Connect with us

World

New Zealand lawmakers approve same-sex marriage bill

The measure passed by a 77-44 vote margin.

Published

on

New Zealand, parliament, gay news, Washington Blade

Parliament building in New Zealand (Photo by Midnighttonight via Wikimedia Commons)

New Zealand lawmakers on Wednesday overwhelmingly approved a bill that would allow same-sex couples to marry in the country.

The 77-44 vote is the second of three votes on the proposal.

“It was a pleasing result and the culmination of a lot of work from our LGBTI community in collaboration with people from across our society who believe in social justice,” lesbian Parliamentarian Louisa Wall, who introduced the measure, told the Washington Blade after the vote. “What was so heartening was the joining of youth leadership from across the political spectrum representing the eight political parties in our parliament who sent a strong message of support for and advocacy of equal rights under New Zealand for all citizens earlier in the week.”

Jackie Russell-Green of the New Zealand Campaign for Marriage Equality also welcomed the vote.

“We’re thrilled with last night’s result,” she told the Blade. “We’re now one closer to marriage equality in New Zealand.”

Canada, the Netherlands, Spain and South Africa are among the countries that allow gays and lesbians to tie the knot.

The British House of Commons last month overwhelmingly approved a bill that would allow same-sex couples to marry in England and Wales. The French Senate on April 2 will begin debating a proposal that would extend marriage and adoption rights to gays and lesbians.

The final vote on the same-sex marriage bill in the New Zealand Parliament is expected to take place in the middle of April.

Prime Minister John Key supports the measure, but Russell-Green and other proponents stressed they must remain vigilant in spite of the March 13 vote.

“We will need to be resolute as we progress to the third and final reading of the marriage equality bill,” Wall said. “So while the result was fantastic, there will be no celebration until the bill passes.”

Advertisement
FUND LGBTQ JOURNALISM
SIGN UP FOR E-BLAST

El Salvador

El Salvador conmemora el 17M bajo un clima de miedo y retroceso en derechos LGBTQ

Activistas denunciaron al gobierno de Nayib Bukele

Published

on

(Foto de Ernesto Valle por el Washington Blade)

El 17 de mayo se conmemora a nivel mundial el Día Internacional contra la Homofobia, Transfobia y Bifobia, recordando la eliminación de la homosexualidad como enfermedad mental por parte de la Organización Mundial de la Salud en 1990. Sin embargo, esta fecha también se ha convertido en un espacio de denuncia ante la violencia estructural e institucional que sigue afectando a la población LGBTQ en muchos países, incluido El Salvador.

Este año, la marcha conmemorativa del 17 de mayo en San Salvador fue más reducida que en ocasiones anteriores. Decenas de personas se reunieron para alzar su voz a pesar del temor creciente entre quienes integran la diversidad sexual y de género. 

Las amenazas no son nuevas, pero sí más frecuentes en el contexto actual. 

Activistas, colectivas y organizaciones de derechos humanos denuncian que el gobierno de Nayib Bukele ha profundizado un discurso y una práctica anti-derechos. Para muchas de estas personas, la visibilidad se ha vuelto sinónimo de riesgo.

Desde la Asociación ASPIDH, Valeria Mejía, coordinadora de monitoreo y evaluación, expresó que “a inicios de 2025, el presidente Nayib Bukele y su gobierno oficializaron una postura anti-derechos, profundizando las amenazas estructurales contra los derechos humanos en El Salvador”. Alegan que esto ha generado retrocesos concretos para la comunidad LGBTQ.

Mónica Hernández, directora ejecutiva de ASPIDH, ha sido enfática en sus declaraciones. 

“Se está silenciando a las organizaciones defensoras de derechos humanos a través de amenazas o restricciones legales”, afirmó. Y exigió al gobierno restituir los mecanismos que protegían a la población diversa.

Una de las luchas históricas aún sin respuesta es la aprobación de una ley de identidad de género. Actualmente, las personas trans no pueden modificar su nombre y género en sus documentos legales, lo que las expone a tratos humillantes en hospitales, centros educativos, juzgados y otras instituciones públicas.

