Channel Islands: Plans for same-sex marriage to be introduced in Guernsey

Landmark plans to introduce equal marriage in Guernsey have been announced. It comes following a consultation which saw around 80% of the respondents say they supported the introduction of equal marriage locally.

Despite this support from the public, the Guernsey arm of the Catholic Church has voiced its concerns. The proposals also ask for Policy Council to monitor the progress of Union Civile internationally, whilst not actually asking for it to be introduced. The proposals will be debated at December's States meeting. Read more via ITV

Israel: NGO petitions High Court to allow same-sex marriage

Israeli NGO The Aguda, also referred to as The National LGBT Task Force, petitioned the High Court of Justice on Sunday to allow same-sex marriage in Israel. In their petition, The Aguda claimed that the discrimination against the gay community in the field of marriage is unconstitutional and that if the rabbinical court should choose not to recognize same-sex marriages, those marriages should still be recognized by civil law.

The lawyers representing The Aguda, Ohad Rosen and and Hagai Kalai, argued that in accordance with previous court rulings, if the rabbinical court chooses not to recognize a marriage, the High Court has the authority to approve a marriage in the civil courts.

Oded Fried, executive director of The National LGBT Task Force: "The reality we live in is absurd; on the one hand, the rabbinical courts do not recognize same-sex marriages, and on the other hand, are reluctant to give up the exclusive jurisdiction to recognize them." Read more via Jerusalem Post 

Australia: Foreign Affairs Minister Julie Bishop lends support to same-sex marriage

Deputy Liberal leader Julie Bishop has effectively endorsed same-sex marriage, in her strongest comments to date about the landmark social reform. In an interview with the Ten Network's The Project, Ms Bishop, who has until now been guarded about her personal view on same-sex marriage, said she supported the government's plan to put the proposal to a plebiscite.

But the popular Foreign Affairs Minister, who only hinted at support for the reform during months of debate earlier this year, finally signalled her personal view. "I think the Australian people should have their say. I have absolutely no concerns about it myself, but I know there a lot of people who are deeply concerned about the issue," she said. Read more via The Sydney Morning Herald 

Chile issues first civil marriage licenses to same-sex couples

Chile’s Civil Registry made an exception last month to its ongoing strike to perform the country’s first civil union ceremonies for same-sex couples. After 12 years of debate in the Chilean Parliament, President Michelle Bachelet signed the Civil Union Agreement into law in April, granting cohabitation rights to homosexual and heterosexual couples. 

In a country with a historically Catholic majority and socially conservative culture, many Chileans have protested the government’s increasingly liberal social agenda. Activists count the law as a victory in the move toward legalizing same-sex marriage. A survey in September showed 60% of Chileans support same-sex couples’ right to marry, up from 50% last year. Supporters see civil unions as a step toward a more modern and tolerant society. 

High-profile evangelical pastor Javier Soto has vocally opposed homosexual advances in society, including the recent release of a book called Nicolás Has Two Dads. Soto’s opposition provoked the leader of the Homosexual Integration and Liberation Movement (Movimiento de Integración y Liberación Homosexual), Rolando Jiménez, to urge evangelical Christians “not to allow themselves to be deceived by these pastors who offend and hurt people just for being different than the majority.”  Read more via World Mag 

Colombia elects first openly gay, right-wing mayor

For the first time, Colombian voters have elected a mayor who campaigned as openly gay — proving the Latin American nation is ready to embrace candidates who are honest about themselves. 

Although the South American nation has long welcomed LGBT candidates, Julián Antonio Bedoya, the mayor-elect of Toro, in the western coastal state of Valle de Cauca, is the first mayor to win election after campaigning as an out gay man. This year's election included 72 LGBT candidates nationwide, including Ramón Rojas, a trans politician who was elected for his third consecutive term for the Council of Chaparral in Tolima.

"The challenge is immense for Julián — he should be a very good mayor and represent the LGBTI community," says Angelo Araujo, LGBT leader in the state."This must be done with the best possible administration. There's no point in having an openly gay candidate who has problems of corruption, and leaves things unfinished in their municipality. " Read more via the Advocate

China: Male rape now a crime after law revision

The sexual assault of men, which was not previously listed as an offense under Chinese law, is now a crime after an amendment to the Criminal Law took effect. The amendment, adopted by the top legislature in August, stipulates that indecent assault on others, men or women, now carries a minimum sentence of five years in prison. In the former law, the clause "others" was "women."

