World
Out in the World: LGBTQ news from Europe and Asia
Marriage equality advances in Liechtenstein, Thailand
UNITED KINGDOM
BY ERIN REED | Following a recent decision in England by the National Health Service to stop prescribing puberty blockers for transgender youth, former U.K. Prime Minister Liz Truss introduced a bill that would outlaw gender-affirming care for trans youth. The bill would also eliminate any recognition of social transition and would define sex to exclude trans individuals in the Equality Act. Currently, trans youth can still access gender-affirming care through private clinics. However, Truss’ bill ran into trouble on Friday when, instead of being debated, MPs spent hours deliberating over ferrets and pet names, exhausting the available time and preventing the bill from being heard.
As of this week, the National Health Service in England has declared that it will no longer permit trans youth to receive puberty blockers for gender dysphoria. Although the announcement sparked significant public backlash, its practical impact was somewhat mitigated by the extreme waitlist for care, which exceeds five years. Only a hundred trans youth had been prescribed blockers of the thousands waiting for an appointment. Importantly, the decision does not affect care through clinical research trials and does not affect private clinics — a route many parents had already pursued due to the surging wait times at the limited number of NHS clinics providing care.
Truss introduced a bill aimed at curbing that latter route of obtaining care. The proposed legislation would criminalize the prescription of gender-affirming care to trans youth. It seeks to prevent “the recognition of gender inconsistency in children,” which is defined as “referring to a child with language that is inconsistent with their sex” and “treating a child in a manner that is inconsistent with their sex.” However, the bill does not specify how boys and girls should be treated in accordance with the law. Additionally, it proposes amendments to the Equality Act to define sex to exclude trans individuals and end protections in bathrooms and other similar spaces.
See these lines from the bill here:
However, when the time arrived to debate bills, MPs diverted their attention to hours of discussions about ferrets and pet animal names within the context of an animal welfare bill. In one notable interaction, Labour MP Sarah Champion addressed Labour MP Maria Eagle, remarking humorously on the frequent mentions of ferrets:
Champion: “I am very interested in my honorable friend’s, well, key mention of ferrets at every opportunity in this debate. I’d like to put on record that my brother had a ferret called Oscar.”
(Laughter)
Eagle: “Well she has that now on the record. I don’t know really what else to say about that except that I’m sure that Oscar brought her brother great joy, and that’s what pets do, and I’m sure there are many other ferret owners who might attest to the same thing.”
You can watch the exchange here:
In another exchange, even some conservatives appeared to be in on it, such as MP Mark Spencer, who spoke at length listing off of many pets that had been named and put on the record.
Spencer: “I am confident that Members of all parties will agree that animals have been of great support to individuals and families, particularly during COVID-19, when my pets were certainly of great support to me. Pets often help to keep people sane when they are under pressure in their everyday pursuits, so it would be remiss of me not to put on the record the names of my three dogs, Tessa, Barney and Maisie, and the name of my cat, Parsnip. There has been a proud tradition this morning of mentioning various pets, including: Harry, George, Henry, Bruce, Snowy, Maisie, Scamp, Becky 1, Becky 2, Tiny, Tilly, Pippin, Kenneth, Roger, Poppy, Juno, Lucky, Lulu, Brooke, Lucy, Marcus and Toby, who are the dogs; and not forgetting Perdita, Nala, Colin, who is sadly no longer with us, Frank, two Smudges, Attlee, Orna, Hetty, Stanley, Mia Cat, Sue, Sulekha, Cassio, Othello, Clapton, Tigger, who is sadly no longer with us, and Pixie, who are the cats.”
The lengthy exchanges on pet names and ferrets ran the time out, and as such, the bill targeting trans people could not be heard. The lengthy discussion, which has since been referred to as a filibuster, echoes filibusters that have occurred in the U.S. to kill similar legislation, including recently in West Virginia on a bill that also would have defined sex in an identical way.
