Couple arrested for violating Russia’s ‘gay propaganda’ law

Police in the Russian city of Kazan Wednesday arrested a publicly out gay couple, Haoyang Xu and Gela Gogishvili, for their alleged breach of the country’s “gay propaganda” law. According to a statement from their lawyer, the two men are accused of violating the propaganda law because of videos uploaded to the couple’s YouTube and TikTok accounts. The two men are particularly active on social media, where they amassed a large following by chronicling their experiences in Russia as a gay, non-Slavic couple.

Independent human rights monitor OVD-Info reported that a Russian criminal court charged the two men with violating Russia’s law prohibiting all public expressions of same sex attraction and relationships. The court claimed the couple violated the propaganda law by releasing videos where the two men can be seen touching each other. As a result of his violation, a Russian court ruled Thursday to deport Xu, a Chinese citizen, back to China. Meanwhile, Gogishvili, an ethnically Georgian citizen of Russia, was released from police custody but ordered to return to court later this month to defend himself against the charges.

Xu and Gogishvili started dating in 2021. According to an interview they gave in March to the U.S.-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, they immediately experienced harassment after they began uploading videos documenting their experiences as a gay couple in Russia. Xu stated that many people in his life threatened to report him and Gogishvili to the Russian authorities, including one of his college professors. These threats came to fruition on Wednesday, when the couple was arrested in the Russian city of Kazan.

The “gay propaganda” law, first introduced in 2013, makes it a criminal act in Russia to publicly release material depicting same-sex relationships. The law was recently reformed to include harsher penalties, and expanded to prohibit any depiction of LGBTQ relationships or identities on all platforms, including social media accounts.

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USA: Biden administration’s new proposal prohibits schools from imposing bans on transgender athletes

he Biden administration Thursday released a proposed federal rule that would prohibit schools from “banning transgender students from participating on teams consistent with their gender identity.”

The proposed rule would change the Title IX Regulations regarding student participation in school athletics. The rule would address student eligibility in playing sports. Under the proposed rule, “policies [would] violate Title IX when they categorically ban transgender students from participating on sports teams consistent with their gender identity just because of who they are.”

The proposed rule would give schools the ability to “develop team eligibility criteria” that would promote objectives like “fairness in competition or preventing sports-related injury.” However, schools can not “adopt or apply one-size-fits-all” policies that would categorically ban transgender students from participating as the gender they identify with.

The public notice released by the US Department of Education states, “Participation in school athletics is an important component of education and provides valuable physical, social, academic, and mental health benefits to students. The proposed rule affirms that students benefit from the chance to join a school sports team to learn about teamwork, leadership, and physical fitness.”

In response to the proposal, US Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona stated:

Every student should be able to have the full experience of attending school in America, including participating in athletics, free from discrimination. Being on a sports team is an important part of the school experience for students of all ages. Beyond all the benefits to physical and mental health, playing on a team teaches students how to work hard, get along with others, believe in themselves, and build healthy habits that last a lifetime. Today’s proposed rule is designed to support Title IX’s protection for equal athletics opportunity. We welcome and encourage public comment on the proposed regulation and will continue working to ensure Title IX’s effective protection for all students.

The public will have 30 days to comment on the proposed rule.

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The US Supreme Court Thursday refused to reinstate West Virginia’s ban on transgender athletes

The US Supreme Court Thursday refused to reinstate West Virginia’s ban on transgender athletes Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas dissented. They would have granted the state’s application and allowed the law to be enforced. The justices also reproached the lower courts for staying the law without explanation.

In 2021, West Virginia passed a law that prohibited people assigned male at birth from competing on girls sports teams. The law stated that “[b]iological males would displace females to a substantial extent if permitted to compete on teams designated for biological females.” Furthermore, the state claimed that the separation was necessary to promote equal opportunity for girls.

A lower court stayed enforcement of the law until the case was resolved, and West Virginia made an emergency application to the Supreme Court to lift the hold. Now, after the Supreme Court’s denial, the case will be litigated in the lower court on the merits.

Becky Pepper-Jackson, a 12-year-old transgender girl, challenged the law. Becky has identified as a girl since the fourth grade and has participated on the girls’ track team throughout middle school. To remain on the team, Becky challenged the law’s constitutionality in court. According to the American Civil Liberties Union, Becky “is challenging the discriminatory law because she is sure there are other kids like her in West Virginia and she doesn’t want them to miss out on the opportunities that come with being involved in sports.”

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USA: Kansas senate passes bill defining sex as an individual’s ‘biological sex at birth’

The Kansas Senate Tuesday passed a bill containing several anti-transgender measures, including a definition of an individual’s “biological sex.” The 28-12 vote is one vote more than necessary for an override of the expected veto by Kansas Governor Laura Kelly.

The bill defines a person’s “biological sex” as “such individual’s biological sex, either male or female, at birth.” The bill further defines a “female” as a person “whose biological reproductive system is designed to produce ova” and a “male” as a person “whose biological reproductive system is designed to fertilize the ova of a female.”

