Georgia’s parliament advanced a set of bills that would impose sweeping restrictions on LGBTQ+ freedoms and rights—similar to laws passed in Russia, VOA News reported. The legislation, from the ruling Georgian Dream party, includes bans on promoting same-sex relationships and gender-reassignment surgeries. Also, the measures could potentially outlaw LGBTQ+ pride events and public displays of the Pride flag. The package received initial approval with 78 votes from Georgian Dream legislators, while opposition parties boycotted the session. Parliamentary speaker Shalva Papuashvili plans further readings of the bills during the fall session before the general election on Oct. 26.
On July 4, a Japanese court ordered the government to grant refugee status to a gay man from a North African country, ruling against immigration authorities as he could be prosecuted in his home nation, Kyodo News reported. The man in his 30s came to Japan in December 2019, leaving his Islamic home country where having a relationship with a same-sex partner is illegal. He expressed gratitude at a press conference after the decision, saying, “Thank you so much Japan, thank you so much to the court.” He said he wishes to live and work in the country like others do, and hopes the government does not appeal the ruling.
Several hundred people briefly took part in a banned LGBTQ+ Pride Parade in Istanbul, with Turkish authorities detaining some of the participants, per DW.com. The demonstrators marched for about 10 minutes along Bagdad Avenue—a major artery on the Asian side of the city—before dispersing after police intervention. Meanwhile, on the European side of Istanbul, police cordoned off Taksim Square, a traditional gathering place for protests. Istanbul’s governor had banned the LGBTQ+ community from holding a Pride Parade, giving no reasons except to say that “illegal groups” were wanting to hold a protest march without authorization. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said that Pride parades hold a threat to family values; however, homosexuality is not illegal in the country.
In Chile, a group of hooded men attacked and assaulted LGBTQ+-rights activists and others who participated in the annual Pride parade in the country’s capital of Santiago, The Washington Blade noted. Witnesses said the men punched and kicked activists and parade participants, threatened them with a skateboard, threw stones and paint at floats, and damaged parade infrastructure. The Chilean organization Movement for Homosexual Integration and Liberation (Movilh) strongly condemned the acts of violence, saying, “Vandalism that seeks to transgress the peaceful trajectory of our demonstrations and that is only useful to the interests of the homo/transphobic sectors.”
Thousands of people danced, sang and celebrated at Toronto’s Pride Parade—until a protest led to the cancellation of the procession, per The Toronto Star. About 30 demonstrators, calling themselves the Coalition Against Pinkwashing, held banners and chanted “Free Palestine” and “Pride is a protest.” Approximately 45 minutes after the protest began, Pride Toronto announced the remainder of the parade—called Canada’s largest—was cancelled. Toronto authorities gathered farther down the parade route but did not take any action with the protesters, who left Yonge Street about two hours after they shut it down and marched west along Wellesley Street on the sidewalk. Police said they had “adequate resources to address the protest,” but were respecting Pride Toronto’s request that officers not interfere if protesters disrupted the parade.
Also in Canada, a lesbian couple in Halifax, Nova Scotia, were subjected to physical attacks from a group of men who shouted anti-gay slurs at them, per LGBTQ Nation, citing CTV News. Emma MacLean and her girlfriend, Tori, were walking down the street when one of the men allegedly made a rude comment. When Tori replied, “Hey, that’s my girlfriend,” things escalated and the men reportedly started attacking Tori. Authorities spoke with one of the men involved in the incident, and he told them that it was the two women who had initiated the fight; the rest of the men refused to cooperate and provide IDs, however.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said Germany is planning to provide aid for surviving victims of the Nazi occupation in Poland during World War II, according to Yahoo! News. “Germany is aware of the gravity of its guilt, of its responsibility for the millions of victims of the German occupation and of the mission that arises from it,” Scholz said in Warsaw at a press conference with Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk. Scholz did not say when or how much compensation would be paid to the approximately 40,000 victims of the German occupation of Poland who are still alive.
Former Irish President Mary McAleese—who has a gay son and is also a canon lawyer—preached at Dublin’s Christ Church Cathedral, according to a New Ways Ministry column. McAleese told the congregations that the Christians who have worshipped at the church for nearly a millennium often have heard scriptures’ ask people to “Love your neighbor as yourself,” and yet they also witness “time and again what happens when hatred rules human hearts.” However, she also conveyed hope about the ways Ireland has changed and the ways the church can, as well. McAleese was the eighth president of Ireland, from 1997 to 2011.
A week after being applauded for making a pro-trans statement, UK Labour leader and newly elected Prime Minister Keir Starmer issued a troubling statement on trans rights—saying that trans women do not have the right to use women-only spaces, even if they have a gender recognition certificate (GRC), according to PinkNews. In an interview with The Times, Starmer was presented with a question posed by author JK Rowling about whether trans people who have transitioned and have a gender-recognition certificate can use female-only toilets. Starmer replied, “No, they don’t have that right. They shouldn’t. That’s why I’ve always said biological women’s spaces need to be protected.” Starmer had recently criticized Rishi Sunak for an anti-trans joke the outgoing prime minister made in the House of Commons while the mother of murdered transgender teen Brianna Ghey was present.
