Resources are out there for LGBTQ+ travelers looking to stay safe

NEW YORK (AP) — Do LGBTQ+ tourists have a green book-like system for staying safe while traveling in these politically precarious times? They don't have one. They have many.

In recent years, there's been an outpouring of specialized blogs, cruise and tour operators, and booking sites for accommodations. There are organizations that certify the support of transport operators, destinations and special events. And there are watchdog groups with eyes on the laws and customs of the world.

“People are concerned because we realize that our rights are under attack in some cases,” said Mark Chesnut, a New York-based travel writer and speaker with 30 years of experience in the industry. “People aren't going to stop traveling. They're just more careful and taking precautions. They're choosing destinations wisely."

Read reviews. Network with locals. Know the laws and customs of a destination, Chesnut and other seasoned LGBTQ+ travelers and their allies suggest. Is it illegal there to be gay? Is it a taboo that can get you killed? Is it safe to embrace or hold hands in public? What are the ramifications for HIV-positive travelers? How about misaligned documents and security scans for trans people?

The potential pitfalls are many for LGBTQ+ travelers, especially couples looking to express their authentic selves, advocates said. But the possible dangers should be weighed against the joys of discovering new places, said Stefan Arestis and Sebastien Chaneac, the globetrotting couple behind the travel blog the Nomadic Boys.

“We as gay people have to do that extra layer of research compared to my straight friends. They can hop on a plane and go,” said Arestis, a Greek Cypriot.

He and Chaneac, who is French, left their London jobs (the former a lawyer and the latter in tech) to make Cyprus their base. They turned more than a decade of extended travel into a detail-rich website and, this year, a handbook for LGBTQ+ travelers, “Out in the World: The Gay Guide to Travelling with Pride.”

Arestis said it was clear in 2014, when they began blogging about their year-long sabbatical in Asia for friends and family, that LGBTQ+ travelers were hungry for information.

“After about a year, we started getting random people coming to our site. We thought who are these people? Basically, they were googling things like where are the gay bars in Bali? Are there gay hotels in Shanghai? Is it safe to go to Taiwan? They were finding our content," he said, because at the time there was little else about the subject online.

Arestis has visited 97 countries of all sorts. Chaneac doesn’t count but does have places he wouldn't go out of safety concerns, including Kuwait and Saudi Arabia.

On their site and in their book, the Nomadic Boys tell it like they see it, with practical tips and a feel for political and cultural landscapes.

They had a scare in Lebanon, for instance, when they were told they were blacklisted while trying to leave the country. And among their book's listings are these warnings about Peru: It “lags behind its more progressive neighbors” in terms of LGBTQ+ rights but introduced anti-discrimination laws in 2017.

“We advise caution over PDAs unless you're in a gay-friendly environment. Having said that, Peru relies heavily on tourism so gay travelers will feel comfortable and welcome,” they advise.

The couple went on to note they had no problems getting a double bed in any of the hotels they used in the Peruvian towns of Barranco, Miraflores, Cusco, Arequipa and Lake Titicaca.

That level of detail and practicality is what drew Black travelers to green books during the Jim Crow era.

Some other LGBTQ+ travelers prefer to stick with safer and more accepting locales, for comfort and as a boycott of sorts against hostile destinations. Others travel out of their comfort zones for adventure and to support local and often suppressed gay communities.

“It's a really robust debate,” Chesnut said. “It’s a personal judgment and a personal decision that travelers need to make.”

Traveling can be particularly fraught for trans people.

Gabrielle Claiborne in Atlanta is co-founder and CEO of Transformation Journeys Worldwide, a training and consulting firm that works with Fortune 100 companies on creating cultures of belonging for trans and gender-diverse people. She's also the chair of the International Gay and Lesbian Travel Association Foundation's Transgender Advisory Group.

Claiborne is a trans woman who frequently travels globally. At 6-foot-2, and taller in heels, she often draws stares in security lines.

“I get a lot of people whispering and gawking, just by being present and being visible in that space,” she said. “The security checkpoint is triggering for trans people because of the experiences with TSA agents, from other people in the line.”

Some trans people have documents with photos and gender markers that don’t align. Going through security scanners can be troubling, Claiborne said. Agents must press a button designating male or female.

“If they pressed the wrong button and an area of our bodies is flagged, we have to go through a very triggering pat down,” she said.

Claiborne doesn't support boycotts of unfriendly destinations.

“We have a long way to go, yet I'm optimistic about the progress that is being made,” she said. “The reality is we make progress when people are willing to stand up and be visible. Until we’re visible in a space where we might be the only one like us in the room or in that space, people are not going to know what they don’t know.”

This August 2024 photo shows Mark Chesnut at the Keflavík International Airport in Iceland. Chesnut, a travel blogger and speaker, said LGBTQ+ tourists are concerned about safety in some spots due to the erosion of their human rights in the U.S. and around the world. (Malik Haddington-Ahmed via AP)

This 2024 photos shows Stefan Arestis, left, and Sebastien Chaneac at the Tiger’s Nest Monastery in Bhutan. The two have written a guide for LGBTQ+ Travelers, “Out in the World.” (The Nomadic Boys via AP)

This 2021 aerial photo shows Machu Picchu in Peru. The popular travel destination is included in a new guide book for LGBTQ+ travelers, “Out in the World,” by the couple behind The Nomadic Boys travel blog, Stefan Arestis and Sebastien Chaneac. (Brand g Vacations via AP)

Stefan Arestis, left, with Sebastien Chaneac appear on rainbow-painted stairs in Tampa, Fla., in 2019. Together, the two write the travel blog The Nomadic Boys. (The Nomadic Boys via AP)

This 2023 photo shows Stefan Arestis, right, and Sebastien Chaneac, at the Pyramids in Egypt. The two are globetrotters who run the LGBTQ+-focused travel blog The Nomadic Boys. They published a travel guide this year, “Out in the World: The Gay Guide to Travelling with Pride.” (The Nomadic Boys via AP)

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — Former President Donald Trump is safe following what the FBI says "appears to be an attempted assassination” while playing golf two months after another attempt on his life at a rally in Pennsylvania.

