Windy City Media Group Frontpage News

THE VOICE OF CHICAGO'S GAY, LESBIAN, BI, TRANS AND QUEER COMMUNITY SINCE 1985

home search facebook twitter join
Gay News Sponsor Windy City Times 2023-12-13
DOWNLOAD ISSUE
Donate

Sponsor
Sponsor
Sponsor

  WINDY CITY TIMES

WORLD Adoption ban, trans soldier, Belgium killing, archbishop
by Windy City Times staff
2021-03-14

This article shared 2602 times since Sun Mar 14, 2021
facebook twitter pin it google +1 reddit email


Same-sex couples will be barred from adopting children in Poland even as single parents, under a new law announced by a nationalist ruling party that has made anti-gay policies a major part of its governing platform, Reuters reported. The announcement is likely to intensify a clash between Poland and the European Union over LGBT rights, which the EU says must be respected in all member states; however, Poland calls LGBT rights a collective threat to its Roman Catholic culture and a purely domestic issue. The Polish government announced its plan for the adoption ban hours before lawmakers in the European parliament adopted a major gay rights resolution that was seen as a direct rebuke to Warsaw's recent policies.

The death of South Korea's first known transgender soldier—discharged last year for undergoing gender-reassignment surgery—has sparked calls from advocacy groups and activists for better protections and acknowledgement of trans residents, NBC News reported. Byun Hui-su, 23, who was a staff sergeant before being discharged, was found dead by emergency officials at her home in the city of Cheongju on March 3. Byun reportedly had been jobless, as all her applications were rejected since she went public when the military discharged her last year after having the operation in Thailand.

In Belgium, three juveniles were arrested for the killing of a gay man they lured to a park using a dating app, out.com noted. According to a report in De Standard, the body of the 42-year-old victim—identified only as David P.—was discovered by a cyclist in a park in Beveren; an autopsy showed the man was violently stabbed and beaten to death. One 17-year-old suspect turned himself into authorities and two others, a 16-year-old and 17-year-old, were later arrested by police who are investigating the murder as a possible hate crime.

In a related matter, the rainbow flag of the LGBT community flew outside the Belgian prime minister's office in relation to the brutal killing, KHON2.com noted. "In our country, there is no place for hatred. Love wins," Prime Minister Alexander De Croo said in a tweet accompanying views of the flag.

The Archbishop of Canterbury condemned his Nigerian counterpart's description of gay people as a "virus," PinkNews reported. In January, the Council of Bishops in the Anglican Church of North America (ACNA) issued an anti-LGBT+ pastoral statement on homosexuality, to act as a set of guidelines for church members across the United States. However, for the Archbishop of Nigeria, Henry Ndukuba, the statement was not homophobic enough, as he recently said, "The deadly 'virus' of homosexuality has infiltrated ACNA." The Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby—the symbolic head of the worldwide Anglican Communion as well as the leader of the Church of England—has now condemned Ndukuba's language as "unacceptable."

Britain's government promised to push ahead with a ban on so-called conversion therapy, after three LGBT+ policy advisers questioned ministers' commitment to fulfilling the pledge and resigned in protest, Openly News reported. Junior Equalities Minister Kemi Badenoch angered LGBTQ+-rights advocates by talking of "ending" conversion therapy rather than committing to a legislative ban. But Liz Truss, women and equalities minister, said the government was committed to the pledge it made almost three years ago to outlaw the practice.

A Bangladeshi satellite television station has hired the country's first transgender news anchor, saying it hopes the appointment will help change society, ABC News reported. Tashnuva Anan Shishir, a former rights activist and actress, debuted on Dhaka-based Boishakhi TV on International Women's Day. She read a three-minute news bulletin, and after finishing cried as her colleagues applauded and cheered.

A group of lawmakers in Ghana want to criminalize the promotion of LGBT+ rights—a move that comes weeks after a community center for sexual minorities was shut down following strong opposition from politicians and church organizations, Openly News reported. Parliamentarian Samuel Nartey George, from the opposition National Democratic Congress, said he and seven other members of Parliament hoped their private members' bill to ban LGBT+ advocacy would be passed before the parliamentary session ends March 31.

Italy's Constitutional Court stated the country urgently needs a law on the rights of children of same-sex couples, in a step campaigners said did not go far enough, RFI.fr reported. The court issued rulings in two separate cases: a lesbian couple who had children using medically-assisted reproduction abroad, and two men in a civil partnership who had a child via surrogacy in Canada. In both cases, the court ruled that the children's rights were not sufficiently protected and that parliament needed to pass a law to rectify the situation.

