Hong Kong Lawmakers Overwhelmingly Reject Same-Sex Rights Bill

THE NEW YORK TIMES: Legislators voted down a proposal that would have given some rights to couples who married overseas. Campaign groups urged the government to try again.
Since the Chinese government imposed a major overhaul of Hong Kong’s political system four years ago, the city’s legislature has been stacked with loyalists who have sided with the administration on almost every issue.

But one law proposed by the Hong Kong government faced opposition from a large number of lawmakers. It aimed to provide recognition of some same-sex partnerships and bestow people in such relationships with new rights, such as the authority to make medical decisions on behalf of their partners.

On Wednesday, 71 of the city’s 89 legislators voted against the bill.

Holden Chow, the vice chair of the city’s largest pro-Beijing party, had said that enacting the bill could “result in dire consequences” for traditional Chinese family values. But Hong Kong Marriage Equality, an advocacy group, urged the government to reintroduce the bill after legislative council elections in December.

Hong Kong does not recognize same-sex marriage. The proposed law would have allowed same-sex couples who married or entered a civil union overseas to register as lawful couples in Hong Kong, and would have extended some rights to them. » | Tiffany May | Reporting from Hong Kong | September 10, 2025

No Man Is an Island: A British Society and Its Historic Push for Gay Rights | Reupload

May 29, 2025 | This creative documentary immerses us in a little-known chapter of gay history. In 1992, the Isle of Man was one of the last places in western Europe to decriminalise homosexual acts.

Through verbatim reconstruction and newly discovered archives, we understand the impact of discriminatory parliamentary debates, controversial media coverage and overreaching police surveillance. In a short period of time, this corner of the British Isles went on to create some of the most progressive legislation in the world. Do people change, or do laws change people?

If you have been affected by the issues raised in this film, help and support is available. In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on freephone 116 123, or email jo@samaritans.org or jo@samaritans.ie. In the US, you can call or text the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline on 988, chat on 988lifeline.org, or text HOME to 741741 to connect with a crisis counsellor. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. Other international helplines can be found at befrienders.org


The Guardian publishes independent journalism, made possible by supporters. You can contribute to The Guardian today by clicking here.

US Supreme Court Asked to Overturn Same-sex Marriage Ruling | The World | ABC NEWS

Aug 14, 2025 | The US Supreme Court has officially been asked to overturn the landmark 2015 decision that granted equal marriage rights to LGBTQ+ couples. It comes amid criticism of the State Department's reports on international human rights abuses this week, which eliminated entire sections on discrimination against LGBTQ+ people, women and racial and ethnic minorities in countries with long track records of human rights abuses. Lambda Legal CEO Kevin Jennings joined The World from New York.

The re-election of Donald Trump is a DISASTER. He and his cronies are FOSSILS. It would be the irony of ironies indeed if this convicted felon and sex offender ends up taking gays' hard-won rights away.— © Mark Alexander

Russell T Davies Warns of Looming Backlash against LGBTQ Rights

Aug 11, 2025

Related article here.

Russell T Davies Blames Reform and Trump for Decline in UK Gay Rights

THE GUARDIAN: Screenwriter known for reviving Doctor Who and writing Queer As Folk says LGBT community needs to fight back

Russell T Davies has said gay rights are “rapidly and urgently getting worse” thanks to the rise of Reform UK and the influence of the Trump presidency on British politics.

The award-winning screenwriter, who is best known for reviving Doctor Who and writing Queer As Folk, said the LGBT community should be “revolting in terror and anger and action” in response to growing support for Reform, which has pledged to “ban transgender ideology” in schools.

Speaking to the Big Issue, Davies said: “When Queer As Folk came out in 1999, if you’d said: ‘What will gay rights be like in 2025?’, we’d have said: ‘Oh, it will all be marvellous – it’ll be sunshine and skipping down the street, hand in hand – gays, queers, lesbians, everyone.’

