Meta shuts down global accounts linked to queer content

 

Meta has removed or restricted dozens of accounts belonging to queer groups in the past weeks in what campaigners call one of the “biggest waves of censorship” on its platforms in years.

The takedowns and restrictions began in October and targeted the Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp accounts of more than 50 organisations worldwide, some serving tens of thousands of people – in what appears to be a growing push by Meta to limit queer content across its platforms.

Meta’s recent takedowns are part of a broader pattern of the company purging accounts. Campaigners say the actions indicate that Meta is taking its Trump-era approach to LGBTQ+ issues global.

This is not the first time Meta has apparently removed inoffensive LGBTQ+ content. Back in November 2024 several queer users and organisations reported their posts were being pulled from Meta’s various platforms.

Iran refuses to play first-ever pride match in FIFA 2026 World Cup

 

The authorities of Iran refuses to play the first-ever FIFA World Cup Pride Match celebrating the LGBTQ community.

The 2026 World Cup will mark Iran's seventh participation in the tournament, which will be jointly hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico.

The local organising committee in Seattle, Washington, where the fixture is scheduled to take place next year, had previously announced its intention to hold a "Pride Match" coinciding with the northwestern city's Pride Weekend in late June.

Pride events at sporting matches have become common in the United States for the very reason that supporting this “certain group” is necessary because of the environment around men’s sports in particular that has long made LGBTQ people feel unwelcome.

The head of Iran’s Football Federation, Mehdi Taj, said they raised objections against this decision, which he labelled an ‘irrational move that supports a certain group.'

Homosexuality is illegal in Iran under Islamic law and can be punishable by death.

On Swift Horses, the Elordi and Calva`s wildfire

 

On Swift Horses is a 2025 American historical romantic drama film directed by Daniel Minahan and written by Bryce Kass. Based on Shannon Pufahl's 2019 novel, it stars Daisy Edgar-Jones, Jacob Elordi, Will Poulter, Diego Calva and Sasha Calle.

In the 1950s, Muriel and Lee are beginning a bright new life together following his return from the Korean War, which is upended by the arrival of Lee's charismatic younger brother, Julius. 

Lee is keen for the three of them to build a new life in San Diego, but Julius decides to travel to Las Vegas instead, where he finds employment in a casino and meets Henry, a co-worker. Julius and Henry fall in love and the two men begin a secret romantic relationship. 

Meanwhile, Muriel embarks on a secret life of her own, gambling on racehorses and discovering a love she never thought possible after meeting Sandra, a lesbian neighbor.

Watch the trailer below:

Top European Court compels all EU countries to recognize same-sex marriages celebrated in any member state

According to the ruling of the Court of Justice of the European Union, a Member State of the European Union (EU) has the obligation to recognize a marriage between two Union citizens of the same sex that has been lawfully concluded in another Member State where they have exercised their freedom to move and reside.

Two Polish citizens who were married in Germany are requesting that their marriage certificate be transcribed in the Polish civil register so that their marriage would be recognized in Poland. The competent authorities refused their request on the ground that Polish law does not allow marriage between persons of the same sex. 

The top European Court, in answer to a question referred to it by a Polish national court, finds that refusing to recognize a marriage between two Union citizens, lawfully concluded in another Member State where they have exercised their freedom to move and reside, is contrary to EU law because it infringes that freedom and the right to respect for private and family life. 

The ruling concludes, when a Member State chooses to provide for a single procedure for recognizing marriages concluded in another Member State, such as the transcription of the marriage certificate in the civil register, it is required to apply that procedure equally to marriages concluded between persons of the same sex. 

You can read the ruling here.

Heated Rivalry, the new gay hockey show

 

“Heated Rivalry” will be shown weekly on HBO Max in the U.S. and Australia, starting with the two-episode debut on Nov. 28.

Adapted from the same name, the second novel in Rachel Reid's Game Changers book series, the show follows the eight-year relationship between rival professional hockey players whose on-ice animosity conceals a passionate, secret romance.

