Budapest: Teachers refuse to self-censor
Reuters brought forth the voices of Hungary's teachers on July 8, after a law passed last month banning the subject of homosexuality from the country's classrooms. Transgender chemistry teacher Flores Fellegi-Balta was lucky to have a supportive employer, although a private one, who told him — after he had pored through the new laws — that they were dedicated to "earning the trust of [their] parents and students" and would mount a defense if he were charged. Fellegi-Balta said he would refuse to self-censor, as a matter of scientific rigor. Secondary school teacher Eva Gadanecz shared that sentiment, and added the importance of acknowledgment and education for the health of LGBTQ students.

Berlin: First Trans candidate for the Bundestag
Reuters reported July 7 on Bavarian parliament member Tessa Ganserer, the first Trans candidate for Germany's Bundestag (parliament). Ganserer's platform targets what she calls a "hypocritical show of tolerance" among the current leadership, which voted not to reform the "degrading transsexual law" of the Transgender Act of 1981. Ganserer plans first to make ratifying sex changes on documents easier, but also offer legislation allowing Lesbian mothers to adopt children and ending the ban on Gay men donating blood. Reuters added the context of a recent jump in anti-LGBT hate crimes, which rose 36% in Germany last year.