Updated | The editor of Bangladesh's only LGBT magazine and another man were killed in the capital, Dhaka, on Monday.Xulhaz Mannan, 35, the editor of Roopbaan, also worked for the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The other victim has been identified in Bangladeshi media as Tanay Mojumdar, also known as "Tonoy." He and Mannan, who were openly gay, set up Roopbaan with a group of friends as a way to improve awareness of LGBT people and issues in Bangladesh, where being gay is not widely accepted.About six people entered a house in the Kalabagan district of Dhaka after identifying themselves as couriers at around 5 p.m. on Monday, the Dhaka Tribune reported. They then hacked Mannan and Mojumdar to death. Two other men were seriously injured in the attack. The murders are the latest in a string of violent and deadly incidents targeting secular and atheist writers in Bangladesh. Their deaths come two days after a university professor was hacked to death by … [Read more...] about Editor of Bangladesh’s Only LGBT Magazine Hacked to Death
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House passes sweeping anti-discrimination bill to expand protections of LGBT people
Democrats in the House have approved a sweeping anti-discrimination bill that would extend civil rights protections to LGBT people by prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity. The measure passed a vote of 236 yeas to 173 nays with eight Republicans joining Democrats in support of the bill. Called the Equality Act, the legislation updates existing federal nondiscrimination laws, including the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Fair Housing Act, to confirm that discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity is unlawful discrimination based on sex. It would extend protections to employment, housing, loan applications, education, public accommodations and other areas. The bill is a top priority of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who said it will bring the nation "closer to equal liberty and justice for all." Co-sponsor of the bill, Rep. David N. Cicilline, D-Rhode Island, said the "LGBT community has waited nearly 250 years" for such … [Read more...] about House passes sweeping anti-discrimination bill to expand protections of LGBT people
Refugees to Be Given Lessons About Dutch LGBT Community
People living in asylum centers in The Netherlands are to be given lessons about the Dutch LGBT community, the country's education minister has announced. In an interview with daily newspaper Trouw, Jet Bussemaker pledged to introduce educational measures to make it clear that anti-gay discrimination will not be tolerated in the country. The ministry plans to supply asylum centers with LGBT teaching materials—currently provided to Dutch secondary schools—within the next few weeks and it will be up to each individual center to provide lessons and discussion groups. "We should not be naive," Bussemaker told the newspaper. "Refugees come from countries where gay rights are not a matter of course and where women's rights are not always accepted." In late 2015, Dutch authorities decided to relocate five LGBT refugees—three Syrians, one Iraqi and one Iranian—out of an asylum center after they were spat on and attacked by other refugees, Amsterdam-based daily … [Read more...] about Refugees to Be Given Lessons About Dutch LGBT Community
Conservatives Are Freaking Out Over An LGBT Bill That Passed The House
The House of Representatives on Friday passed the Equality Act in a historic milestone for the nation’s most comprehensive bill to protect LGBT rights.The 236–173 vote led by Democrats sends the measure to the Senate while leading Republicans to predict it will cause catastrophic gender-bending and gut religious exercise. Eight House Republicans voted for the bill.Hardline conservative commentators claimed the bill will “unleash federal persecution of Christians,” lead to the nation’s downfall, and make the lord “vomit you out.”Known as H.R. 5, the Equality Act would expand the Civil Rights Act of 1964 along with a handful of other laws that collectively ban discrimination in housing, finances, employment, schools, and public places on the basis of gender identity and sexual orientation.“No one should lose their job because of who they are or who they love,” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said in a floor speech, echoing the … [Read more...] about Conservatives Are Freaking Out Over An LGBT Bill That Passed The House
Stonewall Inn Designated NYC Landmark During LGBT Pride Week
On Tuesday morning, dozens of New Yorkers packed into a public hearing room at 1 Centre Street to witness a historic vote. It was standing room only as numerous speakers presented the case for designating The Stonewall Inn a New York City landmark.The commission was convinced. Just before noon, the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission voted unanimously to designate Stonewall, the site of historic LGBT rights protests, a landmark. This announcement comes during the city's LGBT Pride Week.Each speaker was allotted three minutes to plead their case, but many went over, and applause certainly set it over that barrier. Unlike other city meetings, no one seemed to mind staying in the stuffy roof for well over two hours. There was an air of celebration, as activists shook hands, congratulated one another and passed out rainbow flag stickers, worn by the majority of hearing attendees.The Stonewall Inn, which is actually a bar, is the birthplace of the gay rights movement. In late … [Read more...] about Stonewall Inn Designated NYC Landmark During LGBT Pride Week
Muslim feminist plans to open liberal mosque in Britain
A Muslim feminist who founded a liberal mosque in Berlin, triggering death threats and fatwas, is planning to open an inclusive place of worship in the UK, saying a revolution in Islam is under way. Seyran Ateş, a Turkish-born lawyer and human rights campaigner, visited London this week to investigate potential sites for a liberal mosque open to men, women and LGBT Muslims on an equal basis, and people from all strands of Islam. She hopes to establish such a mosque within a year, and says her aim is to create similar places of worship in every European capital. “I’m not alone with this idea. It is a movement, it’s a revolution,” she told the Guardian. “I may be the face of the liberal mosque, but I alone am not the mosque. We have millions of supporters all over the world.” However, the opening of the Ibn Rushd-Goethe mosque, in a space rented from a Lutheran church in Berlin last month prompted a hostile reaction from conservative Muslims in … [Read more...] about Muslim feminist plans to open liberal mosque in Britain
