October 2022 - STR8DAR

Italy Announces New LGBT Strategy as Its Right-wing Prepares for Power

7Oct

By Sara BanksNo Comments

World

Italy Announces New LGBT Strategy as Its Right-wing Prepares for Power

The outgoing Italian government has announced a new plan to help grant and protect equal rights for LGBT Italians as far-right politician Giorgia Meloni prepares to become the new prime minister of Italy. This after Italy’s far-right won the country’s Sept. 25 election. Georgia Meloni represents the post-fascist party “Brothers of Italy,” and ran on defending “traditional family values” and standing up to the “gay lobby.” In a statement to Reuters, Equal Opportunities Minister Elena Bonetti said that they "weren't very ideological,” when drafting the strategy but “were very concrete." The "National LGBT+ Strategy 2022-2025," which passed on Oct, 6. is a 30-page plan that seeks to tackle the discrimination LGBT people face in schools, hospitals, prisons, universi...

UK: Transphobic Hate Crimes Increase by More Than 50%

6Oct

By Ernesto FernandezNo Comments

World

UK: Transphobic Hate Crimes Increase by More Than 50%

Recorded hate crimes against trans people in the United Kingdom rose by more than 50% in a year. LGBT+ anti-abuse charity Galop warns that the hateful & transphobic rhetoric that is being spread by politicians is translating into violence against the trans community. They also highlight how the media contributes to the problem by amplifying transphobic voices and broadcasting bigotry without it being challenged. The warning comes as a response to Home Office figures showing that crimes that were rooted in transphobia rose by 56% in a year. In a statement, the Home Office related this to transgender issues having been “heavily discussed on social media” in the last year, which they argue may have caused the increase in hate crimes. Chief executive at Galop, Leni Morris said, “tr...

Russia Fines TikTok Over “Gay Propaganda”

5Oct

By Sara BanksNo Comments

Media

Russia Fines TikTok Over “Gay Propaganda”

The Kremlin hit social media network TikTok with a $51,000 fine on Tuesday for violating Russia’s controversial “gay propaganda” law. The “gay propaganda” law went into effect in 2013 and has been called a “classic example of political homophobia” by Humans Rights Watch. They warn that the legislation “targets vulnerable sexual and gender minorities for political gain.” The law supposedly seeks to “protect” children from information that “advocates a denial of traditional family values.” Earlier this year, Russian authorities broadened the scope of the law to ensure that it covers film, television and digital content. A judge from Moscow’s Tagansky district announced the fine yesterday according to reports. TikTok stands accused of featuring content that promotes feminis...

Slovenia Legalizes Same-sex Marriage & Adoption

5Oct

By Ernesto FernandezNo Comments

World

Slovenia Legalizes Same-sex Marriage & Adoption

Slovenia became the first central European country to grant its citizens marriage equality yesterday, as its parliament passed legislation that will allow same-sex couples to marry and adopt. This followed a July ruling by the Slovenian Constitutional Court that said that same-sex couples should be able to be legally married and adopt children. After strong criticism from the country’s conservative leaders, 29 legislators voted against it and one abstained, allowing the legislation to pass with 48 votes in favor. Earlier this year, the Slovenian Constitutional Court ruled that the country’s previous family code discriminated against LGBT couples by defining marriage as a union between a man and a woman, and only allowing heterosexual couples to adopt. With its decision, Slovenia’s Cons...

4Oct

By Sara BanksNo Comments

US

Former Gay Pornstar Arrested for Murder

New evidence has led South Florida authorities to link a former gay pornographic actor to a 12-year-old unresolved murder case. Aaron Michael Dobbins, also known as "Trace Michaels" in the adult industry, is now the primary suspect in the killing of Alfred “Chad” McMurray. 31-year-old McMurray was found dead from a gunshot wound in his Oakland Park home, just outside of Fort Lauderdale, in August of 2010. The identity of the killer remained a mystery until May of this year as “new information led homicide investigators to identify a possible suspect,” authorities announced last Friday. Investigators were able to obtain a search warrant earlier this year and collected Dobbins’ DNA which matched that of forensic evidence found under McMurray’s fingernails 12 years ago. The s...

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s LGBT Guidance Overruled by Judge

3Oct

By Sara BanksNo Comments

US

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s LGBT Guidance Overruled by Judge

A federal Texas judge overturned the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s LGBT guidance and deemed it unlawful. The EEOC’s guidance sought to provide workplace protections for LGBT Americans by suggesting that exceptions are made for LGBT workers when it comes to dress codes, locker room and bathroom policies. The Oct. 1 ruling by Trump appointed judge Matthew Kacsmaryk states that the EEOC’s guidance misinterprets the US Supreme Court’s 2020 decision that federal anti-bias laws prohibits discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity in the workplace. Arguing that while the Supreme Court’s ruling establishes that employers can’t discriminate against employees because of their identity or sexual orientation, it doesn’t protect a workers “correlated co...