Latvia’s law allowing same-sex couples to form civil unions is now in effect—and the first queer couples have already registered their unions, per The Los Angeles Blade. Maksims Ringo and Janis Locs were the first same-sex couple to register their civil union, in a ceremony at a legal office in the capital, Riga. They exchanged silver rings, stating that they were saving gold rings for a date when Latvia legalizes same-sex marriage. Last year, the Latvian parliament passed a law formalizing same-sex civil unions; however, the compromise legislation has frustrated some LGBTQ+-rights activists, as it leaves out key rights that same-sex couples demanded.
Gay British acting icon Ian McKellen pulled out of the Player Kings tour following a June 17 fall that resulted in a fractured wrist and other injuries, Deadline noted. The Lord of the Rings actor had initially thought he could return to Player Kings once the UK leg of the tour started; however, the production shared a statement on social media announcing he would step down “with the greatest reluctance.” Understudy David Semark will take McKellen’s place. (Also, McKellen is returning to film work, doing some last-minute “danger free“ post-production voice work for murder mystery movie The Critic.)
Before playing Wimbledon this year, queer Russian tennis player Daria Kasatkina won the Eastbourne International, winning her first grass-court title, ESPN noted, She defeated Leylah Fernandez 6-3, 6-4 in the women’s final, extending her record against the Canadian to 3-0. It was Kasatkina’s seventh career title, and her first since 2022. U.S. player Taylor Fritz won the men’s Eastbourne title, becoming the first man to win the tournament three times.
German athlete Timo Cavelius will be the first out gay man to compete in judo at the Olympics, per Outsports. In May, he finished second at a major meet in Kazakhstan and qualified for the Olympics. Cavelius, 27, has been out as gay since he was 15, telling an outlet in 2020, “A well-known German tabloid actually wanted to do a big story about my sexuality—but because I can’t tell a sad or shocking story about my coming out, they dropped the topic.” Cavelius’ weight class (81 kg, or about 179 pounds) holds its matches on July 30, with the gold medal winner in the field of 64 having to win six matches in a day.
Non-binary alt-R&B singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Forest Claudette will embark on the “& Stone Between” North American tour this September, a press release noted. Claudette will begin their tour at Atlanta’s The Masquerade on Sept. 11 and will spots such as Toronto’s The Drake (Sept. 16) and Chicago’s The Hideout (Sept. 18), among others, before wrapping things up at San Francisco’s Popscene @ Brick & Mortar (Sept. 21). Claudette will open for fellow queer musician Omar Apollo for a series of performances in Australia starting July 15 at Festival Hall in their hometown of Melbourne.
Bridgerton actress Nicola Coughlan—who once said her dream was to “release pop songs, just, exclusively for gay men”—has released a song to raise money for LGBTQ+ organizations, according to them. Coughlan shared that she plans to use the full track—“SHOES… MORE SHOES”—to raise money for two LGBTQ+ charities: Not A Phase, a British grassroots organization that campaigns for the rights of trans people in the UK; and the Trevor Project, a suicide prevention organization that provides crisis support and resources for queer and trans youth. Actors Joe Locke (Heartstopper) and Cynthia Erivo (the upcoming Wicked) were among those who praised the actress, with Erivo adding, “I’m dead. Can the bi girls get a piece of this please??”
The far-right National Rally (RN) party scored historic gains to win the first round of France’s parliamentary election, but the final outcome will depend on days of alliance building before the run-off vote, Reuters reported. On July 1, France’s political parties rushed to build a united front aimed at blocking the path to government of Marine Le Pen’s far-right party. In the election, the RN and its allies received 33% of the vote, followed by a left-wing bloc with 28% and well ahead of President Emmanuel Macron’s centrists, who received just 20% of the vote. It was a huge setback for Macron, who had called the snap election after his ticket was trounced by the RN in the European Parliament election last month.
Brenda Biya—the daughter of Cameroon’s president, Paul Biya—shared an image in which she is kissing another woman, resulting in mixed reactions in a country where same-sex relationships are illegal, the BBC noted. “I’m crazy about you & I want the world to know,” Brenda captioned the photo of her embracing Brazillian model Layyons Valenca, adding a love heart emoji. Transgender Cameroonian activist Shakiro—who lives in Belgium after being convicted of “attempted homosexuality” in Cameroon—was among those who praised Brenda, saying her Instagram post could be a “turning point for the LGBTQ+ community in Cameroon.” Paul, 91, became Cameroon’s president in 1982 and is one of Africa’s longest-ruling leaders.
Mexican rock band and queer allies The Warning released the full-length album, Keep Me Fed, via LAVA/Republic Records, per a press release. About the record, the band stated, “This new album is the result of our rawest emotions and most meaningful connections with people we’ve gotten to know and work with these past few years.” The trio will embark on the “Keep Me Fed” tour this September and October—making stops in New York, Los Angeles, Nashville and more—before joining Evanescence and Halestorm on tour in Canada.
Dominique Boutonnat received a three-year prison sentence—one of which will be custodial—after being found guilty of charges of sexually assaulting his godson, Deadline reported. In addition, he has quit his role as head of France’s National Cinema Centre (CNC). Boutonnat will not serve time in jail but is expected to live under house arrest with an electronic bracelet for the custodial year. He said he would appeal the verdict and sentence. Recently, French actress and MeToo activist Judith Godreche led a demonstration outside the CNC in Paris on the eve of this year’s Cannes Film Festival urging that Boutonnat be suspended.