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1 year ago @ Equality on Trial - 7/30 open thread · 0 replies · +2 points
India: SSM Defeated - Civil Unions Issue Is Punted Over to Executive & Legislature
In a historic and groundbreaking development, the Supreme Court today expressed its reluctance to recognize and validate same-sex marriages, leading to the disposal of the Writ Petitions filed in a concerted effort to secure legal recognition and validation of such marriages.
The 5-Judge Bench consisting of Chief Justice DY Chandrachud and Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul, Justice S. Ravindra Bhat, Justice Hima Kohli, and Justice P.S. Narasimha pronounced four separate judgments.
The majority view was articulated by Justice Bhat, Justice Kohli, and Justice Narasimha while the minority view was presented by CJI Chandrachud and Justice Kaul.
[Details are then provided for all the specific points made in each of these 4 opinions]
In conclusion, among the four separate judgments, Chief Justice DY Chandrachud and Justice SK Kaul affirmed that queer couples have a fundamental right to seek recognition for their union, yet they chose not to invalidate the Special Marriage Act for its failure to recognize same-sex marriages. In contrast, the other three judges, namely Justices Bhat, Kohli, and Narasimha, assert that queer couples cannot claim a right to recognition of their union in the absence of a statutory enactment.
The Solicitor General Tushar Mehta had argued before the Supreme Court that the arguments made by the petitioners against restriction on same-sex marriage in the Special Marriage Act can possibly be used in future to challenge the restriction on incestuous marriages in the same statute.
In an interesting exchange, the CJI also remarked that there is no absolute concept of a man or woman at all.
However, Solicitor General had submitted that a committee headed by the cabinet secretary would be constituted to explore administrative steps for addressing "genuine human concerns" of same-sex couples, without going into the issue of recognising their marriage.
https://www.verdictum.in/court-updates/supreme-co...
In a historic and groundbreaking development, the Supreme Court today expressed its reluctance to recognize and validate same-sex marriages, leading to the disposal of the Writ Petitions filed in a concerted effort to secure legal recognition and validation of such marriages.
The 5-Judge Bench consisting of Chief Justice DY Chandrachud and Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul, Justice S. Ravindra Bhat, Justice Hima Kohli, and Justice P.S. Narasimha pronounced four separate judgments.
The majority view was articulated by Justice Bhat, Justice Kohli, and Justice Narasimha while the minority view was presented by CJI Chandrachud and Justice Kaul.
[Details are then provided for all the specific points made in each of these 4 opinions]
In conclusion, among the four separate judgments, Chief Justice DY Chandrachud and Justice SK Kaul affirmed that queer couples have a fundamental right to seek recognition for their union, yet they chose not to invalidate the Special Marriage Act for its failure to recognize same-sex marriages. In contrast, the other three judges, namely Justices Bhat, Kohli, and Narasimha, assert that queer couples cannot claim a right to recognition of their union in the absence of a statutory enactment.
The Solicitor General Tushar Mehta had argued before the Supreme Court that the arguments made by the petitioners against restriction on same-sex marriage in the Special Marriage Act can possibly be used in future to challenge the restriction on incestuous marriages in the same statute.
In an interesting exchange, the CJI also remarked that there is no absolute concept of a man or woman at all.
However, Solicitor General had submitted that a committee headed by the cabinet secretary would be constituted to explore administrative steps for addressing "genuine human concerns" of same-sex couples, without going into the issue of recognising their marriage.
https://www.verdictum.in/court-updates/supreme-co...
1 year ago @ Equality on Trial - 7/30 open thread · 0 replies · +4 points
https://old.reddit.com/r/EqualityNews/ is open for all who wish to freely post and comment on articles. Similar to EoT. 100% free and anonymous.
1 year ago @ Equality on Trial - 7/30 open thread · 0 replies · +3 points
We can't post our own articles there. Only Joe can do that.
Better option here: https://old.reddit.com/r/EqualityNews/
Better option here: https://old.reddit.com/r/EqualityNews/
1 year ago @ Equality on Trial - 7/30 open thread · 0 replies · +3 points
Alabama anti-porn group wants librarians to face jail for offering LGBTQ+ books to kids
Clean Up Alabama, a Prattville-based nonprofit organisation, says on its websites that libraries across the state are stocking “books intended to confuse” children about sexuality and “expose them to material that is inappropriate for them”.
The conservative group states that it wants to remove “pornographic, obscene and indecent books” from sections of libraries geared towards minors.
It also pushes for libraries to withdraw as members of the American Library Association (ALA), which it believes uses its “influence to push leftist progressive values” on “traditional communities”.
