While LGBT rights have evolved dramatically in the UK, one small member country bordering the Republic of Ireland has lagged behind and was the last to legalise what?
LGBT rights in Northern Ireland Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (LGBT) rights in Northern Ireland are the least advanced in the United Kingdom and Ireland, lagging behind Great Britain and the Republic of Ireland respectively. It was the last country in the United Kingdom to legalise same-sex sexual activity, the last to end a lifetime ban on blood donations by men who have sex with men and since 2015 is the only part of western Europe to prohibit same-sex marriage. Progress on LGBT rights has mostly been achieved during direct rule by the Government of the United Kingdom or through court action rather than local legislative reform, due to the veto power wielded by the anti-LGBT Democratic Unionist Party and its allies under Northern Ireland's power-sharing system. ILGA rates Northern Ireland as the worst place in the United Kingdom for LGBT people, with 74% equality of rights compared to 86% LGBT equality in the United Kingdom overall and 92% equality in Scotland. LGBT rights campaigner Peter Tatchell describes Northern Ireland as "the most homophobic place in western Europe".
LGBT history in China The history of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people in China spans thousands of years. Unlike the histories of European and European-ruled polities in which Christianity formed the core of heavily anti-LGBT laws until recent times, non-heterosexual states of being were historically treated with far less animosity in historic Chinese states. For a period of the modern history of both the Republic of China and People's Republic of China in the 20th century, LGBT people received more stringent legal regulations regarding their orientations, with restrictions being gradually eased by the beginning of the 21st century. However, activism for LGBT rights in both countries has been slow in development due to societal sentiment and government inaction.