The Mississippi House of Representatives passed the SB2536 Bill on Wednesday, which bans transgender athletes from female designated sports. The Bill was introduced in the Mississippi Senate, which it passed earlier last month with a vote of 34-9, and now the House of Representatives with a vote of 81-28. The Bill requires public schools, member [...]

The Alabama Senate passed the controversial anti-trans SB10 Bill on Tuesday, effectively prohibiting the performance of gender affirming medical treatment on minors. The Bill, which shall be called the Alabama Vulnerable Child Compassion and Protection Act, was introduced by Senator Shay Shelnutt and passed with a vote of 23-4. Section 3 of the Bill prohibits [...]

The Virginia State Senate approved a constitutional amendment on Friday that removes the prohibition on same-sex marriage with a vote of 22-12. The amendment is to Section 15-A of Article I of the Virginia Constitution, which recognized as a valid marriage only a union between a man and a woman. It failed to recognize any [...]

On Wednesday, the Utah House of Representatives passed the controversial HB302 Bill, “Preserving Sports for Female Students,” effectively banning transgender athletes from female sports. The Bill, which was introduced by Representative Kera Birkeland and passed 50-23, would now require public schools in Utah to designate athletic activities based on “sex,” and not “gender,” a move [...]

China’s revised National Defense Law took effect Friday after its adoption by China’s top legislature, the Standing Committee of the 13th National People’s Congress (NPC), at its twenty-fourth session on December 26 and subsequent promulgation by President Xi Jinping. The amendment makes significant changes, with a total of 54 articles revised, six added and three deleted from the [...]

The Court of Appeals of North Carolina ruled Thursday that people who are or have been in a dating relationship with a same-sex partner are equally protected against domestic violence as persons in opposite-sex relationships placed in a similar situation. North Carolina was the only US state where such protection had been unavailable. The case [...]

The president of Algeria signed on Friday a presidential decree formally promulgating the recent amendment to the constitution. The new Constitution was adopted in November through a referendum and was awaiting presidential assent, which has been granted by President Abdelmadjid Tebboune’s Friday signature. The major amendments include provisions which allow renewal of presidential term only once [...]

The Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress on Saturday passed an amendment punishing acts of luring, instigating, forcing or offering banned substances to athletes competing in domestic or international events. Amendment XI was added to Article 355 of the Criminal Law of the People’s Republic of China, a provision which originally punished the act [...]

In a majority decision, the Constitutional Court of Romania has struck down a legislative amendment that effectively banned the subject of gender studies in university education as unconstitutional. Article 7(1)(e) of the impugned amendment was introduced earlier this year to amend Article 7 of the National Education Law No. 1/2011. The amendment prohibited any discussion in [...]

The United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) called on Thai authorities Friday to amend a Thai criminal code provision that punishes insulting the country’s monarchy. The OHCHR statement came in response to the arrest of as many as 35 protesters, including a 16-year-old student, in recent weeks. Under section 112 [...]