Local authorities said the U.S. Secret Service agents protecting Trump fired at a man pointing an AK-style rifle with a scope as Trump was playing on one of his Florida golf courses in West Palm Beach.

Here are five things to know about what happened Sunday to the Republican presidential nominee.

Law enforcement officials said the man who pointed the rifle and was arrested is Ryan Wesley Routh. The officials identified the suspect to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the ongoing investigation.

Records show Routh, 58, lived in North Carolina for most of his life before moving in 2018 to Kaaawa, Hawaii, where he and his son operated a company building sheds, according to an archived version of the webpage for the business.

Routh frequently posted on social media about the war in Ukraine and had a website where he sought to raise money and recruit volunteers to go to Kyiv to join the fight against the Russian invasion. In June 2020, he made a post on X directed at then-President Trump to say he would win reelection if he issued an executive order for the Justice Department to prosecute police misconduct. That year, he also posted in support of the Democratic presidential campaign of then-U.S. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii, who has since left the party and endorsed Trump.

However, in recent years, his posts suggest he soured on Trump, and he expressed support for President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris.

In July, following the assassination attempt on Trump in Pennsylvania, Routh urged Biden and Harris to visit those wounded in the shooting at the hospital and to attend the funeral of a former fire chief killed at the rally.

Voter records show he registered as an unaffiliated voter in North Carolina in 2012, most recently voting in person during the state’s Democratic Party primary in March 2024. Federal campaign finance records show Routh made 19 small political donations totaling $140 since 2019 using his Hawaii address to ActBlue, a political action committee that supports Democratic candidates.

Records show that while living in Greensboro, North Carolina, Routh had multiple run-ins with law enforcement. He was convicted in 2002 of possessing a weapon of mass destruction, according to online North Carolina Department of Adult Correction records.

The records do not provide details about the case. But a News & Record story from 2002 says a man with the same name was arrested after a three-hour standoff with police. The story says he was pulled over during a traffic stop, put his hand on a gun and barricaded himself inside a roofing business. He owned the roofing company, according to state incorporation filings.

Local authorities said the gunman was about 400 yards to 500 yards away from Trump and hiding in shrubbery while the former president was playing a round of golf at Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach.

Ric Bradshaw, sheriff of Palm Beach County, said that when people get into the shrubbery around the course, “they’re pretty much out of sight.” Bradshaw said the entire golf course would have been lined with law enforcement if Trump were the sitting president, but because he’s not, “security is limited to the areas the Secret Service deems possible.”

Trump’s protective detail has been higher than some of his peers because of his high visibility and his campaign to seek the White House again. His security was bolstered days before the July assassination attempt in Pennsylvania because of a threat on Trump’s life from Iran, U.S. officials said.

In an email to supporters, Trump said: “There were gunshots in my vicinity, but before rumors start spiraling out of control, I wanted you to hear this first: I AM SAFE AND WELL!”

His running mate, JD Vance, and U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina said they spoke with Trump after the incident, and both said he was in “good spirits.” Trump also checked in with several Fox News hosts.

Fox News host Sean Hannity, a close friend of the former president's, said on air that he spoke with Trump and his golf partner, Steve Witkoff, afterward. They told Hannity they had been on the fifth hole when they heard a “pop pop, pop pop.” Within seconds, he said Witkoff recounted, Secret Service agents “pounced on” Trump and “covered him” to protect him.

Moments later, Witkoff said, a “fast cart” with steel reinforcement and other protection was able to whisk Trump away.

Hannity said Trump’s reaction after this happened — and when it was clear that everyone, including Witkoff, was safe — was to quip that he was sad he hadn’t been able to finish the hole since he “was even and had a birdie putt.”

Harris, Trump's Democratic opponent in the presidential election, posted on X that she had been briefed on the reports of gunshots fired.

“I am glad he is safe. Violence has no place in America.”

The White House said President Joe Biden and Harris would be kept updated on the investigation. The White House added it was “relieved” to know Trump is safe.

Trump has not announced any changes to his schedule and is set to speak live on X on Monday night from his Mar-a-Lago resort to launch his sons’ crypto platform.

Meanwhile, the leaders of a congressional bipartisan task force investigating the July 13 assassination attempt on Trump said they have requested a briefing by the Secret Service.

“We are thankful that the former President was not harmed, but remain deeply concerned about political violence and condemn it in all of its forms,” Rep. Mike Kelly, R-Pa., and Rep. Jason Crow, D-Colo., said in a statement. They said the task force will share updates.

U.S. Rep. Jared Moskowitz, a Florida Democrat who is part of the task force, said he “will seek answers about what happened today and then.”

Ryan Wesley Routh holds up a banner during a rally in central Kyiv, Ukraine on Saturday April 30, 2022. (AP Photo/Alex Babenko)

Photos that show an AK-47 rifle, a backpack and a Go-Pro camera on a fence outside Trump International Golf Club taken after an apparent assassination attempt of Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump, are displayed during a news conference at the Palm Beach County Main Library, Sunday. Sept. 15, 2024, in West Palm Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Stephany Matat)

This photo provided by the Martin County Sheriff's Office shows Sheriff's vehicles surrounding an SUV on the northbound I-95 in Martin County on Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024. (Martin County Sheriff's Office via AP)