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A court in Ukraine recognizes a same-sex couple as family

 

A Kyiv's District Court has formally recognized a same-sex couple as a family, marking the first legal precedent of its kind in Ukraine. Ukraine does not currently recognize same-sex marriages or civil unions.

A district court in  has formally recognized a same-sex couple as family, the first legal precedent of its kind in the country. does not currently recognize same-sex marriages or civil unions.

The plaintiffs in the case were Zoryan Kis, first secretary of Ukraine’s Embassy in Israel, and his longtime partner, Tymur Levchuk. The couple has lived together since 2013 and were married in the U.S. in 2021.

The court’s decision cited both the Ukrainian constitution and precedent from the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), to which Ukraine is a signatory. ECHR requires member states to ensure legal recognition and protection for same-sex families.

A draft law recognizing civil partnerships, introduced in March 2023, has not advanced in parliament. The proposed bill would legalize civil partnerships for both same-sex and heterosexual couples, offering them inheritance, medical, and property rights, but not the full status of marriage.

Public support for LGBTQ+ rights in Ukraine has grown steadily in recent years as the country has drawn closer to Europe, and in particular after Russia’s invasion on the sovereign nation in 2022.

Zoryan Kis and Tymur Levchuk wins first legal recognition as family in Ukraine

The new Superman, an immigrant and queer icon

 

James Gunn's new Superman movie is just out, and it's already igniting debate about superheroes and what they represent. David Corenswet and Nicholas Hoult are starring in the movie.

Superman tells the story of an alien from the planet Krypton who landed on Earth as a baby and now possesses incredible powers. 

It seems like a simple premise, yet the film is making headlines after writer and director James Gunn pointed out something obvious: Superman is an immigrant.

When Gunn talks about Superman being an immigrant, he's talking about him being an outsider. Superman is not like most people. He's not like most men. He knows he is different and has to navigate the world and all his relationships, knowing most people will not be able to relate to significant parts of his life. 

These same things can often be said for queer people. Most of the population is not queer and many people even find understanding queerness to be difficult. If queer people are outsiders, at least superheroes are too.

No matter how much conservatives complain, Superman's story is an immigrant story, and it is a queer story. Queer people have always seen themselves in superheroes, and will continue to do so. 

Watch the official teaser trailer:

David Corenswet and Nicholas Hoult are starring in the movie

International Court warrants Taliban leaders for gender-based persecution

 

The International Criminal Court (ICC) has issued arrest warrants for two top Taliban leaders in Afghanistan on charges of abuses against women and girls.

ICC judges said there were reasonable grounds to suspect Taliban Supreme Leader Haibatullah Akhunzada and Chief Justice Abdul Hakim Haqqani of committing gender-based persecution.

“While the Taliban have imposed certain rules and prohibitions on the population as a whole, they have specifically targeted girls and women by reason of their gender, depriving them of fundamental rights and freedoms,” the court said in a statement.

“In addition, other persons were targeted because certain expressions of sexuality and/or gender identity were regarded as inconsistent with the Taliban’s policy on gender,” the court added.

The two Taliban leaders are now wanted men for their alleged persecution of women, girls, and gender nonconforming people. The international community should fully back the ICC in its critical work in Afghanistan and globally, including through concerted efforts to enforce the court’s warrants. 

Taliban have erased women from public life and
continue to punish homosexuality in Afghanistan

Rainbow captain’s armbands return at Women’s Euro 2025

 

UEFA has welcomed a visible celebration of LGBTQ+ pride at the Women’s Euro, with team captains like Switzerland’s Lia Wälti, Norway’s Ada Hegerberg, and Germany’s Giulia Gwinn proudly wearing rainbow armbands. 

After FIFA banned similar symbols at recent men’s World Cups, UEFA’s approval marks a bold embrace of diversity and inclusion.

The German Football Association worked closely with UEFA to permit the rainbow design instead of the standard “Respect” armband. 

Giulia Gwinn confirmed she would wear it during her side’s match against Poland, saying, “There was never any question of changing the armband, if the opportunity arose.”

The return of the rainbow armband coincides with an increasing number of openly LGBTQ+ players at the tournament, over 20% of squad members have publicly come out. 

