7 openly gay lears have served as heads of state. Latvian print Edgars Rkēvičs is the latt

Contents:

• LATVIA BE 7TH NATN TO BE LED BY AN OPENLY GAY HEAD OF STATE
• CALIFORNIA VOTERS WILL BE ASKED TO REAFFIRM GAY MARRIAGE PROTECTNS ON 2024 BALLOT
• I WAS PART OF 303 CREATIVE'S CASE. I BACK GAY MARRIAGE—BUT SCOTUS IS RIGHT
• FACTBOX-GAY MARRIAGE RIGHTS AROUND THE WORLD

LATVIA BE 7TH NATN TO BE LED BY AN OPENLY GAY HEAD OF STATE

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.

”Rkēvičs “proudly” announced he is gay on Twter November 2014, though the untry, a former Soviet republic, is not pecially LGBTQ-clive. 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.

CALIFORNIA VOTERS WILL BE ASKED TO REAFFIRM GAY MARRIAGE PROTECTNS ON 2024 BALLOT

“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.

Ludovic Mar / AFP - Getty Imag fileVaradkar beme Ireland’s first openly gay Taoiseach, or prime mister, 2017 and served until 2020. REUTERS/Serg PerezSummaryPolls suggt right-wg parti will w Spa electnConservativ may form aln wh far-rightLGBTQ+ activists fear a roll back of their rightsMADRID, July 17 (Thomson Rters Foundatn) - The rights of gay, lbian, bisexual and transgenr people have taken centre stage ahead of Spa's July 23 natnal electn. Same-Sex Marriage Legalizatn by CountryThe Dutch triggered a polil and social shift that has spread across large swaths of the globe.People take part the gay pri nga, May 13, 2023, Havana.(YAMIL LAGE/AFP/Getty Imag)Sce the Netherlands beme the first untry to legalize same-sex marriage 2001, more than 30 untri around the world have followed su.On June 20, 2023, Estonia moved to bee the first ex-Soviet bloc untry to legalize the practice, wh s new law takg effect next year.Today, marriage equaly is largely limed to untri North and South Ameri, Europe and Oceania.

The first same-sex marriag took place Northern Ireland Febary 2020.Ecuador legally regnized same-sex marriage after a majory of judg s hight urt led favor of a gay uple sug the untry’s civil registry.

I WAS PART OF 303 CREATIVE'S CASE. I BACK GAY MARRIAGE—BUT SCOTUS IS RIGHT

Prime Mister Xavier Bettel, who is openly gay, supported the measure and beme the first lear of the European Unn to marry his partner.Stland: 2014The Sttish Parliament passed a bill allowg same-sex marriage Febary 2014 and the law took effect later that year. Icelandic Prime Mister Johanna Sigurdardottir ma history Febary 2009 when she beme the untry's first female prime mister and the world's first openly gay head of ernment.Same-sex marriage beme legal Swen on May 1, 2009, followg the enactment of a marriage law passed by the Swedish Parliament early April. Californians will vote on a proposal to amend the state Constutn on the 2024 ballot to reaffirm gay marriage rights — a ut move that amid natnal anxiety after recent lgs by the nservative-leang U.

Although there is no current threat to the legaly of gay marriage, and Print Bin signed a bill safeguardg last year, the Democratic-domant state Legislature is seekg to remove language om California’s Constutn that still f marriage as between a man and outdated state fn has been emed unenforceable and unnstutnal thanks to feral law, but LGBTQ advocy groups are askg voters to repeal and amend the California Constutn to stead explicly state that marriage is “a fundamental right. Four gay upl have asked India's Supreme Court to regnise same-sex marriag, five years after the top urt ma a historic lg to crimalise homosexualy.

In Asia, Taiwan is the only place that currently regnis gay marriag, though prsure is buildg for reforms Japan, Thailand and South Korea. Sourc: ILGA State-Sponsored Homophobia report, Pew Rearch Centre, Thomson Rters Foundatn, Rters, Ipsos LGBT+ Pri 2021 Global Survey. LONDON, March 13 (Thomson Rters Foundatn) - Four gay upl have asked India’s Supreme Court to regnise same-sex marriag, five years after the top urt ma a historic lg to crimalise Asia, Taiwan is the only place that currently regnis gay marriag, though prsure is buildg for reforms Japan, Thailand and South are the key facts about same-sex marriage around the world:* The first untry to legalise same-sex marriage was the Netherlands 2001.

FACTBOX-GAY MARRIAGE RIGHTS AROUND THE WORLD

Same-sex relatns are punishable unr article 338 of the penal by up to two years Algerian urt on September 3, 2020 sentenced two men to prison terms and 42 others to spend terms after mass arrts at what the police alleged was a “gay weddg. In Febary 2021, a new penal me to effect Angola that no longer crimaliz nsensual same-sex nduct, scrappg lonial-era provisns that characterized homosexualy as “vic agast nature.

Human Rights Watch has documented anti-LGBT vlence and threats faced by gay men and trans women Antigua and Royal Police Force of Antigua and Barbuda has unrgone LGBTI sensizatn trag to better protect the rights of LGBTI people, facilated by Caribbean 2016, followg s UN Universal Perdic Review, the mister of social transformatn announced that she was willg to troduce to Cabet a remendatn to repeal the buggery laws, but as of 2021, they rema place Antigua and November 2019, the Eastern Caribbean Alliance for Diversy and Equaly announced planned to lnch a legal challenge agast the crimalizatn of private, nsensual same-sex sexual activy. In Augt 2020, the Court of Appeal led there had not been a proper vtigatn to a vlent homophobic attack 2018 agast a group of LGBT activists, which left at least six activists jured. In January 2019, Artak (Adam) Arakelyan, 19, a queer activist, was subjected to abe and discrimatn at a ary draft board, where officers varly ed homophobic slurs to scribe him, mocked him, and threatened to out him to his father.