In 2017 the PRO-LGBT leader Kristi Pinderi (photo attached) announced the rights group will file a lawsuit requesting equal recognition of gay relationships. This is a far cry from the repression of the communist regime that ended in 1985 under which LGBTs were imprisoned and tortured. What makes the difference? ‘Blood. sweat and tears’, literally,
Gays in Algeria Face Persecution in Fight for Rights 2016
By Richard Ammon GlobalGayz.com Updated January 2017 A near-unanimous Muslim population in Algeria makes the fight for rights of gays a dangerous place and struggle. It is a huge country about the size of Western Europe with most of it rural desert with widely scattered villages and towns, many far from the major urban
Gay Life in Austria–Graz City 2016
By Richard Ammon GlobalGayz.com May 2016 Also see: Austria Photo Galleries Austria News & Reports Archive This trip I visited Vienna and Graz (the second largest city in Austria) where LGBT life thrives not in abundant quantity but in quiet quality. A week in Graz is a walk through a wonderland of picturesque
Gay Syrian Asylum Seekers Face Threats From Fellow Refugees in Europe
As if fleeing from tyranny and war are not enough, Syrian LGBT refugees face continued abuse and hostility from other non-gay refugees in Europe. By Anthony Faiola Washington Post October 24, 2015 https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/gay-asylum-seekers-face-threat-from-fellow-refugees-in-europe/2015/10/23/46762ce2-71b8-11e5-ba14-318f8e87a2fc_story.html Dresden, Germany Rami Ktifan made a snap decision to come out. A fellow Syrian had spotted a rainbow flag lying
Gay Life in Albania is Determined and Courageous; an Interview in Tirana
“Gay life in Albania” is hardly an accurate descriptive word for this country since there is no public Pride presence and few courageous activists who work mostly behind the scenes to lobby sympathetic government members and quietly offer support to young gays. But change will come as the country’s two LGBT rights and equality groups slowly push open the envelop of tolerance.
Gay Ukraine After the Revolution: Life is Dangerous
Activist Globa Bogdan, who had his hopes for Kiev Pride dashed this year, says the culture of machismo threatens LGBT Ukrainians. By Thom Senzee July 09 2014 The Advocate (http://www.advocate.com/world/2014/07/09/kiev-activist-life-dangerous-lgbt-ukrainians) (Photo right: activist Globa Bogdan at Baltimore Pride 2013 ) For Bogdan Globa, founder and executive director of Tochka Opory|Fulcrum, an LGBT rights advocacy
The Difference Between Regression and Progress; Between Retrograde Stupidity About Human Sexuality and Intelligent Scientific Evidence
Read Here The Difference Between Regression and Progress; Between Retrograde Stupidity About Human Sexuality and Intelligent Scientific Evidence; Between Russia and USA. Russia Moscow police on Saturday detained two women attempting to hold an unsanctioned Gay Pride demonstration. According to the AP, the demonstration took place across from the Moscow mayor’s office. Reuters reported that
Gay Life in Pakistan–Quiet and Comfortable
Pakistani gay says life easier at home than in USA; culture helps mask same-sex affection Qasim and his partner Ali are in love and live together. They talk about going abroad to marry, but the only weddings they attend in Pakistan are arranged unions between their gay friends and unsuspecting women. Despite that, “it’s
The Past and Future of America–and Gay America
I am looking at two journal reports from the NY Times that look across two very different plains in gay America. One is a full-page coverage of a September 2012 gay wedding of two well-off gay men in the prime of their lives and professions. The other is a recent opinion piece, entitled ‘Excluded From
Gay Ukraine Up Close
Introduction Here are two personal testimonies from gay Ukrainian men who know well the ardors of living gay in Ukraine. The first is from a well know TV entertainer and singer who quit the scene rather than be humiliated. The second is by an angry man who has felt confined and limited by his society
Gay Life in Kosovo
Introduction: Kosovo has had a difficult time becoming a nation and developing “Gay Life in Kosovo” has been even harder. Captured by the Ottomans then the Serbians subsumed into socialist Yugoslavia, then split off as part of independent Serbia in 1989 and again split off from Serbia to become an independent country in 2008. It’s no wonder such a struggle for identity and survival has left little time for such delicate issues as human rights, arts and letter–and especially for gay equal rights. Finding a decent gay life has not been and will not be easy for native citizens or western visitors.
The following is a lengthy collection of reports that attempt to portray the patchwork LGBT situation that is gay Kosovo, a nation torn by strife and hardship and warfare over the past century. It is not a simple story and not a glorious one. Homosexual citizens in Kosovo are far from equal in dignity, freedom and respect. One may hope that joining the European Union will slowly wean the country away from the crime of deep homophobia.
