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Out in the World: LGBTQ news from Canada, Asia, and Europe

Another Japanese court has ruled the country’s same-sex marriage ban is unconstitutional

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4 months ago

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(Los Angeles Blade graphic)

CANADA

The mayor of Emo, Ontario, had his bank account garnished after he announced he would refuse to pay court-ordered damages of $5,000 to a local Pride organization. 

The drama started in 2020 when the small town of 5,000 people about 1,000 miles northwest of Toronto on the border with Minnesota refused a request by Borderlands Pride to issue a proclamation declaring June Pride Month in the town and fly a rainbow flag for a week. 

The town council voted down the request in an acrimonious debate in which now 76-year-old Mayor Harold McQuaker argued that flying the Pride flag was unfair because there’s no flag for “the other side.” Borderlands Pride then presented a petition asking the council to reconsider their request, but the council was unmoved. 

Four years later, the Ontario Human Rights Tribunal finally issued a ruling in the case, ordering the town to pay Borderlands Pride C$10,000 (approximately $7,000) and McQuaker to pay C$5,000 (approximately $3,500) and take the province’s “Human Rights 101” one-day course. 

McQuaker later told reporters that he would refuse to pay the judgement against him. That gave Borderlands Pride the ability to get a court order for garnishment of his bank account for the fine. 

“Sure, sex is great, but have you ever garnished your mayor’s bank account after he publicly refused to comply with a Tribunal’s order to pay damages?” Borderlands Pride posted on their Facebook account.

Emo Town Council has not yet announced if it will pay its portion of the judgment. 

The case has drawn attention from right-wing and far-right news outlets around the world, many of which are working overtime to paint McQuaker as a mild-mannered great-grandfather who is not at all homophobic.

But Borderlands Pride pushed back against that narrative with receipts. In another post on Facebook, the group shared letters McQuaker had published in newspapers going back nearly 20 years, when same-sex marriage was legalized in Canada. 

“Isn’t it funny we have all kinds of money to spend on same-sex crap and gun control, both of which will hurt our great nation,” McQuaker wrote in one letter.

“If a free vote had been allowed instead of party leaders forcing their MPs to their way, Mr. Harper would have defeated homosexual marriage legislation,” he wrote in another.

Five separate fundraisers on GiveSendGo and GoFundMe have raised around $28,000 for McQuaker and Emo’s legal defense, although none of these fundraisers appear to be directly linked to either.

JAPAN

The Fukuoka High Court ruled that Japan’s ban on same-sex marriage is unconstitutional, in the latest court victory for couples seeking equal marriage rights in the country.

The ruling on Dec. 13 was the third appellate-level ruling to find the ban unconstitutional, following rulings earlier this year from the Tokyo and Sapporo High Courts. It was also the first ruling to find the ban violates the constitution’s protection of the “pursuit of happiness.”

“[The judge] understood our suffering, and I felt very reassured,” one of the plaintiffs, Masahiro, told reporters.

Six lower courts have ruled on same-sex marriage since 2021, with all but one finding the ban to be unconstitutional. Many of these cases are still being heard at the appellate level, and the issue is likely to be taken up by the Japanese Supreme Court.

While the rulings do not have immediate effect in changing the law, they add pressure on legislators to address the issue. 

A report from Mainichi Shinbum suggests that there is now a majority in Parliament in favor same-sex marriage, following elections in October. Still, the Liberal Democratic Party, which leads the government, is largely opposed to equal marriage. 

POLAND

QueerMuzeum, the first museum dedicated to the history of Poland’s LGBTQ community, opened in Warsaw this month, the first such museum in a post-communist country in Europe.

The new museum is operated by the Lambda Warsaw Association, the oldest operating Polish LGBTQ organization, and it has more than 150 artefacts on display, including items dating back to the 16th century.

“We are on Marszałkowska Street, in the heart of Warsaw,” said Miłosz Przepiórkowski, Lambda’s president. “This sends a message to politicians: ‘Look, we are opening the fifth queer museum in the world in a country with the worst legal situation for queer people in the EU.’”⁠

QueerMuzeum is also a way to bring Lambda’s aid and advocacy work into the public eye, Przepiórkowski says. 

The organization has more than 100,000 artifacts in its collection, including letters, photographs, and early activist materials. Preserving these materials has been challenging, as much of the records of Poland’s LGBTQ community have been private or discarded. 

Key figures from Poland’s queer activist circles during the communist era in the 1980s were on hand for the opening ceremony, and had donated important personal materials to the museum. 

Ryszard Kisiel donated a decades-old safe-sex pamphlet, while Andrzej Selerowicz donated a photograph of himself with his partner that is 45 years old. 

