lgbtiq rights
Ugandan Government spokesperson: No new ‘kill the gays’ law
A Ugandan government spokesperson tweeted Saturday that the government would not introduce a “kill the gays” law to parliament. Last week the Ugandan Minister for Ethics and Integrity Simon Lokodo said the government intended to resurrect the Uganda Anti-Homosexuality Act. That bill, known colloquially as the ‘Kill the gays’ bill, threatened people convicted of homosexuality …
Potential death sentence for private chat on social media
Iranian Kurdish singer Mohsen Lorestani faces a potential death sentence after a Tehran court charged him with ‘corruption on Earth’. That charge can carry the death penalty in Iran. The Kurdistan Human Rights Network tweeted news of the charge. “Mohsen Lorestani, a Kurdish singer from Kermanshah, has been charged with ‘corruption on earth’ in a …
Discrimination? Australia 4th in world religious freedom rankings
The draft Religious Discrimination Bill is a result of complaints arising out of the same-sex marriage debate. Some religious groups equate equal rights for LGBTIQ people with an erosion of their own liberty. However, various world religious freedom rankings place Australia in the Top 10 with the most recent evaluation placing us fourth. Sydney’s Catholic …
ACL unhappy with religious discrimination bill
Martyn Iles from the Australian Christian Lobby (ACL) complained yesterday that the draft religious discrimination bill does not go far enough. Meanwhile Shelley Argent, national spokesperson for PFLAG says the bill “tells our children they are inferior.” Iles wrote that the draft allowed the “crazy situation” where Rugby Australia could still sack Israel Folau. “While …
Dear Christians, we are not the enemy…
The debate in Australia over religious freedoms would suggest that Christians and LGBTIQ communities are implacable foes. Advocates of religious freedoms legislation portray the issue as a fight to save Christians from persecution by the ‘Rainbow Cult’, a term frequently employed on Australian Christian Lobby Facebook page. However, the LGBTIQ communities are not enemies of …
Stark choice for Qld sex workers – work safely or obey law?
We accept best practice in workplace health and safety as a given these days. Government regulation and workplace policies cover just about every eventuality that could bring harm to a worker. Unless the worker is a sex worker! In that case, Queensland law actually endangers the health and safety of the worker. No bad whores …
Lawyers who won Indian decriminalisation a couple
Menaka Guruswamy and Arundhati Katju, the two lawyers who successfully argued the case for the Indian decriminalisation of homosexuality, are a couple. Scroll down for the vid. The pair spoke to Fareed Zakaria of CNN about the long battle for gay law reform in India. They first attempted to win Indian decriminalisation in 2013. On …
Couple sue to marry in country where even PM can not
Jelena Dubovi and Suncica Kopunovic commenced a legal battle Thursday for legal recognition of their partnership in Serbia. The socially conservative country bans same-sex marriage. The two women attempted to register a civil union in their home town in April. However the registrar’s office in Novi Sad turned them away. The Serbian constitution explicitly defines …
Freedom and Equality for all – not for some.
Shelley Argent OAM is the National Spokesperson for Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG). She is one of the most effective advocates for the human rights of LGBTIQ people in Australia. As such, Shelley played a leading role during the Australian campaign for marriage equality. She believes fervently in freedom and equality for …
Editorial: Is this what religious freedom looks like?
Ryan Williams from Lancashire England posted this photo of himself to Facebook last night. “I never thought in my life that I would get beaten up for being GAY!” he said. We don’t know the circumstances of the violent physical attack on this young man. It certainly bears the hallmarks of a gay bashing. What …