Trans sports ban that could require genital exams will appear on the ballot in Washington
Read more at LGBTQ Nation. A far-right political action committee says it has collected enough signatures to potentially get a trans sports ban onto Washington state’s ballot in November, and that ban would require girls to undergo physical examinations to participate in school sports. As the Washington State Standard reports, Let’s Go Washington collected 445,187 signatures in…
Supreme Court Will Review Ban on LGBTQ ‘Conversion Therapy’
Read more at MSN. The US Supreme Court agreed to consider whether scores of state and local governments are violating the Constitution by barring licensed counselors from trying to change a child’s sexual orientation or gender identity. The justices said they will hear a challenge to Colorado’s ban on what critics call “conversion therapy.” A…
2025 LGBTQ rights update: African activists resist growing repression
Read more at Erasing 76 Crimes. North Africa Morocco: Morocco has been under a long-term project to revise its legal system, and this year published reforms to the code of criminal procedure that ought to at least make the justice system more fair and limit pre-trial detention. Then again, we’ve also heard reports this year of…
2025 LGBTQ rights update: Many bright spots in Asia amid the gloom
Read more at Erasing 76 Crimes. East and Southeast Asia Japan: The long slow march to eventual same-sex marriage continued in Japan in 2025, with resolution still looking a year or more away. Three more high courts ruled on the constitutionality of the same-sex marriage ban. Those in Nagoya and Osaka found the ban unconstitutional, but a…
2025 LGBTQ rights update: Progress and backsliding in Latin America and Caribbean
Read more at Erasing 76 Crimes. Central America Costa Rica: The constitutional court recognized the right of same-sex couples to share maternity leave, just like heterosexual couples can. The government has proposed a gender recognition bill, but the state Social Security Fund rejected a part of it that would require it to cover sex reassignment surgery. It’s…
NYC to distribute $2 million in emergency funding to organizations serving transgender people
Read more at Gay City News. With less than 48 hours remaining in office, outgoing Mayor Eric Adams rolled out a plan to distribute $2 million in what the city is describing as “emergency funding” to 20 organizations serving transgender, gender non-conforming, and non-binary individuals in a bid to counteract federal budget cuts. The Department…
The new challenges obtaining SNAP benefits for LGBTQ+ recipients
Read more and listen at NPR. Advocates for the LGBTQ+ community say the new limits on the food assistance program, SNAP, may make it especially difficult for many LGBTQ people battling food insecurity. SCOTT DETROW, HOST: 2025 was a tumultuous year for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, between changes enacted as part of…
Kazakhstan bans so-called LGBTQ+ propaganda
Read more at the Advocate. The Central Asian country of Kazakhstan has joined its neighbor Russia in banning so-called LGBTQ+ propaganda. President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev signed a bill to that effect into law Tuesday, news service Anadolu Agency reports. It bans “pedophilia propaganda” as well, according to the service. Punishment for violations include a fine of 144,500 Kazakh tenge ($280)…
LGBTQI+ refugees seeking asylum in Canada
Canada has a proud history of providing protection to and helping resettle those most in need. That includes those in the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, and additional sexually and gender diverse (LGBTQI+) community. Read more about the asylum program on Canada’s official website.
Aetna to Cover IVF Treatments for Same-Sex Couples After $2M National Settlement
Read more at GayE. When Mara Berton and June Higginbotham imagined their future, it always included children. What they did not imagine was a $45,000 bill standing between them and the family they dreamed of building. The Santa Clara County couple, both lesbians, discovered that while their heterosexual colleagues’ fertility treatments were largely covered by…
California Policy on Disclosing Student Gender Identity Blocked by Judge
Read more at Newsweek. A federal judge in California has struck down a state policy that prevented teachers from informing parents when their child identified as a different gender at school, calling the rule unconstitutional and a violation of parental and teachers’ rights. U.S. District Judge Roger Benitez, sitting in San Diego, ruled Monday that California’s policy—meant…
Malaysia’s LGBTQ Community Lives In Fear As Raids Drive Them Underground
Read more at South China Morning Post. In Chow Kit, a crowded district of Kuala Lumpur forever caught between progress and prejudice, Amy* moves quietly through narrow alleys – a transgender outreach worker tending to lives the city prefers not to see. Her evenings begin with small rituals: a backpack filled with condoms, test kits…
Cleveland Heights to welcome only LGBTQ mayor in Ohio
Read more at Spectrum News 1. Jim Petras is leading Cleveland Heights in turning the next page in its governance, assuming office as city’s newly-elected mayor in January. “[I’m] very grateful to our current mayor, Tony Cuda, for allowing me total access to our city staff. I’ve been listening and learning from them, and I…
Court blocks Michigan conversion therapy ban on free speech grounds
Read more at Bridge Michigan. A federal appeals court on Wednesday blocked Michigan’s ban on conversion therapy for minors who are LGBTQ+, declaring it violates the First Amendment rights of therapists and counselors. In a 2-1 opinion, the court said the law illegally restricts speech that reflects the moral beliefs of therapists. It set aside a lower…
Texas unveils “tip line” to report & send pictures of suspected trans women using the restroom
Read more at LGBTQ Nation. Texas’ virulently anti-trans attorney general, Ken Paxton (R), has launched a tip line that allows people to report on suspected trans people they believe are violating the state’s new bathroom ban. In a statement announcing the tip line, Paxton said the Texas Women’s Privacy Act – which requires people in public buildings…
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