La falta de una legislación que apoye a las personas trans sobre su identidad de género sigue siendo una afectación, por lo que sufren discriminación institucionalizada, en hospitales, centros educativos, juzgados, entre otros, donde suelen enfrentar trato discriminatorio o negación de servicios por no coincidir su identidad de género con sus documentos legales, mencionó una vocera de la Mesa por Una Ley de Identidad.

En la marcha de este año, las calles no se llenaron como en otras ocasiones. El miedo a la criminalización fue evidente. 

“Los agentes del CAM me dijeron que con este régimen me podían acusar de ser pandillera solo por ser trans y andar tatuada”, declaró una participante, temblorosa, al Washington Blade.

A pesar del temor, hubo presencia. Algunas organizaciones de base y colectivos de clase trabajadora mostraron su solidaridad. Entre ellas, el Movimiento por la Defensa de los Derechos Humanos de la Clase Trabajadora, quienes acompañan el caso de Carolina Escobar, una mujer trans despedida injustamente del ISDEMU.

Escobar también estuvo en la marcha. 

“Hay que permanecer unidas las minorías, yo estoy acá a pesar de que he sufrido persecución por parte de la Policía Nacional Civil, por dar seguimiento a los casos de despidos injustificados del ISDEMU”, comentó.

La analista política y activista Bessy Ríos de la organización De La Mano Contigo no se mostró optimista con el panorama. 

“Hay que prepararse para el peor de los escenarios y crear redes de apoyo entre nosotros”, recalcó durante la jornada conmemorativa.

La colectiva feminista también acompañó la marcha y compartió con otros colectivos mensajes de unidad. 

“En tiempos difíciles, es cuando debemos unirnos más”, dijo una joven activista con una pañoleta verde en su rostro.

La represión no solo se percibe en las calles. Desde hace meses, muchas organizaciones LGBTQ han denunciado bloqueos al financiamiento internacional que sostenía proyectos de apoyo, atención psicológica y asesoría legal. Sin esos fondos, la lucha se vuelve más cuesta arriba.

Además, la anunciada Ley de Agentes Extranjeros —todavía en discusión— amenaza con imponer un impuesto del 30 por ciento a las donaciones provenientes del extranjero. Esto pondría en jaque a decenas de ONG que trabajan directamente con poblaciones vulnerables, incluida la diversidad sexual.

La consigna en esta fecha ha sido clara: la lucha no se detiene. Incluso con menos recursos y bajo amenazas, quienes se organizaron para conmemorar el 17 de mayo lo hicieron con la firme convicción de que los derechos humanos no se negocian.

Desde las pancartas hasta las intervenciones públicas, el mensaje fue contundente: el Estado salvadoreño debe cesar toda forma de discriminación hacia las personas LGBTQ y garantizar políticas inclusivas que aseguren su acceso a la salud, la educación, la justicia y el empleo.

En cada paso, se entretejía el recuerdo de quienes ya no están, y el deseo ferviente de un futuro distinto. 

“Marchamos por quienes no pudieron llegar hoy, por quienes tienen miedo, por quienes ya no están. Seguiremos exigiendo respeto y dignidad”, expresó una activista.

Continue Reading

The Vatican

Pope Leo XIV: Family based on ‘stable union between a man and a woman’

American-born pontiff met with Vatican diplomats on May 15

Published

on

Pope Leo XIV (Photo via Vatican News/X)

Pope Leo XIV on May 15 reaffirmed Vatican doctrine that says marriage is between a man and a woman.

The Associated Press reported Leo told Vatican diplomats the family is created upon the “stable union between a man and a woman.” Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and dozens of other world leaders on Sunday attended the American-born pontiff’s installation Mass that took place in St. Peter’s Square.

The College of Cardinals earlier this month elected Leo to succeed Pope Francis, who died on April 21.

Francis, who was from Argentina, was a vocal opponent of the country’s marriage equality law that took effect in 2010. He was the archbishop of Buenos Aires, the Argentine capital, when then-President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner signed it.

Francis in 2020 publicly backed civil unions for gays and lesbians. Francis in 2023 said priests can bless same-sex couples.

