South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg pushed back on the idea a gay candidate couldn’t win election as president, saying the United States are “absolutely” ready.
According polls, American voters say they’re ready to support a gay candidate for president. Specifically 50 percent of voters say they are ready to back a gay candidate, compared to 37 percent who are not.
If the 2020 presidential election were held today and it was between Trump and Buttigieg, 49 per cent of registered voters would opt for Buttigieg while only 40 per cent would vote for Trump, the Quinnipiac poll shows.
This is it. In a few days, Iowans get to decide. If you’re ready for something different, something better, he needs your help.
A new poll shows the support for marriage equality in the Czech Republic is soaring, with around two-thirds of the public backing same-sex marriage.
67 percent of Czechs are of the view that gays and lesbians should have the possibility to get married. And 78 percent of the respondents agreed that homosexuals could adopt a child of their partners and 62 percent say they should get a chance to adopt children from institutional care.
The poll also suggests that support and opposition for marriage equality rather cleanly sits on generational lines. Support for marriage equality is cleanly divided between young and old Czech citizens.
This comes after a bill to legalise same-marriage was introduced to the country’s lower house in 2018. Despite attempts to stonewall the legislation, the Government announced its support for the bill.
Although, it has since been pelted with postponements since a vote was scheduled to take place. Deliberations, at times lasting seven hours, have stalled the bill and it has not been discussed since early 2019.
Public support is very important. It is time Czech Republic!!!
Czech Republic is brink of legalizing marriage equality
An activist has released pictures of gay people in front of Polish municipalities that declared themselves LGBT-free. Bart Staszewski said he wanted to show the real people affected by the crackdown on gay rights in Poland.
Last year, 80 municipalities in Poland declared themselves free of LGBT ideology, pledging to refrain from encouraging tolerance of gay people. Local authorities in the LGBT-free municipalities pledge to refrain from acts that encourage tolerance and must avoid providing financial assistance to NGOs working to promote equal rights.
The surge against LGBT rights in Poland gained pace ahead of the country’s general election, with ruling party Law and Justice (PiS) launching a tirade of abuse towards the country’s LGBT community as a key part of its campaign.
Party leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski directly targeted LGBT people in frequent demonising speeches. “We are dealing with a direct attack on the family and children, the sexualization of children, that entire LBGT movement, gender,” he said.
This can not be accepted in the EU, what the European Comission is waiting for to take action against Polish authorities for this new apartheid in Europe?
The City Council of Oviedo (Spain) has eliminated the public benches painted with the colors of the rainbow, which had been in the central Escandalera Square for more than two years.
The benches were painted in June 2017 during the previous mandate of the government coalition formed by the leftist parties PSOE and IU, on the occasion of the celebration of the International LGBT Pride Day, under the motto "Oviedo, city with pride".
Later, they decided to keep the painted benches in this central square of the Asturian capital because of the "very good reception both by the citizens of Oviedo and by the tourists", as justified by the previous municipal government.
The current City Council, governed by the right-wing parties PP and Ciudadanos, has decided to reform the square and to eliminate the benches, which will be replaced by a new model but no longer painted with the colors of the rainbow.
The mayor of Oviedo, Alfredo Canteli, said that he did not protest when the benches were painted in the colors of the rainbow, so he now hopes that his decision to remove them will also be respected.
LGBT activist groups have denounced this decision and consider it is a clear attack to LGBT rights by the right parties.
Dear mr. mayor, LGBT people will not come back to the closet!!!
The New York Knicks did host their third annual Pride night on January 16 when the team took on the Phoenix Suns at Madison Square Garden.
The festivities did get underway before the game when the MSG ceiling and exterior was lit up in Rainbow colors and the New York City Gay Men’s Choir Ensemble performed the National Anthem.
The night was a family-friendly hit for all who attend. There will be a halftime game between Junior Knicks teams from the Hetrick-Martin Institute,, and Pride-related in-game entertainment and giveaways are also planned. Guest DJ Valissa Yoe is also going to be on hand.
At halftime, a team from the Hetrick-Martin Insititute, a nationwide organization serving LGBT youth, played in a basketball game on the court and elicited loud cheers from the MSG faithful. The team, dubbed Soldiers of Diversity as part of a sports program at Hetrick-Martin, consists of youth of different sexual orientations, gender identities, races, and backgrounds.
A former British soldier, who was the first openly gay serviceman to feature on the front of Soldier magazine, has told how Prince Harry stepped in to protect him from other soldiers.
James Wharton served alongside the Duke of Sussex in the Household Cavalry, describing him as a "good" officer who was "well-liked". Wharton said Harry, who was his tank commander in 2008, was "quite offended" by the incident and "told them off".
