World
New Zealand parliamentarians reflect on passage of marriage bill
Same-sex marriage bill received final approval on April 17.
New Zealand Parliamentarian Louisa Wall (Photo courtesy of the office of Louisa Wall)
Editor’s note: This article will appear in the April 24 issue of Gay Express, a newspaper that covers LGBT issues in New Zealand.
By Sarah Murphy
Louisa Wall is a woman who holds a special place in our all of our hearts. A champion of GLBTI rights, she is a woman who has fought so very hard to proudly walk each and everyone of us down the isle.
Absolutely humbled by the aroha she received on the night of the third reading, Louisa says there was an overwhelming sense of pride that filled the air.
As the final vote was read aloud, the crowded public gallery stood en masse to sing Pokarekare Ana, an unheard-of gesture outside of treaty settlement legislation and a sign of utmost respect.
In a single moment we became equal under the eyes of the law, with marriage equality for all.
But the magnitude of this momentous occasion extends far beyond the issue of marriage. We not only gained recognition under the eyes of the law, we were offered hope.
The very next day Louisa received an email from a university lecturer who told her of the many students who felt empowered to come out after the bill passed.
“That inspires me; we have changed the environment for people to be able to be proud of who they are and actually to be embraced, valued, respected, for who they are, which is fundamental.”
Louisa wanted to take the opportunity to express her heartfelt appreciation and gratitude for the overwhelming support of the GLBTI community, saying: “I really want to congratulate us on our ability to stand up, to advocate for ourselves, for each other and also our ability to network with like-minded New Zealanders who believe in social justice, who believe in human rights, who believe in collectives working together. I just really want to thank everybody because this has been a team effort, not only in Parliament but outside of Parliament, we did it and so congratulations!”
As an equally important partner in the push for marriage equality, Kevin Hague says he felt sheer elation the moment the final vote was read out.
Softly spoken and humble in nature, Kevin’s passion has been eloquently conveyed throughout the course of the campaign. His heartfelt speeches have warmed our hearts and brought tears to our eyes. We cannot deny how lucky we are to have such a fierce advocate for the rights of our community.
Many of us have grown up knowing nothing other than the freedoms afforded by homosexual law reform and this was reflected by the position we took in the marriage equality campaign. Kevin says that the differing perspectives shone through in the submissions made to the Select Committee. GLBTI youth for example found it “utterly bizarre” that there would be law that treats people differently because of their sexual orientation.
“For us older ones that’s wonderful and refreshing and fantastic, but its just hard for us to hold that view without a sense of almost resentment or bitterness towards that historic injustice.”
As someone who remembers all too well the struggles of the past he says, “I think its fantastic that we have generations coming through who are not weighed down with that. I don’t wish the hurt that we’ve experienced to be superimposed on the experience of our young people.”
Just as Louisa has done, Kevin too gives credit to the honesty, passion and bravery displayed by our community and says, “while we will get the applause actually the honour and the credit needs to go to the community, so thank you.”
Of course, this campaign has only been strengthened by the support of our straight allies such as Tau Henare.
A staunch supporter of marriage equality and a proud member of the National Party, one would assume that Tau might have come up against some backlash from his colleagues on the right, but Tau says despite what you may think, he didn’t really find this to be the case apart from “a bit of well intentioned ribbing.”
He says he is so very proud of the work Louisa has put into the marriage equality campaign. “She’s not the dyed-in-the-wool Labour MP that a lot of us think she is; she’s hard core human rights. I look at her and think ‘maverick’ and this place needs a few of them, otherwise you just slip into the mould of a nobody, really. She’s got character and its cool; I love her for it.”
To us, his GLBTI friends, he extends his congratulations: “Welcome to the mainstream.”
From three different fronts they converged with a single vision. They did it because it was right. They did it for the health of every community, straight or gay. They did it for the future of New Zealand – for one and for all.
Bulgaria
Top Bulgarian court rules government must legally recognize trans people
Decision caps off decade-long legal fight
Bulgaria’s top court has ruled the country’s government must allow transgender people to legally change their name and gender on ID documents.
A trans woman from Bulgaria who moved to Italy, had tried to change her gender and name on her Bulgarian ID documents, but courts in the country denied her requests for nearly a decade.
The Bulgarian Supreme Court of Cassation in a 2023 ruling essentially banned trans people from legally changing their name and gender on ID documents.
The EU Court of Justice in Luxembourg, which is the European Union’s highest court, in March ruled in the “Shipova” case that member states must allow trans people to legally change their name and gender on ID documents. The lead plaintiff in the “Shipova” case is among the four litigants in the Bulgarian Supreme Court of Cassation case.
Two Bulgarian advocacy groups — Bilitis and Deystvie — along with TGEU – Trans Europe and Central Asia and ILGA-Europe in a joint statement they issued on Tuesday noted the Bulgarian Supreme Court of Cassation’s July 22 decision “aligns Bulgarian practice with the Court of Justice of the EU, enabling changes to gender markers, names, and personal identification numbers.”
“The judges also concluded that EU law requires Bulgaria to establish a legal procedure for legal gender recognition, which is necessary so that Bulgarian trans citizens can travel and reside freely inside the EU,” they added.
