Barbados’ High Court strikes down laws criminalizing sodomy
Barbados becomes the third Caribbean nation this year to repeal such laws used to criminalize gay men.
LGBTQ+ rights & well-being
This archive tracks real progress on LGBTQ+ rights and well-being — from legal protections and policy wins to health access, community support, and cultural recognition. Each story focuses on what’s working and where momentum is building, offering a grounded, hopeful look at a topic that shapes millions of lives.
Respect for Marriage Act on White House becomes law in the U.S., formally recognizing same-sex marriages
The bill requires that the federal and state governments to recognize same-sex and interracial marriages performed by other states.
South Korean supreme court rules transgender parents can change legal gender
A lower court had previously ruled that a woman, who was born a biological man, could not change her legal gender due to the fact that she had had a child who was still a minor when she had been a man.
Mormon church endorses U.S. federal marriage equality bill
The 17-million-member Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints now supports a bill that codifies the recognition of same-sex marriages performed in any state by other states and the federal government.
Trans people in the U.S. can now easily update their gender with the Social Security Administration
The Social Security Administration has announced that it is now possible to self-select sex on Social Security records without the need to provide any legal or medical proof of a gender change.
Ireland is making transgender people a protected class in hate crimes law
The Irish Cabinet has approved a bill that says anyone who is convicted of purposefully inciting hatred or violence against a person due to their gender identity or expression could face up to five years in prison.
Marriage equality is now legal in all of Mexico after the final states approve it
In a 23 to 12 vote (with two abstentions), Tamaulipas became the 32nd state to legalize same-sex marriage, after the state of Guerrero did so just the day before.
The State of Mexico legalizes marriage equality
In a 50 to 16 vote, the largest state in Mexico has legalized same-sex marriage, becoming the 29th of 32 Mexican states to do so.
Slovenia legalizes LGBTQ marriage and adoptions
The move makes Slovenia the first country in Eastern Europe to ensure equal rights for same-sex couples.
Cuba approves same-sex marriage in historic turnabout
Same-sex marriage in Cuba is now legal, after roughly two-thirds of voters approved a sweeping new family code that also opens adoption to gay couples. Before the referendum, the draft was workshopped at more than 79,000 neighborhood meetings, drawing over 300,000 citizen suggestions that shaped the final text. The 100-page code goes well beyond marriage equality, condemning family violence, urging equal sharing of housework, and giving children a formal voice in family decisions. It’s a remarkable turn for a country that once sent gay men to labor camps, and it places Cuba alongside Argentina, Brazil, and Colombia in Latin America’s steady movement toward fuller recognition of who counts as a family.