World
Out in the World: LGBTQ news from Europe and Asia
Latvia’s civil unions law took effect Monday

LATVIA
Latvia’s law allowing same-sex couples to form civil unions came into effect Monday, and the first queer couples have already registered their unions in the Baltic nation.
Maksims Ringo and Janis Locs were the first same-sex couple to register their civil union. They did so in a ceremony at a legal office in the capital, Riga, where they exchanged silver rings, stating that they were saving gold rings for a date when Latvia legalizes same-sex marriage.
“I feel excited, kind of emotional about it as well because it is a really big step and not only for us, for the country itself. And being first, it’s all the publicity that comes with it as well. It kind of is a bit, I would say, a bit stressful, but at the same time I feel happy that we can finally do it,” Locs told Reuters.
Latvia amended its constitution to ban same-sex marriage in 2005, but in 2020, the Constitutional Court ruled that the state must give same-sex couples the same benefits that straight married couples have. In 2022, a deadline imposed by the court lapsed, and couples began applying to the courts to have their relationships recognized.
Last year, the Latvian parliament finally passed a law formalizing same-sex civil unions, but the compromise legislation has frustrated some LGBTQ activists in the country as it leaves out key rights demanded by same-sex couples. Latvia’s civil unions do not allow couples to adopt children, nor do they get key inheritance rights, they’re concluded at a notary office instead of at the civil registry, and the government still will not recognize foreign same-sex marriages.
The bill was also bitterly opposed by conservative, anti-LGBTQ groups. They attempted to force a referendum to block the bill but were unable to come up with the required signatures before the legal deadline.
With legal civil unions in Latvia, all but five EU countries recognize some form of same-sex union: Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia, Bulgaria, and Romania.
In neighboring Lithuania, a civil union bill awaits a final vote in parliament but has stalled amid infighting between liberal and conservative factions of the coalition government. This week, the liberal faction threatened to block the appointment of a European commissioner unless the conservatives agreed to pass the bill.
In Poland, the governing coalition appears to have finally agreed to pass a civil union bill, albeit one that has been watered down significantly. The resulting bill will not allow any adoption rights, nor a common surname, and will be concluded by notaries and without a ceremony rather than civil registries. The government hopes to bring the bill forward this month.
The European Court of Human Rights has ruled that all member states must provide some form of civil union to same-sex couples to be in compliance with the nondiscrimination and family rights guaranteed by the European Convention on Human Rights.

FRANCE
Voters gave a big boost to the far-right National Rally party in Sunday’s first-round parliamentary elections, with the Rally taking 33 percent of the vote, while the left-wing New Popular Front took 28 percent, and President Emmanuel Macron’s centrist Together bloc took 21 percent.
Parties are now jockeying for voter support in the second round, and NPF and Together have begun discussions at mutual endorsements to block the National Rally.
In France’s system, if no candidate in a given district wins 50 percent of the vote, the top two vote-getters, and any candidate who gets at least 12.5 percent of registered voters advances to the second round, which is decided by plurality vote. Because of higher-than-usual turnout of 67 percent, there are a large number of three-way races in the second round — over 300 according to official results, when the previous record was 76.
The left-wing NPF has announced it will withdraw any candidates who advanced and placed third on the ballot, in order to create a “republican front” against the National Rally. While Macron has not made a formal statement on withdrawing third-place candidates, his prime minister, Gabriel Attal, has called on third-place candidates to step aside.
The National Rally has a long history of campaigning against LGBTQ rights but has not made that central to its program in this election, where it has focused on pocketbook issues and rejection of immigration. The National Rally has long opposed same-sex marriage, and its current leader has campaigned and voted against allowing lesbians to access IVF and supports a bill to ban gender care for minors.
Several reports have emerged of National Rally supporters committing homophobic attacks in France.
A group of National Rally supporters allegedly attacked a gay teenager in Paris after the results of last month’s European Parliament elections were announced and National Rally was shown to win the largest number of sets. They were reported to have shouted “You’ll see when Bardella is in power and Hitler comes back!” and “In three weeks, we will be able to smash up f*gs as much as we like. I can’t wait.” The attackers were arrested.
GEORGIA
A package of extreme anti-LGBTQ bills sailed through first reading in the Georgian parliament on a 78-0 vote that was boycotted by most of the country’s opposition parties.
