Pentagon ends trans ban
Trans people will now be welcome in the military forces of the United States, defence officials have announced. Effective immediately, trans soldiers cannot be discharged due to their gender identity, and will receive medical care including hormone therapy.
Indian Supreme Court shoots down new case on homosexuality
India’s highest court says it will not hear the case of five gay celebrities who want to argue that the country’s ban on gay sex violates their basic rights. Instead, the court said the celebrities would have to throw in their lot in front of the chief justice of India with a number of other last-ditch attempts to overturn the 2013 recriminalization of homosexuality.
Trudeau and BLM steal the show at Toronto Pride
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau took centre stage at Toronto Pride on Sunday, where he marched beside a gay Syrian refugee. The spotlight later shifted, however, to Black Lives Matter, who held up the parade for 30 minutes until organizers would sign a list of demands, including banning police floats from the parade.
Pakistani trans people welcome marriage fatwa
Trans people in Pakistan are welcoming a declaration from Islamic clerics that trans people can marry. While the fatwa is encouraging, it does nothing to change the law, and only applies to people with the “visible signs” of one gender, and not both.
UN forms LGBT watchdog
The United Nations Human Rights Council has voted to appoint an independent expert in charge of monitoring human rights abuses against LGBT people worldwide. The decision was highly controversial, with many Islamic nations decrying insensitivity to their local practices.
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