Empowering weekend for the local LGBT* community

Lithuanian Gay League (LGL) recently organized a volunteer training that was attended by 32 members of the local community, 11 of those coming from towns outside of Vilnius. The training was a two-day event held at Algirdas Hotel in downtown Vilnius. The first day of the training began with team building activities that encouraged participants

Frequently Asked Questions on the LGBT Roadmap report (‘Lunacek report’)

Next week, Members of the European Parliament will vote on the report for an EU roadmap against homophobia (available in 24 languages). The Committee on Civil Liberties supported the report with an overwhelming majority in December, and five political groups support it. MEPs have received numerous questions about the report, and petitions misrepresent its contents in several

MP Gražulis proposes to forbid adoption for same sex couples

The chair of the Seimas group of Order and Justice Party in Lithuania Petras Gražulis proposed to forbid adoption for couples of the same sex, The Baltic Course reports, with reference to the news agency ELTA. MP Gražulis registered a draft amendment to the Children’s Rights Protection Law. According to the draft law, “it is forbidden for

Norwegian LGBT network visits LGL

On January 24th it was a great pleasure to welcome the representatives of the LGBT network of the Norwegian Social Democrats at the LGL office in Vilnius. As a role model for LGBT rights in many European countries, Norway was following the current events in Lithuania, and therefore incited to pay a visit. “We are

Canada has cancelled a scheduled state visit following Nigeria’s President Goodluck Jonathan’s decision to approve a draconian anti-gay bill. The decision to cancel President Jonathan’s state visit to Canada was communicated through the Nigeria High Commissioner to the Supervising Minister of Foreign Affairs, Professor Viola Onwuliri who in turn passed on the message to the

Gay Russian protester arrested for unfurling rainbow flag at Olympic torch relay

Pavel Lebedev, of Voronezh, which is 560 miles north of Sochi, unfurled the rainbow flag as the torch passed through his hometown. The Sochi Winter Olympics will begin on 7 February and have already caused an international outcry as Russian President Vladimir Putin in June signed a bill into law banning the “promotion of non-traditional

Trans victory: Scotland removes spousal veto from gay marriage

As the Equal Opportunities Committee unanimouly passes the spousal veto amendment, Scottish Transgender Alliance’s Nathan Gale reflects on why this is a victory for all LGBTI people. In a major step forward for trans equality in Scotland, the Scottish Parliament’s Equal Opportunities Committee today passed an amendment to the equal marriage bill removing the spousal

ILGA-Europe launches its 2014 election campaign

ILGA-Europe launches its 2014 election campaign “Come out for LGBTI equality, for human rights, for Europe, to vote”. On 14th of January at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, ILGA-Europe launched its campaign on the European elections which are taking place on 22-25 May 2014. The campaign will be launched by Euro parliamentarians and candidates for

Gay ‘prisoner of conscience’ dies in Cameroon

A Cameroonian man who was jailed for sending a text message to another man saying ‘I’m very much in love with you’ and labeled a ‘curse’ by his family has died. Roger Jean-Claude Mbédé, 34, died on Friday (10 January) in Cameroon after his family removed him from hospital where he was seeking treatment for

Al-Qaida kills another Yemeni man suspected of being gay

25-year-old Waleed Saleh Awedan is at least the 35th person murdered by Al-Qaida linked militants on suspicion they are homosexual in Yemen in the last two years. A motorcycle riding gunman has shot dead a 25-year-old Yemeni man on Monday over suspicions he was a homosexual. Waleed Saleh Awedan was shot near his home in

Putin confirms that limited protest zones will be set up at Sochi

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,

New Year’s Eve arson attack on Seattle gay bar Neighbours

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