Switzerland to allow same-sex weddings from July 2022
The Swiss government has announced that same-sex couples can marry in the country from July next year. The announcement follows a referendum in September that overwhelmingly supported marriage equality. The law change will happen in two stages, with the recognition of foreign marriages from January 2022, and couples able to marry or convert their registered partnership from 1st July. Registered partnerships will no longer be able to be entered into from that date.
Lewis Hamilton praised for defending LGBTI rights in Qatar
Formula One driver Lewis Hamilton has been widely praised after showing his support for the LGBTI community during a practice session on Friday for the Qatar Grand Prix. Hamilton wore a helmet featuring the Pride Progress Flag, emblazoned with the words “We Stand Together“. The progress flag features additional black and brown stripes to highlight the oppression of people of colour, and well as pink and blue stripes for trans people, and a purple circle on a yellow background, which is the intersex flag. The Qatar Grand Prix has come under scrutiny due to the country’s human rights record, particularly towards LGBTI people. Homosexuality is illegal and punished with a fine or prison sentence, and trans people cannot legally change gender.
International Olympic Committee issues new guidelines on transgender athletes
A new framework for transgender and intersex athletes has been announced by the International Olympic Committee. The new guidelines drop controversial policies that required competing athletes to undergo ‘medically unnecessary’ procedures or treatment. The new framework is not legally binding but trans athletes have staid that it makes a level playground for athletes of any background.
Lady Gaga calls Italian LGBTQ bill a ‘total disaster’
Lady Gaga says the defeat of Italian legislation that would have made violence against LGBT people and women a hate crime is a “total disaster”. The bill passed Italy’s lower house of Parliament earlier this year but was blocked in the Senate last month. The bill was strongly opposed by the Vatican over fears the law could lead to the criminalisation of the Roman Catholic Church from refusing to conduct gay marriages, for opposing adoption by same-sex couples, and for refusing to teach gender theory in Catholic schools.