This marks a significant shift in representation compared to previous years and underscores women’s football as a pathfinder for inclusion.

Hey FIFA, what about you and the men's competitions?

Over 1.5M celebrate LGBTQ+ unity in London

 

Central London did bursts with color as over 1.5 million celebrated Pride in London 2025. The vibrant parade, led by Mayor Sadiq Khan and featuring Chaka Khan’s electrifying performance, marched from Hyde Park Corner to Whitehall, showcasing LGBTQ+ unity.

Every year, London is home to the UK’s largest Pride event, and brings together 500 groups, including LGBTQ+ community organizations, businesses, and partners, with 35,000 participants marching in solidarity. 

The parade is led by LGBTQ+ community groups celebrating significant milestones and anniversaries, alongside distinguished supporters, showcasing the rich history and continuing progress of London's diverse LGBTQ+ communities.

Mayor of London Sadiq Khan said: “Hundreds of thousands of Londoners and visitors to our capital are uniting in a sea of colour and creativity — as we march in solidarity and celebration with our LGBTQI+ community.”

“The fantastic parade and celebrations across central London have shown once again that our capital is a beacon of inclusivity and diversity. This year’s event was also a defiant reminder that we must keep fighting for equality and take a stand against those seeking to roll back hard-won rights,” he added.

Also the British Royal Family joined to the event and wrote “Happy Pride!” in a social media post alongside a rainbow and sparkle emoji. They accompanied the message with a special performance by The Coldstream Guards on the grounds of Buckingham Palace.

Happy Pride folks!!!

Trans books banned in children's library sections in UK's county

U.K. Kent County Council will remove all transgender-related books from the children's sections of its libraries, with immediate effect.

The authority runs 99 community libraries and five mobile library vans, but it is unknown how many books are to be removed or how the council will classify transgender-related books. 

Paul Webb, the newly-appointed Reform cabinet member for communities and regulatory services who oversees libraries, said the move came after a "concerned member of the public" contacted him.

Defending the decision, Webb said: "In our society, children are quite rightly and properly protected from items and actions that could cause them harm – for example alcohol, cigarettes and gambling.

"My fellow Reform members and I believe that our young people should be protected from exposure to potentially harmful ideologies and beliefs such as those held by the trans lobbyists."

The book at the heart of the issue is called The Autistic Trans Guide to Life and is described by publishers as an essential survival guide that gives autistic trans and/or non-binary adults all the tools and strategies they need to live as their very best self.

The move emboldens anti-trans rhetoric and contributes to a culture where marginalised people feel unsafe, unwelcome, and silenced.

Shame on you Webb!!

US Supreme Court rules in favor of parents who don't want LGBTQ education on public schools

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of a group of Maryland parents who challenged their school district's decision to deny them the ability to opt their elementary-aged children out of instruction featuring storybooks that address gender identity and sexual orientation.

The high court said in a 6-3 decision that the government burdens parents' religious exercise when it requires their children to participate in instruction that violates the families' religious beliefs. Justice Samuel Alito authored the majority opinion, with the Trump-appointed justices siding, whereas the three liberal justices in dissent.

“The Court does not accept the Board’s characterizations of the LGBTQ+-inclusive instruction as mere ‘exposure to objectionable ideas’ or as lessons in ‘mutual respect,'” Justice Samuel Alito wrote for the majority. “The storybooks unmistakably convey a particular viewpoint about same-sex marriage and gender. The question in cases of this kind is whether the educational requirement or curriculum at issue would substantially interfere with the religious development of the child or pose a very real threat of undermining the religious beliefs and practices the parent wishes to instill in the child,” he added.

Justice Sonia Sotomayor read her dissent aloud from the bench. In her opinion, simply being exposed to beliefs contrary to your own does not amount to prohibiting the free exercise of religion. The result will be chaos for this nation's public schools. Requiring schools to provide advance notice and the chance to opt out of every lesson plan or story time that might implicate a parent's religious beliefs will impose impossible administrative burdens on schools," she added.

“This ruling is a deeply disappointing blow to the right to read under the First Amendment,” said U.S. Free Expression Programs staff attorney for PEN America Elly Brinkley in a statement. “It is a fundamental betrayal of public schools’ duty to prepare students to live in a diverse and pluralistic society. By allowing parents to pull their children out of classrooms when they object to particular content, the justices are laying the foundation for a new frontier in the assault on books of all kinds in schools.”