Set in the world of “Major League Hockey,” the six-part TV drama follows Shane Hollander (played by Hudson Williams) and Ilya Rozanov (Connor Storrie) as the two rookies’ tryst develops in secret, leaving their entire careers on thin ice.

Boston Bears captain Ilya Rozanov is everything Shane's not. The self-proclaimed king of the ice, he's as cocky as he is talented. No one can beat him—except Shane. They've made a career on their legendary rivalry, but when the skates come off, the heat between them is undeniable. When Ilya realizes he wants more than a few secret hookups, he knows he must walk away. The risk is too great.

Since the show was announced, the trailer alone has already amassed a total of over 1.6 million views across YouTube, Instagram and TikTok. Watch the trailer below:

Florida Republicans try again to ban Pride flags

 

Florida Republicans are trying for the fourth year in a row to ban flags atop government buildings, including Pride or Black Lives Matter banners.

Filed by Republicans Rep. David Borrero and Sen. Clay Yarborough, the new bill would ban flags referencing politics, race, gender, or sexual orientation being flown on government-owned buildings. 

This is the fourth time Borrero, from Miami, has carried this legislation. Fortunately, it’s died each year before reaching either the House or Senate floor.

This proposal follows a summer of state action to remove LGBTQ visibility, when the Republican Governor Ron DeSantis ordered the removal of rainbow crosswalks and street murals in cities across Florida. 

Won't be erased!!

Trans members of the US Air Force sue Trump Administration

 

A group of 17 transgender members of the U.S. Air Force has launched a lawsuit against the Trump Administration, accusing officials of unlawfully stripping them of the early-retirement pensions and benefits they were due.

The federal complaint argues that the government’s decision is “unlawful and invalid”, saying the Air Force has torn up its own rulebook. Under existing guidance, retirement orders can only be reversed in very narrow circumstances, none of which, the filing notes, applies in these cases.

The challenge comes after the Air Force confirmed it would refuse early-retirement support to every transgender service member with 15 to 18 years of service. The move effectively forces them out of the military altogether, leaving them without the financial safety net they had spent years working towards.

In addition to revoking retirement benefits, the service moved in August to deny transgender members of the Air Force the chance to argue before a board of their peers for the right to continue serving.

There are just over 4,000 transgender people currently serving in the military, according to Defense Department data, though some activists put the figure at much higher. 

China is cracking down on LGBTQ people

 

Blued and Finka, two of China’s most popular gay dating apps, have vanished from Chinese app stores were no longer available on Apple’s App Store or Android-based platforms in China. 

The removal further limits the already shrinking digital space available to LGBTQ Chinese citizens, who face growing censorship and surveillance from the government.

Blued, launched in 2012 by Beijing-based BlueCity Holdings, quickly became the country’s dominant gay dating platform, reporting more than 54 million users worldwide by 2020. Finka, founded in 2019, grew rapidly among Gen Z users for its community-oriented features. 

In recent years, Chinese authorities have shut down Pride parades, banned same-sex storylines in television and film, and ordered the removal of dozens of LGBTQ student and advocacy group accounts from WeChat, the country’s dominant messaging app.

The removals mark the latest blow to China’s queer community, sparking concern among LGBTQ advocates about an intensifying government clampdown on queer spaces, both online and offline.

Being gay cannot be banned

U.S. Supreme Court rejects an appeal to overturn landmark same-sex marriage ruling

 

The Supreme Court of the U.S. turned away a long-shot attempt to overturn the landmark 2015 ruling that legalized same-sex marriage nationwide.

The justices rejected an appeal brought by Kim Davis, a former county clerk in Kentucky who was sued in 2015 for refusing to issue marriage licenses because of her opposition to same-sex marriage based on her religious beliefs.

While the Supreme Court has for now given no indication it would seek to overturn Obergefell, it has in other rulings in the last decade strengthened religious rights at the expense of LGBTQ rights.