The exchanges provided a ray of hope for trans residents in England, which has been beset by anti-trans politics in recent years. Likewise, it was a sign that the Labour Party, which has previously been seen as “backsliding” on trans rights, has not completely abandoned its transgender constituents. Though the bill is not officially dead, it has been placed at the bottom of the priority list for March 22, meaning it almost certainly will not be debated, with government sources calling the bill “unworkable.”
For those who advocate for trans rights, however, the ferret has become “an overnight symbol of trans resistance” and a sign that anti-trans politics may be reaching their limit even in the U.K.
IRELAND
BY ROB SALERNO | The Irish people delivered a major rebuke to the political establishment by voting overwhelmingly against a pair of constitutional referendums that had been endorsed by all parties which would have amended language in the constitution that says a woman’s place is in the home, and that families are based on marriage.
The government had held the referendum on International Women’s Day, March 8, in a symbolic move, and turnout was measured at 44.4 percent. Results were announced the following day.
Ireland’s gay prime minister, Leo Varadkar, accepted defeat Saturday.
“It was our responsibility to convince the majority of people to vote ‘yes’ and we clearly failed to do so,” Varadkar said.
The first question, which was defeated 67 percent to 33 percent, asked voters to add the words “whether founded on marriage or on other durable relationships,” to the constitution’s definition of “family,” in order to be more inclusive of diverse family types.
The second question, which was defeated by a similar margin, as voters to delete a clause that says “the State recognizes that by her life within the home, woman gives to the State a support without which the common good cannot be achieved. The State shall, therefore, endeavor to ensure that mothers shall not be obliged by economic necessity to engage in labor to the neglect of their duties in the home.”
Critics say the language promotes sexist gender stereotypes. The revised language would have used gender-neutral language to recognize “the provision of care, by members of a family to one another.”
Advocacy group LGBTQ Ireland had called for people to vote “yes” to both referendums, “so all children and families, including LGBTQ families, are recognized equally in the constitution.”
But a persuasive “no” campaign had arisen that alleged the revision would have struck women’s privileges and rights. Forces aligned against the referendum included some progressive and feminist groups that alleged the proposed language was unclear and lacked consultation.
Irish voters have in recent years approved a number of progressive reforms to their constitution, including streamlining the divorce process in 2019, legalizing abortion and decriminalizing blasphemy in 2018, and legalizing same-sex marriage in 2015.
LIECHTENSTEIN
BY ROB SALERNO | The tiny principality of Liechtenstein got one step closer to full equality for LGBTQ people as its parliament approved a bill to legalize same-sex marriage with a 24-1 vote, bringing a years-long process nearly to a close.
Local LGBTQ advocacy group FLAY expressed gratitude to members of Landtag, the Liechtenstein parliament, for advancing the law last week.
“Thank you for 24x ‘yes’ in the Landtag,” the group posted to its Facebook page.
“FLay the association for the queer community in Liechtenstein is very happy that 24 out of 25 deputies in parliament voted in favor on today’s first reading. Keeping in mind the completely blocked situation only 3 years ago, the denial of our government for participating any public discussion, we can be more than proud and happy on our successful steps towards the legitimation of the civil marriage for all,” Stefan Marxer, a FLay board member told the Washington Blade in an email.
The marriage bill is expected to pass second reading before the summer parliamentary break, and come into effect by Jan. 1, 2025, unless a referendum is called on the issue.
The tiny country of about 40,000 people, about the size of D.C., has made major progress on advancing LGBTQ rights in the last decade, though the International Gay and Lesbian Association-Europe ranked the country 38th among 49 European countries in its annual survey of LGBTQ rights on the continent last year.
Liechtenstein has allowed same-sex couples to form registered partnerships with limited rights since 2011. The registered partnership law was subject to a referendum after gay rights opponents collected more than 1,000 signatures demanding it. The law was approved by voters 69 percent to 31 percent.