To accomplish these goals, Clean Up Alabama wants to ensure that libraries are no longer exempt from the state’s Anti-Obscenity Enforcement Act, according to an email sent to the group’s newsletter subscribers, the Alabama Political Reporter reported.
The law prohibits material that “depicts or describes sexual conduct, breast nudity or genital nudity in a way which is patently offensive to prevailing standards in the adult community with respect to what is suitable for minors”.
Violators face upwards of a $10,000 fine and potentially a year in jail.
However, the law currently doesn’t apply to “bona fide public libraries, or public school or college or university libraries, or their employees are agents”.
Clean Up Alabama is keen to add LGBTQ+ content to the state’s legal definition of “sexual content”, according to the Alabama Political Reporter. The outlet reported this would have a trickle-down effect as it would bring queer books under the definition of content “harmful to minors” in Alabama.
The campaign comes after Pratville locals showed up en masse to the city council’s recent meeting to debate a contract that would have changed rules on how books are handled at a local library and threatened its funding.
Some residents argued for the removal of LGBTQ+ books, but others pushed back that the inclusive books should remain on shelves for future generations.
Prattville City Council members voted against the contract, which could have stripped the library of its autonomy, in a 4-3 vote.
The Alabama Library Association (ALLA), the state chapter of the ALA, denounced “all efforts to censor or restrict access to materials from any library” based on LGBTQ+ and other content.
https://www.thepinknews.com/2023/09/10/alabama-ja...
Clean Up Alabama, a Prattville-based nonprofit organisation, says on its websites that libraries across the state are stocking “books intended to confuse” children about sexuality and “expose them to material that is inappropriate for them”.
The conservative group states that it wants to remove “pornographic, obscene and indecent books” from sections of libraries geared towards minors.
It also pushes for libraries to withdraw as members of the American Library Association (ALA), which it believes uses its “influence to push leftist progressive values” on “traditional communities”.
To accomplish these goals, Clean Up Alabama wants to ensure that libraries are no longer exempt from the state’s Anti-Obscenity Enforcement Act, according to an email sent to the group’s newsletter subscribers, the Alabama Political Reporter reported.
The law prohibits material that “depicts or describes sexual conduct, breast nudity or genital nudity in a way which is patently offensive to prevailing standards in the adult community with respect to what is suitable for minors”.
Violators face upwards of a $10,000 fine and potentially a year in jail.
However, the law currently doesn’t apply to “bona fide public libraries, or public school or college or university libraries, or their employees are agents”.
Clean Up Alabama is keen to add LGBTQ+ content to the state’s legal definition of “sexual content”, according to the Alabama Political Reporter. The outlet reported this would have a trickle-down effect as it would bring queer books under the definition of content “harmful to minors” in Alabama.
The campaign comes after Pratville locals showed up en masse to the city council’s recent meeting to debate a contract that would have changed rules on how books are handled at a local library and threatened its funding.
Some residents argued for the removal of LGBTQ+ books, but others pushed back that the inclusive books should remain on shelves for future generations.
Prattville City Council members voted against the contract, which could have stripped the library of its autonomy, in a 4-3 vote.
The Alabama Library Association (ALLA), the state chapter of the ALA, denounced “all efforts to censor or restrict access to materials from any library” based on LGBTQ+ and other content.
https://www.thepinknews.com/2023/09/10/alabama-ja...
1 year ago @ Equality on Trial - 7/30 open thread · 0 replies · +4 points
The site outsources commenting to IntenseDebate, so there are actually no registered users of EoT. We are instead registered users of IntenseDebate.
Courage Campaign owns this website: https://couragecalifornia.org/about/
Equality on Trial (EOT formerly Prop 8 Trial Tracker) is a project of Courage California Institute, originally established to cover the Perry v. Brown trial 2009, in which Kristin Perry and Sandra Stier sued the state for anti-gay discrimination. Prop 8 Trial Tracker covered the trial live from the courthouse, collected all of the latest motions and court rulings on one site, and documented and responded to right-wing attacks on the process. Re-branded as Equality on Trial, the site now covers legal issues pertaining to the LGBT community, including state and federal marriage equality cases, challenges to the so-called federal Defense of Marriage Act, and more.
Courage California Institute, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, is an educational affiliate of Courage California. Our mission is to defend and extend economic justice, human rights, and corporate and political accountability through public education, strategic research, and innovative leadership-development training.
For inquiries related to Courage California Institute, which sponsors and funds Equality on Trial, contact Irene Kao, Executive Director, at irene@couragecampaign.org. For inquiries related to Equality on Trial content, contact Scottie Thomaston via scottie@couragecampaign.org. You can also follow us on Twitter and tweet at us via @equalityontrial as well as on Facebook via Testimony: Equality on Trial.
