Of course, godless NewsWires, Reuters, and France24 all think this is a good thing. Do you? Do you think God thinks it's a good thing?
Namibian court declares law criminalising
same-sex relationships unconstitutional
A high court in Namibia on Friday declared unconstitutional two colonial-era laws that criminalised same-sex acts between men, in a landmark win for the LGBTQ community in the southern African nation.
Issued on:
A top Namibian court on Friday struck down the African country's colonial-era laws criminalising same-sex relationships, in a victory for the LGBTQ community.
The high court in the capital, Windhoek, declared the crimes of "sodomy" and "unnatural sexual offences" as "unconstitutional and invalid" in a ruling hailed by LGBTQ rights groups.
"We are not persuaded that in a democratic society such as ours... it is reasonably justifiable to make an activity criminal just because a segment, maybe a majority, of the citizenry consider it to be unacceptable," the judges wrote.
The judgement overturns rarely enforced laws dating back to 1927, which Namibia inherited from the colonial era but maintained after gaining independence from South Africa in 1990.
"Because of this decision, I no longer feel like a criminal on the run in my own country simply because of who I am," said Friedel Dausab, the activist who brought the case.
London-based Human Dignity Trust called the ruling "historic".
"LGBT Namibians can now look to a brighter future," said its chief executive, Tea Braun.
The verdict comes against a backdrop of growing intolerance towards LGBTQ rights in southern Africa.
While a handful of African countries have legalised same-sex relationships, South Africa remains the sole African nation which allows gay marriage, legalised in 2006.
The United Nations AIDS program, UNAIDS, said the ruling marked a "significant victory for equality and human rights".
"This decision... is a powerful step towards a more inclusive Namibia," said Anne Githuku-Shongwe, UNAIDS regional director for East and Southern Africa.
(Reuters)
Teaching materials on Pride history now
available in Sask. despite school regulations
Education materials on the history of Pride aimed a students are being made available in Saskatchewan despite the province’s regulations around sexual health education.
The materials are being made available by the Canadian Pride Historical Society for grades K-12. Subjects includes identifying the meaning of the term Pride and events in Pride history, such as the decriminalization of homosexuality in Canada in 1969, the first transgender march in Canada in 2009, and more recent events involving drag.
In 1969, Justin Trudeau's father, Pierre, switched Canada from a moral society to a 'just' society. He opened the closet doors and closed the bedroom doors. Since then, the bedroom doors have been flung wide-open and those behind them have flooded into the streets, naked, or near-naked, celebrating the most immoral lifestyles and spitting in the face of God by calling it Pride.
Jonathan Niemczak, chair and president of CPHS, said the historical society deems these materials appropriate for schools but did note they don’t skirt under Saskatchewan’s current regulations.
“Part of our organization’s purpose is to collect this research and put it into educational material so that people can learn about the history of the Pride movement in Canada… It’s often unknown and it’s an important part of Canada’s social fabric,” Niemczak said.
Saskatchewan banned third-party organizations from offering sexual health education in schools following a 2023 incident in which a child got their hands on a Planned Parenthood pamphlet that wasn’t intended for school use.
Niemczak said that the historical society’s material is geared towards learning about the Pride movement, adding that if people don’t learn about the topic it could lead to ignorance and hate.
On its website, the CPHS says its goal with the educational materials is to teach people of all ages about the legacy and continued impact of the Pride movement in Canada. It also says the material is important for students, citing a 2011 Egale Canada report that found 70 per cent of students reported hearing homophobic language in schools and 74 per cent of trans students said they had been verbally harassed in school.
The website adds misinformation and misunderstanding still exists and that teaching the history of the Pride movement can help learners identify that misinformation and think more inclusively.
Niemczak said the historical society hopes to engage with the Saskatchewan Teachers’ Federation on the lesson plans, but said they haven’t spoken with the Ministry of Education.
“We don’t typically engage with the government when it comes to our educational resources.”
He said that the society looks at provincial curriculum standards for courses such as social studies to see how its educational materials might fit into the classroom.
Niemczak said this material sometimes doesn’t fit within a specific curriculum, so it is designed to be short so that it can presented on a special day for Pride month.
He hopes it can still find its way into educational settings, even if it can’t be used in the classroom.
Global News reached out to the Saskatchewan Teachers’ Federation and the Ministry of Education for comment.
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