🇸🇰 Slovakia Mourns Killing Of Two At Bratislava Gay Bar

Thousands gathered at a vigil on Saturday to commemorate two men who were shot in Slovakia’s capital Bratislava last week in a suspected hate crime. The vigil drew more than 20,000, demanding more protection for LGBTQ+ people in Slovakia, a relatively conservative EU country where same-sex marriage is still not legal.

The 19-year-old gunman, who is believed to have shot himself after the attack, was identified as Juraj Krajcik, the son of a former far-right politician. Before carrying out the attack, he posted an anti-LGBTQ+ and anti-Semitic manifesto on Twitter, and claimed responsibility for the killings.

Slovak President Zuzana Caputova attended the vigil, saying, "I'm sorry that our society was not able to protect your loved ones. You belong here, you are valuable for our society."

🇺🇸 University Of South Florida Creates LGBTQ+ Scholarship For Athletes

The University of South Florida has announced a new scholarship in order to build an LGBTQ+-inclusive atmosphere within the university’s athletic department. USF alumnus Brett Chambers and his husband Ryan Rhodes, have committed to a $5,000 donation to the scholarship fund each for the next five years. “I’m just an alum who’s trying to support his alma mater and the LGBTQ+ community,” Chambers said.

The goal of this scholarship is to use its visibility to demonstrate LGBTQ+ inclusion in sports. This scholarship is similar to one created by the University of Colorado which was also the idea of Nichols Turco, a former athlete.

🇺🇸 New Report Shows Impact Of Gun Violence On LGBTQ+ Lives

A new report from the U.S.-based gun safety advocacy group Everytown for Gun Safety shows that of the more than 25,000 hate crimes annually in the U.S. involving a firearm, a significant number of those crimes are directed at the LGBTQ+ community.

The report shows that LGBTQ+ youth have a greater chance of experiencing bias-motivated violence involving weapons than non-LGBTQ+ youth, and further reporting shows that 17% of LGBTQ+ youth, 29% of trans youth and 30% of questioning youth have been hurt or threatened by a weapon at school, compared to 6% of non-LGBTQ+ youth.

🇨🇱 Chile Issues First Non-Binary ID Card

Oct. 14 will remain a historic day for the trans and non-binary community in Chile, as the Civil Registry and Identification Service handed over the first identity card with the “X” gender marker. The identity card belongs to Shane Cienfuegos, activist, social worker and specialist in gender studies, who does not recognize themself in the boxes “M” or “F”.

As Presentes reports, in Chile there is no official procedure to recognize oneself as non-binary. Unless you go to court. That’s what Cienfuegos did, starting their legal battle in 2014. In 2017 they managed to legally change their name and last week achieved their gender marker change. "It took me years and led me to a fight with the Justice that no one should have to face," Cienfuegos told Presentes LGBTQ+ media.

🇲🇽 Progress In Mexico On Same-Sex Marriage

The State of Mexico became the 29th of the country's 32 states to recognize same-sex unions. That leaves only the northern border state of Tamaulipas, the Gulf coast state of Tabasco, where the president comes from, and the southern state of Guerrero without equal access to marriage laws.

🇵🇷 Puerto Rican Wins Mr Gay World 2022

José Lopez Duvont, a 32 year-old from Puerto Rico, was crowned Mr Gay World 2022 at the Artscape Opera House in Cape Town on Saturday. The actor and model — the first competitor from the Americas to win the contest — had focused his social responsibility campaign on body dysmorphia, which he suffered from as a child.

During the international competition putting the spotlight on LGBTQ+ rights activists, Lopez was also awarded in several categories: Best Social Media Presence, Best in National Costume, Best Sports Challenge, Best in Swimwear and Best in Formal Wear. Tony Ardolino, 30, from the United States, was first runner up and Max Appenroth, 36, from Germany was elected second runner up of this 14th edition of Mr Gay World. The latter made global history as being the first transgender delegate in the finals of any international contest.