A new step back in Trump's regime!

Tens of thousands defy Orban's ban at Budapest Pride 2025

 

Over 200,000 people marched at Budapest Pride 2025 to protest Hungarian’s anti-LGBTQ+ laws. All of them proved that the spirit of Pride is still alive in Hungary as they turned out to march at Budapest’s 30th annual Pride event despite Orban's ban.

The participants came together to celebrate Budapest Pride against the backdrop of an increasingly hostile legislative environment for LGBTQ+ citizens in Hungary, under Orban regime.

Most of the European countries support the Budapest Pride and stand for members of the LGBTQ+ community and their rights to equality and non-discrimination, freedom of expression and peaceful assembly, and freedom from violence.

The European Commission decided to refer Hungary to the Court of Justice of the EU over a Hungarian law which discriminates against people on the basis of their sexual orientation and gender identity. We expect the ruling this year.

We stand with Hungary!!!

Australian hockey team wear rainbow socks to support gay teammate

Members of Australia’s national field hockey team have sported rainbow socks to mark Pride month and support a gay teammate. 

Davis Atkin was accidentally outed as gay to his coach at the University of Canberra in 2021. Now, he told: “I said to the boys this morning that I really appreciate everyone being as inclusive as they are, and this was as simple as wearing socks. It paves the way for other people to follow that journey as a high-performance athlete.

Atkin also said: “Being able to run out on to the pitch with Pride socks together as a team was something truly special. The inclusivity, the support and the joy in this group made it all feel surreal".

“You can’t be what you can’t see, and even something as simple as rainbow socks can be a powerful sign to someone out there that they are seen, valid and belong,” he added.

This support is very important when a quarter of LGBTQ+ people do not feel welcome during live sporting events, according to research commissioned by Stonewall. 

Happy pride at sports also!!!

Davis Atkin is doubly proud

US Supreme Court upholds Tennessee ban on youth gender-affirming care

 

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of Tennessee’s ban on gender-affirming care for trans youth in the case of U.S. v. Skrmetti. It has been a 6-3 decision, with the Court’s Republican appointees (most by Donald Trump) opposing trans rights and the Democratic appointees supporting them. 

Chief Justice John Roberts wrote the opinion for the majority, and Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan wrote dissenting opinions. Justices Amy Coney Barrett, Samuel Alito, and Clarence Thomas wrote concurring opinions.

Skrmetti concerns three families of transgender youth, as well as a doctor, who argued that they’re victims of Tennessee’s ban on gender-affirming care for minors. They argued that they were being deprived of essential medical care on the basis of their sex, since the gender-affirming care ban only bans such care for trans youth. 

Roberts, in the majority opinion, wrote that the law doesn’t discriminate on the basis of sex or on the basis of transgender status, saying that it only makes distinctions based on a diagnosis of gender dysphoria. 

That is the same definition of trans identity that the Trump Administration is using for the trans military ban, which also bars people with “symptoms consistent with gender dysphoria” from joining the military.

With this ruling, the Supreme Court is greenlighting the eradication of trans people from society. The are allowing the 25 states that currently have such bans on the books to continue to enforce them.

Thousands take part in Seoul LGBTQ Festival despite protests

 

Thousands of Koreans across the country took to Seoul's streets and joined in the 26th annual Seoul Queer Culture Festival in the heart of the city, one of the largest in Asia.

Jung-gu, central Seoul, was packed with festival participants clad in rainbow-colored garments and flags as some 70 promotional booths were set up in streets.

The event culminated with a pride parade from Jonggak Station to Euljiro Station, passing city landmarks including the Myeongdong Cathedral and Seoul Square. They hoisted signs with this year's slogan "We will not stop."

As in previous years, embassies from major allies of Korea participated in this year's event, as did representatives of universities from across the country.

The parade encountered a large-scale protest against the queer parade, particularly members of Christian communities who blasted gospel songs and held up signs that said, "Same-sex relationship is sin! God will judge!"

Police were dispatched adjacent to the protests to prevent possible altercations between the two groups, but no conflicts occurred outside of the jeers and boos.

