Things have been happening to gay Russian activist Nikolai Alekseev's social-media accounts that are causing people to both worry and wonder about his safety and his sanity, according to Back2Stonewall.com . Recently, there were posts criticizing "Westerners" for their "colonialism" and "imperialism" towards Russia, and there has even been a Facebook post calling LGBT activist/ blogger Mike Petrelis a pedophile. In addition, a series of photographs were posted to Alekseev's account under the title "Kidnapping" that show him in just his underwear. Alekseev has been troubled by American activists actions and boycotts against Russia and has been speaking out against them.
Katy Perry went toe to toe with conservative Australian politician Tony Abbott over the issue of same-sex marriage during a radio interview, according to the Huffington Post. The singer was speaking with 2Day FM's Kyle and Jackie O about her new single when Abbott—who is campaigning on a platform for "traditional" marriage—phoned in to ask Perry when she's going to perform in Australia again. Perry then wanted to talk same-sex marriage; when Abbott said he's against marriage equality (even though his own sister is lesbian), Perry responded, "I love you as a human being, but I can't give you my vote then."
After winning a silver medal at the World Track & Field Championships in Moscow Aug. 13, U.S. distance runner Nick Symmonds openly dedicated the victory to his gay and lesbian friends in his home country, according to the Huffington Post. The act reportedly makes Symmonds the first athlete to critique and oppose Russia's anti-gay legislation while in Russia. "As much as I can speak out about it, I believe that all humans deserve equality as however God made them," said Symmonds in a statement after taking second in the 800-meter race. "Whether you're gay, straight, Black, white, we all deserve the same rights. If there's anything I can do to champion the cause and further it, I will—shy of getting arrested."
Russian pole-vaulter Yelena Isinbayeva claims she was misunderstood after being criticized for her comments supporting her nation's anti-gay law, according to Advocate.com . "English is not my first language and I think I may have been misunderstood when I spoke yesterday," Isinbayeva said. "What I wanted to say was that people should respect the laws of other countries, particularly when they are guests. I respect the views of my fellow athletes and let me state in the strongest terms that I am opposed to any discrimination against gay people." Isinbayeva previously said, "If we allow to promote and do all this stuff on the street, we are very afraid about our nation because we consider ourselves, like, normal, standard people."
Emma Green Tregaro—a Swedish high jumper who painted her fingernails in rainbow colors to support gay rights—was told she could be in violation of the code of conduct at the world track-and-field championships held recently in Moscow, according to ESPN. After that warning, Green Tregaro took the field Aug. 17 with bright red nail polish. She said the Swedish track and field federation asked her to "please respect the rules" and change the color of her nails so she "decided to paint them red instead, for love," she said.
A podium kiss between Russian runners Kseniya Ryzhova and Tatyana Firova happened at the World Athletics Championships in Moscow—and has caused controversy, according to the Business Insider. The Russia team camp downplayed the incident, saying it was simply a celebration and there were no politics involved. Gay Star News, however, stated that the kiss could theoretically have seen the pair arrested under Russia's controversial new "gay propaganda" laws as it could be promoting homosexuality.
Russian political journalist Anton Krasovsky, 37, announced he is gay on live television and was promptly fired from his job, according to On Top Magazine. Krasovsky came out gay Jan. 25, telling a late-night TV show audience that he is gay and "as human as President [Vladimir] Putin, Prime Minister [Dmitry] Medvedev" and members of parliament. On CNN, Krasovsky compared Russia's law to Britain's Section 28 law, which banned a local authority from "promoting homosexuality." That law was on the books until 2003, 15 years after its approval. He added the Olympics should not be boycotted because it's a global event, not a Russian one, Advocate.com noted.
Turkey appears set to join Albania as one of only two primarily Muslim nations to protect sexual minorities from discrimination, Gay Star News noted. The country's Constitutional Consensus Committee agreed sexual orientation should be added to a section of a new draft constitution. The clause was added despite some deputies from the ruling Islamist Justice and Development Party.