"I'd got myself into a bit of a situation with some soldiers from another regiment and, essentially, they didn't like the fact I was gay," Wharton recalled. "They were sort-of chest poking me and making me feel quite uncomfortable".
"I got into my tank where Prince Harry was doing something, and he could see that I was clearly affected by something and he asked me what the problem was. I told him that there were a couple of soldiers outside who weren't very happy with the fact I was gay".
"Quite offended that his gunner was being picked on by these people, Prince Harry went out and saw these soldiers and spoke to them, and the problem went away. He told them off and they left me alone." After that, soldiers left Wharton alone.
Prince Harry served in the Army for ten years, rising to the rank of captain and taking part in two tours of Afghanistan.
The buff boys from Warwick Rowers, a sports-based campaign for gender equality, LGBT inclusion and better male mental health, can be found in all their glory splashed throughout their Worldwide Roar 2020 calendar.
Formerly known as the Warwick Rowers, they’ve relaunched as Worldwide Roar their 2020 instalment shows men from Warwick University’s rowing team most, but not all, of whom are cis hetro men and the top stars from the GB rowing team along with the very first trans man to pose along with some gay and bi members.
The calendar features polished images of nude men for every month they have stripped for a great cause, with 10% of the publisher’s sales being donated to Sports Allies, a registered charity to make sport an active part of combating homophobia and promoting gender equality.
The aim of this year’s campaign is to promote LGBT rights and gender equality but to also change the way men are viewed by society.
Same-sex marriages have been allowed in England, Wales and Scotland since 2014, and the first same-sex marriages in the Republic of Ireland took place in 2015, but in Northern Ireland did not legalise them... until now! Marriage equality is finally the law of the land in Northern Ireland!
It’s been a complicated road for Northern Ireland to join the rest of the United Kingdom in legalizing same-sex marriage. But after the UK's Parliament stepped in following a collapse of the Northern Ireland government, the day when all could take part in legally recognized nuptials has been a certainty.
An amendment to the Northern Ireland Act 2019 makes clear the U.K. Parliament will determine the legality of marriages. The only way the act from Westminster could have been stopped was if a new Northern Ireland government formed by October 21 last year, which did not occur.
Beginning Monday morning, same-sex couples can register with the government and have their unions legally recognized. That means the first legal ceremonies can take place as soon as February 10. Northern Ireland also established recognition for civil partnerships.
Several UK's Defence buildings have lit up in rainbow colours to mark 20 years since the end of the ban on lesbian, gay and bisexual people serving in the armed forces.
Restrictions on LGBT service personnel in the British armed forces were lifted on 12 January, 2000, in the wake of a landmark ruling from the European Court of Human Rights.
Overturning previous rulings from British courts, the European court had affirmed that ejecting people from the military on the basis of their sexuality was a breach of their right to a private life.
Two decades on, the armed forces celebrated the anniversary by lighting up military bases and buildings across the country in the colours of the rainbow flag.
London's Ministry of Defence HQ and Wellington Barracks are among those to be illuminated for the occasion, alongside the Navy headquarters in Portsmouth, and Edinburgh Castle.
Writer and director Morgan Jon Fox explores the uncertainty of first formal dances in a queer love story that’s also about unconditional love and acceptance in his heartwarming short film The One You Never Forget.
The eight-minute film stars London Curtis as Carey, a teen prepping for his first big school dance. While Carey readies himself for his date, his parents (Charles Malik Whitfield and Tasha Smith) reminisce about their first dance and how it paved the way for their relationship.
But when Carey’s date arrives, he’s secretive about who it is, refusing to bring his date inside for a picture. Owen D. Stone plays Hunter, the young man who arrives at Carey’s house to take him to the dance.
The film has won numerous awards for Best Short at festivals including the Sidewalk Film Festival, Seattle Queer Film Festival, Reeling Chicago, Out on Film Atlanta, and several others.
Watch the short film here, and watch the trailer below:
China has taken a small step towards recognising same-sex marriage, and activists in the country are tentatively optimistic. A body of the county’s highest level of state power, the National People’s Congress, has publicly acknowledged petitions to legalise marriage equality.
Yue Zhongming, spokesman for the commission for legislative affairs of the National People’s Congress standing committee, acknowledged for the first time petitions from the public to legalise same-sex marriage at a press conference.
He said that the commission had received more than 250,000 online suggestions and letters supporting marriage equality being written into the country’s civil marriage and family code. The fact this topic is now publicly and officially on the table gives the LGBT community hope for the first time after years of hiding and struggling.
