Top European Court compels all EU countries to recognize same-sex marriages celebrated in any member state

According to the ruling of the Court of Justice of the European Union, a Member State of the European Union (EU) has the obligation to recognize a marriage between two Union citizens of the same sex that has been lawfully concluded in another Member State where they have exercised their freedom to move and reside.

Two Polish citizens who were married in Germany are requesting that their marriage certificate be transcribed in the Polish civil register so that their marriage would be recognized in Poland. The competent authorities refused their request on the ground that Polish law does not allow marriage between persons of the same sex. 

The top European Court, in answer to a question referred to it by a Polish national court, finds that refusing to recognize a marriage between two Union citizens, lawfully concluded in another Member State where they have exercised their freedom to move and reside, is contrary to EU law because it infringes that freedom and the right to respect for private and family life. 

The ruling concludes, when a Member State chooses to provide for a single procedure for recognizing marriages concluded in another Member State, such as the transcription of the marriage certificate in the civil register, it is required to apply that procedure equally to marriages concluded between persons of the same sex. 

You can read the ruling here.

Heated Rivalry, the new gay hockey show

 

“Heated Rivalry” will be shown weekly on HBO Max in the U.S. and Australia, starting with the two-episode debut on Nov. 28.

Adapted from the same name, the second novel in Rachel Reid's Game Changers book series, the show follows the eight-year relationship between rival professional hockey players whose on-ice animosity conceals a passionate, secret romance.

Set in the world of “Major League Hockey,” the six-part TV drama follows Shane Hollander (played by Hudson Williams) and Ilya Rozanov (Connor Storrie) as the two rookies’ tryst develops in secret, leaving their entire careers on thin ice.

Boston Bears captain Ilya Rozanov is everything Shane's not. The self-proclaimed king of the ice, he's as cocky as he is talented. No one can beat him—except Shane. They've made a career on their legendary rivalry, but when the skates come off, the heat between them is undeniable. When Ilya realizes he wants more than a few secret hookups, he knows he must walk away. The risk is too great.

Since the show was announced, the trailer alone has already amassed a total of over 1.6 million views across YouTube, Instagram and TikTok. Watch the trailer below:

Florida Republicans try again to ban Pride flags

 

Florida Republicans are trying for the fourth year in a row to ban flags atop government buildings, including Pride or Black Lives Matter banners.

Filed by Republicans Rep. David Borrero and Sen. Clay Yarborough, the new bill would ban flags referencing politics, race, gender, or sexual orientation being flown on government-owned buildings. 

This is the fourth time Borrero, from Miami, has carried this legislation. Fortunately, it’s died each year before reaching either the House or Senate floor.

This proposal follows a summer of state action to remove LGBTQ visibility, when the Republican Governor Ron DeSantis ordered the removal of rainbow crosswalks and street murals in cities across Florida. 

Won't be erased!!

Trans members of the US Air Force sue Trump Administration

 

A group of 17 transgender members of the U.S. Air Force has launched a lawsuit against the Trump Administration, accusing officials of unlawfully stripping them of the early-retirement pensions and benefits they were due.

The federal complaint argues that the government’s decision is “unlawful and invalid”, saying the Air Force has torn up its own rulebook. Under existing guidance, retirement orders can only be reversed in very narrow circumstances, none of which, the filing notes, applies in these cases.

The challenge comes after the Air Force confirmed it would refuse early-retirement support to every transgender service member with 15 to 18 years of service. The move effectively forces them out of the military altogether, leaving them without the financial safety net they had spent years working towards.

In addition to revoking retirement benefits, the service moved in August to deny transgender members of the Air Force the chance to argue before a board of their peers for the right to continue serving.

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. 

China is cracking down on LGBTQ people

 

Blued and Finka, two of China’s most popular gay dating apps, have vanished from Chinese app stores were no longer available on Apple’s App Store or Android-based platforms in China. 

The removal further limits the already shrinking digital space available to LGBTQ Chinese citizens, who face growing censorship and surveillance from the government.

Blued, launched in 2012 by Beijing-based BlueCity Holdings, quickly became the country’s dominant gay dating platform, reporting more than 54 million users worldwide by 2020. Finka, founded in 2019, grew rapidly among Gen Z users for its community-oriented features. 

