2024 in LGBTQ rights explained

This is a list of notable events in the history of LGBTQ rights taking place in the year 2024.

Events

January

• 1 – Same-sex marriage becomes legal in Estonia.^[1]
• 9 – Gabriel Attal is appointed Prime Minister of France, becoming the country’s first openly gay head of government.^[2]

February

• 15 – Greece's Parliament passes a bill legalizing same-sex marriages by a vote of 175 to 77.^{[3] [4]}
• 16 – Greece's same-sex marriage law comes into force.
• 22 – Westlock, Alberta (Canada) gets a majority vote to ban pride flags.^[5]
• 28 – The Parliament of Ghana passes a widespread anti-LGBT bill making the promotion or advocacy of LGBT rights punishable by five years in prison.^[6]
• 29 – Australia's Cumberland City Council votes to ban drag queen storytime from council events.^[7]

March

• 22 – The Government of New South Wales bans conversion therapy, including for citizens out of state.^[8]
• 27 – The House of Representatives of Thailand passes a preliminary bill legalizing same-sex marriages by a vote of 400 to 10.^{[9] [10]}

April

• 12 – Germany's parliament passes law easing legal procedures for changing names and gender identity by a vote of 374 to 251.^[11]
• 17 – Sweden's parliament passes law lowering the minimum age to legally change gender from 18 to 16 by a vote of 234 to 94.^[12]
• 19 – Czech Republic, same-sex partnerships get more rights in income taxes, social security and stepchild adoptions. The reform comes into effect on 1 January 2025.^[13]
• 23 – Dominica's High Court issued a ruling decriminalizing homosexual acts.^{[14] [15]}
• 27 – Iraq's parliament votes to criminalize same-sex relationships, to be punishable by a maximum of 15 years in prison.^{[16] [17] [18]}

May

• 1 – The United Methodist Church (UMC) allows same-sex marriages in their churches and strikes down its 40-year ban on gay clergy.^{[19] [20]}
• 1 – Australia's Cumberland City Council votes in favour of removing books about same-sex parenting in council libraries.^{[21] [22] [23] [24]}
• 15 – Australia's Cumberland City Council repeals the ban on books about same-sex parenting in council libraries, passed 14 days earlier.^{[25] [26] [27]}
• 16 – The Landtag of Liechtenstein repeals the ban on same-sex marriages. The bill comes into effect on January 1, 2025.^[28]

June

• 18 – Senate of Thailand approves the same-sex marriage bill by a vote of 130 to 4.^[29]
• 21 – Namibia's High Court issued a ruling decriminalizing homosexual acts.^[30]

July

• 12 – The Supreme Court of the Netherlands rules that same-sex marriage is legal in Aruba and Curaçao.^[31]

August

• 7 – The Bulgarian National Assembly votes in favor of a legislative amendment banning the teaching of LGBTQ related topics in schools.^[32]
• 28 – India's Ministry of Finance issued an advisory declaring that persons from the LGBTQ community face no restrictions in opening joint bank accounts or nominating their partners as beneficiaries.^[33]

September

• 17 – The Georgian Parliament votes in favor of passing laws introduced by Georgian Dream party curtailing LGBT rights.^[34]
• 24 – Thailand's king has signed a marriage equality bill into law, making Thailand the first country in South East Asia to recognize same-sex marriage.^{[35] [36]}

October

• 3 – The Georgian Parliament speaker signs the anti-LGBT rights bill into law.^[37]

