On January 27th, 1945, Auschwitz was liberated. In the decades since, groups of survivors have gathered to honor that day. On Tuesday 27th January 2015, holocaust survivors will return to Auschwitz for the 70th anniversary of liberation. In light of this important upcoming event, National LGBT* Rights Organization LGL takes the opportunity to commemorate the
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The country’s highest court announced earlier this month that it would take up a same-sex marriage case that could bring equal marriage to all 50 states. Attorney General Eric Holder has already confirmed that his office will submit a brief urging the court to strike down bans on same-sex marriage. President Obama was asked about the case in an
A transgender man from Spain had a private audience with Pope Francis at the Vatican on Saturday. Hoy, a newspaper in the Extremadura region of Spain, reported that Diego Neria Lejárraga and his fiancée had a private audience with the pontiff that took place at his official residence. Neria told Francis in a letter that some of
On January 22nd, 2015, the National Equality and Diversity Forum (NEDF) visited the national LGBT* rights association LGL. The event, entitled “Identity: Gender,” was characterized by a fruitful exchange of experiences from those in attendance. Non-governmental organizations representing vulnerable groups visited LGL’s office so as to attain a better understanding of its specificities and work.
Japanese author’s latest novel features a same-sex relationship. Japan’s best-known living author Haruki Murakami has said he supports gay marriage. The Nobel Prize favorite made the declaration yesterday (21 January) on Mr Murakami’s Place, a temporary website he set up to answer readers’ questions. One reader asked his view on gay marriage as his latest
Three French Twitter users were fined this week for sending tweets that included homophobic hashtags. It’s the first time a French court has handed out convictions for homophobic abuse on Twitter. The convictions date back to offences committed in 2013 when several homophobic hashtags appeared on Twitter in France, including “Gays must die because…”, (#Lesgaysdoiventdisparaîtrecar).
Government pledges to enact legislation on adoption rights ahead of vote. The Government has pledged that legislation providing for adoption by gay couples will be enacted before the referendum on same-sex marriage in May. The pledge came in the wake of concern in both Coalition parties that the first television debate on the issue on Monday
Last Sunday, Member of the Lithuanian Parliament Algirdas Vaclovas Patackas warned that the head of the Lithuanian Gay League’s (LGL) engaged in “provocation” that might result in “dead bodies”, similar to recent attacks in Paris. The MP made the remarks after LGL’s head, Vladimir Simonko, suggested that the organisation should consider buying the now obsolete
A leading Russian gay activist has announced he will run against a prominent antigay politician for a seat in St. Petersburg’s legislative assembly. Nikolai Alekseyev said in an Instagram post on January 20 that he has decided to run for the seat currently held by Vitaly Milonov in the 2016 election. Milonov is one of
The organizing committee of Pride in Sofia, Bulgaria, today announced that the equality march, which is the central part of the events calendar of Pride celebration, will take place on June 27, 2015. Sofia Pride is the largest annual human rights event in Bulgaria and the most important visibility raising initiative of the LGBTI community.
On the 20th January, 2015, the Parliament of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) constitutionally defined marriage as a union between a man and a woman. Furthermore, it created a constitutional hurdle to possible future legislation on same-sex civil unions. The amendment defines that “[m]arriage shall be a life union solely of one woman and
US president Barack Obama made history today (21 January) by saying the words ‘lesbian,’ ‘bisexual’ and ‘transgender’ for the first in a state of the union address. The president that said he pushed for LGBT* rights because ‘as Americans, we respect human dignity.’ ‘That’s why we defend free speech, and advocate for political prisoners, and condemn