Russian authorities have confirmed that special protest zones will be set up at the Sochi Winter Olympics. In the face of heavy criticism of Russia’s anti-gay law, International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach sought to diffuse the situation with an announcement in December. This followed a decree, signed by Russian President Vladimir Putin in August,
Author Archive: Eglė
Vilnius district Court has terminated the case of member of the Lithuanian Parliament Petras Gražulis who was charged a fine of 200 litas (~ 58 EUR) for attempting to disrupt the Baltic Pride March for Equality in July, 2013. MP Gražulis was arrested on 27 July during the Baltic Pride 2013 march when he tried
Seattle Police are investigating after someone doused a stairwell with gasoline and ignited it in one of the city’s most popular gay nightclubs just after midnight on New Year’s Eve, forcing patrons to evacuate the building. Seattle Police are hunting a suspected arsonist after a fire was lit in one of the city’s most popular
According to the recent survey, Lithuanians still oppose same-sex marriages. As the survey carried out by the Lithuanian Chamber of Notaries shows that the possibility to register same-sex partnerships was appreciated only by 7 percent of the respondents, satisfactory – by 4 percent. Even 79 percent of the respondents expressed negative opinion, 10 percent did
On 13 December 2013, Vice-President of the European Commission Viviane Reding was in Vilnius to debate about Europe’s way out of the economic crisis, civil rights, etc. When asked about discrimination and LGBT rights, politician declared that the European Union is fighting against discrimination, but the question of family and adoption has to be solved
On 17 December the Embassy of Sweden in Vilnius (Lithuania) organised a round table discussion “Human rights and antidiscrimination in social field: legal regulation and problems” with the participation of human rights experts, lawyers and representatives of NGO sector. Vladimir Simonko, a LGL Chair Board, gave a speech on LGBT issues in Lithuania. Photos by
On 12 December 2013, the High Court of Australia issued its judgment in The Commonwealth v Australian Capital Territory, a case relating to the status of the Marriage Equality (Same Sex) Act 2013, a regional law enacted in October 2013 which permitted same-sex marriage in the Australian Capital Territories (ACT). As was expected, the High Court
On 13 December 2013 in the course of implementing the project “Diversity LT” under the EU programme PROGRESS the representatives of the national LGBT* association LGL together with the partners from the National Equality and Diversity Forum (NEDF) participated in the event of “Equality days ” in Klaipėda. The representatives of the LGL and other
Billie Jean King, recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2009, is part of the delegation that will be representing the US at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi. King, 70, is not only one of the world’s most famous athletes, she’s also one of the world’s most famous lesbians and a tireless advocate
The European Parliament’s Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs adopted a recommendation for a future EU roadmap against homophobia and discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation and gender identity. The report builds on ten previous requests by the Parliament in the last three years to roll out an EU equality roadmap, or strategy,