Law on Uránia

“Queer in a Legal Sense” — a book by José A. de la Garza Valenzuela on Chicanx literature and US citizenship

Sat, 18 Apr 2026 12:00:00 +0400

“Queer in a Legal Sense” is a monograph by American researcher José A. de la Garza Valenzuela about the connection between US immigration law and literature, published in English by the University of Texas Press. In the context of the long history of disputes over border control and racial politics in North America, the book demonstrates how legal documents shaped the history of regulating sexuality and migration.

In Spain, Off-Duty Guardia Civil Officer Stopped Assault by Two Moroccan Men on Trans Woman on Commuter Train

Thu, 16 Apr 2026 14:30:00 +0400

A few days ago, on a Renfe Cercanías commuter train between Plaza Mayor and La Nogalera in Torremolinos (Málaga province), two men in their twenties of Moroccan origin insulted and harassed a 28-year-old trans woman who holds Moroccan citizenship; she was travelling with a friend. Around 5 p.m., verbal abuse escalated into an attempted physical assault. According to the police record, one remark was along the lines of, “If you were in Morocco, you would not dare go out on the street like that.” El Debate reported the incident.

Ghana’s President Says Anti-LGBT Bill Is Not a Priority, Catholic Cardinal Turkson Also Opposes Criminalization

Thu, 16 Apr 2026 12:00:00 +0400

Ghanaian President John Dramani Mahama said a new anti-LGBT bill is “not a priority” for his government while the country faces pressing problems in education, healthcare, and employment. The statement was reported by 76crimes and Human Rights Watch .

Senegal Issues First Conviction After Toughened Anti-LGBT Law

Thu, 16 Apr 2026 12:00:00 +0400

A court in Pikine-Guediawaye, a suburb of Dakar, has issued the first conviction since Senegal toughened its anti-LGBT law. A 24-year-old man was sentenced to six years in prison and fined 2 million CFA francs (about $3,300).

Belarusian President Signs Law Introducing Fines for “LGBT and Childfree Propaganda”

Wed, 15 Apr 2026 12:00:00 +0400

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko signed , according to Mediazona Belarus , the law “On Amendments to Codes on Administrative Liability.” The document introduces penalties for so-called “propaganda of homosexual relations, gender transition, childfree lifestyles, and pedophilia.”

The Future President’s Secret Operation: How Franklin Roosevelt Spent a Million Dollars on a Hunt for Gay Men in the Navy

Fri, 10 Apr 2026 14:00:00 +0300

In 1919 the United States Navy launched a covert operation at its base in Newport, Rhode Island, aimed at sailors suspected of same-sex relations.

Uganda Grants Bail to Two Women Arrested for Kissing, But They Still Face Life in Prison

Thu, 09 Apr 2026 14:00:00 +0400

In Uganda, two women arrested in February over allegations that they kissed in public have been released on bail while awaiting trial. According to MambaOnline , they are 22-year-old Wendy and 21-year-old Diana.

King Mswati III of Eswatini Says Gay and Lesbian People Will Not Be Welcome While He Rules

Wed, 08 Apr 2026 14:00:00 +0400

King Mswati III of Eswatini told a prayer gathering in Lobamba on Good Friday, April 3, 2026, that gay and lesbian people would not be welcome in Eswatini as long as he remains on the throne. MambaOnline , citing local media, reports that he called homosexuality an “evil act” in the “spirit of Sodom and Gomorrah” and said that same-sex couples had no place in the country under his reign.

An Ancient Punishment for Adultery – Inserting Fish and Radish into the Anus (Rhaphanidosis)

Sat, 04 Apr 2026 12:00:00 +0700

Rhaphanidosis (ῥαφανίδωσις) in classical Athens of the fifth to fourth centuries BCE was the forcible insertion of a radish root into the anus.

Senegal Doubles Penalty for Same-Sex Relations to 10 Years in Prison

Thu, 02 Apr 2026 15:35:05 +0400

Senegal’s President Bassirou Diomaye Faye has signed a law that doubles the maximum penalty for same-sex relations. Offenders now face up to 10 years in prison. The National Assembly passed the measure by an overwhelming majority on March 11, 2026, with 135 votes in favor, none against, and three abstentions.