In addition, the revised law repealed the crime of sex with underage prostitutes and reclassified it as rape. Under the previous law, people who have sex with prostitutes less than 14 years old face a maximum of 15 years in prison, while those convicted of raping a child may face the death sentence.  Read more via Shanghai Daily 

US: Intersex person sues State Department over passport denial

Lambda Legal filed a federal lawsuit against the State Department on behalf of an intersex person who was denied a passport because they do not identify as male or female. The lawsuit notes that Dana Alix Zzyym, the associate director of the U.S. affiliate of the Organization Intersex International, applied for a passport in September 2014 in order to travel to Mexico City this week for an international conference that will focus on intersex-specific issues.

Those applying for a passport for the first time must submit a copy of their birth certificate. The State Department stated it denied the application because it was “unable to fulfill your request to list your sex as ‘X,’ even though doctors at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs confirmed the gender listed on the birth certificate as “unknown.” The State Department said Zzyym could receive a passport with a male or female gender marker or withdraw the application.

“When I was a child, I had no say in what was done to me in order to make me ‘fit’ in some acceptable category,” said Zzyym in a press release that Lambda Legal released on Monday. “I continue to suffer the consequences of those decisions today. But, as an adult, I can take a stand. I am not male, I am not female, I am intersex, and I shouldn’t have to choose a gender marker for my official U.S. identity document that isn’t me.”  Read More via Washington Blade

The ugly myth about transgender people opponents of a Houston civil rights law used to win

Opponents of LGBTQ rights in Houston used a big, ugly myth to take down a law that would simply ban discrimination in certain settings. Opponents of the ordinance fell back on age-old, desperate tactics to try to combat the law, using what's widely known as the bathroom myth. You can see it in the advertisement by Texas Values Action, which shows a trans woman using the locker room that corresponds to her gender identity — and posing some sort of danger to other women in the facilities.

This is a tactic that has been used time and time again — not just against LGBTQ efforts, but against the Equal Rights Amendment, which would have established equal rights for women. The idea is that men will somehow take advantage of equal rights laws to disguise themselves as women and attack women in bathrooms.

HERO would not have protected people who commit crimes in bathrooms — they could still be prosecuted. And business owners would have been able to deny a customer they believe to be a man entrance to a women's bathroom. What business owners wouldn't have been able to do under HERO is deny trans people entrance to a bathroom in a way that's clearly discriminatory — by, for example, using a slur or insulting a person's gender identity. Read more via Vox

Ireland: Hozier calls Pope Francis' LGBT position 'lip service' that 'should have been said 100 years ago'

On the back of Hozier's runaway hit "Take Me to Church," the Irish-born singer-songwriter has become one of music's most outspoken critics of institutionalized homophobia. In an interview Monday with Larry King Now guest host Kelly Osbourne, Hozier took the Catholic Church and Russia to task on their practices of discrimination against the LGBTQ community. 

Speaking about the Catholic Church and Pope Francis' popularity, he said, "This is one of the paradoxes and weird hypocrisy of that organization [Catholic Church]. The pope came here last year and said, 'Who am I to judge with regards to somebody's sexual orientation?' I think it is important to differentiate between lip service towards something and actually making change. I think it is hopeful, but saying this in 2015, 'Who am I to judge?' is something that should have been said 100 years ago." Read more

US: Houston fails to pass Houston Equal Rights Ordinance

Early voting numbers showed that Houston, Texas, failed to pass Proposition 1, also known as the Houston Equal Rights Ordinance, or HERO. Prop 1 would have prohibited discrimination in everything from employment to housing based on, among other things, someone's sexual orientation or gender identity, two classes of people not currently protected under federal anti-discrimination laws.

"We are disappointed with today's outcome, but our work to secure nondiscrimination protections for all hard-working Houstonians will continue," the ordinance's supporters said in a statement, according to the Houston Chronicle. "No one should have to live with the specter of discrimination hanging over them. Everyone should have the freedom to work hard, earn a decent living and provide for themselves and their families."

However, the legislation faced an ugly, conservative media-backed campaign aimed at convincing residents the bill was actually a measure that would make it easier for sexual predators to attack women in public bathrooms. Read more via Mic

Western Balkans and Turkey: New EU accession reports

The European Commission’s published its annual progress reports on accession states’ progress towards EU Membership. The reports include important and extensive information on the situation of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex people in those 7 countries. 

The European Commissioner responsible for Enlargement, Johannes Hahn, presented the 2015 progress reports. In his speech the Commissioner emphasised that the reports have “a strong focus on fundamental rights, including freedom of expression and fighting discrimination, notably against the LGBTI community and Roma”. Read more via Intergroup on LGBT Rights