President Barack Obama will put an emphasis on the importance of LGBT rights in his state visit to Kenya, he told the BBC.
Despite several trips to Africa during his presidency, this it the first time the President has visited Kenya — the birthplace of his father — while in office. In an interview with the BBC ahead of his trip, Obama made clear that he would be raising the issue of LGBT rights with Kenya’s president, despite protests from some politicians in the nation.
“The deputy president in Kenya, who you’re going to meet, Mr Ruto, he said, ‘We have heard that in the US they have allowed gay relations and other dirty things,'” BBC correspondent Jon Sopel told the President.
“Yeah. Well, I disagree with him on that, don’t I?” Obama responded. “And I’ve had this experience before when we’ve visited Senegal in my last trip to Africa.
“I was very blunt about my belief that everybody deserves fair treatment, equal treatment in the eyes of the law and the state,” he continued. “And that includes gays, lesbians, transgender persons. I am not a fan of discrimination and bullying of anybody on the basis of race, on the basis of religion, on the basis of sexual orientation or gender.”
The President declared that LGBT rights would be “front and center” as part of his agenda, alongside Kenya’s treatment of women and girls. Mr. Obama emphasized his personal connection to the nation, which fueled a desire to see greater equality in the region.
“As somebody who has family in Kenya and knows the history of how the country so often is held back because women and girls are not treated fairly, I think those same values apply when it comes to different sexual orientations,” he said.
The President won’t have an easy task ahead of him in convincing Kenyans that LGBT rights are an important part of improving their nation. A UN report determined that homosexuality is “largely considered to be taboo and repugnant to [the] cultural values and morality” of Kenya. Sex between men is illegal, punishable by up to 21 years in prison, while transgender individuals are often subject to stigma and violence from the general public.
An interracial gay couple who run an award-winning farm in King George County, Virginia, say they were the targets of a hate-filled act after someone deliberately dumped medical waste on their property following last week’s state elections.
Kevin Graham, 44, and Dragan Kurbalija, 47, own Gardening Gays Farm, a 27-acre property along U.S. Route 301 where they sell flowers, eggs, seasonal produce, and pasture-raised meats, including lamb and chicken.
They also sell jams, sauces, teas, herbal remedies, local honey, handcrafted candles, and other artisan goods at their on-site store, and share their experiences as farmers on YouTube. The business was recently voted King George County’s “Overall Best Business,” “Best Family-Owned Business,” and “Best Agricultural Business” in a county-sponsored “Best of the Best” contest.
The Alabama Public Library Service Board of Directors, which oversees the state’s public libraries, has voted to remove books discussing transgender identities from teen and children’s sections statewide.
On November 20 -- which coincided with Transgender Day of Remembrance -- the board approved an addition to an existing rule requiring youth sections to be free of "sexually explicit or other material deemed inappropriate." The amended rule now specifies that materials discussing "transgender procedures, gender ideology, or the concept of more than two biological genders" are inappropriate for library sections aimed at children and teens.
Racers, start your engines. RuPaul’s Drag Race has revealed the 14 new queens set to grace the runway for its 18th season as they vie for the title of America’s Next Drag Superstar and a grand prize of $200,000.
Premiering January 2 on MTV, the season will be accompanied by another run of RuPaul’s Drag Race: Untucked, where viewers get the chance to get an inside look at all the tea being spilt behind the scenes of the hit show.
The new season will also feature a bit of a twist from the outset. Unlike the recent spate of season-premiere episodes that feature a talent show -- remember Season 15, when the judges were somehow unimpressed with Irene the Alien’s keen ability to make a glass of ice water? -- the competition appears to be starting with a sewing challenge.
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