“And look at where we are. Things got better but now things are rapidly and urgently getting worse. » | Lanre Bakare | Arts and culture correspondent | Monday, August 11, 2025

Global Journalist: Gay Rights in the Arab World

Sep 22, 2016 | One of the hardest regions of the globe to be lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender is the Arab world.

In Saudi Arabia and Yemen, the punishment for the crime of sodomy is death by stoning, and many other countries impose prison sentences.

Also challenging is the fact that the stigma associated with being LGBT is so great, many people feel they can’t come out even to their family or closest friends.

On this edition of Global Journalist, a look at the uncertain lives of LGBT people in Arab nations.

Joining the program:

*Saleem Haddad, the Jordanian-born author of the new novel "Guapa," about the outing of a young gay man in an unnamed Arab country.

*Graeme Reid, director of the LGBT rights program at Human Rights Watch

*Esra'a Al-Shafei, a Bahraini activist and director of Mideast Youth, network of online platforms that amplify marginalized voices in the region.

*Antoun Issa, a senior editor at the Middle East Institute who has written extensively on LGBT issues in the region.

The War Has Begun / Der Krieg hat begonnen / La guerre a commencé

MARK ALEXANDER: Donnie, you will NOT be allowed to take our rights away from us. We will not allow you to do this. The weak gay tech-bros might well have no spine or spunk, but we do.

The fight for equality and equal rights has been long and hard. There is still much to do and be won. YOU and your fossil bros will not be allowed to take the hard-won rights away from us.

© Mark Alexander
All Rights Reserved

Bishop Confronts Trump on Immigration and Gay Rights: 'They Fear for Their Lives'

Jan 21, 2025 | President Donald Trump began his first full day in office attending a prayer service at the Washington National Cathedral.

The Episopal, Mariann Edgar Budde, pleaded with Trump during the service, asking the newly-election president to protect immigrants and respect gay rights. 'There are gay, lesbian and transgender children in Democratic, Republican and independent families, some who fear for their lives', she said as Trump and his family watched on. After the inauguration, Trump launched a sweeping immigration crackdown and promised mass deportations.


Trump is such a cruel man. Despicable and cruel. – © Mark Alexander

6 African Countries Progressing Gay Rights

Premiered Dec 27, 2024 | Welcome to The Black Gay History Channel!

LGBT Rights in East Germany

Dec 6, 2023

Please note well that the mere fact that I am posting this video here should not be in any way misconstrued. I am not posting it because I have any liking for the then GDR, communist East Germany; rather, I am posting it for educational purposes. I, for one, had absolutely no idea that the GDR was progressive in matters gay rights.

Truth to tell, I have trouble understanding why others have trouble with two people of the same sex loving each other anyway. Many people’s attitudes would point to them being in some way pious, whereas, in actual fact, they are usually most certainly not. And how many of those homophobes eat shellfish or have tattoos? Lest we forget, these two things are STRICTLY FORBIDDEN by the Bible. Check out Leviticus! And how many of us mix fibres when we dress ourselves in the morning? Or transgress when it comes to the many other dietary laws and restrictions — the many proscriptions clearly set out in the Bible? – © Mark Alexander

Italy According to Giorgia Meloni: No Country for Non-traditional Families

Jul 21, 2023 | On a cruisade for the defense of traditional families, Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni wants to make surrogacy carried out abroad by Italian couples a crime, after stepping up restrictions on homosexual couples' already limited rights to parenthood.

Read more about this story here.

How Life Is Changing for Italy's Gay Families – BBC News | Reupload

Sep 24, 2023 | Italy’s government is planning to criminalise people who travel abroad to have children via surrogacy, which is already banned in the country. While the majority of Italians who seek surrogacy abroad are believed to be heterosexual, many same-sex parents fear the new law is targeting LGBT families by making it harder for them to have children.

A recent Ipsos poll shows that 45% of Italians oppose the idea of surrogacy, but 45% were also in favour of granting legal recognition for children born via surrogacy.