Courage Campaign owns this website: https://couragecalifornia.org/about/
Equality on Trial (EOT formerly Prop 8 Trial Tracker) is a project of Courage California Institute, originally established to cover the Perry v. Brown trial 2009, in which Kristin Perry and Sandra Stier sued the state for anti-gay discrimination. Prop 8 Trial Tracker covered the trial live from the courthouse, collected all of the latest motions and court rulings on one site, and documented and responded to right-wing attacks on the process. Re-branded as Equality on Trial, the site now covers legal issues pertaining to the LGBT community, including state and federal marriage equality cases, challenges to the so-called federal Defense of Marriage Act, and more.
Courage California Institute, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, is an educational affiliate of Courage California. Our mission is to defend and extend economic justice, human rights, and corporate and political accountability through public education, strategic research, and innovative leadership-development training.
For inquiries related to Courage California Institute, which sponsors and funds Equality on Trial, contact Irene Kao, Executive Director, at irene@couragecampaign.org. For inquiries related to Equality on Trial content, contact Scottie Thomaston via scottie@couragecampaign.org. You can also follow us on Twitter and tweet at us via @equalityontrial as well as on Facebook via Testimony: Equality on Trial.
1 year ago @ Equality on Trial - 7/30 open thread · 0 replies · +1 points
According to the Mexico City based 'Citizen Council for Public Security and Criminal Justice', 9 of the world's top 10 cities for homicidal violence - and 100% of the world's top 7 - are all located within Mexico.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12486695...
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12486695...
1 year ago @ Equality on Trial - 7/30 open thread · 0 replies · +3 points
Miami school board again shuts down LGBTQ month recognition
School board members in Miami rejected a proclamation early Thursday morning that would have recognized October as “LGBTQ history month” in the latest example of Florida’s parental rights laws influencing public education.
The decision, which came around 1 a.m. after hours of public comment and debate, illustrates how local education policy has changed since 2021, when Miami-Dade County school board members last acknowledged LGBTQ history month. Over the last two years, the school board in Miami, like many other counties, has been reshaped with candidates aligned with Gov. Ron DeSantis and conservative leaders who support the parental rights policies labeled as “Don’t Say Gay” by opponents.
“This is about someone’s sexual preference, and not a cultural issue,” said Roberto Alonso, a Miami-Dade County school board member endorsed by DeSantis who voted against the recognition. “It’s imposing ideologies and a sexual discussion that should not be happening inside of our schools.”
Better known as “Don’t Say Gay,” the policy prohibits teachers from leading instruction on gender identity and sexual orientation to pre-K through grade eight students and was expanded this year to restrict the usage of pronouns in schools. Under a separate Board of Education rule, teachers run the risk of losing their educator credentials for leading instruction on those topics to students through 12th grade. These policies are a key part of Florida’s attempt to root out traces of liberal “indoctrination” in local schools, particularly centered on lessons and books about race and sexuality.
Supporters of the proclamation, such as board member Lucia Baez-Geller who introduced it, claimed that the proposal was a “ceremonial” and “nonbinding” way to support LGBTQ students and families. Opposition to the recognition, according to Baez-Geller, was sparked by the “anti-LGBTQ rhetoric and agenda” from the DeSantis administration and Legislature. She noted that the idea was not seen as controversial when it passed 8-1 two years ago.
“This didn’t happen in 2021 before the Parental Rights in Education bill,” Baez-Geller said during the meeting.
“It’s the cultural politics, it’s the political agendas, it’s the war on minorities, it’s the war on people who already are struggling,” she added.
But the recognition was a nonstarter for the conservative-leaning members of Miami’s school board, including two members endorsed — and donated to — by DeSantis and state Republicans. They claimed the proposal violated the “intent” and “spirit” of the parental rights laws and rejected it in support of parents who want to “avoid the sexualization” of their children. Two other members who voted against the measure were appointed by DeSantis earlier this year.
https://www.politico.com/news/2023/09/07/miami-sc...
School board members in Miami rejected a proclamation early Thursday morning that would have recognized October as “LGBTQ history month” in the latest example of Florida’s parental rights laws influencing public education.
The decision, which came around 1 a.m. after hours of public comment and debate, illustrates how local education policy has changed since 2021, when Miami-Dade County school board members last acknowledged LGBTQ history month. Over the last two years, the school board in Miami, like many other counties, has been reshaped with candidates aligned with Gov. Ron DeSantis and conservative leaders who support the parental rights policies labeled as “Don’t Say Gay” by opponents.