Happy Pride Koreans!!!

TV celebrity Hong Seok-cheon did not miss it

Tel Aviv Pride Parade canceled again

 

Tel Aviv’s Pride Parade, one of the largest public events in Israel, has been canceled due to escalating security concerns following Israel’s overnight military offensive against Iran. The Pride Parade had been scheduled to take place on Friday June 13th.

The Israeli airstrikes targeted nuclear and military facilities in Iran and killed two top nuclear scientists and the leader of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard. Iran in response to the airstrikes launched more than 100 drones towards Israel, but the Israel Defense Forces said it intercepted them.

The Pride Parade, which typically draws hundreds of thousands of participants and spectators, has been officially postponed along with other major events, all educational activities, public gatherings and nonessential work across the country until further notice. 

Authorities, in consultation with local LGBTQ activists, last year cancelled the Tel Aviv Pride parade out of respect for the hostages who remained in the Gaza Strip after Oct. 7.

World remains split on being a good place, or not, for gay and lesbian people, but less

 

This Pride Month, new Gallup data reveal a persistent global divide in whether people believe their own communities are good places for gay and lesbian people to live. In 2024, a median of 39% across more than 120 countries said their city or area was a good place for gay and lesbian people, slightly below the 45% who said it was not.

Despite this division, global views have changed considerably over time. When Gallup began tracking these perceptions in 2007, 23% viewed their local areas as good places for gay and lesbian people rather than 55% who said it was not good places. Then, the 39% who now view their area as a good place is nearly double the 2007 percentage. 

Since 2007, many countries have introduced legal changes affecting gay and lesbian people. There has been a steady increase in both the number of countries where same-sex relationships are legal and those that recognize same-sex marriage.

Check the data and more here.

Tens of thousands attended Pride march in Bucharest demanding equality

 

Over 30,000 people joined Pride march in Bucharest, demanding civil union partnership legislation and equal rights after  presidential election last month buoyed the far right in Romania.

With music, rainbow flags and colorful balloons, the procession marched through the streets of the center of the Romanian capital in a festive and cheerful atmosphere. Held since 2005, the event marked Bucharest Pride’s 20th anniversary.

Romania decriminalised homosexuality in 2001, decades later than other parts of the EU, but still bars marriage and civil partnerships for same-sex couples. Romanian authorities ignored a 2023 ruling by the European Court of Human Rights, which found Romania had failed to enforce the rights of same-sex couples by refusing to recognise their relationships.

After the 2024-2025 election cycle the far right parties have gained ground, and the country registered a huge increase in hate crimes against the LGBTQ+ community, more people complaining about being harassed on the streets or being attacked.

Happy pride with rights!!!

Bucharest Pride celebrates 20th anniversary!

World Pride begins in Washington despite Trump

 

WorldPride 2025 wraps up in Washington, D.C., this weekend with festivities including a parade that kicked off Saturday in one of the city's historic gay neighborhoods and conclude in front of the U.S. Capitol.

This is the first time that D.C. has hosted the international LGBTQ+ festival since WorldPride's inaugural event in Rome in 2000. The U.S. capital won the bid to host World Pride years before Trump's re-election. 

In January, the event's organisers had projected the celebration, which coincides with the 50th anniversary of Washington's first Pride march, would attract three million visitors and contribute nearly $800 million to the local economy.

But their expectations have now dropped to about a third of their previous estimates. Hotel occupancy rates are also down compared to last year. Some international travellers are choosing to skip the biennial event over travel fears, while others are protesting Donald Trump's policies.

WorldPride is brimming with events and celebrations, musical performances, fashion shows, discussion groups and subcommunity gatherings such as Trans Pride, Latinx Pride, Youth Pride and beyond. The festival culminates with the city’s Pride Parade on June 7 and a massive rally and march from the Lincoln Memorial to the U.S. Capitol on June 8.

The official theme for WorldPride DC 2025 has been labeled Fabric of Freedom. More info here.

Happy WorldPride!!!

Trump orders US Navy to strip Harvey Milk name from a ship

 

Donald Trump has ordered the US Navy to strip the name of prominent gay rights activist and navy veteran Harvey Milk from a ship. 