A same-sex couple had sued the state seeking the right to marriage in 2017, but ultimately lost when the state court ruled that the ban on same-sex marriage was not unconstitutional. However, the court did find that the law banning same-sex couples from adopting was unconstitutional and ordered the country to amend the law. It eventually did so last year.
Discussion of marriage equality began in earnest in Liechtenstein after neighboring Switzerland passed its same-sex marriage law in its parliament in 2020.
One obstacle was the prince, who wields significant executive authority in Liechtenstein compared to other European monarchies. In 2021, Prince Hans-Adam II said that while he supported same-sex marriage, he would not support adoption rights. That obstacle seemed to disappear when the state court ordered the government to legalize full adoption rights. By 2022, Hans-Adam’s son Alois, who governs as regent, told a magazine that same-sex marriage was “not a problem.”
The Catholic Church had also intervened, with former Archbishop of Liechtenstein Wolfgang Haas leading a campaign against the bill and cancelling a traditional service at the opening of last year’s Parliament in protest. Haas retired last autumn.
Despite broad agreement among legislators, the same-sex marriage law has taken a slow path through Parliament. In November 2022, Parliament voted 23-2 asking the government to bring forward a same-sex marriage bill. The government held a three-month-long public consultation on same-sex marriage last year before putting the bill on the agenda for Parliament’s March 2024 meeting.
Under the marriage bill, the country will stop registering new partnerships, and people in partnerships will have the option of converting them to marriages or keeping them as they are. All other rights will be equalized.
Liechtenstein is the last German-speaking country to legalize same-sex marriage. Around the world, 37 countries have legalized same-sex marriage, including 21 countries in Europe. The most recent country to legalize same-sex marriage is Greece, and Thailand is expected to pass a same-sex marriage law later this year.
JAPAN
BY ROB SALERNO | Two courts ruled this past Thursday that Japan’s ban on same-sex marriage is unconstitutional, increasing pressure on the government to legalize it.
District courts have been weighing same-sex marriage since several coordinated cases were filed across the country in 2019. Along with Thursday’s ruling from the Tokyo District Court, five district courts have ruled that the ban on same-sex marriage was unconstitutional, while one court has upheld the ban. A seventh district court case was filed last month.
But on Thursday, the Sapporo High Court delivered the first ruling on same-sex marriage at the appellate level, and same-sex couples won there, too.
So far, all courts have dismissed claims for monetary compensation.
It’s likely that all of the cases will end up at the Supreme Court.
In a statement released after the ruling, the plaintiffs’ lawyers called on the government to act swiftly to protect their rights.
“I would like to reiterate that this shows that there is no time left for legal reform. The government should take seriously this judgment that found this provision to be unconstitutional … and promptly amend the law to allow marriage between same-sex couples,” the statement says.
Under Japan’s legal system, courts rarely invalidate or amend laws that are ruled unconstitutional, leaving that to the legislature.
But Japan’s national government has long been cold to LGBTQ rights. Last year, queer activists had hoped that the government would finally pass a long-demanded anti-discrimination bill, but by the time it was put before the legislature, it had been watered down to a bill that only calls on the government to promote understanding of LGBTQ people.
At the local level, queer activists have seen greater success. Twenty-nine of Japan’s 47 prefectures, as well as hundreds of municipalities, have enacted partnership registries for same-sex couples that at least afford some limited rights.
THAILAND
BY ROB SALERNO | Same-sex marriage could soon be a reality in the Southeast Asian country, as a bill to legalize cleared its first test in the legislature Thursday.
A committee set up by the House of Representatives to examine the bill approved it, setting it up for a final vote in the House on March 27. After that, it will need to be approved by the Senate, which is dominated by appointees of the former military junta that ruled the country until 2017. It is expected that the bill will pass into law by the end of the year.
The proposed bill gives same-sex couples equal rights to married heterosexual couples, including in inheritance, tax rights and adoption.
Same-sex marriage and LGBTQ rights generally have become a major political issue in Thailand in recent years, with queer people becoming increasingly visible and demanding greater equality.
