Politics, pop culture and entertainment news of interest to the LGBTQ community
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”
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.
Some news items you might have missed:
• Men’s Variety: With gyms closing in parts of the country due to COVID-19, here are 10 tips on how to exercise outside this winter during the pandemic – although InstaHunk Bremen Menelli (above) seems to have it figured out 😉
• Gay Star News: After a seven-year campaign, Switzerland’s parliament has passed the final vote on same-sex marriage, making the central European country the 29th country in the world to approve marriage equality.
• KIT212: Kenneth round’s up the what’s what in LGBTQ publications each week like this issue of Dallas Voice.
• LGBTQ Nation: A 17-year-old transgender girl died by suicide earlier this week, just days after she was humiliated by a school administrator for wearing a skirt.
• OMG Blog: The brainless bombshell known as the bimbo is one of our most familiar tropes, but recently, a new brand of halfwit hottie has been gaining recognition. Enter the himbo. Like their bimbo counterparts, the requirements for a himbo are simple: They’re hot, kind… and not too bright.
• The Advocate: A gay couple in Eureka, California, woke up to find their Christmas decorations had been ripped down, torn, and smeared with feces. The local police chief has announced that, if found, the perpetrator will be charged with a hate crime.
• Metro Weekly: A federal judge has ordered the state of Wisconsin to provide a transgender inmate with gender confirmation surgery to treat her gender dysphoria. Although she was permitted to receive hormone treatments, counseling, and even allowed to wear some women’s clothing, she was denied gender confirmation surgery after requesting it in 2013.
• NBC News: A Republican committee in Virginia unanimously passed a resolution censuring Rep. Denver Riggleman, R-Va., saying he betrayed the party’s values when he officiated a same-sex wedding in 2019.
Glad the @VA_GOP finally admits they rig a convention because of the wedding. We already knew this, but here’s your sign
I believe in marriage equality and I despise conspiracy theories.
I was also censured by the #Kraken because I thought it was #calamari https://t.co/pnyRvB2Czc
— Congressman Denver Riggleman (@RepRiggleman) December 14, 2020
In this week’s podcast:
• More LGBTQ candidates won elections this year than ever before
• A US Supreme Court decision upholds high school transgender students’ rights
• Switzerland is poised to (finally) legalize same-sex marriage
• Adoptions by same-sex couples in the UK has increased for the 3rd year in a row
• Isolated Asian country of Bhutan legalizes same-sex relations
• Emmy/Grammy winner Billy Porter has been announced to help usher in the New Year
• A coming out Christmas song by country artist and LGBTQ ally Aaron LaCombe goes viral ‘Uncle Carl (Came Out On Christmas)’
Click here to watch the video and head over to Aaron’s official website for more info about his music
All that and more in this episode of The Randy Report
Some news items you might have missed:
• ET Canada: Juan Pablo Di Pace (starring in the holiday rom-com Dashing in December) says all gay roles don’t need to be played by gay actors. “We do what we do because we love experiencing other people’s stories and lives and what would be of the Meryl Streep’s of the world if we all had to do the thing that we are. Actors like playing and playing is inhabiting another human being.”
• Pink News: Switzerland has taken a major step on the path to equality after its parliament voted overwhelmingly in favor of a law to pass same-sex marriage. The council of states – the upper house of Switzerland’s legislature – voted by 22-15 to approve landmark legislation to make same-sex marriage a reality.
• Kenneth-in-the-212: Make sure and check out Kenneth’s weekly round-up of the what’s what in LGBTQ publications like Colombian actor/model Diego Arnary on the cover of DNA Magazine.
• Instinct Magazine: A TikTok user, who was kicked out of his house when his father found out he was gay, discovered his dad secretly had sex with men for pay.
• Gay Star News: Jamaica has been told it is breaching international law and human rights by continuing to persecute LGBT+ people.
• The Advocate: Out singer/songwriter Trey Pearson, who rose to fame in the Christian rock band Everyday Sunday, released his latest single, “We Don’t Want Your War,” in order to remind the world that, even as the pandemic rages, social injustice continues to take root.
In this week’s podcast:
• Mayor Pete Buttigieg had a historic night at the Iowa Caucuses
• Voters in Switzerland overwhelmingly approved protections for LGBTQ people
• Virginia becomes the first state in the South to approve statewide LGBTQ protections
• A beloved morning talk show host in the UK came out as gay
• A star of the Netflix docuseries ‘Cheer’ is getting ready to climb to the top of the human pyramid
All that and more in this episode of The Randy Report
Hit the play button below to listen, and if you enjoy catching up on LGBTQ news in a quick podcast, please share this with your friends 🙂
A gay teen in Switzerland has shared his shocking story of an attempt by his own father to kill him.