After Trump's appointments, the Supreme Court today is far different and far more conservative than the one that decided Obergefell in 2015, which is part of what had given LGBTQ advocates pause about the Davis appeal.

A recent research found that 65.8 percent of Americans support same-sex couples’ right to marry.

In any case, love won again today!!

New study shows majority of Americans support same-sex marriage

 

Research commissioned by the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) found that 65.8 percent of Americans support same-sex couples’ right to marry, with 36.2 percent saying they ‘strongly’ support keeping protections in place. Comparatively, just 34.3 percent of respondents said they oppose same-sex marriage, 16.1 percent of which said they strongly oppose it.

It comes as the U.S. Supreme Court prepares to decide whether it will hear a case challenging same-sex marriage protections brought in 2015 under the Obergefell v Hodges judgment, saying that people, not the government, should be able to decide whom they marry, and that equal protection requires access to legal marriage for same-sex couples on the same terms and conditions as others.

Asking respondents how much confidence they have now in the Supreme Court, just 34.6 percent of LGBTQ adults said they had a great deal, while 65.4 percent have hardly any.

Kelley Robinson, HRC’s president, urged the Supreme Court to reject what she called a “paper-thin attempt to undermine marriage equality and the dignity of LGBTQ people” in the U.S. “Marriage equality isn’t just the law of the land – it’s woven into the fabric of American life,” she said. “For more than a decade, millions of LGBTQ couples have gotten married, built families, and contributed to their communities".

A recent report from The Williams Institute found that there are more than 823,000 married same-sex couples in the U.S., as of June, and they are raising nearly 300,000 children. 

Jonathan Bailey is the sexiest man alive 2025!

 

Jonathan Bailey has been named People's Sexiest Man Alive, making him the first openly gay man to hold the title.

People’s decision to bestow their annual Sexiest Man Alive honor on the 37-year-old British heartthrob seems so patently obvious that staff at the magazine smugly patted themselves on their backs. “We know,” read a sub-heading on twin People covers showing Bailey smoldering in the ocean and hugging his dog while shirtless. “We nailed it.”

People editor Julie Jordan wrote that he “knows how to bring the heat,” described him as “unfairly handsome,” and labeled him “one of the most irresistible stars” working in Hollywood.

In the past five years Bailey has captured hearts as Lord Anthony on Bridgerton and earned an Emmy nomination for his role as a closeted congressional staffer in the Showtime series Fellow Travelers. Then, there’s his 2024 big-screen debut as Prince Fiyero in the movie musical megahit Wicked, followed by this summer’s blockbuster Jurassic World: Rebirth.

Congratulations!!!

Netherlands set to get first-ever gay PM after far-right party suffers big losses

 

Dutch centrist leader Rob Jetten said he was "very confident" of being able to put together a government after his party's strong showing in parliamentary elections that saw Geert Wilders' far-right and anti-Islam Freedom Party lose ground.

He is now poised to be the youngest and first openly gay prime minister in the Netherlands' history.

Rob Jetten's achievement in dragging his socially liberal D66 party from fifth place to the top of Dutch politics in less than two years has been extraordinary.

The election delivered a "very strong message form Dutch voters that they want positive political powers in the center to work together and deliver for all the people in the Netherlands," he said.

Congratulations!!!

Rob Jetten and his husband Nicolas Santiago Keenan

South Korea recognizes same-sex couples in census for the first time

 

South Korea will recognize same-sex couples in its national census, marking a historic move by the government in recording household data.

The households headed by same-gender couples will now be able to select “spouse” and “cohabiting partner” on the Population and Housing Census, which takes place every five years.

This is the first step towards having LGBTQ citizens fully reflected in national data. In past surveys, couples of the same gender could not select ‘spouse’ even if they lived together as such, and the system would return an error.

Same-sex marriage is still not permitted under South Korean law. Despite gradual policy shifts, legal protections for LGBTQ people remain limited, and public opinion remains divided. 

