US: Christian activist files ballot measure to execute all gay people by 'bullets to the head'

A Christian activist would like to see all gay people in California executed by firing squad, just so the rest of the citizenry can avoid having to endure God's "wrath." Matthew McLaughlin last week paid $200 to file a ballot initiative with the Attorney General in Sacramento that proposes his Sodomite Suppression Act, modelled after the Ugandan Anti-Homosexual act, become law. 

While there is no chance that McLaughlin will get the 365,000 California resident signatures needed to move the Sodomite Suppression Act forward, the ballot reflects ongoing hate among conservative pockets even in "liberal" America. Read More

Ghana: Residents flood town with posters of alleged lesbians after mob attack

Posters of suspected lesbians have been printed and circulated as part of plans by homophobic residents to out the ladies.

The women, all of whom the neighbours suspected were lesbians, got stoned and pelted with human faeces by an angry mob who claimed the alleged ritual ceremony was a guise for a lesbian birthday bash. The homophobic residents have vowed to hunt down and bay for the blood of all lesbians, locally called ‘supi’ in the area. Read More

Ireland: Two young women savagely beaten in homophobic attack

Roisin Prendergast (20) and her girlfriend 17-year-old Ciara Murphy were attacked by two unidentified men on Cruises Street in Limerick. The verbal assault quickly turned into a vicious beating and kicking.  

"We thought it was over. Then one guy came back, threw Ciara against a shop window and ripped up her hat in front of her," she said.

When the unprovoked attack was finally over, Ms Murphy lay unconscious on the street following a knock to her head, while Ms Prendergast had been beaten and was in shock beside her. The two women said they are overwhelmed with the support they have received on social media following the attack. Read More

Russia: Gay man dies after being stabbed 26 times

Two men have been arrested near Saint Petersburg, Russia, over the murder of a gay man. The body of a 38-year-old man who had been stabbed 26 times was found on Monday night in a town in the Vsevolozhsk region of Russia. 

According to Tetu, the two men told police following their arrest that they stabbed the victim because he had attempted to sexually proposition them. Read More

Op-Ed: Why Health Care Is the Next LGBT Battleground

I’m one of those people who thinks of health in broad terms: Health isn’t just about doctors. It’s about mental health. It’s about having a roof over your head. It’s about being able to get an education. It’s about feeling safe. Philosophers Amartya Sen and Martha Nussbaum talk about true equality being a world where people have the resources they need to live to their fullest potential. True equality is making sure those health service providers—doctors, psychotherapists, social workers, even shelter providers—actually know how to work with members of every community.

I hereby throw down the gauntlet: A major front in the battle for LGBT equality is making sure health service providers are competent and sensitive enough to meet our community’s needs. Read More

U.N. Forum Praises LGBT Rights Advances in Developing Nations

Marking 70 years since the liberation of Auschwitz and the end of WWII, the United Nations reflected on some of the “lesser known victims” of the Nazi regime – the LGBT community – and how gay rights may be further advanced into the future.

Charles Radcliffe, Chief of Global Issues with the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, said global progress toward better protections for the LGBT community has been steady. He also said it was important to continue strengthening protections for LGBT people, citing recent “worrying trends” including criminalization of gay relationships or the silencing of LGBT activists in some nations.

“We need to change attitudes, challenge stereotypes, and get people talking about these issues especially in communities and cultures where it is still taboo,” he said. “It’s not enough to change laws and institutions. We have to change people’s minds.” Read More

Leaving no one behind in the Asia-Pacific HIV response

Government delegates, leading civil society voices, and UN partners gathered in Bangkok to review progress in responding to the HIV epidemic in the Asia Pacific region. The meeting will produce a new regional framework of cooperation. 

In his opening remarks, Nicholas Rosellini, Director of UNDP's Bangkok Regional Hub, highlighted that the HIV epidemic in Asia and the Pacific continues to be concentrated among key populations who face the burden of being marginalized not only socially but also through counter-productive legal frameworks. Read More 

Eric Radford and Meagan Duhamel make history

Eric Radford came out in December 2014, the first figure skater to do so while still at the top of his game. Since then, Radford and his pairs partner, Meagan Duhamel, won the Grand Prix event in Barcelona, and their record-breaking score on Jan 24 won them their fourth Canadian championship. In the above video, Radford and Duhamel talk about his decision to come out. The team is a favourite to win the world championships in Shanghai in March.  Read More

The Importance of Having Gay Video Game Characters

In a video for PBS Digital’s Game/Show, Jamin Warren discusses the power of having explicitly gay characters in video games. Gaming franchises like Fable and the Sims have long-offered players the ability to create unique characters with customizable sexualities. But, as Warren explains, there's something to be said for queer characters whose sexualities are set in stone.

In particular Warren singles out BioWare’s Dragon Age: Inquisition and Dorian, its resident gay magic user, for crafting a story in which Dorian’s sexuality is integral to the character’s personality, but not burdensome to the game’s plot. Read More

'McTucky Fried High,' LGBT Web Series, Explores Queer Teen Issues

An animated web series launched this week that explores issues affecting lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) teens in an unconventional way.

"McTucky Fried High" is the brainchild of filmmaker, illustrator and activist Robert-Carnilius and tackles a range of issues relevant to queer youth. Slated for a five-episode run, the web series will hit topics such as coming out, extreme diets, being genderqueer, bullying and sexting -- all through the use of animated food as characters. Read More

Cartoon Aims To Show Dangers Of Syphilis

With syphilis on the increase amongst gay men, the Victorian AIDS Council (VAC) has joined up with a local Australian animator, Michael Cusack, to release Wayne & Kevin an hilarious animated short that encourages men who have sex with men (MSM) to be informed about STIs and get tested regularly.

With syphilis being an STI that can often be asymptomatic or mistaken for other things, the importance of spreading the message surrounding treatment and testing is imperative.

Watch here