LGBTQ rights remain a polarizing topic in Poland more than a year after a center-left coalition was elected to replace a far-right government. The new government has struggled to pass a long-promised civil union bill and update hate speech laws to protect LGBTQ people, amid conflicts among more conservative coalition partners.

UNITED KINGDOM

The UK government has announced that it is indefinitely prohibiting the prescription of puberty blockers for use with transgender children, Health Secretary Wes Streeting announced on Dec 11.

The ban applies across the UK and was put in place following consultations with the devolved governments of Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland.

It comes following the much-disputed Cass Review on gender treatment in the UK, which had recommended new restrictions on puberty blockers. Earlier this year, the previous Conservative government brought in emergency legislation to ban puberty blockers. Streeting’s announcement makes that ban indefinite, with the government saying it will review the legislation in 2027.

The ban applies to new patients only; patients already receiving puberty blockers as a form of care can continue to receive it.

Streeting says there is a plan to begin a clinical trial on puberty blockers next year, which would help “establish a clear evidence base for the use of this medicine.”

But trans activists rejected the government’s framing of the ban, as they have much of the findings of the Cass Review.

“The government is entirely disregarding the voices of trans youth, who made clear their deep opposition to the restriction of private prescriptions for puberty blockers during consultation,” Laura Stoner, the chief executive of the trans rights group Mermaids, told the Guardian.

Trans rights have become a notably polarizing issue in the UK over the last several years, as “Harry Potter” author JK Rowling has become one of the world’s most vocal critics of trans people, and successive UK governments have sought to weaken protections for trans people and restrict access to gender care or to women’s spaces, often in the name of women’s rights.

Other British stars like Daniel Radcliffe and David Tennant have been notable allies for trans people.

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Australia

Australian LGBTQ rights group issues US travel advisory

Equality Australia warns transgender, nonbinary people of ‘serious risks’

Published

14 hours ago

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April 22, 2025

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Equality Australia has issued a U.S. travel advisory.

An LGBTQ rights group in Australia has issued a travel advisory for transgender and nonbinary people who plan to visit the U.S.

Equality Australia on April 14 posted the advisory to its website that states the U.S. government’s policy on visas and Electronic System for Travel Authorization or ESTA “appears to be” the following:

• To use the term “biological sex”

• To only use the gender marker recorded at a person’s birth, even if this differs from their gender

• That valid foreign passports with an ‘X’ gender marker and a valid visa (if needed) may continue to be admitted, however this is contingent upon satisfying inspection of their admissibility by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection officer at the port of entry

• That any previously issued, valid visa may remain current until its expiration date and the visa holder does not need to apply for a new visa with an amended gender marker until the current visa expires (it is unclear whether this applies to ESTAs)

• That new visas will only be issued under the gender marker recorded for the applicant at birth (it is unclear whether this applies to ESTA applications, although only ‘M’ and ‘F’ gender marker options are available for ESTA applications)

• That if consular officers assessing visa applications become aware an application does not contain the gender marker recorded at the applicant’s birth, they should assess additional evidence (such as previous travel records, although the scope is unclear), and/or conduct interviews and

• That where individuals are not using the gender marker recorded at their birth, consular officers should consider classifying the application as procuring a visa through material misrepresentation or fraud, which results in a lifetime bar from the U.S.

President Donald Trump shortly after he took office on Jan. 20 issued an executive order that bans the State Department from issuing passports with “X” gender markers. Secretary of State Marco Rubio in response to directive ordered State Department personnel to “suspend any application requesting an ‘X’ sex marker and do not take any further action pending additional guidance from the department.” A federal judge in Boston on April 18 issued a temporary injunction against the Trump-Vance administration’s directive.

Equality Australia says its advisory is “relevant if you are traveling to the U.S.” and fall under the following criteria:

• Hold a passport with a gender ‘X’ marker

• Have identity documents with gender markers different to those assigned to you at birth, or where other relevant details (such as your name) have been changed

• Have gender markers in your identity documents that do not match your gender expression

• Have a track record of LGBTIQ+ activism or other political activity.

“Travel to the U.S. carries serious risks that should be considered before planning any travel, particularly if you fall under one of the above categories,” reads the advisory.

Germany, Denmark, Finland, and the Netherlands are among the countries that have issued travel advisories for trans and nonbinary people who plan to visit the U.S.

WorldPride is scheduled to take place in D.C. from May 17-June 8.

InterPride, the organization that coordinates WorldPride events, on March 12 issued its own travel advisory for trans and nonbinary people who want to travel to the U.S. Egale Canada, one of Canada’s largest LGBTQ advocacy organizations, in February announced its members will not attend WorldPride and any other event in the U.S. because of the Trump-Vance administration’s policies.