Additionally, the bill provides that, “with respect to biological sex, separate accommodations are not inherently unequal.” Under the bill’s framework, laws and regulations dealing with distinctions between sexes are subject to intermediate constitutional scrutiny, forbidding discrimination based on sex but allowing distinctions when they are “substantially related to governmental objectives.” To fill that requirement, the bill asserts that Kansas has an important objective in “protecting the health, safety and privacy of individuals” that is substantially related to distinctions between the sexes “with respect to athletics, prisons or other detention facilities, domestic violence shelters, rape crisis centers, locker rooms, restrooms and other areas where biology, safety or privacy are implicated.”

The bill sets the stage for sex-based distinctions within areas that are currently contested spaces for transgender individuals around the country. In March, West Virginia moved to exclude transgender athletes from sports, and in February, a Florida court upheld a ban on transgender students using gender affirming bathrooms.

The bill is framed as “establishing the bill of women’s rights,” but opponents argue that the bill’s provisions are attacks on transgender, gender-nonconforming and intersex individuals. A veto from Kelly is expected, but the 28-12 senate vote is likely to override such a veto.

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USA: North Dakota legislature fails to override veto on anti-transgender bill

The North Dakota House of Representatives Monday failed to override Governor Doug Burgum’s veto of Senate Bill 2231, which would restrict the treatment of transgender students in the state’s grade schools. The chamber needed a majority two-thirds vote in both chambers of the state legislature to override the veto of the bill. The House of Representatives fell short of that by a small margin with a 56-36 vote.

Senate Bill 2231 was sponsored by State Senators Larry Luick (R-ND) and Scott Meyer (R-ND), as well as State Representatives Claire Cory and Karen Carls (R-ND). If enacted, it would have prohibited government entities from requiring employees to use an individual’s preferred pronouns and designate an employee’s preferred pronouns in work-related communications.

The bill would have also prohibited school boards from adopting policies regarding expressed gender, provide or authorize classroom instruction recognizing expressed gender, or provide or authorize professional development training to recognize expressed gender. The only situation in which such policies and practices would be allowed under the bill is if it concerned a specific student’s interest and was made in consultation with that student’s parents or guardians.

Since the veto override failed, the bill is effectively dead.

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CourEDH: Le refus des autorités d’inscrire une femme transgenre en tant que mère durequérant au registre d’état civil alors qu’elle n’en avait pas accouchén’emporte pas violation de la Convention

Voir: https://hudoc.echr.coe.int/eng?i=001-223932

USA: Florida committee votes to advance bill that targets transgender bathroom use

The Florida Senate committee Thursday passed Senate Bill 1674, which mandates the use of washrooms associated with an individual’s sex assigned at birth. The “Safety in Private Spaces Act” is one of the latest measures that advocates say are meant to discriminate against the LGBTQ community.

The act poses a penalty of up to 60 days in jail or a $500 fine to any adult that refuses to promptly leave the bathroom “designated for the opposite sex” as requested. Additionally, the committee passed SB 1438, which suspends or altogether revokes licenses of businesses that permit the attendance of minors in drag shows. These involve live adult entertainment that depicts or stimulates nudity, sexual conduct or lewd exposure.

This bill is similar to North Carolina in 2016, where legislators passed HB 2, which was eventually repealed. The bill underwent national battles as a result of different opinions on transgender students’ use of washrooms. Similarly, a fine of $10,000 was imposed on those who willfully entered restrooms for the opposite sex.

The Florida bill has not only faced backlash from LGBTQ advocates but also from democrats who argue that the bill is too vague and a government overreach. The bills now head to the full Senate after passing the committee.

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Germany decides to end discrimination against gays in blood donations

Erstmals nach vier Jahrzehnten werden Schwule beim Blutspenden gleichbehandelt – der Bundesrat winkt ein entsprechendes Gesetz durch (Bild: Dion Hinchcliffe / flickr)

• Gestern, 13:50h, 3 Kommentare

Die Diskriminierung von schwulen und bi­sexuellen Männern bei der Blutspende wird beendet. Der Bundesrat billigte am Freitag das Gesetz, das die jahrzehntelange Praxis abstellt, diese Bevölkerungsgruppe von vornherein als Blutspender weitgehend auszuschließen. Die Neuregelung soll “Diskriminierungen bei der Spenderauswahl vermeiden”, heißt es in dem Gesetz. Damit soll auch eine gesonderte Erwähnung von trans Personen bei der Blutspende abgeschafft werden.

Die Blutspende-Einschränkungen für Schwule stammen noch aus der Zeit der Aids-Krise. Dahinter stand die Sorge, dass bei schwulen Männern das Risiko einer Weitergabe des Virus durch eine Blutspende besonders hoch sei. Die Maßnahme wurde seit langem kritisiert; auch Bundesgesundheitsminister Karl Lauterbach (SPD) bezeichnete sie als Diskriminierung (queer.de berichtete).

