· June, 2011

Stories about LGBTQ+ from June, 2011

Trinidad & Tobago: Progress for Gay Rights

  27 June 2011

gspott says that the President's assention to the Data Protection Act is “of great significance to gay, lesbian and bisexual communities in Trinidad & Tobago” as it “provides heightened protections for ‘sensitive personal information’, which is defined to include one’s ‘sexual orientation or sexual life’.”

Bermuda: Position on Same-Sex Unions

  27 June 2011

Politics.bm looks at “some interesting scenarios [that] could play out…[if] Bermuda Immigration faces the question of a non-Bermudian worker coming to the island with a same sex spouse.”

Jamaica: Call for End to Anti-Gay Violence

  27 June 2011

Labrish remembers the life and work of her cousin, who was murdered on account of “his outspoken efforts to bring about an end to homophobia in Jamaica”, saying: “It is beyond time that the appalling homophobia that is a blight on certain parts of Jamaican society come to an end.”

Cuba: Cuba Votes for LGBT Resolution at UN Human Rights Council

  25 June 2011

The United Nation Human Rights Council passed a resolution expressing “grave concern at the violence and discrimination experienced by people because of their sexual orientation..." Among the nations that supported the measure was Cuba. Cuban bloggers and Twitter users celebrated this significant victory for the island’s LGBT communities.

Ghana: Gays Come Under Fresh Attacks

  25 June 2011

Fresh attacks for gays in Ghana: Delivering a statement on the 30 years of the official discovery of HIV/AIDS on the floor of Parliament, Professor Mike Oquaye, Ghana’s Second Deputy Speaker, described homosexuality as an “abomination” that must be stopped “before the human race was destroyed by something worse than...

Ghana: Let Them Be Gay

  20 June 2011

The Bureau of National Investigations in Ghana has begun investigations into the growing rate of homosexuality in the Western and Central regions. About eight thousand homosexuals have been registered by a non-governmental organization in the Western and Central regions. This has prompted a heated debate in the Ghanaian blogosphere about homosexuality.

Cuba: To Reach Havana

  17 June 2011

“Havana is a sort of forbidden city for people from deep inside Cuba”: Iván's File Cabinet blogs about Cubans who are unwelcome in their own capital city.

Syria: ‘Gay Girl in Damascus’ Seized

Amina Arraf has seen a quick rise to fame. Blogging pseudonymously, as Amina Abdullah, she writes about politics, the recent uprising, and being a lesbian in Syria. A dual citizen of the United States and Syria, her powerful words have shown the reality on the ground in Syria over the past few weeks. Today, on Amina's own blog, it was reported that she had been kidnapped by authorities.

Dominica: Existing Sodomy Law

  6 June 2011

“Either accept it is part of the belief system the country wants to communicate to the world, or consider that controlling sexuality through a combination of religious thought systems and laws is dangerous and repeal the [sodomy] law”: For Caribbean Man, it's all a question of consistency.

Cuba: Backlash?

  5 June 2011

Blogger and gay activist Francisco Cruz Rodríguez questions whether recent op-eds [es] defining marriage as uniquely between a man and a woman, published in the two state-run nationally distributed newspapers Granma [es] and Juventud Rebelde [es], might be in reaction to the IV Cuban Conference Against Homophobia recently held in...

Dominican Republic: “Selective Intolerance”

  5 June 2011

Journalist and blogger María Isabel Soldevila is outraged [es] by how people have reacted to a photo of a newlywed gay couple kissing, published in the front page of the newspaper Listín Diario [es], while they remain apathetic to issues that  are seriously troubling the country.

Bermuda: Why the Homophobia?

  3 June 2011

“While I understand that some people…find the thought of gay relationships and physical sex abhorrent, I don’t understand the level of hatred that they express”: Breezeblog thinks that Bermuda's current attitude to gay rights “is a sad and unacceptable state of affairs.”

Uganda: Gay Activist Granted Asylum in US

  1 June 2011

Ugandan gay activist has been granted asylum in the US, Bridgette reports: “Uganda’s “Kill The Gays” Bill may have had a positive effect, if for at least one man. Kushaba Moses Mworeko must now be relieved that he is no longer facing eminent return to Uganda where he faces incarceration...