The 17-year-old, identified as “Seran M” in the press for his own protection, told the Swiss newspaper 20 Minuten that he woke one night to find his father holding a knife to his throat.
According to a Google Translation of the news report, the father shouted at the teen, “You’re gay, you’re gay?” And at that point, he slid the blade across the teen’s neck.
Seran says he fought off his father while sustaining further injuries to his neck and upper body.
Eventually, the teen escaped the attack across a balcony and sought safety at a neighbor’s home.
Due to the severity of his injuries to his throat, chest, arms, and back, he was flown to the University Hospital of Bern.
“Fortunately, he narrowly missed the carotid artery, but my trachea was badly injured,” shared Seran. “I had to be put in an artificial coma.”
Seran, whose family is from Iraq, told 20 Minuten he doesn’t know how his father discovered he is gay adding, “I’ve always hidden my homosexuality from my family.”
Since leaving the hospital six months ago he lives on his own in Bern and feels he is “a freer person than before the incident.”
That said, the scars from the hate crime remind him of the incident every day.
“I see them in the mirror or when I take selfies and snaps,” he explains. “They will be with me or the rest of my life.”
Seran added that he’s begun counseling to help him process the emotional scars.
He says he’s sharing his story to encourage other LGBTQ people from Muslim backgrounds to “get help if you want to come out as gay.”
“We are living in 2019 and my dad wanted me dead because I’m attracted to men. I just cannot accept that. I hid long enough, this is the end of that now.”
According to the UK’s Daily Star, the father was arrested for the attack but it’s unclear when he will stand trial.
Switzerland has wrestled with the issue of homophobia for years.
A 2016 study found that gay men in Geneva are four times more likely to suffer attacks than men in the general population.
ILGA, a human rights organization, ranks Switzerland 27th out of 49 countries in Europe on LGBTQ+ equality.
Some news items you might have missed:
• InstaHunks: So, apparently the world-famous Chippendales (above) work out…a lot. #dang
• Politico: Sen. Elizabeth Warren has pledged that her first step as president would be to overturn President Donald Trump’s decision to prohibit transgender troops in the military.
• Men’s Health: Rugby legend Gareth Thomas, who recently came out as HIV-positive, covers this month’s issue of Men’s Health UK. “It’s a sign of where we are that a man LIVING with HIV is on the cover of Men’s Health,” wrote the 45-year-old athlete on social media.
Thank you @MensHealthUK . It’s a sign of where we are that a man LIVING with HIV is on the cover of Men’s Health. Thank you to everyone who works to ensure this happens for not just me, but millions of people. @THTorguk pic.twitter.com/bMm72psn6j
— Gareth Thomas (@gareththomas14) October 30, 2019
• Fox News: A new poll from Fox News shows former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton beating Donald Trump in a hypothetical 2020 head-to-head matchup – and she’s not even running.
• OUT: A daycare center in Switzerland has come under fire for turning away a pair of twin boys because they have gay parents. The family was informed the boys would not be welcome in the playgroup because their parents’ relationship is “neither normal nor natural.”
• Campaign Ad: Mayor Pete Buttigieg, currently landing in 3rd place in Iowa polls, has a new campaign spot out in Iowa that highlights national unity. Titled “Sun Comes Up,” the ad asks voters to imagine the first day when Trump is no longer president, as Buttigieg promises to pick up the pieces of our divided nation.
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| Switzerland makes LGBTQ discrimination illegal |
By a vote of 118-60, the National Council of Switzerland has amended its penal code to make homophobia and transphobia as illegal as racism.
Under the new ordinance, anyone who is found guilty of discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity will face up to three years in prison.
The move to change the penal code was lead by National Councillor Mathias Reynard.
Upon passage of the new law, Reynard tweeted his celebration writing, “Victory! By 118 against 60 and 5 abstentions, the National Council accepts my parliamentary initiative against homophobia and Transphobia!
“A great success for human rights! Final response in December to the Council of States,” he added along with an LGBT Pride emoji and LGBT hashtag.
Gay Times Magazine reports Reynard told the press following the vote, “Homophobia is not an opinion. It’s a crime. One in five homosexuals attempted suicide, half before the age of 20. This victory sends a strong signal. I have already received hundreds of reactions.”
While Switzerland has allowed civil partnerships since 2007, the country is woefully behind the times in terms of most civil rights for LGBTQ people. There are no legal accommodations for same-sex couples when it comes to adoption, taxes, welfare or fertility.
Following this recent win, Reynard says that he plans on introducing marriage equality to Switzerland.
Adoption by gays may be coming to Switzerland soon.
The upper house of the Swiss parliament on Thursday approved legalizing adoptions by gay couples.
The Council of States voted 21-19 on the legislation, which would allow gay couples in registered partnerships to adopt. Politicians supporting the new law say it reflects the reality of Swiss families in 2012.
The lower house must now consider the legislation.