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The Vatican

Pope Francis dies at 88

Vatican’s tone on LGBTQ, intersex issues softened under papacy

Published

2 days ago

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April 21, 2025

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Pope Francis (Photo by palinchak via Bigstock)

Pope Francis died on Monday at his official residence at the Vatican. He was 88.

Cardinal Kevin Farrell, the Vatican camerlengo, said Francis passed away at Casa Santa Marta at 7:35 a.m. local time (1:35 a.m. ET.)

“His entire life was dedicated to the service of the Lord and of his church,” said Farrell. “He taught us to live the values of the Gospel with fidelity, courage, and universal love, especially in favor of the poorest and most marginalized. With immense gratitude for his example as a true disciple of the Lord Jesus, we commend the soul of Pope Francis to the infinite merciful love of the one and triune God.”

Francis, a Jesuit who was previously known as Jorge Mario Bergoglio, was born in Buenos Aires to Italian immigrant parents in 1936. He became archbishop of the Argentine capital in 1998.

The Buenos Aires Metropolitan Cathedral in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on April 3, 2025. (Washington Blade photo by Michael K. Lavers)

Pope John Paul II in 2001 appointed him cardinal. The College of Cardinals in 2013 elected Francis to succeed Pope Benedict XVI after he resigned.

Francis vehemently opposed Argentina’s marriage equality law that then-President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner signed in 2010. Francis as pope backed civil unions for gays and lesbians and in 2023 said priests can bless same-sex couples.

Francis in 2023 said laws that criminalize homosexuality are “unjust.” He appointed Robert McElroy, an LGBTQ-friendly cardinal from San Diego, as the new archbishop of Washington.

The pontiff in 2015 met with a group of gay, transgender, and HIV-positive prisoners in the Italian city of Naples. A Vatican charity in 2020 gave money to a group of trans sex workers in Italy who were struggling to survive during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Francis last October met with a group of trans and intersex Catholics and LGBTQ allies at the Vatican. GLAAD President Sarah Kate Ellis and Juan Carlos Cruz, a gay Chilean man who is a clergy sex abuse survivor, are among those who also met with Francis during his papacy.

Church teachings on homosexuality and gender identity, however, did not change.

“From the early months of his papacy when he uttered the now-iconic ‘Who am I to judge?’ in response to a question about accepting gay priests, through numerous affirming pastoral messages to individual LGBTQ+ people, to his support for civil unions, and his condemnation of criminalization laws, Pope Francis has changed the church irreversibly by allowing people to see how their Catholic faith requires acceptance and equality,” said Francis DeBernardo, executive director of New Ways Ministry, a Mount Rainier, Md., based LGBTQ Catholic advocacy organization, in a statement.

DignityUSA Executive Director Marianne Duddy-Burke met Francis in 2023.

The group in a statement acknowledged the pontiff’s “legacy on LGBTQ+ issues is complicated,” noting “even with the recognition of so many positive words and actions, church teachings and even some recent Vatican documents remain problematic.” DignityUSA President Meli Barber nevertheless praised Francis.

“We also recognize that Pope Francis has raised awareness of LGBTQ+ issues in our church in truly unprecedented ways,” said Barber. “He spoke about us using our own terms and made a point of being seen meeting with LGBTQ+ people frequently. This sent a message of recognition and inclusion we never experienced from the Vatican before.”

A picture of Pope Francis inside St. Matthew’s Cathedral in D.C. on April 21, 2025. (Washington Blade photo by Michael K. Lavers)

Pope’s legacy is ‘mixed’

Activists in Argentina and around the world also mourned Francis.

“We mourn his death and embrace the people who are suffering today because of his passing,” LGBT Federation of Argentina President María Rachid told the Washington Blade.

Dindi Tan, national president of LGBT Pilipinas in the Philippines, on her Facebook page wrote Francis “was unafraid to challenge age-old dogmas and to ‘rattle’ the cage.” Pedro Julio Serrano, president of the Puerto Rico LGBTQ+ Federation, said Francis was an “ally of equity, humanity and dignity of LGBTQ+ people, not only during his pontificate, but throughout his life.”

Peter Tatchell, a long-time LGBTQ activist from the U.K. who is director of the Peter Tatchell Foundation, in a statement acknowledged Francis’s “more compassionate tone towards sexual minorities” that includes blessings for same-sex couples. Tatchell, nevertheless, pointed out the Vatican under Francis’s papacy continued to oppose marriage equality and trans rights.

“The Catholic Church remains a force for discrimination and suffering,” said Tatchell. “Under his leadership, the Vatican continued to oppose same-sex marriage and trans rights. Catholic bishops lobbied against the decriminalization of homosexuality in many parts of the world. The Vatican still upholds the homophobic edicts of the Catechism, which denounces the sexual expression of same-sex love as a ‘grave depravity’ and ‘intrinsically disordered.’ Francis’s legacy is, therefore, a mixed one — offering some progress but leaving deep-rooted inequalities largely intact.”

