June.
