BACKWARD US STATE LAWMAKERS RETAIN GAY SEX BAN LAW
Despite anti-sodomy laws being invalid in the US, lawmakers in the state of Louisiana refused on Tuesday to remove its ban on sodomy from the law books. Under pressure from powerful Christian lobby group the Louisiana Family Forum, the majority of the House of Representatives voted against repealing the outdated and unenforceable law (66 against […]
WHERE TO FOR CAPE TOWN PRIDE?
At a meeting on 12 April convened by Ikasi Pride, members of a divided gay and lesbian community discussed the future of gay pride in the city, its steady depoliticisation, its lack of community outreach and its image problem. Ikasi Pride’s stated aim was “to discuss amongst ourselves as the [gay and lesbian] community, ways […]
FINLAND TO RELEASE TOM OF FINLAND STAMPS
Who said stamp collecting was a boring pastime? Finland is set to release a set of homoerotic stamps commemorating the iconic gay fetish artist Tom of Finland. According to a press release by Itella Posti, the Finish postal service, the three stamps will be released in September. Itella said that the stamps will honour “one of […]
GAYS TO BE STONED TO DEATH IN BRUNEI
Brunei has joined the shameful group of nations in which people can be executed for having gay sex. The predominantly Muslim country in Southeast Asia has adopted a new penal code that introduces stoning to death as the specific method of execution for “crimes” of a sexual nature. These include rape, adultery, sodomy and extramarital […]
INDIA RECOGNISES THIRD GENDER
India’s Supreme Court has ordered the Indian government to officially recognise transgender people as a third gender. In the ground-breaking move, the country’s highest court ruled that trans people must be allowed to select a third gender category of “transgender” in all official documents. The ruling is expected to help the marginalised millions who don’t identify as one […]
GAY MAN MURDERED, MUTILATED IN CAPE TOWN
Another apparent LGBT horror murder has come to light, this time in the Cape Town township of Manenberg. According to the Reach for Life Foundation, 24-year-old Aswin Albrecht was allegedly killed by seven gang members on the 16th of March. The NGO’s Lolita Marcelee told Mambaonline that Albrecht’s body was found in a field near […]
CALL FOR POPE TO STOP HARMING GAY YOUTH
A letter calling on Pope Francis to consider the impact the Catholic Church’s teaching is having on LGBT youth was published in the New York Times on Sunday. In the letter, written by Carl Siciliano, the Executive Director of the Ali Forney Center, the Pontiff is asked to stop church teaching labelling being gay as […]
ETHIOPIA: GAYS ACCUSED OF RAPING CHILDREN
Anti-gay groups in Ethiopia are accusing gays of child rape as a wave of homophobic fervour spreads across Africa. AP has reported that an anti-gay demonstration has been planned for later this month while Ethiopian lawmakers are expected to make homosexuality a non-pardonable offence. The April 26 rally is being organised by the government-affiliated Addis Ababa […]
HOMOPHOBIC HOME AFFAIRS STILL REJECTING GAY COUPLES
The Department of Home Affairs is struggling with firmly entrenched homophobia as another gay couple is refused marriage services. And the problem appears to be spreading. Two weeks ago, Lance Ledingham went to the Home Affairs office in North End, Port Elizabeth, to make an appointment to marry his partner of 22 years, Craig Durant. […]
AFRICAN GAY ARTISTS TO SHOW IN SENEGAL
A groundbreaking art exhibition about LGBTI Africans is stirring controversy in its host country Senegal, where homosexuality is illegal. The exhibition, Precarious Imaging: Visibility and Media Surrounding African Queerness, is set to take place from 11 May in Dakar, as part of the informal programme for Dak’Art 2014, the 11th Biennale of Contemporary African Art. Curator Ato Malinda […]