Georgia has been rocked by protests since the governing Georgian Dream party introduced a passed a “foreign agents” law, which requires any organization that receives funding from out of the country to register with the government as a foreign agent. The law was inspired by a similar law in Russia and was designed to undermine opposition groups, media, and nongovernmental organizations that are often critical of the government.
The anti-LGBTQ bills are an extreme package of legislation that was also inspired by Russia. The bills ban recognition of any same-sex relationships, forbid recognition of gender other than birth sex, forbid any medical treatment for gender change, and criminalize any advocacy for LGBTQ rights. The government says it hopes to pass the legislation by the fall ahead of national elections in October.
The bills are also designed to undermine the opposition, by forcing them to defend LGBTQ rights, which remain deeply controversial in the conservative Christian country. Opposition leaders have also made it clear that their boycott of the bill does not mean they support LGBTQ rights.
Both the anti-LGBTQ bills and the foreign agents bill have put the country on a collision course with the EU, which it has expressed a desire to join, and which granted it candidate status last year.
EU accession is very popular among the Georgian public, but the Georgian Dream party is more closely aligned with Russia, and frequently demonizes the EU by equating its values with LGBTQ rights.
Last week, EU candidates Moldova and Ukraine opened formal negotiations to join the bloc, although it is expected that it will be many years before membership is granted.

INDIA
The high court of India’s Kerala state upheld the right of LGBTQ people to live autonomously, as it rejected a petition from the parents of a 23-year-old who sought to have their daughter committed to a mental institution to “treat her sexual orientation.”
The young woman had fled her family and was living with her partner, a transgender man. Her family members repeatedly attempted to violently abduct her from her new home.
The court ruled that the woman has a right to live her life on her own terms and that sexual orientation is an innate part of a person’s identity.
The court also directed the parents to hand over all of their daughter’s personal documents, which they had been withholding, in an attempt to force her to return to them, and the court warned the family against committing violence against her.
Same-sex relationships are not illegal in India, although last year the Indian Supreme Court ruled that the government does not have to recognize same-sex marriage, leaving that question to parliament.
HONG KONG
Ten same-sex couples from Hong Kong were legally married in the U.S. over the internet this week, in a mass ceremony to celebrate Pride week.
The 10 couples took advantage of a program available through the state of Utah, which allows people to get married via an internet ceremony.
Utah has become a go-to destination for same-sex couples seeking to get married even though they live in countries that don’t recognize same-sex marriage. Utah allows couples to get married even if they’re not physically present in the state, while most states require couples to at least be present, if not resident in the state.
Hong Kong does not currently allow same-sex marriage, although last year its Court of Final Appeal ruled that the local government should offer some form of relationship recognition to same-sex couples within two years. That deadline comes up next September.
“In Hong Kong, there’s not yet a way to go to a marriage registry to get married, but there’s still this way we can offer for them to realize their dreams of getting married,” wedding organizer Kurt Tung told the Associated Press.
Lesotho
LGBTQ activist murdered in Lesotho
Authorities have arrested a suspect in Kabelo Seseli’s death

Kabelo Seseli, a gay crossdresser and LGBTQ activist in Lesotho, was murdered over the weekend in a suspected homophobic attack.
According to the People’s Matrix Association, a LGBTQ rights organization, Seseli’s body was found with stab wounds on their neck and genitals.
“This was not just a murder, it was a hate-driven, dehumanizing act meant to send a message of fear and rejection to our community,” said the People’s Matrix Association in a statement posted to its Facebook page on April 29. “Kabelo deserved to live. Kabelo deserved dignity, safety, and the freedom to exist without fear, just like every Mosotho.”
The LGBTQ rights group also said it is demanding action, justice, and protection from the government, especially given the fact authorities have arrested a suspect.
“We strongly condemn this act of violence and call on the government of Lesotho and law enforcement authorities to conduct a thorough investigation and ensure that those responsible are held fully accountable,” said the People’s Matrix Association. “We also urge leaders and the public to reflect on the role of hate speech and social stigma, which continue to incite violence against LGBTI individuals across our country. We demand action.”
Victor Mukasa of Trans and History Intersex Africa also condemned Seseli’s murder.