“This is about someone’s sexual preference, and not a cultural issue,” said Roberto Alonso, a Miami-Dade County school board member endorsed by DeSantis who voted against the recognition. “It’s imposing ideologies and a sexual discussion that should not be happening inside of our schools.”
Better known as “Don’t Say Gay,” the policy prohibits teachers from leading instruction on gender identity and sexual orientation to pre-K through grade eight students and was expanded this year to restrict the usage of pronouns in schools. Under a separate Board of Education rule, teachers run the risk of losing their educator credentials for leading instruction on those topics to students through 12th grade. These policies are a key part of Florida’s attempt to root out traces of liberal “indoctrination” in local schools, particularly centered on lessons and books about race and sexuality.
Supporters of the proclamation, such as board member Lucia Baez-Geller who introduced it, claimed that the proposal was a “ceremonial” and “nonbinding” way to support LGBTQ students and families. Opposition to the recognition, according to Baez-Geller, was sparked by the “anti-LGBTQ rhetoric and agenda” from the DeSantis administration and Legislature. She noted that the idea was not seen as controversial when it passed 8-1 two years ago.
“This didn’t happen in 2021 before the Parental Rights in Education bill,” Baez-Geller said during the meeting.
“It’s the cultural politics, it’s the political agendas, it’s the war on minorities, it’s the war on people who already are struggling,” she added.
But the recognition was a nonstarter for the conservative-leaning members of Miami’s school board, including two members endorsed — and donated to — by DeSantis and state Republicans. They claimed the proposal violated the “intent” and “spirit” of the parental rights laws and rejected it in support of parents who want to “avoid the sexualization” of their children. Two other members who voted against the measure were appointed by DeSantis earlier this year.
https://www.politico.com/news/2023/09/07/miami-sc...
1 year ago @ Equality on Trial - 7/30 open thread · 0 replies · +2 points
LGBTQ+ volleyball champion hits a nerve in Turkey’s culture war
The storm over 1.96m-tall Ebrar Karakurt is one of the most high-profile tests of the country’s social direction since President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan won re-election at the end of May on a conservative Islamist platform, in which he repeatedly pledged to protect traditional families from the “deviant structures” and “virus of heresy” represented by the LGBTQ+ community.
Although Erdoğan himself congratulated the team — nicknamed the “Sultans of the Net” — there has been a tide of invective on social media, and the government is accused of doing little to defend Karakurt from widespread homophobic attacks from the country’s Islamist camp.
A video, filmed a day after the volleyballers claimed victory in the final against Serbia, showed a woman angrily shouting on a bus: “You will not make my country a lesbian.”
İbrahim Melih Gökçek, the ruling AK party’s mayor of Ankara for more than a decade until 2017, issued a call to kick Karakurt out of the team a day before the final in Brussels.
“You are an LBGT, unworthy of the national team,” he said on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter. “Kick her out of the national team so the national team is not soiled.”
Karakurt has been a target for radical Islamist groups since she shared affectionate photos of herself with a girlfriend on her Instagram account in 2021. Since then, Turkey’s pro-government media and the ultraconservative Islamists targeted her for being a “homosexual deviant.” Karakurt does not openly declare herself to be LGBTQ+ but responds to the persistent homophobic attacks with a defense of her rights and personal freedoms.
Aslı Alpar, a cartoonist and an editor for KaosGL, an LGBTQ+ rights organization in Turkey, said the volleyball match had turned into a symbol of defending LGBTQ+ rights and secular lifestyles more broadly in the country.
Homosexuality is not illegal in Turkey but the space for LGBTQ+ expression, events and gatherings is shrinking sharply owing to government policies. Pride marches in the country have been banned since 2015 while security forces are ordered to suppress any social or political activity that supports the movement.
https://www.politico.eu/article/lgbtq-volleyball-...
The storm over 1.96m-tall Ebrar Karakurt is one of the most high-profile tests of the country’s social direction since President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan won re-election at the end of May on a conservative Islamist platform, in which he repeatedly pledged to protect traditional families from the “deviant structures” and “virus of heresy” represented by the LGBTQ+ community.
Although Erdoğan himself congratulated the team — nicknamed the “Sultans of the Net” — there has been a tide of invective on social media, and the government is accused of doing little to defend Karakurt from widespread homophobic attacks from the country’s Islamist camp.
A video, filmed a day after the volleyballers claimed victory in the final against Serbia, showed a woman angrily shouting on a bus: “You will not make my country a lesbian.”