Menaka Guruswamy Becomes the First Openly Lesbian MP in the History of the Indian Parliament. She Was Elected on the Ticket of a Regional-Nationalist Bengali Party

Wed, 25 Mar 2026 18:00:00 +0300

On March 9, constitutional lawyer Menaka Guruswamy was elected to the Rajya Sabha – the upper house of the Indian Parliament – representing West Bengal.

Poland's Supreme Administrative Court Orders Recognition of Same-Sex Marriages Contracted in Other EU States

Mon, 23 Mar 2026 12:00:00 +0300

On March 20, Poland’s Supreme Administrative Court (Naczelny Sąd Administracyjny) ruled that the country must recognise same-sex marriages legally contracted in other European Union member states. The court ordered the Warsaw civil registry office to transcribe the marriage certificate of two men who married in Berlin in 2018.

The Earliest Laws in History Against Same-Sex Relations – Assyria in the Twelfth Century BCE

Sun, 15 Mar 2026 12:00:00 +0100

The legal history of sexual life in ancient Mesopotamia is full of uncertainties. The sources are fragmentary, and their interpretation depends to a great extent on the scholar’s point of view. Even so, most historians agree on one point: the people of ancient Mesopotamia seem to have lived under fewer sexual prohibitions than many later societies.

Sex Reassignment in the Islamic Republic of Iran: A Comprehensive Overview

Wed, 04 Mar 2026 22:45:37 +0700

This article examines why sex reassignment surgery received religious justification in the Islamic Republic of Iran. It also tells the story of Maryam Khatoon Molkara, a person who played a notable role in gaining official recognition for transgender people.

Male Same-Sex Intercourse in Iran After the Islamic Revolution: Criminal Law and Prosecution Statistics

Fri, 27 Feb 2026 22:45:37 +0700

Before 1979, Iran had a predominantly secular criminal justice system. It was based on a general penal code adopted in the 1920s, modelled on French law.

The Gay Romance Option in Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2: Are Same-Sex Relationships Possible in 15th-Century Bohemia? Reviewing the Historical Record

Wed, 05 Feb 2025 00:10:32 +0700

A public debate has emerged around the not-yet-released Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2. The new medieval RPG from Warhorse Studios, set in 15th-century Bohemia (today’s Czech Republic), has attracted attention due to reports of a possible homosexual scene.

Did Swedes Really Take Sick Leave for Homosexuality to Protest or Get Out of Work?

Fri, 10 Jan 2025 00:10:32 +0700

Until 1979, Sweden officially classified homosexuality as a mental illness, even though it had been legal since 1944. This historical detail is linked to a common misconception that spread online in the early 2010s. According to some posts, large numbers of Swedes supposedly took sick leave by claiming they “felt gay/lesbian,” either as a protest or simply to avoid work.

Homosexuality in the 18th-Century Russian Empire — Homophobic Laws Borrowed From Europe and How They Were Enforced

Thu, 24 Oct 2024 22:45:37 +0700

The 18th century was a time when Russia was becoming one of the leading powers of Europe. It was also when the state for the first time established a punishment for male same-sex relations in secular law. Under Peter the Great, in 1706, Russia adopted an especially harsh provision borrowed from Western European practice — death by burning. At first, it applied only to the military, above all to soldiers.

Grigory Teplov and the Sodomy Case in 18th-Century Russia

Sun, 22 Sep 2024 22:45:37 +0700

“Having summoned him to his bed, first caressing him and holding out promises of reward, and in the end also threatening him with a beating, he forced him to commit muzhelozhstvo (literally “lying with a man”) on him.” This is a line from the interrogation of a serf peasant, where he accuses his master, Grigory Nikolayevich Teplov, of “muzhelozhstvo” (a historical legal and church term usually translated as “sodomy”) and of rape.

Homosexuality in Ancient and Medieval Russia

Thu, 22 Aug 2024 22:45:37 +0700

While in England, the Netherlands, France, and Spain, people were burned at the stake and tortured for homosexuality, in Rus’ there was not a single secular law up to the 18th century that punished the “sin of Sodom.”