“Death is a fact of life, but murder is criminal,” said Mukasa. “Murder of people because they are LGBTIQA+ or for belonging to a particular social group is a hate crime.”
Thato Motsieloa, a gay crossdresser and LGBTQ activist, said he was “deeply distraught to learn about the brutal murder of Kabelo Seseli.” Motsieloa said he and Seseli met on Facebook.
“Although we never met in person, we had plans to do so,” said Motsieloa. “The manner of his death is particularly heartbreaking, and the fact that his killers desecrated his body by removing his private parts is utterly heinous. I hope justice is served, and those responsible face the consequences of their horrific actions. My sincerest condolences go out to Kabelo’s family, may his soul rest in eternal peace.”
Lesotho in 2012 decriminalized consensual same-sex sexual relations. Marriage, however, remains limited to heterosexual couples. There have also been sporadic reports of anti-LGBTQ hate crimes since 2012.
The International Commission of Jurists, in partnership with Outright International, a New York-based LGBTQ advocacy group, in 2022 held a workshop with the Lesotho judiciary that focused on human rights for the LGBTQ community.
The judiciary noted LGBTQ people exist, but acknowledged there is no local jurisprudence on their rights, even though the country’s constitution guarantees the right to respect private and family life and freedom from discrimination.
Religious and cultural norms, like in many African countries, play a pivotal role in how society perceives the LGBTQ community. Many people in Lesotho disregard the existence of LGBTQ people, even though the government is trying to make room for the acknowledgment of LGBTQ rights.
Outright International Africa Advocacy Officer Khanyo Farise says the judiciary’s active engagement with the LGBTQ community is an important step towards ensuring LGBTQ rights are upheld.
“Judges and judicial officers play an important part in ensuring access to justice for LGBTIQ+ people, but also have an important role in producing judgments which can advance their human rights,” said Farise.
ICJ Africa Communications and Legal Officer Mulesa Lumina said though the ICJ is encouraged by these developments, particularly the willingness of judiciary members to understand the plight of the community, LGBTQ people continue to face harassment, discrimination, abuse and violence because of their actual or perceived sexual orientation and gender identity.
“We will continue working with partners, such as the People’s Matrix and Outright International, to ensure the enforcement of the country’s obligations under international human rights law, which entitle LGBTIQ persons to the full range of human rights without discrimination,” said Lumina.
India
LGBTQ Kashmiri students targeted after terrorist attack
26 people killed in Baisaran Valley on April 22

Baisaran Valley, a Kashmiri meadow surrounded by pine trees, was bustling with Hindu tourists on April 22.
Families were wearing phirans (traditional Kashmiri clothing) for photos, while ponies trotted along the Lidder River. Gunfire shattered this peace when five terrorists opened fire. They targeted Hindu men, checking their religion before shooting them. The terrorists killed 26 people — 25 tourists, including a Navy officer who was on his honeymoon — and Syed Adil Hussain Shah, a pony guide who died protecting others. More than 20 others were wounded.
The Resistance Front, a Pakistan-based group tied to Lashkar-e-Taiba, a terrorist organization, initially claimed responsibility for the attack, but retracted the claim three days later, fearing India’s diplomatic and military response that eventually included the tightening of borders and the suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty.
The attack sparked outrage across India.
Misdirected anger targeted Kashmiri students in Dehradun, Jalandhar, and other cities in which LGBTQ people face heightened vulnerability. They endured harassment, evictions, and threats of violence. The J&K Students Association reported more than 1,000 distress calls, and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah urged states to protect them.
Activists across India have rallied to help LGBTQ Kashmiri students in their cities.
Harish Iyer, a prominent activist, offered shelter and legal assistance to them in Mumbai, the country’s financial hub.
“Religion is a tool used by terrorists worldwide to ensure that their victims divert their energy towards fighting each other while they continue to focus on our destruction,” said Iyer. “It is a tried and tested formula designed to divide us while we should all be united against them.”
Iyer told the Washington Blade he saw videos of Kashmiri students being targeted.
“Hate gets compounded when you look at it from several intersectional points,” he said. “To belong to identities like queer, Muslim, and Kashmiri makes one vulnerable. In a moment where hate reveals its fang, it is important that love opens its home too.”
Iyer said he received a couple of phone calls from queer people in northern India who had been attacked. He offered to pay for their travel to Mumbai or any other city, but they eventually told him they found a place where they would be safe.