This is a significant step toward legal equality and hopefully a potential precursor to marriage reform. 

It's time, South Korea!!

King Charles honors LGBTQ Armed Forces memorial

 

King Charles has been present at the UK’s first ever memorial dedicated to the LGBTQ Armed Forces community unveiled at the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire.

The bronze sculpture, titled An Opened Letter, commemorates sailors, soldiers, and aviators affected by a historic gay ban, which made it illegal to be homosexual in the British Armed Forces from 1967 to 2000. 

He laid flowers at the sculpture, shaped like a personal letter, which represents correspondence used to incriminate service personnel, which in some cases resulted in prosecution or imprisonment. 

Homosexuality was decriminalized in England in 1967, but this policy led to thousands of dismissals, forced exits, and discrimination in the British army.

U.S. Supreme Court to decide if it will revisit landmark same-sex marriage ruling in November

 

The US Supreme Court has set a date to consider whether it will hear a case challenging same-sex marriage. 

Justices will reportedly convene during a private meeting on 7 November to discuss whether to take on a legal challenge brought by former Kentucky county clerk Kim Davis.

In 2015, shortly after the Supreme Court recognized a constitutional right to same-sex marriage, Davis refused to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples on religious grounds.

After a decade of litigation over her refusal to issue marriage licenses to any queer couples, Davis called on the Supreme Court in July to hear her case challenging a Court of Appeal’s decision, which argued Davis’ actions as county clerk were unconstitutional.

If the Supreme Court decides to overturn its decision, states will then be allowed to discriminate against issuing marriage licenses to gay couples. I hope that won't happen.

Turkish government drafts new anti-LGBTQ+ laws

 

Türkiye's government has revealed the draft of its 11th Judicial Reform Package, which includes a series of updated laws negatively affecting the LGBTQ community.

The reform is the latest collection of proposed legal changes that the Turkish government is presenting to Parliament for consideration, threatening prison for trans people and same-sex couple.

Under the draft, anyone who publicly promotes behaviors or identities that are not deemed true to their sex given at birth could face one to three years in prison.

The proposed reforms also target the trans community, raising the minimum legal age for gender reassignment surgeries from 18 to 25.

Same-sex couples caught holding engagement or wedding ceremonies could also face prison sentences of one and a half to four years.

Government officials justify the reforms as necessary to their moto: “Protect families, promote healthy development, and preserve social order.”

The country has experienced a rise in anti-LGBTQ rhetoric since President Erdoğan took office in 2014, banning Pride marches just one year into his position.

Erdoğan can't ban love

Heated Rivalry: the gay romance book now on TV

 

Based on the beloved novels of the same name from author Rachel Reid, the television adaptation of Heated Rivalry is set the on-and-off court relationship between a pair of professional Major League Hockey players

Shane Hollander (Hudson Williams) and Ilya Rozanov (Connor Storie) are two of the biggest stars in Major League Hockey, bound by ambition, rivalry and a magnetic pull neither of them fully understands.

What begins as a secret fling between two confused teenagers at 17 evolves into a years-long journey of love, denial, and self- discovery. Over the next eight years, as they chase glory on the ice, they struggle to navigate their feelings off of it. 

Torn between the sport they live for and the love they can't ignore, Shane and Ilya must decide if there's room in their fiercely competitive world for something as fragile (and powerful) as real love.

On the ice, the pair are sworn rivals, but off of it, they must navigate a forbidden love while grappling in a very different way.

Watch the trailer below:

A new LGBTQ network to support athletes around the world

 

Proud Champions is a European network of LGBTQ athletes and allies committed to a sport where everyone can be themselves. Proud Champions is supported by two associations: Fier-Play (France) and Compete Proud (Spain).

The network’s website features profiles of an initial 15 member athletes, all of whom have experience in elite sports. Some have now retired, while others are still competing.

They connect athletes from all walks of life, whether they are professional competitors or former athletes, and public figures around a common mission: to create visibility, inspire new generations, promote inclusion in sport, and make them proud of this diversity..

