Positive LGBTQ+ news from 2022 Asriel Wilde

Asriel Wilde

Positive LGBTQ+ news from around the world in 2022

News regarding LGBTQ+ rights around the world has often been quite dire this year, though many good things have happened which have been overlooked. Here’s just a few of them. 1. Every state in Mexico legalises gay

marriage

It is now legal in all of Mexico’s 31 states as well as Mexico City for two people of the same gender to get married. Tamaulipas and Guerrero became the final two Mexican states to legalise gay marriage in October 2022.

Ireland’s Taoiseach. 2. Andorra legalises gay marriage The General Council of San Marino unanimously voted to approve gay marriage in July 2022, which will take effect in February 2023. It becomes one of the last Western European countries to do so.

3. San Marino becomes the first country with

an openly LGBTQ+ head of state

Paolo Rondelli made history when he became the world’s first openly gay head of state, serving a six-month term as one of two Captain Regents from April to October 2022. He joins a growing list of LGBTQ+ world leaders, including Xavier Bettel, the Prime Minister of Luxembourg, Ana Brnabić, the Prime Minister of Slovenia and Leo Varadkar, who on 17 December will serve a second term as

4. Ireland protects transgender people,

banning trans hate crime

Ireland added gender identity and expression to its official list of protected characteristics in October 2022, allowing people found to be discriminating against gender diverse people to be punished with up to five years in prison.

5. US elections – a record number of LGBTQ+

people are elected

An historic number of LGBTQ+ people were elected to a variety of offices in the November 2022 elections. Maura Healey and Tina Kotek were elected as governors of Massachusetts and Oregon respectively, both becoming the first lesbian women to lead US states. Zooey Zephyr was elected as the first trans state representative in Montana, a deeply conservative state, while in New Hampshire James Roesener became the first trans man elected to a state legislature. Erick Russell in Connecticut became the first LGBTQ+ Black person elected to state-wide office in US history.

6. Heartstopper released as a TV series to

critical acclaim

Alice Oseman’s graphic novel series Heartstopper was released on Netflix in April which review aggregator Metacritic suggests has received “universal acclaim”. It has been praised for its depiction of young LGBTQ+ people of a diverse range of identities. Netflix renewed the series for two more seasons in May 2022.

7. Footballer Jake Daniels becomes the UK’s

only openly gay professional male footballer.

In May 2022, Jake Daniels became the UK’s only openly gay professional male footballer, being the first footballer to be publicly out since Justin Fashanu in 1990. He was shortlisted as Celebrity of the Year by the National Diversity Awards for his decision.

Sporus, artwork by Phae Inçledon