The Delhi high court directed the Delhi Police to provide protection to a lesbian who was forced to live a married life and was threatened to be "cured" of her sexual orientation, The Wire reported. Justice Mukta Gupta said the woman is at liberty to shift to a different location if she wishes to and asked the police to take all necessary steps to provide her protection at her new place. The 23-year-old woman, who was forcibly married to a man in October 2019 despite her parents being aware of her sexual orientation, said in the plea that she tried multiple times to put an end to the relationship.

A gay CNN journalist's own surprises through an at-home DNA test pushed him into the world of podcasting, where he leads others through genealogical revelations, according to the Bay Area Reporter. Samuel Burke—currently stationed in London with CNN's overseas networks—is also planning a streaming series and book companions for "Suddenly Family," which is now available. One DNA surprise yielded a sister of Burke's mother who she had never met or heard of.

In Australia, out news journalist Mark Reddie recalled how he and his friends were victims of a hateful attack during the recent Mardi Gras celebrations in Sydney, out.com noted. While walking along Riley Street in the Darlinghurst neighborhood, Reddie said he and his friends were assaulted with eggs by a group of men in a car; other celebrants were attacked as well. The journalist reported the crime to police, who are asking for help from the public in their investigation. Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras Parade is a hallmark of the Australian LGBTQ+ community, which doubles as a wildly grand celebration of queer pride and their long struggle for acceptance in the nation.

Russian film distributors censored an intimate scene between Colin Firth and Stanley Tucci in the movie Supernova, out.com noted, citing The Moscow Times. Unnamed sources who have viewed the edited version of the 2020 film about a gay couple coming to terms with one partner's early onset dementia, and said at least one scene was removed from the Russian version. The Russian distributor World Pictures reportedly made the cuts out of fear of country's new anti-LGBTQ+ laws that make it illegal to promote homosexuality to children.

Italy's arthouse cinemas marked International Women's Day (March 8) by symbolically reopening to stage "closed door" screenings of films and documentaries directed by female filmmakers in empty venues across the country, Variety noted. In a statement, the country's association of arthouse cinemas, called FICE, noted that besides being International Women's Day, March 8, 2021, also marks exactly one year from the date in 2020 when Italian cinemas were forced to shutter due to the coronavirus crisis. Thus, the move was also a preamble of sorts to the possible real opening of some Italian movie theaters later this month.

Italian actor, model, singer, entrepreneur and actor (Netflix's 365 Days) Michele Morrone released his new single "Beautiful," accompanied by a cinematic music video, a press release noted. His debut album, Dark Room, spawned a string of singles, including "Hard For Me," "Feel It," "Watch Me Burn" and the title track. The video is at www.youtube.com/watch .


This article shared 2602 times since Sun Mar 14, 2021
facebook twitter pin it google +1 reddit email

Out and Aging
Presented By

  ARTICLES YOU MIGHT LIKE

Gay News

NATIONAL Political candidates, flag controversy, HRC gala, New York Times, Disney
2024-03-29
In California, of the historic 30 LGBTQ+ legislative candidates who ran in the March 5 primary, more than half are moving on to the fall ballot, The Bay Area Reporter noted. Based on the still unofficial ...


Gay News

Lambda Legal Launches "Speak OUT" awareness campaign uplifting trans, nonbinary voices
2024-03-28
--From a press release. VIDEO BELOW - (NEW YORK, NY — March 28, 2024) In advance of Transgender Day of Visibility, Lambda Legal, the nation's oldest and largest legal nonprofit working to achieve full equal rights for LGBTQ people and everyone living with ...


Gay News

Nex Benedict's autopsy report released
2024-03-27
The full autopsy report for Nex Benedict (he/they)—a 16-year-old transgender and Indigenous student from Oklahoma's Owasso High School who died in February a day after a school fight—has been released. The Oklahoma Office of the Chie ...


Gay News

Thailand parliament passes landmark marriage bill
2024-03-27
On March 27, Thailand's parliament approved a marriage-equality bill by an overwhelmingly large margin—a landmark step that moves one of Asia's most liberal countries closer to legalizing same-sex unions, media ...


Gay News

An interstate trans healthcare crisis: Illinois prepares for influx of people seeking gender-affirming care
2024-03-26
With hard-won rights, such as access to hormone replacement therapy or permission to use one's chosen pronouns in school, breaking down in states across the country, trans residents of all ages are left with a choice: ...


Gay News

Wyoming is latest state to ban gender-affirming care for minors
2024-03-24
On March 22, Wyoming became the latest state to prohibit gender-affirming care for minors, The Hill noted. In doing so, it joined 23 other states that passed laws restricting or banning the treatment. Legislators in both ...