LGBT Russians hoping to escape persecution in their country can seek asylum in Canada, Advocate.com reported. Chris Alexander, Canada's immigration minister, said that LGBT people who wished to flee persecution in Russia would have their asylum claim favorably reviewed by his country's refugee board. Officials say roughly half of the Russians who seek asylum in Canada each year—between 140 and 225 people—are accepted.
Aug. 13 marked Chinese Valentine's Day, also known as the Qixi Festival—and it has taken on a gay bent, according to QZ.com . Among other things, a gay couple kissing in Beijing was greeted by cheers and a video of a 90-year-old grandmother in Fuzhou province explaining her support of her gay 28-year-old grandson has been circulating the Internet. Although some see a generational shift taking place; however, activists say there's still a long way to go.
In Venezuela, lawmaker Pedro Cerreno has unleashed an anti-gay tirade in the country's legislature aimed at discrediting the opposition, according to the Independent Online. Cerreno displayed photos in the National Assembly showing a top aide to opposition leader Henrique Capriles dressed, along with other men, in women's clothing, apparently at a party. Cerreno then suggested that the images proved the aide, Oscar Lopez, was involved with drug traffickers as well as male and female prostitution. In addition, President Nicolas Maduro has accused Capriles of using his office as governor of the central state of Miranda to "prostitute youths."
Federal judge Michael Ponsor ruled that a persecution case that LGBT Ugandans filed against anti-gay U.S. evangelist Scott Lively can proceed, Advocate.com reported. Lively had filed a request to dismiss the suit, saying his First Amendment rights to free speech protected him. "Widespread, systematic persecution of LGBTI people constitutes a crime against humanity that unquestionably violates international norms," said Ponsor, according to a press release from the Center for Constitutional Rights. "The fact that a group continues to be vulnerable to widespread, systematic persecution in some parts of the world simply cannot shield one who commits a crime against humanity from liability."
A survey by Roman LGBT association Gay Center shows that one Italian gay teen in three has considered suicide in the last year, Gay Star News reported. The study comes after the case of a 14-year-old boy who recently committed suicide in Rome. The unnamed teenager jumped from a window, at home, after leaving a letter to his parents that reportedly read, "Nobody accepts me." He also left a list of 12 guys who have been allegedly bullying him in the last months.
Lawyers for Glenn Greenwald—the journalist for the UK Guardian who has been working since May with National Security Agency whistleblower Edward Snowden—are threatening legal action over the detention of David Miranda, Greenwald's partner, at London's Heathrow Airport, according to the Guardian. Miranda was at a layover in Heathrow en route from Berlin to Brazil on Sunday when he was detained under schedule 7 of the Terrorism Act 2000; he was questioned for nine hours and had his belongings (including a cell phone and laptop) confiscated. Among other things, the lawyers say they will also be seeking a "quashing order" confirming that Miranda's detention was "unlawful."
Lambda Legal and The Center for HIV Law & Policy (CHLP)—joined by eight other civi-rights organizations—have submitted a friend-of-the-court brief asking the Board of Immigration Appeals to overturn an immigration judge's ruling denying a Jamaican immigrant's (Anthony's) application for deferral of removal to Jamaica under the U.N Convention Against Torture, according to a press release. The immigration judge concluded that Anthony had not proved he was gay, pointing to the children, Anthony's earlier relationships with women, and to testimony that Anthony had not told his children or their mothers that he is gay.
As of November, Germany will be the first country in Europe to offer a "third gender" distinction on its birth certificates, the Huffington Post reported. A new statute states that children who are born of indeterminate gender no longer have to be categorized as "male" or "female." Instead, parents can choose to leave the space blank on their child's birth certificate. Earlier this year, Nepal began issuing "third gender" citizenship certificates; in addition, Sweden uses the word "hen," a third-gender pronoun that's an alternative to the masculine "han" or feminine "hon."