Vance met with Francis on Easter Sunday

Francis earlier this year spent more than a month in a Rome hospital after he developed double pneumonia.

A mural in Rosario, Argentina, on April 10, 2025, that reads, “We are praying for you Francis.” (Washington Blade photo by Michael K. Lavers)

He met with Vice President JD Vance at the Vatican on Easter Sunday, hours before his death.

The pope had previously criticized the Trump-Vance administration over its immigration policies.

“I just learned of the passing of Pope Francis,” said Vance on X after the Vatican announced Francis’s death. “My heart goes out to the millions of Christians all over the world who loved him.”

Argentine President Javier Milei, who previously criticized Francis, mourned him in a statement he posted to X. Milei also announced Argentina will observe seven days of mourning.

“It is with profound sorrow that I learned this sad morning that Pope Francis, Jorge Bergoglio, passed away today and is now resting in peace,” said Milei. “Despite differences that seem minor today, having been able to know him in his goodness and wisdom was a true honor for me.”

“As president, as an Argentine, and, fundamentally, as a man of faith, I bid farewell to the Holy Father and stand with all of us who meet today with this sad news,” he added.

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Mexico

Gay couple claims Puerto Vallarta wedding venue discriminated against them

Jeremy Alexander and Ryan Sheepwash wanted to get married at Sheraton hotel

Published

4 days ago

on

April 18, 2025

By

From left, Ryan Sheepwash and Jeremy Alexander (Photo courtesy Jeremy Alexander)

A gay couple claims a hotel in a Mexican resort city that is popular with LGBTQ travelers discriminated against them when they tried to book their wedding.

Jeremy Alexander and Ryan Sheepwash in a TikTok video said they contacted the Sheraton Buganvilias Resort and Convention Center in Puerto Vallarta about holding their wedding at the property.

The couple, who live in Vernon, British Columbia, provided the Washington Blade with an invoice that Gabriela Espinoza, a wedding planner at the property, sent them on Jan. 17, 2025.

The invoice said 25 “deluxe ocean view room — all inclusive” rooms cost $970 a night. The total cost for the 25 rooms was $72,750.

Alexander in the TikTok video said it took Espinoza three months to send them the quote. The property, according to Alexander, requested a $36,000 deposit for half of the rooms.

“It’s not reasonable,” he said. “No one can afford that.”

Alexander said Espinoza told him and Sheepwash that the earliest they could have their wedding at the property was March 2027. Alexander in the TikTok video said he and Sheepwash asked a straight friend to “request a quote just to see apples to apples what it looks like.”

Ximena Esparza, another wedding planner at the property, on Feb. 7, 2025, sent the friend a quote for 25 rooms for a hypothetical wedding that was to have taken place from Feb. 19-26, 2026.

The quote for a “deluxe package” for 50 people was $8,500 and required a 20 percent deposit of $1,700.

“We just feel defeated,” said Sheepwash in the TikTok video. “It’s not fair because we love each other and we really want to get married, and we want to make it special and we want to make it perfect.”

@illuminaughtytriangle So disappointed that my fiancée and I got discriminated against by #Sheraton in #puertovallarta ♬ original sound – Jeremy Alexander

The Blade in 2019 reported the Sheraton Buganvilias Resort and Convention Center refused to allow Josh Rimer, a gay Canadian vlogger and television host who is also Mr. Gay Canada 2019, and his then-fiancé to hold their wedding at the property.

The invoice that Espinoza sent to Alexander and Sheepwash notes the hotel is “operated under license from Marriott International, Inc., or one of its affiliates.”

A spokesperson for Marriott, which is based in Bethesda, Md., and is Sheraton’s parent company, in response to Rimer’s allegation said the corporation reached out to him to express “our sincerest apologies for his experience.”

“We are troubled and greatly concerned about the experience reported by Mr. Rimer. Marriott has long been committed to providing an environment where all are welcome including our LGBTQ guests and their loved ones,” said the spokesperson. “In addition, we are looking further into the matter to better understand what happened and do what we can to prevent hurtful experiences like this from happening again.”

A Marriot spokesperson on Thursday told the Blade the company has “reached out to Mr. Sheepwash and Mr. Alexander to learn more about their experience and are working with the property to offer a solution.” 

“The Sheraton Buganvilias has been active in the LGBTQ+ community in Puerto Vallarta for years, hosting LGBTQ+ weddings and groups and also supporting Pride events in Puerto Vallarta,” said the spokesperson. “Marriott remains steadfast in our commitment to ensure guests are treated with respect and understanding.”

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