On the day of the largest mass shooting in U.S. history, carried out against patrons at a gay club by a man officials say gave explicit allegiance to the militant group ISIS, an openly gay Toronto MP took to Twitter with a message he said "needs to be shared," CBC.ca reported. Rob Oliphant tweeted, "Needs to be shared: I am an openly gay MP elected by the largest Muslim community in Canada #cdnpoli #orlando #DVW." Speaking at a vigil attended by hundreds in Toronto's Church and Wellesley village, Oliphant, married to Marco Fiola since 2005, said he had two impulses: to reach out to the LGBT and Muslim communities.
Prince William and Kate signed a book of condolence to the victims of the Orlando gay-club tragedy, according to PinkNews. The pair wrote, "With our deepest condolences and with our thoughts and prayers to all those affected. William and Catherine." The book of condolence is placed in front of a flag marking LGBT rights, which was given to the embassy in 2012 by the Kaleidoscope Trust. Vigils have been taking place across the world, with thousands of LGBT people and allies taking to the streets to show solidarity.
The Eiffel Tower is among the landmarks to have lit up in rainbow colors in solidarity with the LGBT community after the Orlando terror attacks, PinkNews reported. One World Trade Center, city halls at Tel Aviv and Sydney ( among other cities ), the UK's National Theatre and Minnesota's Lowry Avenue bridge were among other structures also lit in similar colors.
The World Health Organization has congratulated Thailand as the first country in the Asia-Pacific region to eliminate mother-to-child transmission of HIV and syphilis, CNN reported. It is also the first with a "large HIV epidemic" to eradicate mother-to-child transmission of the diseases. In 2014, an estimated 450,000 people were living with HIV in Thailand.
Ukraine held its first major LGBT Pride march recently, On Top Magazine noted. Approximately 1,000 people marched surrounded by tight security in the capital of Kiev. Despite threats of violence, the event was peaceful. The Associated Press reported that "several thousand" police officers were dispatched to protect marchers.
A gay Muslim cleric who officiated secret same-sex weddings for gay couples in Iran tracks his journey from discovering his own sexuality to where he is now, living as a refugee in Turkey while waiting for resettlement in Canada in a new BBC investigative report, NewNowNext reported. In the report, Taha explains that as a Muslim cleric, or mullah, he was expected to enforce homophobic sharia law and condemn homosexuality in Iran, where being gay is punishable by death. Because he refused, Taha said life at home became increasingly difficult and he was forced to flee.
In Australia, an Uber driver has been fired after allegedly subjecting a lesbian couple to anti-gay abuse in Melbourne, The Huffington Post reported. Lucy Thomas and her girlfriend told the Star Observer they were verbally slandered and physically threatened by the Uber driver during a ride home. Thomas said the driver became abusive when he realized they were a couple and then started yelling names, including calling the pair "faggots."
On June 3, approximately 200,000 people attended Tel Aviv's annual gay pride parade—the largest event of its kind in the Middle East, ABC News noted. Parts of the bustling city shut for traffic and loud music blasted along the parade's route, which was crowded with people dancing and waving balloons and rainbow flags. A minute of silence was held at the Tel Aviv parade to remember and honor 16-year-old Shira Banki, who was killed in an attack at Jerusalem Pride in 2015.
Australian newspapers reported that British-born Farrokh Sekaleshfar arrived in Sydney as a guest speaker of the Imam Husain Islamic Centre—but Australia is considering cancelling his visa in light of his anti-gay views, The Irish Independent noted. When asked about homosexuality at a lecture at the University of Michigan in 2013, Sekaleshfar reportedly said, "Death is the sentence." Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said the Department of Immigration and Border Protection is reviewing Sekaleshfar's visa.
A senior Russian police official has claimed his French counterparts were unable to handle Russia's "normal" soccer fans in Marseille, France, because they are more used to policing "gay parades," ESPNFC.us reported. Vladimir Markin, a spokesman for Russia's equivalent of the FBI, made the comment on his verified Twitter account. England and Russia fans clashed before and after a 1-1 draw in Marseille, with the Russian fans charging their English counterparts inside the Stade Velodrome at the final whistle.
The chairman of Ireland's only all-male gay soccer team has described a joke made by Republic of Ireland manager Martin O'Neill as unhelpful and disappointing, The Irish Times reported. O'Neill made a joke about not wanting people to think he and assistant manager Roy Keane were "queers" at an event at the Cork Opera House. Dublin Devils FC chairman John McAree said the comment sent the wrong message to LGBTI teens.
The Caribbean Court of Justice ( CCJ ) dismissed a case to strike down laws that bar gay people from entering Belize as well as Trinidad and Tobago, The Daily Xtra noted. However, Jamaican gay activist Maurice Tomlinson, who brought the case forward, characterizes the result as "losing to win." The court accepted testimony from Belize that its immigration law is not intended to prevent all gay people from entering the country—only those who engage in prostitution.
British playwright Sir Peter Shaffer, best known for the award-winning dramas Equus and Amadeus, died after a brief illness at age 90, NewNowNext.com noted. Born in Liverpool, Shaffer wrote more than 18 plays, including 1964's The Royal Hunt of the Sun and 1990's Lettice and Lovage, which earned Maggie Smith a Tony. Shaffer was gay, although, as the The Guardian put it, he "[belonged] to a generation of writers who, even after the removal of the legal jeopardy to homosexuality, neither wrote about the subject directly nor spoke about his private life in interviews."
In Romania, 3 million people have signed a petition to ban same-sex marriage—and, in doing so, have started a war on gay rights between religious conservatives and young liberals, Gay Star News reported. Currently the constitution uses gender neutral language to describe marriage, defining it as a union of two people. This has conservatives nervous, seeing the rise of LGBTI rights across the world, and so it has launched a campaign to make sure same-sex marriage doesn't happen in the central European country by any means possible.
The Alberta Rockies Gay Rodeo Association ( ARGRA ) announced last month that the annual Canadian Rockies International Rodeo and Music Festival has been cancelled, CTVNews.ca reported. No reason has been given for the cancellation of the 22-year-old event that was Canada's largest gay rodeo. With no information about refunds, rodeo fans still don't know if their $99 passes to the June 30-July 3 event will be refunded.
Daniel Rodriguez—a 23-year-old model who snagged the crown at the International Mister Spain 2016 pageant in Playa de Aro—has publicly come out as gay in the wake of his major win, according to NewNowNext. The Tenerife native beat 47 other contestants on his way to the top, and will move on to represent Spain at the Mister International pageant in Toronto this fall. According to ABC, it's the first time an openly gay man has held the Mister Spain title.
A police sergeant who responded to a report of an assault at a gay bar in Glasgow, Scotland, apparently delighted patrons when he stayed on to do a karaoke rendition of the disco classic "I Will Survive," Advocate.com reported. Sgt. Jon Harris was called to the Waterloo Bar night to handle the incident, which led to the arrest of a 23-year-old man. After Harris did his duty, patrons and staff persuaded him to join them in karaoke. He responded with a rendition of the song, and a video of his performance has lit up the internet.