Peng Yanzi, director of LGBT Rights Advocacy China, told: “We were very happy, pleasantly surprised by the news. As the country becomes stronger economically, its civilisation must also keep up. The important thing is that it’s no longer possible for society to stay where it was 10 years ago.” Peng added that the acceptance of same-sex marriage among young Chinese people has “exceeded” the imagination of lawmakers.
Homosexuality was decriminalised in China in 1997 but the subject is still taboo in many areas. A recently poll with more than eight million respondents so far shows that 63 percent of people in China support legalising same-sex marriage.
It's time China!!
China's first ever case on same-sex marriage rights heard
A Trevor Project's report shine a light on the importance of a supportive adult voice in the lives of LGBT youth: just having at least one accepting adult in their lives reduced the chance of a suicide attempt by an LGBT youth by 40 percent.
While past studies have focused on the importance of parents who accept their LGBT children, this new report goes farther, finding out that any supportive adult can make a difference.
A total of 34,808 youth took part in the survey, with 25,896 included in the final sample. Of these, 20,202 had disclosed their orientation to their patents, a different family member, a teacher or guidance counselor, or a doctor or healthcare provider.
Just over 27% reported who did not have a supportive adult in their live reported an attempted suicide in the last year, compared to just 17% among those who did have adult acceptance.
According to the Trevor Project, suicide is the second leading cause of death amongst young people, and LGBT youth are four times more likely to consider, plan for, and attempt suicide than their non-LGBT peers.
Marvel has announced its first official transgender superhero. The Mighty Rebekah is inspired by a 12-year-old transgender girl of the same name and forms part of Marvel’s Hero Project series on Disney Plus. As part of the show, the Mighty Rebekah has her own comic book, too, the first issue of which is available to read on Marvel’s website for free.
Rebekah and her family have been active in trans and general LGBT rights in New Jersey, including the Garden State Equality organization, which aims to tackle misinformation about transgender people in society. Furthermore, Rebekah has appeared before New Jersey lawmakers to push for Assembly Bill 1335, which mandates that schools include LGBT history as part of their curriculum. The Bill recently passed and LGBT teaching will be introduced in the state in 2020.
In a video interview with Rebekah, she and her mother talk about their advocacy and success in widening understanding of transgender children in the school system. The clip also shows Rebekah speaking at an event for Garden State Equality, with her mother noting her bravery at speaking in public on behalf of trans rights.
Family Equality released a research report which reveals that 77 percent of LGBT millennials are either already parents or are considering becoming parents in the coming years, a 44 percent increase over older LGBT generations.
But a follow-up report shows that many in the community still face significant financial barriers to becoming parents. 29 percent of all LGBT respondents reported an annual household income under $25,000, compared to 22 percent of non-LGBT respondents. That rate is even higher for black, female-identified, and trans or gender nonconforming respondents.
In most cases, becoming a parent is more expensive when you don’t have all the ingredients you need to make a baby within the context of your relationship. For LGBT people, even if you are able to find a known donor and get pregnant at home without medical intervention, our community still faces legal fees of up to a few thousand dollars to ensure that parental rights are established (and in some cases relinquished) for all parties involved.
Fostering and adopting through the child welfare system present more affordable options, but finding an organization to work with you if you live in one of the 10 states that allows for open discrimination against prospective LGBT parents is challenging. It will become even more challenging nationwide if the Department of Health and Human Services in Trump's Administration finalizes their proposed license to discriminate rule.
However, the research also reveals that the desire to have children exists regardless of financial security. There are millions of LGBT people struggling to find a path to parenthood in the face of financial insecurity, legal complexity, and continued discrimination.It also means that, too often, even those who are able to bear the costs of becoming a parent are doing so by going further into debt, or by sacrificing their own long-term financial planning and stability.
And this is why Family Equality, which for 40 years has been the national organization for LGBT families. This is why they recently launched an Open Door training platform to ensure that providers are ready to care for LGBT patients on their path to parenthood with competence, grace, and empathy. And that is why they fight hard every day against discrimination in the adoption and foster care system that limits the availability of safe, stable, qualified foster and adoptive homes to the over 400,000 youth in the foster care system nationwide.
Sadly, the Islamic Republic of Iran has hanged again a man for the crime of being homosexual, last 30 December.
The execution of the man took place in the city of Kazeroon on criminal violations of “lavat-e be onf”, a sexual intercourse between two men, as well as kidnapping charges.
The 31-year-old unidentified man is just one of thousands the regime has executed because they were gay. Iran’s sharia law system demands the death penalty for gay sex.
According to a British report, Iran has executed “between 4,000 and 6,000 gays and lesbians” since the Islamic Revolution in 1979.
Iran continually violates LGBT rights and Western countries and media remain silent!