Gay News

Family of 2004 murder victim holds event in Lake View; reward announced
2024-03-24
The year 2004, for the family and friends of Lake View resident Kevin Clewer, will forever be marked by tragedy. On March 24 of that year, Clewer, 31, was found in his apartment at 3444 N. Elaine Pl.; he was the ...


Gay News

No charges filed in Nex Benedict fight; campaigns call for Walters' removal
2024-03-22
In Oklahoma, Tulsa County District Attorney Stephen Kunzweiler announced that no charges will be filed in connection with the fight that happened the day before transgender, nonbinary high school student Nex Benedict died by suicide, NBC ...


Gay News

JP Karliak morphs into non-binary character for Disney+'s X-Men '97
2024-03-22
series X-Men '97, a revival of the popular X-men: The Animated Series that's both continuing the ongoing mutant storyline and breaking new ground along the way. The character of Morph now looks more like the comic ...


Gay News

NATIONAL Va. marriage bill, AARP, online counseling, Idaho items, late activist
2024-03-21
Republican Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin signed bills protecting same-sex marriages at a state level, surprising some, WRIC reported. The bills—passed out of both chambers along mostly party lines—will require clerks ...


Gay News

Almost 8% of U.S. residents identify as LGBTQ+
2024-03-16
The proportion of U.S. adults identifying as LGBTQ+ continues to increase. LGBTQ+ identification in the U.S. continues to grow, with 7.6% of U.S. adults now identifying as LGBTQ+, according to the newest Gallup poll results that ...


Gay News

WORLD Leaked messages, Panama action, author dies at 32, Japan court, out athletes
2024-03-15
Hundreds of messages from an internal chat board for an international group of transgender health professionals were leaked in a report and framed as revealing serious health risks associated with gender-affirming care, including cancer, according to ...


Gay News

NATIONAL Missouri measure, HIV/AIDS Awareness Day, judge, Texas schools
2024-03-15
In Missouri, a newly proposed law could charge teachers and counselors with a felony and require them to register as sex offenders if they're found guilty of supporting transgender students who are socially transitioning, CNN noted. ...


Gay News

College athletes sue NCAA over transgender policies
2024-03-15
Former Kentucky swimmer Riley Gaines was among a group of college athletes who filed a lawsuit against the NCAA on March 14, accusing it of violating their Title IX rights by allowing trans swimmer Lia Thomas ...


Gay News

SHOWBIZ Lady Gaga, 'P-Valley,' Wendy Williams, Luke Evans, 'Queer Eye,' 'Transition'
2024-03-15
Lady Gaga came to the defense of Dylan Mulvaney after a post with the trans influencer/activist for International Women's Day received hateful responses, People Magazine noted. On Instagram, Gaga stated, "It's appalling to me that a ...


 


Copyright © 2024 Windy City Media Group. All rights reserved.
Reprint by permission only. PDFs for back issues are downloadable from
our online archives.

Return postage must accompany all manuscripts, drawings, and
photographs submitted if they are to be returned, and no
responsibility may be assumed for unsolicited materials.

All rights to letters, art and photos sent to Nightspots
(Chicago GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times (a Chicago
Gay and Lesbian News and Feature Publication) will be treated
as unconditionally assigned for publication purposes and as such,
subject to editing and comment. The opinions expressed by the
columnists, cartoonists, letter writers, and commentators are
their own and do not necessarily reflect the position of Nightspots
(Chicago GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times (a Chicago Gay,
Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender News and Feature Publication).

The appearance of a name, image or photo of a person or group in
Nightspots (Chicago GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times
(a Chicago Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender News and Feature
Publication) does not indicate the sexual orientation of such
individuals or groups. While we encourage readers to support the
advertisers who make this newspaper possible, Nightspots (Chicago
GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times (a Chicago Gay, Lesbian
News and Feature Publication) cannot accept responsibility for
any advertising claims or promotions.

 
 

TRENDINGBREAKINGPHOTOS







Sponsor


 



Donate


About WCMG      Contact Us      Online Front  Page      Windy City  Times      Nightspots
Identity      BLACKlines      En La Vida      Archives      Advanced Search     
Windy City Queercast      Queercast Archives     
Press  Releases      Join WCMG  Email List      Email Blast      Blogs     
Upcoming Events      Todays Events      Ongoing Events      Bar Guide      Community Groups      In Memoriam     
Privacy Policy     

Windy City Media Group publishes Windy City Times,
The Bi-Weekly Voice of the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Trans Community.
5315 N. Clark St. #192, Chicago, IL 60640-2113 • PH (773) 871-7610 • FAX (773) 871-7609.