The launch of Proud Champions follows the successful staging of Pride House Paris at the 2024 Olympics and Paralympics. The Pride House Paris venue and wider initiative were supported by the International Olympic Committee and helped to provide greater LGBTQ visibility compared to previous editions of the Games.

Proud Champions provides a space where pride becomes a strength, where support can be found, and where inspiration is provided through example. Discover the faces and stories behind Proud Champions here.

Same-sex couples legally recognized in "de facto" marriages in Japan

 

Japan’s government has decided to allow same-sex couples to be treated as being in de facto marriages under a total of nine more laws and ordinances,

The move follows a High Court ruling delivered in March 2024, which stated that denying marriage equality to same-sex couples in Japan is unconstitutional and called on the government to take action to address the lack of protections.

In March 2024, the Sapporo High Court ruled that not granting same-sex couples the right to marry and enjoy the same benefits as their heterosexual counterparts amounted to a violation of their fundamental right to equality and freedom of marriage.

Japan remains the only Group of Seven major industrialized country that has not legalized same-sex marriage or civil unions, despite growing pressure from the LGBTQ community and its supporters.

Although Japan does not recognize same-sex marriage, a majority of Japanese show their support, and a number of municipalities issue partnership certificates for LGBTQ couples.

Boots: a closeted teen Marine in the 90s

 

Netflix has released the first trailer for its upcoming show Boots, which centers on the life of a closeted teen Marine.

"It’s 1990, you’re fresh out of high school and not sure what to do with your life, so, obviously, you follow your buddy blindly into the US Marine Corps... What could go wrong?" reads the trailer's caption on YouTube.

Based on the memoir The Pink Marine by Greg Cope White, Boots follows a closeted teen named Cameron Cope (Miles Heizer) who, along with his best friend, joins the Marines. The series is set in the 1990s, when being openly gay in the military was illegal.

Boots debuts on Netflix on October 9. Watch the trailer below:

A trans soldier’s brave battle against Trump

 

From The New Republic:

Nicolas Talbott stood at attention, fists tight to his trouser seams, avoiding the eyeballs of the first sergeant asking why he’d joined the Army. “I’m here because I’m transgender,” he sounded off. “And I want to prove that people like me can do this. And frankly, can do it better than some of the people standing around me right now.”

Afterward, the other 64 trainees huddled around him in an “incredible moment of camaraderie” that Talbott says brought them together as a unit. After basic training, he would be selected as an honor graduate and earn his commission this year as a second lieutenant, 17 days before his commander in chief, Donald Trump, issued a January 27 executive order banning transgender people from military service. 

The following day, Talbott became lead plaintiff in Talbott v. Trump (now v. USA), the first of two cases challenging the policy headed to the Supreme Court.

Read more here.

Dutch parliament agrees to ban gay conversion

 

The Dutch parliament has voted to criminalize so-called ‘conversion therapy’ in a victory for LGBTQ people in The Netherlands.

The new bill marks a significant step forward in protecting LGBTQ individuals from harmful and discredited interventions.

Conversion therapy incorporates various physically, emotionally and psychologically abusive methods to attempt to change someone’s gender and/or sexuality. This can include berating or beating, being forced to pray as a form of healing, and “corrective rape”.

The criminalization covers therapies involving electric shocks and faith healing practices, and it would be punishable to ‘systematically’ and ‘intrusively’ try to change someone’s gender and/or sexuality. 

However, simple conversations, such as between a religious leader and a believer, about trying not to be LGBTQ will not be criminalized under the new law.

“Love does not need to be cured,” said parliament member Wieke Paulusma. “With this law, we protect vulnerable people from harmful practices that endanger their health and safety. This is a choice for freedom, equality, and human dignity.”

Well done!!!

Trump Administration must restore public health web pages related to DEI and gender identity under court settlement

 

Trump Administration must restore more than 100 health and science datasets and webpages that federal agencies wiped earlier this year, resolving a lawsuit filed by the Washington State Medical Association.

