On the Gaydar: Discrimination in Kansas, Uganda, Sochi, NFL, and more

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      Here's a roundup of LGBT news from around the world.

      Uganda set to pass antigay legislation  Ugandan president Yoweri Museveni stated on February 14 that he will approve an antigay law, which bans the promotion of homosexuality and enables life sentences for same-sex acts. His announcement was met with criticism from rights activists as well as politicians such as U.S. President Barack Obama.

      State Senate opposes Kansas antigay bill  A bill passed by the Kansas House of Representatives on February 12 that would give businesses and groups the right to refuse service and benefits to same-sex couples, including counseling, adoption, and foster care, faced opposition and criticism. Senate president Susan Wagle said the state Senate would be unlikely to pass the bill as it is discriminatory.  

      Italian activist detained twice in Sochi  Italian LGBT activist Vladimir Luxuria, a former Italian parliament member who is transgender, said she was detained on February 16 for about three hours by Russian police after holding up a sign stating "Gay is OK" in Russian in the Olympic Park in Sochi. She was then detained on February 17 when she tried to attend an Olympic hockey game shouting "It's OK to be gay" while wearing a rainbow coloured headdress and outfit. She was taken away by police and released in the countryside.

      U.K. transgender woman placed in Canadian men's prison  British comedian Avery Edison, who is a transgender woman, was hoping to visit her Toronto girlfriend but was detained in a men's facility in Ontario for an immigration issue. She was denied entry after officials discovered she had overstayed her student visa on her last visit to Canada. She was transferred to a women's facility after an outcry arose on social media. After an immigration hearing, she returned to the U.K. on February 13 and won't be prevented from visiting Canada in the future.

      NFL players surveyed on homophobia  Forty-four out of fifty-one NFL players who responded to an anonymous survey said they didn't care about a teammates' sexual orientation. However, twelve players said they would not shower around a gay teammate. Twenty-one players said they felt an openly gay player would not feel comfortable in an NFL locker room while five did not answer.

      Ellen Page comes out  Canadian actor Ellen Page (Juno, X-Men) came out as a lesbian on Valentine's Day (February 14) during an emotional speech at the Time to THRIVE conference, an LGBT youth event in Las Vegas.

      Comments

      1 Comments

      MD

      Feb 19, 2014 at 1:51pm

      Meanwhile, Venezulean President Maduro continues to hurl homophobic slurs at the opposition in Congress, and on state run television, and he continues to get a free pass from the Straight.

      You didnt have a problem with Chavez doing it, so this isnt exactly shocking that you let Maduro get away with it.

      I cant say I exepct anything different from the middle class armchair Marxists at the Straight.

      What is worse is the silence from the broader left.

      I generally loathe when the right hides behind the misdeeds of the left as if they dont have their own gallery of murderers and dictators, but for the broader left to spend the last month taking Putin to task while giving Maduro a free pass is rank hypocrisy that deserves to get called out.

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