Portal:LGBTQ

Rights affecting lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) people vary greatly by country or jurisdiction—encompassing everything from the legal recognition of same-sex marriage to the death penalty for homosexuality. Notably, as of January 2025, 38 countries recognize same-sex marriage. By contrast, not counting non-state actors and extrajudicial killings, only two countries are believed to impose the death penalty on consensual same-sex sexual acts: Iran and Afghanistan. The death penalty is officially law, but generally not practiced, in Mauritania, Saudi Arabia, Somalia (in the autonomous state of Jubaland) and the United Arab Emirates. LGBTQ people also face extrajudicial killings in the Russian region of Chechnya. Sudan rescinded its unenforced death penalty for anal sex (hetero- or homosexual) in 2020. Fifteen countries have stoning on the books as a penalty for adultery, which (in light of the illegality of gay marriage in those countries) would by default include gay sex, but this is enforced by the legal authorities in Iran and Nigeria (in the northern third of the country). (Full article...)

Charles J. O'Byrne (born 1959) is an American lawyer, former Jesuit priest, and former political staffer to Governor of New York David Paterson. O'Byrne served as Secretary to the Governor—the highest unelected position in New York government—during the Paterson administration. He stepped down from that position in October 2008 after admitting to having failed to pay five years' worth of taxes.

O'Byrne previously served as Chief of Staff to Paterson when Paterson served as a member of the New York State Senate and as Lieutenant Governor of New York. He also worked as a speechwriter for Howard Dean's 2004 presidential campaign. Prior to entering politics, O'Byrne practiced law and was a member of the Society of Jesus for 12 years before departing his order and authoring a controversial 2002 article about Catholic priests and seminarians. (Full article...)

• 23 January 2025: A law allowing same-sex marriages come into effect on January 23, 2025, in Thailand.
• 1 January 2025: A law allowing same-sex marriages come into effect on January 1, 2025, in Liechtenstein.
• 28 June 2024: On the campaign trail in the USA, May 2024
• 16 February 2024: Same-sex marriages come into effect on 16 February 2024 in Greece.
• 5 July 2023: Germany: Esslingen am Neckar hosts first Christopher Street Day
• 27 June 2023: France: Quimper, Finistère hosts second pride festival
• 22 June 2023: Estonian parliament passes legalization of same-sex marriage
• 20 June 2023: Wikinews interviews Tom Pashby, leader of campaign group Include Mx
• 12 June 2023: Tens of thousands march in 25th Tel Aviv Pride parade

• ...the first edition of Patience and Sarah, winner of the 1971 Stonewall Book Award, was self-published and all copies sold by the author after six publishers rejected it for not being marketable?
• ... that Jim Foster and Madeline D. Davis were the first openly LGBT people to address a major U.S. national political convention when they spoke to the 1972 Democratic National Convention?
• ...that openly-gay actor Robert La Tourneaux considered his role as the gay hustler in the 1970 film The Boys in the Band to be the "kiss of death" for his career?
• ... that Norman Lear's 1977 soap opera spoof All That Glitters featured Linda Gray as the first recurring transgender character on American television?

• 1 – Gina Ortiz Jones (1981–), American intelligence officer and politician
• 3 – Gertrude Stein (1874–1946), American expatriate writer
• 3 – Helen Stephens (1918–1994), American sprinter, two-time 1936 Olympic Gold Medalist
• 3 – Li Yinhe (1952–), Chinese sociologist, sexologist, and LGBT activist
• 5 – William S. Burroughs (1914–1997), American novelist and poet
• 6 – Ramón Novarro (1899–1968), Mexican Hollywood actor and sex symbol
• 6 – Anne, Queen of Great Britain (1665–1714), English royalty
• 7 – Mark Tewksbury (1968–), Canadian Olympic swimmer and LGBT rights activist
• 8 – James Dean (1931–1955), American film actor and cultural icon
• 9 – Ari-Pekka Liukkonen (1989–), Finnish swimmer
• 9 – Amy Lowell (1874–1925), American poet
• 10 – Bill Tilden (1893–1953), American tennis player
• 11 – Tammy Baldwin (1962–), American politician and first openly gay U.S. Senator
• 12 – Patricia Field (1941–), American costume designer, stylist & fashion designer.
• 12 – Philip, Prince of Eulenburg (1847–1921), German politician and diplomat
• 12 – George Smitherman (1964–), Canadian politician, former Member of Provincial Parliament (Ontario)
• 16 – John Schlesinger (1926–2003), English film and stage director
• 17 – Peter Karlsson (1966–1995), Swedish hockey player
• 18 – Audre Lorde (1934–1992), American writer and civil rights activist
• 18 – Jillian Michaels (1974–), American personal trainer, TV personality and author
• 19 – F. O. Matthiessen (1902–1950), American historian and literary critic
• 19 – Beth Ditto (1981–), American singer-songwriter
• 19 – Liz Carmouche (1984–), American mixed martial arts fighter
• 20 – William Lygon, 7th Earl Beauchamp (1872–1938), British politician
• 20 – Roy Cohn (1927–1986), American attorney during the McCarthy era
• 20 – John Browne, Baron Browne of Madingley (1948–), English business executive
• 21 – W. H. Auden (1907–1973), Anglo-American poet
• 21 – Hubert de Givenchy (1927–2018), French fashion designer
• 21 – David Geffen (1943–), American record executive and film producer
• 21 – Anaïs Nin (1903–1977), French writer
• 21 – Elliot Page (1987–), Canadian actor and film producer
• 22 – Jane Bowles (1917–1973), American writer and playwright
• 22 – Edna St. Vincent Millay (1892–1950), American poet and playwright
• 26 – Mabel Dodge Luhan (1879–1962), American heiress and patron of the arts
• 26 – Jenna Wolfe (1974–), Jamaican-American anchor/correspondent and fitness expert
• 27 – Libby Davies (1953–), Canadian politician, first openly lesbian Canadian Member of Parliament
• 28 – Stephen Spender (1909–1995), English poet, novelist, and essayist

• Timeline of LGBTQ history
• List of LGBTQ events
• List of LGBTQ rights activists
• List of years in LGBTQ rights
• List of LGBTQ bookstores
• Lists of LGBTQ people
• List of African-American LGBTQ people
• List of LGBTQ writers
• List of LGBTQ artists
• List of drag queens