In the interest of staying internationally aware, here are some LGBT news stories from around the globe.
RUSSIA
Steve Jobs Memorial Torn Down After New Apple CEO Came Out
In Saint Petersburg, a memorial for Steve Jobs has been torn down after his successor, current Apple CEO Tim Cook publicly stated he is proud to be gay. In October, Cook wrote a lengthy essay published in Bloomberg Businessweek stating that he thought being gay was “among the greatest gifts God has given [him].”
The six foot tall memorial was erected in 2013 by a company called ZEFS. It was a giant interactive iPhone that featured scrolling quotations and images of Jobs’ life. ZEFS chairman Maxim Dolgopov said one of the reasons the memorial was dismantled was as a gesture against “aggressive” NSA spying.
After Cook publicly addressed his sexuality, Vitaly Milonov, co-sponsor of St. Petersburg’s legislation outlawing “gay propaganda” said that Cook should not be allowed into Russia because he could bring “the Ebola virus, AIDS [and] gonorrhea“ into the country.
SINGAPORE
Supreme Court Rules Against Gay Rights
Singapore’s Supreme Court has ruled that laws that discriminate against same sex couples are not unconstitutional. The move is a major setback for LGBTIQ activist in the island nation.Section 377A of the Singaporean Criminal Code declares that men who engage in ‘gross indecency’ privately or publicly can be jailed for up to two years.
In July, Singaporean couple Garry Lim and Kenneth Chee, who have been a couple for 16 years, launched an appeal alongside another Singaporean man Tan Eng Hong. Mr Tan had been arrested in 2010 for allegedly engaging in a sexual act with another man.
The trio argued that the law that forbids homosexual activity contravened sections of the nation’s constitution. The stance was that the constitution guaranteed the right to life and personal liberty, and declared that all people are entitled to equal protection before the law. The Supreme Court rejected the appeal from the group’s lawyers stating that it was up to legislators to determine what the laws would be.
INDIA
Man Arrested for Homosexuality Due to Wife’s Secret Camera
In Bangalore, a 32 year old man has been arrested after his wife secretly filmed him having sex with another man. The 31 year old woman told police in a statement obtained by BuzzFeed that there had been “no sexual contact” between the married couple, and that she was “suffering, thinking that [her] life was ruined.” She reportedly wants legal action brought against the man and his parents for allegedly arranging a sham marriage.
The arrest occurred less than a year after India’s Supreme Court reinstated section 377 of the country’s penal code, a colonial law that was first abolished in 2009. The law makes punishable “carnal intercourse against the order of nature with man, woman, or animal” making it one of the few anti-homosexuality laws that includes sex between women. Upon the law’s reinstation, judges speculated that the law would not result in arrests because “what happens in private is private.”
IRELAND
Transgender Woman Wins Gender Recognition
67 year old dentist Doctor Lydia Foy has been awarded 50,000 Euros of compensation ($71 915 AUS approx.) after fighting a three-decade battle for legal gender recognition. Dr Foy first launched proceedings in the 1990s, arguing for her right to a female birth certificate and legal recognition of her gender.
According to the Irish Times, Dr. Foy was also seeking damages for humiliating and degrading treatment, a breach of her rights, and personal injuries. The High Court is reportedly planning to hold the Irish government to its “firm intention” to enact laws recognizing the identities of transgender citizens, as it stated in 2007.