In recent years, Chinese authorities have shut down Pride parades, banned same-sex storylines in television and film, and ordered the removal of dozens of LGBTQ student and advocacy group accounts from WeChat, the country’s dominant messaging app.

The removals mark the latest blow to China’s queer community, sparking concern among LGBTQ advocates about an intensifying government clampdown on queer spaces, both online and offline.

Being gay cannot be banned

U.S. Supreme Court rejects an appeal to overturn landmark same-sex marriage ruling

 

The Supreme Court of the U.S. turned away a long-shot attempt to overturn the landmark 2015 ruling that legalized same-sex marriage nationwide.

The justices rejected an appeal brought by Kim Davis, a former county clerk in Kentucky who was sued in 2015 for refusing to issue marriage licenses because of her opposition to same-sex marriage based on her religious beliefs.

While the Supreme Court has for now given no indication it would seek to overturn Obergefell, it has in other rulings in the last decade strengthened religious rights at the expense of LGBTQ rights.

After Trump's appointments, the Supreme Court today is far different and far more conservative than the one that decided Obergefell in 2015, which is part of what had given LGBTQ advocates pause about the Davis appeal.

A recent research found that 65.8 percent of Americans support same-sex couples’ right to marry.

In any case, love won again today!!

New study shows majority of Americans support same-sex marriage

 

Research commissioned by the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) found that 65.8 percent of Americans support same-sex couples’ right to marry, with 36.2 percent saying they ‘strongly’ support keeping protections in place. Comparatively, just 34.3 percent of respondents said they oppose same-sex marriage, 16.1 percent of which said they strongly oppose it.

It comes as the U.S. Supreme Court prepares to decide whether it will hear a case challenging same-sex marriage protections brought in 2015 under the Obergefell v Hodges judgment, saying that people, not the government, should be able to decide whom they marry, and that equal protection requires access to legal marriage for same-sex couples on the same terms and conditions as others.

Asking respondents how much confidence they have now in the Supreme Court, just 34.6 percent of LGBTQ adults said they had a great deal, while 65.4 percent have hardly any.

Kelley Robinson, HRC’s president, urged the Supreme Court to reject what she called a “paper-thin attempt to undermine marriage equality and the dignity of LGBTQ people” in the U.S. “Marriage equality isn’t just the law of the land – it’s woven into the fabric of American life,” she said. “For more than a decade, millions of LGBTQ couples have gotten married, built families, and contributed to their communities".

A recent report from The Williams Institute found that there are more than 823,000 married same-sex couples in the U.S., as of June, and they are raising nearly 300,000 children. 

Jonathan Bailey is the sexiest man alive 2025!

 

Jonathan Bailey has been named People's Sexiest Man Alive, making him the first openly gay man to hold the title.

People’s decision to bestow their annual Sexiest Man Alive honor on the 37-year-old British heartthrob seems so patently obvious that staff at the magazine smugly patted themselves on their backs. “We know,” read a sub-heading on twin People covers showing Bailey smoldering in the ocean and hugging his dog while shirtless. “We nailed it.”

People editor Julie Jordan wrote that he “knows how to bring the heat,” described him as “unfairly handsome,” and labeled him “one of the most irresistible stars” working in Hollywood.

In the past five years Bailey has captured hearts as Lord Anthony on Bridgerton and earned an Emmy nomination for his role as a closeted congressional staffer in the Showtime series Fellow Travelers. Then, there’s his 2024 big-screen debut as Prince Fiyero in the movie musical megahit Wicked, followed by this summer’s blockbuster Jurassic World: Rebirth.

Congratulations!!!

Netherlands set to get first-ever gay PM after far-right party suffers big losses

 

Dutch centrist leader Rob Jetten said he was "very confident" of being able to put together a government after his party's strong showing in parliamentary elections that saw Geert Wilders' far-right and anti-Islam Freedom Party lose ground.

He is now poised to be the youngest and first openly gay prime minister in the Netherlands' history.

Rob Jetten's achievement in dragging his socially liberal D66 party from fifth place to the top of Dutch politics in less than two years has been extraordinary.

The election delivered a "very strong message form Dutch voters that they want positive political powers in the center to work together and deliver for all the people in the Netherlands," he said.

Congratulations!!!

Rob Jetten and his husband Nicolas Santiago Keenan