“It just reinstates our collective faith in humanity and asserts that there are kind people everywhere,” said Iyer. “The community stands united with each other against terror.”
He stressed “intersectional realities make us most vulnerable” and “that’s why we need to rise up and be the best of who we are as queer humans.” Iyer told the Blade that other queer activists in India are trying to do just that, albeit silently, by opening their homes to people who have been targeted.
“Anish Gawande, the queer spokesperson of the Nationalist Congress Party, has been working hard to restore peace in the valley,” he noted. “He has been doing good work in the Kashmir Valley for several years now. I truly admire his courage and candor. But truly, it’s the everyday queer Indian who advocates for kindness who matter.”
“They would not be known to all and sundry, may not have a fan following or several followers on social media, but they have it in them to open their homes and their world to those affected,” added Iyer. “Sometimes, love doesn’t cause outpouring visibility, sometimes it silently protects and creates homes with a beating heart.”
Gawande has worked in Kashmir since 2012, running a program for Kashmiri journalism students and an art residency.
He acknowledged to the Blade the increase in violence against Kashmiri students. Gawande also said LGBTQ Kashmiri students face unique challenges because they are a “minority within a minority.”
“In these difficult times, several activists like Harish Iyer have come forward to offer their support to young Kashmiri LGBTQ students who are afraid for their own safety,” he said. “The intent of the terrorists was to divide us — we cannot let their strategy succeed. I am incredibly grateful to so many members of the queer community and allies who have stepped forward to help all Kashmiris in this difficult time.”
Gawande said he has been supporting the efforts of student leaders, including Nasir Khuehami of the J&K Students Association, who has been leading efforts to ensure Kashmiris across India remain safe and secure. Gawande also said government officials, politicians, and law enforcement are working to protect the students.
“I am grateful to both the central government and state governments across the country for their prompt assistance in this matter,” said Gawande. “In these difficult times, when emotions run high, we remain united against hate.”
“Today, attempts are being made to create divides between Indians and Kashmiris, between Hindus and muslims,” he added. “We must stand up against such attempts in one voice.”
Gawande last weekend traveled to Srinagar, the Kashmiri capital, and led multi-faith prayer services in temples, churches, gurdwaras (Sikh places of worship), and dargahs (shrines) “to mourn those who lost their lives in Pahalgam and to send out a message of communal harmony.”
“When attempts are being made to divide us on religious grounds, we must unite through religion,” he said.
Gawande also spoke directly to Kashmiri LGBTQ students, urging them to reach out to the J&K Students Association. He said his New Delhi home and his party’s offices across the country are “also available to those who need a safe space or a place to grieve.”
“In this time of grief, where we are all mourning the dastardly loss of life, it is important to stand up for what is right,” said Gawande. “Queerness has taught me that we have two kinds of families — those of birth and of choice.”
“Kashmir holds a special place in my heart, and when the well being of those who I consider family is under threat, there is no question of even thinking about any potential jeopardizing of my own safety,” he added.
The Vatican
Potential Pope Francis successor views homosexuality as an ‘abomination’
Cardinal Fridolin Ambongo Besungu is archbishop of Kinshasa

One of the cardinals who is reportedly in the running to succeed Pope Francis has described homosexuality as an “abomination.”
Cardinal Fridolin Ambongo Besungu, the archbishop of Kinshasa in Congo, made the comment in a Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar statement in response to Francis’s 2023 decision to allow priests to bless same-sex couples.
“Within the church family of God in Africa, this declaration has caused a shockwave, it has sown misconceptions and unrest in the minds of many lay faithful, consecrated persons, and even pastors and has aroused strong reactions,” wrote Ambongo in the Jan. 11, 2024, statement he signed. “The African Bishops’ Conferences emphasize that people with a homosexual tendency must be treated with respect and dignity, while reminding them that unions of persons of the same sex are contrary to the will of God and therefore cannot receive the blessing of the church.”
The statement notes several Biblical passages that “condemn homosexuality, notably Lv. 18:22-23 where homosexuality is explicitly prohibited and considered an abomination.”
“In addition to these biblical reasons, the cultural context in Africa, deeply rooted in the values of the natural law regarding marriage and family, further complicates the acceptance of unions of persons of the same sex, as they are seen as contradictory to cultural norms and intrinsically corrupt,” it reads.
