The Russian State Duma Thursday approved a bill prohibiting “LGBTQ propaganda.” The bill passed the Russian Federal Assembly’s lower house in a unanimous roll-call of 397 votes to zero. The legislation will now pass to the upper house, before going to the Kremlin for Russian President Vladimir Putin’s signature. The new legislation seeks to drastically [...]
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Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court strikes sodomy law, protects LGBTQ+ rights
The Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court in the Federation of Saint Christopher and Nevis (St. Kitts and Nevis) Monday struck down the country’s anti-sodomy law, thus protecting the constitutional rights of LGBTQ+ citizens. Sections 56 and 57 of the Offences Against the Person Act, Cap. 4.21 deal with sodomy and indecent assault against males respectively. These [...]
Slovenia Constitutional Court legalizes same-sex marriage and adoption
The Constitutional Court of Slovenia has legalized same-sex marriage and adoption by homosexual couples. The highest Slovenian authority as far as the constitution is concerned deemed on Friday that the distinction between heterosexual and homosexual couples resulted in discrimination, which is incompatible with the Slovenian Constitution. The Slovenian Ministry of Labour, Family, Social Affairs and Equal [...]
Canada House of Commons unanimously passes bill banning conversion therapy
The House of Commons of Canada unanimously adopted a motion Wednesday to pass Bill C-4 banning conversion therapy. The bill became the first to pass Commons in the 44th Parliament, which began on November 20. The bill defines conversion therapy as a “practice, treatment or service” designed to change or repress a person’s non-heterosexual orientation, [...]
Saurabh Kirpal is on track to becoming India’s first openly gay judge. Last week, the country’s Supreme Court recommended the nomination of Kirpal, a senior advocate and self-described “accidental LGBTQ activist,” to serve as a judge in the Delhi High Court, in what is considered by many to be a significant equal rights milestone—the latest [...]
An Amazon seller on Thursday filed a proposed class-action suit claiming the retail giant discriminated against straight white cisgender men by creating support initiatives for creators of color and specialized search filters that allow shoppers to see results from minority-owned sellers. Jonathan Correll alleged that Amazon’s diversity campaigns, including Black History Month and Hispanic Heritage [...]
India dispatches: does Indian law recognize same-sex marriage, or not?
India Staff Correspondent Sambhav Sharma, a final year law student at Amity Law School, reports on the Centre’s striking contention in the Delhi High Court Monday that Indian law still does not recognize same-sex marriages in India. He files this for JURIST from New Delhi. The Union Government of India on Monday submitted in the [...]
Political Homophobia and European Court of Human Rights: Russia Is Called to Protect Same-Sex Unions
On July 13, 2021, the European Court of Human Rights (‘the Court’) unanimously held that the lack of legal protection to same-sex unions in Russia violated the applicants’ right to respect for private life guaranteed by the European Convention on Human Rights (‘the Convention’). There are no explicit legal obstacles in the way of providing [...]
Queering the Discourse Around Uniform Civil Code and Marriage Laws in India
While hearing a divorce case for a heterosexual Hindu couple a few days ago, the Delhi High Court opined that the time had come for the Central Government to introduce a Uniform Civil Code (UCC) for all Indians. In an order dated July 7, 2021, the judge presiding over the case, Justice Prathiba M. Singh, exclaimed that the modern [...]
Israel Supreme Court rules surrogacy restrictions on same-sex couples are unlawful
The Supreme Court of Israel ruled Sunday that current legal restrictions on same-sex couples that prevent them from becoming parents were unlawful. The court said that the restrictions must be lifted within six months. Surrogacy in Israel is currently open only to heterosexual couples and single women with a genetic connection to the baby. However, [...]