Continue Reading

World

Global LGBTQ rights crackdown overshadows this year’s IDAHOBiT

WHO on May 17, 1990, declassified homosexuality as a mental illness

Published

on

Activists in Manningham, a suburb of Melbourne, Australia, mark the International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia on May 13, 2025. (Photo courtesy of Sally Goldner)

Activists around the world will mark the International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia, and Transphobia against the backdrop of efforts to curtail LGBTQ rights that are gaining traction in the U.S. and other countries.

The Trump-Vance administration since it took office in January has issued a number of executive orders that have specifically targeted transgender and nonbinary people. They include a declaration that the federal government will recognize “only two genders, male and female” and a directive that bans the State Department from issuing passports with an “X” gender marker.

ILGA-Europe on Wednesday released its annual update to its Rainbow Map, which documents LGBTQ rights in European countries.

The ILGA-Europe press release notes Hungary’s “prohibition of Pride events and criminalization of participants” and the U.K. Supreme Court ruling last month that restricts “the legal recognition of trans people.” The European advocacy group also highlighted a “sweeping ban on all forms of LGBTI representation and assembly” that Georgian lawmakers passed last fall.

“They are merely the most striking examples of a broader trend in which LGBTI human rights are being systematically dismantled under the guise of preserving public order,” said ILGA-Europe. “In reality, such measures pave the way for sweeping restrictions on fundamental freedoms, including the rights to protest and to political dissent.”

Argentine President Javier Milei in February issued a decree that restricts minors’ access to gender-affirming surgeries and hormone treatments. An appeals court in Trinidad and Tobago in March recriminalized consensual same-sex sexual relations in the Caribbean country.

The Trump-Vance administration’s decision to suspend most foreign aid has forced several LGBTQ rights groups and HIV/AIDS service organizations in South Africa, Kenya, and other African countries that received U.S. funding to curtail operations or shut down. Lawmakers in Vanuatu are considering an amendment to the country’s constitution that would recognize only two sexes: Male and female.

“This Pride season is different,” said Outright International, a global advocacy group, in an email it sent to supporters on Thursday. “From funding cuts and escalating violence to increases in anti-LGBTIQ legislation, the global backlash against our movement is growing.”

IDAHOBiT commemorates the World Health Organization’s declassification of homosexuality as a mental disorder on May 17, 1990. This year’s IDAHOBiT theme is “the power of communities.”

“This year, and always, LGBTQIA+ people around the world are with feminist, sexual reproductive health rights, and broader social justice movements,” said ILGA World, a global LGBTQ rights group, earlier this week in an email to supporters.

The Namibian High Court last June ruled Apartheid-era laws that criminalized consensual same-sex sexual relations in the country are unconstitutional. A law that extended marriage rights to same-sex couples in Thailand took effect on Jan. 23.

Cuba’s National Center for Sexual Education, an organization directed by Mariela Castro, the daughter of former Cuban President Raúl Castro who spearheads LGBTQ issues on the island, this month has organized a series of LGBTQ-specific events across the country.

Activists in Manningham, a suburb of Melbourne, Australia, on Tuesday marked IDAHOBiT. The first “Ringing the Bell for LGBTIQ+ Equality” ceremony that is part of a campaign to promote LGBTQ inclusion in the private sector took place at the Toronto Stock Exchange on the same day.

The U.N. LGBTI Core Group, a group of U.N. member states that have pledged to support LGBTQ and intersex rights, will hold an event on Friday at the U.N. in New York that will commemorate both IDAHOBiT and the International Day of Families. (The U.S. earlier this year withdrew from the Core Group after President Donald Trump took office.)

Fondation Émerge and Fierté Montréal will organize a march in Montréal on Saturday. Other IDAHOBiT events are scheduled to take place on that day in South Africa, Hong Kong, the Netherlands, the U.K., and elsewhere around the world on that day.

LGBTQ activists in Hong Kong will hold an IDAHOBiT march on May 17, 2025. (Photo courtesy of the IDAHOBiT website)
Continue Reading

Popular