Parties promising to legalize same-sex marriage and promote LGBTQ rights were the major victors of last year’s election, although the leading party was controversially disqualified from forming a government due to its support for reforming laws that penalize disparaging the monarchy, which was deemed unconstitutional. Nevertheless, the parties that formed government agreed to pass a same-sex marriage law, and last December, the house voted overwhelmingly to approve in principle a series of draft marriage bills.
The new government has also signaled that it will soon introduce a bill to facilitate legal gender change for trans people, and has begun a campaign to provide free HIV medication as an effort to eliminate HIV transmission by 2030.
Reporting by Erin Reed and Rob Salerno
Cuba
Cuba bajo presión y sin respuestas
Cubanos no hablan en términos geopolíticos. Hablan de sobrevivir
Las tensiones entre Estados Unidos y Cuba han vuelto a subir de tono. No es algo nuevo, pero este momento se siente distinto. Las medidas más recientes desde Washington buscan cerrar aún más los espacios financieros del gobierno cubano, limitar sus fuentes de ingreso y presionar sectores clave de la economía. No es simbólico. Es una política directa.
Desde Estados Unidos, el mensaje es claro. Se busca provocar cambios que no han ocurrido en más de seis décadas. También hay un componente interno, una presión política que responde a sectores del exilio que llevan años exigiendo una postura más dura. Todo eso forma parte del escenario.
Pero esa es solo una parte.
Del lado cubano, la respuesta sigue un patrón conocido. El gobierno habla de agresión externa, de guerra económica, de un embargo que se endurece. Cada medida se convierte en argumento para reforzar su narrativa y cerrar filas. No hay espacio para reconocer errores propios. Todo apunta hacia afuera.
Mientras tanto, la vida en la isla va por otro camino.
La crisis energética que hoy vive Cuba no empezó con estas medidas. Lleva años acumulándose. El sistema eléctrico está deteriorado, sin mantenimiento suficiente, con fallas constantes. Los apagones no son nuevos. Lo que ha cambiado es la frecuencia y la duración.
Durante años entró petróleo a Cuba, especialmente desde Venezuela. Hubo acuerdos. Hubo suministro. Y aun así, la vida del cubano no mejoró. La electricidad seguía fallando, el combustible seguía racionado, el transporte seguía siendo un problema diario.
Entonces la pregunta sigue siendo la misma.
Si el petróleo estaba entrando, ¿por qué nada cambiaba?
¿Dónde fue a parar ese recurso?
¿Dónde está el dinero que generó?
Hoy se habla de restricciones al petróleo como si fueran la causa principal de la crisis. No lo son. Empeoran una situación ya frágil, pero no la explican completamente.
Hay una historia más larga que no se puede ignorar.
Lo mismo ocurre con las brigadas médicas.
Durante años se presentaron como un gesto de solidaridad internacional. Y en muchos casos lo fueron. Médicos cubanos trabajaron en condiciones difíciles, salvaron vidas, sostuvieron sistemas de salud en otros países. Eso es real.
Pero también funcionaron como una de las principales fuentes de ingreso del Estado cubano.
Muchos de esos profesionales no recibían el salario completo por su trabajo. Una parte significativa quedaba en manos del gobierno. En algunos casos, ni siquiera tenían control sobre el dinero que generaban.
Y hay algo más duro.
Si uno de esos médicos decidía no regresar a Cuba, ese dinero no llegaba a su familia. Se quedaba retenido.
Hoy varios países están revisando o cancelando esos acuerdos. Y otra vez, la respuesta oficial es señalar hacia afuera. Pero la pregunta sigue siendo inevitable.
¿Se está perdiendo un modelo de cooperación o un sistema que dependía del control sobre sus propios profesionales?
Dentro de Cuba, la conversación suena diferente.
La gente no habla en términos geopolíticos. Habla de sobrevivir. De cómo llegar al final del día. De los apagones, de la comida que no alcanza, del transporte que no aparece, de una vida que cada vez se hace más difícil.