The order to rename the USNS Harvey Milk, a fleet replenishment oiler, is in a memorandum from the office of the Secretary of the Navy. The renaming is being done to ensure alignment with Trump objectives and priorities of reestablishing the warrior culture.

The US Navy named the ship for the gay rights icon Harvey Milk, the first openly gay elected official in California. He served as a diving officer from 1951 to 1955. 

Milk won a seat on the San Francisco board of supervisors. As one of the US’s first openly gay politicians, he became a forefront figure of the gay rights movement across the country before his assassination in 1978.

Hope Will Never Be Silent!

An Open Letter to LGBTQ+ Youth by The Trevor Project

 

According to a recently leaked proposed budget, Donald Trump‘s administration is considering defunding the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, which helps connects callers in a mental health crisis with specially trained counselors with similar life experiences.

The Trevor Project, a non-profit devoted to suicide prevention among LGBTQ+ youth, wrote an open letter to save LGBTQ+ youth suicide prevention hotline. The open letter starts:

"We are heartbroken by the proposal to eliminate federal funding for the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline’s LGBTQ+ Youth Specialized Services — a move that will have devastating, life-threatening consequences for young people across the country. As artists, creators, and public figures, our platforms come with responsibility. And today, that responsibility is clear: we must speak out to protect the mental health and lives of LGBTQ+ youth. We will not stay silent."

Read and sign the letter here.

Same-sex marriage is constitutional in Greece

 

Greece’s top court, the Council of State, ruled that civil marriage between same-sex couples and the adoption of children by such couples are constitutional.

With a 21–6 majority of votes, the judges rejected a request to annul the provisions of law which legalized such unions and permitted adoption rights in 2024.

The Greek supreme court was responding to a case brought by three associations opposed to the law, which argued that same-sex marriage alters the traditional concept of family and disadvantages adopted children. 

The ruling emphasized that the legal recognition of same-sex marriages and related adoption rights align with constitutional principles and European case law.

Συγχαρητήρια!!!

17 EU countries sound alarm over Hungarian LGBTQ+ laws

 

17 European Union (EU) countries accused Hungary of contravening fundamental values by passing laws that target LGBTQ+ people, as tensions deepen between Budapest and a majority of member states.

Hungary’s parliament passed legislation that creates a legal basis to ban Pride marches there and lets police use facial recognition cameras to identify people who attend. It also approved constitutional changes stipulating that Hungary recognises only two sexes, male and female.

"We are highly alarmed by these developments which run contrary to the fundamental values of human dignity, freedom, equality and respect for human rights," the governments of the 17 countries said in a joint statement.

They called on Hungary to revise the measures and asked the European Commission to make full use of its powers if Budapest does not do so. The Commission can take legal action against member states if it believes they are violating EU law.

The statement was backed by Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain and Sweden.

The declaration came ahead after EU ministers examine concerns that Hungary is at risk of breaching core EU values. Read the statement here.

Half LGBT people in Russia faced violence

 

A survey of LGBT people in Russia found that almost half faced violence or the threat of violence during 2024, up 4 percent from the year before, that many feel compelled to hide their natures and suffering economically because of them, and that some want to emigrate.

Putin’s ban on what it calls “LGBT propaganda” and its attacks on the non-existent “LGBT international movement” have powered this increase in attacks on gays with many Russians concluding on the basis of these moves that attacking gays is something the government supports.

Putin also submitted an amendment to Russia’s constitution to enshrine marriage as between a man and a woman in a conservative update to the country’s founding document.

The survey by the Coming Out Rights Group and the Sphere Foundation is available here.

Shame on you Putin!!!

Gus Kenworthy plans to participate in the Olympic Games again

 

Gus Kenworthy says he has reignited his love for skiing and will aim to reach his fourth consecutive Winter Olympics at Milano Cortina 2026.

The news arrives more than three years after the last Games in Beijing, where Kenworthy finished eighth in the halfpipe final. He said beforehand that it would be his last competition.

However, the 33-year-old has now revealed how he informed his management team two months ago that he was returning to training for the first time since 2022, and that his head coach on the Great Britain team had encouraged him to chase another Games.