In a country so short of babies, one would think that the government of such a country would be glad to get all the babies they can get, in order to swell the birthrate! – © Mark Alexander

Buttigieg Blasts DeSantis for Campaign Ad | #shorts

Click here to hear Pete Buttigieg put down DeSantis.

Global Gay: The Next Frontier in Human Rights - Documentary

Nov 16, 2018 | A global revolution is underway to obtain what UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon and Barack Obama call ‘the final frontier in human rights’: the universal decriminalization of homosexuality.

Homosexuality is forbidden in almost half of the world. Out of 196 UN member states, there are 7 where it is punishable by death. In 84 others, it can merit prison and physical punishment. But today, momentum is building and the debate on gay rights is omnipresent - whether it be regarding legalization in the Middle-East and Africa or the focus of gay marriage laws in the West.

After years of long diplomatic struggle, several world leaders have declared themselves in favor of the universal decriminalization of homosexuality. But victory won’t come easily. The countries that still punish homosexuality refuse to give in to international pressure. Global acceptance and equality will take time to achieve.

‘Global Gay’ follows this battle for decriminalization through the lives and work of some of its fearless pioneers, providing a vibrant chronicle of the growing global social movement. In the words of Ban Ki Moon, “The time has come”.

Filmed in Russia, Cuba, Cameroon, Nepal and South Africa.

Is Supreme Court's "Gay Wedding" Case Built on a Lie? Man at Center of Story Is Married to a Woman

Jun 30, 2023 | The Supreme Court has now ruled that Colorado's Anti-Discrimination Act would violate a Christian business owner's First Amendment rights by not allowing her to discriminate against same-sex couples and potentially compelling her to create websites "celebrating marriages she does not endorse." Lorie Smith of Colorado filed the lawsuit with help from the right-wing Alliance Defending Freedom as part of the group's ongoing attempt to roll back the rights of LGBTQ people. But as reporter Melissa Gira Grant discovered, part of the case may have been built on a lie. Smith has never actually built a wedding website; the lone request Smith claims to have received from a gay couple supposedly originated with a straight man in another state who told Grant he had never asked for a website and that he has been married to a woman for many years. "He had no idea that his information was in this case," says Grant, who wrote about the case for The New Republic.

Homophobic businesses in the US have a powerful ally: the US supreme court: The court is more interested in protecting the dignity of bigots than the dignity of gay couples denied services for who they are »

Supreme Court Backs Web Designer Opposed to Same-Sex Marriage

Gay Rights Ruling
THE NEW YORK TIMES: The decision appeared to suggest that the rights of L.G.B.T.Q. people, including to same-sex marriage, are on more vulnerable legal footing, particularly when they are at odds with claims of religious freedom.

The Supreme Court sided on Friday with a web designer in Colorado who said she had a First Amendment right to refuse to provide services for same-sex marriages despite a state law that forbids discrimination against gay people.

In a 6 to 3 vote, split along ideological lines, the court held that the First Amendment prohibits Colorado from forcing a website designer to create expressive designs speaking messages with which the designer disagrees. Justice Neil M. Gorsuch wrote the majority opinion.

The case, though framed as a clash between free speech and gay rights, was the latest in a series of decisions in favor of religious people and groups, notably conservative Christians.

The decision also appeared to suggest that the rights of L.G.B.T.Q. people, including to same-sex marriage, are on more vulnerable legal footing, particularly when they are at odds with claims of religious freedom. At the same time, the ruling limited the ability of the governments to enforce anti-discrimination laws. » | Adam Liptak and Abbie VanSickle | Friday, June 30, 2023

Gay Couples Fear Italy's Right-wing Alliance | Focus on Europe

Oct 18, 2022 | Giorgia Meloni's election victory is a nightmare for Monica and Maria. The lesbian couple have adopted each other's two children, but their situation could become a problem in the future.