Gay Life in UAE (United Arab Republic)
Introduction Very little LGBT news comes out of the Emirates gulf states because it is such a closeted culture, but the recent removal of an anti-gay video from YouTube, made in the United Arab Emirates, has evoked some dialogue around lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender issues in the Emirates. In this report, Dan Littauer of
Coming Out: A Gay Kuwaiti’s Experience
Introduction by Richard Ammon GlobalGayz.com Photos, News & Reports for Gay Kuwait Cultural changes come about very slowly for gays in the Muslim Middle East. This story appeared several years ago in the Kuwait News; it is an unusual story since homosexuality is rarely discussed publicly, let alone published in a newspaper. (However this is
Sexuality and Law
International human rights law today stands on the United Nations Charter of 1945, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 1948, the European Convention on Human Rights of 1950, and two UN 1966 treaties: the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. These initiatives have
How Far Away is Hope For LGBT People?
As I travel the world interviewing LGBT people about their lives, their cultures and countries I hear stories of effort, strategy, frustration and achievement. One question I have failed to ask these courageous activists, some risking their lives, is “how far away is hope?” How far away is hope for equality, tolerance, acceptance, relationship recognition,
Homophobia–Win a Few, Lose a Lot, Win a Few More
Sunday’s New York Times (online, July 3) featured four articles about homosexuality in America–on the front page. In the context of a recent wave of gay issues in the media (Governor Cuomo wins the NY gay marriage vote (photo right); Rhode Island approves civil unions; New Jersey’s governor rejects gay marriage; the debate over DADT
Gay Rights and Life in Cameroon
Homosexuals are subject to attacks and abuse in Cameroon From: News.Cameroon-Today.com November 4, 2010 Report: Criminalizing Identities – Rights Abuses in Cameroon Based on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity. From: Alternatives-Cameroun, L’Association pour la defense des Droits des Homosexuels; Human Rights Watch; and the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission Douala, Cameroon Couples in
USA – Gay Games: Opening Ceremony
Chicago’s Soldier Field was the host venue for the opening ceremony of Gay Games VII in July 2006. About 11,000 athletes from nearly 50 countries entered the field to the cheers of about 40,000 people. At the end of the evening the Gay Games torch was lit.
Dalai Lama Donates to Center for Healthy Minds. “It’s about changing habits of the heart.”
New York Times By Dirk Johnson September 26, 2010 Madison, Wisconsin, USA They say money can’t buy happiness — but it can finance the research. When Richard Davidson (left in photo) , then a psychology doctoral student in the 1970s, told his advisers at Harvard that he planned to study the power of meditation, the
Gay Games 2010, Cologne, Germany
By Richard Ammon GlobalGayz.com August 14, 2010 I’m back home from another stellar week of the Gay Games, my 7th, in Cologne, Germany (July 31-Aug 7). The Gay Games are the gay version of the Olympics but since we legally can’t called them that, Gay Games will have to do. Besides that name rings truer
Gay Life in Lebanon: Bounce Back Beirut
Intro: An intrepid Dutch reporter ventures into the mixed-message country of Lebanon to experience the glitter and fears of gay life in Beirut. During his visit he discovers the fashionable avenues of Gemmayzeh and the tense streets of Dahiyeh (controlled by Hezbollah) yet finding gay life in both. The conclusion is that LGBT life is not widespread or publicly celebrated but is progressing and tolerated thanks to courageous club owners and Helem human rights group.
Uganda: Stealing the Spotlight From President Museveni
Neophyte Legislator Proposes Deadly Laws Against Gays: Unleashes International Protest Richard Ammon, GlobalGayz Laguna Beach, CA Yoweri Museveni has been president of Uganda for 24 years in a country that had suffered decades of government corruption, mismanagement, bloody guerilla activity and civil war, all preceded by the the horrors of the Idi Amin tyranny in
Death of Important Gay ‘Hero’ Keith Goddard of Zimbawe
Westhampton, MA – October 13, 2009 Richard Ammon – GlobalGayz.com Yesterday I received the very sad news about the death of LGBT leader Keith Goddard, director of GALZ (Gays and Lesbians of Zimbabwe). GlobalGayz was privileged to meet and interview with Keith in the spring of 2009. He was comfortable to be with, witty and
Major Lesbian Publication Issued from Copenhagen Conference
Posted by Richard Ammon, GlobalGayz.comI was fortunate to attend the July 2009 OutGames and Human Rights Conference in Copenhagen, Denmarkwhere the following publication was presented by ILGA on behalf of worldwide lesbian activists and supporters. In the past decade lesbians have taken their full place on the world stage of human rights advocacy. Once relegated
Gay Rights Organizations react to Death of Ted Kennedy
“For all those whose cares have been our concern, the work goes on, the cause endures, the hope still lives, and the dream shall never die.” From GlobalGayz.com: Richard Ammon, owner Westhampton, MA I grew up with the Kennedys in our government, the longest serving being Ted Kennedy. He was a presence in my life