USA Unsafe For LGBTQ Travelers

The SPARTACUS Gay Travel Index for 2019 has rated that LGBTQ travelers in the USA has worsened because of our right-wing conservative government & their initiatives to revoke LGBTQ rights that have been achieved as well as the associated increase in homophobic & transphobic violence. The United States did not even rank in the top 45 countries. We ranked No. 47 which is a shared ranking with nine other countries including Bermuda, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Chile, Costa Rica, Croatia, Cuba, Macao, Seychelles & Thailand. The friendliest countries for LGBTQ travelers are Canada, Portugal & Sweden. The index ranked 197 countries based on 14 criteria, including anti-discrimination laws, marriage & civil partnership laws, adoption laws, transgender rights & persecution. So even though marriage equality is the law of the land here in the USA we have been steadily dropping in the rankings. We ranked No. 34 in 2017 & fell to No. 39 last year when Spartacus International Gay Guide pointed to President Trump’s “attempts to curtail transgender rights in the military” as a major factor for the decline. So even though we have safe states where our LGBTQ community can visit the overview safety of our country is bleak. Portugal’s ascent to a No. 1 ranking this year was a big jump from last year when the country ranked No. 27 in the index. Portugal, Canada & Sweden received the top mark this year for their anti-discrimination laws. The least friendly nation is Chechnya, No. 197 which continues to be involved in “state-organized persecution & killings of homosexuals.” Rounding out the bottom five are Somalia, Saudi Arabia, Iran & Yemen. All five were given negative marks for murders & death sentences involving our LGBTQ community.
View Full List…
LISTEN: Molly Adele Brown Chats Singing For Diversity & Equality