Police Refuses to Start Investigation into Threats Made against LGL

On January 29th, 2015 the national LGBT* rights association LGL received a decision by the Senior Investigator from the Vilnius Country Police Headquarters refusing to start a pre-trial investigation into the previous warning from the Lithuanian MP Algirdas Vaclovas Patackas about LGL facing a “massacre [as] in Paris”. The Senior Investigator concluded that “the Member

US lawmakers introduce bill to promote gay rights globally

Washington (January 29, 2015) – In the wake of President Obama’s commitment in the State of the Union to defend the human rights of the LGBT community, today Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) and Rep. Alan Lowenthal (D-Calif.) introduced bicameral legislation to affirm that LGBT human rights are a foreign policy priority for the U.S.

EuroPride 2015 will take place in Riga, Latvia

EuroPride is one of Europe’s main LGBT events and this year it ill be hosted by Riga, Latvia, coinciding with the Latvian Presidency of the Council of the European Union. This EuroPride marks a historic occasion as the first EuroPride to be held in a post-Soviet country on the EU’s Eastern border with Russia. This

Rome recognizes gay civil unions

Mayor hopes the capital’s example will lead to full marriage equality. Rome yesterday (January 28) recognized gay civil unions by approving the establishment of a civil union register for same-sex couples. The city council voted in an amendment saying that gay marriages contracted abroad are to be automatically transcribed into the newly created register. Mayor

Chile gives final approval to gay civil unions

Bill gives civil partners nearly all the rights of married couples. Lawmakers in socially conservative Chile have given final approval to gay civil unions after more than four years of legislative wrangling. The senate yesterday (January) passed the Civil Union Accord bill by a 25 to 6 vote margin with three abstentions, a week after the lower

Lithuanian Court labels a same-sex kiss as “eccentric behavior”

On January 28, 2015 the District Court of Klaipėda City passed an order to dismiss a formal complaint about hateful online comments regarding a same-sex kiss picture by two students, filed by the national LGBT* rights organization LGL. As stated in the court order, a person who posts a same-sex kiss photo in a public

Commemoration of the Holocaust Victims

On the 27th of January, 2015, the Jewish Community of Lithuania in cooperation with the Italian Cultural Institute hosted a conference dedicated to the commemoration of the Holocaust victims. Professor Niccolò Scaffai from University of Lausanne, answered questions and read some excerpts from the work If this is a Man by Primo Levi, an Italian

“Anti-propaganda” law in Ukraine withdrawn from the Parliament agenda

In January 2015 the Ukrainian Parliament withdrew the draft of so-called “homosexuality anti-propaganda” law (8711/0945) from its agenda. According to information from Ukrainian partners, the law 8711/0945 was not included in the agenda of the Ukrainian Parliament for its current session. This means that Parliament will not get back to discussions about this legislative initiative.

Founder of Russian LGBT website convicted under propaganda law

Russian judge on Friday convicted the founder of a website for LGBT youth of violating the country’s law that bans the promotion of so-called gay propaganda to minors.  Lyudmila Pedan, a judge in the city of Nizhny Tagil, found Yelena Klimova, founder of the Children 404 Project, of violating the controversial law that President Vladimir Putin signed

Remembering Nazism’s Pink Hell

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

Barack Obama: I hope the Supreme Court rules in favour of same-sex marriage

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

Transgender man has private audience with Pope Francis

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