Der Neuregelung zufolge darf der Ausschluss als Blutspender künftig “nur auf Grundlage des jeweiligen individuellen Sexualverhaltens der spendewilligen Person” erfolgen, nicht aber allein wegen einer Gruppenzugehörigkeit oder wegen des Geschlechts der Sexualparterinnen oder -partner. Dies ist bereits in vielen anderen Ländern wie Italien oder Spanien seit Jahren Praxis, ohne dass dadurch Blutspendeempfänger*­innen einem höheren Risiko ausgesetzt sind.

– Werbung –

00:22 / 00:30

Video – Entdecken Sie die Eleganz über den Wolken – Air France

Bislang gilt Sondersperre aufgrund der sexuellen Orientierung

Nach der bislang maßgeblichen Richtlinie der Bundesärztekammer dürfen Männer, die Sex mit Männern haben, nur dann Blut spenden, wenn sie in den zurückliegenden vier Monaten keinen Sexualverkehr mit “einem neuen oder mehr als einem Sexualpartner” hatten. Bei allen anderen Menschen bestand diese Sperre bislang dagegen nur bei “häufig wechselnden Partnerinnen und Partnern”.

Das nun im Bundesrat gebilligte Gesetz verpflichtet die Bundesärztekammer nun, diese Richtlinie zu ändern. Abgeschafft wird auch die Höchstaltersgrenze für Blutspendende.

Die Neuregelung wurde nicht als separates Gesetz verabschiedet – sie ist ein Zusatz zum neuen Gesetz für die Unabhängige Patientenberatung (UPD). Dieses sieht im Kern vor, dass die Patientenberatung künftig in einer Stiftung bürgerlichen Rechts verstetigt werden soll. Der Spitzenverband der Gesetzlichen Krankenversicherung (GKV) soll der Stiftung ab 2024 jährlich 15 Millionen Euro zuweisen. Die privaten Krankenversicherer können davon auf freiwilliger Basis sieben Prozent übernehmen.

Die UPD gibt es bereits seit 2011 als Regelleistung der gesetzlichen Krankenkassen. Die Einrichtung berät kostenfrei zu gesundheitlichen und gesundheitsrechtlichen Fragen – unter anderem in Beratungsstellen, per Telefon und Internet, aber auch per Post. (AFP/cw)

Mehr zum Thema:
» Blutspende: Ende der Diskriminierung endlich in Sicht (16.03.2023)

See: https://www.queer.de/detail.php?article_id=45136&pk_campaign=Nwsl

UN urges Uganda president to reject anti-homosexuality bill

UN experts Wednesday implored Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni to refuse to sign the anti-homosexuality bill approved by Parliament on March 21. Human rights organizations have criticised the bill, which seeks to penalize homosexual relationships in order to protect the traditional family, as draconian and in violation of basic human rights.

According to experts, the proposed legislation would incentivize stigmatization, discrimination and sexual violence based on sexual orientation. LGBTI people are already vulnerable to intimidation and acts of aggression that can harm their mental and physical health. The experts also emphasized that every human being is entitled to a peaceful life free of violence and discrimination. They urged stakeholders to actively participate in this debate and promote human rights in Uganda.

Under the bill’s original draft, homosexuality and aggravated homosexuality would have been punishable by up to ten years in prison, and the promotion of homosexuality would have been punishable by at least five years in prison. Parliamentarians changed the original draft, however, to suggest the death penalty for homosexuality that is “aggravated,” a life sentence for the “offense of homosexuality,” and a 20-year prison sentence for homosexual promotion. UN experts argued that the “imposition of the death penalty based on such legislation is per se an arbitrary killing and a breach of article 6 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR).”

The bill is the most recent piece of legislation to criminalize LGBTI acts and relationships in Uganda. Previous bills proposed in 2009, 2012, 2013 and 2014 were criticized for contributing to human rights violations by infringing on rights such as the right to life, liberty and privacy.

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USA: Kentucky lawmakers override governor veto of gender-affirming care ban

Kentucky lawmakers Wednesday overrode Governor Andy Beshear’s veto on Senate Bill 150, a bill to enact restrictions on the rights of transgender youth to seek gender-affirming care and to use bathrooms that align with their gender identities.

The Kentucky House of Representative approved the override in a 76-23 vote, and the state’s Senate approved the measure 29-8. Under the law, gender-affirming surgeries, puberty blockers and hormone therapy are banned for children under 18. The law also states that “The Kentucky Board of Education or the Kentucky Department of Education shall not require or recommend policies or procedures for the use of pronouns that do not conform to a student’s biological sex.”

Responding to the vote, Executive Director of the Kentucky ACLU Amber Dukes commented:

Trans Kentuckians, medical and mental health professionals, and accredited professional associations pleaded with lawmakers to listen to the experts, not harmful rhetoric based in fear and hate. Their pleas fell on deaf ears as the general assembly passed the bill in a matter of hours.

In a statement explaining his veto, Governor Beshear said:

Senate Bill 150 allows too much government interference in personal healthcare issues and rips away the freedom of parents to make medical decisions for their children. Improving access to gender affirming care is an important means of improving health outcomes for the transgender population. Senate Bill 150 will cause an increase in suicide among Kentucky’s youth.

The law will not go into effect until 90 days after the Kentucky General Assembly has concluded.

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