Ukraine Passes LGBTQ+ Hate Speech Ban in ‘Big Step’ for Equality

Ukraine has passed a new LGBTQ+ rights law. (Getty)
PINK NEWS: Ukraine has passed a bill banning hate speech against LGBTQ+ people in the media.

The legislation, banning hate speech and incitement based on sexual orientation and gender identity, was unanimously approved on 15 December, LGBTQ Nation reported.

“It’s a big step for Ukraine, to start adoption of our legislation to European values,” Olena Shevchenko, chair of Ukrainian LGBTQ+ rights group Insight, told The Washington Blade.

“We hope our government will recognise LGBTQI people as equal as soon as possible.”

The bill comes after the president of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, confirmed that he will ask Ukraine’s government to look into legalising same-sex marriage after the war with Russia ends.

Over the summer, a petition calling for the legalisation of marriage equality in Ukraine gained more than 28,000 signatures, passing the 25,000 threshold required for it to be considered by the president. » | Emily Chudy | Thursday, December 22, 2022

‘I’m Afraid for My Future’: Proposed Laws Threaten Gay Life in Russia

THE NEW YORK TIMES: The laws, all but assured of enactment, would intensify a crackdown on L.G.B.T.Q. freedom in Russia, which Vladimir V. Putin has cast as a corrosive Western influence.

MOSCOW — In an industrial block in northeastern Moscow on a recent Friday night, organizers of an L.G.B.T.Q.-friendly art festival were assiduously checking IDs. No one under 18 allowed. They were trying to comply with a 2013 Russian law that bans exposing minors to anything that could be considered “gay propaganda.”

The organizers had good reason to be wary: Life has been challenging for gay Russians since the law passed, as the government has treated gay life as a Western import that is harmful to traditional Russian values and society.

Now Russia’s Parliament is set to pass a legislative package that would ban all “gay propaganda,” signaling an even more difficult period ahead for a stigmatized segment of society.

The laws would prohibit representation of L.G.B.T.Q. relationships in any media — streaming services, social platforms, books, music, posters, billboards and films — and, activists fear, in any public space as well. That’s a daunting prospect for queer people searching for community, validation or an audience. » | Valerie Hopkins and Valeriya Safronova | Photographs by Nanna Heitmann | Friday, November 4, 2022

Vlad and Patriarch Kirill of Moscow are cool with killing innocent people—fathers, mothers, the elderly and innocent children in the Ukraine, and sending off to war innocent Russians only to be used as cannon fodder, but two consenting adult males or females who have found love and who wish to spend the rest of their lives together in peace and love is a problem for them – a BIG PROBLEM, it seems. What a sick society Russia has become under Putin! It is a bastion of backwardness and benightedness. How sad! – © Mark Alexander

Verwandt auf Deutsch. Related in English.

The Psychic Trauma of Being Queer in Singapore

Jasjyot Singh Hans
OPINION : GUEST ESSAY
THE NEW YORK TIMES: I was at a watch party last month, waiting excitedly for the expected announcement that Singapore would finally decriminalize consensual sex between gay men.

Section 377A of Singapore’s Penal Code, a holdover from British colonial times, has loomed as a barrier to queer rights, setting the tone for discrimination in broader areas like housing, health care and employment.

Although the government had years ago stopped enforcing it, repeal gave gay Singaporeans like me hope that we might finally be accepted, and cheers went up when Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong delivered the news. But the room went silent moments later.

Anxious to reassure conservatives, Mr. Lee quickly added that marriage was defined as between a man and a woman and would be protected from further legal challenge through a constitutional amendment. No changes were mentioned in other policy areas that marginalize us. The status quo, justified by the familiar refrain of family values, would be maintained.

Rather than a gesture of reconciliation, the government cynically validated bigoted factions that have historically abused and organized against queers. » | Joel Tan * | Thursday, September 22, 2022

* Joel Tan is a Singaporean playwright and artist based in London. His play Tango dramatized the human cost of Singapore’s homophobic policy environment.