Notes and References

1. https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/estonia-becomes-first-central-european-country-allow-same-sex-marriage-2023-06-20/ Reuters.com: Estonia becomes first central European country to allow same-sex marriage
2. Web site: Mawad . Joshua Berlinger, Dalal . 2024-01-09 . Gabriel Attal becomes France's youngest and first openly gay prime minister . 2024-01-12 . CNN . en.
3. Web site: February 16, 2024 . Greece legalises same sex marriage in landmark change . Reuters.
4. News: Greece legalises same sex marriage . 15 February 2024 . BBC News.
5. Web site: Canadian town narrowly votes to ban Pride flags. 23 February 2024 .
6. https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/ghanas-parliament-passes-anti-lgbt-law-2024-02-28/
7. Web site: 'Fear-mongering': Sydney council bans drag queen storytime events at heated meeting .
8. News: Taouk . Maryanne . March 22, 2024 . 'We will protect you': NSW bans gay conversion therapy after marathon parliamentary debate . March 25, 2024 . ABC News.
9. Web site: Thailand: Lawmakers pass same-sex marriage bill – DW – 03/27/2024 . 2024-03-27 . dw.com . en.
10. Web site: Thailand's parliament approves same-sex marriage bill . 2024-03-27 . Nikkei Asia . en-GB.
11. Web site: 2024-04-13 . Germany passes law making it easier to legally change gender . 2024-04-17 . euronews . en.
12. News: Staff . 2024-04-17 . Sweden passes law lowering age to legally change gender from 18 to 16 . 2024-04-17 . The Guardian . en-GB . 0261-3077.
13. https://www.ggg.at/2024/04/19/tschechischer-senat-winkt-aufwertung-der-eingetragenen-partnerschaften-durch/ Tschechischer Senat winkt Aufwertung der Eingetragenen Partnerschaften durch
14. https://www.queer.de/detail.php?article_id=49247 Queer.de:Dominica legalisiert Homosexualität
15. https://dominicanewsonline.com/news/homepage/news/breaking-news-dominica-high-court-rules-punishment-of-homosexual-acts-as-unconstitutional/ Dominicanews: Dominica High Court rules punishment of homosexual acts as unconstitutional
16. https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/iraq-criminalises-same-sex-relationships-with-maximum-15-years-prison-2024-04-27/
17. Web site: Iraq criminalises same-sex relationships with maximum 15 years in prison .
18. News: Iraq makes same-sex relations punishable by up to 15 years in jail . The Guardian . 27 April 2024 . Agence France-Presse .
19. https://www.umnews.org/en/news/40-year-ban-on-gay-clergy-struck-down UMCNews: 40-year ban on gay clergy struck down
20. https://www.advocate.com/news/united-methodist-church-lgbtq-clergy Advocate: United Methodist Church ends 40-year ban on LGBTQ+ clergy
21. https://www.skynews.com.au/australia-news/politics/leave-kids-alone-cumberland-city-council-passes-motion-to-ban-same-sex-parenting-books-from-the-shelves-of-local-libraries/news-story/428cb964a8bc497b926a59955f522720 Sky-News: 'Leave kids alone': Cumberland City Council passes motion to ban same sex parenting books from the shelves of local libraries
22. https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/not-marrickville-or-newtown-sydney-council-bans-same-sex-parenting-books-20240507-p5fpkr.html The Sydney Morning Herald: ‘Not Marrickville or Newtown’: Sydney council bans same-sex parenting books
23. https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/article/2024/may/07/sydney-council-bans-same-sex-parenting-books-from-libraries-for-safety-of-our-children'Leave kids alone': Cumberland City Council passes motion to ban same sex parenting books from the shelves of local libraries
24. https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/article/2024/may/08/cumberland-city-council-sydney-steve-christou-same-sex-book-ban The Guardian: Western Sydney councillor doubles down on same-sex parent book ban as residents express outrage over move
25. News: 16 May 2024 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20240516012651/https://www.localelections.com.au/post/what-just-happened-six-councillors-switch-sides-in-cumberland-city-council-same-sex-parents-book-ba . Puglisi . Leonardo . 2024-05-15 . What just happened? Six councillors switch sides in Cumberland City Council same-sex parents book ban vote . "This motion that was moved by Councillor Christou, I knew nothing about...Yesterday I took it upon myself to get the book that had been banned. I read the book and have come to the conclusion that nothing sexualises children in this book" − Sarkis yesterday morning . 2024-05-16 . Local Elections Australia . en. 6 News Australia.
26. Tara . Ravens . Grandmother and Equality Australia welcome reversal of Cumberland Council book ban . https://web.archive.org/web/20240519084308/https://equalityaustralia.org.au/grandmother-and-equality-australia-welcome-reversal-of-cumberland-council-book-ban/ . 19 May 2024 . 19 May 2024 . 15 May 2024 . equalityaustralia.org.au.
27. News: Achenza . Madeleine. 2024-05-16 . Protesters clash over same-sex parenting book ban at Cumberland City Council. 2024-05-19 . . en. https://web.archive.org/web/20240519085217/https://www.news.com.au/national/nsw-act/politics/protesters-clash-over-samesex-parenting-book-ban-at-cumberland-city-council/news-story/63485b6760749f5700b3f3025125928a. live. 19 May 2024.
28. https://www.vaterland.li/liechtenstein/politik/landtag-beschliesst-ehe-fuer-alle-art-566058 Vaterland.li: Landtag beschliesst Ehe für alle
29. Associated Press . 2024-06-18 . Thailand's Senate Overwhelmingly Approves a Landmark Marriage Equality Bill . 2024-06-18 . TIME . en . 2024-06-18 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240618165156/https://time.com/6989661/thailands-senate-approve-same-sex-marriage-bill-lgbt/ . live .
30. Web site: Namibian court strikes down law criminalising same-sex relationships . The Guardian . 21 June 2024.
31. News: van Putten . Laurens . 12 July 2024 . Same sex marriage is legal in Aruba and Curacao .
32. News: Protesters rally outside Bulgarian parliament to denounce ban on LGBTQ+ 'propaganda' in schools . Associated Press . 9 August 2024. 9 August 2024.
33. Web site: 30 August 2024 . LGBTQ persons can open joint bank accounts, nominate partner. 28 September 2024 . Times of India.
34. Web site: September 17, 2024 . Georgian parliament approves anti-LGBTQ legislation, echoing measures in Russia . Associated Press .
35. Web site: 24 September 2024 . Thai king signs same-sex marriage bill into law. 28 September 2024 . BBC News.
36. Web site: 24 September 2024 . Thailand's king signs landmark same-sex marriage bill into law . 28 September 2024 . CNN.
37. Web site: Georgian parliament speaker signs anti-LGBTQ law after president refuses to sign it . 3 October 2024 . Associated Press . 3 October 2024 . en-US.