Politics, pop culture and entertainment news of interest to the LGBTQ community
In an interview with 60 Minutes Sunday night, Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyoming) told CBS News’ Leslie Stahl she was “wrong” to denounce same-sex marriage in 2013, and now supports marriage equality. Continue reading “Rep. Liz Cheney Now Says ‘I Was Wrong’ On Marriage Equality”
Lagging behind but they got there: Switzerland has voted to legalize same-sex marriage by a wide margin of 64.1% approving the measure. A majority in all of the nation’s cantons, or states, said ‘yes’ to marriage equality. Continue reading “Switzerland Approves Same-Sex Marriage By Wide Margin”
Tens of thousands in Switzerland expressed their support for marriage equality ahead of a national referendum on September 26. Continue reading “Tens Of Thousands Rally In Support Of Marriage Equality In Switzerland”
Some news items you might have missed:
• Instinct Magazine: Moderna is using the same mRNA platform as its COVID-19 vaccine to create and test two possible HIV vaccines. Both vaccines have cleared initial safety testing and are moving on to human trials. Continue reading “News Round-Up: August 16, 2021”
A member of a local school board in Maine has been asked to resign after posting social media remarks opposing Pride Month and calling same-sex marriage “a rape of the natural world.” Continue reading “Maine School Official Calls Same-Sex Marriage ‘Rape Of The Natural World’”
Houston news anchor (and all-around hottie) Steven Romo recently shared with his social media followers he’d proposed to Houston meteorologist (and fellow hottie) Stephen Morgan. Continue reading “News Anchor Announces Engagement To Meteorologist”
The Washington Blade: reports a bill has passed in Chile’s Senate that would make same-sex marriage legal in the South American country.
On June 1, President Sebastián Piñera publicly announced his support for marriage equality and asked lawmakers to expedite legislation on the issue. The bill now heads to the Chilean House of Representatives.
Although same-sex couples have been able to enter into civil unions in Chile since 2015, the country’s conservative ruling party has been slow to pass marriage rights for LGBTQ couples.
Currently, the only South American countries to legally recognize same-sex marriage are Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, and Uruguay.
Six years ago today, the United States took a huge leap forward in equal rights for all when the Supreme Court ruled that marriage equality was a constitutional right.
And just like that, my marriage was valid and equal to all.
Easily one of the most impactful, emotional days of my life. I will never be able to articulate the emotions that came over me in the minutes, hours, days after the news was announced.
And then, just to put the cherry on top of the sundae, the White House celebrated the occasion awash in the colors of the LGBT rainbow.
Still so far to go, but it’s important to slow down for a second and remember the good days.
I was surprised to learn today that Switzerland, of all countries, still has not legalized same-sex marriage.
One of the few European countries still lacking marriage equality, Switzerland will now ask its citizens to vote on the whether gays and lesbians can marry the person they love.
Switzerland’s journey to same-sex marriage has taken several twists and turns over the years.
Swiss lawmakers have been working on the issue since 2013 when the first bill was presented by the nation’s Green Party.
But the legislation stalled as lawmakers contemplated whether the move would require a change to Switzerland’s constitution.
In April 2020, the Council of States, the nation’s upper chamber, finally agreed a legal change was unnecessary.
On December 18, 2020, the National Council (Switzerland’s lower chamber) voted in favor of same-sex marriages by a vote of 24 to 11 with 7 abstentions. That bill also provides lesbian couples with access to sperm donation.
Switzerland Still Doesn't Have Marriage Equality? https://t.co/Ce6k7qGpmB #LGBTQ #MarriageEquality #SameSexMarriage #Switzerland #Europe pic.twitter.com/iCCLfZzsnB
— Instinct Magazine (@instinctmag) April 28, 2021
That vote triggered an uproar by two conservative groups – the Federal Democratic Union and the Swiss People’s Party – who quickly got to work collecting signatures for a petition calling for a referendum on the issue.
Reuters reports that Switzerland’s democratic system allows opponents of decisions by parliament the right to force a referendum, or a public vote, if a group can collect 50,000 signatures within 100 days.
On Tuesday, the Federal Chancellery confirmed that over 61,000 signatures had been collected.
In May, the government will announce a date for the vote which will probably happened this fall.
The good news is a survey commissioned by the LGBTQ advocacy group Pink Cross in 2020 showed 82% of Swiss citizens (in a country of 8.5 million) support same-sex marriage.
In this week’s podcast:
• President Biden issues first-ever presidential proclamation for Transgender Day of Visibility
• Arkansas has passed a series of anti-LGBTQ laws in a week
• The Pentagon erases Trump-era ban on trans military service members
• Celebrating the 20th anniversary of the first legal same-sex weddings
• Lil Nas X pens a touching letter to his 14-year-old self – Link to his new music video ‘Montero (Call Me By Your Name)’
All that and more in this episode of The Randy Report podcast.