Hay quienes miran las medidas de Estados Unidos con cierta expectativa. No porque quieran más escasez, sino porque sienten que el sistema no cambia por sí solo. Hay una sensación de estancamiento que pesa.
Pero esa expectativa convive con una realidad concreta.
Las sanciones no golpean primero a quienes toman decisiones. Golpean al ciudadano común. Al que hace la fila. Al que pierde la comida por falta de electricidad. Al que no tiene cómo moverse.
Esa es la contradicción.
El gobierno cubano pide solidaridad internacional. Y la recibe. Países que envían ayuda, organizaciones que se movilizan, voces que defienden a la isla.
Pero hay otra pregunta que también está ahí.
¿Esa ayuda llega realmente al pueblo?
La falta de transparencia en la distribución de recursos es parte del problema. Porque no se trata solo de lo que entra, sino de lo que realmente llega a quienes lo necesitan.
Reducir lo que pasa en Cuba a un conflicto entre dos gobiernos es no querer ver el cuadro completo.
Aquí hay responsabilidades compartidas, pero no iguales.
Estados Unidos ejerce presión con efectos reales sobre la economía cubana. Eso no se puede negar. Pero dentro de la isla hay un sistema que ha tenido décadas para corregir, para abrir, para responder a su gente, y no lo ha hecho.
Esa parte no se puede seguir esquivando.
Yo escribo esto como cubano. Desde lo que vi, desde lo que viví y desde la gente que sigue allá tratando de resolver el día.
Porque al final, más allá de lo que se diga entre gobiernos, la realidad es otra.
Cuba hoy está más apretada, sí. Pero también lleva años arrastrando problemas que nadie ha querido enfrentar de verdad.
Y mientras eso siga así, da igual lo que venga de afuera. El problema sigue estando adentro.
Iran
LGBTQ groups condemn Trump’s threat to destroy Iranian civilization
Ceasefire announced less than two hours before Tuesday deadline
The Council for Global Equality is among the groups that condemned President Donald Trump on Tuesday over his latest threats against Iran.
Trump in a Truth Social post said “a whole civilization will die tonight” if Tehran did not reach an agreement with the U.S. by 8 p.m. ET on Tuesday.
Iran is among the handful of countries in which consensual same-sex sexual relations remain punishable by death.
Israel and the U.S. on Feb. 28 launched airstrikes against Iran.
One of them killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Iran in response launched missiles and drones against Israel and other countries that include Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Azerbaijan, and Cyprus.
Gas prices in the U.S. and around the world continue to increase because the war has essentially closed the Strait of Hormuz, a strategic waterway that connects the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman through which roughly 20 percent of the world’s crude oil passes.
Trump less than 90 minutes before his deadline announced a two-week ceasefire with Iran that Pakistan helped broker.
“We the undersigned human rights, humanitarian, civil liberties, faith-based and environmental organizations, think tanks and experts are deeply alarmed by President Trump’s threat regarding Iran that ‘a whole civilization will die tonight’ if his demands are not met. Such language describes a grave atrocity if carried out,” reads the statement that the Council for Global Equality more than 200 other organizations and human rights experts signed. “A threat to wipe out ‘a whole civilization’ may amount to a threat of genocide. Genocide is a crime defined by the Genocide Convention and by the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court as committing one or more of several acts ‘with intent to destroy in whole or in part a national, racial or religious groups as such.'”
The statement states “the law is clear that civilians must not be targeted, and they must also be protected from indiscriminate or disproportionate attacks.”
“Strikes on civilian infrastructure — such as the recent attack on a bridge and the attacks President Trump is repeatedly threatening to carry out to destroy power plants — have devastating consequences for the civilian population and environment,” it reads.
“We urge all parties to respect international law,” adds the statement. “Those responsible for atrocities, including crimes against humanity and war crimes, can and must be held accountable.”