Bulgaria has been a member of the EU since 2007.
The country borders Romania, Serbia, North Macedonia, Greece, and Turkey.
“We are very glad to see that the judges of the Supreme Court clearly stated that it is actually a matter of rule of law for Bulgaria to respect the universal equality and the dignity of all human beings, including trans people for whom human rights-based legal gender recognition procedures are an indispensable element,” said Denitsa Lyubenova, co-chair of Deystvie who represented the four plaintiffs in the Bulgarian courts and the lead litigant in the “Shipova” case at the EU Court of Justice. “The government needs to act swiftly now to put in place an LGR procedure that is fully in line with European human rights case law, which means without any conditions requiring proof of medical, surgical or hormonal treatment.”
The groups also urged the Bulgarian government to codify the ruling into law.
“While lower courts are expected to follow this ruling directly, a court decision is not a substitute for law,” they said. “Bulgaria still needs a fast, transparent, and accessible legal gender recognition procedure written into legislation, not left to case-by-case court precedent. TGEU – Trans Europe and Central Asia, Bilitis, Deystvie, and ILGA-Europe call on the Bulgarian government to start that legislative process now, with meaningful involvement from civil society.”
France
Prominent French activist attacked outside Paris bar
Pierre Picavet hospitalized with internal bleeding, head injury
French prosecutors say a man shouted anti-gay slurs at a prominent activist before he attacked him in Paris on Saturday.
Media reports indicate Pierre Picavet, a police officer who is the president of FLAG!, a group within the French Justice and Interior Ministries that defends LGBTQ rights, was attacked as he left a bar in Paris’s Marais neighborhood.
The Marais since the 1980s has been center of the French capital’s LGBTQ community.
France 24 reported Picavet’s assailant struck him with a bottle. The attack left Picavet hospitalized with internal bleeding, a head wound, and other injuries.
“When I get better, when my wounds have healed, I will continue the fight,” Picavet told Radio France on Monday. “I am particularly shocked, but it tells me that there is still work to do.”
Paris Mayor Emmanuel Grégoire is among those who condemned the attack.
STOP Homophobia (STOP homophobie), a French group that fights against anti-LGBTQ violence, on its social media pages published a picture of Picavet in the hospital.
“As a long-standing partner of FLAG!, STOP Homophobia wishes to express its solidarity with Pierre Picavet, his loved ones, and the entire association,” said the group. “STOP Homophobia condemns this assault in the strongest possible terms and reiterates that anti-LGBT violence remains a reality — even in spaces where everyone should be able to move freely and live out their sexual orientation or gender identity without fear of attack.”
STOP Homophobia also praised a bystander who came to Picavet’s aid after the attack, and the first responders and law enforcement personnel who responded.
“STOP Homophobia extends its full support to Pierre, his family, his loved ones, and the entire FLAG! team, and wishes him a full recovery,” said the group.
Reports indicate the assailant, who was born in 2006, was scheduled to appear in a Paris court on Monday at 1:30 p.m. local time.
Poland
Poland begins to legally recognize same-sex marriages from other countries
‘This is an important milestone, but it should not be the final destination’
Poland has begun to recognize same-sex marriages legally performed outside the country.
TVP World, the country’s public broadcaster, reported civil registry offices began to “transcribe same-sex marriages legally” conducted outside of Poland on Aug. 22.
The EU Court of Justice in Luxembourg last November ruled in favor of a same-sex couple who challenged Poland’s refusal to recognize their German marriage. Poland’s Supreme Administrative Court in March reaffirmed the decision.
The couple, who lives in Poland, brought their case to Polish courts in 2019. The Supreme Administrative Court referred it to the EU Court of Justice.
The Polish government in May announced it will recognize same-sex marriages legally performed in other EU countries. Polish President Karol Nawrocki on July 17 vetoed bills that would have extended rights to same-sex couples.
Poland’s Constitutional Tribunal a few days later rejected the recognition of same-sex marriages legally performed in other EU countries. The Love Does Not Exclude Association, a Polish marriage equality advocacy group, in an Aug. 26 press release notes the ruling “does not prevent implementation of these new regulations” because the Constitutional Tribunal is “largely discredited” and the government considers it “to be improperly constituted.”
“This is an important milestone, but it should not be the final destination,” said Maja Heban of the Love Does Not Exclude Association. “No couple should have to cross a border to marry. Our goal is allowing loving, committed couples to marry in Poland in the first place. The law now increasingly recognizes these marriages once couples return to Poland in areas such as healthcare and social security, but significant gaps remain, mainly lack of recognition of same-sex parents which directly impacts security of their children.”
Germany, Belgium, France, Ireland, Spain, and Portugal are among the EU countries in which same-sex couples can legally marry. Andorra, whose prime minister, Xaviet Espot Zamora, is openly gay, and Switzerland are among the other European nations that have extended marriage rights to same-sex couples.
The Netherlands in 2001 became the first country in the world to extend marriage rights to same-sex couples. Activists who participated in this year’s World Pride that took place in Amsterdam earlier this summer marked this milestone.
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