“It’s this Olympics or nothing. I’m never going to have this opportunity again,” he told.

Gus Kenworthy came out in 2015, and its memorable kiss then boyfriend Matthew Wilkas, before qualifying at Winter Olympics in Pyeongyang' 2018, was a historic televised smooch that went viral on social media.

A new memorial for gay victims of persecution in Paris

 

The city of Paris inaugurated a memorial dedicated to people persecuted for being homosexual during the Second World War but also "throughout history", mayor Anne Hidalgo said.

The monument, by artist Jean-Luc Verna, consists of an large star-shaped structure made of steel. The three-ton installation was erected near the Bastille in central Paris to mark International Day against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia (IDAHOBIT).

"Recognition means to say 'this happened' and to say 'we don't want this to happen again'," Hidalgo said. "We must fight against denial and trivialisation," she said, adding: "Today there are powerful and extremely dangerous headwinds that would like to deny this kind of diversity."

According to historians' estimates, between 5,000 and 15,000 people in Europe were sent to concentration camps by the Nazi government for being homosexual.

Never forget!

The citizens' initiative to ban conversion therapies in the EU has collected over 1 milion signatures

 

The European citizens' initiative to ban on conversion practices in the European Union collected over one milion signatures.

Objectives: To call on the European Commission to propose a binding legal ban on conversion practices targeting LGBTQ+ citizens in the European Union (EU).

Conversion Practices are interventions aimed at changing, repressing or suppressing the sexual orientation, gender identity and/or gender expression of LGBTQ+ persons.

Such practices, due to their discriminatory, degrading, harmful and fraudulent nature have been qualified as torture by the United Nations, and are currently being banned in a growing number of States.

The EU plays a key role in the protection of fundamental rights and should take actions to fight against all inhuman practices. The Commission should propose a directive adding conversion practices to the list of euro-crimes and/or amend the ongoing directive on equality (2008) to include a ban on these practices.

All member states should introduce a ban on conversion practices or review their current ones. Check and sign the initiative in the European Commission's register here.

GLAAD Social Media Safety Index 2025 has been released

 

Major social media platforms such as TikTok, Instagram and X have failed to protect LGBTQ+ users from hate and harassment, in part, because they intentionally rolled back previous safety practices, the advocacy group GLAAD explains in its annual Social Media Safety Index.

Using their Platform Scorecard, GLAAD’s team assessed X, Meta (Instagram, Facebook, Threads), TikTok, and YouTube. The scorecard assigns numeric ratings to each platform with regard to LGBTQ safety, privacy, and expression. Elon Musk's X received the lowest score at 30 out of 100, while TikTok came in highest at 56. Meta's Facebook, Instagram, Threads and Google's YouTube were in the 40s.

What the GLAAD report makes clear is it’s not as easy as simply wading through the bullshit to continue using these social media platforms. The plethora of hate speech would take a toll on those with even the strongest constitutions. And their proliferation of misinformation is ensuring that the hate spreads even further.

Check the full publication here.

Bookstore's employees quit after purge on LGBTQ books

 

Several employees said they quit their jobs after a manager directed them to remove LGBTQ+ titles from the shelves of a popular independent Florida bookstore. 

The Bodacious Bookstore & Cafe in downtown Pensacola reportedly received a complaint recently about obscene content on a gift card. “Recently, we reviewed parts of our inventory after receiving emails from parents – some with photos of sexually graphic and vulgar content – who were surprised to find certain books in our store,” they said in a statement.

Following a review instigated by a meeting with the store’s owner, unnamed former and current employees said interim store manager Beth O’Connor directed employees to remove over 60 titles from the store.

Employees told roughly half of the titles removed from the shelves contained LGBTQ+ content. The titles removed included the Heartstopper series by Alice Oseman, and lesbian tennis icon Billie Jean King’s All In and Elliot Page’s Pageboy memoirs.

A spokesperson for the bookstore, denied there was a purge of LGBTQ+ titles, but instead, a review of titles was done to ensure children are not exposed to titles that might not be age-appropriate.

This bookstore's decision reminds me the unacceptable Russian anti-gay propaganda law with the same shaming purpose "to protect" children from "non traditional sexual values". No excuse!!