İbrahim Melih Gökçek, the ruling AK party’s mayor of Ankara for more than a decade until 2017, issued a call to kick Karakurt out of the team a day before the final in Brussels.
“You are an LBGT, unworthy of the national team,” he said on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter. “Kick her out of the national team so the national team is not soiled.”
Karakurt has been a target for radical Islamist groups since she shared affectionate photos of herself with a girlfriend on her Instagram account in 2021. Since then, Turkey’s pro-government media and the ultraconservative Islamists targeted her for being a “homosexual deviant.” Karakurt does not openly declare herself to be LGBTQ+ but responds to the persistent homophobic attacks with a defense of her rights and personal freedoms.
Aslı Alpar, a cartoonist and an editor for KaosGL, an LGBTQ+ rights organization in Turkey, said the volleyball match had turned into a symbol of defending LGBTQ+ rights and secular lifestyles more broadly in the country.
Homosexuality is not illegal in Turkey but the space for LGBTQ+ expression, events and gatherings is shrinking sharply owing to government policies. Pride marches in the country have been banned since 2015 while security forces are ordered to suppress any social or political activity that supports the movement.
https://www.politico.eu/article/lgbtq-volleyball-...
1 year ago @ Equality on Trial - 7/30 open thread · 0 replies · +3 points
So-called 'Proud Boy' begs judge for mercy, then gets 22 years in prison
The judge ruled Tarrio's crimes intended to coerce the conduct of government when his lieutenants brought down a barrier between police and rioters, and thus qualified him for terrorism enhancement for his sentencing.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12483945...
The judge ruled Tarrio's crimes intended to coerce the conduct of government when his lieutenants brought down a barrier between police and rioters, and thus qualified him for terrorism enhancement for his sentencing.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12483945...
1 year ago @ Equality on Trial - 7/30 open thread · 0 replies · +2 points
Iowa Mayor Blocks LGBTQ+ Group From Labor Day Parade, Citing ‘Safety’ Concerns
The mayor of a small Iowa town unilaterally decided to exclude an LGBTQ+ group from participating in the community’s Labor Day parade.
A drag performer who anticipated riding in a convertible as part of the group said they received notice of the decision via email.
Shenandoah Pride planned to have a small group walking with a banner and a drag performer riding in a convertible, handing out candy, popsicles, and stickers. The parade was part of a four-day festival in Essex, a municipality of about 720 inhabitants.
Essex Mayor Calvin Kinney unilaterally decided without seeking City Council consent.
Council Member Heather Thornton, who disagreed with the action, said, “It was the mayor himself,” and added that he believed he had sufficient authority to proceed without council approval.
Thornton, who serves on the club board that invited the pride group to attend, said the groups that organized the event “fully supported their efforts and are just as upset as everyone else that they were excluded.”
A letter from the American Civil Liberties Union of Iowa to the Essex mayor and to city attorney Mahlon Sorensen condemned the decision to exclude Shenandoah Pride.
The ACLU cited a Thursday email from the mayor in which he wrote, “Out of concern for the safety of the public and that of Essex Labor Day parade participants, the City of Essex has determined not to allow parade participants geared toward the promotion of, or opposition to, the politically charged topic of gender and/or sexual identification/orientation,” the ACLU said.
https://www.advocate.com/news/iowa-mayor-lgbtq-la...
The mayor of a small Iowa town unilaterally decided to exclude an LGBTQ+ group from participating in the community’s Labor Day parade.
A drag performer who anticipated riding in a convertible as part of the group said they received notice of the decision via email.
Shenandoah Pride planned to have a small group walking with a banner and a drag performer riding in a convertible, handing out candy, popsicles, and stickers. The parade was part of a four-day festival in Essex, a municipality of about 720 inhabitants.
Essex Mayor Calvin Kinney unilaterally decided without seeking City Council consent.
Council Member Heather Thornton, who disagreed with the action, said, “It was the mayor himself,” and added that he believed he had sufficient authority to proceed without council approval.
Thornton, who serves on the club board that invited the pride group to attend, said the groups that organized the event “fully supported their efforts and are just as upset as everyone else that they were excluded.”
A letter from the American Civil Liberties Union of Iowa to the Essex mayor and to city attorney Mahlon Sorensen condemned the decision to exclude Shenandoah Pride.
The ACLU cited a Thursday email from the mayor in which he wrote, “Out of concern for the safety of the public and that of Essex Labor Day parade participants, the City of Essex has determined not to allow parade participants geared toward the promotion of, or opposition to, the politically charged topic of gender and/or sexual identification/orientation,” the ACLU said.
https://www.advocate.com/news/iowa-mayor-lgbtq-la...
Opus