The settlement requires the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to recover any information it deleted from government websites since January, which mainly includes guidance around LGBTQ health, trans youth, pregnancy and reproductive care, vaccines, opioid-use treatment, and racism in health care, among other topics. 

Federal agencies began to remove the webpages following two of Donald Trump’s Jan. 20 executive orders on gender identity and diversity, equity and inclusion efforts.

Won't be erased!!!

Florida gay bar defiants DeSantis' removal of rainbow crosswalks

 

A gay bar in St. Petersburg, Florida, has responded to the removal of rainbow crosswalks across the state, ordered by the Republican Governor Ron DeSantis.

In line with a new ban on “non-compliant pavement surface markings”, DeSantis Administration has written to local cities in recent weeks demanding they remove rainbow crosswalks, included the rainbow crosswalk beside the site of Pulse nightclub in Orlando, in memorial to those who were murdered at the venue in 2016.

As a reaction, the St. Petersburg gay bar Cocktail St. Pete has decided to refresh its window decals. If DeSantis wants rainbows removed from the streets of Florida, this bar is fighting back, its windows are ablaze with rainbows.

On Instagram, the bar said, “Last night the state painted over the Pulse Memorial Crosswalk! We will not stand by and be erased!!! Next week we will install new graphics across the front of our building putting our PRIDE on display. We are proud and will not fight quietly.”

Won't be erased by DeSantis!!!

How many adults and youth identify as LGBTQ in the United States?

 

Gallup finds 9.3% of United States adults identifying as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or something other than straight or heterosexual. The percentage has more than doubled since Gallup first measured LGBTQ identification in 2012.

According to the report, LGBTQ people make up just 1.8% of the Silent Generation, which comprises of those born 1945 or earlier, compared to 3% for baby boomers (born 1946-1964), 5.1% for Generation X (born 1965-1980), 14% for Millennials (born 1981-1996), and 23.1% for Generation Z (born 1997-2006).

The report’s age differences are consistent with other statistical reports about demographics in the broader LGBTQ community. Nearly three million people 13 years and older in the U.S. identify as transgender, according to a new report published by the Williams Institute at UCLA School of Law.

This other report found that roughly 1% of the U.S. population above the age of 13 identifies as transgender. In total, the report concluded that there are at least 2.8 million individuals in the U.S. who identify as transgender and are 13 years of age or older.

Notably, younger age groups are significantly overrepresented in the overall breakdown of transgender Americans by age, according to the report. Roughly 724,000 people between the ages of 13 and 17 identify as transgender, representing 3.3% of youth, compared to a total of 2.1 million trans adults 18 years of age or older, about 0.8% of adults. 

We won't be removed!!!

DeSantis orders cities to remove Pride crosswalks in Florida

 

The Florida Department of Transportation under Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis sent a letter to Delray Beach ordering city officials to remove a mural in the roadway. A similar letter also arrived in Key West.

"As required by state law, if the pavement markings are not removed by September 3, 2025, the Florida Department of Transportation will remove them by any appropriate method necessary without further notice,” the FDOT letter states. “You are further notified that if the markings are removed by the Department, all costs associated with the removal will be assessed against City of Delray Beach.”

That message came days after city officials voted to defy direction from the state. Other Florida cities like Boynton Beach and West Palm Beach caved immediately after the state issued its directive.

DeSantis' Administration has yet to pick a fight with some of Florida’s biggest cities with rainbow sidewalks. Miami Beach, Fort Lauderdale, and Orlando all have rainbow crosswalks and intersections, but have yet to endure such heavy-handed tactics from the state.

A poll commissioned by GLAAD reveals broad concerns of LGBTQ people and ally in Florida about legislation stripping away their rights. Florida’s Republican passed bills banning LGBTQ-related conversation in schools, the known “Don’t Say Gay" bill. Ever since law was passed, DeSantis has turned Florida into a test kitchen for anti-LGBTQ restrictions that have since spread to other states.

