Official News Outlet for the Rainbow Round Table of the American Library Association
By John Mack Freeman Russia has put its weight behind an effort to remove language from a resolution related to AIDS that would have urged countries to decriminalize homosexuality and drug use. Via Radio Free Europe: Russia was joined by Iran, Poland, and several Gulf states in blocking the decriminalization language from being included in […]
By John Mack Freeman The Russian State Duma has rejected a bill that would have criminalized coming out by GLBT people. Via Radio Free Europe: The Russian State Duma Committee on Constitutional Legislation and State-Building has declined to endorse a controversial draft bill that would introduce fines and arrests for people who publicly express their […]
By John Mack Freeman The Ukraine may lose an agreement with the European Union that would allow its citizens visa-free travel within member nations because of the Ukraine’s rejection of a law that would have banned GLBT discrimination. This is widely seen as yet another battleground over the Ukraine’s divided population that has one faction […]
By John Mack Freeman A new proposed law would make coming out by LGBT people a crime. Via Advocate.com: The new bill is being drafted as an amendment to Russia’s infamous ban on “propaganda of nontraditional sexual relations,” which currently imposes fines and censure for any person or agency making pro-LGBT statements in any venue […]
By John Mack Freeman The legislature of Kyrgyzstan approved an anti-gay propaganda bill modeled off of Russia’s infamous law in a second reading of the law this week. 90 legislators voted in favor of the bill with only two opposing. The bill must be voted on at a third reading, projected for October, but it […]
By John Mack Freeman A gay rights rally in central Moscow was broken up on Saturday, May 30th by the Russian police. The police detained over 20 people, including some anti-gay protesters that had attacked the gay rights rally. The rally was held after Moscow denied the group the right to hold a rally within […]
By John Mack Freeman A new study from ILGA shows that the number of countires that criminalize homosexuality has dropped from 92 to 76 from 2005 to 2015. Some of the top sheet results include: there are 117 countries (UN Members) where same sex sexual acts between adults in private are legal. Mozambique and Palau […]
By John Mack Freeman It seems like the Winter Olympics cannot be discussed without noting the problematic stance of the hosts on GLBT rights. In 2014, we covered extensively how the gay propaganda law in Russia caused an intense backlash against that country, the Olympics, and its sponsors. This turmoil led to a handful of […]
