Risks for being American… and LGBTQIA?
The US State Department issued a “Worldwide Caution” alert to warn its citizens overseas to exercise increased caution because of “the increased potential for foreign terrorist organization-inspired violence against LGBTQI+ persons and events.”
Earlier, the FBI and Department of Homeland Security released their own alerts to warn US citizens that foreign terrorist organizations might seek to exploit “LGBTQIA+-related events and venues,” which include events to mark Pride month this June.
This is not the first time that a US government office issued such an alert. In 2023, also while the LGBTQIA community marked Pride month, a more inward-looking warning was released by the Department of Homeland Security, which noted that domestic violence extremists and people who commit hate crimes have increased threats of violence against the LGBTQIA+ community in recent years.
More focused on those traveling to other countries, the current US State Department alert similarly advises Americans to exercise increased caution because of the potential for more generalized terrorist attacks, demonstrations, or violent actions “against US citizens and interests.”
As FYI: US, itself, is not free from anti-LGBTQIA developments, so that various warnings have also been issued against it. In September 2023, for example, the Global Affairs Canada released a warning that states that some US locations may now have anti-LGBTQIA laws that could affect their travels.