Pope Leo XIV on LGBTQ rights, the best we could have hoped for

 

By Liam Stack in The New York Times,

Pope Leo XIV ascended to the papacy on Thursday with little public record on L.G.B.T.Q. issues, a signature concern of his predecessor, Pope Francis, as well as a source of deep conflict between liberal and conservative Catholics.

Nevertheless, proponents of greater inclusion for gay and transgender people in the church said they were cautiously optimistic, even if they might not know much about the man who will now lead the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics. Until today, few people believed an American pope was a possibility.

“We are sitting here Googling everything we can about the new pope,” said Francis DeBernardo, who runs New Ways Ministry, a Maryland-based group that promotes L.G.B.T.Q. inclusion in the church. “I think he is the best we could have hoped for.”

Read the full article here.

Pope Francis was in favor of LGBTQ rights

Nonbinary Bella Ramsey has no problem with gendered award categories

 

The “Game of Thrones” star Bella Ramsey, who identifies as nonbinary and prefers they/them pronouns, thinks there’s some value in gendered award categories.

Ramsey will almost certainly earn an Emmy nomination this year for their portrayal of Ellie in season 2 of HBO’s post-apocalyptic drama “The Last of Us.”

Despite their gender identity, Ramsey said that they “didn’t find it insulting” to be included in the Outstanding Lead Actress category last time they received an Emmy nod for the show in 2023.

“I think it‘s so important that the recognition for women in the industry is preserved,” Ramsey said. “But then like, where do nonbinary [and] gender nonconforming people fit into that? I don’t know."

Although Ramsey has given the topic a lot of thought, they aren’t particularly concerned with people getting their own pronouns correct.

“Suddenly I had to choose what pronoun I wanted people to write about me with,” Ramsey recalled. “I was so stressed about it, because I didn’t know, and I didn’t really care. I find the whole thing quite stressful still.”

Ramsey added: “I’ve never been strict about they/them [pronouns], because I think I just don’t really care. I’m very comfortable in who I am, but I know how important it is for other people. But for me, it‘s not that important.”

SCOTUS upholds Trump's transgender military ban

 

The U.S. Supreme Court allowed Donald Trump to implement his ban on transgender people serving in the military.

The justices granted an emergency request from the Trump Administration to lift a nationwide injunction blocking the policy while litigation continues. The court's brief order noted that the three liberal justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson indicated they would have denied Trump's request for a stay.

The case was filed by a group of seven transgender service members and one transgender person who wishes to enlist in the United States Marine Corps.

There are just over 4,000 transgender people currently serving in the military, according to Defense Department data, though some activists put the figure at much higher. There are around 2.1 million active service members in total.

"No more trans @ DoD," Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said in a post on X. In a separate Defense Department post, before the decision was issued, Hegseth was seen in a video saying: "No more dudes in dresses. We are done with that s---."

In a joint statement, Lambda Legal and the Human Rights Campaign Foundation, groups representing the transgender service members challenging Trump’s ban, called the ruling “a devastating blow” to trans troops “who have demonstrated their capabilities and commitment to our nation’s defense.” 

“By allowing this discriminatory ban to take effect while our challenge continues, the Court has temporarily sanctioned a policy that has nothing to do with military readiness and everything to do with prejudice,” the groups said.

Let's wait for the final sentence, but it does not looks well.

Mean Goals, a great gay sports comedy

 

Mean Goals is a great gay sports comedy from writer-director Ahuatl Amaro. The short film wears its eclectic influences on its jersey sleeve (that title is a nod to Mean Girls), but breaks new ground by featuring an all queer, Latine cast.

Tenoch (Abraham Rodriguez) joins an LGBTQ soccer team to bond with his dying father (Dave Silva) over their shared passion for the sport. But his desire to win his father’s approval is quickly eclipsed by a new obsession once he discovers the team is filled with mean soccer gays: he must now build a rival team to crush them at the Gay World Cup.

“Soccer, romance, locker room banter, and mean gays—this film has it all,” said star Abraham Rodriguez. “Mean Goals is unlike any sports comedy film out there as it combines comedy, action, and queer Latino leads all in one. It’s been a privilege to work with so many talented LGBTQ+ and POC actors and filmmakers.”

Watch the trailer below: