As Edgars Rkēvičs be the first openly gay print Latvia’s history, here’s a glimpse at other openly gay heads of state om around the world.
Contents:
- LATVIA BE 7TH NATN TO BE LED BY AN OPENLY GAY HEAD OF STATE
- LGBT RIGHTS AI: WILL KENYA BE THE LATT TO PASS ANTI-GAY LAW?
- 40 BT GAY DTATNS WORLDWI, ACRDG TO TRAVELERS
- GAY RIGHTS AROUND THE WORLD: WHERE ARE WE AT?
LATVIA BE 7TH NATN TO BE LED BY AN OPENLY GAY HEAD OF STATE
* gay around the world *
Latvia swore the first openly gay print of a Baltic natn Rkēvičs, who sce 2011 was the untry’s foreign mister, was elected by Parliament May after Print Egils Levs did not seek re-electn. She is thought to be the first openly gay prime mister the was an active unnist her nearly 10 years workg as a flight attendant, acrdg to the Council of Women World Lears, a work of female heads of state.
”Xavier Bettel Prime Mister of Luxembourg (2013-prent)Luxembourg Prime Mister Xavier Bettel at a news nference Belgra, Serbia, on July Vojovic / APBettel was first elected prime mister of Luxembourg 2013, and 2018 he beme the first openly gay prime mister the world to be re-elected for a send marriage beme legal Luxembourg 2015, and the same year Bettel beme the first servg European Unn lear to marry a same-sex partner, the BBC recently cricized a Hungarian law that bans school tnal materials and TV shows for people unr 18 that are emed to promote LGBTQ ntent, Rters reported. “To be natnally blamed, to be nsired as not normal, to be nsired as a danger for young people — ’s not realizg that beg gay is not a choice, ” Bettel said, acrdg to Rters.
“Hopefully this will blow over three or four days, and then I won’t be known as the gay mister, ” she told The Associated Prs at the Varadkar Prime Mister of Ireland (2017-20, 2022-prent)Irish Prime Mister Leo Varadkar Bssels on June 30. Image source, Getty ImagIn the latt sign of risg homophobia different Ain untri, a Kenyan opposn MP is leadg a mpaign for parliament to further crimalise the untry's small LGBTQ muny.
LGBT RIGHTS AI: WILL KENYA BE THE LATT TO PASS ANTI-GAY LAW?
The gay athlete said he is ‘heartbroken’ over the cisn to exclu him om the World Champnships. * gay around the world *
Gee Peter Kaluma's move after neighbourg Uganda adopted a tough new anti-gay law, rejectg threats by US Print Joe Bin to impose sanctns and travel rtrictns on "anyone volved ser human rights ab". "We want to prohib everythg to do wh homosexualy, " Mr Kaluma tells me, addg that his bill will be much broar than the legislatn passed by Uganda's parliament and approved by Print Yoweri Meveni May. The Ugandan law is regard as one of the harsht anti-LGBTQ laws the propos life imprisonment for anyone nvicted of homosexualy, and the ath penalty for so-lled aggravated s, which clu havg gay sex wh someone below the age of 18 or where someone be fected wh a life-long illns such as the other si of the ntent, MPs Ghana earlier this month unanimoly voted favour of amendments to the untry's anti-gay legislatn, phg closer to beg enacted to law.
Though ls harsh than Uganda's new law, the Promotn of Proper Human Sexual Rights and Ghanaian Fay Valu Bill propos a three-year prison sentence for anyone who intifi as LGBTQ and a 10-year sentence for anyone who promot homosexualy. Gay sex is already illegal Kenya, but the ernment n also be tolerant of gay people - for example, has given asylum to people om other Ain untri, cludg Uganda, who faced persecutn their home untri bee of their sexual orientatn. Image source, Getty ImagImage ptn, Many Kenyans believe that gay rights are agast their relign - whether Christian or MlimAlthough the meetg Uganda was billed as an attempt to protect the "sovereignty" of Ain stat, was actually -sponsored by an Amerin Christian right-wg anisatn, Fay Watch Internatnal (FWI) Kapya Kaoma, a Zambian prit the Anglin Church and an amic at Boston Universy the US, says Ain untri are beg targeted by FWI and siar US-based anisatns, and that the impact of s lobbyg has been "horrible and humane" parts of Ai, fuellg what he lls "ant homophobia".
40 BT GAY DTATNS WORLDWI, ACRDG TO TRAVELERS
Pl, 2019 Pan Am Gam gold medallist Tomas Gonzalez out as gay and a look back at Team France on the uneven bars at Athens 2004 * gay around the world *
"It is one thg to say: 'I don't agree wh you beg gay', but we didn't have the ant one, where policians now are sayg: 'You go to jail for life, you go to jail for talkg about beg gay, you go to jail bee you're livg wh your fellow woman', " Dr Kaoma says.
"It sensis children to sex, " she Slater also quot om the manual, cludg l which say that facilators of lsons should have "a ntral, acceptg attu towards homosexualy". Pl, 2019 Pan Am Gam gold medallist Tomas Gonzalez out as gay and a look back at Team France on the uneven bars at Athens 2004 (Dan O' Connor/SPP)Atralian gymnastics natnal champn Heath Thorpe was not named to the natn’s men’s squad for September’s World Artistic Gymnastics Champnships Antwerp, Belgium. Mt-vis LGBTIQ+ neighborhood: The heart of gay Sydney is the Darlghurst neighborhood, which is nveniently loted near Sydney’s central bs district and is easily accsible by the cy’s mass trans system.
Mt-vis LGBTIQ+ neighborhood: The heart of Berl’s LGBTIQ+ activy is Schöneberg, which has had gay and lbian bars sce the 1920s, makg one of the olst gay boroughs on the pla. “Rsia should reverse s outrageo policy and ensure rights to inty, fay life, and medil re for lbian, gay, bisexual, and transgenr people – startg wh reversg the anti-trans law. Sce the first same-sex marriag took place the Netherlands 2001, more than 30 other jurisdictns have enacted laws allowg gays and lbians to marry, mostly Europe and the Ameris.
GAY RIGHTS AROUND THE WORLD: WHERE ARE WE AT?
People around the world face vlence and equaly—and sometim torture, even executn—bee of who they love, how they look, or who they are. Sexual orientatn and genr inty are tegral aspects of our selv and should never lead to discrimatn or abe. Human Rights Watch works for lbian, gay, bisexual, and transgenr peopl' rights, and wh activists reprentg a multiplicy of inti and issu. We document and expose ab based on sexual orientatn and genr inty worldwi, cludg torture, killg and executns, arrts unr unjt laws, unequal treatment, censorship, medil ab, discrimatn health and jobs and hog, domtic vlence, ab agast children, and nial of fay rights and regnn. We advote for laws and polici that will protect everyone’s digny. We work for a world where all people n enjoy their rights fully. * gay around the world *
Netherlands2001EuropeFirst untry to legalize same-sex marriage after Parliament passed the law December Zealand 2013Asia-PacificFirst untry the Asia-Pacific regn to allow gays and lbians to 2009EuropeThe law replaced a 1993 statute permtg civil unns. Slovenia 2022EuropeFirst untry formerly munist Eastern Europe to legalize same-sex Ai 2006Sub-Saharan AiOnly Ain untry where same-sex marriage is legal; several untri on the ntent have passed laws that ban homosexualy recent 2005EuropeBeme the third untry globally to legalize same-sex marriage after a vote s closely divid 2009EuropeGay and lbian upl Swen prevly had been allowed to register for civil unns sce 1995. 1%) st ballots favor of legalizg same-sex marriage a 2021 2019Asia-PacificA urt lg prompted a change the law that ma Taiwan the first jurisdictn Asia to perm gays and lbians to Kgdom 2014EuropeLegal same-sex marriage took effect Northern Ireland 2020, six years after the change England and Wal.
Sort through the more than 30 jurisdictns that have enacted laws allowg gays and lbians to marry. * gay around the world *
In 15 untri across Ai, Asia and South Ameri -- om India, recently home to the world's first openly gay prce, to Argenta, the first untry Lat Ameri to grant marriage equaly -- they found the spirg stori and the urageo, rilient and proud Supergays they had been lookg talk was prented at an official TED nference. Most of the cy’s excg gay nightlife is Le Marais, cludg the well-known Le Raidd, Everyone lov stoppg by Raidd for sexy “shower shows” where you n tch a ltle risqué performance. Rambunct drag bnch rtrants like Hamburger Mary’s, evengs dancg at The Abbey, and pesg quirky ems at gay shops like Block Party WeHo are all classic experienc for LGBT travelers.
As a gay uple San Francis, Jenni Chang and Lisa Dazols had a relatively easy time livg the way they wanted. But outsi the bubble of the Bay Area, what was life like for people still lackg basic rights? They set off on a world tour search of "Supergays," LGBT people who were dog somethg extraordary the world. In 15 untri across Ai, Asia and South Ameri -- om India, recently home to the world's first openly gay prce, to Argenta, the first untry Lat Ameri to grant marriage equaly -- they found the spirg stori and the urageo, rilient and proud Supergays they had been lookg for. * gay around the world *
An epic gay rort statn, Torremolos is popular wh Spaniards and other southern Europeans, but gay travelers om other areas of the world typilly often don’t even know about ! Handsome men dancg at Klter and the Tanga party always e to md when I thk of Madrid—nowhere else the world have I walked to a packed multi-level gay club at 7:30 PM!
Bee of this breadth, termg each untry's level of LGBTQI+ support requir the parison of many ditors, rangg om whether gay marriage is legal to whether LGBTQI+ dividuals are accepted by the general populatn or subjected to discrimatn and possible vigilante vlence. LGBT and LGBTQ+ have several addnal variatns, cludg LGBTQ, LGBTQIA, LGBTQIA+, and 2SLGBTQIA+ (Two-spir, lbian, gay, bisexual, transgenr, queer, qutng, tersex, and asexual, wh the + reprentg pansexual, agenr, genr queer, bigenr, genr variant, and pangenr). Acrdg to the Internatnal Lbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Associatn's annual report State-Sponsored Homophobia, same-sex nduct was crimalized 67 of the Uned Natns' 193 member stat 2020 and was facto illegal two more.