NEWSWORTHY
Hundreds of thousands march for marriage equality in Taiwan amid referendum debate
Hundreds of thousands of people marched through Taiwan's capital on Saturday to press the government to deliver on its promise of marriage equality amid an increasingly heated debate over whether civil laws should recognize same-sex marriage. In Asia's first such ruling, Taiwan's Constitutional Court declared ...
U.S. restricts visas to unmarried gay diplomats' partners, citing legal reciprocity
The United States is denying visas to the partners of more than 100 gay diplomats unless they get married, officials said Tuesday. The move comes as President Donald Trump's administration chips away at protections of the LGBTQ community, although officials cast the decision as motivated ...
China school sued by fired gay teacher in potential landmark case
A gay kindergarten teacher in China is suing his former school after being fired last month, in what his lawyer called a landmark case to test China's protection of minority groups. The teacher was dismissed in August from a school in the coastal city of ...
Hong Kong to allow dependent visa for same-sex couples after landmark ruling
Hong Kong said on Tuesday it will recognize overseas same-sex partnerships when granting dependent visas, more than two months after the city's top court ruled that a British lesbian should be granted a spousal visa in a landmark judgment. International banks and law firms operating ...
Until real change is achieved, LGBTQ people in Japan have no reason to be grateful
When the first same-sex partnership was recognized in Shibuya in 2015, the mayor called it "a first step." So why, nearly three years later, are we still taking first steps?
U.S. Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy's retirement, announced on Wednesday, could put some of his signature rulings in jeopardy, including ones that expanded or preserved gay rights and abortion rights. Kennedy is a conservative, but he joined the court's four liberals to cast deciding votes ...
Argentine Congress poised for historic, contentious abortion vote
Lawmakers in traditionally conservative Argentina began a key session Wednesday ahead of a divisive vote on a bill to legalize abortion. The debate has divided Argentinian society. Though it became the first Latin American country to legalize same-sex marriage in 2010, it remains strongly influenced ...
Voters in Costa Rica were deciding in an Easter Sunday runoff whether to elect conservative Christian singer Fabricio Alvarado Munoz their next president, a result that could mark a sharp turn from the current government's embrace of gay rights. Best known for religious dance songs ...
Japan's first 'official' same-sex couple announce separation
Japan's first official same-sex couple terminated their partnership on Christmas Day. Actress and LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) activist Koyuki Higashi and entrepreneur Hiroko Masuhara released a statement earlier this week saying they have returned their partnership certificate to Tokyo's Shibuya Ward on Monday, ...
Taiwanese man facing deportation from Japan struggles to stay with same-sex partner
A Taiwanese man who has lived in Japan with his male Japanese partner for nearly a quarter century is now on the brink of separation not because he has fallen out of love but because he faces deportation for overstaying his visa. Hoping to continue ...
Same-sex couples hurried to declare plans to tie the knot on Saturday as Australia's new marriage equality law came into effect, with wedding registry offices holding special hours for the first day of legalized gay unions. The historic bill finally legalizing same-sex marriage came into ...
LGBT advocates push for nationwide recognition of same-sex marriage
Calls are growing in Japan for same-sex marriage to be legalized so LGBT couples can enjoy the same benefits that heterosexual couples do. While six governments in Japan recognize same-sex partnerships, ensuring such couples the same treatment and entitlement to local services as married couples, ...