The Alliance for Diplomacy and Justice, Amnesty International USA, Human Rights Watch, the American Civil Liberties Union, the NAACP, MADRE, and the Robert and Ethel Kennedy Human Rights Center are among the other groups that signed the letter.
Hungary
Vance speaks at Orbán rally in Hungary
Anti-LGBTQ prime minister trailing ahead of April 12 vote
Vice President JD Vance on Tuesday urged Hungarians to support Prime Minister Viktor Orbán in the country’s April 12 elections.
“We have got to get Viktor Orbán re-elected as prime minister of Hungary,” Vance told Orbán supporters who gathered at Budapest’s MTK Sportpark.
Vance and Orbán on Tuesday met before they held a press conference in Budapest. Orbán also spoke at the rally.
The U.S. vice president after he took to the stage called President Donald Trump, who told the crowd he is “a big fan of Viktor” and is “with him all the way.” Vance, as he did during Tuesday’s press conference with Orbán, criticized the European Union.
“We want you to make a decision about your future with no outside forces pressuring you or telling you what to do. I’m not telling you exactly who to vote for, but what I am telling you is that the bureaucrats in Brussels, those people should not be listened to,” said Vance. “Listen to your hearts, listen to your souls, and listen to the sovereignty of the Hungarian people.”
Vance in his speech noted “across the West, we’ve got a small band of radicals” who, among other things, “condemn children to mutilization and sterilization in the name of gender care.” Vance also criticized a “far-left ideology given quarter in university circles, in the media, and in our entertainment industry, and increasingly among bureaucrats on both sides of the Atlantic.”
Vice President JD Vance speaks at MTK Sportpark in Budapest, Hungary, on April 7, 2026
Orbán has been in office since 2010. He and his Fidesz-KDNP coalition government have faced widespread criticism over its anti-LGBTQ crackdown.
A Hungarian activist with whom the Washington Blade previously spoke said it is “impossible to change your gender legally in Hungary” because of a 2020 law that “banned legal gender recognition of transgender and intersex people.” Hungarian MPs the same year effectively prohibited same-sex couples from adopting children and defined marriage in the country’s constitution as between a man and a woman.
The European Commission in 2022 sued Hungary, which is a member of the EU, over the country’s anti-LGBTQ propaganda law.
Hungarian lawmakers in March 2025 passed a bill that banned Pride events and allowed authorities to use facial recognition technology to identify those who participate in them. MPs later amended the Hungarian constitution to ban public LGBTQ events.
Upwards of 100,000 people last June defied the ban and marched in Budapest’s annual Pride parade.
Polls indicate Orbán is trailing Péter Magyar and his center-right Tisza party ahead of the April 12 election. Vance at Tuesday’s rally told Orbán supporters that he and Trump “want you to make a decision about your future with no outside forces pressuring you or telling you what to do.”
“I’m not telling you exactly who to vote for, but what I am telling you is that the bureaucrats in Brussels, those people should not be listened to,” said Vance. “Listen to your hearts, listen to your souls, and listen to the sovereignty of the Hungarian people.”
“Unlike some of the leadership of Brussels, I’m not threatening you or telling you that we’re going to withhold funds to which you’re legally entitled,” he added. “You will make the decision about Hungary’s future.”
Magyar on Tuesday appeared to dismiss Vance’s comments.
“No foreign country may interfere in Hungarian elections. This is our country. Hungarian history is not written in Washington, Moscow, or Brussels — it is written in Hungary’s streets and squares,” said Magyar on his X account.
A spokesperson for the Háttér Society, a Hungarian LGBTQ rights group, told the Blade that neither Magyar, nor his party have reached out to the organization.
The spokesperson said the group does not “campaign directly for them or for any other political party.” The Háttér Society, however, is encouraging LGBTQ Hungarians to vote.
“Ahead of election day, we will encourage everyone on our social media channels to go out and vote, as this is the only way we can act against a system that has been working against the LGBTQI community for many years,” said the spokesperson.
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