Over 2,000 leave Mormon Church over new anti-gay rules
More than 2,000 members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints have formally left the church in protest against its increasingly homophobic stance towards gays and lesbians. The mass display of support for the LGBT community saw people gather in Salt Lake City across from the church’s headquarters to submit letters of resignation […]
Homophobic judge drops out of lesbian child foster case
The Utah judge who tried to take a foster child away from a lesbian couple has bowed to pressure and removed himself from the case. Judge Scott Johansen was slammed for ordering the removal of the nine-month-old baby from the home of April Hoagland and Beckie Peirce after he claimed that studies showed that children […]
Kenya “stone the gays” bill officially thrown out
A proposal that called for stoning gay people to death in Kenya has been rejected by the country’s parliament. Daily Nation reported on Monday that the Justice and Legal Affairs Committee threw out the draft law proposed by the Republican Liberty Party. “The committee does not agree with the petitioner’s proposed legislation as it is […]
NG Kerk gay union decision could be set back by two years
There are fears that the decision by the Dutch Reformed Church (DRC) or NG Kerk to recognise same-sex unions and allow non-celibate gay ministers could be put on hold for two years. Conservative members of the DRC have appealed the historic October 9 vote by the church’s General Synod, despite it allowing individual congregations to […]
What do South Africans really think about LGBTI issues?
South Africa stands apart from the criminalisation of homosexuality in Africa, but without surveys, we still don’t know the public’s opinion. There is an increasingly polarised global debate about the place of “gay rights” within international human rights law. On the one hand, many countries, particularly in the global North, have approved legal reforms repealing […]
SA govt finally announces date of LGBTI Africa Regional Seminar
The South African government will host the long-awaited LGBTI Africa Regional Seminar from 3 to 5 March 2016, two years after first promising to do so. This was announced by Deputy Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development, John Jeffery at the launch of the I Serve Equally Campaign, at the Atteridgeville Community Hall in Pretoria […]