“LGBTI inclusion has well and truly made its way onto the Australian workplace… employers are not only maintaining their commitment to LGBTI inclusion but, in fact, strengthening their initiatives.”
MURDER MAYOR A town mayor in Alabama calls for the murder of gay people. Mark Chambers’ disturbing rant says in part: “Homosexuals lecture us on morals. Transvestites lecture us on human biology. The only way to change it would be to kill them out’. Activists call it “horrifying, unconscionable and unacceptable”.
MANILLA MADNESS The “hard man” President of the Philippines tells the world he used to be gay but has “cured” himself. Rodrigo Duterte says he’s glad he’s “become a man again”. He is currently married to a woman, with whom he has a daughter.
DUMP TRUMP Thousands of people protest in central London as US President Donald Trump arrives for a state visit. As part of a “carnival of resistance” they hold up banners calling him a hypocrite for tweeting about Gay Pride Month while pushing forward antiLGBTIQ legislation in America. ‘NATURAL LAW’ The Trump Administration’s State Department sets out plans for a new commission that will advise on human rights in the context of “natural law” – a phrase associated with antigay Christianity. “[It] will provide fresh thinking about human rights discourse where such discourse has departed from our nation’s founding principles of natural law and natural rights,” they say. Activists say it will lead to a wave of discriminatory laws targeting the LGBTQI community.
NZ FUNDING New Zealand steps up medical support for trans people by committing more than $NZD 3 million in extra funding for gender-affirming surgery operations. Authorities say they recognise there is a lengthy waiting list for the procedure and the additional funding will allow more people to transition each year. TALES OF THE CITY The cast of the new version of the much-loved Tales Of The City TV series celebrate its premiere as all episodes drop on Netflix. The SanFrancisco-based show, created by Armistead Maupin, is based on the 1990s original and follows the familiar characters as they live a new queer life.
WHAM! News breaks that British singer George Michael left none of his reported almost £100 million fortune to his boyfriend Fadi Fawaz, nor his ex, Kenny Goss. Michael, who died in 2016, divided his estate between his sisters, PR team and other lucky few. GOING SWIMMINGLY Aussie gold-medal Olympian Matthew Mitcham and his British boyfriend Luke Rutherford (pictured right) announce their engagement on Instagram and post cute pics of themselves. Matt and Luke have been dating for seven months.