Ambongo, who is president of the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar, in 2024 said homosexuality “does not exist” in Africa outside of “a few isolated cases.” La Croix, a French Catholic newspaper, reported he made the comment during a rally that took place outside of Kinshasa.
Actualité, an online Congolese newspaper, reported Ambongo reiterated his opposition to homosexuality and same-sex unions in his 2023 Christmas message.
“Same-sex unions are not accepted in our church,” he said. “Although homosexuals should be treated with respect, compassion, and sensitivity, homosexuality remains a moral disorder contrary to natural law and our African culture.”
Jérémie Safari, executive director of Rainbow Sunrise Mapambazuko, a Congolese LGBTQ rights group, criticized Ambongo when he spoke with the Washington Blade.
“This cardinal is very homophobic; very, very homophobic,” said Safari.
Francis died on April 21.
The Vatican’s tone on LGBTQ and intersex issues softened under the Argentine-born pope’s papacy, even though church teachings on homosexuality did not change.
Francis, among other things, described laws that criminalize consensual same-sex sexual relations as “unjust” and supported civil unions for gays and lesbians.
Francis last August met with two African activists — Clare Byarugaba of Chapter Four Uganda and Rightify Ghana Director Ebenezer Peegah — at the Vatican last August. Francis in 2023 visited Congo and South Sudan.
Juan Carlos Cruz, a GLAAD board member who survived clerical sex abuse in Chile, is among the hundreds of thousands of people who attended Francis’s funeral that took place at the Vatican on April 26. Transgender people were among those who greeted Francis’s coffin at Rome’s St. Mary Major Basilica before his burial.
The conclave to select Francis’s successor will begin on May 7.
The Associated Press notes Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin; Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, the former archbishop of Manila in the Philippines; Archbishop of Bologna (Italy) Cardinal Matteo Zuppi; and Archbishop of Esztergom-Budapest (Hungary) Cardinal Peter Erdo are among those who are considered potential Francis successors.
“He [Erdo] has been reluctant to take positions on several of the government’s policies that divided society in Hungary, such as public campaigns that villainized migrants and refugees and laws that eroded the rights of LGBTQ+ communities,” said the AP.
New Ways Ministry, a Maryland-based LGBTQ Catholic organization, in an April 21 statement said it hopes “our loving God, who is a God of justice and equality, will continue to bless us by extending Francis’ welcoming and inclusive message in the next papacy.”
Anti-LGBTQ Catholic figures offered a far different view.
Doug Mainwaring — described as a “marriage, family, and children’s rights activist” — on Monday described Guinean Cardinal Robert Sarah as “the only conclave participant to counter LGBT ambiguity and lies of Francis pontificate” in a post that LifeSiteNews, an anti-LGBTQ Canadian Catholic website, published.
“There is just one cardinal about to enter the conclave who is crystal clear, fearless, and uncompromising with the truth when it comes to pastoring those of us who experience same-sex attraction and gender confusion: Cardinal Robert Sarah,” wrote Mainwaring.
Mainwaring also highlighted anti-LGBTQ comments that Sarah made in his 2019 book.
“I think that the first victims of the LGBT ideology are the persons who experience a homosexual orientation. They are led by its militants to reduce their whole identity to their sexual behavior,” Sarah wrote, according to Mainwaring. “I beg Catholics who are tempted by homosexuality not to let themselves be shut away in this prison of LGBT ideology. You are a child of God by baptism! Your place is in the church, like all Christians. And if sometimes the spiritual combat becomes too hard, fraternal charity will support you.”
Catholic League President Bill Donohue on April 22 urged the cardinals to consider an African counterpart to succeed Francis.
“If the cardinals decide to choose someone who is a traditionalist, they can do no better than to look to Africa. It is home to the most brilliant orthodox clergy in the world,” said Donohue. “If the cardinals want to choose someone more like Francis, they will look to Europe.”
-
Books4 days ago
Chronicling disastrous effects of ‘conversion therapy’
-
U.S. Federal Courts3 days ago
Second federal lawsuit filed against White House passport policy
-
Opinions3 days ago
We must show up to WorldPride 2025 in D.C.
-
District of Columbia3 days ago
Ruby Corado sentencing postponed for third time