politics
How to lobby from home against the Religious Discrimination Bill
LGBTIQ advocates Shelley Argent and Rodney Croome have called for Australians to keep up the pressure against the government’s controversial Religious Discrimination Bill in a new video. PFLAG spokesperson Shelley Argent said while COVID-19 had pushed the proposed legislation off the front pages, “it is very likely to return and we need to be ready.” …
African country Gabon decriminalises homosexuality
Gabon has voted to decriminalise homosexuality, reversing a ban on gay sex put in place last year in the Central African nation. Last year the country legislated a ban on “sexual relations between people of the same sex.” Punishments included six months’ imprisonment and fines of up to five million FCFA ($AU12,440). However, Gabon’s lower …
Here’s the three LGBTIQ heroes behind landmark US Supreme Court ruling
Aimee Stephens, Gerald Bostock and Donald Zarda are the three LGBTIQ plaintiffs whose cases prompted a landmark US Supreme Court anti-discrimination ruling. In a major civil rights victory, the court ruled existing laws protect LGBTIQ people from workplace discrimination on the basis of their sexual orientation and gender identity. Advocates are also celebrating the three …
Disgraced Labor MP slammed for homophobic, misogynistic rants
Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews has sacked state Labor MP Adem Somyurek from cabinet amid corruption allegations and leaked audio of homophobic, misogynistic and racist tirades. In the recordings on 60 Minutes, the party powerbroker described Young Labor members as “little passive aggressive f—ing gay kids” and gay staffers as “real slimy little f—ers”. “We’ll have …
Gay migrant shares fight for Australian residency in SBS series
New SBS documentary series Who Gets to Stay in Australia? will share the life-changing moment when a gay migrant finds out if he can call Australia home, or face leaving his partner. Approximately every three minutes, someone gets permanent residency in Australia. However, authorities reject more than 40,000 others each year. The new four-part SBS …
Narelda Jacobs speaks out against Indigenous deaths in custody
Warning: This article includes the names of Indigenous Australians who have died. Indigenous journalist Narelda Jacobs has warned Australians not to “bury our heads in the sand” about Aboriginal deaths in custody as Black Lives Matter protests sweep the world. Tens of thousands flooded the streets of Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide and Brisbane last weekend to …
Gay escorts threaten to out notorious homophobe ‘Lady G’
American gay escorts threatened on Twitter yesterday to out a notorious homophobe they nickname ‘Lady G’. Escort and adult performer Sean Harding kicked things off when he tweeted that every sex worker he knew had at some stage been hired by the notorious Republican senator. The senator in question was formerly an outspoken critic of …
South Australia is the last Australian state to axe ‘gay panic’ defence
A Greens MP has called on the South Australian government to finally abolish the so-called “gay panic” defence for murder. Currently, the partial defence of provocation allows a heterosexual man accused of murder to attempt to reduce a charge if they claim they lost control and the violence was “provoked” by a non-violent homosexual advance. …
LGBTI Legal Service gets funding to continue free community support
Queensland’s free LGBTI Legal Service will continue operating for the next five years after it received new state government funding. Attorney-General Yvette D’Ath (pictured, second from left) announced the state government has allocated $1.3 million to the free legal centre until 2025. Since 2010, the LGBTI Legal Service has provided free and confidential advice to …
Furious residents petition for CCTV to catch rainbow crossing vandals
Wollongong residents have asked their local council for better surveillance after “cowardly” homophobic vandals repeatedly defaced their local rainbow crossing. The rainbow crossing was painted in the coastal New South Wales city last Christmas as a show of support for the LGBTIQ community. However after it was unveiled, vandals targeted the crossing with their cars, …