🇩🇪 Non-Binary Writer Kim de l’Horizon Receives Top German Book Prize In Emotional Ceremony

Swiss novelist Kim de l’Horizon was awarded the prestigious German Book Prize in an emotional ceremony which saw the non-binary writer shave their head in support of Iranian women.

As German daily Die Welt reports, de l’Horizon, 32, received the prize for Blutbuch (“Blood Book”) their debut novel that “defies conventional notions of gender.” They started their acceptance speech by tearfully thanking their mother in Swiss German, before breaking into song in an impressive rendition of Kavinsky’s “Nightcall.”

The ceremony then took a more political turn when de l’Horizon proceeded to shave their head on stage, saying that the prize was also a "sign against hatred, for love" and solidarity for women in Iran.

🇮🇹 Will Italy’s Minister Of Families Be Anti-LGBTQ+?

As Italy’s incoming far-right Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni is working on shaping her first government, her right-wing coalition ally Matteo Salvini is reportedly pushing for Simona Baldassarre to be appointed as Minister of Birth and Family.

The 51-year-old member of the Liga party, which Italian daily La Repubblica notes is close to ultra-Catholic associations, is known for her conservative views on women's reproductive health and spoke out against surrogacy in the European Parliament. She once warned European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen against “the votes of gay lobbies.”

🇸🇬 Singapore Vogue Warned For Promoting “Non-Traditional Families”

Fashion magazine Vogue Singapore has been issued a warning and saw its publishing permit shortened after it repeatedly featured “nudity and content that promoted non-traditional families,” which Singaporean authorities say is in breach of content guidelines in the country.

A Ministry of Communications and Information spokesperson told The Straits Times that the sanction involved revoking Vogue Singapore's current one-year publication permit, replacing it with a six-month permit.

Although the Southeast Asian island-country announced plans to decriminalize gay sex, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong also vowed to "safeguard the institution of marriage," defined as between a man and a woman, according to AFP.

🇧🇦 Bosnia And Herzegovina Unveils First Ever LGBTQ+ Rights Plan

In a significant step towards improving the rights of LGBTQ+ people, Bosnia and Herzegovina has unveiled its first ever strategy to bring human rights protections in the country up to European Union standards.

Under the “2021-24 LGBT Action Plan,” which was presented in July by the Ministry of Human Rights, this strategy is the first of its kind in the country. It includes new legislation on hate speech, freedom of assembly, family law, transgender rights, prejudice and stereotyping.

🇫🇷 French Culture World Slams Wikipedia’s Treatment Of Trans, Non-Binary And Intersex People

A group of 40 French public figures, including writer Virginie Despentes and director Céline Sciamma, have signed an open letter published on weekly magazine L’Obs to denounce “stigmatizing behaviors” against trans, non-binary and intersex people on Wikipedia.

Misgendering, deadnaming (referring to a transgender or non-binary person by a name used prior to transitioning), publication of pre-transitioning pictures, harassment of openly trans users who contribute to the online encyclopedia … An inquiry led by the group and organizations such as the Association Nationale Transgenre has found that “nothing has been done inside this very influential company to help Wikipedia users understand the transgender issues in the present world,” leaving “a void that benefits reactionary movements” and “stirs stereotypes and hatred.”

The open letter is calling for the online encyclopedia to take concrete action and “align itself with the values prized by its community.”

OTHERWISE

• Plus Magazine sits down with influential U.S. rapper, poet and activist Mykki Blanco to discuss their legacy as one of the few out HIV-positive creators.

• Openly mourns the passing of Hollywood icon Angela Lansbury (of Murder, She Wrote fame) and looks back on her actions as a prominent campaigner in the fight against HIV/AIDS.

• LGBTQ dives into the history of house music and what the genre owes to Queer Black people.

• With Halloween around the corner, Autostraddle looks at the 25 scariest queer horror movie moments.