HAMILTON, Bermuda — Lawmakers in Bermuda have approved a bill that would prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation.

Bermuda

The bill was approved Friday in the House of Assembly after nine hours of debate.

Meanwhile, a motion to add a clause to the Human Rights Act to ensure same-sex marriage remained banned was defeated by a vote of 18 to 12.

MP Wayne Furbert had proposed the amendment so that ithe anti-discrimination measure would not take precedence over the Matrimonial Causes Act of 1974, which outlawed same-sex marriage.

“The majority of Bermudians do not want (people) to be discriminated against based on sexual orientation as far as working and living accommodations but there is no doubt that the majority of Bermudians do not support same sex marriages,” said Furbert.

Lawmakers also prohibited age discrimination in all sectors except at work, a move that many observers criticized.

(via Slovenian President leads pride parade while thousands march in Croatia | Gay Star News)

Ugandan Gay Activist Frank Mugisha (by xtraonline)

“Xtra chats with Frank Mugisha, Ugandan Gay Activist, about the challenges of the Bahati Bill in Ugandan Parliament and John Baird’s undiplomatic war of words with Speaker of Ugandan Parliament Rebecca Kadaga.

The bill aims to add gender identity to the list of grounds protected from discrimination under the Canadian Human Rights Act.”

The bill will go to a thrid reading in the Senate and will require royal assent to become law.

(via Nigeria parliament votes to curtail gay rights and outlaw gay marriage)

“Nigeria lawmakers pass anti-gay marriage bill setting prison sentences of up to 14 years. The bill will criminalize gay marriage, gay advocacy groups and same-sex public displays of affection.”

Sen. Lawrence Joseph says “the day is fast approaching” when Grenada and other socially conservative countries in the English-speaking Caribbean will need to amend anti-sodomy laws to “fall in line with the mainstream.”

TW: violence, homophobia

“Fuck your mothers,” a priest shouted.

Another priest came armed with a stool. Their followers carried rocks, sticks, and crucifixes. “Kill them! Don’t let them leave alive,” they screamed.

They smashed heads, windows of shops, and a minibus in which activists tried to escape. Twelve people, including three policemen, were seriously injured.

“Before the van arrived, about ten girls—gay rights activists—were being taunted by a growing, frothing mob. A stone was thrown and split a girl’s head open.… This mob was the creation of the Georgian Orthodox Church and the Georgian government has so far been gutless in standing up to the Church to protect the rights of its citizens. Shame on you, Georgia. Shame on you,” Paul Rimple, a Tbilisi-based journalist, posted on his Facebook page.

Despite a ban by a local court, more than a hundred LGBT rights activists held the first gay pride demonstration in the capital of Kiev.

The event was relatively peaceful despite the attempts by a very small number of individuals to disrupt the occasion.

“This can be considered a historic day,” Elena Semyonova one of the organisers told reporters after the activists held a 20-minute-long march along a street near the centre of the Ukrainian capital.

Nikolai Aleskeev, Russian LGBT rights advocate, has been arrested for his part in organizing a gay rights march this morning.

…

‘This is the eighth year in a row we are trying to peacefully conduct Moscow Pride, but this time we face unprecedented pressure in terms of laws, bans and threats.

Aleskeev also received a letter from the European Court of Human Rights yesterday, denying his request to intervene with the Russian government for protection.

Aleskeev said: ‘If me or someone else is killed or injured in Moscow Pride on Saturday 25 May then the blood will also be on the hands of the Head of European Court of Human Rights and [its] judges.’

The TGEU map [above] shows countries in blue that require no sterilization, orange for countries that require sterilization and red for countries where trans people can not legally change their gender.

More at the source link.

A 19-year-old man, identified only as Xiang, was arrested on Saturday and will be in administrative detention for 12 days for organising an “illegal protest”, police said, according to a report in the local Xiaoxiang Morning News, which has since been deleted online.

Xiang has been transferred to the Changsha Municipal Detention Centre, said A Qiang, a fellow demonstrator and well-known activist from Guangzhou.

Xiang has been active in the local LGBT community since age 14. A Qiang said Xiang had approached police about the protest before it took place on Friday afternoon.

It was second time Changsha’s LGBT community has organised such a protest. Police had not interfered in last year’s demonstration. Some 80 to 100 people participated this year.

“I, as the mother of a gay individual, say I am proud to be here,” one member of the Butterflies Trans Association said as she spoke to the crowd from the steps of the Puerto Rican Capitol. “We are fighting as a movement to tell (lawmakers) that we are in search of a place where [LGBT Puerto Ricans] can be successful, a place where we can take care of our people.”