Freedom for Enes now!!!

 

Türkiye authorities has arrested an LGBTQ youth activist over criticism he made abroad at the Council of Europe about the repression of opponents by President Tayyip Erdogan's government.

Enes Hocaogullari, 23, gave a speech in Strasbourg criticising police violence and detentions plus democratic backsliding in Türkiye, saying: "The youth has had enough ... We are ready to go on the streets to regain our freedoms."

He was detained on arrival from France at Ankara's Esenboga Airport pending trial on charges of publicly disseminating misleading information and inciting hatred and enmity. The Council of Europe said the charges against Hocaogullari were a reprisal for his words and urged his immediate release.

After a spectacular march in 2014 of more than 100,000 people in Istanbul, the Turkish authorities have banned it year after year, officially for security reasons. Turkish President Erdogan and his cabinet have become increasingly more hostile towards the LGBTQ community and their rights.

LGBTQ people in Türkiye are not protected from discrimination in employment, education, housing, health care, public accommodations, or credit. 

#FreeEnesNow

The NFL releases a video supporting LGBTQ community

 

The U.S. National Football League (NFL) has released a new video "Football is for everyone" that unequivocally embraces the LGBTQ community, stating that football is gay, lesbian, queer, transgender, beautiful and other descriptors. 

The NFL intention with the video is to send a strong message of acceptance from the league to fans, players and coaches. The video is a direct response to the coming out of Las Vegas Raiders defensive end Carl Nassib.

The film also features The Trevor Project to highlight life-saving resources for LGTBQ youth.

You can watch the video below:

Positive attitudes toward LGBTQ+ people in China

 

Researchers from the Williams Institute at the UCLA School of Law, surveyed Chinese public about their familiarity with and acceptance of LGBTQ people. 

This study examines participants’ attitudes toward policy issues such as discrimination at work, same-sex marriage, and same-sex couples raising children in China.

Responding to a survey on attitudes towards LGBTQ+ people in China, 53 per cent said queer people should be accepted in society, which flies in the face of some of the country’s restrictive laws, which flies in the face of some of the country’s restrictive laws. 

A similar number felt same-sex couples should be able to marry, while 46 per cent said they would personally attend a same-sex wedding. 48 per cent believed gay couples would make capable parents.

62 per cent of those surveyed said LGBTQ+ people should be treated fairly at work, and 68 per cent felt the government should improve protections for queer students.

According to the study, at least 70 per cent of Chinese people know at least one person who is out as LGBTQ+, while 47 per cent know at least two.

Homosexuality has been legal in China since 1997, after the country updated its penal code. However, same-sex marriage is still illegal, and there are virtually no protections for LGBTQ+ people.

Same-sex couples have been able to apply for a “guardianship appointment” since 2017, which affords them certain rights to share assets and inheritance, but they are not allowed to adopt.

Read the whole report here.

Democratic states sue Trump admin over ending healthcare access to trans youth

 

Sixteen states are suing the Trump administration to defend transgender youth healthcare access, which has rapidly eroded across the US due to threats from the federal government.

Trump’s policies are an attempt to impose a nationwide ban on the treatment for people under 19, and that’s unlawful because there’s no federal statute that bans providing the care to minors. 

The Democratic attorneys general of California, New York, Massachusetts, Illinois and Connecticut are leading the lawsuit, which challenges the president’s efforts to eradicate vital medical treatments for trans youth.

The complaint targets one of Trump’s first executive orders, called for federal funds to be withheld from hospitals that provide the treatments. Those gender-affirming treatments, which are accessed by a small fraction of youth in the US, have for years been the standard of care endorsed by major US medical associations.

"The federal government is running a cruel and targeted harassment campaign against providers who offer lawful, lifesaving care to children," New York Attorney General Letitia James, said in a statement. 

"This administration is ruthlessly targeting young people who already face immense barriers just to be seen and heard, and are putting countless lives at risk in the process," she added.