05/20/2024

U.S. State Department Issues Worldwide Travel Advisory for U.S. Citizens

It is not the first time the State Department has issued such an alert

The U.S. Department of State issued a worldwide travel advisory on Friday due to a “potential for terrorist attacks, demonstrations, or violent actions against U.S. citizens and interests,” the agency announced. 

The State Department specifically pointed to increased violence against LGBTQ+ people and pride-related events as a reason for the advisory. The Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI) 2022 crime report showed that anti-LGBTQ+ hate crimes in the U.S. had steadily risen from the year prior, with a near 33 percent increase in reported hate crimes based on gender identity. 

LGBTQ+ protections largely vary worldwide, with regions like Latin America seeing greater gains in marriage equality, while in Europe, countries like Russia have gone so far as to target the queer community as an extremist organization.  

Please select this link to read the complete article from TIME.